COLBOURNE COLLEGE

TOURISM & TRAVEL SECTOR

ROLE OF TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS

SADEKE SMITH
CONTENT
 Names and abbreviations of various tourism
organizations
 Role and structure of local, regional and
international organizations: WTO, WTTC,
CTO, IATA, ASTA, CHA, etc.
TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS
 Exist to monitor tourism, internationally,
regionally and local/national
 Devolop policies and laws to facilitate
tourism activities
 Establishing educational training for industry
or sector
 Promotional activities for tourism
 Devising codes and conducts for members
 Limiting or controlling entry to industry or
sector.
TOURISM ORGANIZATION
 Government – involves travel across
intenational borders
 Non Governmental ( NGO)
 Decisons are made surronding:
 Hotels
 Airlines
 National parks
 Heritage preservation
 Economical preservation
 Environmental protection
 Etc.
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS

 World Tourism Organization

 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
 International Civil Aviation Organization
( ICAO)
 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development ( OECD)
 The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)
WORLD TOURISM
ORGANIZATION
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
A specialized agency of the United Nations and the
leading international organization in the field of
tourism.
 The most widely recognised organization in tourism
today.
 Serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues
and a practical source of tourism know-how.
 Plays a central and decisive role in promoting the
development of responsible, sustainable and
universally accessible tourism, paying particular
attention to the interests of developing countries.
 Located in Madrid, Spain
 WTO - OBJECTIVES
1. To accelerate and enlarge the contribution of
tourism (international and domestic) to peace,
understanding, health and prosperity throughout
the world.
2. To facilitate, in travel, man’s access to
education and culture.
3. To raise standards of living in the less developed
areas of the world by helping provide facilities
for tourism and the promotion of tourist traffic
to these areas.
WTO OBJECTIVES CONT’D
4. To better the conditions of country dewellers
thereby contributing to an expanding world
economy.
5. To act as an international agency of
coordination and cooperation to spread
tourism.
6. To provide a service to members valuable to
their tourist operations.
 WTO OBJECTIVES CONT’D
7. To provide a point for meeting and
coordination of all tourist interests of member
countries.
8. To establish permanent liaison and
consultation with the various sectors of tourist
operators.
9. To do all this in the most efficient way.
 World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

The forum for business leaders in the Travel &

Tourism industry. WTTC works with governments,
local leaders and WTTC’s Global Members with a
regional presence, to identify and eliminate
barriers to growth. WTTC undertakes extensive
annual macro-economic research, which assesses
the current and projected impact of Travel &
Tourism on a total of 176 national economies
around the world. It’s a private org..

http://www.wttc.org/
 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONT’D
 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
 The forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism
industry; members are the Chief Executives of some one
hundred of the world's leading Travel & Tourism companies;
overviews all matters related to Travel & Tourism.
 WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of
the world's largest industries.
 International Air Transportation Association (IATA)
 Principal function – to simplify and speed the movement of persons
and goods around the world; located in New York City.
 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
 Responsible for regulation of air navigation recommendations
regarding formalities such as customs and immigration; located in
Montreal, Canada.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONT’D
 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)
 OECD brings together the governments of countries
committed to democracy and the market economy from
around the world to: Support sustainable economic growth;
Boost employment; Raise living standards; Maintain financial
stability; Assist other countries' economic development; and
Contribute to growth in world trade.
 The Organisation provides a setting where governments
compare policy experiences, seek answers to common
problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic
and international policies.
 The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)
 A non-profit organization/global network of ecotourism
professionals and travellers dedicated to promoting
ecotourism; founded in 1990; leads the development of
ecotourism and the efforts to make tourism a viable tool for
conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and
sustainable community development.
 Provides guidelines and standards, training, technical
assistance, research and publications.
 REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
 Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
 Established in 1989 with the merger of the Caribbean Tourism
Association (founded in 1951) and the Caribbean Tourism
Research and Development Center (founded in 1974). 
 Exists to increase significantly the inclusion of the Caribbean
region in the set of destinations being considered by
travellers.
 Creates and manages the partnerships necessary to increase
the purchase of travel to and within the Caribbean that result
in sustainable economic and social benefits for the people.
 Comprises 32 member countries, including English, French,
Spanish and Dutch countries and territories, as well as private
sector allied members. These include the Caribbean Hotel
Association, companies, organizations and persons providing
products and services to the Caribbean tourism industry.
 Headquarters in Barbados.
 Caribbean Tourism Organization's (CTO)
Barbados

