Author: Andre Coleman

A Hotel may be defined as per the British law as A place where abonafide traveler can receive food and shelter provided he is a position to pay for it and is in a fit condition to be received.

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and is recognised as one of Asia’s largest and finest hotel company. Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Mr. Jamsetji N. Tata, the company opened its first property, The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Bombay in 1903. The Taj, a symbol of Indian hospitality, completed its centenary year in 2003.

Taj Hotels Resort and Palaces comprises more than 60 hotels in 45 locations across India with an additional 15 international hotels in the Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

Spanning the length and breadth of the country, gracing important industrial towns and cities, beaches, hill stations, historical and pilgrim centres and wildlife destinations, each Taj hotel offers the luxury of service, the apogee of Indian hospitality, vantage locations, modern amenities and business facilities.

IHCL operate in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market through the following:

Taj (luxury full-service hotels, resorts and palaces) is the flagship brand for the world’s most discerning travelers seeking authentic experiences given that luxury is a way of life to which they are accustomed. Spanning world-renowned landmarks, modern business hotels, idyllic beach resorts, authentic Rajput palaces and rustic safari lodges, each Taj hotel reinterprets the tradition of hospitality in a refreshingly modern way to create unique experiences and lifelong memories.

Taj also encompasses a unique set of iconic properties rooted in history and tradition that deliver truly unforgettable experiences. A collection of outstanding properties with strong heritage as hotels or palaces which offer something more than great physical product and exceptional service. This group is defined by the emotional and unique equity of its iconic properties that are authentic, non- replicable with great potential to create memories and stories.

Taj Exotica is resort and spa brand found in the most exotic and relaxing locales of the world. The properties are defined by the privacy and intimacy they provide. The hotels are clearly differentiated by their product philosophy and service design. They are centered around high end accommodation, intimacy and an environment that allows its guest unrivalled comfort and privacy. They are defined by a sensibility of intimate design and by their varied and eclectic culinary experiences, impeccable service and authentic Indian Spa sanctuaries.

Taj Safaris are wildlife lodges that allow travelers to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle amidst luxurious surroundings. They offer India’s first and only wildlife luxury lodge circuit. Taj Safaris provide guests with the ultimate, interpretive, wild life experience based on a proven sustainable ecotourism model.

Upper Upscale Hotels (full-service hotels and resorts) provide a new generation of travelers a contemporary and creative hospitality experience that matches their work-hard play-hard lifestyles. Stylish interiors, innovative cuisine, hip bars, and a focus on technology set these properties apart.

The Gateway Hotel (upscale/mid-market full service hotels and resorts) is a pan-India network of hotels and resorts that offers business and leisure travelers a hotel designed, keeping the modern nomad in mind. At the Gateway Hotel, we believe in keeping things simple. This is why, hotels are divided into 7 simple zones- Stay, Hangout, Meet, Work, Workout, Unwind and Explore.

As travel often means more hassle than harmony, more stress than satisfaction, modern travelers are looking for smarter choices. Driven by passion for perfection, Taj welcomes its customers to a refreshingly enjoyable and hassle-free experience, anytime, everywhere. Offering the highest consistency in quality, service and style the hotel set new standards and take the unwanted surprises out of traveling. Taj’s warm welcomes make guests feel at home, away from home and its crisp and courteous service empowers them to get more done with greater effectiveness and control. And through Taj’s unrivalled network it provide service that is effortless, simple, never overwhelming, always warm.

Ginger (economy hotels) is IHCL’s revolutionary concept in hospitality for the value segment. Intelligently designed facilities, consistency and affordability are hallmarks of this brand targeted at travelers who value simplicity and self-service.

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is committed to replicate its domestic success onto international shores with plans to build an international network of luxury hotels, which will provide an exemplary product-service combination and in the process create a global brand. The current international portfolio includes luxury resorts in the Indian Ocean, business and resort destinations in the Middle East and Africa, serviced apartments in the UK, the first hotel in Australia and three a top-end luxury hotels in the US.

Throughout the Company’s expansion, its mandate has been twofold: to infuse a sense of Indian heritage and culture within each diverse property, while also anticipating the needs and desires of the sophisticated traveller. Over the years, the Taj has won international acclaim for its quality hotels and its excellence in business facilities, services, cuisine and interiors.

The Taj strengthened its presence in the Indian Ocean rim with the Exotica Brand. The Taj Exotica was evolved as part of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces intent to position it as a brand that is clearly differentiated by its product philosophy and service design. The Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, in Maldives is centered on high-end accommodation, intimacy and an environment that allows its guest’s unrivalled comfort and privacy.

Taj Hotels further expanded its global footprint by securing management contracts at Palm Island, Jumeirah in Dubai, Saraya Islands in Ras Al Khaimah, Aldar Group in Abu Dhabi, UAE Langkawi in Malaysia and Thimpu in Bhutan. The most significant additions to the portfolio have been The Pierre, the iconic landmark hotel on New York’s Fifth Avenue, Taj Boston and Blue, Sydney.

The presence of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces internationally has been developed through a network of Taj regional sales and PR offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Russia and the United States of America.

At the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces luxurious living and fine dining find common ground. Whether it is introducing exotic world cuisines to India or taking authentic Indian fare to the world, the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is renowned for the eclectic culinary experiences it brings to its guests. Through a vast repertoire of award-winning restaurants, legendary recipes from royal kitchens and celebrated food festivals, the Taj has pioneered innovation in fine dining across the world.

Taj Hotels also promise a whole new experience of tranquillity and total ‘wellness’, through Jiva Spas a unique concept, which brings together the wisdom and heritage of the Asian and Indian Philosophy of Wellness and Well-being. Rooted in ancient Indian healing knowledge, Jiva Spas derive inspiration and spirit from the holistic concept of living. There is a rich basket of fresh and unique experiences under the Jiva Spa umbrella of offering, Yoga and Meditation, mastered and disseminated by accomplished practitioners, authentic Ayurveda, and unique Taj signature treatments. Royal traditions of wellness in service experiences, holistic treatments involving body therapies, enlivening and meaningful rituals and ceremonies and unique natural products blended by hand, come together to offer a truly calming experience.

IHCL operates Taj Air, a luxury private jet operation with state-of-the-art Falcon 2000 aircrafts designed by Dassault Aviation, France; and Taj Yachts, two 3-bedroom luxury yachts which can be used by guests in Mumbai and Kochi, in Kerala.

IHCL also operates Taj Sats Air Catering Ltd., the largest airline catering service in South Asia, as a joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.

Additionally, it operates the Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad since 1993. The institute offers a three-year diploma, designed with the help of international faculty and has affiliations with several American and European programmes.

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSBILITY

As a part of Tatas; India’s premier business house; Taj Hotels, have always believed in society and environment being integral stakeholders in our business along with its shareholders, customers, vendors and others. Over the last decade, the movement towards ecologically sound tourism has gained urgency and importance across the globe and we recognize that responsible practices in vogue are as diverse as the geographies.

Taj promote corporate citizenship through our strategic public-private partnerships which encourage building livelihoods of less-advantaged youth and women. The causes they promote include reducing malnutrition, promoting indigenous artisans and craftsmen and enhancing employability of identified target groups by sharing our core competencies as a leading hospitality company.

Taj have the unique scope and opportunity to develop raw potential into a skilled workforce that is immediately employable by various players in the industry. A majority of its community projects are focused around extending its key strengths in food production, kitchen management, housekeeping, customer service and spas to promote economic empowerment of candidates from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. The group is fully committed to the cause of building a sustainable environment by reducing the impact of its daily operations on the environment and improving operational efficiencies, resource conservation, reuse and recycling of key resources.

A glimpse of indicative projects undertaken by Taj group

Taj’s sixth Corporate Sustainability Report was submitted to the United Nations Global Compact society in August, 2009. The United Nations Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, safety & security, environment and anti-corruption. This Corporate Sustainability report also serves as their GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) as well as Triple Bottom Line report. The report focuses on identified priorities at IHCL and responds to key stakeholder needs. Taj plan to continue and further strengthen its commitment to the environment and societies in which we operate.

EARTH

In an endeavour to reinstate its vision and efforts to boost sustainable tourism, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces presented EARTH (Environment Awareness & Renewal at Taj Hotels) this year. Implementing schemes such as the Gangroti Glacier Clean-Up Expedition, as well as designated Earth rooms, which minimise environmental impact, Taj is one of Asia’s largest group of hotels to commit to energy conservation and environmental management. EARTH has received certification from Green Globe, the only worldwide environmental certification program for travel and tourism.

The Taj began a century ago with a single landmark – The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai. Today, the various Taj hotels, in all their variety and historical richness, are recognised internationally as the symbols of true Indian hospitality. The Company’s history is integral to India’s emergence into the global business and leisure travel community; and looking to the future, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is well positioned to meet the increase in travel activity with the rapid expansion of the Indian economy.

Hotel Leisure and Other Services include:

24 hrs Front Desk

Airport Transfer – On Request

Astrologer On Call

Banquet Facility

Bar & restaurants

Barber Shop

Beauty Salon

Bell – Desk Services

Car Rentals

Currency Exchange

Express Check in Check out

Facilities For the Physically Challenged

Florist

Health Club

Health/Ayurveda Centers

Hotel Safe

Internet Access Available in Rooms

Internet/E-mail/Fax Facilities

Interpreter Services

Laundry Services

Library

Lounge

Luggage Storage

Medical Services-Doctor on Call

Phone-Two Telephone Lines in Rooms

Postal/Parcel Services

Room Service-24 Hrs

Shopping Arcade

Travel Desk – Ticketing, Tours

MARKETING MIX STRATEGY OF TAJ HOTELS

Products

Room

Restaurant and Bar.

Meeting room and Banquet facility

Amenities

Services

Safe deposit box

Special services

Courier

Child care

Laundry

Pet

Internet

Travel desk

Babysitting

Wake-up call

PRICE

Taj hotel has set its price of the room on the basis of Business, Leisure and Luxury class.

PLACE

Location of the hotel is the most important business decision for the hotel.

Present in metro cities in India

Global presence (Maldives,London,Dubai,Colombo)

PROMOTION STRATEGY

Promotional schemes are carried on regularly the hotel has many loyalty programe,clubes,membership,previlage etc some of them are

The Taj Inner Circle.

The Taj Junior League.

The Taj Club.

Taj also offer Taj surprises including weekend savers,value vouchers,book early get more,

ADVERTISEMENT

Business news paper(E.T, Financial Express, Bombay Times)

T.V channels like STAR NEWS,CNN and CNBC.

Magazines like THE OUT LOOK TRAVELAR,GO NOW and TRAVEL.

Porter’s 5 Forces Model

The state of competition in an industry depends on five basic forces, which are diagrammed above. The collective strength of these forces determines the ultimate profit potential of an industry. Whatever their collective strength , the corporate strategist’s goal is to find a position in the industry where his or her company can best defend itself against these forces or can influence them in its favor.

Contending Forces
Threats of Entry:

New entrants to an industry bring new capacity, the desire to gain market share, and often substantial sources. Companies diversifying through acquisition into the industry from other markets often leverage their resources to cause a shake up. The seriousness of the threat of entry depends on the barriers present nd on the reaction from existing competitors that the entrant can expect.

There are six major sources of barriers to entry. These are:

Economies of scale

Product differentiation

Capital requirements

Cost disadvantages Independent of size

Access to distribution channels

Government policy

Suppliers:

Suppliers can exert bargaining power on participants in an industry by raising prices or reducing the quality of purchased goods and services. Powerful suppliers, thereby, can squeeze profitability out of an industry unable to recover cost increases in its own prices. The power of each important supplier group depends on a number of characteristics of its market situation and on the relative importance of its sales or purchases to the industry compared with its overall business. A supplier group is powerful if it is dominated by a few companies and is more concentrated than the industry it sells. Also if it poses a credible threat of integrating forward into the industry’s business. This provides a check against the industry’s ability to improve the terms on which it purchases.

Buyers:

Customers likewise can force down prices, demand higher quality or more services, and play competitors off against each other- all at the expense of industry profits. A buyer group is powerful if it is concentrated or purchases in large volume. Large volume buyers are particularly potent forces if heavy fixed costs characterize the industry- as they do in metal containers, corn refining, and bulk chemicals, for example- which raise the stakes to keep capacity filled. The product it purchases from the industry are standard or undifferentiated. The buyers, sure that they always can find alternative suppliers, may play one company against another, as they do in aluminium extrusion. Another case can be when the products the buyer purchases from the industry from a component of its product and represent a significant fraction of its cost. The buyers are likely to shop for a favorable price and purchase selectively. When the products sold by the industry in question is a small fraction of buyers’ costs, buyers are usually much less price sensitive.

Substitutes:

By placing a ceiling on the prices it can charge, substitute products or services limit the potential of an industry. Unless it can upgrade the quality of the product or differentiate it somehow, the industry will suffer in earnings and possibly in growth. Substitutes not only limit profits in normal times but also reduce the bonanaza an industry can reap in boom times. The producers of fiberglass insulation enjoyed unprecedented demand as a result of high energy costs and severe winter weather. But the industry’s ability to raise prices was tempered by the plethora of insulation substitutes, including cellulose, rock wool and Styrofoam.

Rivalry of Taj among established firms:

Oberoi hotels

Leela hotels

ITC Grand

Le Meridien

Bargaining power of buyers is very low.

Bargaining power of suppliers is moderate.

Threat of new enterants:

For Taj, competition in Mumbai has turned fierce as a result of new hotels,

such as ITC Grand Maratha, Le Meridien and Hyatt, coming up close to the

airport, and enjoying tax benefits too.

However in Bangalore, Taj continues to remain at the No.1 position because

of the booming IT sector and lack of five-star rooms, chiefly to accomodate

international passengers.

Potential Entrants

Global hotel groups entry

Buyers

Global tourists

Medical tourists

Industrialist people

Substitutes

Small lodges

THREAT: HIGH (because of new class, Low otherwise)

Customers Need

Good Hospitality

Hygiene food and environment

Success factors for Taj hotels:

Technology related:-Used of advance technology in hotel premises.

Manufacturing- related:- High utilization of fixed assets.

Quality control know-how.

Serving customer according to their specification.

Distribution-related:- Presence of hotel chain at various places.

A strong network.

Marketing related:- Breadth of product line and product selection.

Personalized customer services.

A well-known and well-respected brand name.

SWOT Analysis of TAJ Hotels

Strengths :

Brand loyalty

Credibility

Huge Reputation

Patent protection

Weakness:

High cost service

Not proper network in semi- urban

Lack of safety measure

Opportunity : Rising income

Globalization

New Geographical location

Threats :

Fluctuations in international tourist arrivals

Increasing competition

Terrorism

CONCLUSION

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is one of Asia’s largest and finest group of hotels. The Company is rapidly emerging as a global brand by integrating an international network of luxury hotels within the chain. Taj Hotels is part of the Tata Group, India’s premier business house. Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India was the subject of many newscasts since November 26,2008.The terrorist attacks not only killed and wounded many, but also caused major damage to the iconic hotel. Tata, a pioneer industrialist and philanthropist, conceived the idea of building a hotel in the wake of the bubonic plague which had devastated Bombay in the late 1890s.Tata’s sole wish was to attract people to India, and incidentally to improve Bombay. The severely damaged hotel has to be rebuilt. The sixth floor is gutted, and many of its restaurants, including the famous Wasabi, burnt and the splendid dome is shaken because of the many explosions. The antique chandeliers and priceless artwork are all lost forever.

But the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower stands as an icon of the city of Mumbai, a symbol of both independence and dignity. It will also stand in the future as a representation of the indomitable human spirit of the people of Mumbai displayed in the face of the greatest adversity.

South Africas gaming industrys gross gambling revenue in financial year 2011/2012 grew by 7.5 to R18.4 billion. In fiscal year 2011/2012 South Africas 37 casinos paid nearly R4.7 billion to government revenue through 36 percent gross casino tax. R10.1 billion was invested in casinos between 1997 to 2000, representing 2.1% of the total South African capital formation. Also, social and responsible gambling programs were funded with more than R80 million (CASA 2012). Presently, there are 830 table games and 22,688 slot machines in all over South Africa’s casinos. Casino industry has generated almost 100,000 direct and indirect new jobs, also adding 7,000 hotel rooms and two international convention centers (CASA 2012).

Montecasino is located in Fourways, North of Johannesburg is known for being Gauteng’s number one entertainment destination. It was first opened on 30 November 2000. Montecasino entertainment complex offers a world class gaming, leisure, entertainment and shopping experience. Montecasino entertainment complex encompasses 3 hotels, The Palazzo Montecasino offering 246 rooms, Southern Sun Montecasino offering 194 rooms & SunSquare Montecasino with 179 rooms. . It was designed and built by South African architect company, Bentel Associates International, at a cost of R1.6 billion rand. It currently attracts over 9.3 million visitors annually. Montecasino has a non-smoking and two smoking casinos, with more than 1700 slot machines and 70 gaming tables, from American Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Poker and Blackjack to novelty games like Wheel of Fortune and Life of Luxury and progressive slots jackpots. Montecasino is also the largest of Gauteng’s five casinos, covering 38 hectares of prime real estate in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg.

Theme: Monumental Theme

Design: Ancient Tuscan Village (Italian design)

The main building with the casino has a fake sky, painted on the roof, inside going from light to dark from one side to the other.

