Thursday, 3 October 2019

REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ATHIRAH

NURUL ATHIRAH BINTI ROSLAN
17DUP19F1002


5.1.2    Discuss the implication of issues and trends in the tourism and hospitality industry

IMPLICATIONS OF ISSUES AND TRENDS IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
This article presents findings of issues and trends that hospitality industry might fact in the year ahead respectively. Top issues that will influence the global hospitality industry in the year ahead include sustainable development calls for green hospitality, labor cost, multicultural issues and higher education. Challenges that facing hospitality include will include operating issues, marketing issues, technological issues and economic issues.

INTRODUCTION
The world of tourism has undergone some significant changes in recent years. It used to be dominated by tourists from the western countries and visiting largely conventional destinations in Europe, America and some other places in Asia (such as Malaysia) and the Caribbean islands. However, since the rapid emergence of China after its opening to the outside world in 1978, and the increased number of terrorist attacks that followed after the landmark September 11 2001 incident, the tourism industry is beginning to experience some noticeable shifts in recent years. These shifts which are emerging trends are likely to continue in the future, especially if terrorist attacks remain unchecked. This paper highlight trends and discusses the issues and implications that will be faced by tourism promotion boards of nations and companies that rely heavily on the tourist trade.

IMPLICATIONS OF ISSUES IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

1.1       Sustainable Development Calls for Green Hospitality
Going green is a white-hot issue in the hospitality-design industry. People are beginning to look at sustainable solutions in a whole new way. The perception of green has changed; it has gone from a fringe movement to mainstream. As a sign of its sweeping popularity, one of the best attended sessions at the recent Lodging Conference in Phoenix was: “Going Green: Environmentally Profitable Hotels.” Some of the pioneers of the green hospitality movement, there were to share their challenges and triumphs in working toward a carbon constrained future. The basis of sustainable hospitality operation is a three-part balance, expressed as “profits, people, and planet.” By taking those three elements into account, thus, a sustainable green hospitality development program becomes economically viable, as well as beneficial to the community and environment.


1.2       Labor Cost Issues
In 2005, labor expenses remained the largest single expense item for hospitality managers, accounting for 44.6 percent of total operating costs. Consequently, any trend or issue that could potentially impact labor costs must be taken seriously by hospitality owners and managers alike. Due to the magnitude of the expense, labor costs and issues have always consumed a substantial portion of the time and efforts of hospitality managers. Now, with news of union contact negotiations, changes to immigration laws, and proposed legislation to increase the minimum wage, hospitality managers are on edge. The cost of labor is the biggest expense in all categories of hotels. Even with the advent of select-service properties, hospitality developers cannot avoid the human component of hospitality operations. While managing labor expenses is important, hospitality managers are also aware that employees are an integral part of the lodging experience. The interaction between hospitality guests and employees has a dramatic impact on the customer experience and the success of the business operation. Therefore, a fine balance must be drawn between cost controls and guest satisfaction.

1.3       Multicultural Issues
The newest trends and topics surrounding hospitality research and development is the management of multicultural talent and the political landscape affecting the hospitality industry. Franchise is becoming the biggest industry in the world, the success of franchise lie in the understanding of ownership, internal and external customer- and workforce-related - and top legislative matters, insights of marketing and promoting. With the development of globalization, multicultural issues are facing and disturbing the industry operators. Bringing the far corners of the world together is part and parcel of what the hospitality sector does. Blending amenities to cater for the needs of the world’s different cultures is central to success for large, international hospitality chains. Cultural issues have never before been such a crucial determinant of how a large hospitality should operate. In some Asian cultures, for example, eye contact is not sought, as it can make guests feel uncomfortable, while in Western tradition it is equated with openness and honesty. This could be important in defining how staff addresses themselves to certain Asian guests.

