Legislation, Ethics, and Transport Law in Travel and Tourism Sector

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the legal and ethical considerations within the travel and tourism sector. It examines the regulatory framework, including the Development of Tourism Act, Transports Act, and Food Safety Act, and explores the roles of governing authorities such as the Strategic Rail Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority. The report delves into surface, sea, and air transport laws, detailing passenger rights and liabilities under acts like the Carriage of Passenger by Road Act, the Athens Passenger Convention, the Warsaw Convention, and the Montreal Convention. It also highlights sustainable practices through a case study of Paradise Bay resort and spa, which adheres to environmental guidelines and corporate social responsibility. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical conduct and regulatory compliance in ensuring the industry's sustainable development, consumer protection, and the establishment of standardized procedures. The report provides a detailed analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks in the travel and tourism sector, covering topics such as sustainable tourism, transport law, and passenger rights.

TASK 1: Legislation and ethics in travel and tourism sector
1.1 Legal and regulatory framework in travel and tourism sector
Travel and tourism sector operates in a regulated environment in which it is
governed by various authorities and laws. The legislation and regulations ensures that
firms in this particular industry conducts its business ethically. Country has witnessed
tremendous growth in travel and tourism in the last few decades for which different
governing bodies made set of rules and regulation within they must operate.
The main purpose of developing laws for the tourism sector is to ensure
standard process and procedures are followed, developing this industry in a governed
manner, protecting customers and other people involved in this sector by establishing their
rights, liabilities and obligations.
The different governing authorities for travel and tourism sector are discussed
below:
 Development of Tourism Act, 1969: The act was established by British
Tourist Authority and Tourists Board of England. The main aim of this act is to
promote and to coordinate every company that builds up the travel and tourism
sector of the country.
 Transports Act: This act affects the travelling sector which in 1980 abolished
the licensing laws relating to route coaches tour of more than thirty miles. In
1985, the state allowed the private buses to operate in all routes by liberalising
the route system of the country.
 Food Safety Act 1990: This act governs the quality of the food that is offered to
customers by the organisations in UK. The act focuses on safety of food
products, noncompliance of which attracts punishment in the form of civil and
criminal liabilities.
 Package travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992:
Every organisation in UK offering travel and holiday packages are required to
abide by the rules and regulations of this act. The purpose of this act is to
restrict tour operators to conduct in any misleading activities for attracting
customers. More specifically, tour operator’s needs to aware its customers about
the rights and obligations of tour operators and customers prescribed in the
event of breach of contract.
Regulatory framework: Regulatory bodies affects the travel and tourism business
significantly for maintaining controlled business environment in the industry.
 Strategic Rail Authority (SRA): It was established under the Transport Act
2000, it was established for providing clear and strategic programs for the
sustainable development of the railway sector in the country.
Responsibilities of SRA is to set more specific and high performance standards
of the private franchisees operating rails and protecting passenger’s benefits by
renegotiating the franchise contracts. It is responsible for maintaining coherent network of
rails in the country.
 Health and Safety Commission: The regulatory body governs the health and
safety requirements at the workplace.
Roles and responsibilities: Formulating health and safety rules for tourism
sector. Arranging proper training and research related to its work. It is obliged to
formulate regulations that are aligned with Secretary of State Policies.
Civil Aviation Authority: This regulatory body controls all areas of civil
aviation in United Kingdom.
Duties of CAA: Supervising licenses of civil pilots and inspection of every
equipment’s related to air travel. Acting as a watchdog and oversees that aviation
organisations complies all the statutory obligations. Provide required training to Air
Traffic staff for maintaining and controlling telecommunications in airports and in en
route journey.
Real case example: Sustainable approach by Paradise Bay resort and spa, the
organisation follows the guidelines of the various legislations and business ethics in its
operations. Resort has installed for 80 KW windmills with the capacity of yielding
180000 KW energy. It asks their customers to use the laundry as far as them comfortable
with it. Resorts uses its drinking water from mountains, it focuses on minimal waste that
could be thrown into the environment. Its corporate social responsibility reflects in the
employment of staff from the local areas, it distributed free food, medicines etc. during
the time of hurricane Ivan. The activities undertaken by this resort have set benchmarks
for other resorts to maintain the sustainability of environment. These activities and
outcomes have also helped regulatory bodies to form policies on preserving the
environment (Case Studies on Sustainable Tourism, 2019).
1.2 Surface, Sea and Air transport law relating to carriage of passengers in UK
A passenger is a person who pays money for travelling from one place to other.
Mode of travelling are land, sea and air. Several laws relating to travelling imposes
liabilities on the carriage operators for compensating any damage that cause to passenger
or its luggage during the time of journey. Passengers in Athens Convention is described as
any person carried in a ship.
Surface law: Carriage of Passenger by Road Act, 1974 regulates the surface
law of United Kingdom. The act focuses on safety and rights of the passengers that travels
in bus, or other vehicles etc. The act provides the obligations and rights in disputes related
to road miss-happenings such as deaths or injury.
Sea law: England's sea laws are concerned with the security and security of
shipping of passengers and goods. Some aspects of marine law controls the environmental
factors which are in relation with the functioning of the ships. Athens Passenger
Convention, 1974 regulates the limitation of claims available for the passengers. It also
governs timing of claiming the rights prescribed in the sea laws of the country. The
Convention has prescribed a regime of liability for ship carriage organisations in the event
of any damage suffered by the passengers, if such damage is caused during the course of
travelling in ship and due to carelessness of the carriers. The 2002 protocol has increased
the time of ship's liabilities. It introduced protection for the passengers through mandatory
insurance and rights by the way of direct action in the event of injury or death.
Air law: The air transport law of United Kingdom is imposed with various
legislations and protocols. The Warsaw Convention, 1929 is an international convention
of UK that governs the liability of air transport organisation providing carriage of
luggage, passengers and goods in lieu of some consideration. It also states the rights of
passengers to claim compensation in the event of injury or death. The convention was
amended in Hague, 1955. This upgraded protocol limited the liabilities of commercial
airlines at the time of an accident. The Montreal Convention, 1975 granted extra
protections to the travellers and expanded rights to the carriers. It is compulsory
to carry insurance of liability by the carriers that have signed to Montreal Conventions.
The Denied Boarding Compensation Schemes, European Union (1997) provides
for compensation to passengers in the event of refusal by carrier to grant the seat even
after the traveller having a confirmed ticket. The rules and regulations of this law ensures
the complete high protection for people travelling through airline mode by formulating a
standards rules and schemes on compensation at the time of delayed flights or cancellation
of flights by airline operator. It aims at achieving harmony in the operations of airline
carriers.
R e g u l a t o r y b o d i e s
Strategic Rail
Authority
Health and Safety
Commission
Civil Aviation
Authority