 Its main objective is the development of

sustainable tourism for the economic and
social benefit of Caribbean people. The CTO
provides to and through its public and private
sector members, the services and information
to accomplish this goal. The CTO, with
headquarters in Barbados, comprises 32
member countries. Its acts as a regionally body
to govern and direct the policies of Caribbean
tourism ensuring that fair play is always used.
REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONT’D
 Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association
(CHTA)
 CHTA, founded in 1962, represents the entire
spectrum of the hospitality industry's private
sector including 36 national hotel associations
across the Caribbean region, over 850 hotel
members with approximately 125,500 rooms, and
more than 600 supplier companies represented as
'Allied' members.
 Headquarters in Miami, Florida.
 Caribbean Tourism Research Council (CTRC)
 Involvedin providing consulted advice and
technical assistance in research matters; located
in Barbados.
REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONT’D
 Caribbean Tourism Development Company (CTDC)
 A marketing and business development unit, owned equally by the Caribbean
Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Caribbean Tourism
Organization (CTO).
 Its mission is: To own, promote, protect, advance and enhance the
Caribbean brand.
 Combines the resources of the Caribbean region’s destinations,
accommodations and service providers to create a viable, cohesive, business
unit that is able to identify commercial opportunities and allow the members
of CHTA and CTO to benefit collectively from those opportunities in ways
that individually they could not. 
 Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
 A non-profit trade organization (an alliance and partnership of travel
organizations) that represents and speaks for the common interests of the US
travel industry
 A public voice and political liaison for the entire industry
 Promotes increased travel to and within the United States through marketing
initiatives;
 The authoritative and recognized source of travel research
 Based in Washington, D.C.
 REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
CONT’D
 American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
 World’s leading association of travel professionals; members include
travel agents and the companies whose products they sell such as
tours, cruises, hotels, car rentals, etc.; leading advocate for travel
agents, the travel industry and the travelling public; primarily
involved in policy, planning, product improvement and development.
 Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)
 Regulate airline routes, scheduling of prices and fares of air travel in
the United States; located in Washington DC.
 Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)
 An agency of the Department of Transportation of the US government;
prime function is the regulation of airport administrators.
 Center for Disease Control and Prevention
 Provides up-to-date, accurate medical travel information, including
disease warnings and vaccination requirements.
 Many countries have created National Tourism
Organizations (NTO’s) to take on the marketing
and promotional aspects of tourism. In most cases
the NTO is a statutory board or an executive
agency meaning that it has some degree of
autonomy from the government in its budget and
decision making powers. NTO act as national
bodies for tourism concerns, it governs and
oversees the country’s tourism drive. In many
cases NTO will fall under the mandate of the
ministry of tourism, controlled by the tourism
minister.
ORGANIZATIONS IN JAMAICA
 Ministry of Tourism
 The primary responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism
is the overall development of the tourism industry. It
seeks to:
 Facilitate sustainable development of the tourism product
and investment in the tourism industry as a whole
 Ensure maintenance of standards and human resource
development and training
 Facilitate marketing and promotion of the tourism product
in such a way that Jamaica will remain a premier tourist
destination
 Maximise the social and economic benefits for the
Jamaican people.
Structure of Jamaica’s tourism environment
 The Ministry of Tourism

 Initiate and establish policy/framework for

tourism development and sustainability
 Safeguard the industry via enacting laws and
regulations
 Ensure compliance to regulations
 Reduce bureaucracy
 Develop linkages for sustainability

 Who is the minister of tourism?

