Travel and tourism at the local, state, national and international levels is essential to the health of our economy as well as that of the hospitality industry. Tourism is therefore not only central to the health of the hospitality industry, but also to the economy as a whole. The global H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic—the spread of infectious diseases across international borders—resulted in a negative impact not only on the global economy, but even more ominously on many people's lives and on the US.
The decline can be attributed to several factors, but can be summed up in two things: the strength of the US. The value of the Canadian dollar (relative to the US dollar) fell between 2000 and 2002, then rose in 2006, then fell towards the end of the decade. Generally, changes in exchange rates have a direct impact on visitation, as has happened with Canadians traveling to the United States.
Another example involving Mexican tourists is illustrated by the crash of the peso in 1995, which resulted in reduced travel from Mexico for several years. Ultimately, the number of foreign visitors has more than doubled in a period of almost twenty years (since 1988). From the end of World War II through the mid-1980s, there was significant concern about what was then called the “travel gap”: the far greater number of individuals – and travel dollars – leaving the United States than arriving here from international destinations.
The trade balance of travel turned in favor of the United States in 1989 and increased for several years. Since 1996, it has fluctuated in size, but still remains in favor of the United States.
The subsequent decline through 2002 was due to several reasons, as discussed earlier in this chapter (and specifically in Global Hospitality Note 13.1). Even as late as 1985, the number of Americans traveling outside the country exceeded the number of international visitors, creating an unfavorable travel trade balance of nearly $9 billion. Currently, there is a favorable trade balance in the travel sector worth over $8 billion, which is expected to increase in the coming years13.
An important factor in international travel, and in the long-term growth of the US as a destination, is currency fluctuations. The cheaper dollar thus made the US a travel bargain, and travelers to the US and travel expenses rose dramatically. When Asian currencies crashed in 1996 and 1997, the flow of visitors from these countries to the United States slowed noticeably.
In the hotel industry, some properties in major cities with large numbers of international tourists attribute a third or more of their occupancy to visitors from abroad. The importance of international visitors to restaurants is suggested by the fact that their second most popular leisure activity (after shopping) was eating and purchasing food and drink.
Airlines have grown from an oddity in the world of transportation in the 1920s, when only the brave flew, to the dominant common carrier around the world. To achieve greater economies of scale, major airlines developed the hub-and-spoke system in the early 1980s. An alternative to the hub-and-spoke system is the short-haul airline, specializing in point-to-point service. per-point.
In the mid-1990s, these short-haul airlines became more aggressive in both price and service. Southwest is the nation's sixth-largest airline (by revenue) and first in terms of "passenger miles"—carrying over 101.9 million passengers in 2008. Several factors have influenced how it develops business in the airline industry.
The term load factor refers to the percentage of seats sold and is analogous to occupancy in the hotel business. However, the biggest factor in this improvement was the reduction of overcapacity that existed in the early 1990s.
Many agencies earn more overall by selling these activities than by travel agents have played a major role in the growth of the cruise industry. It is clear that travel agents have considerable influence on the consumer and, therefore, on the sales of other firms that serve travelers. Travel agencies have had to adapt to reduced margins in the travel industry by offering solutions to their customers.
Some have repositioned themselves as "travel consultants," essentially getting paid to provide travel advice rather than selling tangible products. The travel consulting business is a growing field—travel consultants can even earn a professional designation now. 16. Agents and wholesalers arrange the purchase of space and services from all firms that serve travelers - carriers, hotels, restaurants and attractions.
Then they sell the services of these firms to the consumer, usually through retail travel agents in exchange for a commission on those sales. The travel wholesaler can also be important for hotels, because an offer in a wholesale package guarantees an offer at all the wholesaler's retail branches.
Another theme park tactic is to have lots of cleanup help so that paper, cigarette butts, and other trash never pile up, reducing or eliminating some of the signs of crowding. Another reaction to mass tourism and its impact is ecotourism, which will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter. When you get off the beaten path in places like Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, the effects of the crowds are greatly reduced by the difficulty of access.
This is a particularly serious problem in developing countries where the infrastructure was not highly developed in the first place. Another possible effect of crowding is "crowding". For example, a beach or other scenic area previously used by local residents can be purchased and its use restricted to paying visitors. This has happened on several Caribbean islands and in some cases has resulted in the local population becoming unfriendly or even hostile as they were denied access to their beaches.
This situation has in many cases led to sharp clashes between locals and visitors, an unfriendly environment and a consequent decline in the number of visitors. This carrying capacity can be seen in terms of the physical infrastructure discussed earlier in this chapter, but the concept also extends to social institutions.
In many areas, tourist traffic has increased, but the local infrastructure – roads, bridges and airports, for example – has not kept up. The result is traffic congestion, which causes delays and, in some cases, accidents and injuries. It is not surprising that people living in a tourist attraction area may have mixed or hostile feelings about further development due to their concerns about privacy, the environment, or just their ability to get safely to and from home on crowded highways. don't come
This can contribute to the love-hate relationship that often exists between tourists and locals. Another example, albeit an extreme one, is Mount Everest, where few people travel (and climb), but are affected by the waste left behind by trekkers. These potentially unfavorable developments in tourism give rise to the concept of 'carrying capacity', i.e. the idea that an area can only accept a certain number of visitors without making it less desirable as a destination.
In these cases, adults are reminded of their background, and young people see their heritage dramatized when visitors come to admire it. Due to its importance to the hospitality sector, tourism is important for hospitality management students.
Volunteer Tourism—or Voluntourism
T he chapter opened with a discussion of the reasons why tourism is important to the hospitality industry. The economic significance of tourism is clear: Tourism is in the top three industries for total business receipts. The United States is a popular international tourist attraction; its popularity is often based on the value of the U.S.
In order to strengthen the future of volunteer tourism, there is a need for tourism infrastructure, supply-driven marketing and the establishment and monitoring of carrying capacity (environmental and cultural). In the future, it is believed that voluntourism can move the industry towards more ethical practices, helping to integrate these tourists more richly into the local cultures so that they can gain a more thorough understanding of the host's values and traditions. This note was originally prepared by Novie Johan, Graduate Research Assistant, and supplemented with information from www.voluntourism.org.
Finally, we closed the chapter by touching on the non-economic effects of tourism, both unfavorable (such as the gathering of people) and favorable (such as festivals, fairs and the celebration of local traditions). Travel trade balance Hub-and-spoke system Point-to-point service Infrastructure crisis Distribution channels Travel agencies.
Key Words and Concepts
While discussing distribution channels, we noted the impact of technological change on this industry, which is predominantly made up of small businesses.
Review Questions
What is tourism, and which organizations does it include?
What are some of the factors that have caused the increase in tourism?
What are the main reasons that people travel?
Which age groups travel most, and what kinds of trips does each group take?
What are the recent trends in automobile and airline travel, and what are their causes?
Is tourism important economically to the United States? Explain
Describe some of the favorable and unfavorable noneconomic effects of tourism
Internet Exercises
The company provides direct access to one of the widest selections of travel products and services, which include airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruises and many other services at the destination from a wide selection of partners worldwide. Describe the services these sites offer compared to the services of a travel agency. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using these sites versus using a travel agency to plan a trip.
Basic Info: Priceline.com is a travel service where you can choose exact flights and times or name your price and save even more. What are the similarities and differences between these two websites in terms of the services they offer. Background: The Department of State guides the United States in its relations with foreign governments, international organizations, and the people of other countries.
Site Name: World Tourism Organization (WTO)URL: www.world-tourism.org URL: www.world-tourism.org. Background information: The World Tourism Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is the leading international organization in the field of tourism.
Notes
