Category: Free Essays

1. Background (270)

China has become one of the world’s most important tourist destinations since China adopted its ‘open door’ policy in 1978. And the self-financed international leisure travel has been made possible since the early-1990s. Chinese outbound travel grows fast after that and jumped to 31 million by 2005 (Breakey, Ding & Lee 2008). The current growth and future predictions of outbound travel from China had impacts on global travel for numerous countries, including Australia. Whilst North Queensland (QLD) region has been one of the fastest growing tourist destinations for both domestic and international travel markets and the industry environment has been recognized as a dynamic business system subject to the influences of global circumstances, government and business priorities, changing communities and market trends. In recent years, international marketing has become an important issue in tourism industry. The Tourism White Paper, which was released by Australia Government in 2003, emphasized the importance of international marketing. To ensure an effective and successful international campaign to attract international tourists, governments have invested significantly in international marketing. Funding for the improving the international marketing has averaged around $92 million per annum for Australian Tourist Commission over the past 5 years, and the Australian Government commits significant additional funds to tourism through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources regional development and business assistance programs (Tourism White Paper 2003, p: 4). In response to this travelling potential of China and the increasing competition of the tourism industry, this marketing plan developed to improve international marketing strategies and effectiveness, increase North Queensland’s international competitiveness as a tourism destination and increase Chinese visitation across North Queensland.

2. Goal Setting _ Mission (47)

This strategy is developed as a destination marketing plan aiming at attracting Chinese tourists to North Queensland. The plan is a market segment strategy that delivers on the vision and actions and provides marketing advice to tourism bodies across South East Asia.

3. Marketing Audit (1374)
3.1 North Queensland Tourism Audit

In tourism industry, the comparative strengths or weaknesses for destination are the products, services and amenities available to the tourism visitor. It is therefore necessary to consider what range of products and services are currently available to visitors within the North Queensland region so that gaps can be identified and strategies developed to fill these gaps. The tourism audit process has been undertaken using a combination of sources including data of Tourism Research Australia as well as searches of tourism literature.

3.1.1 Accommodation Profile

There is a wide range of accommodation available in the North Queensland including hotels, motels, backpacker/hostel, luxury, resorts and apartment accommodation, self-catering, caravan parks and camping grounds. Smits (2004) reported that almost 25% of all accommodation establishments in Australia are in Queensland and around 17% of Queensland’s stock is held within Tropical North Queensland, with no less than 78% of this is located in either Cairns or Port Douglas. There are over 10,000 available guest rooms in North Queensland which vary from serviced apartments and short-term hire residential villas, as well as a limited complement of luxury resorts and several new luxury resorts currently under development.

Serviced apartments and holiday flats and units are continued increase in room supply; however, the boost in available hotel rooms was not met by growth in room nights sold, which remained stable in 2007. Consequently, the room occupancy was declined by 3 percentage point in the year 2007. While the room occupancy for serviced apartments was falling, those kind of apartments were the only form of accommodation in Tropical North Queensland to have strong growth in room nights sold, with an increase of more than 5 percent. The average daily room rate for the Tropical North Queensland region remains above the Queensland average, ranging from $109.25 to $172.04. However, the occupancy rates of Tropical North Queensland in 2007 were below the rates of rest in Queensland.

3.1.2 Transport and Tours

Like the accommodation, there are a number of varying and different types of transport and tour can be utilised through the North Queensland, which include coach, coach, varying water-based options and aviation. Major access to the area for international tourists is aviation services. The international seats to cairns downs 21 percent on last year with 9 percent average annual decline from 2004 to 2009. In the year 1985, the Cairns Airport has developed as an international airport based on the tourism attractions of Tropical North Queensland, which is the second most visited destination by international holiday visitors to Australia (Prideaux 1999). However, until now no direct international services are available between mainland China and North Queensland. Chinese visitors are presently required to either transfer flights at Hong Kong or transfer upon arrival to Sydney, with several hours of undesirable backtracking.

Getting about Tropical North Queensland is easy, with varying mode of transport including rental cars, bus services, taxis, limousines, aircraft, boats and trains. Bus shuttle services are regularly available to pick up and set down travellers at most hotels and accommodation establishments. Besides, private transfer buses are offered in many hotels and motels. The Limousine Fleets is unique in North Queensland, with excellent service and sight seeing. Major Car Rental companies are represented at the airport and many additional rental companies have offices in Cairns and other major towns around North Queensland.

3.1.3 Attractions and Natural Resources

Attractions and Natural Resources are an integral part of the tourism product for any destination, including North Queensland. There is a diverse range available for the tourist spread throughout the North Queensland, including the Cassowary Coast, the Tablelands, Cairns and surrounds, Port Douglas, Mossman, Daintree National Park, Cape Tribulation, and, of course, excursions to the Great Barrier Reef and World Heritage listed rainforests. These attractions provide a blend of activities such as the opportunity to relax and to do heaps of activities in spectacular natural settings as well, which encourage tourists to increase their length of stay or act as a motivation in drawing visitors to the region. The attractions are mainly based around the attributes including: World Heritage reef and leading reef experiences, Tropical splendour and climate, World Heritage rainforests, national parks and wildlife, Savannah, Tablelands/highlands, Islands, Luxury resorts and service, Local tropical cuisine, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island, which will be discussed later in this report.

3.1.4 Summary of Activities

Following the audit of the tourism assets in North Queensland, it is identified that the region provides the following activities:

3.1.5 Visitor Information Centres

Visitor Information Centres (VIC’s) is an important issue in the contemporary tourism industry which plays a significant role in the dissemination of information to visitors travelling within the local area. A key goal of tourism marketing is to encourage visitation by tourists to local operators, including accommodations, tours and attractions and to facilitate longers stays within the region. Fesenmaier (1994) stated that the tourist information center acts as one of the most important communication channels with which to modify travellers’ behaviour and to educate travellers about the benefits of visiting the state, and consequently attracts them to increase the number of days spent in the regions as well as the level of visitor expenditures. There are a number of significant VIC’s in major tourism areas throughout North Queensland such as Cairns, Cairns Beaches & Palm Cove, Port Douglas & Daintree, The Cairns Highlands, The Reef & Tropical Islands, The Tropical Gulf Savannah, Mission Beach & The Great Green Way, Cooktown & Cape York Peninsula, and Australia’s Tropical Rainforest that have large visitor volume.

3.2 China Outbound Tourism Overview
3.2.1 China: Outbound Tourism Trend and Visitors to North Queensland

According to the research conducted by Graff and Hu (2008), with more than 13 billion people, at least 159 million people have an enough income level to afford travel abroad. China registered 28.85 million outbound travellers in 2004, 34 million in 2006 and 41 million in 2007 (CNTA 2007). According to the statistical analysis of Tourism Research Australia (2008), China is Australia’s fourth largest inbound market, with 356,428 visitors from China traveling Australia in 2008. Main purpose of Chinese visitors traveling Australia is holiday, visiting friends or relatives, business and education. In fact, China is forecast to be Australia’s largest source market by 2017 (DITR 2006), with almost one million expected arrivals by 2015 (TA 2006) and over two and a half million predicted for 2025 (DITR 2006). The top five destinations for Chinese passengers in 2001 were Asia, Europe, Americas, Oceania and Africa. Among them, there were 56,000 Chinese visitors traveled to North Queensland, accounting for 7% of international visitors to the region (Tropical North Queensland Regional Update 2007). New Zealand, Japan, UK, USA, China and Europe account for 86 percent of international visitors to North Queensland. In contrast to the decline in Japanese visitors to North Queensland, there was a significant increase in visitors from China traveling North Queensland, up 30 percent trend, from 2006 to 2007.

3.2.2 The New Holiday System from 2008

The School vacations take place around winter, 4 weeks in February, and in summer, July and August. From May 2008, new public holidays were introduced. Following the list of new holiday system from 2008:

3.3 International Promotion

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) and Tourism Queensland (TQ), in partnership with the local tourism industry, are currently responsible and undertake marketing activities for Tropical North Queensland (TNQ). Tourism Australia (TA) is seen as the key players in international marketing, it is important that TQ, TTNQ and tourism operators contribute to the promotion of the destination in Chinese tourism market. The international marketing activities are focused on the major agencies in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and marketing aspects including the development of a unique brand based on nature and wildlife; advertising on television and print, online campaigns, television programme and film such as The Australia. The media in China is not fully privatised and is usually controlled by government. All legal television, radios and new agencies are owned by state and controlled by government. The internet usage has been booming in the past decade. The internet content is under a high degree of censorship and restriction from government. The main internet portals in China are sina.com, sohu.com, 163.com, online.sh.cn, tom.com and 21cn.com.

4. SWOT Analysis (534)

The following situational (SWOT) analysis is a summary of the perceived Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the North Queensland. McDonald (2002) argued that a SWOT analysis is a useful way to organize the major findings since as provides an opportunity to impartially assess the competing business environment. It is important to clearly identify these elements since they formulate the platform for the marketing strategies to be achieved based on equipped with the region’s capabilities relating to the market.

Key Discussions in SWOT

North Queensland has diverse landscape and unique World Heritage Areas including the strengths of a sense of security, sightseeing opportunities, beautiful beaches, and opportunities to visit the Reef, adventure opportunities, the option of seclusion, rainforests, and untouched natural environment. Moreover, internationally recognized icon the Great Barrier Reef, world Heritage listed, enjoys a strong reputation in China and excellent word-of-mouth, which is important factor in Chinese decision-making.

International Competitors:

Regarding with Chinese target market, the major competitors of Australia are European Union and America, which representing western culture like Australia. The official count of Chinese traveling to Europe from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) was 1.8 million in 2005, comparing only 0.25 million for Australia in the same year. USA is always the list of top ten destinations for Chinese, with the advent of a bilateral agreement signed between the US and China in 2007.

Chinese visitors traveling to America can be mainly attributed to multi-culture society, diverse civilization as well as its good price of luxuries. However, the growing Chinese community in Australia, due to the increase of immigrants and international students, provides the opportunity for Visiting Friends and Relatives travel and helps to ensure Chinese visitors feel at ease in Australia.

America is considered one of the favorite destinations for Chinese, regarded as its diversity culture and exciting nightlife as “Ever Bright City”. Graff and Hu (2008) pointed out in their report that Chinese visitors gain positive experience in Hawaii from such things as access to casino’s, to luxury goods and to its exciting nightlife. Compared with America, Chinese people thought Australia as a destination with less exciting things. However, Australia is regarded as more safety than America and the positive image continues to grow.

National Competitors:

Sydney Opera House, the Great Barriers Reef, and the beaches of the Gold Coast are registered as the main attractions of Australia. Consequently, the Gold Coast is regarded as the main national competitors of North Queensland, considering its similarity of destinations with beaches, and both of them are thought as coastal tourism, which providing tourists with beaches, diving and surfing. Gold Coast offers Australia best theme parks, such as Dream World, Sea World and Movie World. In contrast, North Queensland has its strengths, offering more combinations of nature and wildlife.

Opportunity:

The aviation development of Cairns international airport increases the access, which means more opportunities.

Threaten:

America’s weakened currency against the dollar attracts more Chinese tourists, considering its lower price of the inclusive package as well as the good price of products shopping in America.

The New holiday systems, which changed two long-haul holidays into short break, encourage Chinese people traveling closely to their home instead of outbound tourism.

5. Planning Assumptions (177)

Whilst there are some external factors that beyond control, in this report a number of points have been identified disclosing any assumptions made. These are listed as following:

There are no significant political conflict between China and Australia government. It is the fact that there has been a gradual liberalization of the travel market. However, the Chinese government still maintains a high degree of power in term of controlling over outbound travel by its citizens.
The economic environment is favorable in China, no serious financial crisis in recent years.
Australia is seen as a ‘safe’ destination to travel to by Chinese tourists.
There is no significant increase of Chinese dollar exchange rate against Australian dollar.
The comfortable climate, stable politics, clean water and unique tropical resources are not changed duo to undesirable reasons such as climate change.
The importance of the Chinese outbound travel market and the continued growth forecasts has not changed, with increasing attention focused on the characteristics and travel behavior of outbound Chinese tourists by government and academia.

6. Strategy Formulation (1656)
Market Evaluation/Market Research

Since Australia was the first western country to be granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) in 1999, the visitor numbers have been continued increase, consequently China entering the Top Five visitor source markets in 2004. Commonly travellers can be segmented by the two main purposes of travel which are official, business and leisure travel and three main markets including Seniors, Families and Young People (Du & Dai 2005).

6.1 Leisure travel
6.1.1 Seniors

The Seniors’ market accounts for about 15 percentage of the total population of China and growing in number. Since the retirement age of China is 60 for men, 55 for women, which is fairly early, seniors are still healthy and have time to travel, with good savings levels to finance their travel. This market segmentation is likely to traveling on inclusive packages and during the off-peak seasons due to their limited English and appreciated tour guides. Cooperation with travel agency in China is very important when marketing targeted in this segments.

Travel Agency in China

According to the survey conducted by Du and Dai (2005), more than 80 percent of Chinese outbound tourists travel Australia on inclusive packages during their long-haul holidays. By 2006, there had been more than 15300 travel agencies in China, among which 672 are permitted to handle outbound travel (CNTA 2007).

