Travel and Tourism: Legal and Ethical Frameworks in the UK

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report examines legislation and ethics in the travel and tourism sector.

LEGISLATION AND ETHICS IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................1
LO1 UNDERSTANDING THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN THE TRAVEL AND
TOURISM SECTOR.....................................................................................................................2
1.1 LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN THE UK.......................................................2
1.2 SEA, SURFACE AND AIR TRANSPORT LAW......................................................................4
LO2 UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY
AND SECURITY.......................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY LEGISLATION...............................................................6
2.2 LEGISLATION RELATING TO EQUALITY............................................................................7
LO3 UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION..............................................9
3.1 CONTRACT LEGISLATION................................................................................................9
3.2 CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION.......................................................................10
LO4 UNDERSTANDING ROLE OF BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR. .12
4.1 ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN IHG..........................................................................................12
4.2 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY POLICY OF IHG...................................................13
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................... 17
2

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism industry is one of the fastest growing economic sectors across all the
continents of the world. The importance of the tourism industry could be represented by
the fact that the industry contributes more than 10% to the worldwide economy. Thus, it
has become necessary to regulate the operations of the travel and tourism industry. Several
international and national legislation and laws are developed to regulate the rights and
responsibilities of organisations and customers in the travel and tourism industry (Smith,
2014). This assignment report will provide brief information about the legislation and ethical
code of conduct in the travel and tourism industry. The legal and regulatory framework in
the tourism sector will be briefly explained in the report. The legal and regulatory
framework for surface, sea and air transport in relation to the carriage of passengers will be
discussed. Further, the impact of the health, Safety and security legislation on the
organisations and customers in the sector will also be assessed along with the analysis of
equality legislation. the consumer protection legislation and contract legislation in relation
to the travel sector will be explained. At last, the ethical dilemmas and the corporate social
responsibility in relation to the travel industry will be analysed to support the organisations
in the travel and tourism sector in ethical and legal operations and services.
3

LO1 UNDERSTANDING THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN
THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR
1.1 LEGAL AND REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK IN THE UK
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
With the increasing participation in the
global economy, there is a high need for
regulation and legal framework in the
tourism sector to regulate the conduct of
business and customers within the sector.
Legal framework could be termed as
applicable legislation and law for
governing the operations of business
organisations in the tourism sector. it is a
broad system that regulated the decisions
and conduct in the sector through set law
and rules (Swanson and Edgell Sr, 2013).
In the UK, the legal framework governing
the travel and tourism industry is
classified into two categories; criminal law
and civil law. The criminal court and the
civil court in the UK are in the jurisdiction
for providing clear verdict to the cases.
the crown court, magistrate court,
supreme court, high court, country court
are there to regulate the cases in any
sector.
Arbitration and tribunal could also used to
resolve the legal disputes. The legal
framework also involves several
international and national laws like
transport act 1985, Warsaw convention
1929, data protection act 2018 and
carriage of passenger by road act 1974
and many more.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Regulatory framework involves a diverse
range of laws and regulations that
influence the decisions and operations of
the tourism industry (Griffith and
Howarth, 2014). Some of the regulatory
frameworks that regulate the operations
and decisions of tourism and travel
organisations are-
SRA (Strategic rail authority):
The SRA is a non-departmental public
organisation based in the UK. It was set-
up under the transport Act 2000 in order
to provide direction to take strategic
decisions to the railway industry in the
UK. However, the SRA was winded-up in
2006 and follows with the Railways Act
2005 (Griffith and Howarth, 2014). The
4

