Travel and Tourism Sector: Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Analysis

This report delves into the legal and regulatory framework governing the travel and tourism sector, emphasizing its significance for both developed and developing countries, particularly the United Kingdom. It explores key legislation such as the Development of Tourism Act 1969, transport acts of 1980 and 1985, and the Package Travel Regulations Act of 1992, highlighting their impact on consumer behavior and industry standards. The report also examines surface, sea, and air transport laws, including the International Carriage of Passengers by Road Act 1979, the International Maritime Organization regulations, and the Warsaw Convention of 1929, focusing on passenger safety and rights. Furthermore, it analyzes the principles of health, safety, and security legislation, including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and legislation related to equality within the sector, addressing potential ethical dilemmas and corporate social responsibility policies. The report underscores the importance of ethical practices and legislative compliance for the sustained growth of the travel and tourism industry.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Legal and regulatory framework of the travel and tourism sector.......................................4
1.2 Surface , sea and air transport law in relation to the carriage of passengers within the legal
and regulatory work....................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Impact of the principles of health, safety ans security legislation on the travel and
tourism sector..............................................................................................................................7
2.2 Analysis of legislation that relates to equality......................................................................8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
3.1 Contract legislation in relation to travel and tourism customers...........................................9
3.2 Consumer protection legislation in relation to travel and tourism customer......................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
4.1 Ethical dilemmas faced by the travel and tourism sector ...................................................11
4.2 corporate social responsibility policy of travel and tourism business.................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERNCES.................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Today tourism and travel sector is growing industry. It contributions in the economy of
the country as well as local community. The travelling sector covers almost all visiting
destination in the world as well the united kingdom. As it is very huge and crucial ;part of the
business market, it requires a well structured system of legal and regulatory framework to keep
smooth run of the industry (Ayeh,Leung and Law,2012). The business of the travel and tourism
industry is increasing today by day as the number of tourists is increasing all over the world.
The following report will discuss that what kind of legislation and ethical values should be
adapted in the sector of travel and tourism so that there will be continue growth in future.
By adapting the ethical and legislative rules implied by government authority, more
exploration of the tourism sector can be done. So that more tourist can visit all over the wop4rld
without any problem. In the following report the transport service for smooth tourism and
travelling business will be discussed. The principles related to the the health , safety and security
can affect the travel and tourism sector. There should be legislations related tom equality in the
travel and tourism sector.
TASK 1
1.1 Legal and regulatory framework of the travel and tourism sector
The tourism and travel sector plays a vital role in the in the developed country as sell as
developing country. United kingdom is also growing in the sector of tour and travel sector. As a
lot of number of the people visit to new and unknown destinations. So there is a must
requirement for legal and regulatory framework (Buckley,2012). The legal and regulatory
framework includes consumer behaviour and standard of quality in the tourism. The main
objective of the travel and tourism sector legal and legislation framework is to keep the standard
procedures related to treatment of consumers and to develop the tourism sector in a regulated
way.
There are many people involved in the travel and tourism sector who work in the
organisation of tour and travelling like Thomas cook which is a UK based tourism company
deals in holiday packages all over the world .The legal framework in the travel and tourism

sector is a group of rules implied by the authorities to be followed by the all business
organisation involved in travel and tourism sector.
These legal and regulatory framework provides the right to the people who work in the
travel and tourism company as well as the people who are tourist (Casadesus,Marimon and
Alonso,2010). Along with the rights, there are obligations implied on the travel and tourism
companies as well as the tourist which make the healthy environment for all. There are some
important acts which help in smooth processing in the tourism and travelling sector. Some of
them are following.
 Development of tourism act,1969 This is the most important legislative law act which
play a vital role in the travel and tourism sector. This legislation is made with the purpose
of visit tourism implied by British tourist authority. This act has the impact on the
organisation like Thomas cook in term of co ordination among all tourism companies so
that there will be good business in the travel and tourism sector.
 Transports acts 1980 and 1985 This act in tour and travel sector is related to the transport
system in the services. This transportations act has provision of termination of the
licence of the transport company of tourism which affect the transport route negatively
(Cohen,2012). This act opens the door of healthy and fair competition by allowing other
private bus transport of travelling and tour.
 Package travel , package holidays and package tours regulation act 1992 This act of tour
and travel sector has provision for the responsibility on the part of tour operator.
According to this act of holiday packages the tour operator has responsibility to abide by
related to the customers in every aspects which is included in legal guideline of the
government authorities.
Thus the legal and regularity framework is very important part which is to be followed by
every tourism company like Thomas cook so that there can be increase in the growth of the
travelling and tourism sector in the long term all over the united kingdom.
1.2 Surface , sea and air transport law in relation to the carriage of passengers within the legal
and regulatory work
There are many rules and regulations relayed top the tour and travelling transport whether
it is by sea or surface or air transport. So that all risks can be taken care of about consumers as
well the tourism company like Thomas cook. There are many transport companies which have

