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An airport is a building where people from all over the world take flights to travel to any part of the world for their business or holidays. An airport is not only to board the flight today is more than a comfortable zone for the passengers and making their travelling easy. There are loads of shops, eating outlets, toilets and entertainment areas for all passengers. If any passenger has a long stay to board the next flight there are special area for making the passenger comfortable i.e. AIRPORT LOUNGES. At the airport there are loads of different lounges for people of different age’s groups.

My dissertation is on lounges for kids who are travelling all by themselves and are the responsibility of the crew to make them reach to their destiny safely. During their flights kids might have to wait for the next flight so all the unaccompanied kids are in the kids lounges where they can play, eat, make new friends and make themselves comfortable while waiting for their flight.

Everyday many people travel from one place to the other and airport is one such place which never sleeps all year long. Airports are the busiest during any season or any month of the year. People who travel are on a business trip, holiday, students going back to meet their families or people going for their honeymoon be it any reason airports are the busiest and need to be up to mark to make the passengers happy. Over these years kids have become more independent and can travel alone if their parents are busy or can’t take them to meet their families or friends. I realized that these lounges help people to be comfortable when they are away from home. So I decided to do my final project on airport lounges. Since there are loads of different lounges and its a very vast topic I focused myself on lounges for kids. During my graduation I have done my previous graduation final project on a retail outlet and my interest has always been in commercial building so I opted for airport lounges.

My main aim is to build a comfortable and friendly lounge for kids and my design concept will be based on different color full themes, Disney characters because the lounges are for the kids. In the lounge all the basic and luxury facilities will be available for kids such as sleeping area, food hall, playing stations, play area, services to call their homes, baby sisters looking after the kids and giving each and every kid a safe and homely environment.

The kids are travelling alone and they ought to miss their families and they are also scared if they miss their flight and the whole airport is like a huge building for them where people are running from one place to the other. In the lounge the kids will feel secure and will be collected from the aircraft and will be dropped back to the aircraft. It would be the responsibility of the airport staff and care takers to check that each child is safely boarded the flight.

My main aim will be focusing on kids and the facilities that will be offered within lounge and making kids feel at home. The areas that will be focused are play area, food area, entertainment zone, sleeping zone and other services like collecting the kids from the aircraft and dropping them back to the aircraft. My final project is all about interiors and specially what young kids will like and get attracted towards the lounge.The staff of the lounge will be responsible for looking after the kids and their luggage. The kids will be escorted at all times with the airline crew or staff of the lounge. The design concept is designed in such a way keeping the kids in mind.

The important factors that have strong impact on space design for children are:-

Space

Gender

Age

Activity

Size

Color

The planning of a child’s room is shaped by gender. While a girl’s room demands a certain ambience and space allotment, a boy’s room has different set of requirements. Even the size of wardrobe depends or varies with gender. Decorative themes are also dependant on the gender factor. For girl’s pastel colors and floral effects are used whereas for boys, generally sports them is used.

Different age groups involve different space and size considerations. The age group I’ve selected is two to five years. Their activities and social dynamics differ. Space for such children is theme-based. Kid’s room should be filled with color, cartoons and toys but sensibly designed. Storage is of particular importance for the young and space is a challenge because children’s rooms are often “little rooms”.

Innovative solutions involve mobility for furniture or accessories within a structure. Interesting accessory features add color, utility and customization to any space. Children’s spaces must evolve with the child. They must themselves have a life- cycle that resonates with their young and developing dwellers. So a ‘baby’ space is obliged to transform into ‘teen’ space with minimal disruption and expense.

TYPES OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

Airport is one such place which never sleeps all year along. The airport authorities with the help of hotel companies have opened various lounges, eating joints and shops in the airport in order to make travelling easy for all passengers and keep them entertained during their stay at the airport. All year long many passengers travel from one country to another. There are times when a few passengers like kids, disabled, old people. There are different types of lounges for different age groups. These lounges offer a variety of services for passengers.

Different types of Lounges are:-

Lounges for older people

Lounges for disabled

Lounges for unaccompanied minors

Lounges for general people

Lounges for business class people

What services can passengers expect from the lounges?

To be treated like a VIP

Free snacks

Free soft and alcoholic drinks (champagne is extra)

Newspapers

Magazines

Comfortable seats

Business desks

Televisions

Special care for disabled, old age and minors

Cable cars for old age and disabled for travelling inside the airport

These services are all available by paying a very minimum fee to access them during your stay at the lounge. Many passengers have access to these lounges with their respective credit cards of different banks in order to promote the services and attract the public for using the best services on their holiday. Since there are many different kind of airport lounges with different airlines the services available will vary from one lounge to the other. But majority have the same services at different price rates.

The below table shows major airports of United Kingdom have same services for the customers.

NAME

FOOD AND DRINKS

DISABLE ACCESS

WIFI,PHONE AND FAX

TOILETS

FLIGHT INFORMATION

1Birbimghim Airport

2Manchester Airport

3Newcastle Airport

4London Airport

5Liverpool Airport

6Gatwick Airport

HISTORY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

7A lounge is a lounge which is owned by any airline which is open to its passengers for having a stress free environment while waiting at the airport. The lounges can be accessed by any passenger by paying a minimum fee and getting access to all the best services of the lounge. The lounge offers free drinks and food. The passengers can access to wifi, private meeting rooms, fax, telephone and the lounge has comfortable leather sofas to relax.

8Heathrow is the busiest and largest airport every year it carries over 86 million people. The airport started in 1946 with a group of army with small tents and grass airfield and was privately owned. In 1944 the Air Ministry developed as a transport base for Air Force Royale. Soon there was a need of a large airport and in 1946 one runway was ready to be used. By 1947 three runways were completed ready and the tents were replaced by a building in the start of 1950. Due to the need and demands of the customers terminal-2 was opened in 1955.

Today Heathrow has a well developed terminals and a direct access to underground metro, [9] taxis are available at all terminals and has totally changed its old structure with new structure and services for passengers travelling every year.

Over these years the world has changed into a total new world of high technologies, inventions and every thing has been changed into a higher advanced things. Airports were just a big land where there was only one runway and a small building from where passengers could get their luggage and exit into the country. The airport building was not very well designed and it dint even have any kind of proper services like food stalls, bars, casino, restaurants, or lounges. The airports were very under developed and over these years airports have completely changed and have a new definition of what airports are.

Airports all over the world are serving its passengers with the best facilities and have totally changed and entered a new era of advanced technology. Airport lounges are basically a room or an open space where all passengers can relax themselves during their stay at the airport.

10THE WORLD’S TEN BEST AIRPORT LOUNGES

Since the attack on the twin towers in Unites States has forced the security at the airports to do a tight check on passengers travelling. Even on every domestic flight the security check has increased and the passengers have to stand in long queues for security check. There are business class lounges who cannot afford to miss on their business while waiting at the airport. Over the years the travel and tourism industry has flourished and there are lounges for the general entertainment as well.

Clubhouse Virgin Atlantic, San Francisco International Airport

Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport

Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport

President’s Club Continental Airlines, Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington D.C.

Smoker’s Lounge Swissair, Zurich International Airport

VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport

Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport

SAS Lounge Copenhagen International Airport

Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport

The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport

Terraces Lounge British Airways, JFK International Airport

The Wing Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport

Golden Lounge Malaysian Airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport

VIP Lounge LanChile, Santiago International Airport

Silver Kris Singapore Airlines, Singapore Changi Airport

Star Alliance Lounge Zurich International Airport

PSYCHOLOGY OF AIRPORT LOUNGES

A passenger’s point of view a lounge is a small area at the airport where the passengers can access comfortable sofas for relaxing with complimentary refreshments with free wifi, phone and fax services. But behind the scenes psychology is used a lot to define how comfortable the environment and services are and in what manner is it beneficial to the people who need a special attention. Since the lounge is for kids there has to be kept special preference to kind of services kids want. Through my research work I have found the following points need to be used in a lounge.

EASY ACCESS OF SERVICES

The kids who will be using the lounge will be of age 5-12 years old. Kids at this age are not very independent and solely depend on their parents for each and everything. During their stay at the lounge they will be fully dependent on the staff. While designing the lounge it should be designed to access the services at ease by the kids themselves.

EXAMPLE- the height of the furniture should be of standard kid’s size. The toilets also need to be of the same standard size for kids.

HOMELY ENVIRONMENT

Since the kids will be travelling alone for them the airport will be a little big to handle and they might get scared but these lounges will be designed in such a way that the kids feel like they are home safe and sound. They will have their own area where they can play, eat, and enjoy without being scared of being alone.

ATTENTION TO SPECIAL NEEDS

The age of kids vary from 5-12 years and they might be kids with any form of disability so they need special care and attention from the staff. The toilets and the furniture would be different for the disabled. A special kind of facility will be available for kids with special needs to make them feel comfortable with the rest of the kids.

DESIGN CONCEPT

The lounges are for the kids and the design concepts for the kids have to be very colorful and comfortable and lot precautions will have to be taken for the safety of the kids. The color combinations and the outlay for the lounge have to be very colorful and have a more of an open plan rather than having too many doors or partitions which could make the kids feel a bit lost in the lounge. In the lounge no kind of dangerous material can be used like glass which could break easily while the kids play and cause an injury to the kids. The materials like wood, plastic are the best materials to be used in the lounge.

SERVICES AVAILABLE AT THE LOUNGES

Every airport is different all over the world but they all are for the same purpose. It depends in which country the airport is to make it look different from all the other airports in the world. For example an airport in Las Vegas, United States will definitely have a casino at the airport to entertain the people as [11] Las Vegas is known for gambling, fine dinning and shopping. There are many other facilities available at the airport varying from one airport to the other.

12Lounges offer a variety of services for all age group and making every passengers journey stress free.

Every lounge offers the following services to its passengers:-

Complementary refreshments

Free access to wifi

Comfortable sofas

Newspaper and magazines

Alcohol and non alcohol drinks

Variety of buffet

And many lounges for example Emirates Lounge offers facilities like:-

Swimming pool

Personal meeting rooms

Massage rooms

Spas

Gyms

Kids play area

ANTHROPOMETRY

Anthropometrics deals with the measurements of the physical characteristics of human beings particularly shapes and sizes, the range of human dimensions from foot length to shoulder width. It also includes the minimum or optimum dimensions needed for a human being to perform activities.

HEIGHT

Age (years)
Height (inches)
2
33?
3
36?
4
38?
5
40?
REACH
Age (years)
Reach (inches)
2
40?
3
43?
4
45?
5
47?
SITTING POSITION
Age (years)
Space Covered(inches)
2
20? x 20?
3
20? x 20?
4
22? x 22?
5
24? x 24?

SQUATTING POSITION

Age (years)
Space Covered (inches)
2
27? x 30?
3
30? x 30?
4
33? x 33?
5
34? x 34?
STANDING – STRETCHED ARMS
Age (years)
Length (inches)
2
33?
3
36?
4
38?
5
40?
DESIGN CONCEPT OF THE LOUNGE

The lounge is for kids and keeping this mind the design of the lounge will be very unique and attract kids towards the lounge. The lounge is spread on an area of 200?200 square feet forming a shape of a square. The lounge will be having different zones or rooms specially provided for the kids.

Entertainment zone

Food court

Toilets

Play area

Sleeping area

Drink Bar

ENTERTAINMENT ZONE

Area

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

This zone is especially for boys who love to play video games and enjoy themselves. This room is like a big open area with very minimum furniture and more of gaming stations so that kids can have fun during their stay at the lounge. The lounge will have proper gaming chairs and sofas only.

FOOD COURT

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

The food court is going to be very unique in design and menu concept. There will be all kind of food served such Chinese, continental, Italian, Indian, Mexican and Thai so that kids can get food of their choice even being away from home. There will be a buffet system 24 hours a day. The kids can eat as much they like and when they like. The furniture will be very funky and colorful in design and will be made according to the ergonomics for the kids.

PLAY ZONE

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

The play area is for kids under the age if 12years old and the room is an open plan. It’s a big room where there are doll houses, stuff toys, slides, swings. All the games and swings will be in door. Every corner will have a different theme concept like jungle, doll house, sand pit area and teddy bears. Sand pit area will be depicting an area on a beach where kids can play in sand build sand houses. This room is specially for keeping the kids occupied with board games as well like chess, ludo, snakes and ladder and card games.

SLEEPING AREA

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

DRINKS BAR

Area

Type

Walls

Floor

Ceiling

Furniture

Purpose

Theme

Entertainment zone will include xbox stations and television for keeping the kids well occupied. The room will have special gaming chairs where kids can play and enjoy themselves in the comfortable chairs. The room is

Food court will serve different variety of cuisines from all over the world.

Sleeping area is for children under the ages of 5years who need cots or beds for sleeping.

A drink bar is making the kids feel they are grown ups and to make it look different a bar will be provided where only soft drinks will be served.

COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

Color adds meaning to life if there were no colors it would make all things dull. In the lounge the colors used will be more bright and vibrant like red, blue, yellow, pink, green, and purple.

Color psychology is about how colors make them feel since different colors reflect different parts of the brain it is very much required while designing any creative space or using for inspiration or to reflect mood.

Reflection of these colors will throw a big impact on the mood of kids therefore it is very important to choose the right colors for the interiors of the lounge.

In this research, I have selected the Lost World of Tambun a theme park of my choice. The Lost World of Tambun is an action-packed, exciting adventure with the most thrilling rides and attractions in Ipoh, Malaysia. Located in the historic town of Ipoh, in the middle of the North-South corridor in Perak, this place is not just a man made water theme park with beautiful Mayan architecture, gargoyles, and water canals, but is surrounded by 400-million-year-old natural limestone hills which offers a unique breathtaking view.

The World of Tambun is built by Sunway Group in 2006 at a cost of RM60 million, this theme park is well-designed with many unique features. It has many different “playgrounds” and is certainly an added attraction to the popular Sunway Lagoon theme park in Kuala Lumpur.

Five main elements that make up this world of adventure are the Water Park, the Amusement Park, Lost World Hot Springs, the Tiger Valley and the Lost World Petting Zoo. It is a perfect escapade for family and city slickers who want to have a short break away from the city and enjoy the outdoor elements from man made beaches, to hot water springs, theme park rides; both wet and dry, a tiger valley where you get to see the wild beast roam freely, and beyond that jungle trekking, caving and tunneling activities.

Answer Water Park

Begin the journey at River & Beach Garden, a landscaped beach with waterfalls surrounded by 20 feet twin waterfalls with two rivers flowing into the pool. For a start, grab a float for a single person or two, and jump into Adventure River, Asia’s longest man-made river ride with a wave generator in the water park section. Besides, refresh with a musical shower at the Musical Body Wash before heading to the Sandy Bay for an intense game of volleyball with friends and family or perhaps, for a relaxing soak in the sun.

Next, get ready for a wet world of fun in the kids-only zone, Explorabay, specifically designed children. Explorabay boasts special smaller slides and a large, wet, interactive play area with giant tipping buckets, water canons, spraying elephants, water curtains and fountains. Designed for more-thrill seeking adults and teenagers, the Cliff Racer injects a boost of adrenaline when your mine cart flies, Indiana Jones style – straight down the speed-coaster at maximum speed! In addition, do not miss going on the Tube Raiders, longest inflatable tube ride in Malaysia!

