Trends and Issues in the

Tourism and Hospitality

Industry

Eileen A. Enriquez, Ph.D.

 • fast changing
• not a single
discipline but
connected to
CURRENT many other
aspects of life

ISSUES IN • many factors

are involved

TOURISM
• a motive for
traveling is
required

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 Why should one travel to another part of the world?

What is there that one can’t find at home?

One must be able to afford to travel, saving enough money to be able to pay for an
air ticket and accommodation at the destination

One has to have enough days of paid holidays accumulated to be allowed to leave
one’s place of work.

A permit to visit the destination (called an entry visa) is required in some places

One will have to take the seasonality of a visit into consideration (will it be winter
or summer?)

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Tourism has a connection to many other disciplines

Politics Society
Religion Immigration
Agriculture Education
Economics Culture
Environment Heritage
Health Host community
Finance Attractions
Transport Activities
Accommodations Amenities

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 One way of doing
tourist companies this is by constantly
must be constantly scanning the media
This includes being for trends that may
on the alert to prepared for
detect changes, impact on the firm
unforeseen and by setting
trends and issues circumstances and
early so that they aside money to
changes in their meet unforeseen
can make the operating
necessary developments that
environment. are out of the
adjustments to their
businesses. control of the
company.

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ACTIVITY 1

Get a copy of the leading newspapers and scan it for articles that
relate to tourism.

You will need to read the articles and draw conclusions because
very few of them will actually have the word “tourism” in the text.

Compare your findings with those of your classmates who have

looked through different parts of the newspaper.

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 Sustainable tourism development

A conceptual approach to sustainable tourism: the

concept of sustainable development is based on
respect for the social and natural environment in
which tourism takes place. On the environmental
side there are several very important issues that we
need to be aware of.

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 The Big Environmental Issues

It is now beyond doubt that our climate is changing and that

humans are, at least in parts, to blame for those changes.

Some experts estimate that unless we act now, climate change

will reduce annual Gross Domestic Product of the economies of
many countries by 20 per cent.

The movie production “An Inconvenient Truth” by former US

Vice President Al Gore is a reminder that time to take action is
running out and that all of us must act now to avoid further
degradation of our world.
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ACTIVITY 2

Watch ‘An Inconvenient Truth” and discuss the

issues raised in the film. Pay particular attention
to the tips provided on the inside of the front
cover of the movie that gives you ideas of what
YOU can do to help in the fight against our
changing climate.

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 Sustainability and sustainable development

❑ What does it mean to make an activity sustainable?

❑ It basically means that an activity that is carried out today for the
benefit of all involved can continue to be carried out indefinitely into
the future without doing harm to anyone or anything involved or
impacted by it.
❑ The opposite of sustainability is un-sustainability which involves
activities that have a very short term horizon and that involve
excessive profit and often greed as the major motivations without any
regard to the long term.

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 Sustainability and sustainable development

❑ Sustainability is about striking a balance between the rights of

humans to a decent and meaningful life, the right to life for all types
of animals and for nature to be protected for its own sake and for the
sake of all other living things, including humans.
❑ Sustainable development is envisaged as leading to the
management of all resources in such a way that economic, social,
and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural
integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life
support systems.

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 These pictures show the two alternatives: Short term greed and
long term intergenerational equity. The latter involves a
grandfather’s consideration for what is best for his granddaughter
and her children and leaving the world a better place so that they
can live meaningful and happy lives.

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It was the World Commission on Environment and
Development that in its report “Our Common Future” first
raised the issue of sustainability when they said that:

“Humanity has the ability to make development

sustainable – to ensure that it meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”

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ACTIVITY 3

Find out what fuel sources power companies of your country

use to generate electricity. Investigate alternative energy
sources that could be used to produce cleaner energy and
discuss the merits and potential problems associated with
each energy source.

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 Sustainable Tourism

• It has long been known that there is a close connection between

tourism and the environment but whether this nexus is sustainable
in the long run has only relatively recently been discussed.
• If we want to have tourist destinations that can prosper from
tourism we need to shift our thinking away from a simple marketing
approach.
• The major issue for many destinations will no longer be to attract
increasing numbers of tourists but how to manage them once they
have arrived.

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The report addressed the state of the global
environment and defined sustainable development as:

" Development that meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.”

