Travel and Tourism Law and Ethics: Case Study of Thomas Cook

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LEGISLATION AND ETHICS
IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM
SECTOR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
LO1..............................................................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................4
1.1 LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR REGARDING
CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS.....................................................................................................................4
1.2 SURFACE, SEA AND AIR TRANSPORT LAW OF UNITED KINGDOM IN RELATION TO THE CARRIAGE
OF PASSENGERS.......................................................................................................................................5
LO2..............................................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................7
2.1 PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY LEGISLATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE TRAVEL
AND TOURISM SECTOR WITH REFERENCE TO THOMAS COOK................................................................7
2.2 LEGISLATIONS REGARDING EQUALITY WITH REFERENCES TO THOMAS COOK...............................10
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................11
LO3............................................................................................................................................................12
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................12
3.1 EXPLAIN THE CONTRACT LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM. .12
3.2 EXPLAINING LEGISLATION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION THAT RELATES TO THE CUSTOMERS OF
TRAVEL & TOURISM...............................................................................................................................14
LO4-...........................................................................................................................................................16
4.1 ANALYZING ALL THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS THAT ARE BEING FACED BY THE SECTOR OF TOURISM IN
CONTEXT TO THE THOMAS COOK.........................................................................................................16
4.2 ANALYZING THE POLICY OF THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SPECIFIED TOURISM
AND TRAVEL BUSINESS..........................................................................................................................19
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................20
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
One of the fastest growing industries in the UK is the travel and tourism sector. It not only
attracts several visitors to the country but also contributes to the complete economic growth
and development of the country. The UK travel and tourism industry contribute to the UK
economy to a great extent as it generates around £106 billion in a year and employees over 2
million people in the industry (Mason, 2015).

LO1
INTRODUCTION
The term ‘Tourism’ can be defined as a set
of those activities of people where they
travel; they stay at different places; for
business or other purposes, outside their
usual environment for not more than one
year (Cardenas, 2016). It must be noted
that the key elements of the travel and
tourism industry are a tourist, without him,
no incomes or revenues can be generated.
It is very essential for every company to
protect the rights and interests of tourists
and ensuring his safety and security while
travelling (Mountinho et al, 2018). This
assignment is going to focus on the various
legislation and the ethical and regulatory
framework, that govern the travel and
tourism industry and ensuring satisfaction
the tourists and travellers, travelling for
different purposes.
1.1 LEGAL AND REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK IN THE TRAVEL AND
TOURISM SECTOR REGARDING
CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS
To protect the rights and interests of
tourists and travellers, it is very essential for
each and every travel company to abide by
the legal and regulatory framework
provided by the regulatory bodies of the
country (Joppe, 2016). The travel and
tourism sector in UK is governed by various
different legislation such as: Development
of Tourism Act, 1969, which was enacted by
the British Tourist Authority and Tourist
Board of England, Scotland and Wales to
promote the development of travel and
tourism and to prevent the exploitation of
the tourists and travellers while travelling.
Another legislation which has been enacted
is The Transports Act, 1980 and 1985, which
privatized and deregulated bus services
throughout Britain.
Apart from these legislations, there are also
some regulatory authorities which govern
the functioning of the travel and tourism
sector. These authorities are the
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA),
Strategic Railway Authority (SRA), The
International Air Transport Association
(IATA), etc. The ABTA generally deal with
issues including insurance, ticket booking,
and other travel processes (Papatheodorou,
2016). On the other hand, the SRA provides
a strategic direction to the railway industry

and lastly, IATA deals with the safety issues
as safety is its number one priority.
1.2 SURFACE, SEA AND AIR
TRANSPORT LAW OF UNITED
KINGDOM IN RELATION TO THE
CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS
In order to satisfy the needs and wants of
tourists and travellers, it is very essential
that they feel safe and secure while
travelling from one place to another. For
this purpose, several laws and regulations
have been enacted in reference to surface,
sea and air transport. The person, who is
responsible for carrying of passengers,
goods or products, from one place to
another is known as a carrier. The surface,
sea and air transport laws are as follows:
 Surface Law: The Carriage of Goods
Act, 1965 was enacted for the
purpose of implementation of the
Convention on the contract for the
International Carriage of goods by
road and also provided jurisdiction
to the courts of UK to deal with the
disputes relating to road haulage
(Glass and Messent, 2017). Apart
from this law, the other law is The
Carriage by Railway Act, 1972, which
was commenced with the purpose
of helping passengers in the case of
their loss of luggage during their
travel. Furthermore, a charter,
known as the Passenger Charter was
also enacted in the year 2018 to
ensure improvements for
passengers throughout their journey
and promoting best practices to
implement these improvements
(Sturley, 2018).
 Sea Law: The Athens Convention of
1974 provides for the legal
obligation of the carrier in the case
of any loss, damage or injury to the
passenger or his luggage if such
damage or injury has been caused
due to the negligence of the carrier
or his agents (Rogers et al, 2016).
The London Convention also
provides for the prevention of
marine life pollution from dumping
of wastes and any other matter (Hill
and Kulkarni, 2017). Apart from
these laws, a convention named as
The International Convention for the
Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) was

