International Travel and Tourism Management: A Development Report

This report provides a detailed analysis of international travel and tourism management, using Kuoni Travel Limited as a case study. It explores the organization's overview, the skills and competencies expected of travel agents, and the benefits of professional and personal development in enhancing career prospects. The report delves into learning theories, self-evaluation models, and best development approaches. It also includes a personal development plan, a job description for a customer service representative role, mock interview questions, and a critical reflection of the interview process. The assignment highlights the importance of communication, active listening, and customer service skills in the travel and tourism industry, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and self-improvement.

International travel and
tourism management

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Part A..........................................................................................................................................................3
An overview of the organization.............................................................................................................3
Skills and competencies expected by the employer.................................................................................3
Benefits of professional and personal development with regards to enhancement of carrier prospects...3
Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development........................................4
Critical evaluation of skills with the use of self-evaluation models.........................................................4
Best development approaches for enhancement in carrier.......................................................................5
Part B...........................................................................................................................................................5
Personal development plan......................................................................................................................5
Part C...........................................................................................................................................................6
Job description of the new job vacancy that have been applied for a job.................................................6
Mock interview questions........................................................................................................................6
Critical reflection of the interview process by the mentor.......................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
International travel and tourism management is a wide concept and includes variety of
activities such as study of tourist destinations, making arrangements for travelling, planning the
tour and providing accommodation to the travelers (Kozak and Kozak, 2016). Tourism
management is done with the basic objective to attract the tourists so that they travel to a specific
destination. Kuoni travel limited is one of the world’s leading companies in terms of providing
travel services for over a century. The company provides its specialized services in around more
than 120 countries with respect to tailor made or luxury holiday packages. This assignment will
include importance of on-going professional development and self-development learning along
with assessment of own skills and competencies. Furthermore, a professional development plan
will be prepared along with the demonstration of range of service industry.
Part A
An overview of the organization
Kuoni travel limited is one of the most popular travel agents of United Kingdom. The
company has been established in the year 1957 and within few years the company became global
by opening up its travel agency in UK. The tourism agency is very popular in the luxury
worldwide travel segment and is earning rewards constantly as a best company for providing
holidays(Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez, 2018). Apart from that, the company has grown its
network to a wide extent as is known as one of the most reputed company in the travel and
tourism industry.
Skills and competencies expected by the employer
Skills and competencies that are expected by the employer for the job role of travel agent
in Kuoni can be broadly classified as employability skills. There is variety of skills that the
employer expects from the travel agents and they ensure that these agents are in possession of
these skills in order to attain the objectives of the company effectively and efficiently. These
skills include effective communication skills, active listening, critical thinking, ability to work in
team and self-management skills. Hence, employer gives huge importance on acquisition of
these skills and competencies of the travel agent in order to run the business smoothly in long
run.
Benefits of professional and personal development with regards to enhancement of carrier
prospects
Ongoing professional and personal development is very beneficial from the perspective
of growth in the carrier. It plays a vital role in bringing self-improvement which in turn plays a
huge role in building up the confidence of an individual which helps in attainment on new
heights of success with regards to the carrier(Mason, 2015).

Apart from that, ongoing professional and personal development helps in building the
self-awareness of an individual. Self awareness plays a vital role in boosting up the morale of an
employee which in turn leads to enhancement in the productivity of an individual towards
attainment of their own carrier regarding objectives. Furthermore, this will also help in analyzing
personal strengths and weaknesses which is very essential in delivering better quality of work.
Hence, better the quality of work better would be the carrier prospects of an individual.
For example: a travel agent must undertake professional and personal development in
order to find out the area where he/she is lacking the skills and then work on these competencies
for increasing their productivity and delivering better quality of work and this in turn will help
him/ her to grow in carrier.
Learning theories and approaches for personal and professional development
There are three main kinds of learning theories and approaches that are used by
individuals for the purpose of personal and professional development. First and foremost
approach is behaviorist approach and this approach is concerned with the stimuli of the learner
and the degree to which they respond. While the next approach of learning is cognitive approach
and this approach focuses on acquisition of knowledge and its retention. Finally, the last
approach which is humanist approach and is concerned with the experiences of an
individual(Vellas, 2016).
In travel and tourism industry, travel agents usually use humanist approach for the
purpose of their learning as well as personal and professional development. Travel agents use
David Kolb model of learning under humanist approach. This model highlights that learning is a
dynamic process which keeps on changing. The model includes four elements of the learning
cycle which are constantly involved in reviewing the experience of an individual. First element
of Kolb’s learning cycle approach is concrete experience which is concerned with engaging in an
experience, while the next element is reflective observation which takes into consideration the
reflection of an activity. Finally, the last two elements are concerned with abstract
conceptualization and active experimentation which means gaining new skills and testing the
skills respectively. Hence, travel agents usually use Kolb’s model of learning for the purpose of
personal and professional development.
Critical evaluation of skills with the use of self-evaluation models
There are various self evaluation models through which skills, abilities and competencies
could be critically evaluated. These models have been especially designed for the individuals to
assess their own skills and then find out the loopholes or areas where they are lacking and then
take corrective measures to overcome them. The two most widely used models of self evaluation
are self-evaluation maintenance theory and the strengths and weakness approach.
Under self evaluation maintenance theory, self-evaluation is based on the relationship
with others. An individual compares him/her with the other person and based on that he/she
evaluates the performance(Baum, 2016). Increase or decrease in performance is based on the