Political impacts of integrated resorts

Before the introduction of the National Gambling Act in that year, South Africa had a flourishing illegal gambling industry which was almost entirely controlled by whites, offered players no protection against fraud, was readily available to minors and totally ignored problems associated with compulsive and problem gambling. A decade later, illegal machines are down from approximately 150 000 to less than 10 000, while the number of legal machines has increased from the approximately 7 000 which existed in the pre-1996 old “homeland” casinos in 1994 to 22 000 in 2010, a figure which is still well below these which existed illegally.

Today, there are 37 legal casinos in all nine of South Africa’s provinces, bringing numerous benefits to the locations and communities where they operate. The provisions of the National Gambling Act, along with the regulations made in terms of it, have provided South Africa with a regulatory framework which is universally regarded as the most stringent and scrupulous gambling regime in the world.

Social impacts of integrated resorts

The social impact of gambling can range from productivity loss, bankruptcy, crime, suicide, illness, abuse, divorce and separation, social services and treatment costs. The social impact of gambling is not confined to the problem gambler. It most certainly affects others such as spouses, children, extended family members or close friends.

The history of gambling is that of a stigmatized behavior that has passed through numerous cycles of guarded acceptance and prohibition. The recent spread of gambling in South Africa has been characterized by attempts to neutralize the stigma associated with this behavior. Nevertheless, there are very real personal and social problems associated with gambling (COSATU 2012).

Problem gambling. Pathological gambling is a progressive disease that devastates not only the gambler but everyone with whom he or she has a significant relationship. Studies on the impact of gambling found a strong correlation between greater availability of gambling and pathological gambling. Some of the consequences of problem gambling – even if not at a pathological stage – at the personal level can include an increased level of depression and anxiety, impaired judgment, reduced tolerance with other people, and loss of self-respect. Negative effects on work and study can include poor performance, high absenteeism, lower productivity, and unemployment or difficulty in maintaining employment.

Crime. There is positive correlation between crime and gambling. Gambling addicts resort to criminal activities in order to finance their habit. Theft, robbery and fraud are some of the things that problem gamblers sometimes engage in. Gambling is also a haven for organized criminal syndicates. Gambling operators usually refuse to acknowledge this for fear of losing wealthy clients (COSATU 2012).

The South African casino industry is also extensively involved in social investment programs which benefit local communities, particularly the disadvantaged, and in 2010 contributed more than R107 million to this purpose. Such community upliftment programs range from the establishment of trusts to support various local NGO initiatives to the upgrading of infrastructure in less developed areas and regular donations towards charitable and welfare organizations, as well as beneficiaries in the environment, arts, sports, culture and other deserving causes (CASASA 2012).

Economic impacts of integrated resorts

The contribution of the Casino gaming sector to the GDP in South Africa in general, and to the Gauteng province, has been exponential over the years. For example, in the last five years, the gambling Casino industry in South Africa had a total turnover of over R62 billion, with R5.6 billion paid in Casino gaming tax. The total Gross Gaming Revenue increased from R8.2 billion in 2005 to R14 billion in 2009.The increase in revenue was also due in part to more Casinos being licensed throughout South Africa. However, the Gross Gaming Revenue appears to have stabilized, having reached over R15 billion in 2008 and declining by R1 billion in 2009 (Gauteng Gambling Board 2010). During the 2009 financial year, South Africa’s casinos generated quarterly revenue of approximately fifty billion rand, with a full year aggregated figure of two hundred and twelve billion rand (The South African National Gambling Board, 2009).

In terms of the Casino gaming tax, the tax paid increased from R763.7 million in 2005 and the payment for the most being in 2008, but did not decline to R1 billion in 2009. Apart from 2006, the average number of jobs in the Gauteng Casino industry has been at around 11,000.

The industry has also contributed to job creation in the country for example, the employment multiplier of 5.6 would imply that for every one job created directly by the gambling sector, a further 4.6 jobs are created through indirect and indirect effects. The above suggests that the initial employment of 11,093 in 2009 resulted in the total employment of 51 028 through the indirect and induced employment effect of the gambling sector. The total Gross Added Value Added (GVA) of the gambling sector (direct, indirect and induced) is R7.1 billion in Gauteng. (Gauteng Gambling Board 2010).

Technology impacts of integrated resorts

Angel Eye

Designed to put the brakes on a rampant card-switching problem in Asian countries, Angel Eye relies on bar codes placed on each card with invisible ink. As the baccarat dealer deals cards, a sensor in the dealing shoe keeps track of the cards being dealt and transfers the information to a computer. After the cards on the table are revealed, the dealer presses a button on the shoe, and the results of the hand judged by the computer are displayed. Security starts flexing its muscles if the results on the table don’t match the computers.

TableEye21

TableEye21 combines several technologies into a single impressive service: an overhead video camera keeps track of the action, and by using a mixture of video analysis software and information from RFID chips, it’s able to overlay the video feed with real-time information of the cards being dealt and the chips being wagered. In the meantime, TableEye21aˆ?s robust software methodically tracks all kinds of stats for the table, including dealer rounds per hour, trend reports, and player win percentage. Casinos use that information to help identify when a player is counting cards or working in cahoots with the dealer to screw the casino out of money.

Promotion event

Montecasino hosted South Africa Tennis Open for the second time in 2010. It was held for the first time in 2009 at Montecasino, with the venue proving to be catalyst in the restaging of the tournament after 14 years. The R3.5-million event ran from 1 to7 February 2010, with the qualifying tournament taking place on January 30 and 31. The SA Tennis Open is a 250 series event on the ATP World Tour, which means that the winner took away 250 South African Airways world ranking points. South Africa Tennis Association Chief Executive Ian Smith said that the players loved the venue last year, which helped to attract a strong field yet again. The response from the public was overwhelming, with the semifinal and final days (Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February) being sold out a week before the event.

Celine Dion live show at Montecasino: Thousands of South African fans had flocked to see international Superstar Celine Dion performing live under African skies at Montecasino, Johannesburg on 01 March 2008. The concert was staged adjacent to the spectacular new outdoor piazza in Montecasino, giving the audience the opportunity to experience the magic of Celine Dion in a Tuscan village under African skies.

Streams of revenue

Sources of revenue of Montecasino are: three hotels with a total of 619 rooms; conferencing and meeting facilities that comprise 16 venues totaling 2000 square meters of floor space; the 1 850-seat Teatro; and three restaurants – Billy G’s, a 700-seater buffet restaurant, Cobblestones Pub, a 150 seater pub-style restaurant, and @Monte Restaurant & Wine Bar, an upmarket 120-seat venue. Montecasino’s 95 percent of the R1 billion-plus revenue comes from casino.

Montecasino in 2012 is moving away from the silo approach where the different divisions such as conference venues, hotels, theatres, gaming, entertainment, and restaurants were responsible for their own turnovers and it’s now finding ways to combine offerings for visitors to ensure maximum value and enjoyment for them and improved usage and profitability for Montecasino. Montecasino is focusing on the package offerings they can offer to corporates, associations, clubs, families, or any group. Positive aspect of this realignment exercise are the logistical opportunities to leverage across the extensive company-owned and privately-owned facilities at Montecasino. Montecasino is moving away from the strategy – which saw its various divisions such as gaming, hotels, restaurants and theatres responsible for their own turnovers – towards improved profitability and usage from all its divisions.

Spas
Lanna Spa ( Thai massage)

This Lifestyle spa is stylish and elegant and provides the perfect escape for indulgence and pampering. The name Lanna literally means “land of a million rice fields” and is a temple for the body, mind and soul. Lanna Spa offers a full range of unique treatment services including Clarins Beauty treatments for him and her, Thai Herbal and Oil Massage, Lanna Body Wraps, Manicures and Pedicures, a full range of waxing or simply create your own special package to suit your needs. The decor is simple, yet elegant with a strong Thai influence. There are 9 treatment rooms including a couples room, a relaxation room, a boardroom to meet with clients and indulge them with a pamper session thereafter and a 12 seater Jacuzzi.

Airports play an important economic role within their local communities. Airports serve a significant role in the economic shaping of the communities of which they serve due to the sheer actuality that they are among the largest public facilities in the world. It is well understood that a viable and efficient transportation system is a fundamental and necessary component to the economy of any region (Wells & Young, 2004).

Although there is no doubt that the presence of an airport has great positive impacts on a surrounding community from an economic standpoint, the presence of an airport, much like any large industrial complex, unfortunately impacts the community and surrounding natural environment in what many consider a negative manner. These effects are a result of activity whose sources is the airport itself and of vehicles, as well as both aircraft and ground vehicles, which travel to and from the airport (Wells & Young, 2004).

Examine the political, environmental and social impact an airport has on its local community. Analyze some rules and regulations that govern environmental impact activities, and explain how their strategies help satisfy the needs of the local communities while maintaining sufficient airport operations. Determine and evaluate the role technology plays in mitigating the risks and reducing the environmental impacts created by airport activity. Determine if a relationship exist between community economic growth indicators and airport activity.

Program Outcome addressed by this question.

1. P.O. #1: Students will be able to apply the fundamentals of air transportation as part of a global, multimodal transportation system, including the technological, social, environmental, and political aspects of the system to examine, compare, analyze and recommend conclusion.

A literary review will analyze the environmental impacts of airports on the surrounding communities in which they serve. An evaluation of environmentally related complaints filed against aviation activity and reported to the FAA will determine the most significant environmental impacts associated with airports. Predicting the future of the global multimodal air transportation system is impossible without first understanding the local role and responsibility of each component of the air transportation system. This question will show evidence of satisfying the Program Outcome by demonstrating how the social, economical, political, and environmental fundamentals of an airport are an integral part of the air transportation system, and how these factors contribute to the relationship that an airport has with its surrounding communities.

Research and Analysis

Airports serve a significant role in the political, economic, and social shaping of the communities of which they serve due to the sheer actuality that they are among the largest public facilities in the world.

Political Roles

A major commercial airport is a huge public enterprise. Some are literally cities in their own right, with a great variety of facilities and services (Wells & Young, 2004). Although the administrative functions and responsibilities of these facilities are governed by public entities, airports are also comprised of private dispositions. Commercial airports must be operated in cooperation with the air carriers that provide air transportation service and all airports must work with tenants, such as concessionaires, fixed-based operators (FBOs), and other firms doing business on airport property. This amalgamation of public management and private enterprise fashions a unique political role for airport management (Wells & Young, 2004).

Airline carrier-airport relationships.

One of the most prominent and essential relationships in the aviation industry is the airport airline relationship. When viewing the relationship from the airlines’ standpoint, an airport is a point along their route system for the purpose of enplaning, deplaning, and transferring passengers, cargo, and freight. To facilitate effective and efficient operations, the airlines necessitate specific facilities and services at each airport. The specified requirements of the airports are as varied and unique as the airlines who request them; however, they scarcely remain stagnant, as they are ever changing and evolving to meet the needs of traffic demands, economic conditions, and the competitive climate. Before airline deregulation in 1978, response to changes of this sort was slow and mediated by the regulatory process. Airlines had to apply to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for permission to add or drop routes or to change fares. CAB deliberations involved published notices, comments from opposing parties, and sometimes hearings that could take months, even years, and all members of the airline airport community were aware of an airline carrier’s intention to make a change long before they received permission from the CAB (Wells & Young, 2004). The Deregulation Act of 1978 enabled air carriers to change their routes and fares without awaiting the approval of the CAB. Many of these changes occurred on short notice, thus causing airline necessities and requirements at airports to change with haste.

Contrary to the viewpoints of air carriers, which operate at multiple airports over a route system connecting many cities, airports concentrate on accommodating the interests of a variety of users at a solitary location. Airport operators and managers have the strenuous task of ensuring that they meet all the demands and requirements of their airline carriers while maintaining their resources. Due to the rapidly changing specifics of each airline carrier, airports often find their services and facilities needing improving or refurbishing, requiring major capital expenditures or even making obsolete an already constructed facility. Airport operators and managers must exercise diligence and caution in realizing that they accommodate and must meet the needs of other tenants and users besides the airline carriers, and must ensure that the airport’s landside facilities are effectively and efficiently utilized. Although the landside facilities are of minimal importance to the airline carriers, their efficiency can severely have an effect on and be affected by their operations.

Despite their notably different perspectives, airline carriers and airports share the collective objective of making the airport a successful and established economic venture in which both parties can benefit and prosper from. Traditionally the relationship between the airline carriers and airports has been formally fused through the use of airport user agreements which establish the circumstances and methodology for establishing, calculating, and collecting usage fees and charges. These agreements are also used to identify the rights and privileges of air carriers, sometimes including the right to approve or disapprove any major proposed airport capital development projects (Wells & Young, 2004). Residual cost airports, or airports where two or more air carriers assume financial risk by agreeing to pay any cost of running the airport that are not allocated to other users, typically have longer-term use agreements than compensatory airports, with agreements of terms of 20 or more years and terms of 30 years or longer not being uncommon. On the other hand, only approximately half of compensatory airports, or airports in which the airport operator assumes the financial risk of running the airport and charges the air carrier fees and rental rates set so as to recover the actual costs, have agreements running for 20 years or more, with many of the compensatory airports having no contractual agreements whatsoever with the airline carriers (Wells & Young, 2004).

Concessionaire-airport relationships.

Another vital relationship which attributes to an airport’s success is the relationship between the airport and the concessionaires. This is due to the fact that the majority of airports rely on their concessionaires in order to generate a considerable amount of their non-aviation related revenues. Airports maintain management contracts and concession agreements with the concessionaires who provided the airport with services and facilities such as banks, restaurants, hotels, car rental companies, parking facilities, bookstores, bars, gift shops, taxi services, and business centers. The context of these agreements varies to a great extent; however, they typically extend the various concessionaires the privilege of operating on the property of the airport in exchange for the greater payment of either a minimal annual fee, or a percentage of the revenues. These agreements can vary from outlet to outlet at the same airport depending upon location, nature of business, forecast turnover and whether or not the outlet is new (Francis et. al, 2004). The tenure of each agreement between the airport and the various concessionaires and the financial circumstances affixed to each will vary by airport and concessionaire. The length of the contractual agreement is dependent upon an array of criteria, with one of the most important being the level of investment required from the retailer. If little investment is required then a contract is often short term; however, if any substantial level of investment is required from the retailer then a contract of five years would be considered the minimum (Freathy & O’Connell, 1999).

A concessionaire who is often overlooked when speaking of concessionaire, despite its critically important role, is the fixed based operator (FBO). FBOs generally provide services for airport firms, users, and tenants lacking facilities of their own, typically through fuel sales, and aircraft repair, service, and maintenance facility operations. The contracts and agreements between airport operators and FBOs vary due to FBOs constructing and developing its own facilities on airport property in some cases, and FBOs simply managing facilities belonging to the airport in other cases.

In addition to concessionaires, some airport authorities serve as landlord to other tenants which may reside and operate on airport property such as industrial parks, freight forwarders, and warehouses, all of which can provide significant revenue. It is the responsibility of airport management to maintain fruitful political relationships with all tenants, by ensuring reasonable lease fees, contract terms, and an overall mix of tenants that meet the needs of the airport and the public it serves (Wells & Young, 2004).

General aviation-airport relationships.

In contrast to airline carriers and concessionaires, contractual agreements are rarely used to characterize and solidify the relationships between airport operators and general aviation (GA). GA is a diverse group which can be comprised of GA aircraft owned and operated by an assortment of organizations and individuals for a miscellaneous number of leisure, business, or instructional purposes. Agreement when they are in place, are seldom long term due to the variety and diversity of owners and aircraft type and use. Airport facilities, in particular storage space such as hangars and tie-downs, are often leased from the airport with the airport playing the role of landlord in a landlord-tenant relationship. Thus, at the airport, the primary needs of GA are parking and storage space, along with facilities for fuel, maintenance, and repair. Whereas as air carrier might occupy a gate for an hour to deplane and enplane passengers and load fuel, a GA user might need to have property space to park an aircraft for a day or more (Wells & Young, 2004).

Airport-public relations.

Indubitably, one of the most vital and challenging relationships that an airport must foster and maintain, is the relationship between the airport and its community it serves. The overall goal of the airport must be to create goodwill and a positive reputation for the airport and its products, services, and ideals with the community, who can affect its present and future welfare. Without regards to the size, location, or activity scope of an airport, every airport four publics in which it must deal with. These publics include the 1) external business public, which includes all segments of the business, government, educational, and general flying public; the 2) external general public, which is all the local citizens and taxpayer, many of whom have never been to the airport but who vote on airport issues or who represent citizens groups with particular concerns; the 3) internal business public, which includes the businesses and enterprises who interests are tied directly to the airport-the airlines, FBOs, other members of the GA community, government officials, and other aviation and travel-oriented local businesses and trade organizations, and the employees of all these enterprises; and the 4) internal employee public comprised of everyone who works for the airport and its parent organization (Wells & Young, 2004). Like any other facility that is a part of and serves the total community, the airport requires total understanding by its community and publics, and must ensure that it creates an environment and atmosphere of awareness and acceptance.

Airport regulatory policies.