Amusement Park

Enjoy the scenery while you dry off on the Dragon Flights ride, as you get swung in the air in this thrilling swing-chair ride; before you sail on over to the Stormrider, a pirate boat which will swing you 180 degrees for some knee-knocking, spine-tingling excitement. Besides, get your little ones to cool down after playing explorer at the water park, on the Perak Parade carousel; and go on the Giddy Galleon for a perfect family ride away from the water. In addition, make sure you go on the Adventure Express; where you can sit back and let this ancient locomotive take you and your family on a journey past majestic ruins, surging waters and wild tigers; giving you a quick tour of the Lost World of Tambun’s other attractions.

Lost World Hot Springs & Spa

Afer a day of excitement, immerse yourself in the source of pure relaxation in our Lost World Hot Springs. The 100% natural mineral hot springs is clean and fresh as the water flows through the pool continuously from the main source and is then channeled to the nearby Kopisan River. Containing healthy minerals such as Calcium Carbonate, Sodium, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Sulphate, Chloride and Iron, the Hot Springs are heavenly for those looking for a healthy retreat.

This addition includes many elements which are catered for everyone: giving them the ultimate relaxation experience. The elements include Infinity Pool, Lost World Steam Cave, Foot Spa, Crystal Spa, Top of the World Pool, The Geyser of Tambun, Crystal Pool and Saphira’s Bistro.

Infinity Pool

It is specially designed as a true spa and can accommdate up to 300 people at once and is surrounded by the serene and calming sounds of the volcanic waterfall.

Lost World Steam Cave

The Lost World Steam Cave is great for those looking for a respite after long stressful days. The steam cave acts as a sauna promotes the action of sweating where the toxins and waste are expelled through the pores on the epidermis leaving the dermis clean and refreshed. The high temperature also prmotes blood circulation.

Foot Spa

Foot Spa in the Lost World Hot Springs and Spa has reflexology pebbles fitted to the floor. Visitors can walk on the pebbles while enjoying the hot springs water soothing their feet.

Crystal Spa

Crystal Spa is a spa facilities where visitors can enjoy body therapy at a nominal charge. There are three huts located here, named as a Sapphire, Topaz and Amethyst. The spa offers Aromatherapy Massage and Head & Shoulder Massage. Within the privacy and comfort of your own massage hut, you will be pampered and treated to an invigorating massage of your choice and feel rejuvenated from inside out.

Top of the World Pool

Top of the World Pool is a jacuzzi pool that allows a full range of therapeutic hydro-massage for muscles, joints and pressure points. It is advisable for guest who are suffering from muscle, neck, shoulder and back pain. Athletes recovering from sports injuries are encouraged to take a dip in this pool because it could help to speed up the recovery. Besides, the heat from the hot springs water ease joint movement for guest suffering from arthritis.

Saphira’s Bistro

To further enhance the experience in the Lost World Hot Springs & Spa, a swim-up dining outlet known as Saphira’s Bistro has been built to cater for visitors seeking for some bites to whet their appetites. This bistro boasts a healthy selection of food and bevarages such as Salmon Fillet, Chicken Stew, Open Sandwiches, Western Style Curry and Salads Saphira’s Special.

Tiger Valley

Meet Sultan, Raima, Putra, Jazz and Azian; Lost World of TambunaˆYs very own Siberian tigers. One of the unique attractions here is the Tiger Valley where you get to see the wild animals roam freely in their enclosure, and perform stunts during feeding time. There are a total of eight tigers, formerly circus animals abandoned by their owners, when they could not afford to fly them back, and were subsequently adopted by the theme park and now given the best possible care by experienced trainers.

Lost World Petting Zoo

Take walk on the wild side at the Petting Zoo, where you will be able to get personal with just some of the zoo favorites such as Ruby the raccoon, Nia the Python and Wira the Green Macaw. Take some time to walk through the different areas, where you would be able to feed, touch and experience animals in their natural habitats. Besides, the Petting Zoo allows the public to touch, feel, feed and play with the animals; giving those looking for a more personal encounter, a closer perspective. It features a large variety of exotic animals in an environment created as close to nature as possible and apart from being a fun activity that families can do together, it also serves as a nature education platform for schools and tourists. Kids can look forward to having an enjoyable time petting and playing with rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, African Dwarf Goats and Deer and adorable primates such as the white-eared marmosets, black-eared marmosets and macaques. In addition, the large aviary houses over 500 birds from 18 species with all-time favourites such as cockatoos, mandarin ducks and peacocks. The Serpentarium features a host of slithering reptiles such as the reticulated pythons, mangrove snake and the Giant Monitor Lizard. To keep the memory for a long time, kids and adults alike can pose for pictures with the ferret, wallaby, Sugar Glider, and Blue-Gold Macaw and the Giant Iguana at the Rock Canopy.

Adventure For The Eco-Enthusiast

Make your way, jungle trekking through the deep limestone hill forests of the Lost World of Tambun. Witness and explore the unique flora and fauna, get up close and personal with wild animals and experience the beauty of its waterfalls and mysterious caves.

Delve deeper into the caves for a one three exploration of the Gua Datok, a cave dating back to 400 million years; with naturist guides as they expose magnificent history and the formations of the stalagmites and stalactites. For the younger thrill seekers who wants a taste of the action there is a smaller cave called Gua Anak Datok, located at near the feet of Gua Datok. Opt for the three-hour cave exploration experience at the Six Mile Tunnel. Eco-enthusiasts are guided by experienced guides through the 700 meter long cave tunnel; walking through knee-deep mud, swimming across a shallow pool, before continuing to walk through chest-deep water inside the tunnel. Stay close to nature and camp overnight. Share adventures with friends and family over a bonfire at any one of the two camping sites at the Lost World of Tambun – the Needle Village, the Riverside Village; where you indulge in bonding activities such as lake kayaking, rafting, teambuilding sessions, as well as themed dinners.

If you are looking for a more relaxed break, hop on board the Tambun River Cruise at a mere RM6 per person. Sit back and take it all in as the cruise sails you through the picturesque bends of the Tambun River. Once you’ve sailed through the Tambun river, take control and take the lead by paddling around in the Lost World of Tambun’s Koi Pond in one of the swan-designed paddle boats. Whether you opt for a partner, or go solo in the paddle boats, be sure to feed the Koi fish following you around!

Food and Beverage

The Ipoh White coffee is love at first sip! Made only from the finest selections of Liberica, Robusta and Arabica quality beans, the coffee is skillfully roasted to perfection by Ipoh’s old, legendary masters.

If coffee is not your cup of tea, try Lost World of Tambun’s Roasted Rice Tea. A traditionally unique cuppa, the Roasted Rice Tea reflects the authentic flavors of a recipe that has been handed down through many ancestral generations.

For those seeking any other reason to sample the Lost World of Tambun’s Roasted Rice Tea, the tea touts a list of health benefits which include soothing sore throats, cooling down body temperatures and alleviating fevers.

The park is opened from Monday to Fridays from 11am to 6pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, and during school and public holidays from 10am to 6pm. The park is closed every Tuesday except during Malaysian school and public holidays.

The park rates are RM30.00 per adult, RM24.00 for children below 12, and free of charge for children below 90cm in height. Group packages are also available with minimum number of 30 persons – advance booking is required.

The Lost of Tambun is premier tourist destination for the region by the launch of its largest investment project which covers the tourism, real estate, hospitality, entertainment, leisure and retail sectors. The Lost World of Tambun is the best water theme park within the northern region because it offers various elements such as Water Park, Amusement, Hot Springs & Spa, Tiger Valley and Petting Zoo that attract visitors from local and tourists from other countries.

Besides, the Lost World of Tambun is the only water theme park with natural hot spring in Malaysia that can accommodate more than 10,000 people. Key attractions also include the action-packed dry and wet adventure rides as well as a range of eco-adventures. Furthermore, the Lost World of Tambun has received many pretigious awards for its excellent innovation, visual appeal, quality, branding and the uniqueness as a water theme park. For instance, the Lost World of Tambun has been awarded “Winner of the 2008/2009 Innovative Tourist Attraction Award” by Tourism Malaysia. Moreover, it has a large parking place and other park facilities such as prayer rooms, locker, tube & towel hire service, shower and changing rooms including for disabled, fully qualified lifeguards, fully equipped and staffed first aid station, hut areas and seating, bicycle hiring, security guard and ample parking space.

Future expansion to be made for example; expanding the theme for the building of hotels. Besides, monorail system to be introduced for an overall transportation for both visitors and staffs.

The Lost of Tambun can boost their sales and profits by offering family packages and extending their business time. Besides, they can organize party relevant to the theme park. In addition, they can invite international performers as a part of advertisement to attract more people to visit their theme park. A part for that, free water toys can be provided for children and special range to be offered for senior citizen.

One way to promote their business to a global scale is to advertise their business through travel and tours agency by putting what they have in packages. Besides, online promotion also helps them to promote their products and build closer customer relationships. They should also get foreigner investment to let them open a branch in their country. In addition, they can deal with large foreigner companies through international conferences and events.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Lost World of Tambun certainly offers a unique experience beyond the thrills and spills of a theme park, with the opportunity of being in the heart of nature to witness something wonderful and irreplaceable.

Thus, constant facilities upgrade must be performed from time to time. Besides, they need to keep on changing to follow up the current customer needs and wants. In addition, customer should be informed about the latest news and happenings such as the launching of new products in their theme park.

The heart of each business lies in the hands of its customers. Therefore, the company’s ability to establish and maintain a strong and firm customer base is essential for its growth and survival. All customers come into the customer situation with differing needs and wants. Thus, it is very important for a company to understand customer needs and wants to ensure the repeat customer. The one unseen bonus is that it actually costs less to service repeat customers because their expectations levels are established and they know the role they are to play. Final customer needs and wants are always the key to the success in a business.

1. Introduction

The following part of the report will give a general introduction to the site which has been chosen to be added to the list of World Heritage Sites, namely being The Maasai Mara National Reserve. Furthermore the country and the region will be described followed by arguments why particularly this site was chosen and further on naming all the criteria of the World Heritage Committee which the site meets. In addition a concise analysis will be carried out using the Fermata method. This method will help to record all the resources the site has to offer in order to develop a strategy on how to develop tourism within this area. At the end the outcome of this chapter’s research will be summarized in a short conclusion.

General Information on The Maasai Mara National Reserve

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is also known as ”the Mara”. Historically, Maasai Mara obtained its name from the native people of Kenya the Maasai tribe who lived along the Mara River. However, the reserve is only a portion of the Greater Mara Ecosystem, which includes a group ranches for example koiyaki, lemeki ,Ol chorro Saina Maji moto Naakara Ol derkesi and Kiminet. The reserve is topography of open savannah grassland in the midst of clusters and acacia trees along the south-eastern area of the park. The reserve covers an area of 1,510 square kilometres in the south-western Kenya. In the northern part, the reserve is mainly covered with Mara-Serengeti ecosystem this covers 25,000 square kilometres between Tanzania and Kenya and in the south It is bounded by the Serengeti Park.

Climate

The Maasai Mara reserve is located at an altitude between 4,875 and 7,052 feet above sea level giving it a humid climate with moderate temperature. Daytime temperatures run at 85°F (30°C) and night temperatures drop to around 60°F (15°C). The rain falls between March and May and shortly in November and December. Between July and October the weather is dry hence the vegetation is in abundant thus tourism get more active in July and October to see the park’s wildlife.

Tourism

According to www.maasaimara.com, The Maasai Mara type of tourism is ecotourism. The ecosystem holds one of the highest lion densities in world with over two million Wildebeest, Zebra and Thomsons Gazelle that migrate annually. This action is known as “Natures passion play” It occurs between the month of July and august.

Additionally the Mara reserve is also home to the largest concentration of wildlife. These include the “Big Five” (Leopards elephants lions rhinos and buffalo) zebras, antelope, gnus, Oribis, hyenas, giraffes, warthogs, gazelles, hartebeests, hippos, crocodiles to mention a few.

The Maasai culture is yet another major attraction, because of their authentic culture that’s why it is recognised as one of the best-known tribes in world for their bright colored clothes and traditional dances, souvenirs, art and collectibles that explain their unique tradition. Moreover Bird watching is yet another source of tourism. The Maasai Mara boasts over 400 different birds’ species. Therefore it attracts bird lover.

Arguments for the site

In the following, the choice of the “Maasai Mara Natural Reserve” as a potential future World Heritage Site will be justified with the help of UNESCO criteria. The Maasai Mara Reserve is most famous for its unique wildebeest migration which cannot be found anywhere else on planet earth. The occurrence of the “big five” as well as the wintering spot for many endangered species makes the reserve an important area that has to be protected in the future. Below three criteria will be mentioned which can be referred to the Maasai Mara Reserve

Criteria V: to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.

This criterion can be related to the Maasai community living in peace and harmony with the wildlife since a long time. The Maasai community used the land for many years while they kept in mind to conserve the predominant wildlife in a responsible way.

Criteria VII: To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.

With its annual wildebeest migration from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara Reserve the site fulfills the criterion of “exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance” since there is no comparable natural phenomenon worldwide. Further on, the Maasai Mara National Reserve is equipped with beautiful savanna grasslands and plenty different herbivores and bird species. Moreover, the “big 5” can be found within the reserve what is also very unique.

Criteria X: to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

Since the reserve is an important wintering spot for many different species the criterion of “significant in-situ conservation” is warranted definitely. Also the occurrence of carnivores such as the lions or the cheetahs are very important for the reserve because they are listed as threatened. Furthermore, they keep the balance of prey numbers what is crucial for the ecosystem.

Analysis using the Fermata method

In order to come up with a good strategy on how to develop tourism within the Mara region, it is of great importance to know what resources are already available at this moment. Therefore the FERMATA method has been chosen, providing four different tables, namely intrinsic and extrinsic values, modifiers and waypoints. These tables categorize everything that can be found in and around the site and can serve tourism purposes.

Intrinsic values

Describing a world heritage site means defining intrinsic and extrinsic values of the site. Intrinsic values are those which originate at the resource itself. Hence, intrinsic values are of natural character. These intrinsic values are for instance: Scale, integrity and aesthetic of the landscape as well as diversity, specialty, conspicuousness, appeal, scope and dynamics of resources.