tie with the tourism company to make profit from particular holiday packages. Some of the
transport law in sea,m surface and transport related to the carriage of passengers within the legal
and regulatory framework as following.
1. Surface law This is most important law in travel and tourism sector as it covers all the
responsibility related to the consumers who travel through road. By this law, the while
liability of the any kind of loss of carriage Will be implied on the transport operator. If
there is any negligence of the carriage and three is loss of the consumer then the transport
operator has to pay all the loss occurred to the consumer. In this the international
carriage of passenger by road act 1979 is included (Cohen,2014). This act is mostly
governed act in which the risk related to the any physical or mental damage to the
consumer as well as the loss of luggage is covered if the consumer is on board on carrier
permission. In the surface law carriage by railway act 1972 is also included which has the
objective of development of transportation of goods and passengers.
2. Sea law This law is related to the passengers who are travelling through ship any other
water transportation all over the world. The international maritime organisation is
formulated with the purpose of ensuring the safety and security of the passengers and
considers the factors which are related to the environment while travelling by sea. The
another law related to the sea transportation is the international convention for the safety
of life at sea includes the protection of passenger in fire accident on ship,fire fighting
skills of crewmember and responsibility of lifesaving equipment on a ship carrying the
passengers. The insurance of all passengers is mandatory by legal authorities related top
tourism and travelling. For insurance rule there is one law which is the protocol of 2002
which reduces the risk of passengers life.
3. Air law Air law protects the passengers who travel through flight. This law has some
important legal acts which help in make harmony in the operations of the travelling
through air transport. The Warsaw convention of 1929 is act which includes the
documentation of carriage and other rules (Dickinson and Lumsdon,2010).So that if
there is any in injury to the passengers as swell as the loss of luggage then the air
transport company is responsible for that .Before boarding the full health check up of the
passenger should be done. Another legal regulation of air law is five freedom

agreement of 1944 which includes flying across the territory without landing, putting
down the passengers and cargo.
Thus there are many law related to surface , sea and air transportation so that there will be no
breach of any rule for safety of then passengers. For example no passengers will be prevented
from travelling from any private transport as there are equal law in all transportations.
TASK 2
2.1 Impact of the principles of health, safety ans security legislation on the travel and tourism
sector
As there are many people involved in the travel and tourism sector. Their health and
safety is main issue in this sector. Among the tourists who travel all over the world,there are
many old people and children who are sensitive related to the health and safety (Hjalager,2010).
These principles of health, safety and security minimises the risk of the accidents of people
involved in the travel and tourism sector. These principles imply the responsibility on the
employer and the employees of the tourism company like Thomas cook. The company has to
make sure that there is healthy ans safe working environment for the employees and there is
complete safety for all tourists. The tourism company is liable in case any tourist or employee of
the company gets injured during the tour provided by the Thomas cook.
There are many legal acts which have provision for the health, safety and security of the
people involved in the travel and tourism sector. One of these acts the health and safety at
work ,1974 is the mist important legal act which is made for the employees of the tourism
company. This act includes the regulations and duties on the part of tourism company towards its
employees .According top this act the company must take liability of the life risk of the
employee while tour and travelling on the behalf of the company. If any employee gets harm, the
Thomas cook company is liable for all compensation to the employee.
For further actions related to the health, safety and security in the travel and tourism
sector, there is another authority which makes sure that then tourism company obeys every single
rule and regulation for avoiding the risk related to employees and the public (Hopkins,Labonté
and Packer,2010) .This authority is the health and safety commission which imply the three rules
if the law is not being followed. The health ans safety commission can issue the guideline related
to the awareness of the rule among public. Another duty of health and safety commission is to

see if the tourism company is following the legal guideline and if it fails in obeying, the
commission may take actions against it.
There are liability on the part of company and its employees related to heating and
lightning , fist aid provision in case of accident and prone work environment for accident.
Another duties of the tourism company are being pre cautious to prevent accidents on
tours,preparing reports of hazards and to provide training to the employees for emergencies.
There is legal requirement for Thomas cook as it has more then 5 employees, so it must issue the
code of health and safety .
To avoid the issues related to health, safety and security in the travel and tourism sector ,
there are some duties while training provides to the employees of Thomas cook. The company
should provide the important information to the new employees (Lovelock and Lovelock,2013).
A regular advice session and demonstration are conducted. Thus the legal and regulatory
framework has a huge impact on the travel and tourism sector.
2.2 Analysis of legislation that relates to equality
There are some issues in the tourism as the travel and tourism sector is most fast growing
sector in the united kingdom as well as all over the world. There is a lot of scope in this to
increase day by day. But some hurdles like treatment with inequality can hinder the progress of
then travel and tourism sector. The equality means that the every tourist and passenger should be
treated equality instead of on the basis of the gender, race , disability (McKercher,Prideaux and
Law,2010). For example, any tourist is provided low level services like food or accommodation
because of his disability or any other services are differently provided or behave with them
rudely ion comparison to other normal people.
In the travel and tourism sectors the employees and the tourist might face the inequality
like mistreatment with the another tourist by the tourist in same group, lower or cheap facility
even with the same charges by the tourist, any rude response by the employee as well third
party , harassment on the basis of physical disability or mental disability.
There are some law implied by the legal authorities which have to be followed by every
tourism company like Thomas cook and its employees like the equality act of 2010, equal pay
act 1970, sex discrimination act 1975,race relations act 1976,disability discrimination act1995
and employment equality regulation,2006 etc.