The airport has many organizations who are profoundly interested in their operations, and in developing and preserving airports due to their role in the national air transportation system and their value to the communities and publics they serve. The primary goal of these groups is to provide political support for their causes with hopes to influence federal, state, and local laws concerning airports and aviation operations in their favor (Wells & Young, 2004). Some of the most prominent groups include the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), the Aviation Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ADMA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Helicopter Association International (HAI), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA), and the Regional Airline Association (RAA).

Economic Roles

Unquestionably, airports are economic locomotives and a reflection of the community, publics, and region in which they reside, serve, and represent. Transportation, by definition, provides the ability for people and goods to move between communities, thus leading to trade and commerce between markets, which in turn, lead to jobs, earnings, and overall economic benefit for a community’s residents (Wells & Young, 2004).

Transportation role.

Despite the fact that there are numerous modes of transportations, to include automobiles, trains, trucks, and ships, air travel has had a significant impact on trade and commerce that is absolutely unrivaled by any other transportation mode. In comparison to their sister modes of transportation, travel in the aviation system allows substantial amounts of passengers and cargo to travel internationally in relatively short periods of time, resulting in communities garnering extraordinary and exceptional economic benefit through providing them access to various world-wide markets.

Stimulating economic growth.

The airport has become vital to the growth of business and industry in a community by providing air access for companies that must meet the demands of supply, competition, and expanding marketing areas. Economic impacts of airports are measured according to direct impact and indirect, or induced, impact. Directs impacts include the economic activities carried out at the airport by airline carriers, airport management and operators, FBOs, and other firms, and tenants with a direct involvement with aviation. Airports and the agencies and tenants that directly impact the airports represent a major source of employment for their various outlying communities, with the wages and salaries earned by the employees of airport-related business having a significant direct economic impact on the local communities’ economy by providing the means to purchase goods and services while generating tax revenues as well. Local payrolls are not the only measure of an airport’s economic benefit to the community. In addition, the employee expenditures generate successive waves of additional employment and purchases that are more difficult to measure, yet nevertheless substantial (Wells & Young, 2004).

Total Airport Earnings and Employment (Earnings in Millions)

Category Earnings Jobs

Salaries $208.91 4,870

Local Fuel Purchases $3.99 237

Local Non-Fuel Purchases $4.23 252

Rent $18.35 723

Equipment Purchases $1.39 82

Utilities $8.07 318

Contractual Services $41.77 1,647

State Taxes $10.16 125

Local Taxes $27.42 338

Other Spending $73.14 901

Hotel Spending $42.20 2,234

Construction $19.11 743

Total $458.74 12,471

* Totals may not add due to rounding

Table 1: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) 2004 earnings and employment. Taken from MSY 2004 Airport Report

In addition to the direct economic impact generated by the airport, the outlying communities receive indirect, or induced, impact generated by economic activities by on-airport businesses and off-airport business activities associated with the airport through-put, such as hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and travel agencies, as well their roles in facilitating trade and tourism, among others. The airport also indirectly supports the local economy through the use of local services for air cargo, food catering to the airlines, aircraft maintenance, and ground transportation on and around the airport, as regular purchases of fuel, food, goods, supplies, equipment, and other services permeate additional income into the communities surrounding the airport. The local economy’s tourism and business convention industry can also receive economic growth and substantial revenues indirectly impacted by the airport through air travelers’ patronage and use of hotels, restaurants, retail stores, sports and night clubs, rental cars, and local transportation, among others.

Beyond the benefits that an airport brings to the community as a transportation facility and as a local industry, the airport has become a significant factor in the determination of real estate values in adjacent areas. Land located near airports almost always increases in value as the local economy begins to benefit from the presence of the airport. Land developers consistently seek land near airports, and it follows inexorably that a new airport will inspire extensive construction around it (Wells & Young, 2004).

TOTAL TAX REVENUE CREATED (In millions of $s)

CATEGORY INCOME

State

Direct $9.95

Income $7.18

Selective Sales $7.52

General Sales $8.90

Business $2.48

Total State $36.04

Local Sales $10.57

Local Direct $23.83

Local Property Taxes $0.97

Total Local $35.38

State Plus Local $71.41

* Totals may not add due to rounding

Table 2: MSY Tax revenue created 2004. Taken from MSY 2004 Airport Report

Airports are a major force and contributor to the local, regional, and national economy with an impact that goes well beyond the actual physical boundaries of the airport. As cargo and passenger continue to rise, and infrastructure continue to improve, the importance and impacts of airports as economic catalyst will also continue to increase.

Environmental Roles

Although there is no doubt that the presence of an airport has great positive impacts on a surrounding community from an economic standpoint, the presence of an airport, much like any large industrial complex, unfortunately impacts the community and surrounding natural environment in what many consider a negative manner. These effects are a result of activity whose sources is the airport itself and of vehicles, as well as both aircraft and ground vehicles, which travel to and from the airport (Wells & Young, 2004).

Noise Impacts.

Conceivably the most noteworthy environmental impact associated with airports is the noise emanated by the taking off and landing of aircraft, with engine maintenance and taxiing aircraft following closely behind. The impact of such noise on communities is usually analyzed in terms of the extent to which the noise annoys people by interfering with their normal activities, such as sleep, relaxation, speech, television, school, and business operations (GAO, 2000). According to a 1978 study that has become the generally accepted model for assessing the effects of long-term noise exposure, when sound exposure levels are measured by the method that assigns additional weight to sounds occurring at night (between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.), and those sound levels exceed 65 decibels, individuals report a noticeable increase in annoyance (Schultz, 1978). There is increasing evidence that high exposure to noise has adverse psychological and physiological effects and that people repeatedly exposed to loud noises might exhibit high stress levels, nervous tension, and inability to concentrate (Wells & Young, 2004).

Since the beginning of aviation, airports have always had conflicts with their neighboring communities; however, noise did not become an issue until the 1960s introduction of the commercial jet. It is estimated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that between 1960 and 1970, the land area affected by aviation-related noise and the complaints they received with noise as the culprit increased sevenfold.

Brief 199613 POLICY DEVELOPMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Question 1: In the context of the CDM Regulations and the refurbishment of a floor of bedrooms in a multi storey hotel, critically outline the purpose and content of the ‘Health and Safety Plan’ and ‘Health and Safety File’. Discuss the relationship between the two components and how the Health and Safety File will be of benefit to contractors in the future. Critically assess the merits of the Building Regulations application process and construction technique utilised for Mcdonalds modular drive through restaurants.

The following will evaluate the best way of refurbishing a floor of bedrooms in a multi storey hotel so that the renovated building complies with all relevant health and safety legislation and regulations. The requirement to meet all the relevant health and safety legislation and standards means that the designers and the builders of renovations are as legally responsible as the hotel owners for all breeches of those requirements. Failure to meet regulatory standards could leave the constructors liable for civil prosecution or prone to litigation by the hotel owners, the hotel staff besides the hotel guests. Prosecution or litigation that could take years after the original renovation was actually completed (Youell, 2003 p. 99).

The best way to develop a renovation plan that will receive planning permission from the appropriate local authority is to know exactly which health and safety regulations the proposed renovation needs to fully comply with. If the hotel is exempt from any of the health and safety regulations or the hotel owners believe that it is exempt from those standards it is always best to double check. Besides ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking it, and it will not protect contractors from legal action been taken against them. Of more immediate concern for contractors tasked with renovations a failure to abide to all building or health and safety regulations could result in the refusal of planning permission. After all it will only cause delays if the renovation plans are refused planning permission or if such breeches of the health and safety standards are missed at that stage and leave the design firm as well as the hotel owners liable to prosecution or litigation. Renovation work that does not reach the required health and safety standards might not be good enough to last over the long-term without the need to be repaired or eventually replaced due to its low quality (Youell, 2003 p. 99).

Therefore to ensure that the renovation proposals receive planning permission and are legally sound a Health and Safety Plan as well as a Health and Safety File are necessarily developed and maintained to safeguard the building contractors and the hotel owners from both accidents and legal proceedings. The purpose of the health and safety plan is to ensure that the hotel will be fully compliant with the health and safety regulations that it is required to meet so as to function legally as a hotel. To make a fully functioning health and safety plan not only needs a strong knowledge of relevant regulations; it also requires the blueprints or plans for the hotel itself. An understanding of the hotel’s layout is essential with regard to making the health and safety plan practical and well designed. The objective of the health and safety plan is to make sure all the safety measures within the hotel are clearly accessible thus allowing both hotel staff and all hotel guests to remain safe in any emergency situation. The content of the health and safety plan would include the design layout and the exact location of fire fighting equipment, first exits, fire alarms, and any available first aid facilities. The plan should also include where hotel employees and guests meet, should the hotel have to be evacuated, especially in the event of a fire taking hold of the premises. Consideration should also be given to the fitting of smoke alarms, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems (Youell, 2003 p. 99).

Besides considering fire safety procedures, and first aid measures the health and safety plan should include measures to maintain hygiene standards in the kitchens, toilets, dining areas, and the guest bedrooms. Good hygiene standards are needed to ensure that the hotel remains clean, tidy, and free of dirt, allowing the hotel staff and all guests to avoid food poisoning or infection. The plan needs take into account the location of the kitchens, rubbish bins, and toilets in relation to the bedrooms used by guests. Poor hygiene standards and food poisoning could prove to be very bad for the future of the hotel, as it may bring it to the attention of environmental health officers that have the power to close it down until the hotel meets the minimum required regulatory standards (Bloomsbury, 2005 p.124). Another factor for maintaining the good hygiene of the hotel is the straightforward one of guests not wishing to return to dirty and unclean accommodation (Bloomsbury, 2005 p. 155).

The purpose of the Health And Safety File is to record how the hotel complies with all relevant regulations before, during, and after the proposed renovations. The file is meant to ensure that the hotel sticks to the measures it set out in the Health and Safety Plan. The file should record the health and safety performance of the hotel with regard to the maintenance of equipment, facilities, as well as all the procedures that enhance safety standards or good hygiene. The Health and Safety File should also keep a note of all the training that the staff at the hotel is given in respect of maintaining and implementing safety measures and all hygiene standards. The hotel staff should ideally be given training to use fire fighting equipment when it is safe to do so, to provide first aid when needed, and carry out practice fire safety drills. When necessary staff will need to be given extra training should they not perform their duties to a high enough level to comply with the standards set out in regulations. The Health and Safety File should also ensure that all hotel guests have access to information about the location of fire safety equipment, first aid facilities, and the assembly point in case of the hotel being evacuated (Youell, 2003 p. 99).

There should be a strong relationship between the Health and Safety Plan and the Health and Safety File. The two items should compliment each other, as together they provide the means to plan and implement safety and hygiene standards at the hotel. The Health and Safety Plan sets out how the safety and hygiene standards will be achieved, whilst the Health and Safety File is intended to record what is actually happening at the hotel in terms of complying with regulations. The Health and Safety File by itself could be very useful to any contractors that need to carry out any building or renovation work at the hotel, as a means of checking the record of the hotel in meeting regulatory requirements. Contractors would be able to consult the Health and Safety File if they have any queries regarding the equipment, facilities, as well as the safety and hygiene procedures used by the staff at the hotel. If the Health and Safety File has been kept up to date consulting it will allow the contractors to know whether or not the hotel has been adhering to the regulations it is legally supposed to do at all times. Knowing if the hotel is not complying with regulation would give the contractor the opportunity to suggest building alterations or changes in safety and hygiene procedures that if implemented mean the hotel does comply with all relevant regulations (Bloomsbury, 2005 p. 155).

There are ways of ensuring that a company only has to pay minimal attention to completing Health and Safety Plans and Files without breaking the regulations or ignoring the spirit of the law. The fast food company MacDonalds has probably devised the best way of minimising the planning permission required whilst adhering to the statutory safety and hygiene standards set out in regulations and legislation. As a company MacDonalds has made its fortune and its reputation by the mass standardisation of its restaurants, equipment, staff training, marketing image, and finally but by no means least its food products. People know what they are going to get when they go into a MacDonalds anywhere in the world, and more of them like it than dislike it (www.LHC.ORG.UK). MacDonalds believe that the standardisation process is definitely a successful strategy when it comes down to gaining rapid planning permission and complying with safety and hygiene standards. Planning authorities will be made aware by the company that their restaurants are pr-designed to pass safety and hygiene standards, whilst all new staff will be fully trained to make sure that standards are always adhered to (Mason, 2005 p.44). The senior management are well aware of the benefits of standardisation, if one design passes safety and hygiene standards it is adopting that design for all its restaurants as that makes financial, marketing, and practical sense to do so (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

MacDonalds have developed modular drive through restaurants as a method of constructing new outlets quickly at the same time as passing the Building Regulations application process. As a company MacDonalds has always set out to have all its ordinary and drive through restaurants designed to look exactly the same as each other as well as also having the same features and equipment. For MacDonalds having restaurants that look the same everywhere they are constructed has been a highly successful branding strategy and exercise that has allowed the firm to expand impressively across the globe. To be more precise it is a global franchise which, has expanded due to its high profits and relatively low capital costs (Mason, 2005 p. 44). However the merits of using modular designs go beyond marketing ploys and serve pragmatic purposes. When MacDonalds set out to design its modular drive through restaurants it certainly took the Building Regulation application process into account. The modular drive through restaurant was designed to meet safety and hygiene standards in as many countries as possible, so that they could be constructed in as many places as the company would like. The low cost of construction when combined with the ease of gaining planning at the same time as being able to pass all safety and hygiene standards makes buying into the MacDonalds franchise a good investment. The prefabricated structures have the advantage of not requiring a high degree of planning permission than buildings wholly constructed on site (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

MacDonalds have found that with experience that prefabricated designs that already fully meet planning requirements and regulations will undoubtedly gain full building permission quickly wherever the proposed restaurant is located. The rapid gaining of building permission allows MacDonalds to have all its new drive through restaurants trading sooner rather than later. The new drive through restaurants thus quickly re-coup their modest construction costs and go into profit. Profits are not only made quickly; they are also made over a long-term basis as well. The use of prefabricated designs and materials therefore allows MacDonalds to expand its total number of restaurants at a much lower capital cost than many of its competitors. The beauty of the modular drive through restaurant design is that it is cheap and durable, yet it could also be quickly modified if it needed to be (Mason, 2005 p. 44). The modular design allows for standardised equipment to be fitted, equipment that could be easily updated modified or completely replaced should building regulations alter, or if the company purchases improved equipment. The modular design is meant to be really simple to construct, maintain and keep clean. The simplicity of the kitchen areas is intended to make it easier to train staff to cook and prepare food as well as cleaning areas to maintain hygiene standards. The training of staff does not take long as all processes and procedures, as well as equipment and food is standardised. The simplicity of the whole operation means that food is prepared, cooked, and served faster (Bloomsbury, 2005 p. 117). Simplicity and standardisation keep costs low, product prices highly competitive, and the company’s profits high. Providing that all staff are trained and keep to the procedures they are taught the company should always be able to maintain safety and hygiene standards whilst never having to wait long for planning permission (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

Question 2: Explain how the analysis of a local authority Development Plan can help the senior management team of a national hotel chain identify a suitable site for a new budget hotel in a particular locality?

The majority of local authorities in Britain will have development plans to control where and whether new businesses or retail units would be constructed within the areas they control the planning for. Local authorities make up Development Plans as a means of generating wealth, creating jobs and regenerating run down districts and would wish to include such firms within their Development Plan. Development Plan would include the precise locations of where the new offices, hotels, and retail units would be sited. The Development Plan provides further useful information for the senior management to consider besides the proposed or the approved locations of other companies. For instance, every Development Plan should give the location of roads, motorways, railways, and rivers near or within the locality controlled by the local authority concerned. Other information that could be relevant to the locating of the new budget hotel could include local tourist attractions or places that would make hotels less attractive for potential guests, like waste ground, factories, or prisons. If the new budget hotel could be located near the most attractive features of the town or city it is a bonus in terms of marketing the hotel before it opens and expanding the number guests once it has opened. If the company has to locate the hotel in a less attractive site the company could consider pulling out of its construction or consider different ways of marketing it if it is actually built. The company would however wish to avoid being located in areas where it could not guarantee the safety of their guests and their staff, as more would have to be spent on security measures such as fencing or patrolled car parks. The company could find it useful to contact local people and possibly the Police to find out which parts of the town or city they need to avoid when picking the locality of their new budget hotel. Local authorities will make the Development Plan available for the public and businesses to examine which allows any firms that wish to open premises within the area to apply for a place within that plan. For the Senior Management of a budget hotel chain that would want to open a new hotel inside a particular locality being able to analyse the local authority’s Development Plan would offer definite advantages when it comes to making the new budget hotel a long-term success (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

The exact location of any new budget hotel could make all the difference between it being a successful part of the firm or it being a loss making failure. From a study of the Development Plan the Senior Management should be aware of the alternative sites available for the location of the proposed new hotel, as well as the placing of other new businesses within the development area. Senior Management should have a strong knowledge of the best places and the worst places to locate new budget hotels when it comes down to maximising the number of guests that stay there. Analysing the Development Plan would make Senior Management fully aware of the local authority intentions of which firms to allocate land to, for the construction of their new outlets, offices, or hotels. The most prestigious firms will want to locate in the most prime positions possible to fit in with their corporate image, whilst a low budget hotel firm might not need to do the same. A low budget hotel does not have to obtain a prestigious land site, it does however have to be based if at all possible on land that is near to town or city centres, and ideally is easily accessible for as many potential guests as possible. The senior management would find it useful to locate the new budget hotel near the main roads, the railway, close to local businesses, and preferably with free secure car parking spaces available. Such a location would be a good selling point to business travellers and tourists a like. If they could gain an accurate analysis of the Development Plan then it increases the chances of securing a good locality for the new budget hotel (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

The hotel company could benefit from examining the Development Plan as it would allow them to know if they could use prefabricated designs that permit the construction to be finished earlier and thus earning revenue sooner. If the hotel chain already uses prefabricated designs and construction techniques then it will them greater flexibility when it comes down to the precise locality of the new budget hotel. Flexibility that stems from the savings in construction costs being able to provide a bit of leeway if the price of being in a better location is higher than first anticipated. A sound understanding of the development plan would enable senior management to have the locality and the rapid construction of the new budget hotel finalised as soon as possible. Such an understanding would thus grant the company more time to advertise the opening of the new hotel at an early stage to maximise the number of guests upon its opening. The evaluation of the Development Plan would also give senior management a precise idea of the number of hotels within the town or city that are already built and those hotels that are planned. Knowledge of the hotels within the district gives senior management invaluable information when it comes down to the marketing, and pricing strategy for the new budget hotel which could make all the difference between success and failure. Knowing the nature, location, as well as the strengths and the weaknesses of all its rivals within the locality could certainly prove very beneficial to the senior management in selling the merits of the new budget hotel in relation to its competitors. Senior management could also take advantage of the company’s brand name and its reputation. Marketing for the new budget hotel should emphasis that the locality will soon be able to benefit from the arrival of a low cost hotel that happens to provide high quality service (www.LHC.ORG.UK).

