Future World Tourism and Hospitality Issues

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PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

PLM Business School


Department of Hospitality Management ITM 1101 MACRO PERSPECTIVE OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

Module 8: FUTURE WORLD TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY ISSUES

MODULE OBJECTIVES By the end of the module students will:

1. Discuss the importance of safety and security in tourism and hospitality.


2. Describe the impact of the world’s economy on tourism and hospitality.
3. Explain the responsible management of sustainable tourism.
4. Discuss the significance of tourism policy and strategic planning.
5. Describe the use of e-commerce tools in tourism and hospitality.
6. Explain the importance of tourism and hospitality education and training.
7. Describe the emerging tourism and hospitality markets.
8. Get acquainted with the quality tourism and hospitality products and services.
9. Explain the impact of partnership and strategic alliances on tourism and hospitality.
10. Discuss the impact of health issues on tourism and hospitality.
11. Explain the effects of natural disasters on tourism and hospitality.
12. Analyze the impact of climate change on tourism and hospitality.

Introduction This chapter introduces selected major tourism and hospitality issues that are significant to the
future of a vibrant tourism and hospitality industry. Looking toward the future requires
imagination and foresight. According to Mark Twain, the American writer and humorist,
"Prophecy is very difficult especially with regards to the future. The travel world of tomorrow
will be different from what we know today and experienced yesterday. “

I. Safety and Security in Tourism and Hospitality The first issue of universal concern is the relationship of tourism and hospitality to terrorism
or, in the larger context, to safety and security. Safety and security in tourism and hospitality
will be the greatest challenge for tourism policy and planning for many years to come (Edgell,
2008). Much of the discussion on safety and security pertains to terrorism. The terrorist attack

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in the United States on September 11, 2001 paved the way for the adoption of international
and national policies to counteract the impact of terrorism. The result of this tragic event
encouraged many countries to act together to combat the devastating effects of terrorism.
Safety and security, particularly from crime and terrorism, have been very important issues in
the tourism and hospitality industry for many decades. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attack in the United States, there has been an increased awareness regarding the vulnerability
of the tourism and hospitality industry to the challenges of world events.

At present, there is an increase of terrorism that specifically targets tourism destinations. The
peak of tourism activity occurred in the early 1990s. In 1993, the US government and the
private tourism and hospitality sectors developed an action plan to help travelers have a safer
and more enjoyable travel experience. Between 1990-2006, there have been 264 terrorist
attacks, which targeted tourism in 42 countries Egypt, Turkey, France, and Spain have the
highest number of terrorist attacks during the past three decades. Figure 5 shows terrorist
attacks targeting tourism by country from 1970-2006.

Crimes against tourists such as robbery, murder, and kidnapping are also important concerns
for destination planners. In several places, statistics regarding a victim's status as resident
visitor is not regularly reported or collected by local police agencies. However, when crimes
against tourists are featured in international media reports, the result is often harmful to the
overall image of the destination in spite of the low level of risk and number of actual offenses.

In order to manage visitors' safety and security and preserve the image of the destination, the
South African government has created a National Tourism Safety Network composed of travel-
related organizations. This group has organized a Tourism Safety Communication Strategy,
which distributes tourism safety tips to visitors and handles crisis communications and
management when incidents occur. The stakeholders realize that terrorism activities in
neighboring countries can have a negative impact throughout the region or even throughout
the continent (Edgell, 2008).

Travelers now demand security measures. Safety and security must be included in the
destination development strategies especially in areas where terror and danger exist. The
following are important items to be included in a destination's security strategy. Dr. Peter
Tarlow, an expert on tourism and security issues, proposed these points:
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1. destinations and attractions must compete on their readiness to keep visitors safe and
secure;
2. destinations that provide sound security coupled with customer service will prosper;
3. the lack of a comprehensive approach will create a false sense of security. For example,
only having gas masks available for hotel guests may give false hopes if the hotel's water
supply is poisoned;
4. all members of the local tourism and hospitality system should be included when
developing a comprehensive tourism and hospitality strategy;
5. media coverage of a local incident can spread the negative public relations effects to the
entire continent;
6. the safety development needs of the components of the visitor experience, including
transportation, infrastructure, accommodations, highway rest areas, and food sources
should be assessed; and
7. establish a place for visitors to turn to, if a terrorist attack were to occur, and openly
communicate the location and purpose of the center in advance in case of any threats.