In terms of the description of the landscape, the Massai Mara Reserve is characterized by the Mara-River which divides the Reserve into two parts. Further on, the variety in altitudinal range between 200 and 1000 meter makes the Massai Mara a diverse area for all different kinds of birds and flora. With a total scope of 1,510 square kilometers the reserve provides habitat for 1,300,000 wildebeest, 360,000 gazelles and 191,000 zebras. Additionally, many carnivores as well as more than 600 bird species can be found in and around the reserve. In terms of human intervention, the reserve is managed by the Narok County Council and the Transmara County Council who set up several rules and regulations concerning behavior within the Massai Mara Reserve. Moreover, the Massai Community lost much of their land because it became a protected area of the reserve. Furthermore, many farms developed in the northern part of the reserve due to its fertile land. Referred to tourism some 45 tented camps are distributed all over the reserve which arouses a lot of damaging actions such as high water consumption or dry-season grass fires caused by tourists. (Appendix: Table 1)

Going further, it is important to take the resources into consideration. Due to its river, the grassland and the evergreen Amazonian forests the Massai Mara Reserve offers a diverse landscape. However, the landscape itself cannot be considered as very special but the migration of the herbivores that grants the reserve a general impression of outstanding beauty. As already mentioned before, the wildebeest migration can be seen as the pull factor of the site since tourists travel around the world to see this unique natural phenomenon. Although this spectacle can be seen as the main attraction of the reserve many tourists come as well to observe the more than 600 different bird species whereof plenty are listed as endangered. Finally, the Mara River is the only dynamic resource which can be found at the reserve since the rest mainly consists of grasslands and savannah. Situated in Kenya, the climate can be defined as tropical with long rainfalls from April to June. (Appendix: Table 2)

Extrinsic values

Generally said extrinsic values can be seen as additional features in the natural site, which also make people come to visit the place apart from the fact that they want to enjoy the outstanding natural resource. These features are made by humans and according to FERMATA Inc. (2002) they can be divided up into the following categories: Social, Cultural, Historical, Recreational and Economic. For a brief description see the appendix XYZ – I

To apply this analysis of the extrinsic values to the Maasai Mara Reserve, it can be said that the reserve gives home to the Maasai people. It is estimated that around 500,000 Maasai live in that area, but due to their fear of governmental intervention into their lifestyle, miscounts often occur. The Maasai belong to those tribes that have not changed a lot in their original culture, rituals and practices regardless of the modern world’s influences they are exposed to. Additionally it should be mentioned that they are mainly in possession of the land and deal with its management, however, lately they have lost a lot of land to parks and reserves, which prohibit them from accessing important sources of water, pastureland and spots where salt can be found. (Masaai Association, 2010) From a cultural point of view the villages of the previously mentioned Maasai tribe can be seen as an attracting attribute, for example due to their houses solemnly built from natural resources or their very simple lifestyle which is perfectly adjusted to their natural environment. Regarding the historical values one will have difficulties finding any in the Maasai Mara reserve, because the Maasai tribes live a nomadic life moving within the reserve depending on the season and therefore certain monuments or special places are not part of their culture. All their requirements for ceremonies and rituals are based on what they can find in nature. (Maasai Association, 2010) Concerning recreational values one can find three different lodges and around thirty campsites to spend the night there. Moreover these lodges or camps offer a number of safaris including jeeped safaris, balloon safaris, horse riding safaris and walking safaris accompanied by a Maasai. (ORD Group, 2010) Finally the economic values of the Maasai Mara National Reserve are that it attracts a lot of tourists and as the number of inhabitants is constantly increasing, but the number of livestock is decreasing in the same time, people depend more and more on other sources for nourishment. Therefore in the northern part of the area they have started to erect extensive fields to grow e.g. soya beans, wheat or sorghum. (UNESCO, 2010)

Modifiers, constraints, limits, qualifying factors

Modifiers: These are constraints that hinder tourism development at the Maasai Mara ReserveEcological: The damage in term of ecology is high, this is due to fact that Maasai Mara is not a national park but rather a national reserve hence it is not managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Its welfare is entrusted in the hands of Narok County Council and the Mara Conservancy who attain contract from the Trans Mara County Council. According to Dublin (1991) the lack of proper management leads to poaching, destruction of habitat by constant uncontrolled bush fires and exceptionally heavy influx of elephants hence to a decline in number of animals. Moreover over development of hotels, camps and loges outside the gate of the reserve is growing on a high rate.

A summary of the ecological constrains according to Charles Ndegwa Mundia, Yuji Murayama ( 2009) can be found in the appendix XYZ-II.

Physical: Tracks are established, balloon and helicopters in order to reach the natural and cultural heritages. Visiting the reserve is possible throughout the years. High season is from January to March this is when it is heavily overcrowded by people because it is dry and warm. Also in June and September it is overcrowded because this is the time when wild beasts migrate.

Health and Safety: Masai Mara Reserve is fairly a safe place, however, it is recommended not to get out of track. Concerning the health issues, the Maasai Mara National Reserve lies in a malaria region which foresees to take anti malaria precautions, wearing long-sleeved clothing after dark and applying insect repellent. The water is safe and there is big hospital in Nairobi 100km east of the park in case of an emergency. Feeding animals is not allowed since it might induce danger of boldness and foster aberrant behaviour which might be harmful for the visitors.

Regulatory: There are many rules and regulations mainly for conservation and visitor’s safety and faller to apply; there is a penalty in form of paying a certain amount of money. According to Matt J. Walpole (2003) In the Mara Triangle; not more than five vehicles is allowed around an animal because it disturb the harmony of animals. Secondly Human habitation is forbidden in the National Park only staffs are allowed. Thirdly driving off the road is not allowed. Also Visitors are only allowed on the roads from 06:00 to 19:00. Additionally people are urged to keep the environment clean putting trash at their accommodation not at site. Respect the culture of the local people and lastly no animal feeding by visitors because it dangerous.

Economic: the fee to reach the reserve and cultural resources is moderate since the Kenyan currency value is low, except for the accommodation and guided tours depending on if you sleeping in camp or luxurious hotel. The transit to the park as well as entering the park certain fee is obligated. Adult inhabitant costs 500 Kshs; children inhabitant costs 200 Kshs, adult non local – 30 US dollars and children non local – 10 US dollars.

Time: The reserve can be accessed from Nairobi airport, it’s about 270km that is six hours by car but it can shorter by helicopter. The more suitable time is in June and September when wildlife migration take place Moreover the high season is from January to March when it is warm and dry. In October & December are rainy seasons however it doesn’t hinder game viewing

To conclude the above constrains, it can be said that Mara reserve is facing a lot of challenges mainly regarding the ecology. But they have implemented rules to protect both the animals and the people although the rules are not 100% acted upon because the government left the reserve in the hands of private ownership. However there is evidence that the site has abundant nature and culture sites, unique species and rear landscape hence these fit in UNESCO criteria.

Waypoints: Gateways, Portals, Icons

ME –

Conclusion

Me –

With globalization of economy the world wide communication has increased tremendously along with the touring activities. These touring activities may be for recreation business or any other purpose. A travel agency is an agency that makes the necessary arrangements for travelers (Referenced from, Concise Oxford Dictionary 9th addition Page 1485). The travel agent is supposed to be an expert who can make the knowledge of various destination available to his clients regarding mode of travelling paper work like Passport, Visa and money exchange, Hotel Accommodations for stay like hostels etc, Car rental, connectivity’s and local tour etc. A new aspect of tour agency has developed recently i.e. Internet Traveling Agencies using the internet facilities.

In terms of the business a travel agency can be defined as a retail business selling products and services which are related with the travel activities. A travel agency works on behalf of the suppliers of such facilities like Airlines, Cruise Companies, Car Rental, and Hotels etc. According to the work a travel agency may specialize into holiday package, business tours, educational tours etc. A new dimension of traveling has emerged i.e. Medical tourism related with services provided to a patient.

HISTORY

Cox and kings is supposed to be the pioneer company in the field of modern touring. It started in 1758 as Recreation Company for the wealthy customers of a private bank. Thomas cook followed Cox and Kings with establishment of the chain of agencies in 19th centaury with a partner i.e. mid land railway. They sold their own product to the public as well as other tour packages from different tour companies. Other pioneers travel agencies include polytechnic tourism association, co- operative wholesale society and Dean & Dawson. All these travel agencies are of British origin. In America the pioneers in the field are Brownell Travel. With development of commercial aviation in 1920’s the travel agencies become more and more popular in the public further boom was there in the post-war period with development of mass- market packet holidays specially developed for the working class customers in British owned colonies.

OPERATONS AND FUNCTIONING

A travel agency is mainly an agent which sells products and services relative with the traveling on behalf of the suppliers. They do not have a ready stock in hand unless a customer request for the same. Most of the travel agencies thrive on commissions given to them by the suppliers In uae7% commission is paid by the airlines to the travel agencies. These agencies have direct links with hotel chains cruise lines and airlines for their activities.

RESOURCES AND REVENUE STRUCTURE A travel agency has got two means of revenue earnings i.e. commissions and professional fees.

Commissions: – These are the main source of income for most of the travel agencies. A travel agency is paid commission by the suppliers of the products and services like airlines etc. Usually the commissions are supposed to be given on a fixed ratio basis. However in case of an agency providing higher volume of business to the supplier it may demand a higher percentage for its services. It is called as override. To enhance their business a travel agency may prefer to pass on some part of this commission to its preferred customers in order to fetch more business. This is the reason that some time a ticket of an airlines is available at a higher price when purchase from a open market and at a lesser price with the agency. Travel agencies also help the airlines to fill their empty seats at the last minutes.

Professional fee: – A travel agency may charge professional fee from its client if it is not getting commission from the service provider. This may be a percentage premium of the total cost of tour or may be charged on a flat rate basis.

Other commercial activities: – These include travel insurance, providing travel guiding time tables, car rental and on site Bureau de change services provided by the travel agencies of large chains. A standard fee may be charge for the same.

Promotional Activities:- Travel agencies have to take help of print and electronic media for their promotions. This constitutes a major expenditure. This may include hoardings, advertisements and other professionals advertising Apart from this the other expenditure are usually administrative and liasoning activities. Liasoning activities are supposed to be vital to get business in bulk.

Sales:- There are four stages of sales sequences for a travel agency :-

Enquiring about needs of a customer.

Development of a personal rapport with the customer.

Good presentation of the products and services and their major suppliers.

Actual sales.

ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES A better customer satisfaction may be generated if a travel agency uses adequate technologies to provide instance services to its clients.

CUSTOMER PROTECTION: SURETY BONDS Like all other business travelling too has a risk of commercial failure so majority of the travel agents have the insurance policies against such calamities. These are called surety bounds and are well advertise by the travel agencies if they have this facility. This means that the clients are guaranteed either the refund of the money or an equivalent holiday according to their preference. These bounds are usually provided by IATA (International Air Transport Association), ATOL ( Air Travel Organizers’ Licensing), ABTA (Association of British Travel

Agents and ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents.)

HOLIDAY SUPER MARKET CONCEPT

A new concept known as Holiday Super Market Concept has developed in recent years after low cost no frill airlines started their international operations. This is a mass market package holiday in which the clients choose their holidays from brochures on racks.

TYPES OF TRAVEL AGENCY There may be many classifications of travel agencies as follows:-

According to their specialization.

According to geographical operations.

According to size.

According to specialization

Leisure Travel Agents: – These agencies operate like tourism ambassadors of foreign companies. or example – A company having its head quarter say in Japan might set up various offices around the world to promote tourism to that country. These travel agency will work to promote the business of their mother company in Japan acting as a general sale agent for that company.

Business Travel Agents:- with globalization of the economy a new phenomena of globalization of business has emerged requiring a frequent travelling of higher executives and policy makers of a company to different countries. Their needs may be different from those of holiday tourists. To cater this class of travelers a travel agency will have to specialize in this field so as to guide them to have better deals for their business. Abu Dhabi is a place of interest for both type of travelers due to its world class airport, improved infrastructure, and high connectivity as well as presence of large number of places of tourist interest.

Medical Tourism: – A new dimension called as Medical Tourism has been added to the tourist activities worldwide. This phenomena has emerged because of the fact that there is considerable differences exist between the cost of medical facilities in developed companies and those of so called developing countries. This is also called Medical Tourism, Health Tourism or Global Health Care. A travel agent specialized in medical tourism should have the working knowledge of specialized surgeries like Joint Replacement , Cardiac Surgeries , Psychiatry, Alternative medicines etc. and should be able to guide its client in this regards.

According to Geographical Operations: –

There are two types of travel agencies depending on their areas of geographical operations :-

Out Bound Travel Agency :- These are located in the country of the traveler. These are traditional multi- destination agencies.

In Bound Travel Agency:- These are located in the country of destination or more commonly at a place of certain major events like sports events these are usually independent and cater to a special market (Niche Market) they deliver and expertise on that location only.

Out bound travel agencies are usually much larger than the in bound agencies, the former being a chain of agencies in most of the cases while the letter are usually small individual travel agency Classification according to size In USA these are classified as under :-

Corporate Owned Chains.

National / International Franchises.

National Membership Associassion.

Independent agencies.

Corporate Owned Chains:- These are the large chains and usually owned by the international giants like Cox and Kings etc. They have got a consistent policy about their products and services, commissions, fees and their operations.

National / International Franchises:- They too have a consistent policy of their operation and their prices.

National Membership Association:- These are usually less commissions focused as they rely more on their member ship fee.

Independent agencies :- These usually do not have any brand affiliation their policies and operation may vary according to the needs and means of an individual client .

Other classes

Cargo Travel Agencies:- These travel agencies specialise in shipping cargo from one destination to other.

Freighter travel: This may be considered as special class of travelling. Some of the cargo companies may ferry passengers along with the cargo. The clients of such companies / agencies are usually the budget travelers like retired persons, students etc. Who have got plenty of time.

Internet Travel Agencies

With the development of internet the clients have started planning their own business tours with the help of this facility. These are also called as travel agency this allows the travel agents to let their clients to compare a wide verity of facilities like Hotels, Car Rental Airlines Tickets and need of Paper work according to their destination for example – you may not get entry into Arab Countries if you have got Stamp of Israel on your passport for VISA purpose. There is a palpable threat that the traditional travel agencies may be greatly affected because of the introduction of Internet in the business. However this threat is not real. The use of internet for travelling purpose provides you both facilities i.e. convince of self served booking through Internet and that of taking help of a professional person when you need it. Many travel agencies created their own websites with detailed information of their services like online booking. Examples of major online travel agencies are cheap tickets, Voyages – sncf.com, Hotwire.com, orbitz and travelocityand expedia etc. A system called as GDS or Global Distributed System is also used for computer reservation. It is a subsidiary of travel port which allows these agencies to book or sale airline tickets, hotel booking and car rentals and other services related with traveling. Travel agencies using GDS facilities include Galileo CRS, Sabre, worldspan etc.

While trying online booking with the help of internet travel agency one must keep the following aspects in mind:-

Different airline for entire tour

Different airlines for different parts of the tour

Connectivity and alternative modes of transportation

Hotel accommodation or alternative accommodation available at the destination point

Positioning Flights.

Management of dates of visit with different locations in case of multiple destination tours

Different Airports and their connectivity

Different routing.

Split Ticketing: Consideration of advantages and disadvantages of split ticketing with regard to the period of tour, possible stay time at a particular destination point so as to take maximum advantage of stay.

Loop-holes.: These are the unfair means of business i.e. the gross difference between the advertised facilities in a product and the ones actually provideds on the spot.

Paperwork and formalities A good online travel agency must be capable of advising its clients over all these issues.

A travelogue or travel literature is travel writing with literary value which typically records the experience of its author’s touring a place or geographical area. One must take the help of this type of literature while seeking the advice of a web based travel agency. Travel literature may be a cross cultural or transnational in nature. It may also cover a big geographical region within the same countries or different countries.

The Tourism Industry is diverse and includes many sectors including: accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, attractions, events and conferences, adventure tourism, travel trade, and tourism services.

The Tourism and hospitality industry integrates general management concepts with the professional knowledge that is required by the tourism and hospitality industry.

A typical travel agent acquires knowledge and skills in communication, research and analysis of the travel related problems with their solutions and organizations of tours.

Examples of typical travel agents are:-

Adventure Travel Guide.

Events planner.

Tour guide.

Camp counselor.

Naturalist

Cruise Director.

Travel Planner.

Recreation Director.

All of them are specialist of their field of travel related activity and help the travelers to organize their tours in a most fruitful manner.