comparison with the simultaneous other person. Hence, under this approach main focus is
towards enhancing the performance with respect to the other person.
While on the other hand, the second approach takes into consideration the identification
of personal strengths and weaknesses. An individual identifies his/her key areas which have put
them in a superior position than the rest of them. Similarly, an individual even identifies the
areas where he/she is lacking and this in turn has put them in an inferior position then the rest of
them. Thus, this approach has helped them in identifying the core areas of expertise, which in
turn has helped them in gaining the competitive advantage over the others and to shine among
the bundle of people as well as to find out the areas where they are lacking and then take the
measures to overcome them.
For examples: by the use of these models travel agents identify their various hard skills
and soft skills(Timothy, 2016). Hard skills are those skills which are gained through qualification
or experience and are specific to a specific job. While on the other hand, soft skills are those
skills which are difficult to acquire and are essential for every job in order to succeed in the
carrier. Hence, with the help of these models travel agents identify their ability to deal with the
customers, listening skills, communication skills, passion towards the travel industry, etc.
Hence, both are the important models of self-evaluation which has helped will directly or
indirectly help an individual to grow in their carrier and attain new heights of success.
Best development approaches for enhancement in carrier
There are wide number of development approaches for enhancement in personal and
professional development. Selection of the best approaches depends on the taste and preferences
of an individual as well as on the basis of choice of an individual’s carrier. The best approaches
as per the travel agents in the travel and tourism industry are performance evaluation and
feedback.
Travel agents can evaluate their own performance and based on the results they can take
corrective actions and can improve their future performance. This approach which help them in
getting success in their future carrier as well as to grow in their both personal life and
professional carrier(Medlik, 2016).
While on the other hand, travel agents can even evaluate their performance on the basis
of feedback from the customers and on that basis they can modify their behavior and deliver
better services to the customers at a specific point of time in future. Hence, both these
approaches play a vital role in development of personal and professional carrier so immense
emphasis should be made to adopt these approaches efficiently in order to attain new heights of
success in future.
Part B
Personal development plan

Skills required to
be developed
Resources required Activities required Time Evaluative criteria
 Effective
communica
tion skills
 Active
listening
 Ability to
deal with
clients
 Endless
patience
 Vast
knowledge
about the
travel
industry
 Books
 Magazines
 Support from
superiors and
peers
 Advice from
the experts
or
specialized
people of
travel and
tourism
industry
 Seminars
 Lectures
 Personality
development
classes
5
month
s
 On the
basis of
results from
self-
evaluation
of
performanc
e
 Feedback
from others
Part C
Job description of the new job vacancy that have been applied for a job
Job title Customer service representative
Roles Attracting the potential customers by solving
their queries and to provide information
regarding the services provided by the
company
Responsibilities To open customer accounts for the purpose of
recording the account information and to
regularly update the customer information
Mock interview questions
Q1. What do you understand by the concept of customer service?
Q2. How would you deal with a customer who is upset or angry?
Q3. What makes you different from the other customer service representatives?
Q4. How would you work collaboratively with other customer service representatives?
Q5. How would you deal with a situation at the time when customer complains remains
unresolved?
Critical reflection of the interview process by the mentor
Interview process that has been witnessed by the mentor was found to be quite interesting. The
interview process helped a lot in getting a deep insight about the abilities, skills and capabilities currently
possessed by me. Apart from that my strengths and weaknesses were highlighted by my mentor at the
time of mock interview conducted by him(Peng and et.al.,2015). This was very crucial for me in order
to clear the interview that have been applied by me for a job vacancy. Moreover, mock interview
conducted by the mentor helped me in identifying the areas which came to me as challenges and which