International travel has increased in spite of the efforts of terrorists and criminals to disrupt the
tourist experience. Although terrorist attacks have threats to the sustainability of any
destination, safety and security issues can also create opportunities for destination planners.
These opportunities are the implementing strategies which increase the safety of the area.
Destinations that can counter-balance the force of terrorism are those destinations where
tourism and hospitality will continue to prosper.

II. The Impact of the World's Economy on The world economy has a major impact on the future of international travel. With a flourishing
Tourism and Hospitality world economy, more people will travel. If there is a greater distribution of a country's wealth,
more people will have the financial means to travel. Related to the world economy is
population growth. According to the US Census Bureau "World pop Clock Projection," the
present world population is more than 6.5 billion. China, India, the United States, Indonesia,
and Brazil are the five most populous countries. If the economies of these five countries will
improve, tourism and hospitality will grow (see Table 1).

Table 1. International Arrivals into the Year 2020

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Source: Edgell, David, Maria Allen, Ginger Smith, and Jason Swanson. Tourism Policy and
Planning. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008.

Research shows that tourism and hospitality is a useful tool for economic development that can
be used to alleviate poverty. Developing countries recognize the important contributions of the
tourism and hospitality industry particularly in the establishment of small local industries; many
of which employ women. Table 2 shows that by 2020, the top three receiving regions are
Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Pacific (397 million), and the Americas (282
million), followed by Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. East Asia and the Pacific, South
Asia, the Middle East' and Africa are forecast to record growth at over 5% a year, compared to
the world average of 4.1%.

The UNWTO strongly encouraged tourism growth to the world's poorest countries to bring out
economic well-being, social development, and mutual understanding. If other regional
organizations such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and others will place tourism and hospitality
as a high priority, the economies of many countries will be strengthened.

III. Managing Sustainable Tourism in a The third tourism issue is managing sustainable tourism in a responsible manner. Sustainable

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Responsible Manner tourism is of utmost importance at present and in the future. Measures to advocate tourism
agencies, host communities, and travelers about sustainable tourism must be continued as the
world population increases. Respect for our natural and built environments will be the
country's legacy for future generations. Sustainable tourism has been a major concern for
destination planning as well as regional and national policy-making in the last decade. In the
last three years, there have been more books written about sustainable tourism than there
were 25 years ago. There are several conferences on sustainable tourism held across the globe
every year. These efforts will continue, and we can expect new approaches to planning and
policy changes in the field of sustainable tourism (Edgell, 2008).

IV. Tourism Policy and Strategic Planning Tourism policy and strategic planning is the fourth major world tourism and hospitality issue.
The sustainable benefits of tourism and hospitality for local communities will continue to grow
in importance. There will be greater efforts toward partnership of private and public sectors to
alleviate poverty, develop policies to combat the negative impacts on tourism and hospitality,
and support the economic, sociocultural, and environmental contributions of tourism and
hospitality to the world. Goeldner and Ritchie states that, "Good policy and sound planning
need to be conducted to ensure that a destination will be both competitive and sustainable.
While policies show the big picture and plans contain the details, both deal with the future
development of tourism. “

Developing new tourism and hospitality projects, maintaining present destinations, and
improving travel-related facilities and services require comprehensive policies and detailed
plans that combine local needs, market competitiveness, and tourism and hospitality
sustainability. Destinations, sites, and countries that formulate policies and implement detailed
strategic plans will be able to sustain their tourism and hospitality products in the future. When
the policies and plans include all aspects of tourism and hospitality and promote the concept of
cooperation and competition, the opportunities for future success are greatly intensified.