functions of SRA are then transferred to
the department for transport in the UK.
HSC (Health and Safety Commission):
HSC is a statutory body of government of
the UK that was set with the regulation of
Health and safety at work Act 1974. The
main aim of setting this regulation is to
prevent injuries, accidents, hazards, death
and ill health of employee at the
workplace. It emphasises on securing the
lives and health of workers and individuals
at a workplace.
IATA (International Air transport
Association):
It is a trade association that is created by
around 82% of the airlines across the
world to regulate the operations of
associated airlines. It has formulated
industry standards and policies to guide
the airline industry (Griffith and Howarth,
2014). Security and operational safety in
the airline services are the main concern
of the IATA.
CAA ( Civil Aviation Authority):
It is set up by the government of UK to
regulate aviation services and sector in
the country. It is the major and specialist
aviation regulator in the UK that regulates
every part of airline industry from
supervising the issuance of licences to
managing security standards, providing
training to employees and overseeing
protection schemes to protect the rights
of foreign travellers (Graham, 2013).
Maritime Authorities:
Maritime Authorities are responsible for
regulating the rescue services across the
coastline of UK. It uses inspection ships
and HM survey in order to successful
complies with the national and
international safety standards.
ABTA (Association of British Travel):
The tour operators and travel agents
found ABTA association across the UK to
provide assistance, guidance, help and
support to the travel operators for
resolving their issues and travel
complaints (Medlik, 2012). ABTA was set
up in the year 1950 and currently is the
major travel association in the UK. It
represents more than 1000 tour operators
and 5000 travel agencies across the British
Isles.
ATOL (Air Travel Operator’s Licensing):
The Civil aviation authority of UK has
launched this scheme for providing
financial protection to the customers who
purchase package holidays of the member
5

of the association. It is launched to benefit both the consumer and the organisation
in the air travel sector.
6

1.2 SEA, SURFACE AND AIR TRANSPORT LAW
7

Different laws and legislation have also
formulated to regulate the operations and
services in different travel sectors such as
sea, surface and air. These laws are
enforced in relation to the carriage of
passengers in a legal and regulated
manner.
SURFACE LAW
A range of legislative measures for
regulating the service operators of bus,
rail or coach services and other local
authorities that provides travelling
services in the EU is involved in the
surface law. The different laws and
regulations that govern the transportation
by road are involved in the surface law
such as Local transport Act 2008,
Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 and
the Carriage of passenger by Road Act
1974 (Garrison and Levinson, 2014). The
three conventions of the carriage of
passenger by road act; Athens, Geneva
and London has emphasised on regulating
the international passenger travel and
carriage of luggage by road to safeguard
the rights and regulates the liability of the
individual in relation with the carriage of
baggage and passengers through road in
terms of health and security of passengers
and their belongings. The passenger
charter of the UK also ensures that the rail
operators fulfil their commitment with the
customers.
AIR TRANSPORT LAW
The air transport sector in the UK is
regulated by several international and
European regulations. The major air
transport conventions and protocols
involve Hague convention 1955, Montreal
Convention 1975, Tokyo Convention 1963,
Warsaw Convention 1929, Denied
Boarding Compensation Schemes, EU
(1997). The Montreal, Hague and Warsaw
conventions have defined the
international carriage (Garrison and
Levinson, 2014). It unifies the regulations
on the international carriage by air and
develops a legal basis for commercial
aviation for travellers and cargo. The EU
scheme 1997 is also emphasised on
encouraging harmonization of business
operations and improvising the standards
for passengers’ protection in the air
travel. The conventions also regulate the
passengers by ensuring that the travellers
met with the certified embankment of
territory in member states.
SEA LAW
Several regulations and law also govern
carriage of passenger by sea. The UK
parliament has also voted for providing
8

equal rights to the passenger by the sea
just like the passengers of road and air
travel in terms of disruption and
compensation. In case of delay and
cancellation, the passengers travelling by
ships could rightfully claim their
compensation (Garrison and Levinson,
2014). The Athens Convention on carriage
of passenger has also laid down the
liabilities for any damage caused to the
passengers and properties of passengers.
It also defined accountability and
limitations for the ship organisers. With
the intention of regulating ship organisers,
the Obligatory Act 2002 is formulated.
9