Key issues:

TNQ has been packaged with a number of different destinations including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Northern Territory and Melbourne. Based on the analysis above, North Queensland needs to continue to develop its packages and marketing to the Chinese travel agencies, considering the feature of Seniors’ market that they prefer traveling in group and are usually organized by travel agency.

Besides, this age of Chinese is more likely to watching television program. It will be great if a television program or advertisement relating to North Queensland is announced during the period of their TV time, 8 to 10 o’clock in the evening. Recalling in the year of 2003, there was a television program, Triumph in the Skies, contributes to the good reputation of Australia, especially Adelaide because of its nature beauty in the program. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_in_the_Skies)

Furthermore, the Seniors’ market always subsidized or suggested by their children who want their parents to see the world. Achieving recognitions of their children is also helpful in attracting Seniors to North Queensland.

Product: The Seniors group is usually interested in sightseeing, shopping (gifts for friends), meals, services, and amenities related to their home country. The product developed should concentrate on these aspects aiming at increasing satisfaction with North Queensland holiday; moreover, these factors should be promoted among marketing in Seniors.

Pricing: The good price of package is vital in Senios’ market decision-making of destination. Since the major competitors within this group are Europe and North American, the price of the package tour would better lower than Europe and North American’s.

Promotion: Key Brand/Positioning Message: 1) Gateway to one of the seven wonders and World Heritage-listed rainforest; 2) North Queensland offers a range of nature-based and soft-adventure holiday options, providing life-enhancing tropical moments; 3) Good price comparing to Europe and North America.

Marketing Methods: Campaigns, Television Programs, Advertisement Promotion through travel agencies in China

6.1.2 Families

Families’ market is the group with some high income families traveling abroad annually, or even twice a year. Du and Dai (2005) reported that family travel is growing and Southeast Asia such as Japan is a popular destination for family travel because of the good prices, close to home and convenient for shopping. The opportunity of North Queensland to this target market is to lifting the profile for shopping of luxury and business tourism combined to the key brand of North Queensland, considering the features of this target market. The new holiday system mentioned above should be taken into account since traveling with families during the holiday is considered a popular choice for spending time together and an educational experience for child as well.

Shopping is one of the highlights of traveling abroad, since the prices of luxury of commodities are usually at least 20 to 30 per cent higher in the mainland compared to Hong Kong or Europe due to the high import tariffs and consumption taxes. Chinese consumers are generally price conscious and pretty likely to seek the lowest price when they consuming luxury goods. Graff and Hu (2008) pointed out that Europe is considered one of the favorite destinations for Chinese, regarded as a multi-culture society and diverse civilization, and of course its good price of luxuries contributing to the popularity among groups with high income. Shopping of luxury goods is an important aspect of Families’ market, especially the females. Since the price and variety of luxury price is hard to compete with Europe, the cooperation with Hong Kong makes the goal possible. North Queensland can promote the campaign of traveling package including North Queensland and Hong Kong. Firstly, most Chinese have to transfer from Hong Kong or Sydney, because there are not direct accesses from mainland China. If they are permitted to shopping for several days during their transfer, the inconvenience of lack of direct access is properly declined and more important, it increases the desirability of traveling North Queensland. While the males from Families group usually are successful business men, boosting the number of business events and providing business opportunities and views ill increase the pull factors of North Queensland, regarding to the males of Families’ group.

Key Brand/Positioning Message: 1) Gateway to one of the seven wonders and World Heritage-listed rainforest; 2) North Queensland offers a range of nature-based and soft-adventure holiday options, providing life-enhancing tropical moments; 3) Luxury Shopping and Business events, opportunities and views.

6.1.3 Young People:

The youth market, aged 25 to 35, is also on the rise. This segment may include students who go overseas during their summer holidays, honeymoon couples and others who travel overseers during their long-haul holidays. According to the research which conducted by Du and Dai (2005) analyses that this kind of group usually prefers adventure tourism and enjoys Free Independent Travel.

Queensland offers significant opportunities for adventure tourism development and is Strategy has been developed. Queensland Adventure Tourism Action Plan 2008-2010 has been proposed aims to provide industry stakeholders, government and Tourism Queensland with a clear direction for the future development and marketing of the adventure tourism segment over the year 2008 to 2010. The product of adventure tourism in North Queensland is variety including Aviation (scenic/joy flights), Ballooning, Bungy Jumping, Scuba Diving and many more.

By the late-1980s, Australia had become the number one honeymoon destinations in Japan and the position still remains until now (Australia-Japan Research Centre, 1992). And now China is forecast to be Australia’s largest source market by 2017 (DITR, 2006), the honeymoon tourism will be an great opportunity for North Queensland, considering its good reputation among the youth which recognized it as pure, natural and unpolluted destination.

Since the word-of-mouth and social media are considered an important information source for the youth, they should be seen as the major sources when promoting North Queensland. Travel research consistently shows the importance of word-of-mouth (WOM) information sources in the process of destination selection, such as Murphy, Mascardo and Benckendorff (2007). The information from friends, relatives or other travelers will influence and determine consumer behavior. So it is important to increase the visitors’ satisfaction with North Queensland holiday. On the other hand, the promotion of traveler’s good experience can lift the perceptions of the North Queensland and aims to attract more visitors. The popular social media in Chinese young people include MSN, KaiXin, Tianya and Sohu, where are considered as important channels to marketing North Queensland and dissemination of information.

Butler was the first to characterize the evolution of the tourist industry by the concept of the lifecycle product and it is the most-widely cited conceptual framework for comprehending the dynamics of tourist destinations (Butler, 1980). The destination life cycle theories bring on many important functions, such as adopt the homologous measure to prolong its life cycle possibly, predict the destination future development trend, and provide farsighted basic to managers to establish marking strategies etc. Although, the destination life cycle Butler’s model is a very simple one, being based on a concept that the product life cycle curve that has long been used by economists and marketers to describe the behavior of the market in purchasing consumer goods such as televisions and cars. Moreover, his model has intuitive appeal in that anyone who has traveled extensively or who has participated in the field of tourism studies will probably agree that some kind of life cycle dynamic is indeed evident across a broad array of destination (Weaver, 2000). In other word, the model is to elaborate on the previous point, the Butler sequence is a comprehensive, integrated model that allow for the simultaneous incorporation of all facets of the tourism experience (Butler, 1980). Contrast, several authors are disagreeing with the Butler’s model. According to Leiper defined as ‘the destination life cycle theory does not explain fluctuations in visitor number and is useless for predicting them’Leiper (2004, pp.133)

The Butler’s destination life cycle theory (Butler, 1980) for instance as Wat Sai floating market, the canal which is the Thailand’s major tourist attractions in the early stages of tourism promotion. This floating market is the tourist attractions all must to visit, in addition to the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace. Wat Sai floating market and has grown to saturation due to the lack of good management with growth of the region with Thai tourists travel to the densely. No control and organize the activities. Pollution problems are different as the many attractions of this and begin to decline until a new management plan in the latter. The road system is replaced. Wat Sai is the floating market in the degradation. On the other hand, the theory of destination life cycle cannot be a perfect tool. The reasons are include that difficult confirmation of the conversation order, and the different life cycle relies on difference geography. From the aspect of the marketing, the theory does not take into account the niche market and ignores the segmentation of the markets.

The Butler’s model, ‘the theory is based on a feral metaphor. But the tourist destination is not living things, and interpreting them via a life cycle metaphor is potentially misleading, possibly leading to confusion and error’ Leiper (2004, pp.133). As mention the case example before that the dismissed in Butler’s model that the numbers of visitor arrivals are fluctuation, unpredictable in the number. Also the trigger factors that originate from beyond the destination, and in an unintentional way, can be described as external-unintentional actions. They are cyclones, global warming, political chaos, global recession, Asian economic crisis etc. In such situations there may be relatively little that the destination can do to influence these events. However, they may be aware of them in advance in some case, perhaps taking some adaptive strategies.

REFERENCES

Butler, R.W., 1980. ‘The concept of a tourist area cycle of evolution: Implications for management of resource ‘Canadian Geographer’. 24 (1), pp. 5-12.

Leiper, N., 2004. Tourism Management. 3rd ed. French Forest NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Weaver,B,D., 2000. The Exploratory War-distorted Destination Life Cycle. International journal of tourism research. 2, pp.151-161.

B)
A tourist attraction system is a systematic arrangement of three elements. What are the functions of these and how do they influence each other? Discuss with reference to a tourist attraction of your own choice.

Leiper’s (1990a) definition of an attraction, adapted from MacCannell (1976) and Gunn (1988a) stands apart from those of other authors by implicitly identifying an attraction as a system consisting of three elements: a tourist or human element; a nucleus or central element; and a marker or informative element. A tourist attraction system comes into existence when the three elements are connected. Moreover, Leiper (2004, pp.308) defined as ‘a principle of system theory is the hierarchy: every system has its subsystems and superiors. Because tourism without attractions is inconceivable, a key principle emerges. Every whole tourism systems must have at least one attraction subsystem. Every tourist trip requires at least one attraction comprising a tourist, a nucleus, and information received by the about the nucleus’

The first component of Leiper’s (1990) attraction system is the human element. The tourists are the people who travel away from the home to another place for a short-term period of at least one night, to the extent that their behavior involves a search for leisure experiences from interactions with features or characteristics of places they choose to visit (Inskeep, 1993; Leiper, 2004; Ritchie & Goeldner, 1994). For example, the domestic Thai tourist from the southern of Thailand, they are spent their leisure which came to Bangkok for visit the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace, that can defined as they are the tourist attraction. They are group of 15 people and they are taken the shutter bus to visit Bangkok with 8 hours. Then they stayed one night at the hotel in Bangkok to visit the Bangkok Nightlife.

Leiper (1990) defines the nucleus or central element of a tourist attraction as any feature of a place that a traveler contemplates visiting. This is where the tourist experience is manufactured and consumed. It is where the tourism resource, both of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace can be a central element of a tourist attraction in this instance

Markers are items of information, about any phenomenon that is a potential nuclear element in a tourist attraction (Leiper, 1990). They may be divided into markers that are detached from the nucleus or those that are contiguous. In each case the markers may either consciously or unconsciously function as part of the attraction system. Examples of conscious generating markers for tourist attraction are the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace.

Leipers (1990) tourist attraction system has provided insight into the nature of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace as a tourist attraction in Thailand. While space limitations have not allowed an in depth examination of the characteristics of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace that make it a strong tourist attraction, the theory based attraction system has enabled a more methodical examination of this topic than has occurred to date. The insights gained by using this type of framework have considerable potential in the management tourism. By understanding how a particular travel, in this case destination, functions within an attraction framework it is possible to consciously manage this system to meet specified tourism goals and objectives.

A receptionist is an employee working at the front desk area. The work is usually at the waiting area such as a lobby of an organization or business. A receptionist is important in all kind of hotel because they are the first people to receive the guest at the hotel. Receptionist main responsibility is to greet the incoming visitors and the calls. In both large and medium hotel the receptionists must use the computer to key in the customer data .A receptionist have to arrange the guest room and must arrange an employee to help the guest to transport the luggage of the guest to their room. If the guest has any concerns, complaint, or any special request they can speak with the receptionist by telephone provided in the room or even by see them at the front desk.

A front desk manager has many duties to perform. The front office manager also has to arrange duties and shifts to the hotel staff. Other than that if any important guest arrived to the hotel the manager also must come and greet the guest so show the respect. Sometimes the manager may receive any important letter or process any advance registration payment so that the account won??t miss up. The front desk manager also has to make sure all his employees are fully trained and able to take charge on their duties.

Assistant of the front office is under the front office manager. Assistant front office has to take in charge of take care day to day operation of the hotel front office. Other than that, the assistant must ensure the work is completed fully. Sometimes the assistant must prepare and conduct front desk meeting and to resolve issues. Assistant must also arrange a small meeting regarding the shifts so that is any one has problem in the shift they can give reason and change the shifts. Lastly the assistant must take full responsible for correcting customer service problems.

1.2.3 TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY OF FRONT DESK REPRESENTATIVE

The front desk job is a critical role in a company. Generally, front desk employees are the first person customers or clients speak to or interact with. Other than that, they also has to answer enquires regarding hotel services, register by letter, by telephone and by a guest. More than that, they must provide information regarding the services to the guest and respond to the guest complaints. The most important thing of front desk is they have to know how to use a computer because they have to key in the guest detail in the computer system. Sometimes the main important thing is they must cooperate with other department to make their job done by easily.

1.2.4 TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE NIGHT AUDITOR

Night auditor job is to deal with the financial transaction. They will do their duties at night because at night the hotel generally will less busy. Night auditors shifts mostly are around 11 P.M. to 7 A.M. Night auditors mostly will verify daily hotel transaction to generate summary data for the night audit report. The night auditors will calculate the total charges owed by the hotel payment received from the guest on that particular day. This report will be kept safe so that when the hotel needs the night auditors will show to them and make sure the accounts are perfect.

1.2.5 TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY OF CASHIER

Cashier also is important in the front desk operation. Cashier is responsible to take the payment from customer, and giving receipts. Cashiers may also require assisting other member of the front desk staff to performance of their duties. Sometimes the cashier also must help to perfume the front office duties like example the front desk staff are responsible for greeting the guest arrivals, checking the reservation, and registering the guest, while the cashier are responsible for receiving for receiving the payment on check out. The cashiers are responsible for calculating the charges and presenting the guest check regarding the bills. Sometimes some cashiers have to taking care the safe deposit box in which guest store jewelry or valuable things. Like example the guest must pay the cash regarding the hotel bill to the cashier when the check out time. Although the cashier is working under the front office department they are also considered to be the member of the accounting department.