also made in a year, 1974, in order
to ensure minimum safety standards
in the construction, equipment and
operation of merchant ships. It also
laid emphasis on the arrangements
of life-saving appliances such as life-
boats, life jackets etc. (Todd, 2015).
 Air Law: The Air law relating to the
carriage of passengers in the UK
includes, The Carriage by Road and
Air Act, 1979 that provides for
compensation to the passengers in
the case of any injury, death,
damage or loss to the passengers or
their luggage (Abeyratne, 2018).
Furthermore, there are certain
conventions as well, such as Warsaw
Convention (1929); Hague
Convention (1955); and Denied
boarding compensation schemes as
well. The Warsaw Convention was
initiated for the purpose of
unification of certain rules and
regulations relating to international
carriage by air (Pounian and Green,
2015). The Denied Boarding
Compensation Schemes provides for
the rights of air passengers in the
cases of flight cancellations,
reimbursement and compensation
(Ritorto and Fisher, 2017). Apart
from these, another convention was
the Hague convention, which
prevents the international child
abduction, especially, when the child
is below the age of 16 years
(Sheffield and Rowland, 2019).

LO2
INTRODUCTION
As it is mentioned above that the travel and tourism sector is incomplete without tourists and
travellers. To ensure the safety and security of the tourists and travellers, it is very essential for
all tour operators and agencies to follow certain principles and rules of health, safety and
security to make the journey of their consumers convenient and hassle-free. This report is going
to focus on various principles on health, safety and security and equality and their impacts on
UK travel and tourism industry.
2.1 PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY LEGISLATION AND ITS
IMPACTS ON THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM SECTOR WITH REFERENCE TO
THOMAS COOK
OCCUPIERS LIABILITY ACT 1984: the individual who controls the movable and immovable
property along with managing the premises is liable as occupiers. All the businesses are
potentially impacted by Occupiers liability (Ra et al., 2018). The occupiers of the property are
obligated for a duty of care to all the lawful visitors as well as a separate duty of care to
impostors. Under this act, it is required by the occupiers of the premises such as Thomas Cook
to take such care in all the caring circumstances so as to ensure that the visitors are reasonably
safe while using the premises for the purpose for which they are invited by the occupier. In this
act, the damage can be claimed in case of any injury or loss which were reasonably foreseeable.
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ACT 1974: the duties of the employers are looked under this
act to the people at work along with other people excluding the people at work (Wang et al.,
2019). Under Section 1 of part 1 of the act, the provision is formed to secure health safety as
well as the welfare of people at work, also protecting the people excluding the people at work
against any risks in relation to health and safety and at last, the keeping and using of explosive

as well as highly flammable or any dangerous substances must be controlled and also prevent
the unlawful possession, acquisition and usage of such dangerous substance.
The employer Thomas Cook is required to ensure safety at their workplace, prevent risks to the
health of the employees and also ensure the safe usage of the plant and machinery by forming
or setting safe working practices (Sullivan, 2018). They are also responsible for the adequate
investigation of accidents along with adequate instruction, information and training. On the
other hand, the employee is responsible for their health and safety and also ensures safe plus
healthy working conditions for other employees. It also instructs the employees to not use or
operate any machine for which they are not trained.
DATA PROTECTION ACT 2018: under this act, it is to be ensured that the personal information
of the customers and employees must be properly handled by Thomas cook. The Office of
Information Commissioner is an independent authority of the UK which is set up to uphold the
information rights in the public interest (Meyer, 2018). It promotes openness by the public
bodies along with data privacy for individuals. This act is known to be breached by Travel Trade
Group ABTA, TicketMaster UK, British Airways Cathay Pacific Breach and Thomas Cook.
DUTY OF CARE ACT: duty of Care is referred to neighbouring principles which mean not to
cause any foreseeable harm to other people. Earlier, it was stated under the doctrine of privity
that the parties engaged in the contract can sue or be sued (Akdeniz et al., 2018). However,
under the case of Donoghue v Stevenson 1932, the precedence was set stating the existence of
a duty of care despite not being any contractual relationship. Thomas cook was held liable for
breaching Duty of care in 2006 when two children succumbed to death due to carbon
monoxide poisoning from a faulty hot water boiler.
Health safety and security legislation influencing the travel and tourism sector given below:
 It makes sure the privacy and personal information of the people are protected and
safely used.

