UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM
Technological change 1
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The World Tourism Organisation says that "Technological innovations
have developed at an extraordinary pace in recent years, and all the signs
are that they will continue to do so. Of these, two are especially
important:Global distribution Systems
o Whilst Global Distribution Systems (GDs) originally provided a booking
capability for just scheduled air seats, they have now expanded to
encompass a range of bookable travel products including cruise, car
rental and accommodation. The accommodation (or hotel) sector has
been particularly keen to obtain contribution via GDs and has
introduced its own systems to help lk to the GDs. Nevertheless, only
10 % of revenue brought in by GDs comes from non-air products.
o The GDs environment itself is ideally suited to a global technological
infrastructure, such as the Internet. Therefore, it is unsurprising to
find moves by all the GDs towards becoming major players in the sale
of travel products on the Web.
E-commerce
o The fact the travel and tourism can be considered an intangible,
electronic product at the point of sale makes it suitable for marketing
and selling online.
o The direct selling potential of the Internet not only allows suppliers to
reach a global market, but also reduces administration costs.
o All projections maintain that air travel holds the largest percentage of
online travel and tourism bookings, and that this will remain a
dominant feature of travel e-commerce."
E-tourism, e-commerce and e-retailing
o E-tourism (online tourism) has grown dramatically since 2000. See e-
tourism newsletter (note the increasing rejection of the major
portals Travelocity and Expedia by the e-travel bargain-hunter sites)
and Trends in European Internet Distribution of Travel and Tourism
Services (Centre for Regional and Tourism Research, Denmark)
o E-commerce too has a very significant impact on tourism. See
Electronic commerce and tourism - New perspectives and challenges
for developing countries United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, July 2000
o The internet has become a credible sales channel. See TEAM (Tourism
Enterprise and Management Ltd.) (Canadian travel consultants) and
New trends in Internet marketing and sales (highlighting the
position in Estonia), Centre for Regional and Tourism Research,
Denmark
Development of ICT
Travel and tourism has become the single largest category of
products/services sold over the Internet and the proportion of business
being transacted through this medium is constantly growing. See
Resource Guide to Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
(Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Network)
Worldspan (based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA) advertises itself as having "a
complete array of products and services for planning, booking, and
managing travel." (Its first product was a reservations system for Delta
Airlines in 1968). Various products cover different areas of the industry.
For example:o Airlines Rapid Reprice recalculates fares when itineraries change
o Corporate Travel Trip Manager streamlines and controls corporate
travel
o Travel Agencies Tour Source
is a vacation and tour booking system
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UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM
Socio-economic change 2
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Globalisation has a major impact on the travel and tourism industry, at
every level. The negative effect of globalisation in the tourism industry is
highlighted at Globalisation - tourism the new imperialism Keith Parkins
via the Gaia network, March 2000 - not a balanced view, but powerful.
Developments in transport have driven the increase in tourism - see
Transport, especially air transport
The spread of disease as a result of the removal of barriers to
trade. Removing trade barriers has allowed the spread of SARS and footand-mouth disease, and that has impacted on global tourism - see
Microbial Migrations , the Orion Society, Massachusetts, USA
The effect of tourism development in poorer countries. See Unit 11,
Impacts of tourism. Tourism can also have a far-reaching social impact on
countries in the developing world - see The economic and social impact of
tourism , a study of Pagsanjan in the Philippines, which shows that while
the impact of tourism "on environment and on the people’s social life has
been a mixture of positive and negative results, its impact on income
distribution has been trifling".
UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM
Political changes and security issues 3
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Political and economic change
o The Balkan countries are an example of political and economic change
following the removal of the 'Iron Curtain' and recent entry into the
EU - see Need to accelerate the development of tourism in central and
eastern Europe , Council of Europe, December 1997
o Global Tourism Trends and Prospects for Central and Eastern European
Countries (presentation by Mr. Andrey Shlevkov at Zakopane,
Poland, 13 December 2002, to the World Tourism Organisation)
Security issues
o The increase in terrorism - see External pressures
o British High Commission, Islamabad
UNIT 10 - CURRENT ISSUES IN TRAVEL & TOURISM
Environmental changes 4
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Global warming and the effect on climate. The earth's gradual
warming has far-reaching effects on the tourism industry. Heat waves,
droughts, rising sea levels, flash floods, forest fires and disease 'could
turn profitable tourist destinations into holiday horror stories'. See global
warming threatens tourism (BBC report on WWF study).
Freak weather conditions like hurricanes and tsunamis can severely affect
tourism - see Media and Natural Disasters 2005 and Tourism after the
tsunami (BBC Radio 4, Excess Baggage, February 2005.)
But while global warming may adversely affect tourism, there is also
strong evidence that tourism is a contributor TO global warming - see
Climate change and tourism (World Tourism Organisation report)which
indicates the effects of air and road transport, the stresses on flora and
fauna and, particularly, consumption of water by tourists. "Tourists' water
consumption was far in excess of that of local residents and that much of
the resulting water stress arises in regions and areas which already suffer
from inherent water shortages. The concentration of tourism in certain
regions of the world places stresses on the local flora and fauna which in
many cases are what tourists come to see; such stresses themselves may
exacerbate the adverse effects that climate change is already having on
the ecology."
See also Unit 11, Impacts of tourism
UNIT 11 - IMPACTS OF TOURISM
Environmental impacts 1
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Students need to learn learn what is meant by the term 'responsible
tourism' so that they can describe how this approach to tourism
development is different from other types of tourism. The principles of
responsible tourism are applied where tourism development:
o minimises negative economic, environmental, and socio-cultural
impacts
o creates economic benefits for local people and improves their quality of
life
o promotes the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
o promotes respect between tourists and local people.
Remember that numerous organisations have been responsible for
tourism development in the past, and only recently have become aware of
the environmental impact of their strategies.
o private sector organisations, which are principally profit-orientated,
but increasingly aware of customers' concern for the environment
o public sector organisations, where there may be a conflict of interest
between their requirement to maximise the contribution of tourism to
the local or national economy and their environmental responsibilities
o voluntary sector organisations, which provide most of the pressure for
environmental concern, though they too have to fund themselves to
survive.
Definitions and principles of responsible tourism
o What is ecotourism?
UNEP (United Nations Environment
Programme). This highlights the importance of involving local and
indigenous communities in tourism planning.
o ResponsibleTravel.com . "Only when the last tree has died and the
last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise
that we canot eat money" - Cree Indian, 1909 - quote from the
Responsible Travel website.
o Exodus Travel .
o World Travel & Tourism Council links to Green Globe (GREEN GLOBE
21 is the worldwide benchmarking and certification program which
facilitates sustainable travel and tourism for consumers, companies
and communities), Agenda 21, sustainable tourism. The WTTC
reminds the industry that it, the industry, "has a vested interest in
protecting the natural and cultural resources which are the core of its
business. It also has the means to do so. As the world's largest
industry, it has the potential to bring about sustainable development
of the communities and countries in which it operates."
Remember that there are different types of responsible tourism:
o
o
o
o
alternative tourism - see Ecoturismolatino
sustainable tourism - see National Geographic online
green tourism - see Visit Scotland's Green Tourist Business Scheme
ethical tourism - see AnotherwayTravel.com
Developing responsible tourism
o Thomson Travel Group and follow the link to 'Thomson commitment to
sustainable tourism'.
o Federation of Tour Operators Responsible tourism: best practice
o The Greenstop Destinations Directory identifies hotels, conference
venues, holiday and travel companies which are making a genuine
effort to work in an environmentally responsible manner.
o Responsible Travel in the UK .
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