By 1995 the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), a body of the top
executives of some 100 of the world’s biggest travel companies, joined forces
with the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the Earth Council to
formulate a tourism industry response to the challenges posed by the Rio
declaration. The result was the publishing of “Agenda 21 for the Travel and
Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development.”

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 Definitions of sustainable tourism
❖ In 1995 the World Tourism Organization defined sustainable
tourism as: “Sustainable tourism development meets the needs
of present tourists and host regions while protecting and
enhancing opportunity for the future.” In its definition the
WTO included environmental, socio-cultural and economic
sustainability.

❖ Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute

a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential
ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage
and biodiversity.

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❖ Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities,
conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values,
and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance

❖ Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-

economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed,
including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and
social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty
alleviation.

❖ In 2004 the World Tourism Organization added: ”Achieving

sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant
monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or
corrective measures whenever necessary.”
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Today a variety of sustainable tourism
initiatives have emerged. These include:

• Various environmental accreditation schemes that certify

that companies are as environmentally friendly as they can
be. Some of the schemes benchmark a company’s
performance (for example energy and water consumption per
guest in a hotel) against industry norms against the industry
standard.

• PATA Sustainable Tourism Advisory Committee which

encourages all parts of the tourism industry to conduct there
activities in a sustainable fashion
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• Blue Flag that classifies beaches in Europe. Classification
helps these beaches to be marketed to environmentally
sensitive consumers

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

assisted international tour operators with the establishment
of the Tour Operator Initiative that seeks to put pressure on
the suppliers of tourism products to make their products
sustainable.

• ISO 14001 which establishes Environmental Management

Systems (EMS) for companies.

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 When we discuss issues of sustainability and
sustainable tourism some important questions
need to be asked. These include:

What does a tourism destination want to maintain (sustain)

in the long term?
• The culture and the life-style of local people?
• The local natural environment?
• The local economy including jobs?
• At what levels does the government want to sustain tourism at
the destination?

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 This leads to the question of how many tourists, from which part of
the world a destination want to attract.
 More tourists are not necessarily better and many destinations are
now looking to attract fewer but higher spending tourists.
 What is the connection between sustainable tourism and the broader
social, cultural and economic development of the destination?
 Is it possible that in an effort to achieve sustainable tourism we may
put other sectors such as agriculture under threat by encouraging
people to leave the land and to get involved in tourism?
 These are difficult questions to answer and each tourist
destination will have to come up with its own answers.

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When we talk about sustainable tourism development we also need
to ask whether there are limits of growth for tourism and where
these limits are. Questions that should be asked include:

• What is the optimal/best level of tourism at any given site or

destination?
• Have we already exceeded the carrying capacity at certain sites and
should tourism activities be excluded from certain places?
•Do we need much stricter rules and regulations for visiting sites?
•Do we need to install reservation systems for our most treasured natural
and cultural sites?
• We use such systems for cinemas, theatres and sports events but not
for visits to beaches, mountain sites or many cultural attractions.

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There are no easy answers to any of the above
questions because they will depend very much on the
local situation and on how tourism is handled on the
ground. Policies set by governments set the
guidelines for tourism development and how tourism
is managed at a destination will make the difference
between success and failure of a destination.

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There is no doubt that if tourist destinations want to be
sustainable, that is successful in the long term, they will have to
maintain or improved the environment in which tourism takes
place while at the same time taking the needs of the local
population into full consideration. Tourism that only benefits the
tourists is unsustainable.

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ACTIVITY 4

Look at some of the above questions and discuss with your

class mates what some possible answers could be in
Thailand’s tourism context.

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Protection of World Heritage

Following the end of the Second World War, there has been
increasing international concern that precious cultural and
natural heritage sites around the world were vulnerable to
threats from wars, natural disasters, environmental
catastrophes and industrial development.

This worldwide awareness has led to the adoption of the famous

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and
Natural Heritage by the General Conference of United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its
17th session in Paris on 16 November 1972.

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“World Heritage” refers to various kinds of heritage sites that
have undergone evaluation and have been approved by
UNESCO to be inscribed in The World Heritage List, according
to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World
Cultural and Natural Heritage.

