Labats World

In this blog post, I will analyse the impacts of issues and trends that drive change in the travel and tourism sector, in addition to discussing the likely consequences of travel and tourism businesses failing to respond to market changes.

Maroto (2017) stated that “The global travel industry, and the way in which consumers experience it, is changing so dramatically that it requires a fundamental change to the way in which travel is sold and how the traveller is served.” Indeed, the level of changes that has hit the travel and tourism industry in the past 10-20 years has had a staggering impact on the way a company offers its products and services.

Thomas Cook (2013) stated that one of biggest trends in recent years that has shaped the travel and tourism industry was online growth.

“The growth of the internet has increased price transparency and choice, leading to a significant increase in the availability of travel products and services online, both through direct suppliers and travel intermediaries, and to a proliferation of information and reviews about travel experiences and destinations.” (Thomas Cook, 2013)

Dixon (2010) stated that market research can be considered somewhat of an outdated way to predict future trends, since customer’s emotions change very rapidly, and market research can only state what customers thought about undertaking last week, and not what customers would like to undertake at this current time. Therefore, travel companies should not rely exclusively on market research, instead, they should look at emerging trends, and imagine how customer’s needs will change once this emerging trend becomes widespread.

Internet usage has soared from 18 million users in 1995, to over 3 billion users as of March 2017 according to Internet Stats (2017). Many businesses in the travel and tourism industry have responded to this change by offering services such as Wi-Fi connectivity. According to Spangler (2017), 34% of hotel users stated that they find Wi-Fi connectivity to be the most important service when searching for a hotel. Spangler (2017) also stated that 87% of property owners admitted that technology plays a vital role in the customer’s choice of a hotel.

Another change which travel and tourism companies must respond to is inflation. The graph below provided by Trading Economics (2017) shows how inflation has changed in the past 5 years.

An article by Burn-Callander (2015) states that travel and tourism businesses must respond to inflation, by adjusting their prices accordingly. Burn-Callander (2015) also stated that although inflation impacts every travel and tourism business, SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) are the ones which should be particularly careful. Failing to respond to inflation can cause a decrease in profits, in-turn threatening the company with bankruptcy.

An example of a company which has failed to respond to this change is Lowcostholidays. In July 2016, the company, originally founded in 2004, went into administration. The primary reason for this was due to a ‘turbulent economic climate hampering business activity’. This was partly due to the company selling holidays at lower prices than usual, hence their name, but failing to respond even partially to inflation, leading to a loss of income, and eventual bankruptcy (Wood and Bowers, 2016).

A report by The Air Travel Insolvency Protection Advisory Committee (ATIPAC, 2014) explains that another factor in Lowcostholiday’s downfall was the movement of their offices from the UK to the Balearic Islands. This move meant that they lost their ATOL protection status, and the report predicted that consumer confidence would decline in the company.

 

References

ATIPAC, 2014, Report highlights concerns over Lowcostholidays relocation, Available on: http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2012444, Accessed on: 08/06/17

Burn-Callander R, 2015, How does inflation affect a business?, The Telegraph, Available on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/sme-home/low-inflation-business/, Accessed on: 04/06/17

Dixon P, 2010, Future of Travel Industry Google Travel and Tourism Conference Keynote by Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon, YouTube, Available on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1C1chw1I4U, Accessed on: 02/06/17

Internet Stats, 2017, Available on: http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm, Accessed on: 03/06/17

Maroto L , 2017, Amadeus, Available on: http://www.amadeus.com/web/amadeus/en_1A-corporate/Amadeus-Home/Travel-trends/Travel-industry-trends/1319625740236-Page-AMAD_LandingPagePpal, Accessed on: 01/06/17

Spangler T, 2017, Broadband, Wi-Fi More Important Than Clean Underwear for Apartment Dwellers, Survey Finds, Variety, Available on: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/broadband-wifi-laundry-survey-comcast-apartments-1202393580/, Accessed on: 03/06/17

Thomas Cook, Key Industry Trends, 2013, Available on: https://www.thomascookgroup.com/key-industry-trends/, Accessed on: 02/06/17