1.2.6 TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY OF RESERVATIONIST

A hotel reservations agent is an important part of hotel operations. They handling advance room request. Guests will receive their first impression of the hotel service at the reservationist. They also must have a good knowledge of the room rates, and the hotel policies. They also must help the customer that call by phone calls to get the room price and reserve room for the guest the primary duty of a reservations agent is to rent hotel rooms to the guests. The reservationist must follow all the guideline given by the manager and must make sure job done carefully and make sure the hotel get a good profit.

1.2.7 TASK AND RESPONSIBILITY OF TELEPHONE OPERATOR

All types of hotel now days have arranged call centre because to handle the guest bookings, reservation and customer care. Telephone operator are also important in the hotel industry because, they will operate the telephone calls and they must answer the call with a good manner way. The telephone operator must be really knowledge of all the facilities in the hotel. The most important thing all the information given must be strictly confidential.

1.3 CONCLUSION

All departments in the front office such as Front Office Manager, Assistant Front Office manager, Front Desk Representative, Night Auditor ,Cashier ,Reservationist and telephone operator are very important to the hotel because the job is divided into many categories and this can make the hotel work done by easily. Each department has its own-own task to be done. Without the entire department above the hotel cannot maintain the hotel in good way because each department helps the growth of the hotel to reach a good profit. This main point can create a good environment to the hotel surrounding.

1.4 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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2.0 QUESTION TWO

2) Front office staffs must have certain skills to attract guests during the first impression. Write about Front Office staff skill in guest relations.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Receptionist is very important in all kind of organization. Mostly in hotel is very important. Mostly cases, they are the first business contact that a person will meet at an organization. Their primary responsibility is to greet incoming visitors and callers. The traditional duties of a receptionist commonly include answering visitor inquiries about the hotel, directing visitors to appropriate contacts, sorting mail, answering incoming calls, and arranging appointments for guests to meet with the hotel staff. Role of the receptionist is very important in the hotel because it can make the organization run with smoothly. Receptionist also must have a relationship with all the hotel organization so that because the entire task done by the receptionist in related with other hotel department too. Like example, if the guest send the clothing to the hotel laundry and inform the housekeeping charge into the hotel bill than if any problem the receptionist can call the housekeeping department to confirm regarding the laundry bill.

2.2 FRONT OFFICE STAFF SKILL:

2.2.1 GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILL

Good communication skills are very important to the front office department. Communication in the workplace is very important but with so many people involved, all with different personalities and varying levels of understanding, communication can be difficult and misunderstandings can arise. In the good communication skill has divide into few category and that is give a clear instruction, let guest know the bigger picture of the hotel, make expectation clear and treat people like individuals. Mostly communication skill will start with the telephone calls. We need to briefly explain the purpose of the call, who is calling, how to return the call and when we will be available. When someone makes a return call, all that is necessary, if the first caller is not available at that time, is to respond to the original message relating to the purpose. Good communication skill is skills that facilitate people to communicate effectively with one another. Effectual communication engages the choice of the best. When the guest arrived to the hotel the front desk will receive the guest with a good way. If the receptionist has a good communication skill can attract the guest and they will have a good idea about the hotel and this can promote the hotel name.

2.2.2 GOOD LISTENING SKILL

Listening skill is important to the front office department because listening is something important so that it can make the job done by easily. To become a good listener we have to look at the guest first. By looking at the guest face your eyes will also complete the eye contact with the guest. The eyes contact will help to complete the communication with the guest. By moving the face about the information you can better concentrate to the guest regarding the information they are saying. Other than that, to become a good listener we have to stop talking and use the ears to hear what they are trying to say. Listening skill means allow one to make sense of and understand what another person is saying. In other words, listening skills allow you to understand what someone is talking about. In the front office area listening skill is important because the receptionist have to know what the guest is saying. They have to clearly hear what the guest is saying so that they can key in the guest data in the system without any problem. To become a good listener have ten main thing that we should remember and that is face the guest properly, maintain the eye contact, minimize external distraction, respond appropriately, focus solely on what the speaker is saying, minimize internal destruction, keep an open mind, avoid letting the speaker know how you handled a similar situation, even if the speaker is launching a complaint against you, wait until they finish to defend yourself, and the last is engage yourself. (http://powertochange.com/students/people/listen/)

2.2.3 DEALING WITH DIFFRENT TYPES OF PEOPLE

Mostly the front office department will have to deal with different kind of people in the hotel, because the entire guest is different-different type of characters. Front office must really have a good skill in dealing with the guest because the receptionist must not lose the patient while they are dealing with the guest because sometimes the guest are very hot temper, some are very slow, some are very selfish, so the receptionist must clever in handling all the guest by a good way.

2.2.4 COMMOND OF LANGUAGE SKILL

The receptionist must have a good skill in varieties type of language so that it can be easy communicated when other races of guest come to the hotel. The most common language is Malay language, Chinese, Tamil, English, and many more language. The guest will be happy if the receptionist can communicated by their language it can make the job done by easily. This main point can make a good thinking regarding the hotel guest about the receptionist and the hotel.

2.2.5 GOOD BEHAVIORS SKILL

The receptionist must have a good skill in behaviors because it shows our attitude. We have to treat guest like our family even throe they are not. The receptionist cannot show her anger to the guest if she has any personal problem. She must always be patient in handling the guest arrivals. Good behavior skill is divided into many categories and that is self presentation, position, posture, expression, and eye contact.

2.2.5.1 SELF PRESENTATION

Self presentation is the way how the reception dress up and grooming. Many hotels require the staff to wear a proper entire as their uniform because this is a signal that shows to the guest that they are here to help them.

2.2.5.2 POSITION

The position of standing of a receptionist is important because it shows our relation with the person we dealing with in the hotel. Like example the receptionist slapped the registration form in front of the guest and then leant forward to watch you filling it out, she was looking at us personal space. This kind of invasion makes the guest feel uncomfortable, even if they don??t know why, and it should be avoided.

2.2.5.3 POSTURE

Posture also can be defining same as the positioning, but in posture the receptionist must facing the guest all the time. Like example, the receptionist began with her body half turned away and her arm forming a shield. When the receptionist leant forward to watch the guest filling the form she was showing some interest in helping the guest, but if the receptionist kept her arm folded, which shows the guest that she is not happy to help the guest.

2.2.5.4 EXPRESSION

Mostly in hotel the expression is very important to treat a guest because, it will show the guest that we are very friendliness when we meet the guest. The receptionist must always smile and be friendly, whenever the hotel guest talks to them regarding the hotel. This friendly environment is good to make a good relationship with the hotel guests.

2.2.5.5 EYE CONTACT

The receptionist must always have a good eye contact with the hotel guest so that the guest knows that we are helping them to solve their problem. If we don??t have eye contact with them this can make like we are not hearing what they are trying to say to us. The receptionist must know which types of eye contact that must be need by the hotel guest. Like example, the receptionist avoided any form eye contact at the guest during the first stages of the encounter, and so conveyed a strong impression of lack of interest. Even when she did lean forward, she kept her eyes focused on the registration form, and as soon as you had finished, she turn her head away. This behavior is not good to be treating to the guest. We must always show our respect to the guest.

2.3 CONCLUSION

Front office staffs are very important to the hotel because the front office staff will receive the hotel guest because they are the first person to meet the guest. The receptionist is responsible to key in all the guest data when they check in the hotel, and when the guest check out time the receptionist will check out the guest and the receptionist will receive the payment. Front office staff must have certain require skill because they are the main person handle the guest. All the skill that they has must be use in a good way because it will judge the staff and this can make a good name for the hotel industry.

Culture is one of those rare inheritances that a follower receives from his/her ancestors. It determines beliefs, perception, and morality .Those values shape a man’s identity making him dependant and loyal to those principals. Every culture has its own history and traditions, which makes the world a place with variety types of people. The cultures are represented by its followers allowing them to be strict and bias towards its constitution and moral behaviors without the followers a culture could disappear joining the anthology of the dead cultures. Denmark has a culture with recognized principles and values that specializes them over traditions. They have their own point of views and ways of dealing with traditional aspects of life such as customs, education, marriage, family life, as well as women’s rights.

Denmark, being a small country in northern Europe it is rich with customs and traditions. Food, Festivals, Music, and Religion are important aspects in the customs of Denmark. The Danish people believe that meals are important for the families to be together and not just for filling their need. (Pateman 113). The main food which the Danes usually eat is bread for their breakfast and they have many different types of bread in which they eat some are crusty and some are cold toasted. (Pateman 114). Although in the summer the Danes usually go to the park to get sunshine as sometimes during the winter they never get sunshine, their meal usually are meatballs which are made of pork, this is the most common meal in Denmark. (Pateman 115). On the other hand, there are only two main drinks in Denmark which are coffee and beer; these are the main two which the Danes drink throughout the year. They also have a traditional beer for them only which is made by mainly potato which is called Snaps which is served usually served cold. (Pateman 116-117). The Danes celebrate many days during a year of which some are Religious and others which are important events. The Danes like other Christian countries celebrate Christmas and Easter. The celebration of Christmas starts from the beginning of December up to New Year, although the main part starts at December 23 which the Danes decorate their home which hearts and other religious items. The Danish families’ celebrate Christmas Eve together and they also have a special dinner which is made of rice pudding. Although the importance of Easter is no longer there in Denmark, holiday is given to them which the Danes go and visit families and friends in exchange of Easter eggs to children.(Pateman 108-110).Other important events which the Danes celebrate during the year are the Queen’s birthday, Liberation Day, Copenhagen Carnival, alongside Fastelvn. These are the main days in which the Danes celebrate throughout the year. During the queen’s birthday, it is a national holiday for the Danes from work and school which they gather outside the queen’s palace and hear its speech and ends with cheers from the crowd. Although in Liberation Day’s night the people put candles on their windows to celebrate the day in which they were liberated from Germany on world war two, which the Danes still celebrate it today because this day means a lot to the old Danes who lived during world war two. Copenhagen Carnival is a carnival day which celebrates throughout Copenhagen; people wear new customs and party on the street for the whole day. Lastly, Fastelvn is a special event which is held at the end of February were children play a game using sticks to hit a barrel which is filled up with gifts. Although it seems to be a fun event it has a history, because for a long time they used to place a cat and hit it until it dies.(Robert 106-107). The Danes enjoy nearly all types of music, but mainly pop music. They also have festivals each year, but the main festival they have is named Rolkside Festival, it is the hugest music festival in northern Europe. In this festival musicians from all around the world come to play on the stage. (What would Roskilde Festival be without partners? 1).

Education in Denmark is compulsory for people aged seven up to people aged 16. When the teenagers reach their age to 16 they can choose to continue school or stop. There are also two types of school which are common in Denmark which are government and private schools. Government schools are free schools which they have from grade one up to grade nine. The Danes who choose to go to them are to stay with the same teacher for nine full years. The classes in government schools do not change and the students are together for the full nine years. Due to the government having up to ninth grade the people have to then go to a secondary school, being that people in ninth grade are usually 15 years old and that the compulsory age to go to school is from seven to 16. People who pass ninth grade are usually smart students who go to secondary school to continue school. Although some who are not ready are the students which do not get good grades stay for an extra year when they are 16 and then they are free to do what they want either go to secondary school for three years or stop. (Pateman 60-61). Similarly, most private schools have up to ninth grade only. The education in the private school is a little better than the government’s free school, although approximately 16% only of the students in Denmark go to private schools. However, government still helps private school and is not out of the equation, they subsidize them by giving them some money to help them improve their teaching facilities and have better teachers. Yet, they are not responsible for anything that happens to the student, the student’s parents are held responsible for everything according to the teaching standards or anything similar to that. (Hansen 1). Finally, the universities in Denmark are good universities which people come to study in from around the world. Although, in Denmark, there are only five main universities those universities can teach many subjects in both English and mainly in Danish. For example the university of Copenhagen which is the first university to be built in Denmark and the second in Scandinavia which is still there standing for more than a half of a millennium, it teaches not only the main subjects such as Math, English, and Danish, it teaches subjects such as music, business, and even social studies.( Pateman 61). In Denmark, there is also adult education, which is that adults that are working can have evening lessons. This type of education is popular in Denmark as by now it can be considered as part of their culture. This type of education helps the Danes in many ways, they can possibly learn a new language which most people usually learn German or French. There are also Danes who study subjects which they might be interested in such as social science which might help them in their future in case they would want to switch jobs.

Marriage in Denmark is not as popular, the average Danish man usually marries at the age of 33 and the woman usually marries at the age of 30, being that the legal age for marriage is 18.( The Ceremony 1) The reason behind this is that in Denmark it is being advised by the parents of the bride and the groom to live together for some time, to see if the relationship is going to work in a good way. However, also after the couple get to have a long relationship before marriage, the divorce rate in Denmark is high. Studies show that the divorce rate is half the marriage rate, which is really high. In Denmark there are two different types of marriage, one of them is the traditional marriage which the church marriage. This type of marriage is similar to the marriage that happens to other Christian countries the bride wears a long white dress and the groom wear a suit, and the bride is escorted by her father. The only difference is that frequently if there is a close female friend can escort the bride, and at the end as the couple leave, the guests usually raise the Denmark flag.( Pateman 64-65) The other way which the couple can marry each other is the civil wedding which is a wedding taking place at any place that the authority in charge of the marriage allows to, it can be held in a town or even a forest. Meanwhile, Danish women who get married are allowed to change their last name, which most of them do not change their name as they are expected to divorce, and if they do want to change their last name they would have to do it before the marriage officially takes place due to a document form should be proposed first.( The Ceremony 1).

