Pearson BTEC HND Unit 8: Ethics and CSR in Travel and Tourism

This report delves into the ethical dilemmas prevalent in the travel and tourism sector, examining various aspects such as hospitality, political climate, social and cultural factors, and economic disparities. It highlights issues like bribery, discrimination, and environmental harm, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, the report analyzes the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies of travel and tourism businesses, defining CSR as a commitment to environmental protection, equal opportunity, and sustainable development. The report uses Thomas Cook as a case study, exploring its CSR initiatives, including environmental protection, philanthropy, and fair economic practices. It details the company's efforts in employee engagement, promoting sustainable tourism, and supporting charitable causes, illustrating their impact on the industry.

4.1 analyse ethical dilemmas faced by
the travel and tourism sector
As a travel and tourism is a very vast
sector and is spread in various different
sector therefore it is complex sector to
study. The various sectors are hospitality,
management, logistics and employment
etc, all of them are interdependent but at
the same time they are inseparable.
Hospitality is one of the major sub sectors
in this industry, which deals in relationship
building and providing catering services to
the customers at the best possible price.
The political climate of the country is also
affects the tourism in that country. The
stable the government is the best for
attracting the tourism in the country. The
tourists will not going to prefer the visit at
the place where the dysfunctional
government is ruling the country for their
security purposes. Other factor like social
and cultural factors also affects the tourism
as they are based on the society and the
host communities. We can divide the
tourist on the basis of their age group and
their economy status. Countries that are
less developed economically, generally
offer last minute visas easily. Also they
provide hassle free documentation process.
Examples of such countries are Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc.
While on the other hand the developed
countries like UK and USA are very
strict when it comes to paperwork. The
tourism rules and regulation are very
complex. The process of getting a visa
for these countries is a very lengthy
and costly. According to the various
research, there are various factors that
affects directly the footfall of tourists
in any country, they are, bribery,
corruption, racial and gender
discrimination, sexual harassment,
harming natural resources and selling
unhealthy food. In developing
countries, the child labour is also a
main factor. As due to the poverty and
the unemployment, the children are
forced to work as helpers, cleaners, for
selling purpose, etc. the illegal aspects
as reference to children are,
molestation, child trafficking,
pornography. Also, women’s equality
rights are also a main factor.

4.2 analyse the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) policy of a
specified travel and tourism business
The Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) can be defined as a social
strategies of the business organisations
to payback their share to the
community. The strategies are,
activities like Environment protection,
equal opportunity, practicing
sustainable development, etc. The
business organisations of tourism
industries generally coordinate with the
local communities in order to
understand their needs for conducting
the corporate social responsibility. The
main motive of Corporate Social
Responsibility is to monitor the careful
use of social, cultural and
environmental sources to avoid
wastage, and conserve the bio diversity
and cultural heritage
The Corporate Social
Responsibility could be as below:
 Environment: the
organisation must take
some initiative to save the
environment in order to
promote the natural views
as most of the tourists get
attracted towards the
natural scenery of the
landscape rather than
artificial. Therefore if they
will help in taking care of
these natural views then it
will definitely encourage
the tourism.
 Philanthropy: charity is
one of the oldest forms of
business organisation to
show their empathy towards
the society as well as to
fulfil their corporate social
responsibility. It helps them
to promote their brand
while doing charity,
therefore it gives them the
publicity, and also their
image as an organisation is
remarkably enhanced.
The analysis of corporate social
responsibility activities of Thomas
Cook has been done here. The
development of the tourism industry
while safeguarding the community.
The company’s Corporate Social
Responsibilities include:
 Protecting endangered wildlife
 Promoting social and cultural
values
 Giving fair economical rates to its
customers
A certain target had been set by the
company for the year 2010,under a 10
year plan that will follow the given
steps
 Employee engagement
 Using campaigns like, travel
foundations make holiday
greener
 By promoting charities and
raising the fund
The concept of package holiday
was first introduced by the Thomas
Cook in order to promote the social
responsibility. By performing their
environmental and philanthropy
work, they are inspiring many
organisations in the travel and
tourism industry.