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Nowadays in developing countries, ecotourism is used as an excellent tool for promoting sustainable development. It is very beneficial for local communities creating environmental, economic and social benefits. Ecotourism is carried out by many tourism planners and marketers nowadays. The important aspect involved in ecotourism is its proper planning and implementation. In the case of improper planning it converts all the economic gains into social and environmental disasters. Ecotourism has gained popularity developed into a worldwide phenomenon showing no signs of slowing down. Even though it is not a universal remedy for attaining sustainable development, its potential towards promoting sustainable development deserves considerable attention. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of ecotourism in attaining sustainable development in Costa Rica.

Ecotourism

The concept of ecotourism was well identified in 1960’s by Hetzer who contributed to this by identifying four principles of ecotourism. They are minimizing environmental impacts, respecting host cultures, maximizing benefits to local communities & maximizing tourist satisfaction. Ecotourism is an integration of social, environmental and economical benefits meeting both human and environmental needs. One of the major causes for the evolution of ecotourism is the dissatisfaction with mass tourism creating over development, pollution and foreign investment. According to International Ecotourism Society (2004) Ecotourism is a “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people”.

Sustainable Development

The term sustainable development received international recognition in 1980’s. In 1987, Bruntland commission defined sustainable development as “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”. It is a combination of social, economical and environmental development.

Ecotourism & Sustainable Development

It is nothing but sustainable tourism. In 1995 World Trade Organization stated in Agenda 21 that “Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future”. Sustainable tourism involves a number of principles in it. Sustainable development is not the only goal of ecotourism, but sustainable development is very important for achieving the goal of ecotourism.

About Costa Rica

Costa Rica which means “Rich Cost” is a country in South America bordered by Nicaragua in north, Panamma in south, Caribbean Sea in east and Pacific Ocean in west. The government is constitutionally democratic. It constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949 becoming military neutral. It was ranked first among the Americas for Environmental Performance Index in 2010.

Total area – 19,653 sq.m

Water percentage – 0.7

Population – 4,253,897

GDP (nominal) – $29.318 billion

It contains 5% of the world’s biodiversity. Around 25% of the country’s land area is covered by protected national parks and protected areas. About 24 national parks are found in Costa Rica. The Monteverde cloud forest reserve is a home for about 2000 plant species, over 400 birds, over 100 species of mammals and numerous orchids.

Growth of ecotourism in Costa Rica

Costa Rica earned reputation as a premier ecotourism destination in the world also considered as ecotourism’s post child. Some of the factors that influenced ecotourism in Costa Rica are pleasant climate, excellent national park, best public health care system, best public education, highest literacy rate in Latin America etc. It is also blessed with abundant natural resources such as beaches, mangroves, mountains, caves, waterfalls, volcanoes and tropical rainforests which is one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world containing 5% of entire planets biodiversity. In a short period Costa Rica has reached high level of maturity in ecotourism creating both beneficial effects and detrimental consequences on sustainable development. It is considered as a model in implementing ecotourism in many other areas.

Economic impacts

Globalization plays an important role in global economic decision making. As globalization and unbridled economic competition continue to dominate the global agenda, the travel agents who came up with the idea of ecotourism were now looking for new markets and not the ways to save the world. Because of this issue, many protected regions of Costa Rica are increasingly integrated into the global economy. Park entry fees and other form of revenues increase the value of protected land rather than the revenue obtained from deforestation.

Ecotourism also earns foreign exchange to developing countries by bringing tourists from north ( from developed countries). A survey states that in early 1990’s Costa Rica was the leading overseas ecotourism destination for U.S travellers, but only 20% of its revenue went to the local community and the remaining was paid to the tour operators, tickets on foreign owned airlines, to import products that appeal foreign tourists. A certain percentage of profits can be recycled to the local community development through legislation so that revenue leakage is reduced.

In general, the employment opportunities of the people living near to ecotourism destinations is based on the tourists. In Costa Rica, people living near to Monteverde cloud forest reserve is an excellent example who have gained great economic values with this. Contrast to the previous point, Osa peninsula a ecotourism spot in Costa Rica has made its inhabitants even more poorer than before over attraction by ecotourists which created profit to outsiders.

Marketing in general is used to elaborate a buisness scale. In Costa Rica in regions where outsiders dominate, marketing is used es an efficient tool by the local community to elaborate their buisness. Fake marketing is also done in some regions which is of no environmental responsibility. Since ecotourism is a seasonal activity, it can fluctuate over time to time and the local community cannot entirely depend on this for their earnings which leads to economic discomfort. Outsiders took over many regions in Costa Rica which have become distorted and the prices have increased drastically so that many Costa Ricans have been priced out of land and home ownership.

Social impacts

Even though the local communities are not traditionally involved in ecotourism planning and implementation, it becomes essential for them to get involved in different phases of it for their own benefits. Also the local communities are very familiar with the local resources, it makes them essential to involve in decision making. Stakeholder participation and community involvement are very important in decision making process since they have the greatest stake in the outcome of any ecotourism project.

The culture of the local community plays an important role in ecotourism. For a sustainable ecotourism, cultural structures of the local community must be well understood so that the disintegration of the local communities can also be avoided. In Costa Rica, people in many rural areas did not support ecotourism instead they felt it as a threat to their cultural dynamics. Ecotourism brings many advantages to the local community if they integrate themselves with it otherwise it can lead to commofication resulting in erosion of culture and community cohesion.

Ecotourism provides some employment opportunities to the local community such as hotel servicing, crafting, government agency staff, tour operators etc. In Costa Rica local community people are trained in the areas of park maintanance, habitat restoration, management etc in order to incorporate them in protected area management. Govrnment should provide some subsidies and intensives to local poor people to own a buisness. Many innovative and resposible locally owned ecotourism projects fail due to insufficient investments and their competition with large foreign companies.

The goal of ecotourism is that the profits from ecotourism must be reinvested into the local community to meet their basic needs. Additional revenues are channeled into programmes which directly benefit the local people in their health and education. When people get focused to ecotourism getting support from their community, they will devote their time and energy to it, understanting that the success of ecotourism is directly linked to their individual capacity to achieve greater standards of life.

Environmental impacts

National parks in Costa Rica are the backbone of its ecotourism industry contributing much to the country’s tourism industry as a whole. In 1960’s Costa Rica’s first strictly protected area was established, after that four national parks were offically created in 1970’s to preserve its biodiversity. There are 30 and above national park’s and more than 230 protected areas in costa Rica. Cost Rica forms a variety of ecosystem with 850 bird species, 1260 tree species, 1200 orchid species, 270 mammal species, 361 species of reptiles and amphibians and more than 35,000 species of insects.

The creation of parks and protected areas protect natural species, but it resulted in deforestation. National parks form the crucial part of ecotourism in Costa Rica which was increasing since 1980’s and attained maturity at the end of 1990’s. Even ecotourism earnings have contuined to increase, the Costa Rican government is not properly funding to the parks and protected areas leading to dependancy on foreign donations much.

Other than national parks and protected areas, private reserves have emerged as another important way to protect Costa Rica’s natural resources and biodiversity. About 68 reserves were found in Costa Rica in which more than 40 involves in ecotourism in which La Selva, Rara Avis, Monteverde cloud forest reserve are some of those in it. Monteverde forest reserve recieves nearly 50,000 visitors per year which contains most important population of quetzal, an endangered bird species. Private reserves serve as an intimation to the government that ecotourism has good earning potential and it can be economically viable when sufficient resources are invested.

Ecotourism projects results in natural degradations when the natural areas are overcroweded with visitors. Solid waste generation, pollution, habitat destructions, forest degradations and trail erosion results in increase of local carrying capacities. The negative effects of ecoourism can be minimized by emphasising low- impact construction, controlling the number of visitors, taking care in interacting with local flora and fauna. A balance between development and conservation should be created in order to avoid the degradation of natural environment.

Education is often cited as on of the most crucial element for every individual as well as for a society. Environmental education contributes much for ecotourism. Knowledgable tour guides can provide a quality environmental education. Local guides have more advantage over foreign guides since they have more knowledge about local ecologic, natural history and local culture. Lack of experienced and knowledgable trail guides is one of the major problems with ecotourism in Costa Rica. Creating educated public understanding the importance of ecotourism in Costa Rica will help the countries benefit for long run.

1. Although the man has made extensive progress in his relatively short existence on earth, he is still virtually helpless in front of vagaries of nature. Natural disasters such as cyclones, flood and earthquakes ravage man’s domain at will and cause much loss to life and property. Despite everyone’s concern for disasters and technological developments in the world, the response to disasters has been knee jerk and uncoordinated at international, national and state levels. The problem is more acute in developing countries rather than in developed ones. The United Nations and its specialised agencies have always had an interest in and commitment to disaster relief. Therefore, there are various disaster relief, preparedness, prevention and mitigation programmes being carried out by various United Nations Organisations [1] .