At present, World Heritage is classified into five categories:

Cultural Heritage, Natural Heritage, Mixed (Cultural and Natural)
Heritage, Heritage of Cultural Landscape and Oral and
Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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 Transport

Travellers an often select from a diverse range of modes of

transport. Depending on where they are traveling to they can walk,
cycle, or use a car, coach, ship, train or aircraft. The various forms
of transport have different impacts on the environment. Obviously
walking and cycling have the least negative impacts on the
environment because no fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) are burned and
hence no green house gas emissions occur.

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 Towards sustainable tourism
The current model of mass
tourism means that success is
measured in increases in
tourist arrivals from one year
to the next. If there is no, or
only a small, growth in
visitor numbers the
destination and its managers
are seen as having failed in
their duty.
We need to move away from such a
thinking that is only focused on
quantity to one that is based on
quality. Not how many visitors we
attract but how they are treated,
what experiences they have at our
destination will matter most. Of
course how positive their economic
impact on the destination is also
needs to be considered.
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To maximize the positive benefits and to minimize the
negative environmental impacts we need to be aware of the
consequences for a tourist destination when additional people
visit. More tourists generate more income and employment
for residents but more people also can put severe pressure on
a destination’s natural, social and cultural resources.

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Tourism development can have many impacts on the
environment. As visitor numbers rise there will be an
increase in:
Demand for fresh,
clean water

Land, sea and air Demand for

pollution electricity

Creation of waste
Crowding
and sewage

Increase in
vehicular traffic

All these aspects need to be evaluated and planned for

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ACTIVITY 5

Establish where and how each

destination obtains its water for
residents and tourists.

Establish how and where electricity in

each destination is generated. What
fuels are used to generate electricity?

Find out where the local government

puts its solid waste?

If you get a chance to talk to tourists,

ask them what they think of
environmental conditions in the
destination under study.

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 OBSTACLES TO CHANGE OR WHY IT IS SO
DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABILITY

➢ We now know that the more people visit a destination the greater
the impacts will be. So we need to ask ourselves what can be done to
manage a tourist destination in a way that it is sustainable.
➢ We need to discuss the obstacles that stop destinations from
becoming sustainable.
➢ There is also a need to establish guidelines for sustainable tourism
development that limit the damage we do to the environments.
➢ Measures require that destination managers first get an
understanding of the limited capacity that all sites have to
accommodate tourists.
➢ This concept is usually referred to as the concept of carrying
capacity.
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 The Concept of Carrying Capacity

Carrying capacity has been defined as “The maximum number of

people who can use a site
✓without an unacceptable alteration in the physical
environment and without an unacceptable decline in the quality
of experiences gained by visitors
✓without an unacceptable adverse impact on the society,
economy and culture of the tourism area.
✓We have to be aware that this concept is not always an exact
science and that visitor number limits established should only
be used as guidelines.
✓There are several types of carrying capacity.

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 Physical Carrying Capacity

When no more people can physically fit into a space its physical
carrying capacity is reached. Theatres, cinemas, or sports stadia
are examples. To increase physical capacity a new venue may be
need to be built. You can also think about capacity on an aircraft.
If all seats are occupied the plane has reached its physical carrying
capacity.

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Ecological Carrying Capacity

The ecological state of the site must be maintained, or where

possible, enhanced. Sites vary and detailed environmental
assessment is needed to establish carrying capacities.

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 Socio/Cultural Carrying Capacity

This refers to the acceptance of tourists by the local population. The

level of acceptance depends on previous experience and benefits
that tourism brings. People who benefit from tourism such as those
who own shops that cater to tourists or those who are employed in
the industry tend to hold more favourable attitudes towards tourism
than those that are not involved with it at all. One way to minimize
the negative impacts that tourism may have is by educating visitors
and tourists about what they can expect of each other.

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This souvenir seller in Ubud, Bali is trying to benefit from
tourists and hence will have a positive attitude towards them –
if they buy his products.
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 Psychological Carrying Capacity

Crowding is one of the problems that can be brought on by the

presence of too many tourists in a place. Some people and
nationalities are more tolerant of crowds than others. In Hong
Kong people are so used to huge crowds of people that they
don’t worry much if tourists add to the congestion. In other
countries such as Australia that have low population densities
even the presence of a few additional people can be perceived as
intruding on the life-style of the locals.