V. Using E-commerce Tools in Tourism and The fifth world tourism and hospitality issue are the use of e-commerce in tourism and
Hospitality hospitality. More than 50% of travelers in the United States use the Internet in planning their
travel and vacations. This occurrence is growing globally. If a destination does not have a good
website, it will miss tourism and hospitality traffic. A positive effect in developing destination
websites is that developers can find good websites that are similar to their destinations and

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copy the best features.

As Internet access continues to increase in many countries, online travel revenues will also
increase. The number of Internet users around the world was estimated to be 747 million in
2007, a 10% increase from 2006, The growth was due to the expanding economies of India
(33%), Russia (21%), and China (20%), Online travel revenues expected to reach two billion US
dollars by 2010.

It is evident that the use of e-commerce tools for tourism and hospitality will continue to grow
in the future. Several e-commerce tools equip tourism and hospitality for a high-tech future.
Since tourism and hospitality is a combination of products and services, the multimedia
qualities of electronic commerce can be applied effectively to tourism and hospitality in order
to increase the attractiveness of a destination.

Since a large part of tourism and hospitality is marketing, tourism and hospitality promoters
who are technically knowledgeable about interactive marketing will have competitive
advantage over less-skilled competitors. The emerging e-commerce tools are web blogs,
podcasts, and Internet marketing.

VI. Tourism and Hospitality Education and The sixth major tourism and hospitality issue is tourism and hospitality education and training.
Training Globalization and innovation will be the outstanding feature of tourism and hospitality
education and training in the future. Several innovations are taking place in some universities.
The University of the Balearic Islands in Majorca, Spain has a Master and PhD in Tourism and
Environmental Economics that is really unique with students coming from several countries. It
is a well-designed program which offers several courses. More than 50 visiting professors from
different countries teach in the program.

Many initiatives and changes are already taking place (Edgell, 2008) in tourism and hospitality
education and training. New trends include the collaboration between tourism agencies and
educators of tourism colleges and universities to address the changing needs of the tourism and
hospitality industry. A good example is the collaboration between the Business Enterprises for
Sustainable Travel (BEST) with the Education Network (EN). The group holds annual
international tourism and hospitality research conferences in various locations worldwide. In
these conferences, sustainable tourism topics are discussed; and curriculum modules are
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developed to be used in tourism courses and programs around the world. These conferences
enable the promotion and sharing of the latest best thinking and best practices in tourism and
hospitality education in order to produce effective and efficient tourism and hospitality
managers in the future.

Other important current and future trends in tourism and hospitality education training are
closely related to globalization and political stability. Bremmer (2006) states, “Openness
enables change. Change is an essential ingredient in growth and prosperity. Only the free
exchange of information, values, ideas and people can build a sustainable global stability that
enriches all who take part in it.” This can only happen with the continuous reduction of barriers
to the flow of international tourism and hospitality education and training. Today's
international students will be leaders of their countries tomorrow. All will leave their host
countries having contributed to and gained intercultural understanding and appreciation
(WTTC, 1994).

At present, there are 234 million international jobs created through the provision of travel and
tourism products and services. Hence, a highly educated workforce is needed due to the
continued growth and success of the global tourism and hospitality industry. Marriott
International recently announced a major expansion in the global marketplace with the
addition of 30,000 new hotel rooms in India and China, together with tens of thousands of
rooms added through acquisitions to the US and Canada portfolio. China was expected to lead
the world in tourism and hospitality growth through 2016. Marriott International currently has
30 hotels in China. Marriott, an undisputed world leader in quality hospitality products and
services, will invest millions of dollars in the education and training of its newly recruited
international workforce to meet this global growth strategy. According to Chairman and CEO J.
W. Marriott Jr., the lodging industry is a global business dominated by four factors, namely,
global wealth, demographics, trade, and world-class quality service workforce. The fourth
factor, a world-class quality service workforce, requires a commitment to outstanding
international tourism and hospitality education and training.

VII. Emerging Tourism and Hospitality Markets The seventh major tourism and hospitality issue refers to emerging tourism and hospitality
markets. China and India are the two emerging tourism and hospitality markets in the near
future. These two countries account for about one-third of the world's population. Each
country's economy is exploding, and a greater segment of the population is anxious to travel.
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Both countries are emerging as important receiving and generating countries for tourism and
hospitality (Edgell, 2008). Russia could also become a country generating and receiving tourists
in the future.