 The equality act 2010 has the provision of treatment to the all people of public and
employees so that there is no biased and discrimination on the basis of the colour and
gender (Minnaert,Maitland Miller,2011). For example if there is different salary or
payment system for female and male then the tourism company is liable for the action by
the legal authorities. Sex discrimination act is apart of this act.
 The race discrimination act 1976 is also a legal regulation on the tourism company to
protect the employee right and tourist rights. According to this act, no employee should
be devoid of the employment facilities for his skin colour. On the other hand no tourist
should be treated badly on the services like food, accommodation and behaviour of the
tour operator.
 The disability discrimination act ,2005 is another crucial legal regulation which is to be
followed by tourism company like Thomas cook (Page,2014). According to this act there
is provision for taking legal actions against the company of it treats the employee as well
the tourist with cheap level on the basis of any disability.
 Employment equality regulation,2003 which includes the provision of equal payment and
behaviour with the employees for his work by the tourism company so that there will be
no breach of code of conduct in the sight of law.
Thus in the travel and tourism sector , many legislation are implied by the legal and government
authority to create healthy and safe environment by equal treatment to every single person who is
involved . So that it can lead to the more growth of the sector in the united kingdom as well all
over the world.
TASK 3
3.1 Contract legislation in relation to travel and tourism customers
In travel and tourism sector there are many risk in offering different services and
facilities for the tourist from what is decided in itinerary of the tour package. It may create
confusion and problem so there must be contract of every single activity of the package so that
there will be accuracy and transparency for both parties like tourism company and the tourists.
According to the legal legislation the contract must have time of arrival and departure, cost of
every single thing of tour and all detonation places of visit etc. The tourism company must
convey all the details about term and conditions which are mentioned in the contract also. The

contract helps both the parties to take legal actions against the other if there is any breach of
contract at any stage of travelling.
The contract in the travel and tourism sector must contain some important aspects which
play vital role in travelling (Paget,Dimanche and Mounet,2010). One of these aspect of contact is
offer and acceptance in the contract. In this aspect all information about travel package like
name of hotel, timings and destination place locations etc. The offer of the contract should be
documented by both the parties. After the offer is documented the offer is accepted by the tourist
having the details of charges of tour.
Foe every contract of travel and tourism it is necessary to include destination stay and its
duration and terms like implied and express. Implied term should be explained other wise there
can be confusion about theses terms as they are indirectly mentioned terms in the contract. All,
the factor which can affect the tour package on the part of tourism company like Thomas cook or
the tourist like medical condition of any tourist and capacity of the company related to the
compensation.
Along with the duties and regulations for the tourism company, the contract of travelling
it must include the regulations for consumers also. So that there will be no problem for company
to take liability for every single thing in tour (Smith,Behrmann and WILLIAMS,2010). There
should be clear agreement for responsibilities as well as the rights of the both parties like
customers and tourism company so that both can have execute their duties to make healthy
environment in the travel and tourism sector.
The contract in travel and tourism sector is not considered valid until both the parties
involved do n lot fulfil the legal criteria for that. Both customer as well as the travel operator
must be mentally sound. Both must have age more than 18 years. If any of these criteria is not
fulfilled by any side of party then the contract will automatically be void and no one can tale
legal action against other in case of the failure of the term and condition mentioned in the
contract.
3.2 Consumer protection legislation in relation to travel and tourism customer
The customer in travel and tourism sector is the key root of the industry. Without any
customer there is no existence of the tourism sector. There is possibility of misleading the people
by the tourism companies as well as then travel agents. To protect the customers from any
fraudulent act there are consumer protection legislation in relation to travel and tourism