Bibliography

Bloomsbury Reference, (2005) Dictionary of Leisure, Travel, and Tourism – 3^rd edition, Bloomsbury, London

Mason P (2005) Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management, Elsvier, London

www.LHC.ORG.UK

Youell R, (2003) Complete A-Z Travel & Leisure Handbook – 2^nd edition, Hodder & Stoughton, London

This report shows how sustainable tourism has been established in England. For the completion of task on I took the tourist destination of South west England, There is also an introduction to sustainable tourism, along with this how the area in general has achieved .In the second task I have taken a region from the South west England and emphasized based on that tourist destination. I picked Cornwall. it gives an in sight to the development process that Cornwall will take to create sustainable tourism along with the plans, actions and visions.

Task 1: How the city has planned and developed to achieve sustainability?
The plans and development to achieve sustainability

This is a kind of tourist industry that is committed to making a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for the local people, tourism companies and tourist themselves. But it is a must to keep in mind that there is a vast difference between sustainable tourism and eco tourism.

Many people believe that tourism is the back bone of a country’s economy, thus global economist forecast continuing international tourism growth, ranging between three to six percent annually, which totally depends on the location. As one of the largest and fastest growing industries, this continuous growth will place great stress on remaining biologically diverse habitats and indigenous cultures, which are often used to support mass tourism.

There are tourist who promotes sustainable tourism are sensitive to these dangers and seek to protect tourist destinations, thus which helps protect tourism as an industry. Sustainable tourist can reduce the impact of tourism in many ways, which includes:

Anticipating and respecting local cultures, expectations and assumptions.

Contributing to intercultural understanding and tolerance

Supporting the integrity of local cultures by favoring business which conserves cultural heritage and traditional values.

Supporting local economies by purchasing local goods and participating with small, local businesses.

Increasing, destinations and tourism operations are endorsing and following ‘responsible tourism’, as a pathway towards sustainable tourism. Responsible tourism and sustainable tourism have an identical goal, that of sustainable development. The pillars of responsible tourism are therefore the same as those of the sustainable tourism- environmental integrity, social justice and economic development.

Thus taking the above facts into consideration we can say that the United Kingdom is a country that encourages sustainable tourism, Places like Scotland, Irelands, and Cornwall are places that still have the beauty that was there many years back and thus these places employ the above system as they want to carry out what they have for many years.

The Tourist Destination that I have chosen is South West England, as it is world famous that south West England boast of beautiful tourist destinations and those they encourage sustainable tourism.

South West England Prides itself for being the most popular tourist destination in the U.K for the reason is that the population is 22.7 million but with a tourist of 96 per day. But this happens to be one of the greenest and, embracing sustainability like no other tourist destination. South West England which includes Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Wiltshire is so unique in terms of sustainability.

Meeting the needs of the visitor, industry and community within environmental and social limits is how tourist destinations, such as South West England, interpret the sometimes rather nebulous concept of sustainability and sustainable development. A challenging undertaking if one considers the multitude of stakeholders involved in Tourism and their very specific needs and expectations. However, sustaining Tourism within social and environmental limits is crucial for the region. Nine billion GBP visitors spend a year mean that up to 262.000 jobs exist thanks tourism, with tourism counting for up to 22% of total employment in Cornwall alone. To secure this source of revenue and jobs, a sustainable approach towards tourism development is indispensable.

Tourism planners in the South West were quick to realize the need for sustainable tourism and responded with a vision paper, which is called the ‘Towards 2015’, which emphasizes on sustainability and quality as the only way forward. This further state that the authorities believe that this strategy represents a huge opportunity for this region thus makes tourism up to 10% of the GDP and supports over 300,000 jobs.

The people of the region want to see improvement of the region’s environment. The towards 2015 state, that the major attraction is the environment to the visitors. They also believe in working together with all three authorities that they can make South West the best, prosperous and successful destination.

The executive Summary of this strategic paper also makes clear that a new strategic approach of tourism will:

Protect the environment

Improve the quality of life of the local people.

Take advantage of the region’s existing strengths

Create along term and a sustainable industry.

No strategy paper or vision document is worth if no implementation or action lacks it or if it isn’t followed. So thus, initiatives and marketing messages suggest that policy implementation is going well in South West England. There, dozens of initiatives have emerged in the last few years, some of the most prominent being the Green Tourism Business Scheme which is inspiring and also a very informative web sites promote sustainable tourism in South West England.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the national sustainable tourism certification scheme in U.k. Thus this provides tourist firms with environmental advice and audit advice too.

So the following link provides wider information of ‘The green tourism business scheme’.

http://www.green-business.co.uk/

There are some limitations regarding the sustainable development of England’s south west. Being predominantly a rural area, poor public transport links can make it difficult .but on the positive note, consumer awareness of sustainability issues and climate change is steadily increasing – not least due to extensive media reporting. In the, it remains to be seen in Cornwall and Devon shall manage to keep for a sustainable tourism in the years to come.

The link below will definitely bring out the fact that sustainable tourism is being marketed around the world and thus these kinds of web sites are a way of encouraging tourist.

http://www.responsibletravel.com/

Thus South West England a rural area has planned to develop sustainable tourism, it is also known as a very green area that is fast embracing sustainable tourism. The vision paper toward 2015 speaks more about this and the e marketing used by them shows that South West England is heading towards a well planned sustainable tourist destination.

How the destination has been and managed to earn sustainability.
The location and its characteristics

As above I stated the area I took to make the report is South West England. South West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, covering 9,200 square miles which includes

Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Wiltshire. Five million people live there. The region includes two national parks and four world heritage sites, including Stonehenge.

Traditionally, the South West England has been well known for producing Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar, for Devon cream teas, and for cider. It is well known as the home of the Eden project, Aardman animation, The Glastonbury Festival, the British International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and also Cornwall’s surfing beaches.

The unique landscape, natural beauty and cultural heritage of Cornwall are central to Cornwall’s Tourist economy and are the star attraction for Cornwall’s visitors. Cornwall represents finest sustainable management and therefore essential to a long term prosperous future for the tourism industry and Cornwall’s economy.

Historically the tourist industry has focused on visitors’ numbers, but for the last twenty years, the emphasis has shifted to attracting more visitors to appreciate Cornwall’s intrinsic qualities throughout the year, creating successful ‘shoulder’ seasons which sustain better employment spreading the total number of visitors.

Great strides have been taken in the field of sustainable tourism, in no short amount to the work of the Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project who has developed a very active sustainable tourism network, providing supporting tools and training to tourism businesses across the county. Green Tourism Business scheme is highly supported in this area.

How the area has managed to earn sustainability.

3.2.1 The current picture.

Given the relative unpopulated nature of Area of outstanding natural beauty within Cornwall as a whole, a significant proportion of business awarded in the Green Tourism Business Scheme are located within the Area of out standing natural beauty of Cornwall. An impressive 20% of businesses on the GTBS are located within the AONB which in turn benefits other local benefits. Customers of GTBS businesses are likely to be more aware, environmentally responsible and less impacting on the landscape and environmental of the AONB.

3.2.2 Sustainable Tourism predicted trend.

Climate change

It is difficult to predict what may happen to tourism in the face of climate change. One scenario is that better weather in the shoulder months could enable increased activity which shall result in a higher number of tourists. More wet weather event in the shoulder month the winter could increase the pressure for wet weather attractions. Increasing coastal erosion due to climate change could see many of the coastal car parks, foot paths under threat.

Resource depletion

An increase depletion of fossil fuels and rising energy costs could result in visitors and recreation users actively seeking alternative methods of travel. Areas adjacent to center of population may experience more pressure as people become less mobile and there is likely to be more long term stays.

Lifestyle changes

There is a current ongoing shift to shorter, more frequent visits and more last minute breaks making it more difficult for visitors to plan activities and for tourist operators to plan ahead and manage a stay and facilities. However heightened awareness of the environmental impact of tourism is likely to lead to more visitors seeking sustainable breaks in areas that are well managed and maintained.

Tourism development.

Increasing numbers of tourists and their changing expectations and desires in terms of their experience are likely to increase pressure for tourism development, particularly in coastal areas such as the redevelopment of coastal caravan sites, new cafes, shops and bars, further car parks and other infrastructure such as toilet facilities. All have the potential to negative impact upon the AONB landscape.Equally,the national trust restoration of diminished hot spots such as Kynance cove, Lizard point and Bedruthan steps demonstrates how conservation and intensive access can be reconciled and sustained with planned management and targeted resources.

3.2.3 Cornwall Sustainable Tourism working Group.

Visit Cornwall is the tourism service based within the Cornwall development Company at Cornwall Council.Vistit Cornwall will administer a new Visit Cornwall Partnership to give a strategic steer to tourism within Cornwall, producing a new business plan. There will be a valuable opportunity to influence both the plan and partnership in order to maintain sustainable tourism and recreation within the county. The sustainable Tourism working group is an informal group of organizations that meets to push forward the sustainable tourism agenda in Cornwall and this group will be instrumental in influencing mainstream tourism development.

3.2.4 Sustainable Access

Opportunities to encourage sustainable access to Cornwall and AONB through work of organization such as Devon and Cornwall Railway Partnership -seeking to encourage visitors to use rail way around Cornwall, A number of other transport initiatives exist to encourage car free day outs. The Cornish way multi use trails provide opportunities for walkers and cyclist to access ANOB.There will be opportunities to build new infrastructures such as multi link trails, in order to support and encourage sustainable tourism.

3.2.5 The Rural Development Programme for the Area.

The aim of this is to create a genuinely sustainable farming, forestry and food sectors. This has a number of key aims designed to increase the total value of this spend and ensure that as much as possible is kept within local rural businesses and communities. It will support the improvement of the quality of overall experience, through maintaining and developing the natural environment. As the regional strategic lead for tourism, South West tourism are delivering the sustainable rural tourism theme with the current round of funding now allocated to 6 regional projects in Cornwall. Thus it is being led by Cornwall Council and involves the development of multi user trails in Cornwall, around Bodmin area, linking the Tarka and Camel trails to relieve honey pot sites on the coast.

3.2.6 Aims

A tourism industry which recognizes the value of a high quality landscape to its business, with the AONB playing a central role and which looks to attract sustainable visitors, in sustainable numbers through the year.

A visitor and tourist provider which respects the landscape and environment of the Cornwall AONB and does everything possible to minimize their own impact.

A tourism industry which values the landscape as its key asset and is in harmony with its land scape and environment, seeking to support other Cornish industries which enhance local distinctiveness.

3.2.7 Policies

Promote sustainable tourism which supports for the for the landscape and environment upon which the industry depends, providing a model for the development of tourism across the whole of Cornwall.

Raise awareness and respect for the Cornwall AONB and communicate effectively to local tourist businesses about the special qualities of the natural, cultural and built environment of the AONB in order that they can be celebrated, respected and sustainable utilized as a utilized as a marketing tool.

Sensitively and sustainable developed and market the AONB to potential visitors numbers where the AONB landscape is becoming degraded through over use.

Secure a strong voice for the AONB within tourism management in Cornwall to ensure that sustainable tourism activity drives the industry.

3.2.8 Actions

Representation from the Sustainable Tourism Working Group and the Cornwall AONB partnership on the visit Cornwall partnership-Cornwall sustainable tourism working group.

Encourage training in the tourism sector.

Production and implementation of a yearly business plan to implement the Cornwall AONB sustainable Tourism Strategy plan and action plan.

Conclusion

This report is how south west England will encourage developing Sustainable tourism and face the tourist challenges in the future; keeping in mind that tourism is the back bone of a country. This also clarifies the action that should be taken in order to achieve a successful sustainable tourist industry.

This is the logo and the organization which I interested and I want to intro the planning process and Decision Making in this company. It is one of the famous company in Malaysia.

Asia’s leading airline was established with the dream of making flying possible for everyone. Since 2001, AirAsia has swiftly broken travel norms around the globe and has risen to become the world’s best. With a route network that spans through more than 20 countries, AirAsia continues to pave the way for low-cost aviation through our innovative solutions, efficient processes and a passionate approach to business. Together with our associate companies, AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, They are set to take low-cost flying to an all new high with our believe, ”Now Everyone Can Fly”.

Planning is one of the most important project management and management techniques. Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal. The important of planning involves like defining organization goals, establish strategies to achieve goals,and develop plans to integrate & coordinate work activities.

A plan is like a map. When following a plan, you can always see how much you have progressed towards your project goal and how far you are from your destination. Knowing where you are is essential for making good decisions on where to go or what to do next. The most important to ensure that everyone is clear of what to accomplish.

Planning is also crucial for meeting your needs during each action step with your time, money, or other resources. With careful planning you often can see if at some point you are likely to face a problem. It is much easier to adjust your plan to avoid or smoothen a coming crisis, rather than to deal with the crisis when it comes unexpected time. Example Air Asia plans to expand their operations in Europe, so they consultation to the Government of French . They has been granted landing rights in Paris and is awaiting further details from authorities.

The mission in Air Asia got four major point. The first point is to be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family. Then the second point is create a globally recognized ASEAN brand. The third point is to attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia and the last point is Maintain the highest quality product, embracing technology to reduce cost and enhance service levels. They had achieved the goals but the second point they haven’t achieved it because in this strong competitive era , too many company like Malaysia Airlines and Tiger Airways also want to be the globally recognized ASEAN brand, but they will work hard to achieve their goals.

Type of plan

The first type of plan is strategic plans. It is long term and apply to entire organization. It also a broad plans. This type of plan is made by the top management for the whole organization such as CEO, COO, and other. This plan is usually done for 5 years and above Example, Air Asia’ CEO planning want to take more route in 5 years.

The second type of plan is tactical plans. It is a short term goal and basically focus on the problems of resource allocation. This plan is made by middle level management such as manager. It done for a period of 1-5 years. Example, they want to buy more bigger airplane in 4 years.

The third type of plan is operational plan. It is encompass particular operational area of the organization. It cover short time period. This plan developed by first line manager such as supervisor. Example, their goal is a daily capacity of 3 million.

The fourth type of plan is long term plan. It is plan with time frames extending beyond 3 years. This plan usually use to making research or market research.

The fifth type of plan is short term plan. It is plans that are clearly defined and no room for interpretation. Example, they promotion and discount the ticket to let more people can fly.

Planning process

The step one of planning process is set objectives which means establish objective and targets while taking into consideration such as mission, strategic plans/goals, environment, and availability of resources. In Air Asia have set their objective like made their ticket price more cheaper and provide better service.

They step two of planning process is analyze and evaluate the environment. Once objectives are established, manager must analyze their current situation and environment (internal& external)to determine what resources are available. Internal environment included such as raw material, machine/ equipments , finance ,money ,and other. External environment included PEST which is policies, economic, social, technology and competitor. Air Asia analyze and evaluate the environment after set their objectives like do survey.

The step three of planning process is identify alternatives which means list down as many alternatives as possible to reach the goals. Air Asia list many alternatives like connect to other company, let their worker learn more language and upgrade their facility.

The step four of planning process is evaluate the alternatives which means evaluate all alternatives to determine which combination of alternatives is the most effective and efficient to achieve the goals. For each alternatives, manager will look at the advantages or disadvantages. Air Asia will try all alternatives and identify before see which is the best.

The step five of planning process is select the best solution which is select the best alternatives that gives most advantages and fewest disadvantages.Air Asia choose the best solution is upgrade their facility so that can let their customer more comfortable.

The step six of planning process is implementing the plan which means decide who will be involved determine, what resources need, how the plan be evaluated and how reporting will be handled. If Air Asia want make their customer more comfortable, then the best away is buy the new and bigger airplane.