Family life is an important aspect to the culture of Denmark, the Danes are unlike the other neighbouring countries when it comes to families. In neighboring countries like Germany and Belgium their social life is based around pubs and usually being outside the home. In Denmark their social life is mainly at home, the Danes take care of their home and a major amount of the income they would get usually is used to improve the facilities at their home. (Pateman 66). The Danish life is usually based around work and family for adults and school and family for the children who are being balanced equally by the people in there. The Danes usually travel or during holidays or go to a summer house. Summer house is popular in Denmark, which many Danes go to which their family friends. (Steed 1). Also due to Denmark government focus in improving family life, families get to have many benefits. The government takes control of giving the child if a family has one an allowance, the government gives extra allowance to the number of children the family has, and also the families also get to have free birth. (The Ceremony 1). Houses are not cheap in Denmark, but having a family helps because if a couple just married and are not able to afford a house, they are given an apartment by the government to use until they can manage to buy a home for themselves. (Pateman 66).The Danes usually consider their country the best country in the world not only due to the free education, but mainly due to the importance of family life which has been shown when Denmark and the Danes won the ranking of having the most amused people in the world. (Lundberg 1).

Women rights are not affected as much in Denmark, and it can be said that they have nearly the same rights as the men. Studies show that women in Denmark work the same as men and have the right to vote and elect themselves. Denmark is one of the few countries which now have women at the parliament with a high rate at over 30%. Saying this, the women do not have all the rights as men, they still have to do the home work alongside men having the better jobs in society and a higher wage, but they still have as many rights as the men. The reason behind women having a lot of rights goes back to 1915 when there was a movement which made them have a huge part in the politics.(Pateman 62-63). After 1915, the women started getting rights they first had the right to vote and then right for opportunities same as the men. The women then started getting more rights after the Second World War when the economy was going down which lead to the need for women to work. This was the start of women being allowed to work and started the increasing rate of them working in Denmark, which at that time was mainly in labor market. (Larsen 1). Going back to working women, the Danish women have a high working rate just over 70% of them do work, which is slightly lower than the one of men which is approximately 75%, which shows that Denmark is a fair country and the women in Denmark’s rights are not affected and are close to have the same rights as the men in Denmark.(Housing-Denmark 1).

Denmark has certainly earned the right to have a culture as big as it has now. The customs and traditions, education, marriage, family life, along with women rights are one of the most important aspects of culture which makes Denmark have a big culture as it is now. They celebrate many days which means to them a lot such as Christmas. The education is free in government school which is definitely which makes it one of the most intelligent countries in the world. Marriage that they have even though the divorce rate is high, what they do in marriage make them unique, as well as the family life which is important for them. Lastly, women’s rights in Denmark are not affected which is why it is a fashionable society.

Work Cited

1) Pateman, Robert. Cultures of the World Denmark. Tarrytown, New York 10591: Library of Congress Cataloging, 1995.

2) “What would Roskilde Festival be without partners?.” Roskilde Festival’s collaboration partners,

3) Hansen, Thomas. “Grants.” Education, The Ministry of Education.

4-6) “The Ceremony.” Family, AngloINFO. 2014.

5) Steed, Richard. “Work/Life Balance – the Danish way.” Meet the Danes,

7) Lundberg, Jan. “Denmark: Small, Happy Prosperous Families — In Contrast to U.S.” Culture Change, July 27, 2012

8) Larsen, Jytte. “The women’s movement in Denmark.” All About Gender in Denmark, KVINFO.

9) “Housing-Denmark.” Denmark in Detail,

Price of hotel depend upon their services provided and market price of another hotal and thought the hotels will increase their published tariff by 5-10 across the board from October this year. “Inflation in food, recession, rupee depreciation which has increased our import cost of products and F&B from abroad, and the overall hike in service tax are a few reasons why hotels will hike the published tariff after months. Price provide on the basis of their location and preference of customer.

Income of target consumer

India occupies the sixty-eighth position among the top tourist destinations in the world for 2011. To encourage the tourism sector, the government in recent times, has taken some measures which will benefit the sector. According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 % between 2010 and 2019. This will place India at the third position in the world. India’s travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the world. Capital investment in India’s travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 % between 2010 and 2019. And services for all income level of people and services for business class people tourist and vesting people

Availability of finance

The major source of financing to hotel industry tourism finance cooperation of India (TFCI) has been providing specific project-related services to various clients. It has also undertaken appraisal of individual projects for various state government agencies/individual clients. TFCI has also successfully handled projects involving development of viable project concepts around lakes/water bodies , development of a multi-facility amusement park complex etc TFCI has been providing specific project-related services to various clients.

Replacement of demand

The demand of the hotel industry is directly connected with global and local economic growth and investor confidence. A strong underlying economy is a pre-requisite for sustained recovery. Unfortunately, the year 2011 has not been a year of economic recovery either in India or globally. After two exceptionally bad years, the global hospitality industry was expected to recover in 2011. Despite encouraging signs in the first half of 2011, there was growing uncertainty during the latter part of the year. As a result, recovery has been fragile during 2011. The situation in India mirrors this overall global trend.

India’s rapid economic growth has already set the stage for fundamental changes in the country’s population. With more disposable income, the demand for travel and tourism has also grown. Although, currently domestic tourists constitute a very small chuck of the total tourist pie, the segment is growing.

Promotion schemes

For attracting more foreign and domestic tourists to India, Department of Tourism has taken up several drives. The objectives of this scheme are, The Scheme aims at enlisting the support of NRIs, preferably NROs to promote Orissa as a preferred destination among their friends and acquaintances. They could be Businessmen, Housewives, Students or any other professional who in their spare time motivate their friends to visit Orissa. They shall be disseminating information on Orissa Tourism and market Orissa Tourism products amongst their friends and relatives along with potential tourists visiting the State. They will be enrolled as Special Tourism Promotion Officers, STPO who will be entitled to get some incentives on the business generated through them while the tourists booked through them will get some discount. Their enrollment will be honorary and they will be only entitled for incentives on the business generated through them. They cannot create any lien or liability on behalf of the State Department of Tourism India Ministry of Tourism would also provide financial assistance to tourism service providers approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

Excise duty structure

In recent years government has taken several steps to boost travel & tourism which have benefited hotel industry in India. These include the abolishment of the inland air travel tax of 15%; reduction in excise duty on aviation turbine fuel to 8%; and removal of a number of restrictions on outbound chartered flights, including those relating to frequency and size of aircraft. The government’s recent decision to treat convention centre’s as part of core infrastructure, allowing the government to provide critical funding for the large capital investment that may be required has also fuelled the demand for hotel rooms

According to a report, Hotel Industry in India currently has supply of 110,000 rooms and there is a shortage of 150,000 rooms fueling hotel room rates across India. According to estimates demand is going to exceed supply by at least 100% over the next 2 years. Five-star hotels in metro cities allot same room, more than once a day to different guests, receiving almost 24-hour rates from both guests against 6-8 hours usage. With demand-supply disparity, hotel rates in India are likely to rise by 25% annually and occupancy by 80%, over the next two years. This will affect the competitiveness of India as a cost-effective tourist destination.

Prospects

In the long term, the demand-supply gap in India is very real and that there is need for more hotels in most cities. The shortage is especially true within the budget and the mid market segment. There is an urgent need for budget and mid market hotels in the country as travelers look for safe and affordable accommodation. Various domestic and international brands have made significant inroads into this space and more are expected to follow as the potential for this segment of hotels becomes more obvious.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expects growth to continue for the tourism sector in 2012, although at a slower rate. It forecasts international tourist arrivals to grow in the range of 3% to 4% in 2012. WTTC indicates that this growth will be moderate as the bounce-back for tourism destinations that faced specific challenges last year, will be offset by a weaker performance in other countries. Travel & tourism in India is expected to perform well in 2012. UNWTO predicts that India will receive 25 million foreign tourists by the year 2015.

Despite the economic and political scenarios worldwide, demand for business travel has remained relatively robust. Companies are likely to increase spends and the multiplier effect of healthy salary increases will drive discretionary spending, especially on leisure travel. The affluent segments plan to spend more on travel in 2012, creating opportunities for the hospitality sector in the luxury space India’s room supply pipeline represents 17% of the Asia-Pacific pipeline. It was moving at a CAGR of 10.8% for last 10 years and is now poised to grow at a CAGR of 6% in next 5 years. The intense supply pipeline would be backed by addition of room capacity by all the hotels both in India and Internationally. The supply pipeline would beef up also on account of improved foreign tourist arrivals, corporate travels, etc. International hotels like Carlson, Strawood, Marriot, etc are the ones which have chalked out plans to acquire the sufficient market share, thus, giving a thrust to the Indian supply pipeline.

profile of players in the Industry

Best Hotel Chains of India

Taj Group of hotels in India: The most popular name that is almost synonymous to hospitality in India is that of the Taj Group. Offering the best hotels across various genres like business hotels, heritage resorts, luxury hotels and even sea resorts, the Taj Group is definitely the best in the field.

The Oberoi Group of Hotels in India: One of the most prominent names among the hotel chains of India is the Oberoi Group. It also owns several properties in exotic places like Australia and Mauritius. With its world class facilities and efficient staff to manage and play the perfect Indian hosts, the Oberoi hotels is no doubt a great feather on the grand cap of tourism in India.

Hotal leela

One of the finest hotel groups in India, with hotels in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Kovalam, Gurgaon, Udaipur and New Delhi, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts provide the discerning business and leisure travellers with a warm, relaxed and most importantly, memorable stay with an unrivaled fusion of Indian hospitality, world-class service and amenities. Hallmarking the essence of India, at every Leela Hotel, you will find stories that await you at every nook and cranny and the fine line between business hotels and luxury resorts seamlessly merge. The proximity to international airports and central business districts, strategic locations, individuality, and the intrinsic Indian culture and heritage distinguishes the group from the rest. The ‘Guest is God’ philosophy truly represents The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts.

5. Distribution channel

How the customer books his room can make a big difference to a hotel’s bottom line. Intermediaries can take a good chunk out the gross amount a guest pays for his overnight. A room booked through a travel agent and the GDS (global distribution system) typically costs the hotel 15% of the reservation’s total. Contrary to popular belief, third-party websites are no bargain either for the hotelier, as they keep about 13% of a booking’s value.

So-called “merchant” websites (such as Priceline.com or Hotwire) which basically buy inventory from hotels usually average a 33% mark-up on the rooms they sell. Bookings arriving via the central reservation system of voluntary chains (such as Minotel) can cream over 25% of the client’s original payment between travel agent, tour operator and chain fees. Many tour operators working in mass leisure destinations only pay 50%-60% of the normal room price to the hotelier who is lodging their clients.

Fortunately for hoteliers, the predominant distribution channel for hotels remains direct contact with the property (via telephone, fax or e-mail), which, according to Horwath’s Worldwide Hotel Industry Study, accounted for 34% of all advance reservations in 2002, but which is down from 38% in 1995 . This proportion varies between 27.5% for hotels in Africa and the Middle East and 40.5% for hotels in Europe.

Thus, overnights generated by electronic means of distribution still constitute much less than half of the total at about 24% (includes travel agent and GDS in figure 1 below). Although internet distribution has grown rapidly from (0.8% of the total in 1996 to 3.3% currently, according to Horwath), it is still relatively unimportant. Furthermore, this study predicts a rise to a total of 20% of bookings by internet in 2005, split 11% – own website and 9%- third party. Jupiter Media Matrix makes a slightly less optimistic prediction, forecasting the percentage to rise from 7% in 2001 to 16% by 2007.

Hotel companies use both rate parity and rate integrity while selling their hotel rooms. Rate parity can be defined as maintaining consistent rates for the same product in all online distribution channels regardless of what commission the OTA makes. The concept of rate integrity isn’t as clear cut with some arguing it is simply trust in the fair price of a room.

In general though, rate integrity isn’t something concrete; it is something the hotelier must have in mind when setting rates. “Whether it’s maintaining integrity through rate parity by justifying price discounts, avoiding price slashes, or a combination of all these practices, it is important for hoteliers to have a consistent rational rate structure,” says Mourier.

As hotels compete and try to step up their direct online booking share, it’s important to assess how rate parity and integrity impact their business. According to Vishal Jain, chief products officer at travel technology company Rate Gain, rate parity affects the distribution partners or channels more while rate integrity affects hotel’s brand value. He argues that parity issues with your brand site (bigger distribution partners having cheaper better-value offers than your own site) will directly affect brand trust and value but can also lead to loss of business from more profitable channels. It can also lead to decreased visibility on other channels.

“The trend that parity for hotels seems to be ‘having better deals at large OTA sites’ is something we have uncovered consistently in the parity reports we publish regularly at Rate Gain,” says Jain. One reason for this could be the extensive parity tracking and automated alert systems that OTAs have successfully put in place to keep hotels on their toes; something the corporate office and brand HQ is unable to do with their own hotels. It gets even harder for those hotel companies that do not own and manage the hotels since they have even less control on the properties but the parity anomalies hurt them both financially as well as with their brand’s value.