2. The trend of occurrence of disasters is increasing and will escalate in future. Disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes, which have been the most destructive, along with the floods and droughts that arise from extreme weather conditions, are expected to get worse due to adverse impact of climate change. In the 21st century, the 2001 Bhuj earthquake; the 2004 tsunami; the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir; heavy rainfall in Mumbai in 2006 when nearly 1 m rain fell in a single day; the 2008 Bihar Kosi disaster; the August 2010 cloud burst in Leh; and, most recently, the September 2011 Sikkim earthquake have seen the armed forces as first responders [2] .

3. In Indian context it is unlikely that the local civil administration will have the resources available immediately to deal with a major disaster such as the earthquake that occurred in Gujarat in 2001 or the Tsunami of 2004. Therefore, it is essential that the state governments prepare detail disaster management plans and keep the resources in terms of men and material ready for use at short notice. There is a need for civil administration at the district and state levels to organise disaster relief cells with a pool of reserve. At present due to the inability of local administration to deal with natural calamities, armed forces are invariably employed for disaster relief.

4. In spite of breakdown of communications and the absence of a major strength of troops and resources, the response of the armed forces has always been prompt and won the respect of all concerned. The mainstay and strength of the Armed forces vis-a-vis civilian organisations has been the sense of discipline, training to respond to orders, adaptability, selfless dedication to the cause, genuine concern and focused action. These factors have always resulted in many individuals and NGOs wanting to route assistance through the Armed forces. Seeing the good work being done by the Armed forces, the government organisations, NGOs and civil agencies then join in the relief effort. This generates a spirit of cooperation. The mere presence of Armed forces troops instils a sense of security and gives solace to the affected people [3] .

Disaster Response Activities

5. Disaster management, which involves assessment and response, can be seen in various activities. The following are various activities of emergency response.

Warning.

Search and Rescue.

Evacuation and Migration.

Response and Relief.

Logistics and Supply.

Communication and Information Management.

Rehabilitation.

Post-Disaster Assessment [4] .

6. Natural calamities impart lessons at a huge cost of life and property. But if these lessons do not lead us to learning, then the cost will seem even heavier. At the time recurrence of disaster, the failure to learn from the previous incidents hurts the most. The massive earthquake in Gujarat and the subsequent chaos were indicators of how important prior planning is in managing relief and rehabilitation during various disasters. The Kutchh region required massive immediate assistance , however civil administration was unprepared for such crisis. Indian armed forces were employed for the relief from the begining. This made the need for a proper disaster mitigation plan very apparent. Learning from experience is essential in building a knowledge resource which would help in being better prepared in the future.

CHAPTER II
METHODOLOGY

1. Hypothesis. A common thread in a country’s response to disaster situation is military support to civilian authorities. India disaster relief mechanism in the present form lacks the required synergy between civil and military organisations to facilitate a synergised response.

2. Statement of Problem. The civil administration often falls back on the armed forces for assistance in crisis situations. Efficient disaster management mechanism, therefore, should incorporate the armed forces at each stage. The formulated plans should specify the assistance likely to be required in disaster situations. The most efficient system will be to have seamless integration in operations, with an aim of ‘core competency’ areas of each establishment giving its best in least time. The aim of the study is to examine the disaster relief mechanism existing in the country and analyze the interplay of various organizations in handling the disaster situation.

Justification for the Study

3. Over the past few years, the Government has introduced a paradigm shift in the approach to disasters. Corner stone of this approach is the realisation that disaster management has to be multi-disciplinary and spanning across all the sectors of development. As calamities evoke extraordinary response, the civil authority’s reliance on the Armed Forces has also ever increased. Due to their quick response, Armed forces have become a ‘mantra’ in the hands of the state to respond to such calamities spanning from Law and Order problems to large scale disasters. Despite our country being extremely vulnerable and prone to natural calamities, no detailed hazard and vulnerability assessments have been carried out either at the State or the National level [5] .

4. Is the country adequately prepared with infrastructure and strategy against various natural disasters? There are differences of opinion on this issue. According to some, there are certain limitations, but overall, the country is well equipped. Others, however point out that the country does not have detailed vulnerability assessments, forcing it to only respond to calamities and organise reconstruction [6] . It is in this context that this study assumes greater importance. It will analyse various facets of disaster preparedness, evaluate existing structures for disasters management and put forward its recommendations.

5. For the purpose of this study disasters related to war, civil disturbance and slow disasters (Like crop failure, famine etc) will be kept out. Natural disasters (Like floods, earthquake etc) and the response of armed forces in helping civil administration would be the focus of the study. The study is basically confined to the role of Armed forces, to include Air Force and Navy in providing assistance to the civil authorities in all natural calamities.

6. Method of Data Collection. Data and information has been collected from Military Papers, periodicals, newspapers and books. Disaster management setup of the country has been derived from NDMA 2005 & Ministry of Home Affairs documents on disaster management.

7. Organisation of the Dissertation. The research paper is covered under the following Chapters :-

(a) Introduction.

(b) Methodology.

(c) National policy on disaster management.

(d) Role of armed forces.

(e) International disaster relief system.

(f) Current concerns and recommendations.

CHAPTER III
NATIONAL POLICY ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT

“As of now, the government has no concrete disaster management policy. Many disasters are first created by us and then crores of rupees are spent on rescue and relief operations. The government should focus more on a sustainable model of development which can avoid disasters.”

Sunder Lal Bhauguna

1. Evolution of Disaster Management in India. Disaster management in India has evolved from an activity-based reactive setup to a proactive institutionalized structure; from single faculty domain to a multi-stakeholder setup; and from a relief-based approach to a ‘multi-dimensional pro-active holistic approach for reducing risk’. The beginnings of an institutional structure for disaster management can be traced to the British period following the series of disasters such as famines of 1900, 1905, 1907 & 1943, and the Bihar-Nepal earthquake of 1937. Over the past century, the disaster management in India has undergone substantive changes in its composition, nature and policy [7] .

2. Emergence of Institutional Arrangement in India. A permanent and institutionalised setup began in the decade of 1990s with set up of a disaster management cell under the Ministry of Agriculture, following the declaration of the decade of1990 as the ‘International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction’ (IDNDR) by the UN General Assembly. Following series of disasters such as Latur Earthquake (1993), Malpa Landslide (1994),Orissa Super Cyclone (1999)

and Bhuj Earthquake (2001), a high powered Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. J.C. Pant, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture was constituted for drawing up a systematic, comprehensive and holistic approach towards disasters [8] . There was a shift in policy from an approach of relief through financial aid to a holistic one for addressing disaster management. Consequently, the disaster management division was shifted under the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2002 and a hierarchical structure for disaster management evolved in India2.

Organisation and Structure of Disaster Management

3. Disaster management division is headed by Joint Secretary in ministry of home affairs, who is assisted by three Directors, Under Secretaries, Section Officers, Technical Officer, Senior Economic Investigator consultants and other supporting staff. The upper echelon of the structure also consists of Secretary (Border Management), Home Secretary, Minister of State in charge and the Home Minister.

4. Shifting from the relief and response mode, disaster management structure in India started to address the issues of early warning systems, forecasting and monitoring setup for various weather related hazards. A structure for flow of information, in the form of warnings, alerts and updates about the oncoming hazard, also emerged in this framework. A high powered group was setup by involving representatives of different ministries and departments. Some of these ministries were also designated as nodal authorities for specific disasters3.

Disaster Management Act, 2005

5. This Act provides for the effective management of disasters in the country. NDMA provides institutional mechanisms for formulating and monitoring the implementation of the disaster management. It also ensures measures by the various branches of the Government for prevention and mitigation of disasters and prompt response during any disaster situation. The Act provides for setting up of National Disaster Management Authority under Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authorities under the Chairmanship of the Chief Ministers, District Disaster Management Authorities under the Chairmanship of Collectors/District Magistrates/Deputy Commissioners.

6. The Act further provides for the constitution of different Executive Committee at national and state levels. Under its aegis, the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for capacity building and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for response purpose have been set up. It also mandates the concerned Ministries and Departments to draw up their own plans in accordance with the National Plan. The Act further contains the provisions for financial mechanisms such as creation of funds for response, National Disaster Mitigation Fund and similar funds at the state and district levels for the purpose of disaster management. The Act also provides specific roles to local bodies in disaster management4.

National Level Institutions

7. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was initially constituted on May 30, 2005 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister. The NDMA has been mandated with laying down policies on disaster management and guidelines which would be followed by different ministries, departments of central government and state government in taking measures for disaster risk reduction. It has also laid down guidelines to be followed by the state government authorities in drawing up the State Plans and to take such measures for the management of disasters, Details of these responsibilities are given as under :-

(a) Lay down policies on disaster management.

(b) Approve the National Plan.

(c) Approve plans prepared by various ministries or departments of the government of India in accordance with the National Plan for disaster management.