The last step is controlling and evaluating the result which means monitor to ensure plan is going according to expectations and make necessary adjustment, if needed.Chart.png

Factors of effective planning

There are some factors of Air Asia to make an effective planning to let them success.

The first is fatten the organizational hierarchy to foster development of planning skills at all level of organization. It can made the company more systematization. The other is practice MBO(management by objective) -technique that emphasize collaboration objective setting by managers and subordinates which means if CEO and other department can effective work together and strengthen their worker then the company sure will be a best company in the world. The third is encourage employees at all levels to provide feedback and suggestions for planning that means the company see their employees are treated equally. The four is develop plan that are specific but flexible which means although the company made the plan to achieve goal ,if got some problem must change and discuss, don’t rigid to follow the original plan. The five is must acquire facts and information that are current and reliable to be accurate in planning that will be made the CEO accurate to made a good plan to their company. The last is develop contingency plans and strategies. It is the very important effective away that can be immediately correspondence when the company got some emergency.

The problem of Air Asia

In 2008-2009, Air Asia got many problem that made their company loss. There some issue that are involved for that company whereby they are unable to achieve their goal. The first one is mission statement & objectives of organization are not clear and precise enough for planning which means the company not follow their step to achieve the goals , it will affect all organization progress, example Air Asia want charge the several fees if customer booking already the ticket but suddenly want change. Although it is rational but some time some customer change their ticket but no need charge the fees, so they not accurate and not follow the mission. The other is some managers are not experiences in planning. It is because the plans always decide by the to management , not by middle management, so if suddenly want manager to decide plan will made some mistake . Some managers have negatives thinking of planning as they think planning is costly, time consuming & waste of time. Air Asia sometime will think that plans will use many costly and if the plan no success will wasting time , so in 2008 their company did not get mush profit. After the end of 2009, Air Asia made a different decision that is change a manager and CEO . The other away is set a new objective and effective to follow the goal that is the first important thing. Example they want reception customer about 100million a day.

Decision Making

Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. It can making a choice from two or more alternatives. Identify problems or opportunities, developing alternatives , choosing an alternative and implementing it. Decision making also is performed by all level of management in an organization.

Type of Decision

The first type of decision is organizational decision which means made by managers within their authority in accordance with organizational such as goals, policies, procedures, and strategies. Example ,Air Asia wan to be a globally recognized ASEAN brand.

The second type of decision is personal decision which means made based on manager’s personal choice and preference. Example ,the Air Asia ‘s manager made two plan like upgrade the facility first or training the worker first, then CEO choose the one he like.

The third type of decision is strategies decision which means deals with long term plans which is important for growth and survival of organization. Example , Air Asia need to plan a long term plan to achieve goals in this period of economic instability.

The four type of decision is tactical decision which means deals with routine and operational activities. Example manger need to deals the operational activities such as system failure, the environment, and other .

The five type of decision is programmed decision which means repetitive decision that can be handled by routine approach. It using when the problem being resolved straightforward, involve goals that are clear, and information about problem is available and complete. Example Air Asia use in policy, procedure, and rule.

The last type of decision is un-programmed decision which means unique and non-recurring or generate unique responses. It use when the problem are new and unusual and when the information is incomplete.

Decision Making Process

Decision making process is very important to any company

The step one of decision making process is identifying the problem . It is obstacle that males achieving a desired goal or purpose difficult. It also must be know that problem the organization facing and characteristics of the problem. Example Air Asia want lower fares or not .

The step two of decision making process is identifying decision criteria which means factors that are important to resolving the problem. Example price, distance, customer, location ,and time.

The step three of decision making process is allocating weights to the criteria. Assigning a weight to each item places the items in the correct priority order of their importance in the decision making process. Example customer is the first, then is distance , price, time, and the last is location.

The step four of decision making process is developing alternatives. Alternatives are listed without evaluation that can resolve the problem. Manager look for as many alternatives to solve the problem. Example list down their competitor such as Malaysia Airlines , Tiger Airway and other.

The step five of decision making process is analyzing alternatives. Analyze and evaluate each alternatives and find out their advantages or disadvantages. Example identify advantages or disadvantages of lower fares.

The step six of decision making process is selecting an alternatives. Choose the best alternatives and with the highest total weight and with the most advantages & fewest disadvantages. Example lower fares can make more customer come to buy , location no far than 700km, time about 2-3 hours.

The step seven of decision making process is implementing the decision. Putting the chosen alternatives into action. Example Air Asia choose is lower the fares.

The step eight of decision making process is evaluating decision effectiveness which means monitor or provide feedback on how well the decision has been implemented or is there any adjustment and corrective action need. Example Air Asia lower fares because can made more customer buy and increase profit.

Creating Environment for Effective Decision Making

The first of effective decision making is provide time for decision to be made which means manager should not rush and be pushed to make a decision, especially crucial. Negotiate more time and make good quality decision. Example when Air Asia airplane got some emergency problem , then manger should made a clear decision to solve the problem.

The second of effective decision making is have self confidence which means managers must have self confidence and courage especially when making risky. Example manager must have self confidence when decide a high risk plan .

The third of effective decision making is encourage others to make decision which means managers should trust subordinates and allow them to make decision. This will get their commitment when they are involved. Example manager must trust their worker or employee when they made some decision.

The fourth of effective decision making is learn from past decisions which means managers should look at decision that worked and decision that did not & use them as a guide. Example Air Asia need to see the decision first then decide want training their worker or not.

Making Decision to be Ineffective decision

The first point of making decision to be ineffective decision is time pressure which means not enough time to decision then will made mistake .

The second point of making decision to be ineffective decision is limited amount of available information or incomplete information. Sometime some manager cant not get incomplete information so he will made wrong decision.

The third point of making decision to be ineffective decision is higher levels of uncertainty in today’s business environment.

Conclusion

After I research this company ,I learn more about planning and making decision. In my opinion, any company must be planning and decision making because if any company loss any one , will made the company not direction, no achieve goals, and other. And the last is must made customer happy because customer is always right.

C:UsersMichaelDesktopnewINTIuc logo.jpg

Name

Lim Kok Hui

Student ID

I10005487

Program

DBAD

Course Code

MGT1101

Section

5SS1

Lecturer’s Name

Hardjinder Kaur A/P Balbir Singh

Submission Date

14/6/2010

Aims: To help course participants consider the fundamental areas within management.

Select an organization with which you are either interested or familiar with and

write a 2,000 word essay on any 2 areas of the organization within the following

areas: Planning and Decision Making Process

“In today’s rapidly changing business environments it is an essential activity for every destination, to prevent disturbance in tourism.” Mill and Morrison, (1998). The author, say that a destination is highly influenced by the wide-range effects of tourism, it is therefore vital to plan for any development.

According to J. C. Henderson, (2005), many researchers have approached the issue on tourism planning and policies through different perspectives; “the temporal and spatial evolution of destinations the impacts of development, government growth policies, planning imperatives, marketing issues and topics studied.” On top of that, the same author makes reference to the various opinions of different authors who make mentioned about the essential factors that would encourage tourism development at a particular destination “Critical influences relate to accessibility” (Prideaux, 2000), “attraction and amenity standards” (Gunn, 2004), “awareness and positive images” (Johns and Mattson, 2005) “associated with promotion and marketing” (Buhalis, 2000), “a supportive government” (Weaver and Lawton, 2002) and “a peaceful and stable environment” (Poirier, 1997).

Planning approach

“tourism planning is defined as a comprehensive, coordinated and continuing process…that promote the common good of society” According to (Stifel, 1990), society benefits and welfare should be the main focus of all stakeholders involved in decisions making pertaining to any tourism development. Moreover, “tourism planning has been defined as a process based on research and evaluation, which seeks to optimize the potential contribution of the human welfare and environmental quality”, (Tosun and Jenkins, 1998). In the above statement, Tosun and Jenkins, agree with Stifle stating that human welfare is indeed to be considered while planning for tourism development and on top of it argued that tourism should not only look into tourists numbers and economic gain, but such development should be environmentally sound.

Importance of Tourism linkage

However, “planning requires the integration of the tourism industry into other sectorsaˆ¦” Timothy, (1999). Timothy argues that tourism cannot operate on its own, (as it is environmentally dependant) and rely on other sectors of the economy, such as; agriculture, industry and transportation, to exist. There is the need to create linkage. According to Nikolaos Karangiannis 2003, “lack of an overall integrated policy has limited the contribution of tourism growth to the country’s socio-economic development.”[15] Therefore the author mentions that the need to formulae policies for economic restructuring and diversification was eminent. The government in Jamaica decides therefore, to create linkage between tourism, commodity production sectors, and complementary and related services in order to rejuvenate the industry, increase economic gain and competitiveness.

Tourism Planning and policies

“Authorities have a vital role and public investment and implementation of pro-tourism policies can help in ensuring that such circumstances do prevail.” (Joan C. Henderson, 2006) “Government policy is about influencing the way people utilize their resources and the way they relate to each other (within and across state and national boundaries) and their environment.

(Clare A.Gunn and Turgut Var, 2002) state that special competencies are required to understand the functioning of tourism and to formulate policies. They added policies, planning and development is at any scale, from national to local and their purpose and reasons differs from one destination to another. (Taylor 1994), “government holds the responsibility for research and guideline development, especially in three areas: travel markets, existing and potential; tourism physical plant; linkages between market needs and physical and physical plant development”.

Further arguments, by Clare (A.Gunn and Turgut Var, 2002), stated that although government intervention is important to control impact of fragmented development on the environment and society, it has also been observed that capitalistic countries which adopt a laissez-Faire tourism policy by private sector, has very little government intervention. “The belief that ‘political serenity, not scenic or cultural attractions, constitutes the first and central requirement of tourism” (Richter and Waugh, 1986, p. 320)

(Ritcher 1994), agrees with Clare A.Gunn and Turgut Var, stating that the purpose for tourism policies differs from one destination to the other as, for example, “in some countries tourism has purposely been directed toward increased immigration in hope that visitors will become residentsaˆ¦stimulating of investment to increase national wealth” according to the same authors it is agreed that excessive tourism growth may demand revision of policies; conservation policies pertaining to environment, policies for land use are some examples sustainable policies. “Governments of nations, provinces, states and communities have the choice of doing nothing or doing something constructive about public tourism policies.” (Lamb and Davison 1996)

Furthermore, “developing countries are often anxious to plan but unable to governaˆ¦this cannot be done by a macro-or national-level approach”(Cevat Tosun, Dallen J. Timothy 2001).With reference to Turkey, as tourist destination, Cevat Tosun, Dallen J. Timothy, confirm Stifel’s definition of planning, stating that an over-centralization of tourism planning and poor administrative practices and policies formulation have failed to promote common good of the society, because government reticence and negligence to considering regional and local conditions.

Finally according to Clare A. Gunn, Turgut Var, 2002, governments have not only the capacity but also the responsibility of creating, implementing and reviewing policies that plan tourism. [6] According to the same authors, tourism planners need to look into three main aspects, namely, economic, socio-cultural and environmental, when planning for tourism projects for particular destinations. Comprehensive planning process and judicious formulation of policies will surmount barriers to tourism planning in each tourist destination area and lead to sustainable development. Conclusion, “empirical evidence through the world clearly shows that the “model” destinations for successful tourism are those that have embraced the tourism-planning concept (Mill and Morisson 1997).

Barriers to tourism development
Sustainable Tourism

“if tourism is to be truly beneficial to all concernedaˆ¦ and sustainable in the long-term, it must be ensured that resources are not over-consumed, that natural and human environments are protected, that tourism is integrated with other activities, that it provides real benefits to the local communitiesaˆ¦that local people are involved and included in tourism planning and implementation, and that cultures and people are respected”. (Eber, 1992).

The World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as “tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be filled while maintaining cultural integrity, essentials ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems.”

Developing indicators for sustainable tourism

“The most significant attempt so far to develop indicators of sustainable tourism has been undertaken by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) through its Environment Task Force” (Dymond, 1997; Manning & Dougherty, 1995; Manning et al., 1996). [9] Manning et al. consider that the main purpose of the WTO, in identifying eleven international acceptable sustainable tourism core indicators is to assist planners and decision makers in their tasks. Figure 1 presents core indicators of sustainable tourism (WTO)

However, L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002, contested that the above framework has its limitations. It is observed that though, the above indicators represent a wise attempt towards sustainable tourism development, no provision has been made for guiding stakeholders in the implementation of same; that is, converting indicator results into management action. Furthermore Laws et al., state that each destination is unique and thus has to consider the destination local characteristics and its own dynamics that may influence sustainable tourism indicators. Policy makers should understand that there is no generic model for several destinations, but indeed policies have to be tailor made according to destination particulars.

Moreover, it is of vital importance to review policy and strategy as a destination evolve with time; “current policy may not be adequate for dealing with future problems in the same destination.” (Laws et al., 1998:9) [10]

According L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002, “Samoa’s Sustainable Tourism Status Report 2000”, is a good example an effective planning tool which assisted Saoma Visitors Bureau in developing appropriate action plans and tourism awareness programmes consequently. Figure 2, is an adapted model of Saoma’s effective planning and monitoring system for sustainable tourism development, which will be used to assessing planning process in Grand Baie.

Theoretical framework for sustainable planning

Figure 2 planning process, Source: adapted from L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002

Stage 1.

Project Design/ Study preparation

Stage 7.Review and improve monitoring system

Stage 6. Implement action plan and communicate results to Stakeholders

Stage 2. Scope issues & formulate Goals & objectives

Stage 5 plan Action formulation

Stage 3. Survey / Develop and screen indicators

Stage 4. . Analysis and Synthesis

Applying L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002, model on research planning in Grand Baie:

Stage 1: Design and study preparation; at this stage there is the need to take decisions for planning, that is to be involved in planning process, (residents, NGOs, Government, District council, local business owners, tourism authority, beach authority; private and public sectors). Define roles and responsibilities of each and every one, getting all stakeholders involved in the project in order to write the study project terms of reference and organize the project.

Stage 2: Determine goals and objectives; goals and objective of the development programme are decided, but these are subject to changes and modification. For example, developing alternative forms of tourism in Grand Baie, promoting community-based tourism and cultural tourism (social exchange theory) developing environmental protection programmes for the area, educating tourist and residents towards responsible tourism, improving security having a planning framework adapted to Gran Baie needs, hence designing policies that will regulate tourism activities of the region.

Stage 3: Survey and core indicators for the region of Grand Baie; undertake surveys and have an inventory of the existing situation. Grand Baie is known for its; safe lagoon, beautiful beaches, people (hospitality), its tropical climate, shopping facilities, restaurants, beach resorts and peripheries rich in culture and traditions. All of these elements should be given great consideration when planning for tourism. Each destination has its unique characteristics and dynamic context. Survey can also be used to study residents’ reaction pertaining to tourism, in their locality. Moreover can assist planners establish baseline for sustainable development in Brand Baie.

Stage 4: Analysis and Synthesis; once baseline information are collected they need to be analised in order to have the basis for the plan. Feedback received from locals and different stakeholders will help to design policies that will ensure smooth implementation of planning.

Stage 5: Action plan formulation: formulation and design of plan will be based on preparation and evaluation of alternative policies. Generally planning is conducted at all levels, from individual to comprehensive planning. (Inskeep, 2000), argue that tourism planning applies same concepts and approach of general planning; however, it is adapted to the particular characteristic tourism system. In this context action plan for Grand Baie, is at local level and should be tailor made. Consequently planners will have to possess strong element of predictability and appropriate skills in attempting to envision the future.

Stage 6&7: Implementation and Monitoring: the plan will be implemented in Grand Baie using different techniques. Policies are here as guidelines to implement plans but above all effective communication among stakeholders is vital. The risk of failure is lower when recommendations are addressed to all stakeholders. Environmental policies for sustainable development, e.g. EIA, has been established by the Government, but the extent to which it is been fully observed are debatable when looking at actual situation in Grand Baie. Hence, it is important to monitor progress in implementing the plan and evaluate the success of the plan in meeting its goals and objectives on a regular basis. Plans generally need to be adjusted over time due to changing goals, changing market conditions, and unexpected impacts.

“Although the monitoring project is still ongoing and its long-term implications for the sustainability of tourism in Samoa are far from clear, several important lessons can be noted from the Samoa example: the importance of formulating clear objectives before trying to identify indicators, the value of establishing a multi-disciplinary advisory panel, and the necessity of designing an effective and flexible implementation framework for converting indicator results into management action.” (L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002) [11] According to L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, stakeholders need to consider space and time-specific issues related to tourism development. Local involvement should be from early stages of development that is, planning and decisions making, to implementation. In fact STD needs to be broadening from critical issues currently facing destination.

Tourist Area Life Cycle / Application in Grand Baie

Mauritius has experienced significant levels of growth in tourism over the last 30 years. As a result, tourism is now the largest economic activity of the island and many coastal resorts have been developed. Although the island has undergone significant changes between the early arrivals of tourists and today, there is a remarkable negligence of research towards these changes. The stages of Butler’s Area Life cycle model will thus be reviewed and tested on Grand Baie, to present the life cycle stage of the destination.

According to Butler 1980, destinations go through a cycle of evolution similar to the life cycle of a product. The shape of the TALC may vary from one destination to another, however it will depend upon factors such as; rate of development, access, government policy, and market trend. The TALC model is a framework to understand how a destination and its market evolve, through stages of launch, development, maturity and decline.