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How tolerant locals and tourists are of crowding will depend on
the site. During the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament,
spectators will tolerate crowded conditions at Hong Kong Stadium
because crowds are part of the party atmosphere. When going for
walks on the beach Western people tend to want to have their own
space and they do not appreciate if there are too many other people
around

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Socio-cultural impacts of tourism
Closely linked to some of the points raised above are the socio-
cultural impacts that can result from tourism. With this in mind
the United Nations World Tourism Organization has developed a
Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. This code was adopted at the
WTO General Assembly in 1999. The code states:

Tourism’s contribution to
mutual understanding and
respect between peoples
and societies

Tourism, a factor of Tourism as vehicle

sustainable for individual and
development collective fulfilment

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 Tourism, a user of the cultural
heritage of mankind and a
contributor to its enhancement

Tourism, a
beneficial
Right to tourism activity for host
countries and
communities

Obligations of stakeholders in
tourism development

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 Liberty of tourist
movements

Implementation of Rights of the

the principles of the workers and
Global Code of entrepreneurs in the
Ethics for tourism tourism industry

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Break down of stereo-types.
Most people have a certain
stereo-typical image of other
peoples and cultures. By
meeting foreign tourist’s face-to
face such often wrong stereo-
types can be corrected.
Civic pride is enhanced
because outsiders value the
place. Often local people do not
appreciate the true value and
attractiveness of what they
have in their local community
but once tourists arrive who tell
locals how wonderful their
place is, residents often start to
develop a greater appreciation
of their own environment.
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 Potentially negative impacts

• Overcrowding of sites used by local people

• Distortion of local customs by adapting them to tourist consumption

• Effects on local language – English words replace local ones

• “Demonstration effect”-perception that all tourists as wealthy which can

lead to envy of tourist’s material goods. If tourists carry items such as
cameras or an I-Pod many locals may also desire these. If they can’t
afford to buy the item they may resort to theft or robbery to obtain it from
the tourists who are perceived as rich.

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• Loss of traditional industries – replacement of agriculture with
tourism. There is a danger that agricultural land is converted to
tourism use and that farmers leave the land to get involved in the
tourism industry at the expense of producing food for consumption by
local people and tourists. This may lead to food shortages and/or the
need to import food at higher prices.

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ACTIVITY 6

Make a list of all the positive and negative impacts you think
that tourism has in the part of destination where you live.
Compare these lists with those created by your class mates.

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Sex and Tourism

One of the often mentioned negative impacts of tourism is the

perceived increase in prostitution at some tourist sites. It must,
however, be remembered that sex and tourism covers a wide
spectrum ranging from romance to commercial exploitation of
women and children. The book Sex and Tourism: Journeys of
Romance, Love and Lust by Thomas Bauer and Bob McKercher
(The Haworth Hospitality Press, New York, 2003) covers the
topic well.

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 Sex and Tourism

The authors argue that there is a spectrum that ranges from the
positive/mutually beneficial encounters such as people on
honeymoon or young people participating in a singles only cruise
on one end to commercial sex tours, trafficking of women and
children for prostitution and child sex tourism at the other, darker
end of the spectrum. It is important to note that there is a big
difference between “sextourism” which implies a commercial
transaction and “sex and tourism” which can take many forms.

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Sex and Tourism

While sexuality is a perfectly normal human activity that

goes on at home and away from home (as tourists), it is the
commercial side of sex that tends to be highlighted and that is
often shown in a negative light.. The images are of mostly
young and female prostitutes from poor regions ‘entertaining’
older and ‘rich’ foreigners at destinations such as Bangkok or
Pattaya.

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Sex and Tourism

In some countries (for example Holland and Germany)

prostitution – the provision of sexual services in exchange
for rewards (usually cash) is a legal activity. It is conducted
as a business and sex workers are subject to taxation and
regular health checks. In other jurisdictions prostitution is
illegal but it still goes on but underground.

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Sex and Tourism

The message is clear: sexual activities between consenting

adults who agree to participate out of their own free will –
whether paid for or not – have been going on since time
immemorial and such activities should not be condemned
solely on moral grounds. When it comes to the exploitation
of children for sexual purposes the message is equally
clear: it is totally unacceptable and such acts must be
prevented at all costs and offenders must be prosecuted.

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ACTIVITY 7

Start a discussion with other members of your

class on the pros and cons of legalizing
prostitution.