1.4       Higher Education
Tremendous changes are taking place in hospitality industry which poses several challenges for transformation of the whole educational process including educational curricula, learning materials, instructional practices and education stakeholders. Education systems and institutions must take the challenges of the knowledge economy seriously. This would, however, include restructuring the learning process to reflect the use of information in the real world, changing the role of the educator from presenter of pre-packaged facts to facilitator of active learning and transforming the library specialist to an active collaborator in curriculum planning for effective use and availability of information resources. Indeed, educators need to realize that teaching is not telling, that learning is not absorbing and that knowledge is not static and, in turn, reflect these to their instruction mechanisms and student appraisal systems. The new educational providers have risen in order to fill the undeniable demand for open, flexible, distance and life-long learning and include for-profit universities; corporate universities (e.g. the Accor University, the Kellogg University, McDonalds Hamburger University); virtual universities (such as Universities 21, a collaboration project of Thomson Learning and Universities 21, Singapore and University in the UK); and multinational organizations such as Microsoft, whose primary business is not education but who control facilities central to it.

1.5       Global Uncertainty
While the global hospitality industry continues to recover following the effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, SARS, the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq, global uncertainty remains a major concern. Terror attacks are the most direct example of global uncertainty; however, there are other areas of concern such as geopolitical relations, CBS E-Journal, Biz n Bytes, Vol. 6, Dec., 2010 ISSN 0976 – 0458 governmental travel restrictions and currency exchange rates. The industry needs to take a proactive approach in addressing these issues and their potential impact.

1.6       Human Resources
Human resources are an area that is growing in importance. As the industry continues to recover, it needs to focus on its employees and their roles as service providers. Increasing demand requires increased staffing levels at a time when the labour pool is shrinking. To address this issue, the industry must attempt to work with the unions as allies, devote more time and money to recruitment and training and educate politicians as to the impact of governmental economic and immigration policy on the industry.

1.7       Technology
The hospitality industry must do a better job of managing technology and addressing the challenges posed by new and changing technology. Specifically, the industry must align technology investment with business objectives, address aging and inadequate infrastructure (at both the corporate and the property levels); and learn to better utilize technology in marketing to guests, training employees, yield management, and meeting customer requirements.

1.8       Customer Issues
Customer issues present a challenge to the industry in several ways: Increasing loss of control over the customer - use of the Internet, homogenization of the hotel product and increased corporate oversight has reduced the amount of control that operators have over the customer. CBS E-Journal, Biz n Bytes, Vol. 6, Dec., 2010 ISSN 0976 – 0458 Changes in the customer - hotel customers are changing due to demographics (the aging of the baby boomer generation) and due to lower transportation costs that promote travel. Changes in customer expectations - these are changing as consumers become more sophisticated and better educated.

IMPLICATIONS OF TRENDS IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

1.1       Advances in Information Technology
Advances in information technology over the last 20 years have also brought great transformation and benefits to the tourism industry. Websites such as Agoda.com, Airbnb.com, Booking.com, ebookers.com, expedia.com, Hotel.com, Lastminute.com, and Trivago.com are just some examples of platforms that are easily accessible to customers around the world. With a mushrooming of countless websites for the booking of holidays, ranging from air ticketing, cruise holiday bookings, car hires, hotel accommodation, guided tour packages, and many other offerings, new challenges have emerge. First, direct marketing by the various tour service providers are now possible, and the role of agents may diminish over time. Consumers can now book on-line directly with the respective tour service providers. Website operators and tourist service providers will have to be on their toes in order to ensure that their offerings are not only up to speed, but competitive too.
Second, in order to counter the increased competition, websites operators and tour service providers will have to find ways and means to differentiate themselves in order to make them appealing to the consumers. At the moment, price is commonly used as the main differentiating factor. Moving forward, these sites may have to include other differentiators and benefits, such as loyalty programs and other kinds of attractions in order to attract consumers to their sites.
Third, and this is contrary to differentiation, website operators and tour service providers may have to collaborate or even integrate with other tour-related operators so as to widen their range of services. In the ultimate, it is to have a one-stop portal that can cater to all kinds of travel needs, both in packaged and individually customized formats. In sum, the quest for differentiation and integration may have to be pursued simultaneously in order to enhance the competitiveness of the industry players in the tourism business. Finally, the role of social media cannot be ignored. As consumers travel more, and to more places, they have become critics in their own rights. No longer do they have to rely on the recommendations of tour operators or tour advisors like Trip Advisor. Rather, online recommendations by past visitors can become increasingly powerful in influencing how potential tourists would make their decisions.