In terms of arrivals and tourist receipts, Europe continues to account for one-half of the world's
tourism and hospitality market. Asia and the Pacific have been the fastest-growing regional
market, surpassing the Americas (Edgell, 2008). The Americas will still be strong, insofar as
international tourist receipts are concerned, largely due to the combined influences of the
United States, Canada, and Mexico. In terms of major generating and receiving countries, the
United States and much of Europe will continue to produce millions of tourists every year
(Edgell, 2008).

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be an emerging tourism and hospitality market in the
future. In the past, this small country has been economically dependent on its petroleum
industry. The UAE launched the first major indoor ski slope in 2001 in Dubai. This made UAE a
global tourism destination. The UAE intends to launch many new tourism and hospitality
products over the next years.

Gabon in Africa is another emerging tourism and hospitality market. Gabon is an oil-rich
country turning to tourism and hospitality. Gabon's leaders realized that their economic future
cannot depend solely on oil. So, they have made a policy decision to develop ecotourism as an
alternative to the petroleum industry. Their plan is that 11% of the country will become
national parks with emphasis on outdoor-related tourism (Edgell, 2008).

South America is a continent that could emerge as a tourism and hospitality market in the
future. South America has tremendous potential for tourism and hospitality development. It is
still largely undeveloped and has many opportunities for tourism and hospitality development.
If strong policies and plans are established for sustainable tourism and hospitality development,
South America could emerge as an important tourism and hospitality market (Edgell, 2008).

VIII. Quality Tourism and Hospitality Products The eighth major tourism and hospitality issue is quality tourism and hospitality products and
and Experiences experiences. Tourists demand greater variety, flexibility, and quality in their tourism and
hospitality products (Edgell, 2008). Quality in tourism and hospitality experiences is usually high
on the tourist's list.
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Air travel remains a travel issue as far as quality is concerned (Edgell, 2008). Air travel receives
several complaints in terms of quality. Air travelers experienced higher quality airline services in
the 1970s and 1980s. In general, they are not very happy with air travel nowadays although air
travel is less expensive at present than it was in the 1970s and 1980s. This situation is shown in
travelers more frequently driving to destinations they formerly flew to visit (Edgell, 2008).

In the future, the number and variety of tourism and hospitality products will change.
Adventure travel (jungle tours, safaris, trekking, underwater exploration) to space travel is
being experienced by adventure travelers. There will be no shortage of activities for the active
travelers (Edgell, 2008). India, for example, realized that healthcare is the growing global
industry. Hence, it has developed hotel-style healthcare centers in which the family of the
patient is able to stay in beautiful surroundings and encouraged to take part in tourism and
hospitality-related activities.

Tourists look for a clean environment, more nature-based tourism, and cultural tourism.
Tomorrow's travelers will be better informed than today's travelers with regard to tourism
destinations because e-commerce tools are used more effectively in the planning of travel.
Thus, the future of tourism and hospitality will greatly depend on the introduction of new
quality tourism and hospitality products and experiences. Destinations that offer high quality
tourism and hospitality products will receive the benefits.

Space tourism, regarded as the century's newest tourism product, will grow tremendously as
soon as price becomes more reasonable. At present, a space trip package costs $20 million.
Dennis Tito, a US businessman, became the first tourist to reach outer space in 2001, traveling
in a Russian space shuttle to the International Space Station. The others were Mark
Shuttleworth in 2002; Gregory Olsen in 2005; Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist in
2006; and Charles Simonyi who paid $25 million for a two-week trip to the International Space
Station in 2007. In the very near future, Russia may begin to offer trips around the moon for
$100 million. So far, Russia is the only country with an effective space tourism policy.

Undersea tourism is emerging as a tourism market that will likely expand in the future.
Exploring the bottom of the ocean is not as expensive as space tourism. Another new global
tourism product that is gaining popularity is volunteer vacations. In 2006, 6% of the world's
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population undertook a vacation to help less fortunate people or to support a humanitarian
cause.