Figure 3: Butler’s Destination Lifecycle Model Adapted from (keyser, 2002)

“According to Butler (1980) destinations pass through a predictable sequence of six stages. These stages are: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and decline or rejuvenation. In each life cycle stage there are changes in the morphology, the types of tourists’ visitation, and residents’ attitudes towards tourism.”

Exploration stage

During the early “discovery stage” of the cycle a small number of unobtrusive visitors arrive seeking “unspoiled” destinations. These early “explorer” tourists generally speak the language and identify with the local culture. The social impact in this stage is generally small and resident attitudes are fairly positive towards tourism.

Like most products, destinations have a lifecycle. In his 1980 article, Butler proposed a widely-accepted model of the lifecycle of a tourist destination. The basic idea of Butler’s 1980 Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model is that a destination begins as a relatively unknown and visitors initially come in small numbers restricted by lack of access, facilities, and local knowledge. This is the case for Grand Baie which was first known as a fishing village and which economy mainly derived from agriculture (sugar cane). Soon adventurers will get to know about the remoteness and exotic beaches, beryl water and the bay that is deeply sheltered. Visitors and host encounter is high but yet the desire for the destination to remain unchained by tourism prevails. At this stage Grand Baie had limited accessibility to the area and lacked of facilities to cater for more tourists.

According to Butler 1980, “at the involvement stage, local community has to decide whether they wish to encourage tourism and if so, the type and scale of tourism they prefer.” Through word of mouth tourists’ interest to visit the coastal region increases. The residents of Grand Baie will soon realize the possible potential for economic benefits. The willingness to encourage tourism is shared among locals who will cater for the basic needs of visitors. Much effort is being done to advertise the region and attract more tourists. Such a coastal region as Grand baie will inevitably generates mass tourism, due to its fabulous beaches and local attractiveness. Moreover Grand Baie was cheap destination for visitors due to the foreign exchange currency rate. But unfortunately, the “thrill of tourism” will make population and stakeholders to neglect some important aspects such as sustainable principles; limits on carrying capacity and elements of predictability. At this stage pressure is placed on public sector for infrastructure and regulatory bodies.

Development stage

In the early 80,s Grand Baie will know an increase in tourism growth which will force the destination to the next “stage of Development” mentioned by Butler in 1980. Grand Baie is well known worldwide and demand for the destination has increased considerably. The fishing village has vanished and is now known to be the “Tourist Village”.

Residents in Grand Baie find themselves limited in terms of knowhow and resources to meet the needs of the visitors. Control shifts from locals to big investors from outside the region and public authority to provide expertise, products and services. Massive investment and development took place and soon Grand Baie became a tourist hub. Tourism impacts are increasing with the emerging tourism activities in the area. Natural areas are cleared away giving place to Hotels namely; the Canonnier, the Royal Palm, the Mauricia and the Verenda. All sorts of beach and sea activities are put forward to give visitors a unique experience. At this stage the changing nature of tourism is altered and the very nature of the resort and quality declined through problems of overused and deterioration of natural and manmade resources. Improper planning for Grand Baie is making development to be detrimental.

Contact between tourists and local is high impacting on the lives of those involved in tourism. Locals tend to adjust their way of living to accommodate the changing economic structure. For example, women start working in hotels at odd hours, practice which was long ago seen as taboo. Some of the major influences are the effects of westernization, the eating pattern and gender in the form of employer. The public authority becomes involved through infrastructure provision, road access facilities, improving communication network, educational and leisure facilities.

At this critical stage it is highly recommended to undertake analysis on the actual situation, to review action plan and monitoring system to ensure sustainability of tourism in Grand Baie. Actually much effort is placed on implementing policies at a national level, relating to environmental protection in order to comply with international policies, but on the other hand very little is being done in terms of security, destination management at peak seasons, social stability and distribution of wealth.

“If the day, tourism is undeniable, the nocturnal activity of Grand Baie is full. The nightclubs and bars take over the beaches and natural sites visited in the morning. These popular places with night owls are constantly crowded and joyful atmosphere is palpable at any time until the end of the night, and more specifically, the “Banana Cafe, a must in addition to being the biggest club in the Grand Baie Village.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dre_Lee 31 May 2010

Positive Impacts at Development Stage
(Grand Baie)

The destination grows in popularity

Expansion of service and facilities

Development of new service and infrastructure

Economic growth

Employment

Better quality of living

Negative Impacts at Development Stage
(Grand Baie)

Decline in local community

Natural and built suffers from wear and tear

Conflict between local population and tourism

Region loose authenticity

Loss of Culture, Beliefs, and Values

Increase in cost of living

Degradation of the Environment

Exceeding carrying capacity

Prostitution

Increase in crime rate

Consolidation Stage

At Consolidation stage, also known as critical range of elements capacity, tourist number will continue to rise in Grand Baie and the destination becomes dependent on tourism. More promotional and advertising efforts are undertaken in many different ways to maintain existing market and attract new ones. Lots of money is being injected in research and development. There is more pressure on the environment, where tourist number may exceed destination population. The manner resources have been managed in the early stage of the Tourism Area Life Cycle will determine the degree of impact and future of the destination. The tourist-relationship is converted into one of business as the novelty of new visitor arrivals declines. The more culturally sensitive “explorers” move on to new “unspoiled” areas and are replaced by the mass market. The local authorities and all stakeholders should, through sustainable tourism planning, consider and anticipate actions in order to mitigate tourism impacts.

Stagnation Stage

Stagnation is the stage where carrying capacity of many relevant factors is reached. Social, economic and environmental problem arise. Social instability that may lead to riots for instance, local people feeling like strangers in their home community, they realize that they have lost their culture, values and norms and that crime rate has increase to such a point that one does not feel secured anymore. Cost of living being too high makes it practically impossible to have a decent life. Those who are rich become even richer while the poor people become poorer. Land becomes scarce and a rise in demand make for land makes a rise in price. Failing to develop further development due to lack of space (land) for these new tourism developments and products, unemployment rate increases. Local people perception changes and local people no longer show interest in tourism sector and indeed think how to spoil new proposed projects.

Decline and/or Rejuvenation stage

Decline, the area of Grand Baie will not be able to compete with newer attractions, faces a declining market. Falling profits lead to foreign-owned businesses withdrawing and the community is left to “pick up the pieces”. Unless resources have been effectively managed in the early stage of the Tourism Area Life Cycle then only Rejuvenation is possible. It is important to deal effectively with demand and supply. Professional should work in close collaboration with local community and keep in mind that the development plan should be developed and implemented at same pace to the progress of the community. The supportive attitude of the locals is the bottom line for the success of tourism development.

If issues are not resolved this results in a severe drop in tourist number. That is why stakeholders need to increase marketing and promotional efforts. New market strategies develop in line with the re-structure of the tourism industry. It is also important to educate the local community and create awareness of the tourism activity. Training and development empowers the local people to better serve the industry and benefit from the advantages generated by the tourism sector. Corporate Social Responsibility is a very good attempt to mitigate negative social economic impacts. Residents are more willing to become stakeholder of tourism development when such development is a positive force for environmental conservation and for social/cultural enhancement. Moreover, Environmental Impacts Assessment has to be conducted prior to each development plan for sustainable development.

Conclusion

“Tourism is becoming, more than ever, sensitive to and dependent on a high-quality sustainable environment (Eccles 1995; Ing 1995; Nelson, Butler, and Wells 1993). The authors mean that development plan should seek to optimize the potential contribution of the human welfare and environmental quality. Planning should be in respect to the environment for the industry to sustain and keep market competitiveness. Basically approaches to sustainable destination development should look into; formulating development policy and strategies on uniqueness of natural and cultural attraction for the destination, considering physical, biological and psychological carrying capacity, developing alternative forms of tourism that will create linkage with other economic sectors, reviewing national, regional local framework policy and strategy as a destination evolve with time, planners to be concern with all stakeholders in the community, hence, developing a product that sits in harmony with local environment. According to ((L.Twining-Ward & R. Butler, 2002) Saoma has known a successful and revitalized torism industry due to its effective planning and monitoring system, framework for sustainable tourism development.

According to Butler 1980, destinations go through a cycle of evolution similar to the life cycle of a product, that is, all destinations is bound to reach some point of “stagnation” and “decline” where signs of negative impacts become apparent. Destination will rejuvenate only if sustainable management practices have been considered at early stage of development. Harrison, in his research, notes that Swaziland (in the context of life cycle), underwent rapid growth in the British colonial period but has since decline rapidly due to bad planning. Planners and decision-makers should possess predictable skills to anticipate problems before they happen and take preventive actions rather than curative ones. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (1989), sustainable tourism is defined as “development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.” However, (Salah S. Hassan 2000) added that “using the best planning and development effort, a destination cannot grow or revitalize unless it can provide a high level of health care, safety and security for tourists.

Finally, development is ongoing and further research is required to monitor the evolution of any tourist destination and evaluate underlying policies. Some obstacles remain and new ones may be confronted so that the future is not without formidable challenges. For destinations to sustain their competitive advantage

“Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes (1976, Tourism Society of England,1976) “. Tourism has been described in various ways but may be thought of as the connection and experience arising out of the journeys and temporary stay of people travelling primarily for leisure and recreational purpose. Tourism is thus a multifaceted activity and geographically complex one as different services are sought and supplied at different stages from the origin to the destination.

Tourism has emerged as one of the most important instruments to boost economic development in many of the countries across the globe as an engine for economic development, the earnings of foreign exchange, its contribution & creation of employment.

India has diverse culture and heritage in the North, it has the great Himalayas which gives tremendous opportunities for mountain tourism or adventure tourism. It provides great challenges and difficulties to mountaineers. In the Southern part of the country there is Indian Ocean which gives opportunities to beach tourism and attract large number of foreign and domestic tourists. In the North West there is Thar Desert with Aravalis mountains range. It is highly suitable for desert tourism and heritage tourism. In this way India have very rich natural resources like geographical and cultural diversity, forests, lakes, mountains, rivers and rivulets, sacred shrines, historic monuments and hospitable people, which are necessary for thriving tourism activity (Singh, 2002).

Pilgrims with pilgrimage tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism in the world. Not only has it become an important component of the Indian life style (Adrian Ivakhiv, 2003 ) but it has had a profound impact on other peoples of the world and the environments in which they live.

Pilgrim tourism to holy places (tirtha-yatra) is an ancient and continuing religious tradition of the Culture of Hindus. Here religion, as a cultural dimension, assumes the vital role and central focus of tourism in which the tourists (pilgrims) from all strata of the Hindus participate. In pilgrim tourism, the dimension of religion forms the basis of tourism of pilgrimage by offering the reward of purification of the soul and attainment of objectives related to the problems of routine life. Hindus from time immemorial were attracted to their numerous holy sites spread throughout India. Pilgrimage is thus a pan-human and pan Indian phenomenon, the meaning of which within the traditional structure of each religion, if not, within castes and communities. According to Skandapurana (a religious treatise), truth, forgiveness, control of senses, kindness to all living beings and simplicity is tirtha. Thus, tirtha yatra not only means physically visiting the holy places but implies mental and moral discipline as well. It has rightly said that following the Vedic period, the practice of religious tourism or pilgrimage seems to have gained increased popularity as evident from the great epic Mahabharata (Bhardwaj 1973: 5).

The number of pilgrimage sites in India is extremely large but some primary pilgrimage sites include the four Dhams, the Seven Sacred cities and their primary temples, Ashtvinayakas, twelve Jyotirlings, Svaymbhu and Pancha Bhutta linga Temples, the Shakti Pithas, the Kumbha Mela sites, major Vaishnava sites, the Nava Graham Sthalas, the Seven Sacred Rivers, the four Muths of Sri Adi Sankaracharya, the Arupadaividu, Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliva, Jama Masjid, Dargah of Muinuddin Chishti, Hazrathbal Mosque, Haji Ali Mausoleum, Church of St. Catejan, Church of the Sacred Heart, Patna Sahib, Sachkhand Sahib, Hemkund Sahib, Little Mount and certain other places that do not fit into any of the categories listed here. In India all temples, Gurudwaras, Mosques and Churches are considered sacred places. As is evident from the list these sites are not related with one religion only and therefore, they attract people of different religions for pilgrimage.

Further, many of such places are visited by pilgrims of various religions. It is worth mentioning that Uttarakhand has many important religious places which are quite popular at national level. Some of these places are well known at the international level as well. A brief description of of such places has been given as Haridwar, Rishikesh and Neelkanth in Uttaranchal.

Tourism in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on November 9, 2000, which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. It occupies an area of 51,125 sq km and a population of about __________ (__________ per sq km).The entire region is geographically important and is comprised of the two distinct parts i.e. eastern part (known as Kumaon) and western part (known as Garhwal). Uttarakhand is surrounded by a number of states like Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and country like Nepal. Uttarakhand give a distinct sense of tourism practices such as, Adventure tourism activities, leisure activities, wild life national parks and eco tourism activities etc. It is also a home of several religious places belonging to the Hindus and the Sikhs like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Lokpal and Hemkundsahib.

To promote tourism Uttar Pradesh Parvatiya Vikas Nigam was established on 30th March 1971, with authorized capital of Rs. 2 crore, under Companies Act 1956. The main objective of this government body was the development of seven hilly districts i.e. Haridwar, Dehradun, Tihri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Chamouli and Rudraprayag. After this on 31st March 1976, two more Government companies i.e. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam were established for the development of these regions.

The main objectives of these apex bodies in the context of tourism were to work in the area of tourism development and provide basic tourism infrastructure facilities, to promote tourism, a state tourism policy was formulated in 2002 in which emphasis was given on three things i.e. development of eco-friendly tourism with the help of both the public and private sectors and local communities, promote tourism as a source of economic growth by employment and revenue generation, develop Uttarakhand as a leading tourist destination and place Uttarakhand on the tourist map.

To promote the pace of tourism a Board named Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board was also established in 2002. This board is the supreme institute which gives suggestions to the government related to all tourism matters. Along with tourism this board also works as a regulatory and licensing authority.

It has a negative impact on environment too. Degradation of forestland in and around the tourist places and garbage problems due to booming up of tea stalls and shops and as well as mass tourism are the major environmental problems.

All above facts relating to the Uttarakhand reveal that the state government view tourism as a source of economic development and employment generation. They have shown their interest in infrastructure development on public-private participation. Further, efforts have been made to keep environmental aspects into consideration while developing tourism. If these steps implemented properly can lead to tourism growth in the above states.

The presentation is written for tourism industry analysts and public officials, who would like to better understand, evaluate, or possibly reduce the negative impact of tourism in Uttarakhand.

Haridwar

Haridwar is regarded as most sacred destination among Hindu pilgrimages. A staggering number of pilgrims visited Haridwar every year. Haridwar is also a historic and cultural destination, older than many other ancient towns in the world, and is deeply rooted in the history and development of Hinduism and Indian culture from its earliest days. Haridwar meaning aa‚¬A“Gateway to Godaa‚¬? is one of the seven holiest places of the Hindus, located on the banks of River Ganges. With Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad, Haridwar forms the four important pilgrimage centers of India where Kumbh Mela is celebrated after every 3 years rotated over these 4 destinations. Har-ki-Pauri is the most holy place where thousands of devotees take a dip. Haridwar is located around 200 km north east of Delhi and 54 km south of Dehradun and is probably the most important gateway to Uttarakhand by rail and road. It would also be justifiable to describe it as one of the most important aa‚¬A“pilgrimage tourismaa‚¬? destinations in India.

In recent years, pilgrimage tourism has become very popular among pilgrims. Pilgrimage Tourism to Shrine constitutes an important component of total tourism in and has contributed effectively to the growth and development of the place. Every year around 7 million pilgrims visit the Shrines in India which is influencing the socio-economic environment of the region and the present paper is throwing light on the economic impact of the pilgrimage tourism. This paper is based on the methodology adopted for estimation of economic impact tourism. This article explains and supports the idea that the economic impacts of religious tourism should not be neglected or underestimated, although religious institutions have traditionally attempted to downplay this in the past. Additionally, the paper argues that religion and tourism have much in common. In the modern world it is hard to ignore the impression that in most places of pilgrimage the profane impacts of tourism are just as important if not more so than the religious. This paper lends theoretical support to this argument.

Keywords: religious tourism, economic impacts, pilgrimages.

Introduction

Pilgrimage Tourism has emerged as an instrument for employment generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable human development. Pilgrimage Tourism promotes international understanding and gives support to local handicrafts and cultural activities. It is an important segment of the country’s economy, especially in terms of its contribution towards foreign exchange earnings, generation of additional income and creation of employment opportunities. The foreign exchange earnings from tourism during the year 2000 were estimated at about Rs. 14,408 crores with an estimated direct employment of about 15 million, which is about 2.4% of the total labor force of the country. Pilgrimage Tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for India. The International tourist traffic in the country is estimated to be 2.64 million during the year 2000. However, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), India’s share in world tourism arrivals is only 0.38%, accounting for 0.62% of the world tourist receipts. This indicates that much of the tourist potential is yet to be tapped. With rapid advances in Science & Technology, tourism has acquired the status of an industry in all industrialized countries. The high influx of foreign tourist traffic has accelerated demand for certain economic production and distribution activities. Pilgrimage Tourism has emerged as an industry next in importance only to Information Technology industry in the Services sector. By 2012, the contribution of pilgrimage Tourism to the world economy will be doubled. The economic liberalization in India and consequent foreign investment opportunities, development of tourist facilities including expansion in air-line services, etc. provide an impetus for a spurt in tourist arrivals as in South Asian regions. Domestic pilgrimage tourism plays a vital role in achieving the national objectives of promoting social and cultural cohesion and national integration. Its contribution to generation of employment is very high. With the increase in income levels and emergence of a powerful middle class, the potential for domestic pilgrimage tourism has grown substantially during the last few years. Realising the importance of pilgrimage tourism, the Government of Tamil Nadu has accorded high priority to pilgrimage tourism promotion and has taken initiatives to improve/ create infrastructure in tourism potential centres and geared to encourage private sector investment in this regard.