(d) Lay down guidelines for the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan.

(e) Lay down guidelines for the different ministries or departments of the government for the purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disasters and the mitigation of their effects in their development plans & projects.

(f) Coordinate the implementation of the policy and plan for disaster management within the country.

(g) Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of disaster mitigation.

(h) Provide support to other countries affected by disasters on the recommendation of Central Government.

(j) Take other measures for the prevention of disaster, mitigation, preparedness and capacity building for dealing with the disaster situation .

(k) Lay down policies and guidelines for functioning of the National Institute for Disaster Management [9] .

8. Composition of NDMA. Besides the nine members nominated by the Prime Minister, Chairperson of the Authority, the Organisational structure consists of a Secretary and five Joint Secretaries including one Financial Advisor. There are 10 posts of Joint Advisors and Directors, 14 Assistant Advisors, Under Secretaries and Assistant Financial Advisor and Duty Officer along with supporting staff [10] .

9. State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The Disaster Management Act, 2005 provides for constitution of SDMAs in all the states and UTs. The Act envisages establishment of State Executive Committee, to be headed by Chief Secretary of the state Government with four other Secretaries of such departments as the state Government may think fit. It has the responsibility for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the National Policy, the National Plan and the State Plan.

10. District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). NDMA provides for constitution of DDMA for every district of a state. The District Magistrate/ District Collector/Deputy Commissioner heads the Authority as Chairperson besides an elected representative of the local authority as Co-Chairperson. The District Authority is responsible for planning, coordination and implementation of disaster management and to take such measures for disaster management as provided in the guidelines. The District Authority also has the power to examine the construction in any area in the district to enforce the safety standards and also to arrange for relief measures and respond to the disaster at the district level.

11. National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM). In the backdrop of the International decade of Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), a National centre of disaster management has been established at the Indian Institute for Public Administration in 1995. The Centre was subsequently upgraded and designated as the National Institute of Disaster management on 16th October 2003. Disaster management act, 2005 entrusts the institute with various responsibilities, such as to develop the training modules, undertake research and documentation for disaster management, organise the training programmes, organise study courses, conferences, and seminars to promote disaster management. It is also responsible for publication of journals, research papers and books on disaster management [11] .

12. National Disaster Response Force. The National Disaster Response Force has been constituted under Disaster management act, 2005 by up-gradation/conversion of eight standard battalions of central para military forces i.e. two battalions each from Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force to build them up as a specialist force to respond to disaster or disaster like situations.

13. The eight battalions of NDRF consist of 144 specialised teams trained in various types of natural, manmade and non-natural disasters.72 of such teams are designed to cater to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear(CBRN) calamities besides natural calamities. Each NDRF battalion consists of 1149 personnel organised in 18 teams comprising of 45 personnel, who are being equipped and trained for rendering effective response to any disaster situation, both natural and manmade. All these eight battalions are being trained in natural disasters while four of them are being additionally trained for handling CBRN disasters. Based on vulnerability profile of different regions of the country, these specialist battalions have been presently stationed at the following eight places:-

Bhatinda.

Gr. Noida.

Vadodara.

Pune (talegaon).

Bhubaneshwar (mundali).

Kolkata.

Guwahati.

Patna.

Chennai (Arakkonam). [12]

14. The Government of India has approved the raising of two additional battalions of National Disaster Response Force by up gradation and conversion of one battalion each of Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force to be located in the states of Bihar (Bihata, Patna) and Andhra Pradesh (Vijaywada) respectively. The administrative approval for raising the two battalions was issued on 13-10- 2010 [13] .

15. State Disaster Response Force. The states/UTs have also been advised to set up their Specialist Response Force for responding to disasters on the lines of National Disaster Response Force by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Central Government is providing assistance for training of trainers. The state governments have been also advised to utilise 10 percent of their State Disaster Response Fund and Capacity Building Grant for procuring the search and rescue equipment and for training purposes of the Response Force [14] .

Civil Defence

16. Role of Civil Defence. During times of emergencies, the CD organisation has the vital role of mobilising the citizens and helping civil administration for saving life and property, minimising damage, and raising public morale. 225 towns have been nominated as CD towns.

17. Each town has nucleus of four Permanent Staff along with 400 CD Volunteers for a two lakh population. It is expected that each state will have one CD Training Institute with permanent strength of 36 personnel, five vehicles and other equipments. The District Magistrate is designated as a Controller for CD Towns. The present strength of CD volunteers is 5.72 lakhs, out of which 5.11 lakhs are already trained. The target strength of CD volunteers has been fixed at 13 lakhs based on the population of CD towns as per 2001 census [15] .

National Crisis Management

18. For effective implementation of necessary relief measures in the wake of a natural disaster, the Cabinet has established a Committee. On the constitution of this committee of the cabinet, the concerned Secretary will provide all the necessary information and data to and seek directions of the cabinet committee in all the matters concerning disaster relief. In the absence of this cabinet Committee, all matters relating to disaster relief will be reported to the Cabinet Secretary.

19. National Crisis Management Committee. A National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) has been constituted in the Cabinet Secretariat. The composition of the Committee is as under [16] :-

(a) Cabinet Secretary – Chairman.

(b) Secretary to Prime Minister – Member.

(c) Secretary (MHA) – Member.

(d) Secretary (MOD) – Member.

(e) Director (IB) – Member.

(f) Secretary (RAW) – Member.

(g) Secretary (Agriculture) – Co-opted Member.

(h) An Officer of Cabinet Secretariat – Convener.

20. Calamities Relief Fund. The government has earmarked two funds i.e. Calamities Relief Fund and National Fund for Calamities. The nodal agency for recommending release of these two funds is the Crisis Management Group in the Ministry of Agriculture, which is headed by Central Relief Commissioner. The allocation for the all the states under these funds is done by the Finance Commission for a duration of five years, based on the vulnerability of the states to Natural calamities and average expenditure. National Fund for Calamities is additional fund besides Calamities Relief Fund ; while 75 percent of CRF is contributed by the centre, the allocation under National Fund for Calamities is entirely by the centre and more or less discretionary [17] .

Forecasting & Warning

21. Forecasting about climate change is pre requisite for taking preparedness measure to respond to the disaster is the most important element of disaster management. The Ministry of Environment & Forest , Ministry of Earth Sciences , Ministry of Science &Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy, Defence Research & Development Organization, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Space Research Organization and Indian Meteorological Department promote and undertake climate and climate change related research in the country [18] .

(a) Atmosphere Watch Stations. A network of 10 Global Atmosphere Watch Stations consisting of Allahabad, Jodhpur, Kodaikanal, Minicoy, Mohanbari, Port Blair, Pune, Nagpur, Srinagar and Vishakhapatnam, is maintained by IMD as per WMO protocols and standards since 1974 to generate data and information on the exchange of trace materials between the atmosphere and the earth’s surface, making atmospheric turbidity and air quality measurements to quantify trends and acid rain threats.

(b) Atmospheric monitoring. There are 25 types of atmospheric monitoring networks that are operated and coordinated by the IMD. This includes meteorological, climatologically, environment, air pollution and other specialized observation of atmospheric trace constituents.

(c) Cyclone Warning. The IMD has established an observation network for detecting cyclones through 10 cyclone detection radars along the coasts. The detection range of these radars is 400 km. INSAT-1B satellite also monitors cyclonic movements. Ships and commercial radars are also utilized for cyclonic warnings. About 260 merchant ships have meteorological observation systems.

(d) Flood Forecast. The Ministry of water resources has an effective flood forecast system with 157 flood forecasting centres covering 62 river basins. Along with IMD, they monitor rainfall & water levels in the reservoirs. India has also developed radars which give accurate estimate of rainfall up to 200 km around the radar site.

(e) Tsunami warning. Post tsunami dated 26th December, 2004, Ministry of Earth Sciences has established the Indian National Tsunami Warning System at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. The Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) was made operational on 15th Oct 2007. This agency has developed a protocol for issue for Tsunami Watch, Alert and Warnings. The Centre gives information to all responders about the origin, time, location of the epicentre, magnitude and depth of an earthquake inside the ocean and accordingly issues bulletins.

(f) Avalanche Warning. DRDO’s network of more than fifty laboratories is deeply engaged in developing Defence technologies. Centre for Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) is one of the laboratories of the DRDO located at Chandigarh with its primary function to do research in the field of snow and avalanches and to provide avalanche control measures and forecasting support to Armed forces.

Role of Voluntary Organisations

22. The role of voluntary organisations is to help people overcome the problems created by natural calamities by providing relief services to the people. They also works as the eyes and ears by acting as the intermediary between the masses and the government agencies to avoid duplication, ensure proper distribution of resources and organise vigilance groups for preventing of misuse of resources.

23. Some of the activities under taken by voluntary organisations are:-

(a) Establishing free food distribution centres, distributing blankets, clothes and medicines to prevent epidemics.

