International Travel Trends and Destinations Report

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The Contemporary Travel and
Tourism Industry

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
LO1 (P1 & P2).................................................................................................................................2
Milestones in the development of the travel and tourism............................................................2
Different elements of the travel and tourism industry.................................................................3
Interrelationship of various elements to create tourist experience..............................................4
LO2..................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Determine the different factors that affect tourism behavior.................................................6
P4 Explain models of motivation and how they influence the consumer decision-making
process.........................................................................................................................................7
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
P5 Identify recent and emerging patterns and trends in the international travel and tourism
industry........................................................................................................................................9
LO4................................................................................................................................................12
P6 Examine the factors affecting the popularity of a range of global destinations...................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Timeline for travel and tourism........................................................................................2
Figure 2: Elements of the travel and tourism industry....................................................................3
Figure 3: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs..........................................................................................8
Figure 4: Booking Share by Device.................................................................................................9
Figure 5: percentage of Smartphone users for booking.................................................................10
Figure 6: Airline price based on advanced booking......................................................................11

Introduction
Travel and tourism sector is one of the rapidly growing sectors and is undergoing changes at
rapid pace. Such type of changes put larger impact on growth of business organizations that
operate within travel and tourism sector. The current report will therefore highlight the historical
development and milestones within travel and tourism industry along with various elements that
are crucial for exploring the tourist experience. There exist several factors that affect tourist
motivation and therefore the models of motivation will be elaborated to have better
understanding about consumer decision making process. Sections of the report will also support
determining key trends and patterns within travel and tourism along with impact of factors that
affect the popularity of well known tourist destination.
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LO1 (P1 & P2)
Milestones in the development of the travel and tourism
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600 BC and
after
500 BC
Roman
Empire
Middle Ages
The Grand
Tour
Key milestones in the development of the travel and tourism industry
Early 18th
century
Industrial
Revolution
20th Century
19th Century
Air travel and
after
The period depicts the importance of travelling for in the form of leisure tourism. Kings
travel for their empire, Brahmins travelled for religious purpose, and likewise
This was the period of Greek Civilization and people mostly travelled for writing
purpose. Guidebooks were introduced in this century
Foreign Borders between England and Syria were diminished and conditions were favorable for
travelling. Construction of roads, hotels, fashionable resorts, etc became popular
Travelling becomes difficult and was not safe and therefore people only travelled for
business or some other obligations. Europeans discovered sea route for trade purpose.
With the beginning of 17th century, as an influence of Renaissance new form of tourism
was introduced. People were encouraged to travel to various continents for education
With the period of urbanization, people travelled with the purpose of escape to
places with natural beauty
International travelling came into existence after the First World War. Migration
facilities were tightened and also private monitoring encourage domestic travelers
Interest of people towards international travelling increases and mass tourism was increased. There
was observed growth in aircrafts and private airlines and put positive impact over growth of tourism
and hospitality sector organizations
Introduction to railways foster travel for trade, package tours were organized by travel and tourism
organizations such as Thomas Cook, Photography promoted tourism, development of hotel chains and
sea side resorts, travelling more to hill stations, as well as technological development.
Travelling through sea became common and sea water was also being associated with various health
benefits. Sea side resorts became popular and there was an introduction of steamboat services