ORGANIZATIONS IN JAMAICA
CONT’D
 Tourism Product Development Company Limited
(TPDCo)
 TPDCo Limited has the mandate of developing and improving
Jamaica’s tourism product. Its main responsibilities are:
 Returning the national budget to a surplus position
 Acting as a catalyst and facilitator in developing and
implementing plans to improve the main resort areas
 Identifying and prioritizing the area with potential for
enhancing Jamaica’s tourism product, and to plan, develop
and implement initiatives, in order to improve Jamaica’s
competitiveness as a preferred tourism destination
 Facilitating the best practicable reconciliation of aesthetic,
cultural, architectural, economic and environmental
considerations, all of which must be taken into account in
securing co-operation from all parties concerned, in any
specific project.  
 Eg. Team Jamaica Certification + Training
 The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDco.)
 Facilitate the development and sustainability of the product
(promulgation of standard /standard
assessment/consultations /seminars /workshops build
awareness to Benchmarks)
 Monitor , inspect and evaluate the product/services
 Provide product data to facilitate development/sustainability
 Facilitate the development regarding safeguards for the
product/services
 Facilitate development of Human Resource Training (Team
Jamaica /skills training)
 Develop linkages with relevant agencies-public and private
(health/security/safety/environment/parish councils-
accommodation/attractions/cruise ship agents/tour
operators /ground transport operators etc)

http://www.tpdco.org/
 ORGANIZATIONS IN JAMAICA
CONT’D
 Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB)
 Founded in 1965
 Headquartered in a modern office building in
New Kingston, JTB is responsible for marketing
Jamaica so the island will retain its position as
the Caribbean's premier tourism destination.
 Carries out its mission through an international
network of offices and representatives in key
markets - New York, Miami, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Toyko,
Rome, Dallas, Atlanta, Paris, etc.

http://www.jtbonline.org/pages/default.aspx
 The Jamaica Tourist Board
 Promote and market the destination
 Implement market research
 Develop linkages with destination management
companies ( local and foreign / tour
operators/travel agents)
 Assess product offerings ensure standard
requirements
 Develop linkages with local providers/agencies
(JHTA/AJAL) Ass. Of Jamaica Attractions Ltd.
 Ensure compliance to regulations (Tourist Board Act)
 What is the marketing slogan for Jamaica right
now? Once you go, you know
The JTB has offices in many countries. Can someone
tell me why, and where may you find one
ORGANIZATIONS IN JAMAICA
CONT’D
 Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF)
 An agency of the Ministry of Tourism
 Plays a pivotal role to improve the country's
tourism product, by providing funds for
sustainable development projects.
 Established in 2005 with the primary role of
funding projects earmarked for execution in the
Tourism Master Plan, which is aimed at
enhancing Jamaica's image and positioning the
country as a premier tourist destination.
 Spruce Up Jamaica Campaign etc
 ORGANIZATIONS IN JAMAICA
CONT’D
 Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA)
 Established in 1961
 The organisation which represents Jamaican
hotels, other visitor accommodations as well
as most suppliers of goods and services to the
tourism industry.
 The main aim of the JHTA is to promote the
development of Jamaica’s hospitality industry
and to represent the interests of its members
in all fora, locally, regionally and
internationally. 

 Host & conduct trade shows and sales blitz worldwide..

 Has Various chapters to represent the various Resort Areas
 The Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association

(JHTA) is the organization, which represents

Jamaican hotels, other visitor accommodations as
well as most suppliers of goods and services to the
tourism industry. The main aim of the JHTA is to
promote the development of Jamaica’s hospitality
industry and to represent the interests of its
members in all foray, locally, regionally and
internationally. 

http://www.jhta.org/
CO N T I N
UE
 There are many other agencies that I could list,
however I gave you the most predominant ones. I
could have mentioned NEPA, the national
environment and planning agency. Who is a
government agency with a strict mandate to
protect the environment and ensure its
sustainability. (land, water sheds, flora and fauna)

Jamaica Vacation
 Market and develop vertical integration via
packaging the product –air links /tour
operators/travel agencies and accommodation

 Eg. Provision of Airline marketing and Air Seat Risk Support

List of the Private Sector organizations involved
with local tourism

 Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association

 Association of Jamaica Attractions
 Jamaica Association of Villas and apartments
 Jamaica association of tour operators (JUTA ect.)
The Role of the Public sector
 Implement a framework for development (policy/master plans)

 Build linkages / partnerships for development and

sustainability (public and private sectors)
 Safeguard industry (laws and regulation/monitoring
/compliance)
 Facilitate Development -infrastructure/investment/human
resource/product diversification
 Ensure environmental sustainability -capacity
carrying/environmental impacts/resort development/impact
assessments
 Enhance visitor experience -facilitate development of
standards/benchmarks/ quality offerings
 Create employment opportunities
 Provide an environment to attract investment
 Coordinate, plan; legislate and regulate and ensure that social
and environment are included in development
 The Role of Tour Operators in tourism
 