(b) Organising necessary relief camps, first aid centres, and immunisation camps.

(c) Organisation relief teams and sending them to far-flung affected areas to provide relief and monitor relief programmes.

(d) Organising awareness programmes about different relief activities initiated by Government and Non Government Organisations.

(e) Generating employment opportunities in the affected areas.

(f) Adoption of families of the affected areas.

CHAPTER IV
ROLE OF ARMED FORCES

1. The armed forces of any nation are probably best organised to provide support for establishing a various of public services like public works, communications, transport, medical services, search & rescue, and support activities. They are able to react quickly in a self contained, self sufficient and mobile fashion. Armed forces personnel are well trained in the skills necessary to perform their professional activities and can function under an integrated / flexible management system. So there is an enormous potential inherent in them to provide enormous capability to restore emergency services.

2. During the natural calamities, when many parts of the country are affected by them and it is beyond the capability of local administration to organise the rescue and relief, armed forces may be called upon to provide / organise relief measures. Armed Forces may also be called upon to provide assistance to other friendly countries, in case this has been requested for. One such example is that of Bangladesh. In 1991, when it was hit by worst cyclone in the history of the country the US armed forces, carried out relief operations [19] . In addition Indian Air Force also sent six helicopters for airlifting relief material to the affected areas.

3. Each year Armed Forces are called upon on several occasions for rendering assistance to civil administration throughout the nation during monsoon season for providing rescue and relief during the floods. The role of the armed forces during relief, rescue operations after Uttarkashi earthquake, Latur earthquake in Maharashtra, Chamoli earthquake and Floods in Orissa are well known.

4. Assistance Provided by Armed Forces. The Armed Forces may be called upon to render following type of assistance during natural calamities [20] :-

(a) Infrastructure for Command and Control.

(b) Medical Aid.

(c) Transportation of Relief Material.

(d) Establishment of Relief Camps.

(e) Construction and Repair of Roads and Bridges.

(f) Maintenance of Essential Services.

(g) Evacuation of People to Safer Areas.

(h) Stage management of International Relief.

5. Since the civil administration remains ill equipped for undertaking quick response to major disasters, the armed forces has been the primary option. As one of the most dedicated, professional, and modern armed forces in the world, the Indian armed forces respond to any disastrous situation with all their might. It is due to their technical competence, trained manpower, and logistical capabilities that they are always ready to rapidly undertake any kind of disaster-related rescue and relief operations.

6. They are also located in most remote areas where natural calamities are frequent. For instance, when the tsunami hit the Indian coast on December 26, 2004, the Indian armed forces, co-coordinated by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), efficiently handled relief, rescue, and evacuation work under Operation Sea Wave, including extending aid to Sri Lanka and Maldives under Operation Rainbow and Operation Castor, respectively.

7. Whether, it was the Kashmir earthquake of 2005, the tropical cyclone in Bangladesh in, 2007, the fire at Burrabazar in Kolkata in 2008, the serial blasts at Bangalore and Ahmedabad in 2008, or the Mumbai attack of November 2008, the roles played by the armed forces are numerous. In August 2010, when Leh, was hit by flash floods which killed many people and left many other injured, the Indian Armed forces’s resp

The front office is the place where the customers or the hotel guest come in first contact with the hotel. This is the departments which handles room reservations, receives the guest and assign them rooms. The front office not only deals with the above functions but also sees to guest relations and guest comforts. The front office also deals with the check out formalities required before the hotel guest finally vacates the hotel room and departs from the hotel.

Classification of Hotels:

Hotel is defined by British Law as a place where a prospective guest can receive food and shelter provided he is in position to pay for it and is in condition to be received.

Hotels may be classified according:

Location

Number of rooms

Types of plan

Types of client

Length of guest stay

Facilities

Location:

Down Town

Suburban

Resort

Motel

Airport

Down Town:

It is located in the heart of the city, within a short distance of the business centre, shopping arcade, theatres, public building, etc. Rate sin the hotels are normally high. Normally business client prefer such hotels.

Suburban:

Located in the suburbs, it has the advantage of quieter surroundings. Rates are moderate to low. Such hotels are ideal for budget traveler and also organizations who find the quite setting ideal for conferences, seminars, educational programs etc.

Resort:

This type of hotel is located in the hill stations or at beaches. It is mainly patronized by vacationers. Basic facilities are provided and the rates offered are often on American plan.

Motels:

It is located on highways. They provide modest boarding and lodging to highway travelers. The length of guest stay is usually overnight. Rates are on European plan.

Airport:

These hotels are situated at airport and ideal for transit passengers who have only a few hours in the city making, it is impossible for them to stay in a down town hotels. Rates are on European plan.

Categorization by number of rooms:

Small hotels

Medium hotels

Large hotels

Very large hotels

Small hotels:

Hotels with 25 rooms and less may be termed as small hotels.

Medium hotels:

Those with 26 to 100 rooms may be termed as medium hotels.

Large hotels:

Those with 101 to 300 rooms are called as large hotels.

Very large hotels:

Hotels with above 300 rooms may be termed as very large.

Types of plan:

American plan

Modified American plan

Continental plan

European plan

Bermuda plan

American plan: Room Rent + Break fast + Lunch + Dinner

Modified American plan: Room Rent + Break fast + Lunch / Dinner

Continental plan: Room Rent + Continental Break fast

European plan: Room Rent only

Bermuda plan: Room Rent + Early Morning Tea / Coffee

Types of clients:

Group hotels

Commercial hotels

Family hotels

Group hotels:

Group hotels cater to groups and their rates would be on American plan.

Commercial hotels:

Cater mostly businessmen and are on European plan.

Family hotels:

A family hotel would be on American plan, such hotels are normally situated in resorts.

Length of guest stay:

Transient hotels

Residential hotels

Semi – Residential hotels

Transient hotels:

Hotels where a guest can register for a day or even less.

Residential hotels:

Hotels where guest stay for a minimum period of one month. The hotel signs a detailed list with the customer.

Semi – Residential hotels:

Hotels which are incorporate the features of both the transient and residential hotels.

Facilities:

Facilities provided by the hotel play a major role in the classification or grading of hotels. Different facilities provided in the hotels are as follows

Rooms

Restaurants / Bar

Shopping complex

Health club

Beauty parlor

Car parking

Laundry

Tour packages

Swimming pool

Travel agency

Coffee shop

Banquet hall

House doctor

Sports facilities

Pastry shop

Telephone

Postal facilities

Foreign exchange

Recreation facilities

Organization chart of Front Office Dept:
FRONT OFFICE MANAGER
ASST. FRONT OFFICE MANAGER
LOBBY MANAGER DUTY MANAGER GUEST RELATION TELEPHONE MANAGER MANAGER
SENIOR SENIOR RESERVATIONIST SENIOR RECEOTIONIST INFORMATIONIST TELEPHONE
OPERATOR
ASST. ASST. ASST. ASST.
RECEPTIONIST INFORMATIONIST RESERVATIONIST TELEPHONE OPERATOR
TRAINEES TRAINEES TRAINEES TRAINEES
SENIOR BELL CAPTAIN
ASST. BELL CAPTAIN
BELL BOYS PAGE BOYS DOOR MAN
Duties and responsibilities of Front Office staff
Front Office Manager:

Front manager has a wide range of responsibilities

He must maintain high level of efficiency among the front office staff

He should make effective decision regarding reservation polices and room assignment

Handle guest complaints and problems with courtesy

Maintain an open communication with other depts.

Assign duty to staff members, prepare weekly work schedule and shift arrangement

Holds regular staff meeting to ensure the hotel facilities and operating procedure

Responsible for new employees and reviewing the performance of each staff member.

During peak period the manager may be required to assist the front office representatives in the performance of the duties.

Manager is responsible for setting polices regarding no-show, early arrival and over booking.

Work closely with sales and marketing dept. regarding group reservation, billing arrangements and general forecast.

He should maintain close communication with house keeping dept. about room status and accounting dept. for information about special billing requirements.

He should submit regular written report on the activities of front office.

Asst. Front Office Manager:

Responsible for co-ordination of front desk operation

Monitoring guest accounts and payments

Authorizing and check special credit procedure

Assist front desk representatives during peak period

Prepare daily room occupancy report

Reviewing reservation for current date

Front Office Supervisor:

Prepare budget and monthly outlook report

Ensure that all the staff report on the time with proper uniform and properly groomed

Check statistical data’s on the day of preceding a regard to room revenue and occupancy

Brief staff to ensure maximum efficiency

Check if any repeat guest or vip has checked in as a walk in and see that proper status is given and ensure personalized service

Check and sign the log book and take follow up actions

Check reservation for the day with corresponding to ensure proper instructions on slips such as rates, billing, special request, etc.