Figure 1: Timeline for travel and tourism
(Source: Tourism news, 2013)
It has been identified that travel and tourism industry is growing with the growing ages of the
period from ancient times to the current. Irrespective of background of people, travelling became
one of the biggest interests and that contributed towards growth of the country and other sector
industries also (Tourism news, 2013). For an example, travelling because of trade purposes not
only put positive impact over living standard of people rather it support boosting the business
activities within various countries. Countries like Greece and Europe were identified to be the
most developing countries in terms of increasing travel and tourism. With the advent of 17th
century, industry became aware about important of travelling packages so that mass tourism can
be introduced.
The period of urbanization supported raising the income level of people and therefore their
spending power towards traveling also increased. Increased level of interest towards travelling
encouraged people to travel by flights inspite of its high costs. Development of technology with
the era of industrial revolution lead the people to make their bookings online and industry was
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also able to serve customers in more efficient manner. Such type of changes has shaped the
travel and tourism industry towards positive aspect.
Different elements of the travel and tourism industry
Tourism industry is the competitive industry that has higher focus over changing needs and
demands of customers and therefore the industry constantly modify its existing products and
services or either focuses on bringing new products to serve the needs of customers. In this
context direct elements within tourism industry includes accommodation, transportation,
attractions, etc and indirect elements include infrastructure, airline services, electricity and water
supply, communication, etc.
Figure 2: Elements of the travel and tourism industry
(Source: Author)
Travel Agents: These are the people or group of people known as tour operator that supports
providing information to consumers related to travel destinations and also assist them towards
best holiday packages according to their preference and budget. They are also responsible for
selling of associated products and services such as currency exchange, transportation rental, etc.
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Transportation: Accessibility to various destinations is possible by various modes of
transportation and therefore this is considered as one of the important elements of travel and
tourism industry. Transportation has improved with the advent of technology and therefore there
exist multiple modes of transportation such as railways, airlines, road and water transportation
that facilitate travelers to travel from one destination to other.
Attraction: This can be defined as anything that encourages travelers to visit to some specific
destination because of their attractive features and characteristics. For an example, holiday
destination like Switzerland is well known for its natural beauty and therefore it can be
considered as its point of attraction.
Accommodation: This is one of the basic needs of travelers that cannot be ignored as it provides
staying facilities to travelers while travelling. There has been observed large number of changes
within accommodation facilities such as hotels, resorts, etc. Along with this various types of
accommodation facilities include holiday apartments, camping sites, as well as hotels with varied
star ratings.
Tourist Guiding Services: Tourist information along with guidance providers assist travelers by
providing various services that includes insurance, communication services, packaging agents,
holiday sellers, ticketing agents, etc. for an example tour guide make travelers about various
attraction at holiday destination.
Interrelationship of various elements to create tourist experience
Above section has clearly explained about the importance of various travel and tourism elements.
It has been identified further that there exist strong interrelationship between various elements
for enhancing the overall experience of customers. Considering the example of accommodation
services, it can be said that with the advent of tourism activities, number of tourist are increasing
day by day and hotels and other accommodation facilities are improving which put positive
impact over overall sales of the hotel facilities. Along with accommodation facilities, all the
other elements are also linked with each other such that tourist experience can be improved.
For an example, of the group of individuals wish to visit various geographical destination, then
they will surely contact tour operator or travel agent to get the best package inclusive of all the
facilities such as food, accommodation, transportation, tourist guide, etc. This shows that travel
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operator is interrelated with various other service providers such that tourists while travelling do
not face any kind of difficulty. This improves their overall experience and will also put positive
impact over travel and tourism industry. Interrelationship will not only increase the sales of
business but will also contribute towards increasing range of customers. In addition to this, this
also supports developing the business of each other. For an example, tour operators are well
aware about needs of customers which can be communicated to other service providers so that
their experience exhibit positive reviews.
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LO2
P3 Determine the different factors that affect tourism behavior
It has been determined that global travel industry contributes largely towards total gross
domestic product as per World Travel and Tourism Council. Consumers now days travel for
various purposes such as for work, for visiting friends and families, for enjoyment, etc. Along
with the purpose there are some factors that affect the decision making of tourists. Amongst all,
few of the factors that affect tourism behavior are as follows:
Choice of Destination: Features and places of attraction are some of the attributes that encourage
or discourage consumers to their holiday destination. For an example, London is well known for
palaces and museums and therefore the travelers such as students, as well as others who are
interested in exploring the history of such destination might chose to visit London. There are also
various other factors such as suitable climate, transportation facilities, budget, etc that affects the
tourist behavior while choosing the destination.
Internet: Consumers now days have instant access to opinions and reviews of past travelers
related to their experience about travel destination and other facilities. Therefore it can be said
that internet especially social media platform largely influence the tourism behavior. For an
example, travelers can make decision while selecting the hotel by reading the reviews about its
cleanliness and customer service.
Safety and security: With the increasing criminal activities such as terrorism, consumers while
travelling are more aware about their safety and security. Consumers wish to visit the
destinations with higher security and safety of consumers. For an example, more educated
travelers are less likely to visit the destinations like Cape Town were there has been recorder
greater number of crimes often.
Personal Budgets: Even with the poor economic conditions, people now day shows their interest
towards travelling. With the advancement of technology, travelers can now compare the prices of
tourism services such as airlines, hotels, etc and get the best deal out of all. For an example,
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travelers can make prior bookings because of the discounted price and also travelers do not have
to rely on specific service providers for getting benefits of various travel services and products.
External Factors: This might include economic, environmental, political and many other similar
factors that largely influence the decision making of consumers. For an example, heavy snow fall
in London will resist the travelers to visit the destination. In addition to this, higher taxes on
tourism products and services will also affect the traveler’s decision making while choosing the
destination.
P4 Explain models of motivation and how they influence the consumer decision-making process
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is one of the most important theories associated with human
motivation that support identifying basic human needs as per their order of importance. At the
level of Physiological exhibit the importance of basic survival needs that includes shelter, food,
air, water, etc. People cannot move towards higher order of needs until and unless they are
satisfied with basic level of needs. Safety needs include safe and secured environment; love need
includes friendship and affection; Esteem needs include desire for achievement, competence as
well as freedom. In addition to this, self actualization need supports maximizing the use of
abilities.
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Figure 3: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The theory plays an important role in tourism sectors as it largely affects the decision making of
travelers. It can be said that the above needs largely affect the choice of destination. For an
example, adventure tourists might ignore all the lower level of needs to satisfy their higher level
of needs such as self actualization (J. Todd Robinson, 2019). The theory states that individuals
always expect and are never satisfied with what they have. As per the theory, there are some
reasons that contribute largely towards satisfying the needs of tourists while travelling. Word of
mouth recommendation in positive manner supports encouraging tourists towards new
destination; higher level of satisfaction repeats the purchase of customers and this enhances the
source of income for travel and tourism industry. It is also important for travel and tourism
industry to satisfy the needs of consumers while dealing with their issues. Such type of
motivation is associated with consumer decision making process.
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