 Tour operators are commercial tourism firms
that specialize in the manufacture of travel
packages. The term tour wholesalers and tour
operators are often used interchangeably
however the wholesaling function means
assembling the tour. It involves tour planning,
preparation, marketing and reservations. By
definition a wholesaler doesn’t sell directly to
the public but receives reservation from the
intermediaries such as travel agents and tour
escorts.
 The role of the public sector

The public sector is that part of economic and

administrative life that deals with the delivery of
goods and services by and for the government,
whether national, regional or local/municipal.
The public sector in tourism is concerned with
national benefits presented through politics,
which can embrace economic factors like balance
of payments and employment.
 Governments in the public sector

Tourism is subject to direct and indirect government

intervention primarily because of its employment
and income producing possibilities which is an
integral part of the machinery of many modern
governments, and of many government programmes
in both developed and lesser-developed countries.
(Lea 1988, Pearce 1992, Richter1989).
 The Role of the Private Sector in Tourism
 
Both the government and the private sector have
important roles to play in tourism development.
The private sector’s main role is to develop and
operate tourism facilities and services for visitors
while maximizing financial returns, however today,
many private companies focus on the social and
environmental responsibilities that they must
uphold in achieving profit goals.

Eg. Green Globe certification, recycling,

sponsorship and donations to community projects
 Key Role of the private sector
 Project ideas, sponsored research studies, assessments of supply
and demand relationships, idea generation, the entrepreneurial
role which is the heart of the private sector’s involvement in
tourism development, development project implementation,
financial risk-taking, investment and the management of
operations are key roles of the private sector.
 However, the private sector also provides the specialized
technical skills required in the development through tourism
consultants, market research firms, economists, environmental
and social experts, architects, engineers, designers, lawyers,
project managers and builders.
  
 The private sector, through its financial institutions, others
corporate lenders, and individual citizens, provides a large
proportion of the financing for the investment in tourism
development projects.
  Non Profit organizations
 
 NPO or the volunteer sector as its formally called, play an important
role in tourism development in most destinations. These
organizations include:
 Convention and visitor bureaus
 Chambers of commerce
 Travel association
 Foundations
 Historical and cultural societies
 Recreation and sports associations
 Service clubs
 Community associations and religious groups
 The government’s role in this equation

The most widely accepted function of

government in tourism development is as a
stimulator or catalyst for development.
Governments complement the efforts of the
private sector and the non profit organizations.

http://jis.gov.jm/ministries/tourism-and-
entertainment/
Areas of overlapping and clash with the Private sector

 Many should not try to do what the private sector is able and
willing to do. There are many countries where the two
overlap. In some countries, the federal, state or provincial,
and local governments are involved in the operation of parks,
most of which include camping facilities.
  Many private campground operators felt that the government
operated- facilities offer unfair competition and the
government should not be in the campground business.
 Another area of contention is the provision of boat docking
facilities where both private sector and government agencies
operate competitive facilities.
 A further area of director competition is that of government
owned airlines versus private carriers.
 The reasons for Gov’t involvement in tourism

 It is not always reasonable to expect tourism to develop in the

manner and at the speed contemplated in the tourism plan if
left entirely to the private sector. Government then finds
themselves with a more direct role in tourism of monitoring
and watch dogging the sector. (To be more specific ) Reasons
vs situations
 
Bankruptcy
 Existing tourism facilities becomes bankrupt and cannot be sold
on the market; the government is obligated to acquire the
facility. The reverse for air Jamaica
 Pilots or demonstration projects
 Government wants to encourage private sector development by
pioneering new types of developments through demonstration
or pilot projects
 
Profitability Concerns
 Private sector is unwilling to finance a project because of
limited profit potential; the government has given this project
a high priority due to its regional economic contributions or its
pivotal role in stimulating tourism.
Social tourism
 Government wants to provide low-cost vacation opportunities
for disadvantaged groups within the population, such as the
poor, the sick, victims of tragedy and the aged.
REFERENCE

• (http://www.jtbonline.org/pages/default.as
px).

• (http://jis.gov.jm/ministries/tourism-and-
entertainment/).

• (http://www.jhta.org/).