Ensure that no keys are missing to prevent security risk

Meet and greet all guests on arrival and ensure proper rooming

Reception / Registration Assistant:

Having be informed on daily room status

Check up vip’s reservations and issue vip amenities

Handle group registrations as well as free individual travelers

Prepare all records connected with pre-registration of vip, invalids and old people

Handle group registration as well as free individual traveler

Maintain satisfactory part of all registration on stationery

Open out guest folio without delay and transmit it to front office cashier

Work closely with information assistant

Give all departure rooms to house keeping depts.

Take all clear rooms promptly from house keeping

Sell higher priced rooms and other hotel facilities to trained salesmanship

Handle scanty baggage with care and effort

Known color codes used in reception

Known room history namely location, rate, theme and the view of each rooms

Information Assistant:

Distribute room keys to registered guest in the hotel when arrival errand card is presented

Answer incoming call for guest and report all messages

Handle all guest mail, parcels, information’s, telegrams as per laid down procedures

Keep information aids like time table, road maps, hotel guides, etc.

Maintain guest racks alphabetically

Sell hotel facilities through trained salesmanship

Sign lobby departure errand card in acknowledgement of room key from a departing guest

Receptionist:

The receptionist primary duty is to receive the guest, enquire his/her requirements and room him/her

Welcoming is the guest is the duty of the receptionist

Registering the guest

Allocate the rooms

Room the guest by handling over the key to the bell boy to accompany the guest

Notify the concern dept. of the arrival, departures and moves

Passing on message to the guest

Giving information to the guest

Handling the mail and key to the guest

In smaller hotels the receptionist is required to do other duties in the front office. Those includes:

Reservation and reservation enquires

Recording the guest bill, post the vouchers, etc.

Receive the money in settlement of bills

Handling the telephones and messages

Reservation Clerk:

Prepare the room status for several day ahead

Reservation clerk attend to the reservation enquires, personal, post-card, cables, telex, telephone and gives proper information

Book the rooms in advance

Conform the booking arranges

Prepare the arrival list and informs the receptionist

Senior Bell Captain:

Supervise the lobby attendants

Take attendance and prepare staff schedules

Attend to guest complaints and handle telephone calls

Handle left luggage formalities and maintain the baggage check room

Train lobby attendants to maximize the departmental efficiency

Organize and supervise check in, check out baggage formalities of groups, crews, etc.

Control the sale of postage stamps and stationery to guests

Maintain record of all guest with “scanty baggage” and inform Asst. Manager

Conduct daily briefly of lobby attendant

Co-ordinate and control the distribution of morning news papers

Supervise the storage of essential medicine prescribed by the house doctor and be accountable of the issue made

Keep lobby clean at all times

Keep baggage neatly and in an orderly fashion at the specified places

Bell Boy:

Take the baggage from the in the porch or gate to the room

Escort the guest to the room on arrival

Place the baggage in the room on the luggage rack

Explain the operation of light, switches, air conditioning control to the guest and switch them on

Handle departure of guest

Check the room to ensure the guest has left no articles in the room by mistake

Switch off all lights and air-conditioning

Ensure collection of keys from guest at the time of check out and obtain clearance from information section

Check for mail, messages for departure guest and if available mail or messages is collected and give to departing guest

Take the baggage and place it in the car

Handle baggage of guest when they are shifting to another room

Distribute newspapers to guest rooms

Track unwanted guest in the hotel

Attend to instruction of supervisor

Deliver guest messages to guest rooms

Doorman / Linkman:

Another member of uniform staff. His place of duty is outside the main entrance of the hotel

He is responsible for cleanliness and good order of the front entrance of the hotel and area around it

He opens the car and taxi doors

When a car or taxi arrives he signals to the bell desk to send a bell boy and then opens the door of the car and helps the guest incoming out of the car and at the same time the bell boy handles the luggage of the guest

He keeps the unwanted visitors away from the hotel

Lift Operator:

In some hotels the lift are not automatically operated and are attended by an operator

Even if the lift are automatic it is advisable to have an attendant available

Responsible for the cleanliness of his lift

He must never permit any unauthorized person to operate his lift

He should take care that the lift is not overloaded

Telephone Supervisor:

Schedule staff to ensure smooth operation

Debit correct phone charges to guest and inform the front office cashier promptly

Check telephone for efficiency on a periodic basis

Maintain performance records of telephone operators and advise regarding increments and promotions

Brief staff at the beginning of the shift

Keep a close check on wake-up calls

Telephone Operator:

Extend a warm and courteous telephone service to guest or management and employees of the hotel

Handle wake-up call and ensure prompt service

Responsible for proper and accurate accounting of calls made by hotel officials or guest

Use proper pronunciation

Maintain speed and accuracy when connecting all incoming and outgoing calls

Brief the next shift operator regarding all pending works to be done

Avoid interruptions ( Break the continuity)

Night Auditor:

To ensure that any outstanding transactions have been entered

To verify that all the bills and other accounts are correct

To verify that front office guest in residence records are up to date and accurate

To prepare a management report summarizing the trading activities

Layout of Front Office Department
SAFETY DEPOSIT LOCKER
LEFT LUGGAGE CENTRE
BELL DESK
TRAVEL COUNTER
GUEST RELATION EXECUTIVE
LOBBY MANAGER
HOUSE TELEPHONE
PUBLIC TELEPHONE
INFORMATION
RECEPTION
REGISTRATION
CASHIER
COUNTER
BACK AREA
ENTRANCE
LOBBY
Functions of Front Office Department

Registration of rooms

Reservation of rooms

Greeting of guests

Giving information

Handling of mails and telegrams and register parcels

Handling of message

Allotment of rooms to the guest

Dealing with guest luggage’s

Providing safety locker facilities to guest

Dealing with guest complaints

Handling of keys

Providing security to the guest

Handling credit cards and guest accounting

Providing data’s to the management

Maintaining guest history card

Dealing with scanty baggage and skipper

Working closely with sales and marketing department regarding sale of room

Providing warm welcome and customer service to the guest

Qualities of Front Office Staff

As the Front Office is a critical department in a hotel in view of its revenue generating capacity and influence in image building, the staff working in it assumes a special importance.

Great care is taken in the selection of front office staff as they play a key role as:

Salesmen:

They motivate the guest to spend on the various hotel facilities

Problem Solvers:

Guest invariably approach the front office for help incase they have a problem or complaint. The staffs have to be diplomatic and resourceful to solve the problem at the shortest possible time.

A reference Point:

Guest who want information or want to pass on information use them for this purpose

Coordinators:

Since they are a reference point, the front office staffs are required to coordinate with other departments, airlines, travel agencies and city tour offices to give the guest personalized service.

Image Builders:

As an extension to their salesman role, front office staff can certainly generate a good image for the establishment in their manner of dress, communication, personal conduct and efficiency.

Essential Attributes:
A High Sense of Personal Grooming:

Uniforms must be clean and neatly pressed. Hair should be groomed well. Nails should be manicured. A soft similar scented is preferable. Jewelers should be restricted to one ring and a necklace for ladies.

Persona Hygiene:

This is imperative to front office personnel. As they are constantly exposed to hotel guests, a clean appearance helps to project a good image not only of themselves but of the establishment as well.

Self Confidence:

This is necessary as front office personnel meets guest of different countries, status and cultures. They should be comfortable and feel easy in dealing with these people.

Communication must be correct and clear:

It is preferable that front office staff know more than one language. It helps in communicating with guest who cannot speak English or local language.

Diplomacy is the greatest attribute required:

Very often there are situations when a guest is irate (angry) over something; a diplomatic dealing helps in diffusing the explosive moment. It is quite common for a busy hotel to have no room to offer a guest who has come with a confirmed booking. A diplomatic approach is the only way by which the guest can be pacified.

Calmness to take the busy demands of a front office operations:

The front office staff should have a high degree of tolerance for pressure of work and be calm and composed at all times.

Ability to remember names and faces
Good manners
Ready Smile
Physical Fitness:

Front office operations require the staff to stand for long hours. The staff must be sturdy and active.

Quick decision making Ability:

Front office staff must be able to decide quickly a course of action that satisfies the guest.

Department that the front office co-ordinates with other departments
F&B
ROOM SERVICE
ENGINEERING
HOUSE KEEPING
STORE
FRONT OFFICE
ACCOUNTS
SALES
KITCHEN
Lobby:
Arrival:

The bell boy escorts guest from the main door with their luggage to the front office. After the guest has been registered, the front office informs the bell boy of the room number so that the guest may be escorted to his luggage place in the room.

Departure:

In most hotels a guest wishing to check out of the hotel, calls the bell desk for a porter to carry his luggage down. The bell desk informs the front office of the intentions of the guest so that the cashier can prepare his bill. It is only after the front office is satisfied regarding the payment of bills and retrieval of room key will they allow the bell boy to remove the luggage outside the premise of the hotel.

Shifting:

Often a guest requests the front office for a change of room. The front office intimates the bell desk to send bell boys to help in the shifting of luggage.