Trading Economics, 2017, UK Inflation Rate, Available on: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi, Accessed on: 04/06/17

Wood Z and Bowers S, 2016, Lowcostholidays goes into administration with warning to travellers, The Guardian, Available on: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/15/lowcostholidays-administration-warning-travellers, Accessed on: 04/06/17

Hi all. This blog post is to let everyone know about upcoming trips for me in the summer of 2017. I will be travelling home to Hungary, and visiting places outside of Budapest, so expect more blog posts this year than last year. The places which I plan to visit are:

-Lillafured, Miskolc

-Keszthely

-Velence Lake

-Visegrad

-Debrecen

These trips are subject to change, but are likely to go ahead. Thank you for reading, I will keep you all updated.

In this blog post, I will be evaluating the methods and media used for interpretation within the heritage and cultural industry for tourists. When it comes to how certain topics are interpreted to tourists, they are mostly factual, although there have been some instances where information has been somewhat tampered with to better suit the attraction’s agenda and perception for tourists.

An example of a case study where information may have been distorted is Bletchley Park, a former WWII codebreaker site. A volunteer was sacked in 2014 after he told his own stories to visitors, as opposed to following the guidelines set by the museum (Owen, 2014). These guidelines were of course scripted for use by volunteers, although this information may not talk about first hand experiences of volunteers who previously may have worked at the sight during the war, thus visitors can only listen to what the museum scripts for the volunteers, and not get an insight into stories told by people who worked at the site.

On 30/03/17 I paid a visit to the V&A museum in London, and examined the items on display. The first question which comes to mind is ‘Are these genuinely from that particular time period?’. For example, there were several pieces of Indian jewelry on display. The boards tell visitors that they date back to the early 1900s, although where is the evidence that they date from that period, and were not purchased from a local jewelry shop. This is not to say that they are certainly fake, but the possibility of these items being such cannot be ruled out, an example of how museums may present items to visitors as being genuine.

 

References

Owen J, 2014, Sacked for breaking code of conduct: Rivalry between Bletchley Park charities tumbles out of control, The Independent, Available on: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sacked-for-breaking-code-of-conduct-rivalry-between-bletchley-park-charities-tumbles-out-of-control-9091672.html, Accessed on: 14/04/17

Hello viewers. My apologies for the awfully long absence on posting to this blog, but due to many other commitments, I have been unable to post on here. However, I am back and ready to post. My next post will be part of a new unit I am doing in college, and subsequent posts will be trips which I will do in the near future.

Interactive planning systems play a vital role in the success of tourism development. As Murphy (1985) stated, planning is regulating the change in the system in order to ensure the development is achieved according to intentions, and the social, environmental and economic benefits to the development process are increased.

Planning is prediction as well, as Gunn (1998) stated. Planning ahead means that stakeholders in tourism development can benefit the local area around a particular development socially, economically and environmentally. A prime example of tourism development done well is the so-called Olympic legacy. The came about after the 2012 Olympic games in London, and benefited East London remarkably. Where previously marshlands and swamps dominated, new buildings such as the Westfields Stratford shopping centre were built, and nationally, the Olympic legacy helped the UK out of recession, increasing the GDP by 0.2%. This was helped by the heavy increase in tourist numbers during the games, when 698,000 tourists visited according to the Office for National Statistics, and the same website also stated that during their stay, tourists spent an average of £1,553, a factor in the GDP increase. An article from BBC News shows that after the Olympics, the athletes village, which was used to house participants in the Olympics, was converted into a normal housing estate, thus increasing the number of available homes. In all, more than 70,000 new homes were created.

Transport to the Olympic venue also heavily developed, making Stratford now the 2nd most connected transport hub in London after King’s Cross, according to The Olympic Legacy Story. As well as improving existing transport links, new ones were built, including an extension of the Docklands Light Railway, and a new station opening on the HS1 rail line called Stratford International, with the intention of serving international Eurostar trains in the future.