Take Over Activities in Travel Business:-

Like all other business take over practice is common in this field. Such activities may be of two types:-

Vertical Integration.

Horizontal Integration.

Vertical Integration:- some travel agencies may have large business and may be able to take over the other travel agencies with low value of business. A vertical integration means taking over of a firm having a different but related business.

For example – A large chain of tour operator may take over an airline with the aim to be benefitted from the lower cost of allocation air travel services to its customers. Sometimes this activity may be very complex and many facts have to be considered before under taking such type of activity.

This means that in vertical integrated system of business one organization should be able to offer a travel package to the customers through its own resources with no help from outside. In this type of integration the business will be able to control its cost of operation in a more effective manner. However problems may arise if the business grows too large to be operated efficiently by the available number managers.

Many tour operators indulge in wrong business practice by branding different part of the whole business differently and giving each part a different name this is supposed to be un- ethical. It is the right of the customer to know whether a relationship persists between the tour operator and the travel agent.

Horizontal Integration:- This is a business activity when an agency of offering one travel product takes over another one which offers the same travel product or service this can be exemplified by taking over of GO by Easy Jet in 2002.

Ethics of Travel Agency:- Being a part of the hospitality industry a travel agency must follow the rules of hospitality ethics which may vary from one geographical area to another.

Contemporary Ethics:- In modern western world, hospitality is not related with protection and survival. It is associated with etiquette and entertainment. However, it still requires showing respect for guests, providing for their needs and treating them fairly. The hospitality to strangers, personnel friends and relatives may vary according to the culture and sub-culture.

South Central Asia:- In south central Asia the hospitality has a strong code of conduct specially in the people called as Pashtu’s. These people have an ancient set of ethics stressing on Milmastiya or Hospitality. The feeling of hospitality is so great in Pakhtunsitan is such that it is also nick named as ‘The Land of Hospitality’ .

Middle East:- In middle east, it is a cultural to take care of foreigners and strangers. These ethics are reflected in many Biblical commands.

Arab World :- In Arab World, there is set of stern obligations for both host and guest. It believes that a bond is formed just by eating salt under one roof. An Arab story tells about the extent of feeling in this regard. It tells us about a thief who tasted something to know if it was suger. He realized that it was salt and thus put back all that he had stolen and left the place.

Greco Roman Ethics:- According to the Greco-Roman philosophy hospitality is a divine thing the host is expected to make sure that the needs of his guest are fulfilled.

Indian Ethics:- The principle of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ or ” The Guest is God ” is the driving force of hospitality for this reason the Indian approach towards guest at home and in all social situations is that of graciousness.

Swot Analysis of Travel Agency of Business

Being a secondary business activity travel agency business is affected by many factors like boom and crisis in other business activities, war and disturbances, natural calamities etc.

Strengths:- The strength of a travel agency lies in its goodwill and a business profile giving distinct market advantage upon which one can capitalize the market plan following is a list of points of strength for a a travel agency:-

A thorough knowledge of history and geography of the area of operation.

Excellent relationship with product suppliers like airlines, hotels and car rental.

Membership with strong association.

Strong reputation in the market.

Well placed location.

Good contact with press and media.

Adequate financial resources.

Excellent customer list with high customer loyalty.

Availability of good destination specialist.

Low customer to employee ratio.

Customer attentive staff with excellent communication skill.

An unique with high end service offering.

Weakness:-

Being a secondary business activity travel agency business can be affected by many factors like calamities, war or economic slump.

Being a comparatively new business activity the exploration of opportunities is still not complete.

Finding good employees with necessary skills and customers centric attitude is a difficult and challenging task.

Offering new and exiting trips at a regular interval and maintaining high quality is also a task which is difficult to achieve.

Many times it is very difficult to find a proper location.

For a new business set up financial aspects are also very important as traveling is a business requiring large volume of money.

Opportunities:- A good working knowledge of international, national, regional and local trends is a must to fetch the fortune from the existing opportunities in travel agency business. One can find a number of opportunities with the help of ever changing social atmosphere of contemporary world. UAE is called the Land of opportunity .Following is a list of possible opportunities for a new travel agency.

It is a growing market that is yet to be adequately explored.

Growing numbers of professionals with boom in latest technology of computer science and internet.

Globalization of economy.

Better Connectivity Abu Dhabi International airport is a well connected transportation hub of the world.It served 9.02 million passengers in 2008 with a growth of 30.2% on 2007.The total number of passengers is expected to reach 50 million as the Abu Dhabi is expected to become a major Transportation hub in Middle East.

Improved public transport system :- Public transport system of Abu Dhabi consists of buses, taxis and airplane. There will be a huge expansion of public transportation with completion of 130 km of metro and 340 km of tramway and bus rapid transit(BRT) routes. This is expected to be completed within the government plan called as Surface Transport master Plan

DEMOGRAPHY: More than 75% population of Abu Dhabi consists of expatriates from different part of world like UK, India, Pakistan & Other countries of South East Asia pacific Asia, Africa and china. This demographical pattern provides an excellent opportunity for travel related business.

Business boom resulting into a positive trend of economy with increased spending capacity of general people.

Financial capabilities of the management to spread over head expenditure in a number of events.

Growing economy after last recession.

Affective use of print and electronic media for mass communication.

Emerging trend of group travelling and budget travelling involving more and more people in traveling activities.

Tax structure of UAE favors business personales

Threats:- Being a secondary business activity travel agency business is affected by many factors like boom and crisis in other business activities, war and disturbances, natural calamities etc.

The travel industry will be affected in a negative way by a slump in the economy.

The terrorist activities in a geographical area will badly affect the travel relative business in that area.

Entrance of other service provider in the area of operation

Low fair no frill cheap airlines are the threat to the travel agency business as they give facilities for the travelers to make their own arrangements for travel

Latest trend of home entertainment like TV watching, etc has a negative impact on travel agency business.

Marketing Plan of a Travel Agency To make a marketing plan for a travel agency the study of following factors is considered to be essential:-

Situation analysis.

Market needs.

Market trends.

Market growth.

Market summary.

Situation Analysis:- The analysis of the basic needs of the traveling market according to the situation is the primary need of a travel agency. It must be realized that the trends in the travel activities are ever changing and their analysis is always necessary to make program according to the situation.

Market Needs:- The market needs in traveling may vary according to the clients. The needs of a wealthy client may be entirely different from those of a budget traveler.

Selection: – The selection of services according to the need of the client is a basic and essential recruitment of travel agency business.

Accessibility:- The services and products of a travel agent must be accessible for its target client.

Customer attention:- Contemporary business ethics follow the principle of customer delight

FEE Structure: With emergence of low cost budget airlines commission of travel agency has been affected badly compelling them to impose fee. The service fee of a travel agency should be such that it should not be taken as a bitter pill by the client.

MARKET TREND IN TRAVEL AGENCY BUSINESS:-

Holiday making is the main reason of travelling worldwide. The second reason of travelling is business tours. For holiday making a traveler usually prefers an inbound tourism while a business tours may be both inbound and outbound according to the need of the business. Emerging medical tourism usually has an outbound dimension. With the growth of economy after last recession tourism is again gaining popularity as a leisure activity globally. Over 922 million international tourist was recorded in 2008 with a growth of 1.8% compared to 2007.However 2009and 2010 have felt a dip due to global slowdown and threat imposed by H1N1 influenza virus. A WTM report in November 2010 has announced a slow recovery of travel industry after the crisis. A report by Euro monitor International, a leading market trend analysis firm gives an insight into the upcoming trend of travelers in near future. There are seven regions of focus in travelling sector.

North America

UK

Europe

Middle East

Africa

Asia

Latin America

NORTH AMERICA: -The trend in North America is called as that of deprivation holidays The clients enroll themselves in boot camps with an aim to improve their health and balance. This trend has a positive impact on growth of spas and camps.

UK: – The trend of travelling in UK is that of Middle East Investment. Many companies from Middle East have shown their interests in Brands of UK including Luxury hotels, private jet operators and travel retailers(travel agency) with London emerging as a Hot spot for the luxury travelers .

EUROPE: – In Europe the business travelers have revolutionalised the tourism business with Smartphone’s based on GPS . It was their need to take help of mobile travel technology to make last minute change of their schedule which compel them to use mobile applications offering such services like flight booking ,travel guide, tourist information etc.

Middle East:- this region is seeing a post Iraq war boom with support by GCC countries . Gulf investors are coming in Iraq with an upward trend in business tourism and revival of travel industry

Africa:- South Africa is fast developing as world hub for world class space technology and astronomy. There is a growth potential for astrotourism attracting all classes of travelers from independent ones to families, amateur astronomers to professional ones creating more and more demand for accommodation to observe clear night sky.

Latin America:- Latin Americas is characterized by poor infrastructure for travelling and lack of tourism services resulting in a slump of travel agency business . Due to vast territory Latin America has countless opportunities for travel agencies for travelers interested in exploring the interiors of this geographically isolated area.

Asia:- Asian countries are characterized by emotional touch in hospitality business creating a special type of brand loyalty. Different hotel locations use different scent s as brands.

MARKET GROWTH;- An average 4% growth of tourism industry has been anticipated by World Tourist Organization(UNWTO) . e- commerce has made the tourism products one of the most traded business items on the internet. New products have also been added to the list of high-tech facilities like space tourism ,airship hotels ,space elevators and hydropolis(underwater hotels).All these have a direct and positive impact on travel agencies.

GROWTH OF TOURISM IN TOP 10 COUNTRIES (Period 2006-2009)

Rank

Country

Regional

Market

International

Tourism

Receipts

(2009)

Tourism

Receipts

(2008)

Tourism

Receipts

(2007)

Tourism

Receipts

(2006)

1

USA

North America

$93.9 bln

$110.0 bln

$97.1 bln

$85.8 bln

2

Spain

Europe

$53.2 bln

$61.6 bln

$57.6 bln

$51.1 bln

3

France

Europe

$49.4 bln

$55.6 bln

$54.3 bln

$46.3 bln

4

Italy

Europe

$40.2 bln

$45.7 bln

$42.7 bln

$38.1 bln

5

China

Asia

$39.7 bln

$40.8 bln

$37.2 bln

$33.9 bln

6

Germany

Europe

$34.7 bln

$40.0 bln

$36.0 bln

$32.8 bln

7

UK

Europe

$30.0 bln

$36.0 bln

$38.6 bln

$34.6 bln

8

Australia

Oceania

$25.6 bln

$24.8 bln

$22.3 bln

$17.8 bln

9

Turkey

Europe

$21.3 bln

$22.0 bln

$18.5 bln

$16.9 bln

10

Austria

Europe

$19.4 bln

$21.6 bln

$18.9 bln

$16.6 bln

Source: The world tourism organization report

**bln : Billion

TOP SPENDER COUNTRIES ON TOURISM
Rank
Country
Regional
Market
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2009)
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2008)
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2007)
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2006)

1

Germany

Europe

$81.2 bln

$91.0 bln

$83.1 bln

$73.9 bln

2

United States

North America

$73.2 bln

$79.7 bln

$76.4 bln

$72.1 bln

3

United Kingdom

Europe

$50.3 bln

$68.5 bln

$71.4 bln

$63.1 bln

4

China

Asia

$43.7 bln

$36.2 bln

$29.8 bln

$24.3 bln

5

France

Europe

$38.5 bln

$41.4 bln

$36.7 bln

$31.2 bln

6

Italy

Europe

$27.9 bln

$30.8 bln

$27.3 bln

$23.1 bln

7

Japan

Asia

$25.1 bln

$27.9 bln

$26.5 bln

$26.9 bln

8

Canada

North America

$24.2 bln

$27.2 bln

$24.7 bln

$20.6 bln

9

Russia

Europe

$20.8 bln

$23.8 bln

$21.2 bln

$18.1 bln

10

Netherlands

Europe

$20.7 bln

$21.7 bln

$19.1 bln

$17.0 bln

Organizations of travel agencies

For obvious reasons various organizations of travel agencies were formed by their members.

Following is a brief account of impotents associations and organizations of travel agencies:-

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA):- This is a legal organization establis

When in a hotel there are jobs for all levels where the front office manager job and responsibilities,assistant managers jobs and responsibilities, the front desk representatives job and responsibilities, the night auditor job and responsibilities, the cashiers jog and responsibilities. If all the job and responsibilities are done correctly the hotel will be successful in the hotel industry. However if a poor job is done the hotel will face failure and bankruptcy there for it is important for the staff to achieve there job and responsibilities to secure a successful business.

Front Office Manager

The front office manager is in charge of maintaining a high level of efficiency among all the front office staff, to make effective decisions regarding reservations policies and room assignments, and handle guest problems and complaints with courtesy and tact. The manager must also maintain an open communication between all other departments of the hotel. The front office manager must assign duties to all staff members of the front office. He is in charge of preparing weekly work schedules and shift assignments, scheduling regular staff meeting to make sure that staff understand what they have to do and all the hotel policies. The manager must also hire and train all new employers, consistently overview the performance of each the new staff members. The front office manager must also define the reservation policies and set quotas, aiming for maximum room occupancy. The manger must also monitor all arrivals, departures and cancellations. And setting policies for no-shows, early arrivals, and over booking.

Assistant Front Office Manager

The assistant front office manager is there to aid the department manager who is responsible for coordinating front desk personnel, monitoring all guests’ accounts and payments, and authorized checks and credit procedures.

Also the assistant manager may assist the front desk staff during high peak periods. Other duties of an assistant manager are to review reservation for the day and preparing daily room occupancy forecasts. For a manager an front office manager may have have a lot of work to do so as a front office assistant manager he is to help the manager with extra work that needs to be done. Along with helping desk staff if the are to many customers wanting lodgeing. There for needing patience.

Front Desk Representatives.

Front desk representatives are the main for who are always reminded to always show to the personality of the hotel to all the guests, to be a front desk representative you must strong communication skills along with the ability to work with people. Front desk representatives must use diplomacy, courtesy, and warmth in order to successfully make a guest feel welcome. They must also deal with client’s problems and complaints. Also to directly work with clients of the hotel. Working at the front desk they have an important role of assigning rooms and maintain maximum occupancy. The front desk is responsible for verifying reservation information, checking credit card identification and authorization, assigning rooms, and dispensing room keys. Other duties are to provide information about facilities and policies, handling special guest requests, such as photocopies, and gift purchases. A front desk representative must always be polite warm and understanding around customers. Giving there full attention to customers. A customer does not like to be keept waiting. And also must highlight their experience in the hotel.

The night auditor.

A night auditor has two jobs to do where first he must do all the jobs as a front office representative. Secondly he or she must prepare a machine balance report. Typically, a night auditors shifts run from 11 pm until 7 am. When the front desk responsibility slackens usually the night auditor starts to audit or trace the posting of the previous day’s transactions to verify their accuracy. The main point is the night auditor must calculate the total charges owed to the hotel and incurred by guests during the previous day. They must determine the daily balance. To be a night auditor one must be good with numbers along with having all the skills needed to be a front office representatives. A night auditor is one of the most tireing jobs in a hotel. Because work is based at night until early morning. As for most people wont want to work as a night auditor.