Assessing Channels Properly

Regarding parity and rate integrity on retail pricing in both direct and indirect channels, Preferred Hotel Group’s Brij Bhushan Chachra who is director, revenue account management in India, Middle East & Africa, says each channel needs to be measured on its merits and value proposition it brings to the table.

Today each channel has different value propositions and cost structures and as businesses it is important to ensure a company maximizes the same for its hotels.

When it comes to OTAs, hotel companies need to work out the total value the business gets in terms of marketing and exposure and not to forget the ‘billboard effect’. It is important for hoteliers to safeguard their channels and ensure there is value parity across the board. Chachra defines value as this: the benefit a consumer derives from a product in correlation to price paid to satisfy their individual requirements. In this context, one has to make sure that all segments are priced based on the current demand-supply situation which will yield optimal results from all the segments. There is a need to make efforts to get rid of static rates for all segments and move to dynamic pricing across the board.

Flight to Delhi

Delhi is the capital city of India with a population of over 13 million and has emerged as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. With over 700 flights landing and taking off from Delhi every day, Delhi airport is the busiest airport in India. It is easier to take flights to Delhi rather than using other means of transport. With several airlines and flight operators operating between major Indian cities & Delhi, getting discounted tickets and special offers for Delhi flights is always on the cards.

Deals22.com works hard to maintain its leadership position in travel category and to bring you the best rates for Delhi flights. Our unique engine allows you to search across the leading travel portals to ensure that you get the best fare rates. Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Indian Airlines, Air India, Spicejet, Air Deccan, Indigo, Paramount and GO Air operate daily flights on the Delhi Bangalore, Mumbai Delhi, Kolkata Delhi and Hyderabad Delhi routes.

Delhi airport is located near the Delhi – Gurgaon border & is well connected to the city. The drive from Connaught Place, the heart of Delhi to the Delhi airport takes about 45 minutes if the traffic is clear. But it is advised that you always take into account the omnipresent traffic jams which can extend the commute time to the Delhi airport by a factor of three.

About Delhi –

Delhi is the 2nd largest Indian city after Mumbai (Bombay) and is the seat of Indian government. Delhi encompasses the nearby cities of Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad & Faridabad to form the NCR region. Delhi /NCR is the melting pot for various Indian communities & ethnicities.

Attractions –

Places of Interest : Lodi Garden, Doll museum, Rail museum, Red Fort, India Gate, Museum of Natural History, Parliament, Qutab Minar, Jama Masjid

Entertainment

Shopping :, South-Extension, GK-I M Block, Connaught place, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Sarojini Nagar, Dilli Haat, State Emporiums, Lajpat Nagar, Ansal Plaza, Hauz Khas

Theatre: Kamani Auditorium, LTG Auditorium, National school of Drama, India Habitat Centre (IHC), India International Centre (IIC), Lalit Kala Academy, Sri Ram Center for Performing Arts

Temples :

Hanuman Mandir, Lotus (ISKON) temple, Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Kalka mandir, Birla Mandir, Chattarpur Mandir

When to go –

Delhi faces the extreme climatic swings with the temperature moving to 47 C (116 F) in summers & dropping to 0 C (32 F). The best time to visit the city is between October to March when the weather is most bearable. Regular flights to & from Delhi are readily available. With airlines like Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Indian Airlines, Spicejet, Air Deccan, Indigo and GO Air offering frequent flier programs, discounted tickets and regular special offers, cheap air travel to Delhi has become a reality.

Eco-Tourism is a combination of two words Ecosystem and Tourism, together it is made Eco-tourism. Ecosystem is the system where everybody live, this system is compuse by the water, earth, sky and the living and not living objects such as micro-organism communities, plant, animal and their non living environment acting as a functional unit. Some examples to refer of ecosystem may be the river, the ocean, the jungle, a forest or a biome. And tourism means,” the practice of travelling for pleasure”. Therefore, a tourism which implicates a visit to an Ecosystem is well known as Eco-tourism. Thus, Eco-tourism can be defined as “Tourism involving travel to areas of natural or ecological interest, mostly of the time under the guidance of a naturalist, having by objective learning about the environment making focus on wildlife awareness and conservation of the environment. However, Ecotourism still a new topic nowadays, the most acceptance definition is by Ceballos-Lascurain, who is generally accepted as the first person to define ecotourism “Tourism that involves travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestations found in these areas (Ceballos-Lascurain, 1991, P. 25). In addition, “Ecotourism is a sustainable form of natural resources-based tourism that focuses primarily on experiencing and learning about nature, and which is ethically managed to be low-impact, non-consumptive, and locally oriented (control, benefits and scale). It typically occurs in natural areas, and should contribute to the conservation of such areas (Fennell, 1999, p 43).

Fennell identified 13 main principles of ecotourism:

interest in nature
contributes to conservation
reliance on parks and protected areas
benefits local people
long tern benefits
Education and studies
Low impact / non -consumptive
ethics / responsibility
management
sustainable
enjoyment and appreciation
culture
adventure and small scale

In today world it is very easy to confuse Eco-tourism with mass tourism, but mass tourism is related to the number of people that visit a destination and most of the time those big groups are not eco-tourism because their only reason to visit those natural destinations is just for pleasure. They do not plan vacations to learn about the environment, know the culture of the destination and the most of the time they just expend the entire stayed in five start resort enjoying its facilities and they do not even has contact with any single natural attraction that the visit destination offer.

1.2 Importance of sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism has become essential for the tourism industy due to it is closely related to eco-tourism. Eco tourism is considered as the tourism development which try to capture a portion of tourism market that is attracted to natural beauties by providing low impact tourism products. Sustainable tourism would provide direct benefits to the local people. The private sector would assure least impact on the environment. Tourism projects will be initiated considering the size and scope of the land character with limited resorts located close to existing infrastructure offering economic benefits to local communities. It also includes development of preferential tourism zones committed to sustainable development and carrying out specific practices (Rauschelbach et al, 2002, pp: 229).

1.3 Benefits of Eco-Tourism practice

The importance of the Eco-tourism and the benefits that this activity provides is indispensable for the sustainability of the natural destination. Eco-tourism is the only kind of tourism that provides awareness to the visitors as well the local population involving then in activities to preserve the destination, understanding the environmental issues and explain the consequences before they take place. Eco-tourism trainee the local populations in order to visualize the visitors as an alternative of income that will contribute to the destination survive. With significant economic benefits the local population needs to see their natural area as a source of income, conserving their local destination avoiding activities like cutting down all their rainforests that just contribute to the global warning.

Tourism is the worldA?s largest industry; in 1950 the number of tourist went from 25 million up to 702 million in 2000. Acoording to the World Tourism Organization for this 2010 the tourism growth rate will reach 1 billion and 1.6 billion in 2020. With the growth of science and technology, abundance in economy and revolutionary changes that have happened in the field of transportation have contributed largely to the development of the

tourist trade all over the world. In today’s world an individual can have breakfast in London, lunch in New York and dinner in Tokyo (Cooper and Hall, 2008, pp: 377).

2.0 Main body
2.1 Presentation of Cabo San Lucas as Eco-Tourism destination

Cabo San Lucas has become an important vacation and spa destination located at the tip of the Baja peninsula in Baja California Sur, Mexico. This destination is well known for its natural attractions such as the sea of Cortez where the tourist can enjoy of several activities like whale watching, snorkel, kayak, scuba diving, parasailing, tours to the arch, and banana boat. The colorful desert with unique plant life is a natural curiosity in los Cabos, where hiking, ATV and horseback trip explore the area. The sea of Cortez is nationally and internationally recognized as ecosystem of significant biological, social and economic value. The Mexican government, who recognized the importance of the island, establishes then as natural protects area in 1978, under the category of flora and fauna protection area. Internationally the island is known as biosphere reserve by the UNESCO. Because of the beauty and natural of the destination and surrounding marine areas, visitors have the possibility to learn from this ecosystem.

2.2 Cabo San Lucas emerging issues

For Cabo San Lucas still been a challenge the duty of educated local people and tourism to preserve the destination. One of the biggest obstacles to develop eco-tourism in Cabo San Lucas is the number of interest from the public and private serctor, especially in

this destination that contain a vast American influence. For example, for some Tour Operators is very easy to pretend that they are bringing to the destination Eco-tourism but behind this, is just mass tourism. At this stage the destination is facing several emerging issues such as:

The overfishing hurting of hundreds species including the Marlin and Tuna.

The local population kill its flora and fauna to made local souvenir which are comercialize with the tourism.

The local population is relative poor and is lack in knowledge and education, therefore they do not contribute to the conservation of the destination, as a method of income they operate tours in the Cortez’s sea (using “pangas”, local wood boats), without respect the navigation rules such as the distance that they have to take in a while watching tour as well as the proximity to the sea lion colony.

International investment in construction like Riu Hotels (Spanish company) which in 2007 built the Riu Sta. Fe with 1100 rooms and still operate as normal avoiding the FONATUR’s regulation rules ( National Fund for Tourism Development) . To clarify this example, in Cabo San Lucas is allowed hotel’s construction up to 900 rooms mention by FONATUR.

Due to airline incresing price most of the tourist are opting to visit the destination by cruiseship which contribute to the massive desturbe of the fauna and pollution of the water.

The mass tourism is overcrowding the destination through overbooking the accomodation and service facilities creating chaos in public areas such as bus transportation, beaches, parks and hospitals.

The destination waste disposal is increasing due to the mass tourism.

2.3 Eco-Tourism strategies implement by Cabo San Lucas

At this stage, the SEMARNAT (Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources) together with the CONANP (National Commission of Natural Protected) are implementing in the destination two eco-tourism strategies:

A code of ethics for visitors and tourism operators, that have been implemented to complement the legal requirements in the destination having by objective the reduction of the emergencies issues mention before. This code of ethics is basically focus on tourism operators behaviors forcing them to:

maintain the natural integrity of the places visit; respect the livehoods and culture of the local people.

make a solid effort to be less wasteful with the natural resource.

ensure waste disposal has not environmental impact.

develop a recycling programs; support different companies in the hospitality and tourism industry that work under environmental policies.

increase the network with other tours company in special those in the local area to keep aware of new conservation programs, environmental policies and eco-friendly techniques.

get the appropriate education and training on Eco-tourism and low impact techniques such as respectful for the environment and local culture.

support local economy but do not buy goods made from threatened or endangered species such as turtles; never disturb the wildlife and wildlife habitats.

follow by the book the rules and regulations in protect areas; advertise truthfully and inform to the tourist about the natural and local history

providing them useful materials.

make sure that the clients that are coming are aware of the regulations, norms and code of ethic applicable in the visit destination and develop an environmental education program with the local communities.

A guide for environmental tourism practice that refers to how the destination regularized activities related to bird watching, sea lions, diving and snorkeling, recreational booting etiquette, whales and dolphins, turtles and sport fishing. Some of those environmental tourism practices are summarizing here:

obtaining permission from SEMART through the direction of flora and fauna protection area “Islands of the Gulf of California” before visit the island.
forgibbean feed native animals.
camp only on designated area.
use only biodegradable products.
is highly recommend visit the exotic fauna colonies with guide.
watch the fauna from distance avoiding disturb or stress them.
never attempt to touch the fauna, the boat have to be 90 feet away from the rocks and islets.
avoid making loud noises and using strong lights near the colonies.
it is forbidden by law to damage or remove coral or other marine organisms as well collect natural souvenirs like coral, shells, etc.
do not interfere with the natural movements of the fauna.
before fish make sure to have the permit through the local SAGARA office that provides information on official bag/size/ tackle limits, protected species and seasonal closures.

As example of this successful Eco-tourism strategies, Olympus Tours one of the biggest tour operators from USA which is bringing to the destination more than 33.000 tourist year over year yearly, is totally agree with the procedures mentioned before and as prove of this in carryon the following iniciatives:

Increasing employment opportunities for local residentes.
Support and promote the local culture and customs.
Contribiute to prevent the exploitation of children in tourism.
Foment activities where the tourist interact with the local people.
Operate safe trips for the natural envaironment and the tourism.
Support local communities and organization.
Work with suppliers that share the same social responsibility.
Avoid activities which exploit flora and fauna such as diving with dolphins.
Reduce energy consumption.
Recycle as much as possible.
Agrements with establishments and hotels that implement eco-friendly techniques and green practices.

Another success example of the eco-tourism strategies in the destination are related to the hotels and resorts which are implementing several eco-friendly and green techniques such as:

Intercontinental chain that asks to its customers to conserve water by reusing towels and limiting the number of times the linens are changed.

Barcelo chain is adopting many local plants that thrive in arid Baja in its landscaping an stead of grass that require daily irrigation.

Nh-hotels has introduced for its customers the leastest technology in room functions, controlled by LCD where the air condition turns off when the patio door is open.

Riu Hotels has finished its remodeling project replacing the baths with walking showers.

Hilton Los Cabos is changing its wedding concept, offering to its customers a new phenomenon called “green wedding”. This package offers to brides and grooms a lot of alternatives adding green elements into their destination wedding. Based on the nature of the destination and the natural beauty of the surrounding environment, couples can choose an outdoor wedding area offered by the Hilton Los Cabos like lagoons, seaside gazebos, white sand beach, therefore reducing their energy used by having the wedding during the day. Dining service will include organic items such as organic tequila, domestic wines and organic cakes. End the celebration with eco-friendly fireworks that produce less smoke than the regulars and reduce the number of toxic metals that commonly left in the water.