It is evident in this case that the Olympic planners made use of the CAMBRIDGE model. According to Dhaliwal (2016), this model measures the economic and social impacts brought by a certain project or event, such as the Olympics. Prior to the Olympics, Stratford (Where the main Olympic venue was located) was little more than a waste ground, and local unemployment was at 13% according to London’s Poverty Profile. After the Olympics, local unemployment decreased to just 7%. During the Olympics, 20% of local residents were employed in one way or another within the venue. Using the CAMBRIDGE model, the planners were also able to provide 2,818 new affordable homes according to Dugan (2013).

However, there were examples where the lack of planning took its toll. The main example is Brazil’s run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup games. The stadiums built caused riots among local people, who did not receive benefits in anyway from the expensive project, as the money was essentially leaked and not invested back into the community. It is also worth mentioning that the government ran over-budget with the games. The original budget in December 2012 was £4.7 billion, but this skyrocketed to £5.3 billion just 9 months later. This overspending was condemned by numerous protests in the following months, as the government had failed to address the social issues affecting the slums of Brazil, according to an article from International Business Times.

An article by Keating (2014) from International Business Times highlights the importance that interactive planning systems should have in sustainable tourism, but unfortunately the concept failed in this case. As mentioned, the overspending on the FIFA games was met with much protests, with over 20,000 people taking part, including police officers, teachers and bus drivers, demanding better conditions. The government was accused of spending £8 billion on stadiums, whilst failing to meet people’s needs, stating that there was a lack of money to do so.

References

Balwant Dhaliwal, 2016, Lecture on Sustainable Tourism Development, West Thames College, 02/03/16

BBC News, 2010, London 2012 Olympics: Housing legacy, Available on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11841962, Accessed on: 19/04/16

Emily Dugan, 2013, The Independent, Olympics legacy: Did the Games succeed in rejuvenating East London?, Available on: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympics-legacy-did-the-games-succeed-in-rejuvenating-east-london-8711691.html, Accessed on: 23/05/16

Fiona Keating, 2014, International Business Times, Thousands Take Part in Brazil Protests at World Cup Waste, Available on: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/thousands-brazil-protest-world-cup-waste-1448963, Accessed on: 23/05/16

London’s Poverty Profile, Unemployment ratios by borough, Available on: http://www.londonspovertyprofile.org.uk/indicators/topics/work-and-worklessness/unemployment-by-borough/, Accessed on: 23/05/16

The Olympic Legacy Story, GOV.UK, Available on: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/77993/DCMS_Beyond_2012_Legacy_Story.pdf+_cd=1_hl=en_ct=clnk_gl=uk, Accessed on: 23/05/16

Hello all. Please take a look at this Prezi created by me. It is about what WTO does to measure the impacts of tourism development. To view, please click the link. Thank you.

P.S. If anyone is wondering who Jessica is, she is a classmate of mine, and we made this Prezi as a pair.

https://prezi.com/do2dy3xlec4b/present/?auth_key=5gei4rx&follow=rcuedb5tiddi&kw=present-do2dy3xlec4b&rc=ref-183455535

 

According to the UNWTO, Sustainable Tourism can be defined as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities“. We begin this blog, and the assignment, by describing what planning is and why it is important.

Planning is needed to ensure that the environment and local culture is well-protected and free of damage. It is also needed to keep tourist numbers stable, as they would otherwise decline in an uncontrolled planning environment (Dhaliwal, 2016). There are four levels of planning, these being:

• International – This level manages worldwide services, including International Transport Services, and also Multi-country Marketing and Promotion. Examples of international organisations include WTO (World Tourism Organisation), EU (European Union), and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
• National – This level manages services within a country. An example from the UK includes VisitBritain, English Heritage, and National Trust.
• Regional – This level manages services within a certain region of the country, such as a county. An example is Bamiyan in Afghanistan.
• Local – This level manages services within a particular area on a smaller scale, such as a city or town.

Bramwell (1999) suggests that the power of stakeholders is often unequal and points out that “power governs the interaction of individuals, organisations and agencies influencing, or trying to influence the formulation of tourism policy, and the manner in which it is implemented.”