customers. These legislations are implied by the legal and government authorities to avoid
violation of the right of the customer by tourism companies and travel agents.
Some of important consumer protection acts are the consumer protection act 1987, the
trade description act 1968, then package travel regulation of 1992 and consumer protection from
trading regulation 2008 (Wang,Law and Guillet,2014).The first act is the consumer protection
act 1987 in which the rights of the consumers and the responsibilities of the tourism company are
mentioned. According to the consumer protection act it is compulsory for the tourism company
ro provide clear and detailed explanation about tour package. By this the unlawful practices can
be avoided in the travel and tourism sector.
 Another act is the trade description act 1968.According to this act there must be
all information forb every single part of the tour like prices of food, room and
visits. The tourism company like Thomas cook must make sure that there is no
fraud action the part of its service supplier to avoid any negative situation in the
future. The company must not make false promises regarding services to the
customers in tourism package.
 The package travel regulationact1992 has some provision about the tour package
like holiday package. There are some requirement to be valid holiday package.
For example a holiday package must have at least three services like transport,
accommodation and other services to the consumer (Whittaker,2010). Consumer
protection from unfair trading regulation 2008 includes authenticity of the service
prices and surcharges while making payment through card.
Thus there are many rule and regulations which are implied by the legal authorities so
that there will be no fraudulent act by the business organisation and travel agents with people. So
that the consumers c an be protected in term of insurance and other securities. By these
legislation there can be more increase in the number of tourist so that it can lead to the economy
of the united kingdom.
TASK 4
4.1 Ethical dilemmas faced by the travel and tourism sector
Although the travel and tourism sector is growing day by day,there are many ethical
dilemmas which hinder the gradual growth of the travel an tourism industry. Some of the major

dilemmas are social and culture dilemma, legal requirement, hospitality, employment, political
situation of the country,discrimination,corruption, harm of natural resources and unhealthy food.
These are the crucial problem which drastically affect the travel and tourism sector in a negative
way. With these dilemmas the tourism company like Thomas cook can not promote the business
to attract the tourist very much as these dilemmas make it difficult to explore new areas in the
travel and tourism sector.
First the most important dilemma is hospitality as the travel and tourism sector comes in
service sector in which the hospitality is main key of bushiness. There are some cases when the
customer gets the cheap hospitality services and it makes and it hinders the healthy environment
in the travel and tourism sector (Whittaker,Manderson and Cartwright,2010). Another dilemma
is related to social and culture of the people involved in the travel and tourism sector. If the
culture of the people of tourism place is different then there might be difficulty for travel and
tourism company to run business easily.
Employment is also an considerable dilemma which the travel and tourism sector faces.
As the people involved in the travel company like Thomas cook are dependent on the business of
tourism,the economic situation of the sector affects the employment and consequently it hinder
the growth of the industry. In every country the political situation can also decrease the attraction
of the tourist in the country if the is political instability or riot situation .This will stop the tourist
from all over the world to come to visit.
If there is any kind of discrimination at some tourist place with the people on the basis of
their gender or skin colour or religion, region or culture then this will not attract the tourist to
come to that place. Thus there are many types of ethical dilemmas which the travel and tourism
sector faces which leads to the hindrance of the industry in the long term.
4.2 corporate social responsibility policy of travel and tourism business
The travel and tourism sector affect the social and natural environment in a positive as
well in negative way. The corporate social responsibility is duty of travel and tourism company
like Thomas cook to make effort to add the value to the society and environment so that there
will be no harm by the tourism and travel business organisation. Corporate social responsibility
include mainly the protection of the environment and betterment of the society people.

Towards the society the travel and tourism company has the responsibilities to make
effort for the poor people of the society so that they can also get basic need like food, shelter.
The Thomas cook being a travel and tourism company should donate the charity for the poor
children to help them in getting education. The tourism company can execute its social
responsibility by providing employment to the people of the society.
Towards the environment , the tourism and travel company has the responsibilities to
protect the natural environment. There is a lot of wastage in the business organisation in the
travel and tourism sector (Katherine2014). So by minimising the wastage and recycling of the
waste material can contribute in the environment protection so that the company can execute its
major responsibility of corporate social responsibility. There are many kind of risk because of
tourism and travelling business organisation as they use the natural destination to make profit
from that but they avoid top take care that there is no harm to the place by the tourist .So this is
the main responsibility of the company.
Another major responsibility of the tourism company is to provide healthy and safe
working environment to its employees as they are the main assets to the business organisation in
the travel and tourism sector. Thus there are many crucial and sensitive responsibilities which
there business organisation like Thomas cook must execute in the travel and tourism sector.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that the legal and ethical legislation plays a
vital role in the travel and tourism sector. There are many laws which are implied on the surface,
sea and air transportation in relation to the carriage of passengers within the legal and regulatory
framework. There are some rules and regulation related to the equal treatment to the tourist as
well as employees of the tourism company. So that the rights of them can be protected. The
health , safety and security are the key responsibilities of the travel and tourism sector. Another
major responsibility of the business organisation of travel and tourism is corporate social
responsibility to contribute in society.