3.0 Conclusion
3.1 Summary the importance of Eco-Tourism in destinations

The Eco-tourism presence in natural destinations is becaming more and more importante for the sustainability of the destination. Eco-tourism main function is develop awarenesses between local people and tourist regarding the importance of the preservation and conservation of the natural environment as well local culture.

As was discused above, Cabo San Lucas with the impact of the Eco-tourism is becaming as a green destination with several Eco-friendly iniciatives form the hospitality

supplieres such as hotels and tour operators. Customer are willing to pay more for accommodation that promote green activities, and Hilton hotel can not be a better example of this transformation, which is offering to its clients “green weddings ” introducing to the market a vast of green items such as out door facilities, organic dinner, organic cake and low smoke fireworks. All those elements have by objective the reduction of the negative impact in the destination.

Another positive impac that eco-tourism bring to the natural destination is related to the economic aspect.Cabo San Luas has been growing rapidly in the past 10 years with mega constructions projects such as resorts, shoping malls, hospitals, speedway, international airport amplification that drive to the destination the international brand business such as Wallmart, Mc. Donalds, Hooters, burguer King and starbucks which increase and improve the laboral condition with several available positions.

As was mentioned before, the destination has a significant international influx form Americans and Canadeans and it is semeed through the biggest tour operatior that bring tourism to the destination like is Apple Vacations, Olympus tours, The Mark Travel Corporation, Thomas Cook among others which are incentive and promote in Cabo San Lucas the Eco-tourism as an alternative way of travel.

Today, there are “Green Laws” of preservation, which are making people aware of how humans and the environment can cohexist beneficially for more time to come and Eco-tourism is one way to maximize the environmental and social benefits of tourism, without exclude the economic developments having by objective the sustainability of the culture and environment.

3.2Recommendation to overcome emerging issues in Cabo San Lucas

The Eco-tourism strategies that Cabo San Lucas is applying to contribuite with the sustainability of the destination are “a code of ethics for visitors and tourism operators” and ” a guide for environmental tourism practice” which ones had been showed evidence that are working very well. However there is opportunity to improve, there are many things that have gone unobserved by the autorities.

There is a need for altering the landowners act as it has caused many conflicts. The local landowners should be guaranteed with the insurance policies so that they can support the tourism activities that help in sustaining the resources. Department dealing with allotting areas and granting permission should frame uniform policies so that recreational providers don’t get confused while asking for permission. It is believed that most of the tourists don’t respect the local culture and also the local people. Tourists should be told to respect the local crowd and local culture. There is need for proper management in Cabo San Lucas and also the tourists should be allowed only during the certain seasons for activities like while watching and other watersports. Authorities need to work and implement aggressive marketing policies for the the destination as well foment activities where the new local generation get involve with the culture and preserve the sustainability of this one.

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Services are becoming increasingly an important part of the global economy. It is estimated that on average 70 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) (2007) countries come from service industries. Moreover, it is predicted that the importance of services will continue to increase worldwide not only in the developed parts of the world but also in developing countries.

Certainly hospitality is an important sector in services particularly in the developed countries. Under the services sector, the hospitality is often named as the number one industry worldwide in terms of generation of income and employment. Over the last three decades, the hospitality has grown rapidly, and now it has become one of the most prominent sectors of the service industry. It produces over 11 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and employs over 10 percent of the global workforce (UNWTO, 2003).

In 2006, international tourism arrivals worldwide achieved an all-time record of 842 million tourists. In the same year, tourism receipts, including international passenger transport, were estimated about $883 billion, which means that international tourism generated over $2.4 billion a day in 2006 (UNWTO, 2007). As an export category, the tourism industry ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals, and automotive products (UNWTO, 2007). Despite the presence of terrorism, natural disasters, health scares, fluctuations in exchange rates, and uncertainties in economic and political arenas, the hospitality industry have experienced positive growth for the last two decades. This growth has not only been observed in developed parts of the world but also in developing parts of the world such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It is predicted that the hospitality industry will continue growing rapidly worldwide. Following economic, sociocultural trends and developments, more people will be participating both in domestic and international tourism. In meeting this growing demand, many new hospitality businesses will be opened; new tourism destinations will emerge, and new tourism services and products will be introduced.

Although it is one of the largest industries worldwide, providing a concise definition for the hospitality industry has been a major challenge for professionals and academics. As often acknowledged, there continues to be a lack of agreement as to exactly what hospitality and tourism encompasses and the relationship between them. According to Nykiel (2005), definitions of the hospitality industry are often limited by the unique viewpoints of sectors within the industry. For example, a hotel operator may see the industry as accommodations with food and beverages. A food and beverage operator may view the industry as a dining experience with the focus on menu offerings and food service. A travel agency manager might believe that providing travel related services to people for business and leisure defines the industry best. An executive of a theme park may see hospitality as providing a unique entertainment and educational experience. In order to overcome this confusion, Nykiel (2005) placed all of these viewpoints under a wider perspective called “hospitality” and further stated that the hospitality industry passes travel, accommodations, food service, clubs, gaming, attractions, entertainment, and recreation.

Kandampully (2007) notes that hospitality organizations operate within a network of service organizations. To a large extent, they are interrelated and interdependent, and include the following:

Tour operators, travel agents, and tourism organizations

Travel and transport operators

Leisure, recreation, and entertainment venue

Restaurants, bars, clubs, and cafes

Hotels, resorts, motels, camping grounds, bed & breakfast (B&B) establishments, and hostels.

TYPES OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations that operate in the hospitality industry can be grouped under different categories depending on their primary activities, size, profit motives, and geographical coverage. In terms of their primary services, organizations can be categorized as follows:

Travel and transport

Accommodations (lodging)

Food and beverages

Entertainment and recreation

Tourism offices or destination management organizations

Nongovernmental tourism organizations

Each of these is often identified as a subsector under the hospitality industry. In addition, each can be further broken into several subgroupings. For example, under accommodations, there are hotels, motels, guest houses, hostels, villas, and time-shares. Some of these organizations can be further grouped depending on their service level, such as luxury hotels, boutique hotels, midmarket hotels, and budget hotels, or according to their star ratings, such as five-star (diamond), four-star, and three-star hotels.

A further grouping of the hospitality organizations can be made based on their size such as small, medium, and large. Independent and flexible small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the tourism market worldwide.

An SME is defined in employment terms as a company with a workforce of fewer than 250 employees (European Commission, 2002; Wanhill, 2000). For example, it is reported that around more than 90 percent of tourism and hospitality organizations in Europe are SMEs (Bastakis, Buhalis, and Butler, 2004; European Commission, 2002, Wanhill, 2000) which are usually ownermanaged, being run either by an individual or by small groups of people.

Managing SMEs is different from managing larger enterprises. For example, Quinn, Larmour, and McQuillan (1992) state that smaller hotels are not simply smaller versions of large hotel groups. They have distinct organizational structures and cultures that are often influenced by their owners. The business objectives of smaller hotels may have a different emphasis compared to large hotel groups. According to Quinn and colleagues (1992), profitability, market share, and productivity are less important to small businesses. In addition, they may have less desire to expand and achieve high profitability and productivity ratios. Their views on the external environment, long-term strategies, generic positions, competitive advantages, and allocations of financial and human resources may not be similar to those of large organizations. We know that many SMEs face financial and managerial challenges (Hwang and Lockwood, 2006), and their ratio of business failures is higher compared to larger organizations (Wanhill, 2000).

Another classification of hospitality organizations can be made according to profit motive. A high majority of hospitality organizations aim to make a profit and achieve some financial objectives in order to satisfy their owners and shareholders. On the other hand, nongovernmental tourism organizations, associations, tourism destination management, and marketing organizations can be placed under non-profit tourism organizations. Their primary aim is often not to make profit but to achieve other nonfinancial objectives, such as serving society, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable tourism development in their regions over the long term.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS

Essentially, service sector organizations, including the hospitality organizations, possess certain unique features. Ignoring the differences between service organizations and manufacturing organizations can lead to unexpected outcomes. The following are some closely related, unique characteristics of hospitality organizations (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2004; Gronoos, 2007; Kandampully, 2007):

Inseparability-customer participation in the service process

Simultaneity

Perishability

Intangibility (the tangible-intangible continuum)

Heterogeneity

Cost structure

Labor intensive

Inseparability

In hospitality organizations, customers need to be present and participate in the service delivery process. This is certainly not common in manufacturing industries. This means that the separation of the production and marketing functions, which are important characteristics of the traditional manufacturing industry, is not possible in the service delivery process that is found in hospitality. Therefore, hospitality must communicate with and motivate their customers to actively participate in the service delivery process.

Attracting and bringing customers to hospitality requires careful attention to their location, brand image, and ongoing marketing and promotional activities. In addition, the presence of customers and the requirement for them to play an active role in the service delivery process necessitates ongoing careful attention to behavior, the physical appearance of employees, the interior design and decoration of facilities, furnishings, layout, and noise.

This means that like Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons’s (2004) comments on managing service organizations, operations, marketing and HRM functions in hospitality need to be very closely integrated. Compared to manufacturing firms, this certainly requires that a different managerial approach, organizational structure, and culture must be developed and maintained in hospitality.

Simultaneity

Typical manufactured goods, such as a refrigerator or a television, can be inspected before it is delivered to retail outlets, where they are then sold to customers. However, services in hospitality are created and consumed simultaneously, which can prevent employing active quality control mechanisms. In addition, as just noted, customers and employees need to participate and coordinate in the service delivery process. It is almost impossible to have one manager for every employee to monitor the service delivery process and make sure that frontline employees are doing their jobs well, in addition to guiding the customers’ participation in the process.

Therefore, in order to make sure that services are produced and offered to customers at an expected quality that meets consistent standards, hospitality should rely on other measures such as investing in human resources, use of technology, building desired physical facilities, and decoration to ensure the quality of services delivered. This has implications on decision-making practices, resource allocations, operations, marketing, and human resource management practices.

Perishability

As production and consumption in hospitality are simultaneous, services become perishable if they are not sold. Subsequently, their value is lost forever. For example, an airline seat or a hotel room will perish if a customer does not purchase it at the time of production. Therefore, the full utilization of service capacity is a strategic task for much hospitality.

It is particularly important to emphasize that demand for a hospitality services often fluctuates considerably, depending on the external developments and changes, such as seasonality and crises. For instance, terrorist attacks (such as September 11, 2001 in New York), disease outbreaks (such as SARS in the Far East), and natural weather phenomena (such as tornadoes or hurricanes) all had a negative impact on the demand for services offered by the hospitality industry worldwide. Because hospitality cannot sell their services when such circumstances arise, they lose a considerable amount of non-recoverable income. When the demand is low or there are sudden fluctuations in demand, it is neither easy nor recommended for hospitality to lower their rates greatly, since it may influence their image, change their customer segment, and upset their regular customers.

A further issue in terms of perishability is that consumer demand for hospitality services exhibits very cyclic behavior over a short period of time. For example, restaurants are busy during lunchtime, evenings, and weekends, but they may not be very busy at other times. Demand for many hospitality, such as restaurants and theme parks, increases during public holidays such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, and spring break. Depending on the location, many hotels and restaurants experience great variances in summers and winters. This puts much responsibility on the management of these firms in planning for the future and allocating their resources quickly and adequately to the right purposes. In short, expected and unexpected fluctuations in demand have implications on cost structure, pricing, staffing, and resource allocation decisions.

Tangibility

Hospitality and tourism organizations offer a combination of tangible and intangible products (Kandampully, 2007). For example, a hotel room or a meal in a restaurant has both tangible and intangible qualities. Again, there may be major differences between a budget hotel and a luxury hotel or between a fast-food restaurant and an upscale restaurant in terms of tangible and intangible qualities offered. However, services are often ideas, concepts, interactions, relationships, and experiences that are not often patentable. It is essential to note that the intangible aspects of services offered by hospitality are critical in customer satisfaction. This is because the main difficulty related to the intangibility of services is that customers cannot often see, feel, and test these services when they order or buy them (Gronroos, 2007; Kandampully, 2007). Prior to their purchase, they may try to evaluate services as much as they can by looking at the interior of a hotel or a restaurant and the appearance and behavior of the employees. In most cases, customers tend to rely on the image or the goodwill of hospitality. In order to overcome potential problems and dissatisfaction in these areas, some hospitality companies publicize their service promises and offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

Legal requirements have also been proposed for hospitality to provide acceptable service performance for customers. However, these legal requirements vary among different countries. The expectations of customers may also vary, depending on the country or geographical location of the hospitality enterprise. We know that customers’ demands and expectations are constantly increasing, which puts more pressure on hospitality to improve their services and management practices.

Heterogeneity

Services provided by hospitality may also vary considerably. One hotel unit in a chain hotel, one unit in a restaurant chain, or one holiday experience of a traveler to the same destination is unlikely to be identical to another. Many factors, particularly the human element, result in variations of the service delivery process. In other words, services will be heterogeneous, and variations in service delivery from customer to customer and from time to time will always occur. It is often difficult to standardize every employee- customer interaction in the hospitality business. In addition, in many hospitality organizations, customers interact not only with employees but with other customers. This customer-to-customer interaction in certain service organizations, such as pubs, discos, nightclubs, and cruises, can be an important aspect of the total service delivery process.