Scanty Baggage:

“Skippers” are those guests who leave the hotel without paying their bills. This is made possible because the “skippers” comes with little luggage to avoid bringing the attention of the bell boys to his secret checkout. The bell boys have to be alert to notify the front office about guests with scanty baggage so that a necessary advance is taken from them and a close watch is kept on them.

Message:

The information section of front office alerts the bell boys to deliver messages received by them for guest in the hotel.

Paging:

“Paging” is the system of displaying the name of a guest on a small board with a long handle. The small board is held above the head of the bell boy and has small bells which are rung to draw the attention of customers to the board. When a phone call is received for a guest in a specified location this paging system is used to contact guest. The bell boy does the paging in most public areas especially the lobby.

House Keeping:
House Keeping Room Report:

To keep a tight control on rooms, the house keeping and front office have to closely coordinate. One way is through the room report where by the house keeping staff checks each room on every floor and advises their status through a report.

Room Clearance Arrangement:

When a guest checks out, the front office has to inform immediately the house keeping desk or the floor, to clean the rooms so that it is ready for sale again. This information is controlled on a departure intimation control sheet. House keeping in return would have to inform the front office immediately after a room has been cleared and prepared for sale to a guest.

Occupancy statistics:

After reconciling the “Room Rack” with the house keeping Room Report the front office reception compile data’s on the “occupancy” position of the hotel for the day in the form of a report for the purpose of management information.

Special arrangements for groups and VIP’s:

The front office informs house keeping to be alert to attend to rooms occupied by groups or VIP’s. Service has to be quicker and efficient. House keeping provides flowers for VIP’s in the room on receipt of the amenities voucher issued by the front desk.

Accounts:
Front office cashier:

The front office cashier receives payment for guests stay in the hotel. This is the point where all the charge vouchers generated by the guest are received to be included in the overall bill. The bell captain must inform the cashier about the intended checkout of a guest so that the guest bills are updated and kept ready for presentation. Also, the cashier is inform of a new arrival by the reception by opening and forwarding a new folio in the guest name giving room numbers and time of check in.

Night Auditor:

The night auditor audits all guest bills received by the front officer cashier and prepares and proves for the calendar day.

Room Service:
Arrivals and Departures:

The room service is kept closely intimated on arrivals and departures of guest. It is this department that provides food and beverage services to the room and must be informed as to the occupant in order to raise bills accordingly.

VIP Procedures:

The front office informs room service through the amenities voucher and a list of the VIPs expected to arrive in the hotel, so that special service provides a complimentary basket of fruit, liquor, cakes and pastries or what ever the establishment wishes to extend to a VIP as per the policy.

Telephones:
Arrivals and Departures:

This is another department that is informed immediately of the arrival and departure of a guest. So that where calls come for a particular guest it is fully knowledgeable about his/her presence in the hotel. So that call may be connected to him/her. Also calls made by the guest are recorded or metered

Engineering:

The engineering department is responsible for any maintenance of furniture, fixtures and equipments and for rectifying faults in the services provided like air conditioning, plumbing, etc.

Stores:

The stores are responsible for supplies of relevant forms, formats and stationery.

Sales:

There is very close co ordination between the front office and sales especially in improving of room sales on lean occupancy days. The front office also informs sales whenever important guests, who influence the business of the hotel ‘check in’, so that special attention can be given to him/her. Sales keeps the front office updated with the new agreements made with travel agents and airline crews.

Reservation

The reservation section in the front office is the nerve centre of the department where all requests of reservation are received and processed.

Modes of Reservation:

Reservation may come by various modes. They are:

Letters

Telex

Telegrams

Cables

Telephones

Personally

Source of Reservation:

Air lines

Whole sale tour operators

Travel agents – Local and Foreign

Free Individual Traveler (Any person who makes a booking directly with a hotel and not through a travel agent)

Companies and Commercial business houses

Consulates and Institutions

Reservation Form
SURNAME FIRST NAME ADDRESS/ COMPANY
SURNAME FIRST NAME ADDRESS / COMPANY
HOUR/
FLIGHT
WILLARRIVE:
DAY
DEPARTURE
DATE & TIME
DATE
DEPARTURE
DATE & TIME
HOUR
FLIGHT
DATE
WILL ARRIVE:
DAY
ACCOMMODATION AND RATE DESIRED
SINGLE DOUBLE TWIN SUITE
ACCOMMODATION AND RATE DESIRED
SINGLE DOUBLE TWIN SUITE
REMARKS AND BILLING INSTRUCTIONS
CREDIT NO. PHONE NO. VERBAL BY
REMARKS AND BILLING INSTRUCTIONS
CREDIT NO. PHONE NO. VERBAL BY
REQUESTED BY
RECEIVED BY
DATE
Reservation Chart
Sep. 2007 Date of Month
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
101
102
103
104
105

Reservation Chart is used for the control of reservation system. The horizontal column represents each day of the month while the vertical column represents each room in a hotel.

If a particular guest requests for a single room on the 7th, 8th, 9th of the month the corresponding blocks of any single room number is colored off. Thus a reservation assistant gets a pictorial view of occupancy and booking in a particular month.

There might be different colors of reservation slips for easy identification on the reservation rack of the source of booking.

WHITE : I NDIVIDUAL
YELLOW : GROUPS AND CREWS
GREEN : VIPS
PINK : THROUGH TRAVEL AGENT
PURPLE : CONVENTIONS (CONFRENCE, PARTIES)
Group Reservation:

A group is a body of 15 persons or more. Because it involves volume business, management offers a special discount. The discount is given to tour operators who sell a total tourism package to customers which include airfares, hotel accommodation, fees for sight seeing, etc. The discount depends on the volume of groups sent and the frequency of visits organized by the tour operator. In addition to the group discounts there are special facilities for the tour leader.

Groups of 15-30 – One complimentary room for their tour leader

31-45 – Two complimentary rooms

Group reservation and correspondence assume importance and must be dealt with quickly and accurately because

Groups from a major part of business

The travel agent or tour operators arrangements are depend upon confirmation of accommodation

Group reservation demands blocking of a large number of rooms; thus the hotel could suffer if the group is cancelled at the last minute

A final confirmation of group booking takes longer to materialize (to be fulfilled)

Instant Reservation:

Instant reservation is a facility offered by large hotels or chain hotels operations where by a customer anywhere may easily make a reservation at locations far away from the hotel itself. Basically, hotels feed information on room availability. So that the reservation can confirm the booking immediately.

Reservation Procedure:

Step – I: As soon as the guest ask for room on certain date look at the room status board which will indicate the status of the room on those days under any one of the three categories (i.e.) On Request or Free Sale or Sold Out.

Step – II: If the date indicates “Sold Out” informs the guest politely that the dates required are sold out. If the date indicates in “Request” inform the guest that the date requested by you are wait listed. If the date indicates “Free Sale” informs the guest that the rooms are available and they are pleased to ensure a room for you.

Step – III: Take down the particulars in the reservation form.

Step – IV: It is important to ask the party to send a written confirmation of reservation request. Billing instructions specially are never accepted verbally. Sometimes, a doubtful party may be asked to give a deposit in advance which may be a certain part of the room rent the reservation period.

Step – V: Type out a reservation slip in two copies. One goes to the reservation rack while the other is clipped with the reservation form.

Whitney Rack / Reservation Rack:

The reservation racks are stored on the wall of the reservation office in full view of reservation clerk. This system is same as the reservation diary. Instead of entering in the diary the details are entered in the slip. This slip is arranged on the Whitney rack in alphabetical order against the date of arrival. This system is designed by a person named Whitney. Any special information is also recorded on the Whitney Slip.

Over Booking:

This is the practice of accepting more reservation than the actual room available. The purpose of over booking is to assist the hotel in obtaining ma

The Tourism industry today is highly competitive and generates considerable income for every destination of interest, and has arguably become economically indispensable. In the last decade, the structure and operational aspects of the industry have been undergoing significant changes in an attempt to keep up with Social and Economic developments as a result of the fast dispersal of the Internet and increasing E-Business; all of which have impacted on the demand for tourism products and the manner in which they can be obtained.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is being used in a multitude of overlapping activities within the Tourism sector, ranging from internal organisational functions to external communication between different parts of the industry, as well as facilitating how employees of the industry perform their jobs and how consumers experiences are enhanced. In other words the application of ICT is affecting the entire Tourism Value Chain (Buhalis, 2003). Its fair to say that in light of this, the continuous development of ICT has profound implications in the way the industry managed.

With the implementation of new forms of ICT, an innovative type of E-Tourism has emerged that is radically transforming the Tourism industry on a world wide scale; the effects of which are discussed in more detail on the pages that follow.