IX. Impact of Partnerships and Strategic The ninth major issue is partnerships and strategic alliances in tourism and hospitality. New
Alliances in Tourism and Hospitality partnerships are occurring such as the partnership between the UNWTO and the Meeting
Industry on November 28, 2006 in which the United Nations Tourism Satellite Account will
measure the global economic contribution of the meeting industry. Other partnerships are
introducing coopetition, the use of cooperation and competition in which the available
opportunities are unlimited.

A recognized form of coopetition is the rewarding of frequent travelers with points which can
be used with car rental companies, hotels, airlines, and other components of the tourism and
hospitality industry. Hotels that have strategic alliances with certain airlines will give the visitors
points for room nights spent at a hotel which accumulate and are redeemable for free airline
tickets or upgrades or for use in booking future hotel rooms.

Tourism and hospitality partnerships are a form of cooperation to facilitate competitive, and at
the same time, mutual interests. They occur in the local, regional, national, and international
levels and can be a combination of private and public sectors establishments. Two important
words in partnerships are responsibility and collaboration. It is through connectivity that
successful partnerships are formed.

Tourism strategic alliances are formed when the different sectors of the tourism and hospitality
industry are connected by a common bond such as a market opportunity or threat to market
stability like war or a terrorism event, and when they recognize the need for joining the alliance
for their mutual benefit. Strategic alliances, just like tourism and hospitality partnerships, can
occur on many levels.

Through strategic alliances in tourism and hospitality, the tourism and hospitality industry can
maximize its use of outsourcing particularly in the areas of cost effectiveness, cost reduction,
and brand loyalty. Outsourcing can provide information on flights, weather, crisis management,
or services that the traveler may demand. In short, partnerships and alliances in the tourism
and hospitality industry can help in the establishment of alternative companies and service
providers. Coopetition can encourage a competitive yet cooperative relationship of new
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companies and well-established agencies to explore the growth and expansion of tourism
products and services.

X. The Impacts of Health Issues on Tourism and The tenth major tourism and hospitality issue is the impact of health issues on tourism and
Hospitality hospitality. Most travelers avoid the areas that have high health risks. Diseases spread more
rapidly due to travel, particularly through international aviation. Reports released by Harvard
Researchers showed that the flu virus spread more rapidly due to the international tourism and
hospitality, especially air travel.

Fear of disease reduces travel demand. Other diseases that affect tourism and hospitality are
AIDS, SARS, and foot and mouth disease. AIDS was originally brought to the United States and
Canada by a flight attendant who contracted the disease in Africa. SARS spread rapidly
throughout Asia and Canada. The foot and mouth disease spread from the United Kingdom to
Continental Europe. Due to the SARS scare, the hotel occupancy rate in Hong Kong went down
from 82% to 5%. After the outbreak of SARS and the subsequent travel advisories from the
World Health Organization (WHO), tourist arrivals in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore
decreased. After the outbreak of the foot and mouth disease in Europe, the United Kingdom
lost between £2.7 and £3.2 billion due to postponement and cancellation of trips.

Policy makers now need to react to health crises in their own countries. They should formulate
strategies to provide support to individual countries and recommend restricted travel to
affected countries. Tourism and hospitality organizations must take leading roles in the
development and support of tourism and hospitality health measures and safeguards.

XI. Effects of Natural Disasters on Tourism and The eleventh major tourism and hospitality issue is the effects of natural disasters on tourism
Hospitality and hospitality. Natural disasters have devastating impacts on the tourism and hospitality
industry. People avoid travel to affected areas. Once this occurs, there is limited opportunity to
use tourism and hospitality to restart the economy or to obtain new revenues to reinvest in the
tourism and hospitality industry and in the well-being of the local residents (Edgell, 2008).

Airline disruptions caused by storms result in delays and cancellations in weather-affected


locations. In addition, delays, and groundings cause airplanes to be misallocated for the start of
the next round of flights.