became difficult for me to address. Hence, the mock interview was very beneficial from the perspective
of being selected for a job vacancy.
Strengths that were highlighted by the mentor at the time of interview process was good
communication skills as I was able to communicate efficiently. Apart from that, the ability to influence
others was also found which is very essential for a job role of customer service representative.
Furthermore, active listening was also an important strength that has been witnessed by the mentor. The
overall impression of the mentor regarding my capabilities and skills through mock interview was very
pleasant and he believed that I would be able to clear the interview of being selected for a customer
service representative.
Similarly, like every coin has two sides, there are weaknesses attached with strengths. Though my
performance was satisfactory as per the opinion of mentor on the basis of mock interview but there were
some areas which were found to be unpolished and required development (Prebensen, Chen and Uysal,
2018). The main area where I lacked was incomplete knowledge on the areas related to job profile and
this was highlighted by my mentor to be worked upon. If I manage to work on this issue and develop my
potential in terms of vast knowledge related to the job title than the probability of being selected in the
interview would be enhanced. Hence, from now-onwards I would direct all my efforts towards grabbing
as much knowledge as possible for the purpose of increasing the possibilities of being selected.
The major challenge and obstacle that was faced during the interview process by the mentor was
lack of self confidence. While interacting with the mentor, high nervousness was faced by me. Due to
high nervousness I was not capable of expressing myself openly which deteriorated my performance. This
was the major obstacle that I faced at the time of being interviewed by the mentor and now my main
motive is to overcome this nervousness which in turn will boost my confidence. I will overcome this
challenge by practicing more such as by giving more mock interviews and by joining personal
development classes which will groom my overall personality.
Hence, in order to succeed, it is very important for me overcome my weaknesses and challenges
faced during the mock interview(Brondoni, 2016). Furthermore, I have even been advised to reflect my
strengths very effectively as it would give me an added advantage over others who are applying for the
same job title in the same company.
Conclusion
From the above study, it has been summarized that there are various skills that are
required by an employer at the workplace and these skills are broadly classified as employability
skills. These skills include skills such as efficient communication, active listening, critical
thinking and self-management. Apart from that, benefits of ongoing personal and professional
development were discussed which highlighted that key benefits were self-awareness and self-
improvement. Even learning theories and approaches were discussed in detail and it was found
that there are three main learning theories but the theory that is used by the travel agents in travel
and tourism industry is Kolb’s learning theory. An efficient profession development plan was
also prepared which highlighted the key skills required, resources required, activities carried out,
time and evaluative criteria. Furthermore, a job description for an attractive employment
opportunity was prepared along with the mock interview questions asked by the mentor for pre-
preparation for the actual interview of the applied job. Finally, a critical evaluation of the

interview process was done which reflected the performance. Proper evaluation of performance
was done such as strengths and weaknesses were highlighted along with the challenges and
obstacles that may arise at the time of achievement of the goals.

References
Books and journals
Moutinho, L. and Vargas-Sanchez, A. eds., 2018. Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge.
Vellas, F., 2016. The international marketing of travel and tourism: A strategic approach.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Baum, T. ed., 2016. Human resource issues in international tourism. Elsevier.
Timothy, D.J., 2016. Relationships between tourism and international boundaries. In Tourism
and borders (pp. 29-38). Routledge.
Medlik, S. ed., 2016. Managing tourism. Elsevier.
Peng, B. and et.al.,2015. A meta-analysis of international tourism demand elasticities. Journal of
Travel Research. 54(5). pp.611-633.
Prebensen, N.K., Chen, J.S. and Uysal, M. eds., 2018. Creating experience value in tourism.
Cabi.
Brondoni, S.M., 2016. Global Tourism Management. Mass, Experience and Sensations
Tourism. Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management. (1). pp.7-24.
Kozak, M. and Kozak, N. eds., 2016. Tourist behaviour: An international perspective. CABI.
Crouch, G.I., Del Chiappa, G. and Perdue, R.R., 2019. International convention tourism: A
choice modelling experiment of host city competition. Tourism Management. 71.
pp.530-542.