Since the early 1960’s when the first Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) was introduced, which according to Fesenmaier (2000) changed the way Tourism Operators conducted business in the sector; four interrelated eras can been identified (Frangialli, 1998). The Data Processing era in the 1960s; Management Information Systems era in the 1970s; Strategic Information Systems era in the 1980s and the Emerging Network era in the 1990s. Since their introduction many of these systems have been changed from their original appearance, new tools have emerged to take advantage of the benefits introduced by these systems, not least of all the Emerging Network era where the internet has significantly enhanced the operational aspects of the sector in general.

It is fair to argue that the Internet has had considerable impact on the application of Tourism management, as people are able to obtain all their travel information and services at home via the Internet. The distribution of travel and tourism products using the Internet has bought about significant cost advantages for providers of Tourism services, and increased customer satisfaction as they provide a full service to their consumers. It is unquestionable, this revolutionary development is accountable for much of the technological developments at the heart of the industry today (Poon, 1993) which has evolved as a result of the Network era, identified above, and has led to further developments in the form of Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce).

Keen and Macintosh (2001) stress that M-Commerce is marking the start of a fifth era of innovation and will continue to extend the way Tourism organisations conduct business. Moreover, according to Keen and Macintosh (2001), those who adopt new ICT and those who manage partner relationships more dynamically, will expand their market share even further by taking advantage of new developments. Just as CRS changed the way Travel Operators conducted their business, technologies, such as WiFi and WiMax [same as Wi-Fi only on much larger scale] are now changing the way Operators communicate with consumers.

Academics such as Kalakota, (2001) suggest that Wi-Fi and M-Commerce, are key technological developments with wide-ranging benefits to the tourism industry. Wi-Fi stands for “wireless fidelity” and in simple terms means that computers, peripherals and connectivity to the Internet no longer need to be connected physically, creating a completely wire free system. The benefits of such a system include the costs of setting up are reduced as cabling is expensive, disruptive and not always possible. Wi-Fi allows wider networks, because it does not need to be limited to those machines which are physically linked, fostering greater mobility as people are no-longer restricted to working only at their desks.

As a result of these reasons, the cost of creating Wi-Fi networks in places like coffee shops for example are low, which has lead to the creation of many new “Wi-Fi hotspots” encouraging visitors to linger and spend more on refreshments for example. Hotels are also taking advantage of the benefits and offering Wi-Fi services to all its guests at next to nothing. Furthermore, the implications for major visitor attractions are equally exciting. For example visitors to museums could use along their own Wi-Fi enabled device and access the museum website in their own language and obtain information on exhibits and so on.

Service providers are building nationwide networks of Wi-Fi hotspots that can be accessed for a fee, and it is this partner relationship within the Tourist sector which needs to be managed more dynamically, and Tourism organisations need to nurture this relationship in order to provide the services consumers are expecting. A key example of this partner relationship can be witnessed at Heathrow Terminal 1, Paddington station, selected Hilton Hotels, as well as many pubs, as examples of Organisations who have paired up with Wi-Fi service providers, and taking advantage of this Technology.

According to Aramberri (2001), these developments have changed the way Tourism Organisations operate, as these developments have led to consumers demanding more services, and changed the end to end process that restricted the services provided by organisations before the Network Era. In other words new ICT has both facilitated more demanding consumers, but also enabled Operators to heighten the travelling experience. Thus, in order to compete for market share Travel operators need to find new and innovative ways in applying ICT to the services they are offering.

A key example of this can be illustrated with location-based services (LBS) which refers to information services accessible through a mobile handset, based on geographical location. According to Kpper, (2005) Tourism is among the first industries taking advantage of LBS, despite some doubt concerning the compatibility of some devices, with regards to operating systems, data formats, and limitations in user interfaces. In other words at present there is no generic LBS that could run on any device.

In addition with regards to the application of ICT across the industry, it is now faced with a number of challenges. The Internet allows consumers to obtain information concerning their choices, it is still difficult to judge the credibility of this information, and in the absence of sufficient regulation, consumers still are concerned with the risks. Furthermore, there are still some areas in the Tourism industry that are not actively involved in the utilisation of ICT, and one the key developments through the eras identified above has been the complete utilisation of that system across the entire sector, and there is a risk given the pace of technological development that some aspects of the industry may get left behind. This would reduce the competitiveness of the industry and remove one of the key drivers for change within the sector.

In summary ICT, particularly in the form of M-Commerce as a result of Wi-Fi enabled services has had profound implications for the operation of the tourism industry in three main areas.

Firstly it has radically altered the way in which information is transmitted throughout the industry. Hence, it changes and challenges the way in which Tourism services are delivered and requires that Operators find new ways to satisfy tourists’ needs and that the needs are satisfied on demand. Secondly, the use of ICT is driven by the development of complex demands, as well as by the rapid expansion and sophistication of new products, such as the development of LBS, which as a result has enhanced the need for a wider network of Operators to include other businesses which traditionally do not form part of the Tourism sector – such as service providers and mobile handset producers. Finally ICT has gone some way to bridge the distance between consumers and suppliers. It changes the best operational practices in the industry and enables innovative Operators to take advantage of the emerging tools and get closer to consumers.

In conclusion ICT is a strategic tool used to enhance profitability and competitiveness of the Tourism sector and the future destination and competitiveness of the sector depends upon the successful implementation and management of this fifth technological era.

References

Abowd, G. D., et al. (1997): ‘Cyberguide: A mobile context-aware tour guide’, ACM Wireless Networks, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 421-433.

Aramberri, J. (2001): ‘The host should get lost: paradigms in tourism theory’, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 738-761.

Buhalis, D., 2003, eTourism: Information Technology for strategic tourism management, Pearson.

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Rivers based Tourism in Nepal
Introduction

Nepal is rich in water resources so river plays an important role that flows from Himalayas to Terai. In Nepal, rivers are treated as goddess (SAARC Tourism, 2009). Rivers are the ever flowing and also inspiring source of beauty and also people can enjoy the infinite adventure to the fullest (SAARC Tourism, 2009). In Nepal, when the mountain melts then the river flows across the country and this makes the country the choice of more thriller and adventure.

There are more than thousands of river in Nepal so Nepal is the second largest country in water resources after Brazil (prabin, 2010). There are many big as well as small rivers in Nepal so most of the big rivers in Nepal flow from Mountain Region such as Karnali, Arun, Tamakoshi and so on (Khadka, n.d.). These rivers are also called snow fed rivers. Rivers in Nepal are divided into three basic categories they are Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali. Among these Koshi is one of the longest rivers in the country and comprises of different rivers like Arun, Tamakoshi, Indravati, Dudhkoshi, Tamor, Likhu and Sunkoshi (Thamel Dot Com, n.d.).

In Nepal, many tourist visits only for the adventurous purpose. Rafting, kayaking could be one of them. So tourist comes to Nepal for rafting because Nepal is one of the best countries for rafting. Bhotekoshi River is one which is just three to four hour far from Kathmandu which provides some of the most adventurous activities like rafting, kayaking and cannoning and also this river is one of the best rivers for rafting in the world.

Objective of the study

The objectives of the following research are as follows:

To find out the state of river tourism in Nepal
To understand the profile of river based tourist visiting Nepal.
To assess prospects and growths of river based tourism in Nepal.
Hypothesis

Researcher has created some statement according to the result of an experiment.

Hypothesis 1

Most of the foreigners from US, England, Australia and Canada visited Nepal only for adventurous purpose like hiking, rafting, trekking and kayaking.

Hypothesis 2

The tourists of age group from 16-30 years visited Nepal only for adventure.

Hypothesis 3

Most of the foreigners visits Nepal for adventure purpose are male.

Hypothesis 4

Political instability directly affects river based tourism and also in country’s economy.

Problem statement

What is the current situation of river based tourism in Nepal?

Sub-problems
Against which gender and age group do river based tourism attract tourist?
What is the age group of the instructor who will train to raft?
Is the age group from 16-30+ above preferred to go for rafting?
How many foreigners come for rafting or kayaking?
How river based tourism practices in Nepal?
Is there any agent working for river based tourism?
How travel agents promoting river based tourism in other countries?
What are the different promotional activities used by travel agent for river based tourism?
What are the impacts of river based tourism in Nepal?
How government plays their role in the development of river based tourism?
How travel agent provides security while rafting and kayaking to the tourists?
Literature Review

There are many rivers in Nepal which flows from Koshi to Mahakali. Almost all of the rafting company in Nepal favors tourism that cherishes the visitors with providing deep knowledge and conserving the cultures and environment they visit (Himalayan River Operator Nepal, 2014).

According to Nepal Gateway,” Bhotekoshi River is also called White Water River and is one of the best and Short River rafting in Nepal with the intense of thrilling rafting adventure ( Nepal Gateway Trekking, 2014).” Almost all the rivers of Nepal flow from the mountain region and come with the high forces with continuous rapid action and this makes the tourist more adventurous and thrilling. Adventure tourism is not just trekking and mountaineering, now rafting and river based any activities are also counted as the adventure tourism. According to The Ministry of Cultural, Tourism and Civil Aviation,” the statistics shows that there has been the increment of the tourists in Nepal for the purpose of adventurous activities (Binu, 2013).”