Objectives

To study about the pilgrimage tourism and its economic impacts

To identify the social, cultural and economic impact of the pilgrimage tourism management

To study The Positive and Negative,Social and Environmental Impacts of pilgrimage Tourism management

METHODOLOGY

The data for this study were collected from local residents which engaged in tourism activities.

tourists were identified as a key factor in developing tourism in local communities. This research is mainly based on secondary data such as broucher, pamplets, books,news papers,internet,advertisement etc.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The study would contribute to identify the need for economic dimension in pilgrimage tourism. Pilgrimage tourism helps in giving manifold economic benefits. The present study will be designed as an conceptual one,. few places of Tamilnadu had identified as places where high positive effects of pilgrimage tourism on income, employment and standard of living of local residents in Tamilnadu had analyzed here in this study. By studying this article it is possible to bring out the various strategies required for making the pilgrimage tourism in Tamilnadu a better destination in economic dimension. Further, this study may be useful to other states also for tapping the pilgrimage potential.

Review of literature

Laukush Mishra (2000) “Pilgrimage tourism is being recognized as a prime industry in most parts of the world for the purpose of earning maximum foreign exchange. Social significance of pilgrimage tourism cannot be said of less importance. Tourism industry requires variety as it is very essential capital and India is land of diversity. here diversity is present in every walk of life, from natural such as air, and water to social factors such as language and behaviour all varies from place to place. Pilgrimages are not a destination only for our religious faith but they also strengthen our national unity and promote brother hoodness also. the time has to come when these should be used to earn foreign exchange also keeping guarded our cultural heritage. in fact the other part of world may learn many things from India.indians might be poor from pocket but the wealth what they have in their behaviour is match less in the world.on domestic front religious tourism can be very helpful for regional development, employment generation, and can enroot again the cultural values. many modern social evils which are caused by materialism can be cured with the help of religious tourism”. Orland (1990) “The pilgrimage tourism sites in developing countries are subjected to extraordinary economic pressures and change. Often being the only remaining open spaces in densely populated urban or rural agricultural landscapes, they are in danger of being over run, either by surrounding development, or by growing recreational uses. A site faces pressures from pilgrims, international tourists and local day-visitors, all with different goals and needs. There are two apparently conflicting goals: to increase international pilgrimages and tourism use of the site, and to enhance the site for local day-visitors. Strategies are presented which would reduce these present conflicts, allow for growth and respond to local management constraints”. Mc Grath (1999) “The importance of pilgrimage travel as an economic, social and spatial phenomenon cannot be ignored. The term “pilgrimage tourism’ implies travel to a site or worship or a sacred place. Conceptually, it is not unlike recreational or tourism movements as a form of short term migration. It is one of the most geographically significant forms of religious behaviour”. David (2005 ) “The informal tourism sector and pilgrimage tourism tradition and today the bulk of domestic informal tourism in India consists of poor people participating in some religious pilgrimage trip, although, it is some times difficult to tell the difference between religious and non religious trips. The tourism impact of each of the four sectors according to four levels, economic, social, cultural and environmental, broadly defined, economic refers to total income from tourists, number of jobs generated, tourist expenditures or costs (land, commodity, wage inflation and import leakages) social impact refers to population displacement, migration, what class owns the tourist establishments, impact on the quality of living, increase or decrease in crime, cultural impact looks at degree of commoditization of symbols and performances, increase in undesirable activities, cultural influences derived from tourists and hostility towards tourist. Pilgrimage tourism as a modern phenomenon, and the changing history and nature of religious pilgrimage in India”.Champakalakshmi (1998) “Buddhism in tamilnadu seeks to provide an alternative perspective and different approach to the study of patronage to Buddhism in tamilnadu, keeping in view the major chronological periods, the early historic and the early medieval, within which such an exercise becomes meaningful. Patronage of formal religious systems in pre-modern India was closely linked to the ideological needs of political organization and its socio-economic base”.Kiran shinde (1996) “Pilgrimage tourism begins by reasoning that the increasing use of mechanical transport to pilgrimage sites erodes the cultural notions that have underpinned pilgrimage tourism for centuries. Then, it seeks to demonstrate in two respects, the relevance of insights into how sacred journeying interconnects persons, places, and time. The first insight concerns the travel patterns of and income potential from pleasure and pilgrimage tourists in the current situation of unstable national and international security. The second insight relates to local perceptions of sociocultural, economic, and environmental risks involved in pilgrimage tourism. The cultural dimension must be included as a crosscutting concern in environmental, social, and economic impact assessments of transport projects to heritage sites”. Boris Vukonic (1998) “The economic impacts of pilgrimage tourism, the economic impacts of pilgrimage tourism relationship should not be underestimated. Taking into account the fact that pilgrimage tourism is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, it is almost impossible to examine religion and its specific relationships to tourism: economic, social and cultural. Based on theoretical research of scholars it can be said that the two phenomena – pilgrimage and tourism – have much too common. Today, it is hard to get away with the impression that in most places of pilgrimage sites. The profane impacts of tourism are greater due to the religious reasons. Even in the so called ‘hard-line’ or conservative religions of the world, because of their strict observance of religious duties of their adherents, such benefits are no longer denied”. Rajesh Raina (2001) “Pilgrimage Tourism to Shrine constitutes an important component of total tourism and it has contributed effectively to the growth and development of the place. Every year around 7 million pilgrims visit the Shrine which is influencing the socio-economic environment of the region. The economic impact of the Shrine related pilgrimage tourism. The income generated is taken from all the five basic component of industries or sets of people, , which are directly and more or less totally dependent on the pilgrimage tourism viz. the Hotel Industry, Transport Industry, various commercial establishments including all types of shops operating at the pilgrimage tourism sites”. Harsh nevatia (2001) “Religious tourism has a big future in India. India is richly endowed with ancient temples and religious festivals. Religions originating in India, be it Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or Buddhism, have a vibrant culture and spiritual philosophy. Religious tourism in India has immense potential to evolve as a niche segment. There are hurdles to be overcome. The first hurdle is the poor tourism infrastructure in general, and perhaps the even poorer infrastructure of religious centres. Adequate facilities for lodging, boarding and traveling and travel will have to be created. what needs to be done is to create nodes near religious centres, where there is already a basic infrastructure present and plan day trips from there. religious tourism in India can provide an experience that cannot be had anywhere in the world, but for it to fructify, the seeds will have to be sown and the saplings will have to be natured”. Elena (2001) “The pilgrimage tourism involve in economic activities around and in the country. Pilgrimage tourism is one of the most important factors in the economy of many countries; that intense competition amongst world destination is evident. The need to innovate and to create new products has forced the development of more and different concepts as is the case with cultural and religious tourism, the vast religious heritage is the reason which leads to faith and the awakening of renewed interest in the practices of pilgrimage tourists who visit for religious reasons. This is beginning to trace out a greater impact in pilgrimage tourism”. Arnab Karar (2010) “Tourism become an engine for economic development and plays a great role towards socio-economic changes. According to Indian sentiment the pilgrim centers or tirthasthan used to visit by number of tourists to earn virtue. Not only domestic but also foreign tourists are also come here throughout the year. The tourism industry has played an important role and it becomes a boon. Due to the gathering of many pilgrims every year, a number of hotels, ashrams, restaurants etc. are built. For the construction of those hotels every year a number of persons are engaged. Therefore, hotel business is playing an important role in the economic system. For fulfilling the necessities of the tourists, the restaurant owners prepare different types of dishes Therefore the restaurant owners have to deal with various whole-sellers for supply their cooking item and vegetables. There also an economic transaction happens for the restaurant business. A number of buses, shared jeep are available here for the journey of holy Shrines. Therefore, transport economy is also play an important role here due to pilgrim tourism. Tourism development board always engaged for the betterment of the pilgrims. The tourism based economy, particularly which of the religious complex, may continue to flourish and thrive as long as its religious sanctity is ensured to satisfy religious sentiment of the pilgrim tourists”.

THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY AND TOURISM

Tourism has principally been concerned with the tourist experience of visiting, seeing, learning, enjoying, and living in a different mode of life (Stamboulis and Skayannis 2003). In this sense, everything tourists go through at a destination can be experience, be it behavioral or perceptual, cognitive or emotional, or expressed or implied. To the stakeholders of tourism, such as tourists, destination marketers, local residents, and policy makers, the nature and scope of the experience offered by a destination and processed by tourists determine the value of the destination. Hence, researchers have emphasized understanding what the tourist experience is and how it is formed as a result of visiting a destination. The two-dimensional model of tourist values proposed by Crick-Furman and Prentice (2000) exemplifies the nature of the tourist experience, whereas the “type” analysis by Uriely,Yonay, and Simchai (2002) and the analysis of benefit determinants by Prentice, Witt, and Hamer (1998) reflect how the tourist experience was formed. Prentice (2004) also introduced two intrinsic motivation models, the romantic and mass tourism paradigms, to explain the diversity of tourist experiences by means of underlying tourist motivations. As shown in these studies, it is indeed a challenging task to capture all elements experienced by a tourist at a destination in a concise measurement model for the purpose of assessing the performance or value of a destination. Pine and Gilmore (1999; Gilmore and Pine 2002a, 2002b) proposed the experience economy as an emerging paradigm for enhancing business performance across a wide range of industries, including tourism and hospitality.

The experience economy concept has been introduced sporadically to tourism research and it adds to the dimensions by which to interpret tourist experience (e.g., Richards, 2001; Stamboulis and Skayannis 2003). Pine and Gilmore (1999, p. 12) defined experience from a business perspective: “Experiences are events that engage individuals in a personal way”; but we surmise that they would define experience from a consumer perspective as enjoyable, engaging, memorable encounters for those consuming these events. According to Pine and Gilmore (1999), there are fourm, realms (or dimensions) of experience differentiated by the level and form of customer involvement in business offerings, as depicted in. Along the customer participation axis, passive participation of the customer in business (or destination) offerings characterizes the entertainment and esthetic dimensions, whereas educational and escapist dimensions reflect active participation. The tourist who passively participates in destination activities does not directly affect or influence the performance of the destination (business), whereas an active participant will personally affect the performance or event that becomes part of his or her experience. Along the absorption-immersion axis, the tourist typically “absorbs” entertaining and educational offerings of a destination and “immerses” in the destination environment resulting in esthetic or escapist experiences. Absorption in this context is defined as “occupying a person’s attention by bringing the experience into the mind” and immersion as “becoming physically (or virtually) a part of the experience itself ” (Pine and Gilmore 1999, p. 31).

THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY IN THE TOURISM DECISION PROCESS

Because Pine and Gilmore’s (1999) realms of experience focus on describing the goodness of destination offerings in four summary dimensions, it is useful to consider the potential antecedents and consequences of these realms of experience. In a general sense, tourists are believed to hold personal values that permeate their life and that embed their choice of a specific destination and/or target tourist experience (Madrigal and Kahle 1994). Such values, once directed at a specific target (i.e., a trip to take), give rise to travel motives, which function as the “push” factor for the upcoming trip taking. Once travel motives coalesce, a set of relevant destinations is evoked along with the tourist’s attitude associated with each destination in the set. At this point, the expected value of the experience from a destination, known as the “pull” factor or travel motivation, often solidifies or weakens the tourist’s intention to choose the destination. Travel motives and motivations have been used as key variables for market segmentation studies on tourist experiences (e.g., Loker-Murphy 1996; Prentice,Witt, and Hamer 1998). Although tourism research on destination experiences has assumed that personal values were inextricably linked to tourist experiences, supporting empirical evidence is limited. Only a few researchers have attempted to explicate how global person values reduce to perceptions of tourist experiences for a particular destination (e.g., Klenosky, Gengler, and Mulvey 1993). Nonetheless, this kind of person-environment relationship is argued to be unstable, inconsistent, and disconnected because the environment (e.g., the experience at a destination) is not a routine part of daily life for most people (Burningham and O’Brien 1994). Due to the infrequency of tourism experience in the life of most people, motive- or value-based phenomenology of tourist experiences can be futile (Aitken and Bjorklund 1988). Moreover, values may not be considered as enduring through all activities of the person and, thus, tourist experiences may be driven instead by immediate goals and objectives of the tourist interacting with the focal environment or destination (Bagozzi and Warshaw 1990; Crick-Furman and Prentice 2000). Oh (2001) reasoned why a priori comparison standards, such as expectations, importance, and personal values, often have little bearing on post experience evaluations in the hospitality consumption context. In contrast, specific consequences of tourist experiences have drawn less research attention than the antecedents discussed above. While it is apparent that internalized benefits, such as mental or spiritual recreation, well-being, and fulfillment, may be long-term tourism benefits, more destination- or individual travel-specific outcomes of the experience have not been widely conceptualized, particularly in line with Pine and Gilmore’s conceptual framework. These rather transaction-oriented consequences are important for the sake of destination management because they provide travel marketers with not only diagnostic summary evaluations of destination offerings but also better understanding of the factors affecting the tourist’s future destination choice.

Pilgrimage Tourism in the Face of the Economic Crisis

World economy faces an unprecedented crisis, triggering one of the most severe recessions in generations. The world’s GDP is forecast to decline by some 1.4% in 2009, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF, July 2009), the exports have been dramatically reduced and all advanced economies are in recession. And, even the emerging economies, which at the beginning seemed to resist better, are rapidly facing the impact of the economic crisis. Pilgrimage Tourism, though resisting better than some sectors, has not been immune. Markets started to deteriorate by mid 2008. UNWTO market monitoring indicates that the plummeting results of international tourism during the last part of 2008 have continued during the first months of 2009. International tourist arrivals are estimated to have declined by as much as 8% in the first four months of 2009, bringing overall international tourism to the level of 2007. This trend is confirmed by data on air transport by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which shows a 6.8% decline in air passenger’s traffic in the first seven months of this year, and data on hotel occupancy rates which, according to STR Global, are down by 9% to 13% in all world regions in the period January-July 2009.

PROSPECTS OF PILGRIM TOURISM IN INDIA

When global warming threatens lives and property the world over, many surviving natural sectors offer clue to reverse climate change. Over the years pilgrim tourism has been recognized as one of the most vibrant natural sectors of economy. In the western and European nations, Christian religious tourism is a thriving sector. There are around 117 Marian shrines in Canada, 181 shrines in the United States for Roman Catholics and thousands of sites connected to various Protestant denominations and ancient religions of the Native Americans. Majority of those places have become important global destinations for pilgrims. It happens because those countries have a sound approach to pilgrim sector. In India, there are hundreds of pilgrim destinations connected to the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and the Muslim religion, which have potential to generate employment on a sustainable basis. More than 15 crore Indians visit pilgrim places across the country. The nation’s ancient history and mythological past have sprung up hundreds of pilgrim centers across the country. Many have origins traced in the mythologies. Pilgrim tourism serves the greatest purpose of integrating people from different regions as people from farthest east travel to southern corner and the west to north enjoying the hospitality of one another. The Badrinath, Kedarnath, Mount Kailash, Vaishno Devi, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Amritsar in the north, the Sabarimal, Rameswaram, Madurai and Tirupati in the south, Puri Jagganath temple in the East and Shirdi Sai Baba temples, the magnificent churches of Goa in the western part, the Ujjain, Omkareswar, Sanchi and Ajmer in the central India and a host of other famous pilgrim spots keep more than 15 per cent of Indians population moving.

When people move out of their houses in pilgrimage it triggers a host of economic activities right from their doorsteps. Travel agencies, hotel chains, restaurants, sale of religious artifacts, handicrafts, floriculture activity, health sector, and shops selling travel kits etc get activated. The Tirupathi Devasthanam in Tirumala requires more than 20 tones of flowers every day during the peak season. Bangalore city transports flowers worth Rs 30 lakh every day to Tirumala. Faith is the greatest stimulant for economic activities, which could generate revenues on a sustainable basis without putting pressure on environment.

The famous patta chitra, palm leave carvings, applique work, painting on tassar clothes originate from the religious practices in the Lord Jagganath temple of Puri. In ancient time people believed a pilgrimage to Puri is not complete unless one carries a piece of patta chitra or an applique work with them. Today handicraft traders have carried those traditional crafts to international craft bazaars. A 40 sq feet patta chitra made by a senior artist is sold at a price ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 7 lakh in international craft bazaar. Nearly 15 lakh pilgrims gather in Puri to watch the spectacular Rath Yatra, widely known as the journey of the mankind. More than 20 million people gather in Kumbhamela, which is the largest congregation of pilgrims in the world. Though millions more want to travel, uncomfortable journey, lack of clean and economy class accommodation, poor quality of food and water served in many pilgrim centers dissuade pilgrims to travel. Many pilgrim centers in India have become too commercialized and caught up with making money only. Business opportunities let economics over shadow the very purpose of spiritual places, which ultimately affects pilgrim sector.

