Travel and Tourism Law: Legal and Ethical Frameworks in the UK

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report examines legal and ethical aspects of the travel and tourism sector.

Legislation and Ethics in the Travel and Tourism
Sector
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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Task 1......................................................................................................................................4
Task 2......................................................................................................................................5
Task 3......................................................................................................................................6
Task 4......................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................9
Reference List........................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
Among the prime revenue generating functions of a country, the travel and tourism segment
can be considered as a noteworthy one. People often complain that they did not get the pre-
discussed services from the service providers. In the following part, ethics and legislations
related to travel and tourism industry will be discussed. The acts, regulations and different
transport sections will be considered as well. Emerald Hotel and Caribbean hotel services
will be discussed and analysed. The corporate social responsibility will be illustrated, to
project the roles and responsibilities of an organisation. Ethical dilemmas and duties of the
service providers will be detailed in the following parts.
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Task 1
(A) A report on the legal and regulatory framework of the English legal system, giving
a brief analytical explanation of classification of laws, the court system and sources
of law used to regulate the Travel and Tourism Sector. (AC 1.1)
Every country has a legal system, which is required in the order to maintain law and order in
the country. Likewise, the English Legal System has many laws that directly maintain law
and order in the travel and tourism sector of the country. Laws in UK are categorised into
two parts namely, civil laws and criminal laws. The criminal laws are mainly directed towards
public and the civil laws are directed towards the private segments of the society. The UK
laws needs to be followed by four countries namely Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and
England. The laws for the travel and tourism sector of UK are jotted down in the civil
category of laws (Cilex.org.uk, 2019).
The UK parliament is the principle legislature and it is situated in London. The UK parliament
is the only body that can pass laws in UK. The two houses in the UK parliament are House
of Commons and House of Lords. There are 650 Member of Parliament in House of
Commons and 800 members in the House of Lords. The House of Commons and House of
Lords are the main authorities, which permits and drafts a bill. Both the houses have equal
rights in forming or amending laws for the travel and tourism sector.
The general laws for all the sectors of the society including travel and tourism sector are
sourced from four sources. The four sources are the European Union Law, the common
laws, legislation and the European Convention of Human Rights. In UK, there is no one
document from where all the laws of UK are written down (Cilex.org.uk, 2019).
(B) A report discussing the role of the respective regulatory bodies in the Travel and
Tourism sector, paying attention to the legislation and International Conventions used
to regulate the surface, sea and air transport sectors. (AC 1.2)
Legislations and International Conventions are used to regulate sea, surface and air
transport sectors. These conventions are very important for the Travel and Tourism Industry.
The regulatory bodies are as follows:
 Strategic Rail Authority (SRA): The Strategic Rail Authority is responsible for
regulating the railways in UK. Railways are an important component for the travel
and tourism industry in UK. The Railways Act of 1993 regulates the railways of the
country and the main aim of the Act is to divide the British Railways. The Sra has
been amended in the year of 2015 in order to enforce licence conditions and protect
the interest of the consumers.
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 International Air Transport Association (IATA): In the year of 1945, the
International Air Transport Association was established. This body deals with the
world airline associations. The IATA in UK helps the airline industry to have smooth
operations with the worldwide airline sectors of different countries (Forsythe et al.,
2016).
 Civil Aviation Authority (CAA): It is very important to protect the rights of the
consumers that are travelling by air transportation. The Civil Aviation Authority deals
with consumer protection and the government of UK provides this protection.
 Air Travel Operators Licensing (ATOL): License needs to be provided to the airline
companies, and this is done by ATOL. This regulatory body protects the rights of the
consumers who use air transport. Moreover, protection is provided to the consumers
regarding tour packages and air ticket prices.
 International Maritime Organization: The International Maritime Organization is the
body that maintains and develops frameworks regarding worldly safety regulations
for sea transportation. This maritime framework helps in maintaining peace in water
transportation (Gov.uk, 2019)
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Task 2
A. As the Health and Safety Officer at Elegant Hotel, write a report to Mr Fred, the
Hotel Director evaluating the impact of the health, safety and security legislation
which he has to be aware of. (AC 2.1)
It is very important to motivate the employees in the organization. Maintaining effective
health, safety and security legislations is an efficient way of motivating the employees. In the
same way, health of the individual needs to be in the travel and tourism sector and this is
done by implementing the Health and Safety Work Act of 1974 (Gov.uk, 2019). The HSE is
responsible for maintaining health and safety among the employees. This act imposes
different obligations for the employers and employees. It is important to note that healthy and
safety laws needs to be followed by both employees and employers. In addition to this, The
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is the act that is followed to
provide security to the employees working in the travel and tourism sector. It is very
important for the employers to make the employees feel safe and secured in the
organization in order to have increased productivity (CSI Products, 2019). The Data
Protection Act of 1998 is an important part of maintaining security in the organization. The
employees working in the organization should not leak out any data to any third party.