Cashiers

The cashiers are responsible for checking out departing clients, posting charges, verifying the guest check, and handling payments. Cashiers may also be required to assist other members of the front desk staff in the performance of their duties. And vice versa. Cashiers are responsible for verifying payments from customers who are about to check out. Also they must calculate the charges and presenting the guest check. They are considered members of the accounting department who answer to the accounting manager. And finally they have other duties, such as sorting mail, handlingguest’s communications, and coordinating room status and reports. A cashier is responsible for handeling all the income for a hotel so its necessary that a cashier is knowledgeable about accounting. And also if asked to help the front office staff with their dutys so there for must have good people skills to be able to communicate sucessufly with a customer.

Being a cashier one must always respecta customer along with getting all your taskes fulfilled.

Reservationist

The reservationist is responsible for handling advance room requests, determining availability, quoting rates, and documenting reservations. Reservation systems range from simple forms that are organized like desk calendars to computer-based systems. A reservationist must have good knowledge of the rooms, rates, and hotel policies. In addition, arithmetic and computer skills may be required. A reservationist is responsible for reciving all reservations and dealing with the accordanly. But mst make sure that all reservations are below 70% because that is the limit that a hotel and reserve for customers. Because if a hotel reserves 100% of the hotel and most the guests don’t come they will lose customers and income. A reservationist must know how to deal with a customer, say when when you can and know how to reject a customer if the hotel has already reserved 70% of rooms in the hotel.

Telephone Operator

A telephone operator is responsible for coordinating the use of the telephone system of a large hotel. An operator answers all incoming telephone calls and directs the callers to the appropriate guest room, department, or staff member. In addition, operators may be required to direct house calls placed from inside the hotel. Operators must have an up to date directory of the guest’s room assignments. This position requires oral communication skills, an efficient telephone technique, and attention to detail. A telephone is required to know how to transfer calls to all rooms in the hotel and know how to make house bound calls from within the hotel. A telephone operator must answer the phone with a smile talk with a gental tone to all guests. It is important that a telephone operatormust have full knowledge on how to do his job.

CONCLUSION

The Work of a hotels front desk staff is important they are responsible of first impressions and must always treat guests like royalty. To do so they must always meet their jobs critiera where a front office manager is responsible for looking out on staff giving a weekly work schedule, high level of efficiency infront of all staff, be able to make decisions, and must always have communications with all deparments of the hotel. A assistant front office manager is to help the manager with tasks needed. Coordanating front desks opperations the assistant front desk manager has the responsibility to train all new employees. The front desk representative are the one who serve guests, they must always be polite and carry a smile at all times. Being a front desk representative you need be to able to communicate with customers successfully. The night auditor is responsible of 2 jobs first he is a front dest representative then when customers stop coming normaly around 1 he must calculate all income from the day. cashiers are the ones who deal with the money that guest pay before check out. The also can assists the front office representative with their work. They are considered as members of the accounting department.working under the supervision of the accounting manager.

Reservationist are basicly the ones who deal with reservations from customers. Determining availability, quoting rates and documenting reservations. The telephone operator is in charge of handeling all calls, and directing the calls to guests rooms, staff members or department. The also may have to direct house calls placed from within the hotel.

QUESTION 2

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

INTRODUCTION

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

When working in a hotel as a front office representative you must have special skills to attract customers. From being able to have a good first impression, giving a smile to customers. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. being able handle stress properly. Having knowledge of phone lines, having knowledge of computers. Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers. Being polite, being courteous, having patience with all troubleing customers. Being helpful to all the customers. When having learned all these skills it will be easy to attract customers to the hotel. Being polite and warm to all customers. When all of these skills are used correctly for sure that all Customers will feel wanted and important by the hotel. Then wanting to come again on holiday. Resulting in a successful hotel. All this is needed for a front office staff.

When working in a hotel customers will want to feel like they are wanted by the hotel. Since customers are paying for their stay they will want the perfect service where all customers want to be able to stay their holiday in peace. To do so the staff must always show that they are wanted.

A good first impression,

A good first impression can go a long way. The way you dress, the way your hair is tied for girls, your hair style for guys, how u say hello to a customer. The way you present your self is important because a customer does not want to be served by someone who looks unpresentable. So dressing correctly and having a decent hairstyle is important to attact customers. Therefor staff members must always have a correct uniform on and is presentable to all customers. First impressions can also be seen from how you greet a customer. A simple hello and a smile would be enough. And must also remember regular customers by name. It makes them feel as if they are all wanted and remembered by the hotel. So making sure that all staff are dressed correctly and know how to greet a customer properly. Good interpersonal and communication with customers. Again all staff must be able to communicate with customers well. Making sure that the customers fully enjoy their stay. Being interpersonal and having good communication with all customers is important to have in a hotel to make it successful.

Being able handle stress properly.

Every staff member of a hotels front office must always remember that they must not show their personal problems inside the hotel. If in a bad mood or if angry when a customer comes they must not show their emotions towards them. As for a argument might escalate. However if one has a personal problem that is hard to control tell your supervisor to let u have a break or the day of. As for personal problems are part of life and cant be helped. But if a small matter they wont. And you will have to hide your emotions inorder to satisfy the customer. And if a troubleing customer comes that might be rude or disrespectful one must always ignore what he/she says just to please the customer. Hold your emotions. Until later when can release them freely. So having control over stress and emotons is important for front office staffs. To ensure that customers are treated correctly and avoid any problems.

Being polite and always showing warmth to all customers.

When working in a hotel as a front office staff it is important to always be polite to all customers, politeness is one of the main things to remember when serving a customer. Being rude will show that the hotel does not care about the customers. Even when the customer is wrong the staff must always respect the customer and remember that the customer is always right. When outside ad out of uniform you can say what you want. But when inside of the hotel or wearing the uniform you must respect all customers and always be polite to all the customers.

Showing warmth to customers is important being able to show the customer that they are wanted. Try void body contact a customers would not think well some some one they don’t know hugging them. A simple thank you or a smile would be enough to show a customer that they are wanted in the hotel.

Being courteous.

Courtsy is a form of politeness saying that you for your stay will show your customer that their business is appreciated in a hotel. Always remember that inside a hotel staff must always show courtsy to all customers even if a customer is rude or abnoixous but they are all customers of the hotel and for a hotel to be a success the hotel must have customers so being courteous is important for a hotel. Every hotel must remember to make sure that their front office staff are show courtsy to all customers.

Having patience with all troubleing customers.

Patience is important for every employee in a hotel. If its being patient with your boss or more importantly being patient around a troubling customer. A customer way be annoying, rude, disrespectful or just an overall pain. But it’s the job of a front desk employee to make sure that the customer enjoys their stay. Patience is the key for success as they say. Every employee must be able to handle a customer, have patience with troubling customers and know how to treat all customers correctly.

This having being said every front office manager must always remember to train all staff in ways to communicate with customers to successfully gain their business. Every employee shold be kind to all customers, talk in a soft tone to each and every customer

And always make sure that the customer is pleased when checking into room and checking out. Make sure that their stay is a plesent one.

CONCLUSION

Every employee must have a special set of skills to make sure that a customers stay is plesent. So a manager must always make sure that the acting supervisor is coorectly training staff to handle customers correctly. By making sure that the employees all know how to communicate with a customer correctly and efficiently.

Making sure that all employees are warm and kind hearted to all current and future customers, enable to sustain current customers and attract potential customers to the hotel. Making sure that customers have no complaints with employees attitude,

A good first impression goes along way where all employees know how to dress correctly and look presentable to all customers for the hotel. Being presentable means having the correct uniform and a decent hairstyle nothing to crazy.

Being able to handle stress is important to for all employees where they must not show their unhappy mood to customers. Customers don’t want to see your attitude.

Being courteous to all customers is something every employee must remember. A customer is the income for a hotel. And the reason you work there. So always show customer courtsy.

Being able to handle troubleing customers is important. Some time customers can be un-understanding, a employee need to be able to handel a troubling customer easily.

Bibliogaphy

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5538984_hotel-office-manager-job-description.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_Duties_and_responsibilities_of_front_office_manager_in_hotel

http://www.paycheck.in/main/work-and-pay/women-paycheck/job-outlook-2/front-office-staff-receptionist-in-hotels-1

http://www.wowjobs.co.za/job/Oops.aspx

The ecotourism industry, once a niche market for the environmentally concerned travellers is getting more popular in the recent years and the number of tourists participating in this particular tourism segment is increasing (Wood, 2001).

Ecotourism initially describe the nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with education as the main purpose. Through the years, the concept of ecotourism has matured to a definition that should comprise of a few elements including nature-based, active participation, progressive education travel, interpretation of natural environments, social and cultural components, involvement and returns for the local community and also the management to be ecologically and environmentally sustainable (Parks, Parks, & Allen, 2009).

In ecotourism, the activities can range from a few hours of nature appreciation to a long duration tour that will take months. This includes activities such as presentation of the marine biology on a cruise (cetacean-watching), a guided tour in a national park, snorkelling and many more.

The main objective of this essay is to further discuss whale-watching, a type of cetacean watching, around the world and if this activity is affecting the behaviours of the whales population near the coastal area.

Whale-watching

Whale-watching is a commercial activity that is carried out by the tourists to observe, swim with and/or listen to the whales in their natural habitat. These activities are normally for recreation purpose; however whale-watching can also serve scientific and educational purpose.

During the past years, a phenomenal growth for whale watching as tourism activity has been observed around the world. This particular activity has involved an estimated of 9 million participants yearly in 87 countries and generates approximately US$1 billion each year (Hoyt, 2000)

With the lucrative profit from obtainable from whale-watching activity, this have led to heated debates on the whale-watching and whaling industry. It has been argued that whaling is incompatible with whale-watching (Parsons & Draheim, A reason not to support whaling – a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009). In a survey conducted, it was found out that 91.4% of whale-watching tourists would not go to countries whereby they hunt whales for commercial purpose to engage in whale watching; and that 79% of them would even boycott visiting the country (Parsons and Rawles, 2003, cited in (Parsons & Draheim, A reason not to support whaling – a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)).

A few of the more popular sites for whale-watching includes: Kaikoura, New Zealand; Tofino and Telegraph Cove, in British Columbia, Canada; Ogata and Ogasawara, Japan; Friday Harbour, Washington, USA; Hervey Bay, Byron Bay, and Monkey Mia, Australia; Husavik, Iceland and many more. According to Hoyt (2000), the most common focal species for whale-watching industries are the humpback whales, gray whales, northern and southern right whales, blue whales, minke whales, sperm whales, short-finned pilot whales, orcas and bottlenose dolphin.

Despite the benefits obtained from whale-watching activity, operators should take caution while carrying out these activities as the recreational activities in the inshore water can pose a major threat to the whales and dolphins. The threats can due to direct cause such as injuries due to accidental cuts by the boataa‚¬a„?s propeller, or an indirect stress to them from the high frequency sounds made by the vesselaa‚¬a„?s motor.

In order to prevent such harms towards the animals, the operators should follow by the marine code of conduct in order to protect the animalaa‚¬a„?s welfare. There are different set of code of conduct that are used across the world but the common rules found in these code includes maintaining a certain distance from the animals, maintain a predictable course and speed when near the animals and also move away if signs of disturbance are displayed by the animals.

However, is it sufficient to just adhere to the code of conduct and should there be more actions to be undertaken by the government to aid in the sustainability of this tourism activity. Several studies have been carried out throughout several regions to discuss more on the issues of the whale-watching activities and whether this activity is sustainable.

Literature Reviews
Whaling and Whale-Watching

Debates have been going on worldwide on the issue on whether whaling can co-exist with whale-watching in a region. It has been stated that there is an urgent need to evaluate the cultural and the environmental values of the tourists and find out what are the factors that attracts or discourages them from participating in whale-watching activity (Higham, 2007 and Lusseau, 2008, cited in (Parsons & Draheim, A reason not to support whaling – a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). However, there are rebuttal on such claims, indicating that the fact whereby countries such as Iceland, Japan and Norway all engage in active whaling and yet have whale-watching activities within their countries and thus it is not valid to argue that whaling and whale-watching are incompatible (Corkeron, 2006, cited in (Parsons & Draheim, A reason not to support whaling – a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)).

According to Parson and Draheim (2009), the tourists whom participated in cetacean tourism tend to hold strong environmental values and thus may have very strong sentiments against whaling. Also, tourism receipts is the major source of economic income for the Dominican Republic, any activity that may affects the stability of this income could have major impacts within the country. The study also shows that with a highly visible national policy towards cetacean conservation, and opposition to the hunting and capture of cetaceans, it would be beneficial in attracting tourists to the country, whereas a visible pro-whaling policy might repel the tourists (Parsons & Draheim, A reason not to support whaling – a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009).

Higham and Lusseau, (2008) also state that the answer to whether whaling and whale-watching activity can coexist depends largely in the perceptions, values and behaviours of the tourists themselves.

Effects of whale-watching on the animals

Despite the lucrative profits that can be obtained from whale-watching activity, the well-being of the animals involved in the activity, which mainly includes the cetaceans should be emphasised, which thus leads to increasing number of studies focusing on whether the whale-watching activity will cause disturbance to the animals.

Disturbance in this case is defined as the negative influence that interferes with the natural behaviour of cetaceans and has a harmful outcome (Ritter, 2003, cited in (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, & Briggs, 2009)).

One of such studies was carried out in the whale-watching site at New South Wales (NSW). The main focus of whale-watching in NSW is the humpback whales, although there are also tours to watch other marine mammals such as dolphins and seals. Most of the watching will occur during the whaleaa‚¬a„?s southern migration when the whales move much slower than on their passage northwards. Signs of disturbance in the humpback whales around the world include orientation away from the vessel, increased in swimming speeds, prolonged submergence and changes in the respiration behaviour and such avoidance behaviour are observed in this study (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, & Briggs, 2009).

As this study is a short term study, it cannot be used to conclude that such avoidance behaviours will cause any detrimental outcome for the whales involved. However, the possibilities of inducing negative long-term effects onto the whales due to the reduction of the time spent foraging; resting, socializing or suckling should not be ignored. Conservative approach on the management of the humpback whale-watching industry should be adopted to ensure that the short term impacts that was discovered in this study does not translate to the long term impacts (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, & Briggs, 2009).

Another study has been done on the killer whales to find out the behavioural responses of this species towards the whale-watching boats. It was stated that with the exposure of millions of the tourists to the animals in their natural environment, this may change the attitudes towards the protection of the critical habitat and threatened populations. Guidelines for whale-watching should be based on the actual impacts of the human activity on the whale behaviour instead of the perceived effects. Once again, it have being emphasised that when a whale is been disturbed, it shows sign of avoidance either by varying the duration of its dives, or by swimming faster or altering the direction of swimming. Antagonistic behaviours such as slapping flukes or fins on the surface of the water may also be displayed. Since the changes in behaviours of the whales are observed when boats are near, management of whale-watching should adopt more conservative distance guidelines to present even greater benefit to the animals (Williams, Trites, & Bain, 2002).

Sustainability of whale-watching

As mentioned above, whale-watching industry has enjoyed a phenomenal growth and brings in lucrative profit for the community that carries out this activity. With that, there are more participants in this industry and hence leading to an increasing number of regulations and guidelines that were developed in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of the industry. The need to develop appropriate guidelines for the commercial whale-watching activities should be attend to. Also, with the limited data available on the species and their behaviours there will be an urgent need to develop new knowledge and understanding to help guide management of the industry (Valentine, Birtles, Curnock, Arnold, & Dunstan, 2004).