Unlike tourists who come to spend and enjoy, the pilgrims generally come to have spiritual experience. Natural surroundings, cleanliness and ethnic culture always provide the spiritual aura. The magnificent hills of Sahyadri range in Maharashtra attracts more than six lakh pilgrims to walk 261 km to have a darshan of their revered god Panduranga at Pendarpur. Recently Maharashtra Government has decided to develop 261 km roads with huge public expenditure. This is actually unnecessary and it may destroy the natural environment of the route. Amaranth yatra would not fascinate lakhs of people without those snowcapped mountains, forests, springs and vallies.A well thought out pilgrim policy will undoubtedly help millions of Indians to rise above the poverty line. Children from school must learn how to tap the pilgrim tourism potential. Public awareness about pilgrim sector should be created among people for cleaner and greener environment in pilgrim places. Documenting the myths, mysteries, history and folklore of pilgrim places is the first step towards making a thriving pilgrim sector in India.

PILGRIMAGE AND TOURISM

In this Section we will discuss the pilgrimage tourism in its historic; perspective yatras in search of peace besides, history is also full of references of traders and merchants roaming Srurn place to place in connection with their trading activities. Traditionally a Hindu was supposed to perform yatra to four dhams situated in four corners of India – in the North, Badrinath (on the hills); in the East, Puri (on the sea coast); in the West, Dwarika (on the sea shore), and in the South, Rameshwaram (again on the sea coast). Tirtha yatras were mainly spread along the river bluffs and confluences. The holy rivers, Ganges and Yamuna, have long been venerated and large number of hymns was composed by the Aryans in praise of Ganga. Earlier, pilgrimage was associated with ‘purity of thought’ and undertaken for expiation of sins or for salvation. fie concept of the pilgrimage was “the harder the journey the better the reward (phal)”. Thus, the pilgrims needed minimum infrastructural facilities. rnodern day pilgrimage is ‘pleasure oriented’ and demands vast infrastructure in the tertiary sector. This has had deep impacts. In the following Sections we shall examine pilgrimage tourism and its impact on society in greater detail. Pilgrimage and tourism are closely related. Tourist industry fetches large number of ‘local tourists’ mainly to pilgrim centers. Pilgrimage tourism helps greatly in travel promotion. You will find that ever increasing demand for better travel facilities at pilgrim centers to cater to the large number of pilgrim tourists has pressurized the state governments and tourism departments to come up with concrete plans. Since this kind of tourism involves large profits it has attracted a number of private tour-operators to involve with it. We may cite the instance of Vishnu Devi. The journey in the past was quite hazardous. Recently, however. the roads have got totally rebuilt, and the transport is easily available. Today Jarnmu is connected with every part of India by rail and by air. Similarly, Tirupati, a small town, now has an airport. Trains now reach as far as Rameshwaram. Dwarika is also well connected by road. Even ship cruise facilities are available to visit Dwarika. Ajmer, again though a small town, owes its importance almost wholly to Shaikh Muinuddin Christi’s shrine. the annual lakhs of people participate. Such travel promotion facilitates pilgrimage in particular areas and at the same time it has soci-econornicim placations too. large number of devotees travelling to pilgrim centers generate handsome revenue and are the source of livelihood to hundreds of those who depend on the tourists inflow. There are many pilgrim centers which were earlier small places, but on account of their religious I importance have now emerged as big towns. Katra, a small town in Jammu, now has a chain of small hotels. Similarly, Shirdi, a very small village, now on account of the increasing popularity of Shirdi saint’s shrine is fast developing into a big town with a nurnber of luxury hotels coming up. Pilgrim centers also develop’ into big shopping spots. Dwarika specializes in cloth paintings. Similarly, people buy dry fruits like akhrot in large quantities from Jarnmu where it is quite cheap. Besides, these pilgrim centers are flooded with consumer items – artificial jewellery, bangles, local handicrafts (of wood, jute, cane, stone-carvings (images of gods and goddesses), and show-pieces, etc.

Economic impacts in pilgrimage tourism

Pilgrimage Tourism is an economic activity that is imposed, or at least grafted, on a pre-existing set of economic activities and traditional ways of life (Price & Harrison, 1996: 1). Pilgrimage Tourism is a product of three main elements; destination, hosts and the tourists. Pilgrimage Tourism is a process which obviously affects various aspects of society and culture. Primarily its impact is of economic nature. Sharma (2009) states that the contribution of pilgrimage tourism in gross foreign exchange is 15 to 17 percent and the influence of tourism is also centered in some specific areas only not throughout the whole nation but it does not mean to underestimate the pilgrimage tourism because we know a very little about the multiplier effect of the pilgrimage tourism; we must take account of the foods, vegetables and fruits that the tourists take as well as the employment plus the crafts that the tourists purchase. According to Godfrey and Clarke (2000), socio-cultural change relate to local quality of life and sense of place. Positive change in the quality of life could be as follows; personal income increases, helps to improve living standards for those more directly involved in industry, supports the diversity of restaurants and other cultural entertainment, influence the assortment of goods for sale in many local shops that would not be available in the same amount if pilgrimage tourism did not exist to support them, park areas are often improved, street furniture and design criteria introduced, greater care and attention placed on overall environmental quality, new opportunities etc. And in contrary negative changes in the quality of life could be as follows; local shops overcharging, petty theft from cars and accommodation, more serious personal assault etc. Regarding the sense of place, posit

The current environmental laws in the Philippines are policies of the state that aims to protect, conserve and develop our natural resources and the ones found and living with it. Executive Order Number 79 Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall protect and advance the right of the Filipino people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. It shows that the state want a protection not just on nature but also on its sovereign people. Living in the rhythm and harmony of nature is what the state wants for its people. But that was a long time ago people are contented living a simple life they are already satisfied with what the nature can offer to them. People as time goes by seek more and find ways on how to get more resources on our nature that they wouldn’t mind if it’s already endangering the nature. Presidential Decree 1152 – Philippine Environmental Policy defines the policy objectives and the strategies for the various aspects of environmental management, such as air and water quality management, natural source development, land management, and waste management. It launches a comprehensive national program of environmental protection and management, with reference to policies and standards of noise, air quality, water quality, classification of water and waste management. In this program the proper protection and management that was supposed to be done was not followed. Quality management is needed. It is one of the major factors that cause diseases on people because our resources were not of good quality nowadays. It recognizes that a clean and healthy environment is for the good of all and should therefore be the concern of all. Clean and healthy environment is not what all Filipinos have. Only a few can experience what a healthy and clean environment is because majority of the people tend to go to urban places and eventually pollute it. Presidential Decree 389 (P.D. 705) – The Forestry Reform Code codifies updates and raises forestry laws in the country. It emphasizes the sustainable utilization of forest resources. When we say sustainable it is how we use the resources properly and how to maintain its productivity for future generations. This law wants to eliminate illegal logging and other forms of forest destruction which are being facilitated. Taking Care of our forest is very crucial specially to us who are living on elevated areas we are more prone on Landslide and the ones living beneath us is also affected with flashflood, mudslide and others. It is important that we would take care and propagate trees on our forests. Presidential Decree. 856 Sanitation Code places the responsibility in the local government units for he solid waste management in his area of production. People in Cities are too many it causes pollution due to overcrowding the resources is not sufficient to support the population living in a certain place. A lot of people don’t practice proper hygiene on themselves and even on their environment. Overcrowding leads to unhealthy practice and lifestyle. Presidential Decree 1181 (supplements the provision of P.D. 984) providing for the abatement, control and prevention of vehicular pollution and establishing the maximum allowance emissions of specific air pollutants from all types of vehicle. We invented so many things that really have a negative impact on our nature as we go through modernization so many substances is being used that served as a poison to our natural resources and slowly killing and destroying it. The state has no control and supervision on it. The use of Cars that produce smoke, chemicals on pesticides and insecticides and even using spray will harm our mother nature. It is negligence on our part we are supposedly the stewards of it but what we are doing is we are destroying it. Lack of discipline also is happening we don’t mind the laws that were made to safeguard our nature and also ourselves from harm. The environment we’re living in right now is not what the state envisions for us. These are general policies that pursuit a better quality of life for the present and future generations. It provides objectives and strategies for the various aspects of environmental management. Nature is really one of the major sources of income before and even nowadays. But the equal opportunity was not imposed properly by the state proper resource allocation is needed. Strictly implementation of the laws passed is not enough we need to make the citizens abide with rules and regulations not because it is one of their responsibilities as a citizen, but because of the fact that we need this law that will serve as our guidelines and manuals to continue living in ecologically balanced and healthy environment.

How Hospitality and Tourism Management Course is affected in current environmental Law?

The quality of the environment, both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism. However, tourism’s relationship with the environment is complex. It involves many activities that can have adverse environmental effects. Many of these impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. In Hospitality Industry we offer products and services that are tangibles and intangibles. Attractive landscape sites, such as sandy beaches, lakes, riversides, and mountain tops and slopes, are often transitional zones, characterized by species-rich ecosystems. Hotel and Tourism Industry is anchored on natural resources. And it is where we usually build infrastructure we usually convert and developed the place to cater to our guests. The fact that most tourists chose to maintain their relatively high patterns of consumption (and waste generation) when they reach their destinations can be a particularly serious problem for the industry as Philippines a developing country without the appropriate means for protecting our natural resources and local ecosystems from the pressures of mass tourism. Hospitality and Tourism Industry contributes a lot with this destruction. As a number one contributor our industry is affected with many these laws imposed it limits our capacity to render and innovate more on our products and services offered to our present and future guests. The Industry’s business areas, the facilities being operated and managed as well as our locations and activities are also affected. We need to comply with environmental legislation, regulation and standards. We also need to identify the extents to which environmental issues are being considered and addressed in the operations, services and products of the organizations that are part of our industry. The Industry needs to commit on how we are going to manage the operations and services to achieve environmental objectives and targets. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry must show where the organization stands on its environmental performance in relation to its operations, services and products. These environmental laws can make major impacts on the organization’s activities, services and production processes. Those processes may have cause impact on the environment. It will take into considerations the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of all properties facilities and services. We need to develop or adapt procedures and technologies to the benefit of both the environment and wider community and still maintaining in reaching or exceeding our guests’ expectation. The practice of our staff, contractors, suppliers and customers must be with of responsibility for their actions and to comply with their environmental obligations. Suppliers taking part in the environmental protection initiatives will be considered. Purchasing strategies with the suppliers and the materials needed is also affected we need to make sure that it does not add cost to the problem. Like in purchasing initiatives we must consider those who are committed to sustainable environmental development, and continuously seek environmentally-friendly products and services that represent genuine value for money. The industry need to devise the most innovative and practical environmental improvement initiatives. We need to provide products and services that have the minimum adverse impact on the environment. The industries employees and staff is also affected they need to carry out regular internal programmes of education and training to enhance environmental awareness amongst themselves.

How can Hotel and Tourism Management Course help to improve the current environmental situation in the Philippines?

Tourism can be considered one of the most remarkable socio-economic phenomena of the twentieth century. From an activity “enjoyed by only a small group of relatively well-off people” during the first half of the last century, it gradually became a mass phenomenon during the post World War II period, particularly from the 1970s onwards. It now reaches larger and larger numbers of people throughout the world, and is a source of employment for a significant segment of the labor force. And now Hospitality and Tourism Industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industry in the world has growing adverse impacts on our environment. It provides considerable economic benefits for many countries, regions and communities; its rapid expansion has also had detrimental environmental and socio-cultural impacts. Natural resource depletion and environmental degradation associated with tourism are serious problems. The management of natural resources to reverse this trend is thus one of the most difficult challenges for governments at different levels. The main environmental impacts of tourism are (a) pressure on natural resources, (b) pollution and waste generation and (c) damage to ecosystems. Furthermore, it is now widely recognized that not only uncontrolled tourism expansion is likely to lead to environmental degradation, but also that environmental degradation, in turn, poses a serious threat to tourism. Tourism is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractions created by a rich and varied environment. It can also cause loss of biodiversity when land and resources are strained by excessive use, and when impacts on vegetation, wildlife, mountain, marine and coastal environments and water resources exceed the carrying capacity. This loss of biodiversity in fact means loss of tourism potential. Global tourism is closely linked to climate change. Tourism involves the movement of people from their homes to other destinations and accounts for about 50% of traffic movements; rapidly expanding air traffic contributes about 2.5% of the production of CO2. Tourism is thus a significant contributor to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Air travel itself is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Passenger jets are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The number of international travelers is expected to increase, adding greatly to the problem unless steps are taken to reduce emissions. Despite its many adverse impacts, tourism can help improved the current environmental situation by preservation and conservation of sensitive important sites in our country. Furthermore, tourism that focuses on cultural and historic sites (sometimes referred to as “heritage” tourism) can be the driving force for the preservation and rehabilitation of existing historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry can contribute to environmental conservation through: (a) Direct financial contributions; we can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas and habitat. Contributions to government revenues; governments collect money in more far-reaching and indirect ways that are not linked to specific parks or conservation areas. User fees, income taxes, taxes on sales or rental of recreation equipment, and license fees for activities can provide governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources. Such funds can be used for overall conservation programs and activities. (b) Improved environmental management and planning; Sound environmental management of tourism facilities and especially hotels can increase the benefits to natural areas. But this requires careful planning for controlled development, based on analysis of the environmental resources of the area. Planning helps to make choices between conflicting uses, or to find ways to make them compatible. By planning early for tourism development, damaging and expensive mistakes can be prevented, avoiding the gradual deterioration of environmental assets significant to tourism. (c) Environmental awareness raising; Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment and to spread awareness of environmental problems when it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. This confrontation may heighten awareness of the value of nature and lead to environmentally conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. (d) Protection and preservation; Tourism can significantly contribute to environmental protection, conservation and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Because of their attractiveness, pristine sites and natural areas are identified as valuable and the need to keep the attraction alive can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks. (e) Alternative employment; Tourism can provide an alternative to development scenarios that may have greater environmental impacts. (f) Regulatory measures; Regulatory measures help offset negative impacts. It controls the number of tourist activities and movement of visitors within protected areas and it can limit impacts on the ecosystem and help maintain the integrity and vitality of the site. Such limits can also reduce the negative impacts on resources. Limits should be established after an in-depth analysis of the maximum sustainable visitor capacity. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry has now an increasing agreement on the need to promote sustainable tourism development to minimize its environmental impacts and to ensure more sustainable management of natural resources. The concept of sustainable tourism, as developed in the United Nations sustainable development process, refers to tourist activities “leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems.” These sustainability concerns are, therefore, beginning to be addressed by governments at national, regional and local, as well as international, levels. In addition, given the leading role of the private sector in the tourism industry has many initiatives that have also been taken by this sector. The main policy areas regarding sustainable tourism are: (a) the promotion of national strategies for sustainable tourism development, including the decentralization of environmental management to regional and local levels, (b) the use of both regulatory mechanisms and economic instruments, (c) the support for voluntary initiatives by the industry itself, and (d) the promotion of sustainable tourism. The Industry needs to formulate and effectively apply an appropriate mix of regulatory and economic instruments for both sustainable natural resources management and environmental protection. The most direct tool for promoting sustainable tourism involves the use of regulatory mechanisms, such as, integrated land-use planning and coastal zone management. In many cases, it may be necessary to protect coastlines through rigid building restrictions, such as, existing legislation that bans any buildings within a defined distance from the coast. It is also essential that environmental regulations be applied transparently throughout the tourism sector, regardless of business size, type of tourism activity concerned or location. Mass tourism, in particular, should be carefully monitored, regulated and sometimes even prohibited in ecologically fragile areas. In protected areas, such as national parks and natural world heritage sites, tourism activities should be strictly subject to the preservation of biological diversity and ecosystems, not stressing their limited capacity to absorb human presence without becoming damaged or degraded. The Industry has voluntary industry initiatives which tend to oppose greater government regulation and taxation of the industry on the grounds that they are ultimately detrimental to efficiency, competitiveness and profits. The tourism industry has thus developed several self-regulation and voluntary initiatives to promote greater environmental sustainability. These include waste and pollution reduction schemes, voluntary codes of conduct, industry awards and eco-labels for sustainable tourism. In addition, environmental management schemes to encourage responsible practices have been promoted in various sub-sectors, including hotel and catering, recreation and entertainment, transportation, travel agencies and tour operators. To achieve this emphasis it must be directed to sustainable ecotourism development as the core in this industry supported by expansion in the hospitality service sector. There is inadequate skilled manpower in this sector but the future of tourism needs product diversification, opening up of new tourist circuits, promotion of domestic tourism and provision of skilled manpower. The programme in Ecotourism and Hospitality Management is designed to train manpower to meet these challenges.

Sources:

http://www.chanrobles.com/eono79-2012.php#.UFWWlLLiYpA

http://mboard.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12137

http://bio427.blogspot.com/2010/10/environmental-laws-of-philippines.html

http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html

http://www.mtnforum.org/sites/default/files/pub/1423.pdf