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Two major storms such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, USA and the tsunami in Phuket,
Thailand caused mass disruptions in domestic and international tourism. After the hurricane,
the New Orleans tourism and hospitality industry lost $5 million per day due to the lack of
tourist arrivals. The tsunami resulted in huge losses in tourism and hospitality in Thailand.
Tourist arrivals in Phuket went down to 44.7% after the first four months. New Orleans and
Phuket slowly recovered from the disaster they have experienced.

Other types of natural disasters also have lasting impacts. Mudslides disrupt business
enterprises, generate huge cleanup costs, and destroy landscapes. Venezuela suffered severe
mudslides in the 1990s. This resulted in the decline of tourist arrivals by more than 25% in
1999.

Because of the negative impacts of natural disasters, new public policy tools and best practices
need to be developed that respond to natural disasters. Travelers need transportation systems
and alternative accommodations, access to telephones and other communication devices, and
places to stay in case their present lodging is destroyed or damaged. Safety concerns include
clean drinking water and the physical safe of tourists. Tourist organizations need to review
contingency plans for workers.

Policy formulation needs to address the following: provide the immediate needs of the industry
and guests; long-term recovery and rebuilding: and lastly, prevention and impact reduction.

XII. Impact of Climate Change and Tourism and The twelfth major tourism and hospitality issue is climate change and its impact on tourism and
Hospitality hospitality. Global warming is a growing concern for travelers. The recently published research
by the World Wildlife Fund documents the ecological footprint of human activities around the
world, many of which are embodied in international travel and tourism. Results show that the
world's ecosystem is being degraded by humans at an unsustainable rate that cause irreversible
damage to the planet as well as triggering population declines at about 31% in land animals
since 1970, freshwater creatures by 38%, and marine animals by 27%. Consumption exceeds by
about 25% of earth's capacity to provide resources and absorb waste. Recent projections by the
Pew Research Center show that global warming will cause major shifts in tourism and
hospitality with locations that have higher altitudes and latitudes becoming the winners, while
warming countries experience declines by about 20% (Washington Post News Service, 2006).
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Climate change can cause a ripple effect in tourism and hospitality. Climate change will affect
which certain locations will tourists visit and at what times of the year. This shift in travel
patterns and travel periods can have an impact on travel destinations which, in turn, affects the
environment, which in turn changes when visitors desire to come. Environmental impacts will
emerge—from fossil fuel power and oil generation that support various forms of
transportation—from accompanying greenhouse gas production (Edgell, 2008).

Tourism and hospitality managers need to look for information proactively and take the lead in
creating responses to projected changes. Tourism and hospitality industry sectors should adopt
long-term policies to protect their environments and their livelihoods. Local tourism and
hospitality managers must focus on environmental issues to enhance the tourism and
hospitality industry.

DEFINITION OF TERMS • Climate change. a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change
apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the
increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

• E-commerce. commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet.

• Foot and mouth disease. a contagious viral disease of cattle and sheep, causing
ulceration of the hoofs and around the mouth.

• Global warming. a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's


atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of
carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

• Safety. the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.

• Security. the state of being free from danger or threat.

• Space tourism. the practice of traveling into space for recreational purposes.

• Terrorism. the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in
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the pursuit of political aims.

• Tsunami. a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other
disturbance.

Chapter Activities 1. Make a research on the future of space tourism.

2. Explain why carrying capacity is an important concept but a problematic one.

3. Conduct a study on whether higher education institutions offering tourism and


hospitality programs in the Philippines have produced a world-class quality service
workforce.

4. Research on what safety and security measures have been undertaken by the
Department of Tourism in the Philippines to protect tourists from terrorist and
criminals.

REFERENCES 1. Johanna Muller, Current Trends in Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Willford Press, 2019

2. Metin Kozak, Nazmi Kozak, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Emerald Group

Publishing,2016

3. Macro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality, 3G E-Learning LLC, 2019

4. Zenaida Lansangan-Cruz, Macro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality, REX Bookstore,

2019

5. Romeo D. Lim, A Macro Perspective on Tourism and Hospitality, Mindshapers Publishing

Co., 2019

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