The sustainability of the whale-watching activity and its associated benefits could be significantly affected by the changes in the occurrence of the local cetacean species in response to the global climate change. Global climate change refers to the net change in climate over time which is a consequence of either natural variability or human activity. It has been identified that both direct and indirect means by which changing of the sea surface temperature could affect the cetacean distribution. With that, it can cause the change in range of species distribution, the occurrence and abundance of individuals and the timing and lengths of migrations; the effects on reproductive success and mortality levels. The above have clearly shown the potential implications for both cetacean species and whale-watching tourism (Lambert, Hunter, Pierce, & MacLeod, 2010).

Findings

Studies on the operations of the whale-watching activities in two different regions, New Zealand and Iceland have been done.

Whale-watching in New Zealand

At Kaikoura, New Zealand, the male sperm whales are the primary focus for the commercially important whale-watching industry. With the growing industry, there is an increase in the concerns over the social, educational and environmental impacts of whale-watching on both the local human and whale populations.

The cetacean relies on echolocation for foraging and communication, hence these species becomes exceptionally vulnerable to changes in their acoustic environment. For example, the addition of anthropogenic sound sources via the boats presence (research boat and whale-watching boats) results in a reduction of the mean blow interval of the whales. These tendencies to shorten breath are due to the stress respond by the animals (Richter, Dawson, & Slooten, 2006).

On top of the decreased respiratory periods, shorter surfacing intervals and sharp directional changes have also been identified as potentially unacceptable changes in behaviour. The above are evidences that are enough to suggest that the whale-watching industry in Kaikoura is having an adverse effect on the whales (Curtin, 2003).

Whale-watching in Iceland

In Iceland the whale-watching industry did not begin until 1990 and the country is becoming a major player rapidly within the international whale-watching market (Parsons & Rawles, 2010). As the coastal water of Iceland host a variety of cetacean species which includes the humpback whales, minke whales, blue whales and killer whales that are the target of whale-watching operations. Although the whaling activity in the Icelandic waters had ceased in 1989, but then whaling resumes during 2003 despite there is no legal process for that.

The Icelandic government did little consideration on how the resume of the commercial whaling might impact on the whale-watching industry. And through the studies, it was discovered that the resumption of commercial whaling could cause a massive and critical reduction in the number of whale-watching tourist going on whale-watching trips in Iceland which in turn results in a loss of direct income (Parsons & Rawles, 2010).

Since whale-watching is currently the pillar of the Icelandic economy, thus care must be taken so that the Icelandic government does not destroy it.

Analysis

Through the reviews of the studies that have been done on the whale-watching activity in various regions, particularly New Zealand and Iceland, it can be concluded that the whale-watching industry is a growing industry that is bound to bring in high revenue for the community that is conducting such activities. However, the whale-watching activity that is being carried out can cause disturbance to the cetaceans in the regions which leads to the change in behaviours of these animals. These changes in behaviours can cause adverse effect on the animals. On top of that, the whale-watching activity might cause direct injuries to these animals through the cuts by the propeller of the boats.

Another issue is that commercial whaling should not coexist with the whale-watching activity. As it has been found out that most of the whale-watchers are very environmentally motivated and they display great interest in the animal welfare issues (Parsons & Rawles, 2010). Since majority of the whale-watchers have voiced out that they would boycott visiting a country that conducts hunts for cetaceans, places with whale-watching activity should consider with care regarding the implementation of whaling activity in the region since whale-watching can bring in high revenue for the destination and that introduction of whaling might bring down the benefit of whale-watching.

Recommendation

Voluntary approaches are being considered as an important tool for the conservation and environmental management. The voluntary approaches towards conservation can include agreements between regulatory agencies and private enterprise, agreements among the industrial firms, or code of conduct within a professional or industrial group (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, & Carlson, 2008). Voluntary agreement to the operational procedures can be established for commercial whale-watching vessels that are used to view the endangered or protected species of whales. Guidelines can be created to avoid whale strikes and to prevent the whale-watching boats from disrupting the animals. This is important as in some of the areas, commercial whale-watching boats have a relatively high frequency of collisions with the whales, contributing high noise levels around the whales, disrupting whale behaviour and reducing the reproductive fitness of the whale (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, & Carlson, 2008).

Besides the use of voluntary approach, collaborative relationships can be established between the whale-watching companies and the related organizations and individuals that make up the organizational field. These collaborations can play an important role in structuring the relationships and understandings of members of the field (Lawrence, Phillips, & Hardy, 1999). By collaboration, it refers to a cooperative, inter-organisational relationship that is negotiated in an ongoing communicative method.

Science education

Conclusion

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to assess the development of visitor attractions as a development product. It will begin by defining tourism. The classification, typologies and also the importance of visitors in the tourism industry will be discussed. It will finally conclude by highlighting how these tourist attractions could be managed to give tourism providers a competitive edge.

The core product for tourism and the main factors influencing the tourist’s decision to travel are attractions, (Swarbrooke 2002). To put it more simply, tourism cannot exist without attraction. There are many definitions for the term visitor attractions; the British tourist authority quoted in (Swarbrooke, 2002:3) defines it as

“the attraction must be a permanently established destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest and education rather than been primarily a retail outlet, or a venue for sports, film, or theatrical performances. It must be open to the public prior booking and should be capable of attracting day visitors or tourists”.

Fyall et al (2003) also quotes the definition given by (ETC, 2000b:24) as “a permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest or education; rather than being principally a retail outlet or venue for sporting, theatrical or film performances”.

Attraction may be classified into man-made or natural attractions and can be temporary or permanent. Examples of man-made attractions are Chatsworth, Warwick castle, Alton towers, Madam Tussauds, and others. Such attractions are purposely built and attract visitors who love image, for example who love appealing images like something that can be touched. On the other hand, it attracts groups of people for example, school children, families and also for special events. The natural attractions on the other hand are “not originally designed primary to attract visitors” (Leask and Yeoman, 1999:4) for example, The Peak District National Park and Grand Canyon.

According to cooper et al (2008: 321)”when contemplating attraction development the ideal process from a demand standpoint is one of market-imagescape-location”. He adds that the process mentioned above is often not implemented but usually applied to ‘footloose’ attractions that have flexibility across all three aspects, the imagescape, the location and the market to generate economic success. Therefore, a more common process is one of location, image-scope and market.

However it is interesting to note that the visitor is the life blood of tourism and therefore needs to be placed at the centre of the development process (Lane: 2007). The visitor must have the feeling that their expectations have been met from the time they think about where to go right through to when they return home. The site of the attraction is analyzed as to whether it is appropriate. The environmental and the social impacts of the attraction are critically looked at. If both impacts are found to be adverse and inimical then how best can they be mitigated so that the ultimate benefits would not be undermined?

In addition the cost and benefit analysis are carried out to look at the attraction’s benefit from the financial perspective and thus deserves to be executed. However this depends on the motive of the attraction; some attractions may be created primarily for social reasons while some may also be create out fundamentally for economic profit. For instance an attraction may be set up to prevent the extinction of the culture of an endangered tribe; such an attraction is of a social nature. Another area of concern is the target group to which the attraction is to be used by. Will it address the needs of the target population and if so how will it be done. When the feasibility indicates that the proposed attraction is viable then the next action is implementation.

Some Tourism products can be described as intangible because they cannot be seen but experienced. For instance a short break can be experienced but not seen. Bennet et al (2004) cited in (lane:2007) also argues that the customer will pursue a service encounter that went wrong for as long as they can even though only small amounts of money is involved. Some products are tangible: you can see and touch them. Therefore the developers of tourist product must understand that their customers are driven by emotions in their decision to purchase a tourism product.

Tourism product development usually involves co-ordinating effort behind viable, sustainable projects that will help to develop as a successfultourism destination. It includes:

Developing tourism related products focusing on quality, sustainability and industry involvement to gain maximum economic benefit
Ensuring a product matches and exceeds customer expectations
Enhancing public product through provision of signage and interpretation
Promoting local distinctiveness
Creating new niche areas to entice and target new visitors to the region
Looking at existing products in the region and improving their current offer to ensure visitors have a wonderful experience andmake repeat visits
Improving the quality of the existing tourism accommodation product – to ensure visitors have a wide choice of quality accommodation in the region to choose from
The way in which marketing, investment (including capital) and business development are aligned around product priorities to have a greater impact
A coordinated response to evidence from research. (tourismnorthwest,2010)

The ability of an attraction to be able to attract people to it depends on several factors. An attraction must be supported by the local people in other words the people whose neighbourhood has the attraction must see the attraction as their own. It must be in the form of a “we feeling”. In order to achieve this at the earliest stage of the design of the attraction, the local people must be actively involved. When this is done a fertile ground has been founded for the onward march towards success of the attraction. Therefore community ownership is critical for the success of the attraction.

The location of the attraction is also paramount in the determination of the success of the attraction. The location has to be easily accessible in terms of transportation. The best means of transport may be by road, rail, air, water or a combination of these. If the transportation to and from the attraction is easy to everyone who wants to enjoy the attraction then it can achieve success.

Information and communication in this technological age is inseparable in the success of many enterprises including attraction. People need to get in touch with relatives and loved ones anywhere on the planet. Business must not be terminated by visiting an attraction. It is therefore fundamental that an attraction has facilities to ensure that visitors to an attraction can still communicate to the world beyond the attraction. However it does not necessarily mean that the facility must be within the confines of the attraction but may be within a reasonable distance from the attraction since sometimes the nature of the facility might not permit that.

Government legislation can also enhance the success of an attraction. Tourism policy is difficult to implement without a supportive and appropriate legal framework (Dieke, 2000). In addition, indicated that the importance of legislation on areas like land use planning, immigration, employment of foreign nationals. When tourism is backed by political will then it can be helped to improve from its current state to an improved one. It may also create a framework that would make investing in attractions very lucrative. This will in turn create a positive image of the government at the international level that is if the attraction is able to attract international visitors. Government’s taxation policies should be favourable to the attraction so as to make the attraction cheap to visit.

Security of visitors to an attraction is vital. No matter how presentable an attraction may be without guaranteed safety and security then the attraction would be “lifeless” since its purpose of establishment would be defeated. The state must therefore ensure that the atmosphere is generally peaceful enough to entice visitors to attractions.

Provision of infrastructure generally helps attractions to attract visitors. The State must provide adequate and right infrastructure like road, power and so on. The provision of these makes the attraction less expensive to the visitor since the cost of the attraction would be charged less the cost of the services provided by the state.

Operators of attractions must create an atmosphere of effective and cordial relationship with visitors to register their acceptance among visitors far and near. When the relationship is professional but friendly it is like to penetrate through any form of competition and would eventually emerge as the best. The marketers say the customer is always right, this implies the importance of the customer and the need to create an atmosphere that guarantees the best possible approach towards eliciting the confidence and acceptance of an attraction by a visitor. When attractions attract people there is the tendency for the culture of such people to be enjoyed by tourists

The success of a visitor attraction has to be supported by the state, the business sector and the individual. The blend of the efforts of these entities would ensure that attractions are success in their existence. The following suggestions are therefore provided to serve as a guideline to tourism providers in the development of tourist attractions. It would bring improvement in the life of the local community as well as the development of basic infrastructure to meet the expectation of visitors. A properly developed attraction has the tendency to attract visitors. The development of an attraction would enhance the development of the local economy.

“The UK visitor economy contributed about ?52 billion representing 3.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product while creating 1.36 million jobs in 2007?(Hausmann et al, 2009). In Kenya, as of 1992, tourism accounted for 62% of foreign exchange earnings. Managing attractions has the propensity to attract a substantial amount of income for a country

Assess the potential: by finding creative ways to stimulate the visitors’ interest and provide them with a memorable experience. Provide interactive experiences that engage as many of the visitors’ five senses as possible. Bear in mind the guidelines for safety, health and environment. Jutte (2003) gives the example of the sense and touch gardens in France that gives people another experience of botany by tasting, smelling or touching fruits and flowers
Seek advice: from relevant authorities. Cultural heritage tourism brings together many different perspectives such as preservation, the arts, museums, Main Street, humanities, elected officials, public land managers and more. By working together, more can be accomplished than by working alone. It is important to involve the community in shaping tourism efforts. An example is given by Scheyvens (2002) as South Africa’s strategic development initiative which gives priority to investors whose bids include places of encouraging local development.
Examine the inputs: in terms of delivery, authenticity, proximity to resorts, road accessibility, ability to market and economic return. Set measurable goals in order to assess the viability of the project.
Preserve and protect resources: Be sure that the historical, cultural and natural resourcesthat make up the cultural heritage tourism program are adequately protected for future generations to enjoy since these resources are irreplaceable.

This essay has looked at the development of tourist attractions as a tourist product. It has identified that visitor attractions have a lot to offer all kind of peoples. However a lot needs to be done to professionalise the structuring of service enterprises and the management of the service encounter in terms of designing tourism products and service delivery systems. As a result some suggestions have been made to serve as a guideline to tourism providers in their decision to develop the tourist’s attraction product. This in the long run will ensure the sustainability and the profitability of tourist products to tourism providers and the industry as a whole. Attraction should not be only seen in the face of their commercial value but also their social aspect as the fusion of both features would help sustain the attraction into the foreseeable future. Attractions are contributing a lot to the development of many countries of the world.

Reference list
Cooper, C, Fletcher, J, Fyall, A, Gilbert, D and Wanhill, S. (2008) Tourism principles and practice (4th ed) (p, 321) Harlow, prince hall.
Dieke, U, C, P. (2000) Political economy of tourism development in Africa (5th ed) (p, 52) cognizant communication
Fyall, A., Garrod, B. and Leask A. (2003) Managing visitor attractions new directions (1st ed) (pp, 7, 17) Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Jutte, R. (2005) a history of the sense: from antiquity to cyberspace. (1st ed) (P, 53) polity press.
Lane, M. (2007) the visitor journey: the new road to success, international journal of contemporary hospitality management volume 19, issue 3, pp 248-254
Leask, A and Yeoman, I. (1999) Heritage visitor attractions an operations management perspective (1st ed) (pp, 4, 12)
Scheyvens, R. (2002) Tourism for development: employing communities. (1st ed) (P, 174) Pearson Education.
Swarbrooke, J. (2002) the development and management of visitor attraction (2nd ed) (P, 3) Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hausmann, R., Austin, L and Mia. , I. (2009) Capturing the visitor economy: A framework for success.

In: Deloitte (ed)The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009, World Economic Forum. (pp.65-76)

Tourism product and development. [Internet]. Available from:

[Last access: 15th February 2010].

Tourism product. [Internet].available from:

[Last access on 15th February 2010].

U.S. hotel chain Marriott International is one of the largest transnational corporations in the world. According to the corporation’s data, every fourth tourist in America stays in Marriott International hotels.

Rapidly spreading its influence in the world, Marriott sets the goal to win and retain the leading position in the hotel market, showing a special concern with respect to the guests, business partners, employees and society as a whole. The business of Marriott Corporation is built on fundamental ideals of service provided to customers, employees and society. These ideals are perpetual, unique and make the company a successful manager, being the cornerstone for all employees of the company.

In this section, the main study focus is on the data of exploratory research conducted with the purpose of identifying current practices of Marriott International under the conditions of globalization and the impact of globalization on Marriott’s sales, marketing, HR, and brand positioning approaches, while outlining the main advantages Marriott international within this context.

History of Marriott International, Inc.

The history of this hotel corporation is a vivid example of the embodiment of the American dream traditional for several generations of U.S. citizens. Thousands of now flourishing companies started their long journey to success just like Marriott.