Maintaining effective health and safety laws in the organizations increases the faith of the
employees for the company.
B. You are also requested to write a second report to Mr Fred, analysing the Equality
legislation in the English Legal System, which he should be aware of, when recruiting
and managing employees of the Hotel. (AC 2.2)
Equality legislations have found a special mention in the English Legal system. Equality
does not mean that all people need to be treated equally. Rather maintaining equality implies
respecting and recognizing different diversities that so that procedures could be drafted that
suit all. The regulations that need to be considered in the Equality legislation are as follows:
 Racial Discrimination Act 1956: The purpose of laying down this act was to stop
racial discrimination among the people. Racial discrimination is very common in
workplace and this act is deployed in organizational setups in order to prevent racial
discrimination. This act protects employees from being racially discriminated (Layton-
Henry and Rich, 2016).
 Human Rights Act of 1998: In UK, this Act was passed in the year of 1998. The
establishment of this Act included the rights of the individuals that needs to be
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protected in workplaces and in general society. This Act was taken from European
Convention of Human Rights.
 Disability Discrimination Act: People who are disabled have chances of being
discriminated in workplaces and thus Acts were formed to prevent it. The Disability
Discrimination Act protects the rights of the disabled people who are working in
different industries in UK.
 Employment Protection Consolidation Act 1978: It is very important to protect the
rights of the employees in the course of their employment period. The Employment
Protection Consolidation Act of 1978 protects the rights of the employees. This Act
was derived from Employees Rights Act. Moreover, the Employee Protection Act of
1998 is a law that helps in maintaining equality in the workplace (Painter and
Holmes, 2015).
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Task 3
Introduction
Getting involved in a contract needs proper understanding of consequences that might be
faced if the legal contract is breached unintentionally. In the travel and tourism section, one
service providing authority should comply with the norms of the United Kingdom to have a
seamless business. In the following part, the regulations related with travel and tourism will
be discussed briefly.
A) A report explaining the general features of the following legislation giving
examples of contract law in the Travel and Tourism sector (AC 3.1);
Business Ethics
The business ethics is an important phase to be taken into consideration to magnify the
return on investment in a positive manner. The service providing authority needs to think of
new business ventures but that should be related with good practice and positive attitude
(Kolk, 2016). Business practice needs to be complied with proper understanding of the rights
that are supported by the UK government.
i) The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
The contracts signed by different people needs to be followed otherwise the issues
associated with contract formation will arise. In the travel and tourism segment, it is
important to follow the contract but forming that with business ethics is also very important.
The Unfair Contract Act 1977 assures that the services provided by the contract are under
business ethics. In the Part 1, section 5 “Guarantee” of consumer goods; it is asserted that
the goods provided to the consumers has to be in good quality (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019).
The involved party repudiated from the contract needs to ensure proper quality in future
business ventures to avoid legal issues from the consumer’s end.
ii) Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulation 1999
In accordance with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulation 1999, the service
providing authority cannot make any contract where the consumer’s rights are violated
(Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). In accordance with the regulation, the consumer contract has to
follow all the required parts in order to be effective. Any breach related to contract forming
can result into violation of legal aspects of the UK.
iii) Sale of Goods Act 1979
The act discusses the roles and responsibilities of the sellers and buyers. It discusses the
effect of delivering wrong services and violation of contract (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). The
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contract discusses about the rights of unpaid sellers and buyers. The actions regarding non-
delivery of contracted good are discussed in this part. The organisations as Elegant Hotel
has to adhere to the facts stated in the Part 6, Actions for Breach of the Contract, to ensure
proper quality service.
iv) Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
The contract discusses the facts associated with the transfer of contracted goods from one
person to another. The discussion is made on sale, hire, transfer of goods from one person
to the addressed. The service provider has to accept the term of supplying proper quality
material in order to stay protected from any legal matters associated with the travel and
tourism industry (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). The service providers have to ensure asserted
services otherwise that could be granted as a breach of contract.
v) The Consumer Rights Act 2015
The consumers have rights to know about what they are buying, and the seller has to give
proper information related to it. Free sample test should be given with proper description.