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Globalization and its effects on tourism
development

“ Globalization is essentially a process by which an ever

tightening network of ties that cut across national political
boundaries connects communities in a single, interdependent
whole, a shrinking world where local differences are steadily
eroded and subsumed within a massive global social order”. It
is facilitated by the rapid movement of people, information ,
money and ideas around the globe.

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How is globalization felt in the tourism context? We can think
of several ways which include the following:
• Commodification and trivialization of local cultures – everything takes on
a practical and commercial (for money) aspect

Money is king!
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• Americanization through McDonald’s , KFC and Starbucks

McDonald’s fast food outlets can now even be found on

islands in the South Pacific such as in Fiji.
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• Homogenization – all cities of the world look the same. Experiencing
the diversity of building styles, dishes and cultures was once a main
reason to visit cities. Today as one travels around the world one finds
that many airports, hotels and cities are more or less the same – this
takes the fun out of traveling.

Welcome to New York, London or Paris? No, welcome to Beijing.

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• Free flow of money around the world where it can earn the highest
rate of return on investment

• The location of manufacturing shifts to where wages are the lowest

at the expense of local people. Souvenir production is an example
whereby Australian koala toys are manufactured in China or where
coconut souvenirs sold in the Maldives are made in Bali.

• Small scale operations are bought out by bigger companies.

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• Most of the economic restructuring (change in ownership) is in the
interest of big business not in the interest of the public and of the local
people.

• The Hilton Hotel Corporation was recently sold to an investment fund

that is primarily interested in a high rate of return on its investment for its
shareholders and not in the wellbeing of guests, local people, and
employees or in corporate social responsibility.

• Multinational companies such as CNN present consumers with their

idea of the “truth” behind the news. They tell us what is important and
what is not. They show us places we should want to travel to

• National Geographic brings the world’s most exotic travel experiences

to our living room and we become “armchair travellers”. This raises the
question whether we still have to travel to places when we have already
‘experienced “ them on our flat screen TVs.
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 Globalization is felt particularly in less developed countries,
many of which see tourism as an important development
option. Unfortunately developing tourism can require that poor
countries have to take out billion dollar loans to build the
necessary infrastructure for tourism development and this can
be a problem because they may not be able to pay back their
debts. Airports, roads, hotels, restaurants and theme parks may
be built but they are of little use to locals who can’t afford to
fly or stay in those hotels.

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Tax concessions (tax holidays) are often provided to outside
developers to provide them with incentives to develop
tourism infrastructure such as hotels in developing countries.
By allowing developers not to pay local taxes for the first 5
or more years they are depriving the local government and
hence the citizens of revenue but often no infrastructure
would be build if such concessions are not offered.

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International tourists demand international style hotels, food
and drinks and hence developing countries have to import up-
market building materials such as marble from Italy, food
(oysters from Australia) and drinks (Scotch whiskey) from
abroad which means that much of the tourism earnings flows
abroad. This is called leakage because the money leaks out of
the local economy and it can’t be used to benefit local people.

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 Leakage in the Maldives
The Republic of the Maldives is a low lying island nation in
the Indian Ocean. The main source of income is tourism.

Resorts are mainly funded by European

tour operators and most of the profits flow
back to Europe to pay for construction
and maintenance

More than 50 % of all labour is imported

and remittances flow out of the Maldives
economy back to the home countries of
the workers (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India
and Pakistan).
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• What is a net loss for Maldives is a net gain for those countries
where the remittances of those workers make an important
contribution to their families survival and hence also to the economy

Above water bungalows provide exclusive accommodation in the Maldives

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Poverty alleviation through tourism

Poverty is still a very serious problem in many parts of the world.

One of the United Nations Millennium Goals is to substantially
reduce the number of people who live in poverty and tourism has
been called upon to play its part in this effort.

There are different levels of poverty ranging from extreme to

moderate. Extreme poverty is often defined as applying to people
who live on less than 1 US$ per day. One thing is clear: There is
nothing ‘romantic’ about being poor as is sometimes shown in
destination photographs of some African countries.

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Often it is assumed that people in rural areas are the poorest but
this may not necessarily be the case because as long as people
have access to land they can sustain their lives by growing their
own food or by raising animals. People who live in urban slums
are the poorest of the poor because they have no access to land to
sustain their lives. All they can sell to make money is their labour.
Because they are mostly unskilled they have a hard time in getting
jobs because they have to compete against often much higher
skilled city residents.