In May 1927, a 26-year-old man from Utah, John Marriott and his wife opened the eatery for nine seats in Washington. John’s lucky fortune and business skills helped him to survive the collapse of the U.S. economy during the Great Depression – in the late thirties he was already the owner of a regional restaurant chain The Shoppe Inc. and the eponymous company specialized in the delivery of hot meals for passengers of local airlines. John Marriott acquired his first hotel in 1957. It was called the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel, and was located in Arlington (Virginia). John wanted to create a family business and eventually handed over the management of the company to his son. Marriott Jr. conducted business as thoroughly as his father did (Marriott and Brown, 1997).

In 1964 the company was renamed as Marriott Corporation. The Corporation expressed interest in everything that was associated with restaurant and hotel business, and when in 1977 the sales revenues of enterprises in which Marriott had a franchise crossed one billion dollars, John Marriott Jr. realized that the property management brings no less benefits than its owning. The Corporation developed its own concept of hotel network with a limited set of services by the end of the 80’s and actively operated in three sectors of the hotel market in the U.S.: managing the network of hotels with full service (Marriott suites), inexpensive hotels (Residence Inn) and a network of cheap motels (Fairfield Inn) (Marriott and Brown, 1997; O’Brien, 1995).

In the early 90’s, Marriott Corp. had only a few dozen hotels outside the U.S.A. Based on the principles of diversification, kept by the most of the major companies in the world (in other words: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”), in 1993 the corporation was split into two companies: Marriott International (hotel and real estate management) and Host Marriott (real estate transactions and food delivery). That moment laid the beginning of the active promotion of Marriott International in the international market as the management company (Marriott and Brown, 1997).

At the moment, Marriott International Corporation has more than 3500 lodging properties located in the U.S. and in 69 other countries around the world (2010), employing 137,000 people (Marriott International Company Profile, 2010).

Table 2.1. Marriott International Hotel Brands and Property Count

(December 2009- December- 2010)

Marriott-12-31-10-Hotel-Count-global

Globalization Strategies and Practices

Marriott controls more than half a million hotel rooms worldwide, while owning only 0,3% of them. Half of the remaining rooms is a franchise. This means that hotel owners allocate 5% to 6% of their incomes to Marriott as a fee for using the company’s name as well as for using rooms’ reservation system. Marriott manages the other half of hotel rooms by charging the owners of the hotel fee for providing this service (Boo, Hillard and Jin, 2010).

Acting as an operator, Marriott takes about 65% of income, paying out from this sum the expenses for salaries, utilities, insurance, and purchase of food. 29% of revenue goes to the owner of the hotel. Of this amount, he pays property taxes and mortgage rates, and the rest (if any) he counts to his earnings. Even though some people may be disgruntled and demonize Marriott, the company still has much to be proud of: 55% Marriott hotel owners would like their next hotel to be run by this company (Jang and Tang, 2009). Brand and the Marriott reservation system are worth it.

Regional offices Marriot Inc. include (Table 2.2.; Table 2.3.):

North America (NALO)

Asia, Pacific, Australia (APA)

The Caribbean, Latin America (CABL)

United Kingdom, Ireland, Middle East, Africa (UKIMEA)

Continental Europe (CE)

Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

Western and Southern Europe (France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.)

Eastern Europe (Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Kazakhstan).

Marriott International manages and provides franchise of hotels under the brands of Renaissance, Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Ramada International; the company develops and operates resorts in the vacation ownership under the brands of Marriott Vacation Club International, The Ritz-Carlton Club, Horizons and Marriott Grand Residence Club; it offers apartments in Marriott Executive Apartments, provides furnished corporate suites Marriott ExecuStay and operates conference centers (Table 2.4.).

Smith Travel Research data state that raising a Marriott flag in the front of a big hotel offering a full range of hotel services increases its sales by 13% if compared to sales of a hotel with the flag of, for example, Doubletree. Virtually all other Marriott divisions from luxury Ritz-Carlton to a commonly accessible Residence Inn – are ahead of their competitors in the indicator of hotel room income by 10% to 30% (“A problem shared”, 2005).

Product & Brand Position

The components of Marriott’s corporate style are a company logo, colors, fonts, letterhead, website, brand perfumes and accessories. Marriott logo is a rectangle with an image of a sphere the inscription “Marriott” itself”, designed in two basic colors: white and cherry, and golden. A well-established and recognizable corporate style is the key to Marriott brand promotion in the global market.

For example, when developing a program to promote a network of hotels in Moscow, Marriott used the corporate logo and brand image, which is the image of the famous Faberge Easter eggs, which embodies prestige, luxury, and very high consumer value, comparable only with the works of the most expensive and fashionable jeweler. For example, Marriott Tverskaya has as its symbol a stylized gold Faberge egg, Marriott Grand 5 *- the blue one, and Marriott Royal 5 * luxury – the scarlet one. Such approach to corporate style creation can be described as very competent and thoughtful. Relying on the widely popular historical and cultural brands and using country’s national colors, the company certainly enhances the image component of hotel marketing, combining high international standards of service with the national peculiarities of a country and its hospitality traditions (O’Neill and Mattila, 2004).

Moreover, in each room of Marriott hotel chain there are branded forms for letters and branded pens with the hotel name. The rooms use brand linens, and brand aromatic policy of Marriott hotels.

Recently, with the development of Internet and e-mail correspondence, the issue of corporate style of electronic documents has become very topical. Web site today is the first thing that a potential guest sees, and it can help to quickly create an impression about the level of the hotel, the service, room rates, to estimate the location and walk through rooms, restaurants, lounge, as well as to book a room (O’Connor, 2008).

Marriott Corporation owns over 3500 hotels, and for conveniency there is a single site from which one can get to the site of any hotel of the network in the world. Moreover, the web-sites of the hotels are designed in the same style and structure. Color differences depend on the brand. The common brand Marriott Hotels, Resorts & Suites unites many brands, each with its own color scheme: for example, Courtyard by Marriott has a green color palette. Site structure is common for all hotels (photo tour, guest rooms in details, hotel proposals, hotel background information, restaurants and halls, city guide, maps and transport, events plan, Marriott Rewards program, hotel’s fact-sheet in print format). The web-site is the embodiment of Marriott corporate style and world-class service.

Currently, Marriott is included in top 10 international hotel chains and actively moves to the top through expanding its franchise contracts and promoting high level of service and corporate style.

Sales & Marketing

The major instrument of the company is the fact that a very small percentage of real estate the company manages factually belongs to it. In 1993, Marriott transferred all of its buildings and most of the debt on the balance of the investment real estate subsidiary Host Marriott, headed by the younger brother of Bill Marriott, while Hilton and Starwood, in contrast, own 30% of hotels under their control. Since Marriott receives a fee for hotel management, vacant hotel rooms bring fewer losses to it than to the owners, who have to clear the mortgage (“A problem shared”, 2005).

Another component of the success of Marriott is the attention to details. For instance, the rules for cleaning a hotel room set in Marriott include 66 points. The company also shares the aroma marketing approach. Generally, Marriott with great zeal is looking for new clients and opportunities to open new hotels. Taking into account different groups of clients and their material resources, the network is developing a variety of brands, increasing the amount of service (Table 2.4.):

Marriott Hotels and Resorts – hotels with full service, managed through a franchise or independently.

Renaissance Hotels and Resorts – hotels offering full-service accommodation facilities for business travelers, vacationers.

Marriott Conference Centers – full service hotels for conferences and meetings.

Courtyard by Marriott – division responsible for a hotel chain with relatively low prices.

Fairfield Inn by Marriott – division responsible for economy class hotel chain.

SpringHill Suites – division responsible for the chain of secondary and higher-class hotels targeted at business and leisure travelers, especially women and children.

Residence Inn by Marriott – leader in the segment of the long stay hotels.

TownePlace Suites – division responsible for long stay hotel chain with relatively low prices.

Marriott ExecuStay – business unit that provides accommodation facilities for 1 month or more.

Marriott Executive Apartments – division that provides accommodation for business visitors for a period of more than 30 days.

Marriott Vacation Club International – division applying timeshare system; a guest can purchase a week off at the hotel of this class. The system includes 38 exclusive resorts.

Ritz-Carlton – leading hotel brand in the segment of luxury hotels.

The innovative approach that accelerated the development of Marriott, Inc., was also the bonus program for customers, launched in 1983, which now serves as the element of Marriott’s corporate style. Thanks to Marriott Rewards, Marriott Corporation has an opportunity to acquire more permanent guests of the Marriott chain. Marriott Rewards program encourages customers for giving preference to Marriott International and its partners, rewarding them for the choice of hotels of the network (Dube and Renaghan, 1999). The participant of Marriott Rewards receives certain points or miles that can be used as payment for accommodation (special certificates) in the hotels of the network or as a discount for buying airline tickets (applied to miles). Points can be used for free accommodation, purchasing discounted “packet” services around the world, including domestic air transport services, car rental, cruises, etc. Such programs later started to be introduced by other network hospitality companies, but the scheme, devised by Marriott, remains the best one: maximum discount combined the highest luxury.

Human Resources

Every corporate culture is an element of corporate style. Marriott’s corporate culture was founded in 1927 and is being kept till this day: “The better the company will treat its employees, the better employees will treat customers.”

Big corporations like Marriott, offer a high service level in many countries around the world. To make all the employees regardless of their nationality and educational level meet the high standards of the corporation, they should be trained in order to improve their skills. The key to training efficiency in Marriott is its perception as a corporate value which is consistent with the main strategy of the company. A continuous training helps to guarantee high quality service, comply with the company’s strict standards, motivate and retain employees, creating staff reserve. Continuous training is also the only way to keep abreast with the changes occurring today and be prepared to their growing pace (Hinkin and Tracey, 2010; Katzenbach, 2000).

Every year, Marriott celebrates the anniversary of its foundation (May 20) selecting a certain week for it to express the company’s gratitude to the employees who are the members of a huge international family Marriott. Advertising and promotion program “Marriott Rewards” is also a very important part of every employee in the Marriott Corporation.

Considering the case of hotel chain Marriott International, it should be noted that in a business famous for its high rates of revenues, Marriott is outstandingly competent at preserving talented managers, which is reflected in low satisfaction gap (Figure 2.2.) (Hinkin and Tracey, 2010). One of the ways to do that is a specific program that trains managers to solve business situations preparing and encouraging them to seek for promotions to top management positions.

Advantages of Marriott, Inc over Competition in terms of Globalization

Marriott International Hotels have the loading of 10% above the average in the global hospitality industry, while hotel rooms are sold at higher rates than those of direct competitors (Table 2.5).

The advantage in the loading percentage and selling prices is achieved by providing individual and group customers more services than they can get anywhere else. Booking of hotel rooms in the company’s hotels is conducted through its own global distribution system (GDS) or via the Internet. Moreover, the system uses the technology of “guest recognition” of hotels of all brands of the company, and rewards programs for repeat customers. In 1999, the company expended its use of the so-called “quality assurance teams”, assisting companies to implement advanced network management practices and reduce costs (Dube and Renaghan, 1999).

On a whole, Figure 2.3 shows the positive dynamics in RevPAR data for North America Marriott properties for the five fiscal years 2004 -2008 with a peak in 2007:

Figure 2.3. 2004-2008 RevPAR data for Marriot International (North America)

Figure 2

Conclusion

Marriott dominates in the market for one simple reason: it is successful in managing hotels worldwide. The hotel managed by Marriott becomes a large hotel with restaurants, shops and business center, room service, in-line and butlers. All hotels of the chain are characterized by the same service, which is based on a clear interaction between all structures and maintained tight control by the head office. Marriott International mission states that the corporation aims to become the best company in the fields of accommodation and services in the world due to the fact that its employees are seeking to provide their customers the best possible services, resulting in benefits for the company’s shareholders.

In recent years, Marriott International has shown a positive dynamics of development and continues to rapidly spread the chain all over the globe on the basis of franchise contracts. This practice, along with innovative approach to global hotel marketing, Marriott Rewards program, guest recognition technologies, high level of personnel training and constantly increasing level of service, helps Marriott International stay in the top five hotels chains globally.

Information and communication technology is the new style of doing business in a useful method. This method was using since 1930s. in past 15 years this system have followed by various industries such as retail, banking, telecommunication, government, tourism etc This method covers huge series of applications like internet, wireless, Digital Cameras Wi-Fi, VIOP, GPS, Digital Radio, etc. all the industries are trying to apply this method from one way or the other to develop their business performance. in an article they have mentioned (“daily telegraph IT”) that majority of organizations will not 24hrs without the help of ICT

This growth was expected and this made the work easier and faster. This is the main reason why outsourcing of work start. The cost of making was condensed and so was the cost of goods. This technical development has removed the national limits and helped various industries to go worldwide, thus mix markets as well as market across the world.

This rapid growth in the technology has lead to the concept of E-Business and E-Commerce. With e-business there are various advantages due to the presence of global audience, online transaction, etc. This is playing a major role in reshaping the tourism sector across the world. This concept of ICT has brought people much closer to the tourism service providers. Now, customers do most of their holiday or travel plans online. Many tourism companies are adopting this technology.

The tourism sector being one of the traditional sectors it was not a smooth ride in taking up this technological advancement. Many small could not afford this kind of investment. They had to terminate a lot of workers as after this advancement there was minimal response to the traditional high street travel agencies. Although physical services are the core products of industry, it is dominated by information systems. (Shankar, 2008)

ICT for business and the travel industry in particular:

Information technologies have made high changes in the environment by using the new technologies in business. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can provide powerful planning and planned tools for organizations when properly applied and used can bring more advantages for promoting and strengthening their competitiveness. The increase of the Internet, as a main stream communication media and as an info-structure for business dealings has a high range of designed implications for businesses and for the travel and airline industries mainly

ICT revolutionized business processes and practices

The current ICT developments have vast implication for the business, structure. And plan of organizations. The computation of future market will leads to a great extent and it will depend both such as development and purpose of these technologies. The creation of the World Wide Web will forces most of the organizations will make to re think about two things i.e.,

In which they are performing their business.

How they can re-engineer their business methods.

The business can be performed more efficiently by system, by facing so many new opportunities and challenges. ICTs contribute towards good organization, output and competitiveness development of both inter-organizational and intra-organizational systems.

The affiliation between ICTs and competitive advantage and their performance is still vague. Even though there is an indirect and complex sporty relationship between ICTs and success, it is difficult to be measure and describe. Technologies have already developed a wide range of functions including business functions, external environment monitoring, communicating with associates and with clients in high level. Clear planned goals and obligation are basics for the growth of a proper ecommerce plan and the growth of web sites and other technological solution. The growing mobile technologies and mobile business are estimated to modify severely a number of industries and to force business to think again about their strategic management.

ICT in the travel and tourism industries

The main function of travel and tourism industries is run by ICT. The internet will allows them to demonstrate their products clearly and they can communicate easily with the customers. Intranets will provide friendly environment access for employees of organization , extranet will shows authorized partners with the ability to use computer information to operate through online, so many internal management applications shows the planning and operational management and marketing of travel organization.