Hospitality is also highly susceptible to external changes. One example of an external factor is the weather. Visiting an outdoor theme park can be very pleasant and entertaining on a nice day, but it can be a miserable experience if it is raining and cold.

In recent years, through the intensive use of information technology and active training of employees and design of physical facilities, attempts to improve and standardize the service delivery process have greatly increased. On the other hand, some customers expect a high level of service delivery, but this does not mean that they prefer standardized services. Therefore, hospitality need to achieve some degree of balance between standardization and differentiation in meeting the demands and expectations of their customers.

Cost Structure

The cost structure of hospitality influences their managerial and resource allocation decisions. For example, luxury hospitality is capital, labor, and energy intensive. Typically, they have high property costs and also employ large numbers of full-time employees. It can be difficult for them to reduce such cost items even if the demand is low. In addition, they may need to renovate their facilities every five to ten years to stay competitive in their field. Another issue is that given the vast amount of investment made in these organizations, investors and owners often look very carefully at their return on investment. Therefore, these companies need to maintain a steady flow of customers to maintain the profitability of their businesses. This often leads to creative marketing and product development strategies as well as pricing strategies.

Labor Intensive

Installing machines and computers on a car factory’s assembly line or in an ice cream factory can reduce the number of employees. However, compared to many organizations in other industries, hospitality requires a great many employees. To put it simply, hospitality are labor intensive. This is because personal interactions and experiences are important parts of services, and employees play a key role in this process. Despite using many machines, computers, and technological developments, hospitality still rely primarily on their employees to deliver a memorable and positive experience. Being served and treated nicely by employees is a major factor in getting repeat customers.

APPLYING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY CONTEXT

One emerging question is how we can use and apply generic strategic management theories and models in specific hospitality industry context. In this section, we will examine how such theories and models can be applied in the particular context of hospitality and tourism. Most of the strategic management tools, models, techniques, and theories have traditionally been developed mainly for the manufacturing sector in the United States and have subsequently been applied to other industrial sectors (Okumus and Wong, 2005). However, hospitality that is concerned with a service-based output reflects the typical characteristics found across the service sector.

These include customer participation in the service delivery process, simultaneity, perishability, intangibility, heterogeneity, and high fixed costs of the services provided. As explained previously, there are different types of firms with unique features in the hospitality industry.

McGahan and Porter (1997) and Porter (1980) claimed that the industry context does matter because it can have a direct or an indirect impact on the strategy-making process and on the productivity and profitability of organizations. This reflects the so-called “outside-in” view that we saw in Chapter

Conversely, Baden-Fuller and Stopford (1994) argued that it is the internal characteristics of firm-the “inside-out” views-that matters most, not the industry. According to Baden-Fuller and Stopford (1994), successful organizations can skillfully ride the waves of industry crises, and less successful ones can disappear due to industry misfortunes besetting the industry. For example, Southwest Airlines has been profitable and successful since the early 1970s, while many other major airlines have faced serious challenges, with some declaring bankruptcy. Here, the industry structure and characteristics are considered to be of secondary importance.

Given these conflicting views as to whether the industry context or that of the individual firm is more important when devising a strategic plan, we propose a different but more holistic view on this controversial issue. In support of McGahan and Porter (1997), we believe that the industry structure and the unique characteristics of the hospitality sector do matter and that they can have a clear impact on the strategy-making process and on the productivity and profitability of hospitality.

Therefore, we need to have a better and deeper understanding of how the external environment affects the hospitality industry. We further acknowledge that the industry context is one of the dimensions impacting the management practices in hospitality and their performance.

In short, the context at both the industry and the organizational levels is crucial if one is to effectively use and apply the strategic management theories and models in hospitality. The importance of context to strategy making means that the preceding argument holds across all industrial sectors and not just hospitality and tourism. All issues related to the strategy process and the strategy content must always be framed in that specific context. In other words, we cannot meaningfully separate strategy from its industry context or from its internal organizational context.

When think of the hospitality industry, normally we will think of restaurants and hotels. By then, the term of hospitality industry has a much broader meaning. According to Oxford English Dictionary, hospitality is means the reception and entertainment of customers, strangers and visitors with liberality and good will. The word of hospitality is derived from hospice, a medieval ‘house of rest’ for travelers and pilgrims. A hospice was also an early from nursing home, and the word is clearly related to hospital. Besides that, hospitality also refers to other types of institutions that offer shelter or food or both to person away from their home. These kinds of institutions have more than a common historical heritage. Moreover, they also share the management problem of providing food and shelter, example like: erecting a building; preparing and serving food in a good will; providing heat, light, and power; and cleaning and maintaining the premises. When customers stay in a hotel or dine in a restaurant, they hope that all of this problem can be done with liberality and good will, but they can also rightfully expect the same treatment from the dietary department in a health care facility or from a school lunch program. In additional, as a successful manger in the hospitality industry, they must exhibit many skills and command much specialized knowledge, such like, a manger wants to make things for the guests. Food has to be savory and hot or cold according to design and delivery it on time. The rooms must be clean and the beds should be made. A hospitality system includes many works, and the manger must see that it is done.

Answer of Question 1

What is hospitality industry? Finding one all – encompassing description of hospitality as an industry is also hard. The means of hospitality industry are comprises businesses that serve guests who are away from home or can be defined by its scope, mission, and providers. Other definition of hospitality industry will be continually updated and refined, expanded, and honed.

Historians have traced the development of the hospitality industry through thousands of years and many cultures. Viewing the industry through the lens of history is helpful because it reveals the close relationship between the shape of hospitality and the needs and expectations of different societies, this is because societies will continue to change in what they need and want. Besides that, the hospitality industry is also extends over a wide range businesses, each of which is dedicated to the service of people away from home. Nowadays, the main components of the industry are those that satisfy a guest’s need for shelter and lodging and those that provide their patrons with food service.

Other than that, when imagined us as the manger of executive chef of a fine restaurant, a general manger at a supreme and luxury hotel, resort or at a casino. These are all possibilities but our choices are wider than perhaps our ever dreamed. A hospitality management degree or diploma and experience can connect us to a network of careers in travel, tourism, leisure and recreation, simply because of the scope of these related enterprises. Besides that, there are also some advantage and disadvantage for each business and staff.

Lodging

Hotels and resorts have been compared to miniature cities in the way that they incorporate life support system such like light, heat, food, shelter, security, water and sanitation facilities. Normally lodging establishment always include within their ‘city limits’ elements of recreation, food service, entertainment and personal services for travelers. There are close to a dozen major categories of lodging facilities, ranging from tiny bed and breakfasts to the latest development, megaresorts. The niches in between these extreme consists of commercial hotel, airport hotel, economy properties, residential hotels, casino hotel, resorts and suite hotels.

The goal of all businesses is to link or match supply with demand example like: hotels want to sell room and other kinds of services to guests who provide their demand. Every business should bringing supply and demand together to make a profit. Supply is such a holistic concept in a service industry like lodging; that must be considered as a whole or through system and cannot simply as disconnected pieces of puzzles. Supply includes of tangibles, suck like hotel type and physical amenities, and intangibles, or such like the many personal services there provided by the lodging staff. Other than that, demand is same means with customers needs and wants, is often changing and varied. There are many consumer groups or market segments that demand certain types of lodging facilities to satisfy the customer expectation or needs.

Advantages

View on the angle of economics, the advantage of lodging in hospitality industry is the ability to provide a product or service of superior quality and reasonable cost is what a company should pay to produce or provide it. A comparative advantage is when a company can provide something of comparable value at a lower cost, which can result that in a lower price for the customer than the competition offers.

Another advantage is localization. The country, the city and other specific place where it is located influences its competitive advantage abilities over other hotels, example like: a specific city can have lower opportunity costs for specializing hotel service due to lower costs for other services or goods on which the hotel may rely.

Prices are an important factor for lodging industry advantage. Even the services are good and the localization is suitable, but hotels with high prices will probably not survive so long and the guest will stop to coming and buying the service, no matter how good it is. Therefore, hotels must be giving a lower price to their customers.

One of the sources of comparative advantage is natural environment. Sun, sea and sand are great environments with which to surround a hotel or resort. In some cold country, with cold environments, proximity to ski slopes and quality entertainment contributes to a hotel’s or resort’s comparative advantage.

Disadvantages

One of the source disadvantages of lodging in hospitality industry is environment. With the growing concern for the environment, customers and other interested parties have begun making environmental demands upon the lodging industry. There are two primary areas of environmental concerns for the lodging industry, which are site pollution and internal operational ecological. Site pollution means that concern arise when the lodging facility is built without regard for the surrounding natural environment. Internal operational ecological issues have to do with how the facility conserves resources.

Another source of disadvantage of lodging in hospitality industry is technology. The issue of technology in the lodging industry consist the application of computerized methods to replace processes previously done by hand. When compared with other industries, the lodging industry has been a latecomer in computerizing its operation. Sophisticated hotel management systems assist general and departmental management in more effective operations. Other than that, both chain – affiliated and individual independent hotels are linked to national and international markets through computerized reservation system.

Food Service

The preparation and delivery of food to guests and travelers is another seemingly omnipresent category closely connected with lodging, travel and recreation. The hospitality industry is, in many ways, like an extension of families. Hotels and restaurants house and feed people when they are away from their home, as do hospitals, schools and prisons.

A food service operation is an organization outside the home that prepares food for people, either for sale, as in a restaurant, or as part of a service, as in a hospital. Food service operations do the very same things as we do at home to produce meals for our families.

Professionalism in food service management is essential in today’s highly competitive market. This overview of food service management is intended to demonstrate the scope and seriousness of food service management and to underscore the importance of professional training or education for potential food service managers. Besides that, food service management can be wonderfully fulfilling, fun and satisfying, but only if we are properly to manage.

Advantages

New staff come to an industry sometimes have advantages over more experienced professionals. In a job hunt, junior professionals can have an advantage over their more experienced counterparts. Prospective employees always view the less experienced workers as more trainable and more coachable than their senior. This means that, the mature professional who has already excelled in a first career can, with credibility, change careers and transfer skills to other industries.

Another advantage of working in food service industry is jobs for all. The food service line such as restaurant has many positions. Anyone with just a basic education or degree from a college will be able to work at this line. A people with good education example like degree, they can work as manager, assistant manager or other such management positions. Besides that, a person with a lower education, they can work as table cleaners, waiters, dishwashers and so on. Moreover, as one gains experience, he or she can get a job advancement receiving better pay.

Location is also one of the advantages in food service industry, because there is not location specific. No matter where we live, we can easily to find a restaurants, it’s just a pierces of cake. Even we need to find a job, we also can get it easily, because that is too many restaurants in the world.

Disadvantages

Newcomers to the field may have disadvantage compared to their senior. Almost by definition, the inexperienced professional such like a young person who has recently earned a college degree is less tested and less experienced than senior managers, so the resume and cover letter of the inexperienced professional may always have to sell their potential to do something his or her never done before. Lack of experience in the field he or she wants to enter can be a stumbling block to the junior manager.

Competition is one of disadvantage in food service industry. Food service is big business and has become so complex that it is less and less feasible for nonprofessionals to succeed using ‘seat of the pants’ ways. Some restaurants fail in their first year, it is because their creators naively believed they could succeed through optimism or by ‘winging it’. Professional managers or staffs learn to look for and recognize trends, through reading magazines and newspaper, and generally keeping up to date, paying attention to what consumers say and do.

After that, another disadvantage in food service industry is environment. Energy conservation, hazardous chemical disposal, and waste management are important to food service managers. How these agents are used and disposed of affects the health and safety of the staff and the health of the world. Many companies are seeking methods to reduce excess waste before purchasing. By that, we are not likely to see purchasing agents carrying string bags and canvas tote, we are already seeing them weigh waste factors in the bidding process.

Conclusion

The hospitality industry is one that is primary focused on customer satisfaction. For the most part, it is built on leisure or is supreme-based, as opposed to meeting basic needs and wants. Some of the business that the hospitality industry garners is transient and intermittent, but collectively, it accounts for a large source of its revenue. Moreover, exceptional service is normally very important for all of these businesses. Customer satisfaction normally leads to consumer loyalty, which assists to make sure the success of a company in the hospitality industry. Other kinds of services in the hospitality industry include of special event planning for social and corporate functions. Finally, an advanced hospitality and tourism degree may not be required for all management positions in the hospitality industry, but working our way up through the ranks can mean years of lost income potential and missed opportunities. By upgrading our academic training, we will advance faster and have more careers open to us.

Question 2

Find out the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Explain in detail

Introduction

Obviously, the travel and tourism play an important role in the hospitality industry. Some parts of the industry, such like hotels are derive almost all of their sales from travelers. Even through, the food service attributes roughly 25 percent of its sales to travelers. Other than that, there are also many leisure oriented businesses with a major food service and hospitality component are also dependent on travelers, such like theme park, shopping mall and so on. As employment in smokestack industries that is manufacturing which was falls, the service in industries, including those businesses serving travelers, should be take up the slack by providing new jobs. In the economy as a whole, the importance of tourism and the hospitality industry is increasing each year, because tourism is health of the hospitality industry. Tourism is the collection of productive businesses and governmental organizations that serve the travelers ways from home. These kinds of organizations include restaurants, hotels, motels and resorts. The industry also consist those organizations that support these firms’ retail activities, including of publications, advertising companies, travel research and development agencies, and transportation equipment manufactures. Travel trends are significant to students or family of hospitality because they represent the way in which many of guests reach. This is where much of business comes from.