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Creating employment or self-employment opportunities for poor
and unskilled peoples is one of the fastest ways that tourism can
assist in reducing poverty. Here are a few examples:

Gardening and luggage handling (Nepal)

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Self employment business opportunities (Nepal)

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Making carpets that tourists buy as souvenirs (Nepal)

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Silk production in Assam,
India is another form of
employment and revenue
generation for local people

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Development of tourism products to assist
in poverty alleviation

The tourism product is made up of many components including

transport, accommodation, activities, amenities, food and
services. The challenge is to develop products that meet the
needs of the tourists while at the same time assisting in poverty
alleviation. A range of products can conceivably be developed
including attractions, tours, packages, guiding services,
shopping, entertainment and information provision.

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Products can be developed from two
perspectives:

By involving the poor in By developing products

the development and based on the assets of the
management of the poor (culture, natural
product and features, way of life)

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The first question that needs to be asked, however, is whether local
people genuinely want tourists to visit and if so at what intensity?
Sometimes people may appear poor to outsiders but they may be
content with their lives because they live in strong communities
where they enjoy full family and social support and hence they
may not need additional income from an activity that involves
outsiders. If they do want tourism we have to ask what he poor
need to know to enable them to participate in tourism. What
assistance do they need so that they can benefit from tourism and
how can provide this assistance? There are some potential
difficulties and barriers:

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 Potential Difficulties
Unequal distribution of benefits from
tourism. Not everyone in a community
will benefit equally when tourism is
started.
Unequal distribution of problems created
by tourism. Sometimes the women in a
community are required to do most of the
tourism related work such as cooking
and dancing for tourists while the men
benefit without contributing much. This
can lead to dissatisfaction among the
women and to conflict between the sexes.
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Potential Barriers
Time constraint of tourists. Visitors invest time and money into their
holidays and they only want to visit places that they think can fully
satisfy their needs.

Tour operators control many products – unless a new tourism

itinerary or product can pay money (commission) to the wholesalers
they will not include it into their brochures and hence the product will
not get exposure and therefore no customers.

Distance of a new tourism product from existing main tourist areas

can be a problem.

Lack of transport infrastructure.

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Potential Barriers
Lack of tourism and hospitality related skills of the local
population.

Lack of understanding of the expectations of tourists.

Lack of attractiveness of the local area.

Competition from other areas that may offer similar

products.

Lack of environmental hygiene.

Distance from major tourist source markets.

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Children working in tourism

Employing children, in particular young children in the various

sectors of the tourism industry is a double-edged sword. On the one
hand it is very common for restaurants or small, family owned
guest-houses or hotels to require children to contribute to the
economic well-being of the family by performing some tasks in the
business. This is not necessarily a bad thing since children who
grow up in the family’s hospitality business will have a very good
understanding of the operation of such a business and this may
well lead them to become successful restaurant or hotel owners
when they grow up.

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There are many examples where children who have worked in
the family business from an early age have later taken over the
running of the business when their parents are ready to retire.
Such practices are not restricted to the hotel and tourism industry
but can be found on most farms in the world and in small shops,
in particular in Chinese shops.

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At the same time the opportunity exist for young people who do
not have family connections to a tourism or hotel business to be
given the opportunity at a relatively early age to perform certain
small task such as maybe cleaning the beach or assisting with
other cleaning duties or as messengers in a hotel. Such
employment opportunities can be particularly important when
they are provided in some of the least developed countries
where employment for the young and poor is often difficult to
obtain. By earning some money they can help their families to
survive.

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While the above noted scenarios are positive, there is also a
darker and more exploitative side to children’s employment in
tourism. Often children are made to work in the hospitality
industry without appropriate care, wages, working hours and
work conditions. They may even be forced to work in this
industry against their own free will and at the expense of their
schooling and health. Such practices need to be prevented
wherever possible but unfortunately they are often tolerated in
countries where poverty levels are still very high.

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ACTIVITY 8

Think about the issue of

Discuss the concept of poverty, poverty in Thailand’s context
its causes and consequences and consider what role
with your class mates. tourism can play to assist poor
people to improve their lives.