According to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 1, Chapter 2, Section 20, the consumer
has the right to reject any service if the demonstration is not good (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019).
(B) A report explaining the consumer protection legislation relating to package
holidays which Tour Operators should take into consideration to avoid civil or
criminal liability, when organising such holidays for customers. (AC 3.2)
There are forms of legal liability and in this context; the United Kingdom’s government has
divided the legislation in two parts, criminal and civil liability. The terms associated with the
Consumer Rights Act 2015, have to be complied by the companies. In accordance with the
legislation of the United Kingdom, the breach of contract can be taken as criminal activity.
According to the Chapter 4 of Consumer Rights Act 2015, the services have to be provided
with proper skill and care to ensure quality; otherwise, it will be considered as a breach of
contract (Legislation.gov.uk, 2019). The services provided by the companies have to be
authentic and as discussed in the contract, otherwise, this will be a violation of the law and
that can be considered as criminal offence.
In a deal, transparency has to be maintained as well in order to give clear assumptions to
the people about what they are getting. The transparency will give proper idea of what is
being offered to the people. The service fees have to be displayed by the agents in order to
maintain transparency. The effect of unfair terms has been discussed as well in order to
make proper amendments to the approach process of the service providers.
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The service providers have to ensure that they are not breaching any law or above
discussed sections because that will result in breach of criminal and civil liabilities. The civil
liabilities include proper understanding of the measures that are associated with
performance evaluation of the staffs. The management of different organisations have to
take the facts associated with duty compliance to minimise the threats related with
mismanagement of functions. In this process, the rules will not be breached and the chances
of breaching civil code will be nullified.
Conclusion
The service providing authority has to make sure that they are complying with the norms
associated with the travel and tourism segment. It is highly important to make sure that the
minute factors are being checked to evade the possibility of legal threats. In this process, a
proper relationship with the consumer is going to build up which will positively affect the
profitability.
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Task 4
Introduction
The service providers face ethical dilemmas due to mishaps in the supply chain
management. The issues associated with the supply chain management are one of the most
threatening things for the organisations. Some opt for CSR ventures, which is one of the
most important things to be considered in this part.
(A) Identify and analyse instances of ethical dilemmas which their Corporation could
face and how to deal with those dilemmas. (AC 4.1)
The travel and tourism business comes with different kind of liabilities and dilemmas. The
consumers often create nuisance which is one of the, major aspects to be worried about.
The service providers have to make sure that the service receiver is getting what is given in
the contract. There are some situations where end service providers face issues due to
involved subsidiaries (Lee et al., 2017). The consumers take the services from the hotels
and other segments and that is the reason why they blame the service providers. For an
example, if the service providers of G Adventures provide low quality food to the customers
then they will be accused for breaching the contract. It is a notable thing that they can prove
that they have not prepared the food but due to they have signed the contract, the service
seeker is going to charge them for the issue.
Business ethics says that services need to be clear and precise. In this case, the business
ethics have not been breached but due to lack of proof, the management cannot take any
protective steps from the legal acquisitions of the customers.
(B) Analyse the Corporate Social Responsibility of their Corporate. (AC 4.2)
In order to analyse the CSR ventures the service providers have to make sure that they are
complying with the regulations of the organisation. The company G Adventures need to
understand that they have to take waste management process seriously, in order to maintain
proper balance with the organisational activities and nature. The activities will generate
organisational waste and they should incorporate such initiatives that are associated with
minimisation of the waste.
On the other hand, they can donate a certain amount from the benefit of the education
system of the country. The young generation will be affected with the financial contribution
and they will be attracted to join such business segment. This is going to portray a positive
outlook of the organisation, and in the end; it is going to make proper kind of amendment to
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the organisational reputation (Hughes and Scheyvens, 2016). On the other hand, they can
take initiatives to magnify the use of the green energy sources to nullify the negative effects
of scientific innovations.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the companies have to comply with
ethical matters related to the service. On the other hand, it is also important to make sure
that the CSR ventures are being performed adequately in order to meet the requirements.
This is going to result in a positive manner for the organisation and the area where it is
serving.
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