LO2 UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO
THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY
INTRODUCTION-
Cox and Kings is the longest established travel company based founded in 1758. It provides
holiday and educational travel services. Its operations are spread over 22 countries.
Currently, selling of packaged holidays is the core activity of Cox and Kings (Cox and kings,
2019). With such widespread business operations, the company also need to comply with
the international and national regulations and law relating to health, safety and security of
the customers. This report will provide relevant information support the company to
company with health, safety and security regulations in the sector.
2.1 HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY LEGISLATION
In the UK, the health and safety of the individuals are highly considered and there are
several numbers of principles and code of conduct is presented to safeguards the health and
safety of individuals within the different business sectors. The organisations in the travel
and tourism sector should also need to comply with such regulations and principles to
legally work in the UK. Therefore, Cox and Kings should also need to consider the rules and
standards of the below-discussed legislation related to health, safety and security.
Health and safety at work Act 1974:
Health and safety at work Act emphasise on ensuring the safety and protection of
individuals at the workplace. It obligates the organisations in the travel industry to ensure
the availability of proper health and safety measures within the organisation to protect the
workers and individuals visiting the organisation. the travel operators must ensure the
accommodation of healthy and secure services and products for the customers to avoid any
harm and injuries to them (Hughes and Ferrett, 2011). The health and safety at work act
1974 is enforced by the health and safety executive in the UK.
Occupiers Liability Act 1984:
The occupier’s liability act defines the occupier’s liabilities for trespassers. It is set up by the
act of parliament. Under this legislation, the property owners are required to ensure proper
health and safety arrangements for the visitor and trespassers (Bennett, 2011). The visitors
10

are also liable for having an implied or expressed permission of the owners to visit their
property.
Data Protection Act 1998:
This act is enforced for protecting the personal information of people. It defines eight
principles and code of conduct that should be followed by the organisations or individuals
who possesses the personal information of other people. it aims at protecting personal
information, and fair and lawful utilisation of personal data and information of other people
(Taylor, 2011).
Duty of Care:
It involves the duty of refraining from causing any intentional and forcible harm to other
people. The regulation of duty of care is applicable in absence of any contractual
relationship.
Vicarious Liability:
Under this, the superiors are liable for the actions of their subordinates. It is a secondary
liability where the third party is responsible for the actions of violator under their duty of
control (Rhee, 2012).
2.2 LEGISLATION RELATING TO EQUALITY
Equality means having equal rights, responsibilities, status and opportunities for every
individual. Every person has a right to be treated with equality and respect. Cox and Kings
Company should ensure to treat all the workers and customers equally. The UK government
has set out several laws and regulations to ensure that every individual regardless of their
sex, culture, race, religion and occupation should be treated equally in the society or at the
workplace. The major legislation for ensuring equality are:
Race Relations Act 1976: the race relations act has come into force by eliminating
discrimination in terms of racism. The amendments of 2001 have obliged the public
authorities to support equality among different human race (Colgan, 2011). The provisions
of this act are directed to eliminate racial discrimination at any public place or organisations.
11

Equality Act 2010: the equality act is set up for promoting equality and eliminating
discrimination from the society and business organisations. the equality act 2010 combines
the principles and regulations of several acts in relation to equality such as disability
discrimination act, race relations act, equal pay act and sex discrimination act. It obliges
people to treat every individual equally without any biasness in age, race, sexual
orientation, disability, religion, marital status and belief (Colgan, 2011).
Sex Discrimination Act 1975: this act is enforced for preventing sexual discrimination at the
workplace or in the society. It emphasises on promoting gender equality in employment,
education, training, provisions of goods and services and harassment.
Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978: it is one of the major activities in terms of
protecting health, safety and security of individuals at the workplace as it creates a central
part in labour law of UK (Kruppe, et al., 2013). The two legislations; redundancy payments
act 1965 and contract of employment act 1963 are consolidated under this act.
Human Rights Act 1998: the human rights act states the fundament rights of every
individual in the UK. It enables people to claim their rights within the legal system by
bringing the human rights under the UK court’s authority. Total 16 human rights are defined
under this act, which must be considered by the organisations.
Employment Act 2002: it contains the provisions and rules in terms of employment. It
directs the resolution of employment disputes, equal treatment for employees at the
workplace. It also involves legal regulations for salary and pay and leaves (Kruppe, et al.,
2013).
CONCLUSION-
The major regulations and legislation in terms of health, safety and security of individuals in
the travel and tourism is clearly explained in this report. It will support the cox and kings
company in adopting a legal and ethical code of conduct to ensure a healthy, safe and
secure workplace for its employees, customer and visitors.
12