1.2       Enhanced Transportation
Transport development and better transport links have been a very noticeable development in Asia as well as in other developing countries. To begin with, more budget airlines have been set up in Asia. Air travel is now much better. As these budget airlines fly to secondary and smaller airports, they help to accelerate developments in the surrounding areas. In addition, they have made accessibility to newly develop tourist sites more accessible too.
Second, integrative and complementary transport modes have improved tremendously. An excellent example is that of China. The massive development of highways, high speed rail (HSR) and related railway networks, and airports have greatly facilitated transportation within China that has spurred the growth of both inbound and outbound tourism. More importantly, they have become more integrated as well.
Many other countries in Asia are also enhancing their transportation development. For example, Singapore and Malaysia are planning to develop a high speed rail that connects the island nation to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia) within the next 10 years or so. China’s One Belt and One Road initiative will certainly not only boost trade, but tourism as well.
Finally, it is important to point out that the emergence of budget airlines, highways, and high speed rail tend to favor domestic and regional travel more than international travel. Effectively, they will serve to promote more domestic and regional tourism. As much of these developments are happening in Asia, it would not be surprising to find that intra-Asian tourism is likely to grow much faster than outboard tourism to the rest of the world.

1.3       Rapid Growth in Vacation Ownership
Vacation ownership is the fastest growing segment of the lodging industry and is likely to continue growing as the baby boomers enter their fifties and sixties in the USA. The World Tourism Organization has called timeshares one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Hospitality companies are adding brand power to the concept with corporations like Marriott Vacation Club International, the Walt Disney Company, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Promus’ Embassy Suites, Inter-Continental and ever Four Seasons participating in an industry that has grown rapidly in recent years. Resort Condominiums International (RCI), the largest vacation ownership exchange (that allows members to exchange vacations with other locations), has more than 2.8 million member families living in 200 countries. Three thousand seven-hundred participating resorts and members can exchange vacation intervals for vacations at any participating resort. North America remains the global leader with nearly half of all the participating resorts and more than 2 million owners. Europe is second with approximately 22 percent of owners worldwide and more than 1,000 resorts. Timeshare resorts are found around the globe in popular vacation areas near beaches, rivers, lakes, and mountains, and even in major cities.

1.4       Integration & Globalization
Vertical integration is a trend that began a few years ago. Lodging companies realized that guests’ accommodation needs were not just at one level; rather, they seemed to vary by price and facilities/amenities. Almost all major lodging companies now have properties in each segment of the market. The future of the lodging industry involves globalization. Companies cannot grow unless they venture beyond the United States. American hospitality chains and their management techniques were in demand by many developing countries who wanted premium-name hotel. An extensive survey of the condition of the hospitality would have shown that substantial amounts of money would be necessary to maintain the hospitality’s condition. The hospitality industry is thus at the very core of the globalization of international business. Hospitality companies therefore need to consider the implications of the global context in which they operate and must be prepared to address the questions that arise from this changing environment. Globalization will ultimately touch virtually all aspects of the hospitality industry. Increasingly, customers, management processes, employees, products, and sources of capital will be competed for and will move across national boundaries. Competition in the future will come from global entities with the advantages that globalization brings.

1.5       New Management
The complex forces of capacity control, safety and security, capital movement, and technology issues WANG Jin-zhao & WANG Jing/Management Science and Engineering Vol.3 No.4 2009 53-58 58 will require a future management cadre that is able to adapt to rapid-paced change across all the traditional functions of management. The growing complexity of the customer/employee interaction, driven by technology and the information age, will shape human resources needs in the future. The customer, armed with more information, will expect frontline and other hospitality staff to be at least as knowledgeable about the firm’s offerings as they are themselves. This will be difficult in an industry characterized by low-skilled, low-paid personnel and a high degree of cultural and behavioral diversity among its employees.

CONCLUSION
If government takes significant steps in this direction like improve accessibility, promotional measures, low taxes, and others, then the conditions will significantly improve and this will lead to the increase in number of tourists which in turn increase the number of hotels and also improve the quality of services provided by the hotels.

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