ICTs support all business functions and are critical for operating in the travel industry as a worldwide. Few other industries rely on so many partners to work together directly for delivering their products and few other value chains are as involved as the one for travel. ICTs provide the tools to look for important and profitable place market segments, to identify their value added components

Cost success and suppleness are serious assets contribute by ICTs in this process, as they help the cost decrease and make best use of effectiveness. The power of ICTs on travel business is enveloping, as information is serious for both day-to-day operations as well as the planned management of organizations. On the strategic level, travel organizations have to constantly assess for all elements of their outside surroundings, as well as their opposition and customer requirements, and so, adapt themselves in order to improve their competitiveness.

Using ICTs, tourism organization can make a distinction their product customizing the final product and by adding value according to person supplies. ICTs support the strategic management of travel business by allowing long-term result making and by providing a platform for teamwork and dealings between associates. ICT will help the complete industry to operate by empowering internal procedure, coordinating partners, as well as by interact with future travelers and the general public. As a result, the recent ICT developments have develop the entire system and have thoughtful implications for both the strategic and planned management of travel organizations. Most important that they have severely changed the industry structure and polluted the competitiveness of all players in the market.

Airlines and the Internet revolution

Internet was introduced in 1990’s and due to the development of intranet and extranet have forced on airlines to make a changes in their panning on technical improvement in order to enhance their competitiveness.

Finally airlines have identified that the internet is important product to handle distribution costs and to modify the structure of the industry. In 2001 that British Airways CEO ROD Eddington said that BA spent 1.1 billion of pounds on distribution and that have became the third most costly after labour and fuel

In the Internet era, GDSs is as self-governing business from airlines developing their offer to provide the backbone for the complete industry to establish the info structure for the dealings undertaken by high number of Internet travel entrances. In addition, they slowly reinvented themselves to main technology suppliers for a broad range of tourism organizations as well as airlines, travel agencies and Internet travel portals.

At the same time a number of plain airlines appear in both countries i.e., Europe and the US. These airlines concentrated on lower input cost in as many areas of their operations. They also developed simple distribution strategies and took full benefit of the Internet for converse with their clients. Internet near the beginning adopters, such as both well-established and newly-established airlines recognized a clear opportunity.

They invested a lot in order to develop their on-line brand name and to gather the important market share.

Some of the high established airlines, such as American Airlines. Recently established airline industries such as Bratthens, Rynair and Easyjet they have adopted the Internet from the early stages.

Several carriers even decorated their aircraft with their Internet address at the same time as they arranged special promotions with the media to make transfer to their web sites. They provide incentives for consumers to book online and ensured that they were not distributed through the GDS in this way airline are forcing their clients online.

Easy Jet and Ryan is a good example:

In the year 2002 the majority of airline booking have done through the internet and the consumers have got the 5 pounds discounts on their original. No frills airlines are managed by the Internet and other ICT tools, made the industry reengineer. By introduced a number of ICT-enabled innovations including:

Electronic/paperless tickets

Transparent and clear pricing led by proactive and reactive yield management

Single fare tickets with no restrictions on staying or Saturday nights rules

Commission capping and publication of net fares

Financial incentives for self-booking online

Auctions and online promotions

Powerful Customer Relationship Management Systems

Online and context-relevant advertising

As the customers are enjoying the facilities which have provided by the airlines and the customers are benefited by low rates provided by the airline. Therefore some of the airline have followed the no frills carriers to develop their online marketing and to also satisfy the customer needs

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE USE OF ICTs IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY:

Most of the airlines are using advanced ICTs and mostly the airline functions highly depended on ICTs. Sharing and partnership is perhaps one of the most important areas of ICTs contribution. Majority of low-cost to be dependent on support on ICTs for displaying their availability and for the communication and transaction with their clients. ICTs have the equal importance in operations management and contribute for the improvement of procedure and processes and also good facilities such as in flight entertainment and good customer service

Most of the airlines have been investing on ICTs service since 1950’s. They have introduced ICTs to get effective, quickly, quality and exact procedure of their inventories (reports) in which to communicate easily with travel agencies and with others. When the airlines have changed the date, time and route to update easily with in fraction of seconds for the clients.

SABRE computer reservation system (CRS) was introduced in 1962 by American airlines alternatively to expend its Boeing 770 fleet by 50% (8-12 aircrafts). This project have described as a technically to feel amazement to represent a program task that increase the power of coding efforts which is needed for NASA Project Mercury . In mid 1970’s SABRE have made as a powerful inventory control system. SABRE made base for the changes in flight plans for aircrafts, tracking spare parts, managing events for crews and for developing the level of decision support system for the airlines management. Then after all the airlines have followed the same system to provide the facilities to satisfy the clients (customers, consumers) needs.

In 1970’s USA air transportation deregulation made airlines to make a changes in their fare and routes. This have made a huge growth of air traffic and increased the demand for information, CRS gave a chance for airline to improve their internal organization and CRS have made into powerful tool (product) to control the airlines inventories (reports) in this way CRS made airlines to communicate easily with travel agencies, consolidators, other distributors by providing update routes, availability price standards. Because of deregulation airlines have increased the tariffs and computing and communication needs. Agents and others have used newly introduced computer technologies to control their reservation and to get easily about tariff information.

Slowly CRS have became strategic business unit (SBU) in its own way, because of one reason i.e., huge usage of this in airline (airline are using more because due to this they have increased their income or sales ratio).

In 1980’s airlines and CRS executives realized that air transportation was a fairly small and has large travel experience then travel agencies are demanded to increase the number of carriers from a single terminal and to increase the value of information on destination. CRS were developed to much and introduced GDS (Global distribution systems) by offering a huge range of tourism products, such as hotels and car rental reservations. SABRA system have developed there database to include their itinerary and inventory from other airlines, the same procedure have introduced in EUROPE to develop the Galileo and Amadeus GDSs, then GDS have became backbone of airlines by providing good communication between airlines and travel agencies. GDS will handle millions of tariffs in their database by making 40 millions of changes in their inventories in every month. Finally GDS have developed their standards to control more than 500,000 passengers’ records and nearly 2000 messages in each second.

In 1990’s GDS have became like a travel supermarket by offering information and reservation capacity by providing high level of travel products such as accommodation, car rental, exact plans for non- air transportation etc., GDS offer a chance for travel agencies to access their essential information on their screens and to develop the travel schedule (itinerary) from the convenience of one inter-connected system. GDS have became a one of the marketing, important procedure for scheduled airlines operational and strategic agendas as they can control and distribute the majority of airline seats. Due to some changes CRS results into four major GDS such as SABRE, world span, Amadeus and Galileo. These four GDS have the permission for recruiting the travel agencies and they select their own market place by increasing number of value added services for travel agencies and airlines.

The below table will shows ho GDS moved highly successful business in their own way by getting and providing high profits for airlines, travel agents and others.

S/ no

Company

Period ending

Worldwide locations

segments

per year (m)

Total revenue

(m)

Operating expenses (m)

Operating income or loss

Operating margin

Other income

Less taxes

Net earnings /loss (m)

Net margin

Sales and marketing support:

Airlines contain lengthy used internal Computer Reservation Systems.

Airline are using this to co-ordinate easily with GDSs and with the airline Internet site in order to increase the sales and marketing by distributing inventory globally

.airline is using these systems to issue electronic tickets and to sale their e-tickets in hyge number by travel agencies over all the world.

Inter views suggested that they greatly need to encourage their web site as their primary reservation path and as an alternative to the GDS/travel agency route. Such systems link all partners in the handling process, automate procedures, and support smooth communication flow.

Airlines try to do something by use technology to improve their effectiveness and therefore they attempt to combine new technologies such as electronic scales, stacker systems, handheld terminals, and bar coding to increase their usage competence and to reduce preparation costs.

These systems will support the airline internally such as administration, accounting, and passenger or goods handling process by coordinate inventory management, sales and marketing, yield and revenue management, ticketing, and departure control systems and other departments.

Airlines will use decision support systems to control traffic and bookings on computer reservation systems because in order to identify customer activities, traffic flows or trends, as well as the performance of followers and sales agencies.

This system will also follow the pricing of their challenger for several city join up.

These systems will also permit airlines to charge their situation against the performance of their competitors and also accept positive and immediate actions.

A broad information foundation will show the way to more right decision for heart airline plan and arranged activities, such as marketing & sales, schedule planning, yield management, and pricing.

Distribution, marketing and sales support with partners

In the past majority of marketing and distribution of airline are done by the travel agencies for the distribution of their products. Then now the air line are linked travel agencies is normally facilitate by the global distribution systems and they provide the info structure for the itinerary building and facilitate for the total transaction. Airline high level management employees have explained that they like to communicate with the travel agencies on Extranet, by using internet in order to avoid the GDS bookings fees.

For example

British airlines have developed a separate web site for the travel buy and sell (www.batraveltrade.com). They have developed this website to develop the extranet in order to make easy the process.

Some of the travel agencies slowly find out the useful financial features. For example if the customers are using the credit card payment they will charge the airlines for the credit card payment, in the same way KLM provided the web fares for only extranet GDS fares are more expensive to cover the additional costs.

Airlines also employed numbers of General Sales Agencies in all regions that they have to stop the person who are operating in their own office do not operate their own offices. They have appointed by international airlines to secure business from IATA and non-IATA agents in markets anywhere agency networks are so far to be fully automated and where airlines need monetary security to cover business risks.

They also involved in their reservations and distribution in local and they will maintain the good relationship with the executives to promote the product in the market.

Now a day the travel agencies are buying the seats in a large quantity and selling in local market by providing the discounts to customers. These discount rates, can be updated through online for the customers by using ICT

Resource Management Systems

Airlines are needed to maximize the consumption of their most expensive resources such as human resources and fleet, for that they have to ensure that their tools and aircraft are efficient and its ability fully used. Maintenance Control systems have manages some things such as aircraft maintenance, commercial, and operational requirements. Airlines have to make sure that aircraft and other equipment is frequently maintained and also that technical problems and unprepared services are deal with as capably as possible to minimize out-of-service periods whilst minimizing service disruptions.

These systems are built-in with proper systems for allowing airlines to arrange parts and other consumables online, at the same time as engineering systems may be included for providing online manuals and technical support.

Technical documentation management systems such as create, distribute, and manage complex technical data and documents. Hence, airlines aim to maximize task force utilization by improving maintenance, repair and repair performance. The airline will get this result by optimizing the supply chain network, aircraft downtime, and materials management.

Airlines will manage their crew schedule through crew management systems. Planning duty schedule is a difficult process as there are several key limits including skills and they should have the ability to operate tools, level, immigration problems, rest periods, and cost of rest periods.

Crew management systems use complete crew record to start pairing construction, schedule making, and crew manage in order to optimize the human resources performance. They need to be coordinated with all associated activities, such as flight arrangement, operations manager, crew contact, flight meeting, etc.

These systems will also undertake a number of usual tasks, such as inspection legalities, publishing rosters and announcements, and administrate hotel accommodations, deadheads and pick-up services. Communicate setting up information with crews (notices) and next duty period (briefings) as well as information regarding flight load, crew composition, aircraft and airport details is also critical. A number of intranet solutions facilitate this process.

It is the coordination of all these systems that ensures that airlines enjoy operational efficiency and are empowered to achieve their long-term strategy

SWOT ANALYSIS:
What is SWOT analysis?

Swot analysis is a planned method; this method is used to extract the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in any business project. This analysis will identify the internal and external factors that are useful to achieve the product.

Strengths: the point or a quality or a power of a company that are helped to achieve the product.

Weakness: the point or a quality or a power of a company which are harmful to achieve the product.

Opportunities: the external situations which are helpful to achieve the product of a company Threats: external circumstances which can do the damage to achieve the product.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF ICTs IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Abstract

As a great attention has been paid for the development of new generation eMediaries, the rapid escalation of the Internet and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has also precious for recognized tour operators. The main purpose of this report is to examine the use of ICT by the tour operator Thomas Cook and to analyze the key issues. The report uses information from journals, company’s reports and trade press articles. The report highlights the fundamental aspects of Thomas Cook’s Business Strategies and the Business Model. (Marianna Sigala)

The eBusiness impact is well documented by Jacsson and Harirs (Jackson): suggested that the Information and Communication Technology affecting the processes of company’s operations followed how they do business, is well interpreted and how company need to reorganize and restructure themselves continuously. The aim of this report is to explain the acceptance of eBusiness by the traditional operators, and to explain the competitive advantage of eBusiness and Information and Communication Technology with a neat explanation and interpretation by analyzing Dniel & Frew’s view (Daniele).

The report briefly explains the Thomas Cooks strategies, as a large tour operator increasing profitability with the vertical integration and how it produced a substantial concentration in the market. The report explains the key factors and the need of ICT for tourism, like the importance of IT trainings and education for business policy makers, key role players and managers in the industry. Explains the integration of different sectors in this industry, example: transport, lodge, etc., the up gradation of organizations Technical Infrastructure and the need of Human Infrastructure like people with technology skills, vision and management skills. (Shanker, 2008)

The report explains the importance of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and how tourism industry adopted ICT to make the best sales trough eMarketing as well as online sales. It supports several indications like internet connectivity ad usage of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Systems. It also explains the customers’ expectations and market competition. And the gap between small scale companies and large scale companies utilizing ICT and applications of eBusiness. The report briefs the use of eBusiness for Thomas Cook’s business strategy on business objectives like business integration and delivering planned synergies, use of eBusiness to strengthen the main stream model for tour operating, implementing the independent travel segments, to expand the group’s financial services. (plc, 2007)

The report summarizes information on computing and Information Systems, here Information and Communication Technology plays a vital role to present the organizations ability to satisfy its customers travel safety measures and presenting them for great leisure time. The way Thomas Cook approaches its customers to explain the tour packages with visualizations on their website and in other way of electronic communication like contacting them by means of Tele-Communications, electronic mails and social networking sites. This report presents the way Thomas Cook achieved its success in competitive advantage.

Conclusion:

The report presents the e-Commerce and the e-Governance approach towards its customers, and how the web makes it easy for travelers to plan their holidays. How Thomas Cook provides appropriate online experience to its visitors to ensure the quality conversion and sales. Explains “how online booking become an impotent part of their business and growth is set to continue” (TravelMole, 2007). And the research methods Thomas Cook taken about, its “customers progress through the online journey and how it will continue to enhance its websites and tools respectively” (TravelMole, 2007).

References:
Daniele, R. &. Intermediaries to Market-Makers:. In A. J. (Ed), Information and Communication Techonologies in Tourism (pp. 546-557).
Jackson, P. &. (n.d.). EBusiness and Oraganizational Change: recounciling traditional values with business transformation. Journal of Oraganizational Change Management , 16(5), 497-511.
Marianna Sigala, L. M. (n.d.). Tour Operators in in an eBusiness World. Retrieved March 19th, 2010, from http://books.google.co.uk: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s9f5_kvYrZoC&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=thomas+cook+information+and+communication+technology&source=bl&ots=KkiM3J5HGo&sig=iL2qLClFWLyN8wzC6Dgx3PXScUc&hl=en&ei=1vykS5jQFIS80gTFitT1CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=
plc, T. C. (2007, June 27). Thomas Cook Group plc. Retrieved March 19th, 2010, from http://www.thomascookgroup.com: http://www.thomascookgroup.com/media/tcgpresentationfinal2007.pdf
Shanker, D. (2008, May 15 – 17). ICT and Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved March 19th, 2010, from http://dspace.iimk.ac.in: http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/536/1/50-58.pdf
TravelMole. (2007, October 02). Thomas Cook e-commerce director highlights online trends. (http://www.marvellousmedia.com, Interviewer)