Answer of Question 2

Why do people like to travel? There are two reasons for travel which is wanderlust and sunlust. A lot of young people have to hope that to travel and see cultures of the country and to get the experience of travel; this is call wanderlust. However, sunlust is means that other people want to go somewhere warm and escape from climate for a while. There are also other motivating factors, which include relaxation, escape from a boring life, socialization with friend, rest and prestige. These kinds of motivating factors have not really changed over the years. Besides that, tourism growth continues to be fueled by more leisure time, enabling factors, technology factors, income, and demographic.

Figure – Factors Affecting Travel and Tourism

Leisure Time

The reason why for the increase in leisure time is people has more time off from work or school holidays. Most company vacation policies have become more liberal. Besides that, the number of legal, paid holidays has increased and, significantly for tourism, more of these are timed so as to supply three day weekends. Although the typical work week has stayed at 40 hours for many years, flexible scheduling arrangements have also added to people’s leisure time.

Enabling Factors

Some people have motivators for wanting to go on holiday, but there are some reasons why they can’t go. The main reasons are money and time. If can’t afford it, means that the people can’t go. Having enough time and money are examples of enabling factors. There are also another enabling factors which include: availability of travel such as flights to different locations; suitable products example like range of different holidays; owning a car, therefore can be travel more easily; marketing of a destination for bringing attention; and ease of booking. These types of enabling factors allow the people to act on their motivators. When investigate the change of customers needs and wants, it will be help to find out more enabling factors.

Technology Factors

Technological changes within tourism surround several different factors from medical advances to the innovative space tourism. Similar to tourism, technology is an ever changing and sometimes unstable business. Better communication, transport and safety have encouraged new customers to the industry. Besides that, the main impact of new technology on consumers has been Internet, which has given people the chance to be more independent and make their own travel and holiday plans and arrangements. Through technological advances, online booking has been one of the biggest factors in affecting tourism, recreation and leisure in today’s world. On average residents in the United Kingdom spend 164 minutes online every day compared to 148 minutes watching television. This show that how much the internet is now an integral part of life and has had an effect on other aspects influencing the tourism business. More of more people are now booking their holiday on the internet, as many people are looking for a better priced deal than they are being offered by their travel agent. In additional, nowadays, most consumers want easier, quicker and cheaper service only technology has helped tourism fulfill the customers need.

Income

The two income family has become more and more important factor in travel. Nowadays, the women desire that they can work at outside. A two income family is adds to the family’s security, and not only increases total family income. If another partner loses a job, that does not eliminate all of the family’s income. There are many motivates for women to work at outside the home. The main reasons are career and necessity. A lot of women choose to be in the workforce for professional and career reasons and for the challenge, stimulation and variety that working provide. Another reason, for many woman, however is to maintain the family income at a level affords the family a satisfying and comfortable lifestyle. In some cases, family members have shifted from highly paid manufacturing work to less well paid occupations, always in the service sector. Thus, some women work at least in part because they have to maintain their family income. Furthermore, almost all two income families have no time. When they both go work, the household chores still need to be complete and the parent will normally behest their children to cared about it. This means that many people may have to sacrifice leisure time for household and family maintenance chores. So that, when they do get away, time is at a premium. Through sensitive to price or value comparisons, these travelers generally seek good value for their money rather than low cost recreational experiences.

Demographic

According to the middle ageing America, that has suggested the impact of demographic changes on tourism. Middle age generally means higher income and a greater propensity to travel. The ages of the middle age group are between 35 until 44. This age group is most likely to use hotels and to take longer trips. Close behind them are the 45 till 54 year olds. Besides that, another significant demographic development for tourism is the growth in the mature market, that is, people over 55 years old. Although, this group represents a smaller share of household income, people 55 and over control over half of household wealth. The people in this age group can use their retirement pay to travel.

The pattern of growth in the mature market suggests two subsegments that will be very important. The 55 -65 year old group, which will grow by a remarkable two – thirds from 1995 to 2010, as the first baby boomers move into their and learning to deal with extended leisure, that is the ability to take longer vacations as seniority increases vacation entitlements and as retirement approaches or as early retirement permits. Another growth segment is at the extreme of the mature market, who are over 85 year old. The needs of people in this group do suggest a major expansion in assisted – living facilities, but they also suggest opportunities for family travel that involve grandparents and grandchildren or all three generations.

Safety and Security Issues

A challenge is to protect travellers as they move across this huge industry using by rail, hotels and restaurants, buses, cruise ships and airports. There are some security and safety issues which are:

Airport security seen as priority, so can attracts more investment.
But this may leave traveler exposed to risks at other points in their journey.
Expense of technological solutions to detect terrorists.
Political barriers prevent a global response to risks.
Not all countries have same view of security tasks.
Impact on individuals of anti terror measures likely to increase inconvenience os some travel options.
Conclusion

The most common reason for travelling is for pleasure and business. More people prefer to travel by car than by other transports such like airplane, motorcycle, bus and so on. Travel by air increased over the last 10 years but fell somewhat when fares began to rise, suggesting that travel is price sensitive, because it is too expensive. The economic significance of tourism is clear: Tourism ranks in the top three for total business receipts. Besides that, about one in twenty people is employed in an activity supported by travel expenditures. Indeed, communities seeking potential employers may profitably use tourism as an attraction. The United Kingdom is also an international tourist attractions, its popularity often based on the value of the UK dollar versus that of other currencies, as well as a number of others factors. Other than that, in looking at air travel, the organization should considered the competition between hub and spoke and point to point airline systems and the strengths and weakness of both. At last, the travel industry although brash will always be around due to the need and want of consumers to travel.

A hotel could be defined as a commercial establishment that provides short and long term lodging facility Hotel Definition, 2000. The standard for basic hotel, in times past, consisting of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand. Now, the hotel industries are improved by providing rooms with modern facilities, including suite bathrooms and air conditioning or climate control. Other general features found in hotel rooms are a telephone, a television, snack foods and drinks. Bigger hotels may provide a number of additional guest facilities such as a restaurant, a swimming pool or childcare, tennis court and multipurpose hall. Nowadays, hotels are classified into ‘Star’ categories, different country has different ‘Star’ rating requirement, the standards mentioned below are the essential requirement for ‘Star’ rating.

1-Star hotel provides a limited range of amenities and services, but the hotel should follow the cleanliness standard.

2-Star hotel need to have a good accommodation and well-equipped bedrooms, each room must have a telephone and attached private bathroom.

3-Star hotel has more spacious rooms, decorated with high-class decorations and furnishings, and a color TV. The hotel also provides a bars or lounges.

4-Star hotel is much more comfortable and larger with excellent cuisine provided (table d’hote and a la carte), room services, good furnishings, and other amenities.

5-Star hotel offers most luxurious premises, widest range of guest services, guest sport facilities such as swimming pool, tennis court, and gym are necessary, and many choices of restaurants that provides different cuisines. ( Hotel Definition, 2000)

A hotel milestone had gone through several decades. During 1980’s, a big expansion of hotel occurred, a Hotel Boom #3 which generated by innovative marketing and development of specialized types of hotel (hotel design, planning and development), with the development that time, many hotels were combining large-scale commercial complex with hotel. From the development too, the airport hotel, conference centers, all-suite hotels, vacation villages, health spas, ski lodges and condominium resorts are expanding rapidly all over the continents. In 1990’s, a tourism were slowed by the Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 2 February 1991), also recession of 1991 gave a lowest financial record in hotel history. Few years after early 1990’s, hotel industry sector were restored into the normal condition, Hotel Boom #4 that generated by the new advanced technology, imaginative design and the successful marketing of mass customization of hotels, resorts, and leisure time amenities (Walter A. Rutes et al. 2001).

After going for several decades of hotel industry developments and trends, now it is easy to find new types of hotel and people also now trying to invent new model of hotel in order to create new trend. These are some types of hotels found as below:

Super Luxury Hotel

In the hotel world, term “luxury” has a lot of definitions, it could be unique, personage, special service, elite customer, impressive settings and decorations, impeccable service, and elegant architecture. This hotel provides a private world of rare and refined beauty where the art of personalize service is conducted with efficiency and assurance. The super luxury hotel reputations and qualities are depending on the management style of the hotel owner and its staff. Security and privacy are the essential features of super-luxury hotels and also an advanced technology will produce ever more sophisticated systems, high technology systems as electronic door locks, surveillance cameras and window sensors would add guest’s peace of mind.

Most of the super-luxury hotels derive their luxurious character from the superb historical buildings the occupied, The Lanesborough, London, England is one of the hotels that became a national landmark, and formerly the building of this hotel was a hospital.

The entrance lobbies from most of super luxury hotels are elegant and definitely shows the residential character. The Four Seasons Hotel New York, the first major chain hotel that achieved super-luxury status, gives an exception to the rule with regard the scale of the lobby. Three separate desks were designed for the lobby; reception, concierge and cashier.

Meanwhile, the guestrooms and suites of the super-luxury hotels are fully detail design and furnishings. Each room were equipped with bedside controls that allows guest to open or close drapes, turn on a discreet privacy sign or call a maid service. The bathrooms of a super-luxury hotels now exceed one-third of the overall room size, with a multiple head showers with ten-button controls and automatic temperature settings,

marble vanity with two porcelain basins and brass fittings, heated fog-free mirror and heated towel bars. Specialty suites offer deep whirlpool baths with windows facing the spectacular view. (Walter A. Rutes et al. 2001)

Casino Hotel

Casino hotel defined as a combination of a lodging establishment with the casino gaming. Most of casino hotels are providing not just an accommodation and a casino, but there are some entertainments such as the circus show, dance and singing show, clubs, lots of food and beverage outlets, theme park, shopping areas and many other attractions. With the entertainments provided for the guests, casino hotel have became one of the most favorite destination to the customer because the guest could get the whole things in one destination.

The Flamingo, who was built in Las Vegas, USA and is the first casino hotel, was totally attracting customer. In that time, Las Vegas desert were transformed into the world’s largest multifaceted resort and that was when casino hotel became one of tourist destination. After that, the trends of casino hotel have expanded widely thorough every continent. In USA, Treasure Island and The Mirage hotel were built, by providing a total of 130,000 rooms, special theme, superb attractions, and many more. From that moment, the Four Seasons Hotel, Bellagio and The Venetian also enter the market of casino hotel in Las Vegas. The Palace of the Lost City which located in South Africa, who gives a fundamental design that involving the architects of WAT&G and raised the art conceiving themes and authentic detailing and blended design with the natural and cultural environment. Hyatt Regency Tamaya that located in New Mexico exemplifies new casino resort with a concept of museum. In Asia Region, Genting Highland which located in Malaysia is the famous casino hotel among Asian, the company who develop the Genting Resort is Resort World, this company has another two casino hotels located in Singapore and Manila.

Most of the casino hotel rooms are larger and more luxuriously planned and appointed than suburban or downtown hotels, but there are casino some casino hotels that offer small room and breakfast only, but this offer also comes with a good price, this small room offer usually used to attract teenagers and small or middle income guest. A unique model is located at the end of the guestroom tower floors, semicircular in plan, offering a panoramic bay window view from the sunny living room By providing a casino, casino hotel has a greater ratio of nonrevenue-producing space than any other hotel type like ‘high-roller’ suites and villas that exclusively provided for high-stake players, star-suites for famous entertainers, and a cuisine ‘hold tables’ permanently reserved in restaurants on or near the gaming area for quick service for the high-rollers who wants to use its maximum time on gaming.

For the convention facilities, because of the trends of combining large trade shows with related corporate and association conventions, today’s 1,000-room and larger casino hotels more than meet the requirements of the convention market. The groups, including family incentive groups, increasingly look to meet at a resort location, as a result of this trends, casino hotels adds another extras addition like theme parks, small luxury signature restaurants and several more sophisticated, rather than merely larger, entertainment programs position casino hotels to increase their penetration of the convention market. (Walter A. Rutes et al. 2001)

Resorts

Resorts defined as an establishment used for relaxation or recreation, mostly operated by a single company or a chain company. Resorts attempts to provide its customer wants while their customers remain in the premises, some of the provided things are swimming pool, food, drink, entertainment, and shopping. Main visual features that people focus on resorts are the landscaping, natural environment, and the building finishes. There are several types of resorts with every special characteristic of each type, it is listed as below:

Beach, Golf and Tennis Resorts

This type of resorts provides a beach, golf and tennis in one place, also most of this resort comes with the spectacular views, water sports, and fresh air. Such resort amenities also attract the typical business travelers who sometimes choose this kind of resort over a downtown or suburban hotels. Corporate groups now also prefer resorts for business gatherings, as their more relaxed atmosphere promotes teamwork and closer personal contacts. Besides beach, swimming pool also becomes one of the essential in beach, golf and tennis resorts. Since guests spend more time in public pool than a public space, swimming pools will affects guests overall impression of the resort.

Factors that need to be concerned for Beach, Golf and Tennis Resorts are:

Preparing environmental and other analyses and keep clear documentation at every different stage

Identify the government agency responsible for approving various aspects of the project

Obtain copies of all legal requirements, necessary permits, or technical standards applying to projects

Monitor construction and proactively seek government inspection and approval at each stage.

Vacation Village