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Trends and issues in Hospitality

Hospitality can be defined as the reception and entertainment

of guests or strangers with empathy, kindness, and an overall
concern for their well-being. It is at the heart of all tourism
and without providing a friendly and welcoming environment
for visitors, tourism cannot develop successfully.

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Trends in the accommodation sector

➢One of the most basic requirements for tourists is the need for clean and
secure accommodation.
➢This can range from luxury hotels with full services to motels, guest houses,
backpacker lodges, youth hostels and camping facilities.
➢Because people are different and have different reasons for travel they also
have different accommodation requirements.
➢The accommodation of business travelers is usually paid for by their
employer and hence they are more inclined to stay in up-market, more
luxurious hotels whereas the more prices sensitive leisure travelers who pay
for their trip themselves may prefer more affordable and therefore also less
luxurious places to stay.
➢In particular young people who travel around the world as backpackers for
long periods of time, sometimes years, do not want to spend a lot on
accommodation. They prefer to spend their money on activities and
experiences instead of on sleeping.
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Greening of accommodation

❑Inline with the previously discussed trend towards a more

sustainable tourism industry, accommodation places are also
increasingly trying to be more environmentally friendly in their
designs and practices.
❑In many hotels around the world the guest now finds notices in
the bathroom that encourage them to indicate if they do not want
their towels and sheets changed daily.
❑This is a measure that helps save water and reduces the pollution
caused by the discharge of detergents into the sewage system.

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❑Guests are also encouraged to turn off lights and air
conditioning if they are not needed and in many hotel rooms
electrical appliances and lighting can only be used after a key card
is inserted into a slot that is located near the entrance to the room.

Once the card, which also opens the room door, is removed, the
electricity to the room is cut off thus avoiding any unnecessary
energy consumption.

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More personal ‘boutique’ styles of accommodation

❖ Commercial accommodation places tend to be large with many

rooms and facilities but a recent trend is that experienced travelers
are seeking smaller, more personal accommodation facilities such
as boutique hotels, small guest houses, home-stays or eco-lodges.
❖ Such facilities usually have more limited facilities but they
provide guests with the opportunity to be in close contact with
local people who own or operate such facilities.

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 Hotel Branding
There are many different hotel brands in the world. A brand is
essentially the name of a product, in this case hotels, that is
recognized, trusted and valued by the consumer to deliver the
services required in the expected fashion. The table below shows
the top 20 hotel brands, the number of hotels they operate and the
number of rooms they control. As the industry is expanding these
numbers are constantly changing.

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 Hilton is one of the most
recognized hotel brands in the
world.

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 Top 10 Hotel Brands in the World as of January 1, 2008
Rank Hotel Chain Number of hotels Number of Rooms
1 Best Western 4 035 308 636
2 Holiday Inn 1 382 256 775
3 Comfort Inns & Suites 2 467 188 596
4 Marriott Hotels & Resorts 520 188 544
5 Hilton Hotels & Resorts 511 176 523
6 Express Holidays Inn 1 808 156 531
7 Days Inn of America 1 883 153 333
8 Hampton Inn 1 490 147 326
9 Sheraton Hotels & Resorts 399 138 878
10 Super 8 Motels 2 081 128 587

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 More than just sleeping and eating
Integrating accommodation, dining, entertainment casino gaming
and shopping is a new trend that recognizes that people who stay at
a hotel or resort want to be able to participate in a diversity of
activities during their stay. Gone are the days when a hotel was
only a place to sleep.

The Grand Canal at the

Venetian Resort in Macau
provides guests with an
indoor boating experience
that simulates a real canal
ride in Venice, Italy.111

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Trends and issues in the
restaurant and food
services sector

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 Food

Food is a necessary and often enjoyable component of

the tourism experience and the challenge for the
hospitality industry is to provide good quality and
healthy meals in a pleasant setting.

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 Conclusion
Trends and issues in tourism and hospitality are constantly subject
to change. As societies change so will trends in the tourism and
hospitality industry. Many trends are subject to what is fashionable
at the moment while other trends and issues emerge from wider
issues in society souch as a greater awareness of environmental
protection or the increased concern about health.

Companies that operate in the tourism and hospitality industry are

required to keep their eyes and ears open and to constantly scan
their environment for emerging trends so that they can meet the
requirements of their customers. This is an ongoing process that
never ends. As students of these fields we need to do the same so
that we keep up-to-date with developments that impact on our
industry..
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END