 It ensures the maintenance of health and safety measures for the safety and health of
employees and other people at work (Akdeniz et al., 2018).
 It ensures to maintain the duty of care to protect from any foreseeable harm to the
customers and employees.
 It confirms the liability of the occupier of the property to ensure safety to all lawful
visitors and also trespassers (Meyer, 2018).
 It held the employees liable and responsible in case of any breach to health, safety and
security legislation in the UK.

2.2 LEGISLATIONS REGARDING EQUALITY WITH REFERENCES TO THOMAS
COOK
In the eyes of the UK laws, equality refers to the provision of equal treatment to each individual
and without any discrimination. The UK legislation binds the travel agencies such as Thomas
cook so as to provide their products and services to each customer without any discrimination.
Discrimination is defined as the activity or actions related to treating any person unfairly or less
favourably than anyone else due to their personal characteristics.
The UK parliament enforced the Equality Act 2010 in order to ensure that the discrimination
based on age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation and others of the individual is
eliminated. Also, each individual must be treated equally (Landon and Williams, 2019). The
employees of Thomas cook are secured against any discrimination under this act and are
treated equally in connection with their roles, responsibilities, duties, rewards and recognition.
Certain legislations regarding equality are presented below with reference to Thomas Cook:
RACE DISCRIMINATION ACT 1976: the individuals are protected against any discrimination
based on colour, ethnic, race, nationality and national origin regarding the areas of education
employment, public functions and service provisions (Seglow, 2018). The employees of Thomas
cook are protected under this act.
SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT 1975: both male and female including employees at Thomas cook
are protected under this act against any discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or
marital status regarding the areas of education employment, public functions and service
provisions (Horton, 2018).
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT 1995: it holds the liability on the travel agencies such as
Thomas cook by protecting its employees from any kind of discrimination in relation to the
disabilities of employees and also provides the rights and privileges for education and
employment.
EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION (CONSOLIDATION) ACT 1978: the UK parliament enforced this act
that forms the essence of the UK labour law. The two pieces of legislation consolidated in this
act are the Contracts of Employment Act 1963 and The Redundancy Payment Act 1965 (Landon
and Williams, 2019).

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998: the act obligates the travel organizations such as Thomas cook to
treat each individual in a fair, respectful manner with dignity and also protect the rights of the
people (Landon and Williams, 2019). The employers are held liable for any unfair dismissals and
oblige them to provide equal and fair working condition to each employee.
EMPLOYMENT ACT 2002: new principles, as well as standards related to disciplinary processes
for the employers, are presented under this act. The term of work, whether contractual or
permanent, cannot be the basis for discrimination among employees (Horton, 2018). This act
includes different legal reformed procedures and ensures visible freeness in employment
relations.
CONCLUSION
Thus this report concludes that it becomes essential for both employees and employers of the
organization such as Thomas cook to be aware of different regulations and legislation in
relation to health, safety as well as security along with equality in the UK travel and tourism
sector.

LO3
INTRODUCTION
In this section, a case study related to
selling of holiday tour packages by travel
consultant is considered. A tour package to
visit Spain was sold by a travel assistant to a
customer. The customer was not happy
with the services of the resort and
questioned the accuracy of the information
provided to him. Leaflets are created and
distributed to the ravel assistants and
explain them the contract legislation as well
as consumer protection related to
customers of travel and tourism.
3.1 EXPLAIN THE CONTRACT
LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE
CUSTOMER OF TRAVEL AND
TOURISM
CONTRACT: Contract, as enforceable by
law, refers to an agreement between two
or more people agreeing on the exchange
of products or services against the
consideration. It can be in written form or
oral. A contract law within the travel and
tourism industry interprets to the
interpretation, enforcement and
governance of the agreement regarding
tourism goods, products as well as services
with money (Giliker, 2018). A contract
includes all the stated terms and conditions,
and forms between the travel agency and
their customers wherein the customer are
bound to pay for the tourism products and
services offered by the travel agency.
VALID CONTRACT: a contract is considered
to be valid only if any agreement justifies
the entirely relevant and standard contract
element (Lima, 2018). The valid contract
elements are free to consent, agreement,
lawful object, competency, not declared
void and consideration.
CONTRACTS FOR THE SUPPLY OF GOODS,
CONTRACTS FOR THE PROVISION OF
SERVICES: it is the responsibility of the
seller to maintain safety for the customer
and also ensure that the products and
services that are delivered to them are of
worthy quality as per the service provision
to adequate workmanship standards
defined in this act as well as in sale of
Goods act 1979. The consumers are
protected against bad workmanship along