According to N. P. Bhandary R. K. Dahal and M. Okamura,” Pokhara is one of the tourist destinations of Nepal where on 5 may, 2012 a devastating debris mixed flood in the downstream of Seti River where many people are killed in that disaster (N.P. Bhandari, n.d.).”

. The tourism statistics by Ministry of culture, Tourism and civil Aviation (MOCTCA, 2012) shows that the numbers of tourists who are in the age group 16-30 years visit the country mainly for adventurous purpose (Binu, 2013).

Nepal’s main asset is water and it is the second highest in the world. According to Pashupati SJB Rana,” if the rivers of Nepal are harnessed, controlled and utilized properly in a sustainable manner then there will be the development in the tourism sector and as well as in the local areas also which simply results in the development of the country (Lohani, 2011).” So this helps in the tourism sector and for those people who gives the interest towards river. If the government does this in time then some of the environmental factors could be controlled like flood, landslide etc. If the tourist comes to Nepal then the country’s economy automatically rises up.

According to (MOCTCA) Ministry of culture, Tourism and civil Aviation,” the countries like England, France, US, Australia, Japan, Canada, Russia visited Nepal for adventurous activities like rafting, trekking, hiking and others (N.P. Bhandari, n.d.).”

“Nepal has no less than 83000 MV hydro potential. But availability of the fund is a major constraint so according to Binod Bhattarai tourism has suffered a setback in recent years because of political instability as well as economical condition and ling draw ethnic conflict (Lohani, 2011).” Climate change can also have a direct effect in river based tourism. In the winter season, the flow of river will be low because melting point of an ice is low so there will be low tourist turnover and by this economy of the country will automatically be low.

Rafting in Nepal

Rivers of Nepal flow rather faster than any of other countries in the world. Bhotekoshi River ranked top 6 in the world in case of rafting ( Himalayan River Operator Nepal, 2014). So many foreigners visit Bhotekoshi River for the main purpose of rafting. There are many agents who are helping foreigners as well as local people for the development of rafting. So rivers of Nepal flow so fast that for the rafter they can enjoy the thriller and adventurous moment.

Another popular destiny for rafting is Trishuli River. Trishuli River is also very popular river for rafting for foreigners and as well as local people. Just 3 to 4 hours it takes from Kathmandu to reach Trishuli River so people can easily go there.

Kayaking

Kayaking is one of the adventurous games done in the excitement of white water kayaking on warm and Friendly River (Himalayan River Operator, 2014). Just with a single boat, a single person with international level experienced instructor, people can enjoy the excitement in the river flowing very forcedly. Kayaking is very popular in Bhotekoshi River and as well as in Trishuli River.

Sightseeing

Rivers are not only for rafting and kayaking but also people can spend hours and hours sitting at the bank of the river. They can relax and can enjoy the flow of the river. The image of the sun reflecting on the river could be the beautiful moment and the people cannot forget that moment and it is very hard to imagine. Rivers of Nepal is one of the nature’s gifts that one can fell like heavenly experience.

Limitation of literature review

Limitation is the certain of limits. This study has some problems and limited as well. Certain limitations are highlighted towards below:

Respondent has not given proper attention due to lack of time and resources.
Study was carried out within Thamel area.
Busy schedule of authorized person led impossible to fetch maximum data.
Some data were on hypothetical assumption because due to the lack of fact knowledge and written statement.
Conclusion: Literature Review

There are many rivers in Nepal among them Bhotekoshi and Trishuli River are the best for rafting and kayaking. These rivers are also called White Water River with thrilling and adventurous activities. The rivers of Nepal come with high forces which flow from mountain region and make the foreigners more adventurous and thrilling.

All the data collected by the researcher shows that there has been the increment of the tourist in Nepal in case of river based tourism. The age group from 16-30 years visits Nepal every year for adventure. Also the foreigners from different countries visited Nepal for rafting, trekking, hiking and others. Nepal is rich in water resources so it ranked second in the world.

The researcher found that rivers are being polluted day by day; this directly affects the economy of the country as well as river based tourism. If the government does not take action about this then river tourism will be diminished slowly.

Methodology

Sample

Minimum hundred of randomly selected persons of equally Nepalese and foreigner will be asked to participate here in the survey. The population of foreigner people found more comparing towards other ordinary people close to Thamel area. Therefore, 65% of the foreigners are interested in tourism activities where as 35% of the Nepalese are involved in tourism activities. However, current surveys explain that flow of foreigner citizens are growing in the coming days. Finally after the long survey, targeted place will be sited at Thamel area so that calculation of international citizen will count easy.

Method

The research use Qualitative methods to collect all the possible data. Hundreds of respondent are participated in this study. Researcher collected all the questionnaire and this questionnaire are asked to the respondent. Qualitative interviewing is done by two ways process which gives the researcher to gather all the data more or less subjective and value overloaded (Healey, 1999-2014 ).

Research tools

The study is done in order to grasp the ideas on what was the current state of River based tourism in Nepal. Certain research tools are required to achieve appropriate data and information certain tools are:

Observation: There are two types of observation which includes participative and non-participative.
Internet/books: The researcher read all the books and as well through online basis to collect the proper and appropriate data.
Interview: Interview simply means the conversation of a person gathering some information from another person. So, the researcher will gather all the possible data through the interview.
Questionnaire: Researcher draws some possible questionnaire to collect the necessary data. The researcher has collected some questions in which respondent will give all the possible answers, by this researcher will get the appropriate data.

The local respondent will be asked according to the questions collected or any information related to the respondents.

Data collection

Researcher will collect the data through online methods. Also the researcher would collect the data through face to face interview so researcher can get highest responses rate in survey research. Furthermore, this allows the researcher to get the appropriate answers. Finally data can be collected through online or face to face interview which saves the time and as well as data or information can be entered directly in the database safely and easily (University of Wisconsin Eau claire, n.d).

Data analysis

Data analysis is the process of the evaluating the data using analytical and logical reasoning to find out each component of the data provided (Dasta Analys, 2014). Data analysis is done by gathering data from various sources, then reviewed and then analyzed to find out the conclusion. The researcher collected all the data from the various source and came to the result.

Timeline of activities

Topics

November

December

1st week

2nd week

3rd week

4th week

1st week

2nd week

3rd week

Topic selection

Literature Review

Proposal written

Proposal Approval

Data collection/ Field Work

Data Analysis

Interpretation

Report write up

Submission

Conclusion

Researcher found that river is one of the most important resources of Nepal and it flows from Himalayan to Terai Region. Many foreigners visit Nepal for the purpose of rafting, cannoning or kayaking. There are many rivers which are suitable for rafting and some of them are Bhotekoshi River and Trishuli River. The pollution is increasing day by day in Kathmandu so the researcher found that the number of tourist is decreasing day by day.

Now the rivers are being polluted day by day so the researcher found that in the near future these types of adventurous activities like rafting, kayaking will be diminished soon. Not only rivers are for rafting or kayaking purpose one can their time by sitting at the bank of the river, relax and can watch the flow of rivers. Due to political instability of Nepal, most of the time there will be strike so this directly affect the economic condition of Nepal and by this many tourist could not come to visit Nepal.

The countries like US, England, Australia, and Canada mostly visit Nepal for the adventurous purpose like rafting or kayaking. The researcher has found that now rafting, kayaking are also categories into adventurous activities.

Appendix
Q.1. Which are the potential river sites where river based tourism is possible?
Q.2. What are the different activities of river based tourism?
Q.3. What are the types of river suitable for river tourism?
Q.4. What are the potential customers of river based tourism?
Q.5. What are the government policies and plans for river based tourism
Reference

Himalayan River Operator Nepal. (2014). Rafting in Nepal. Retrieved from himalayanriveroperator: http://www.himalayanriveroperator.com/rafting-in-nepal.php

Nepal Gateway Trekking. (2014). Bhote Koshi River Rafting. Retrieved from nepalgatewaytrekking: http://www.nepalgatewaytrekking.com/nepal/rafting-kayaking-package/bhote-koshi-river-rafting.html

Binu. (2013, September 1). Adventure tourism gains popularity. Retrieved from ametreks: http://ametreks.com/blog/2013/09/01/adventure-tourism-gains-popularity/

Dasta Analys. (2014). Retrieved from Businessdictionary: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/data-analysis.html

Healey, M. (1999-2014 ). Tools for Qualitative Research. Retrieved from ehow: http://www.ehow.com/info_8036314_tools-qualitative-research.html

Himalayan River Operator. (2014). Kayak Clinics and Expedition. Retrieved from himalayanriveroperator: http://www.himalayanriveroperator.com/kayaking-in-nepal.php

Himalayan River Operator Nepal. (2014). Adventure Adrenaline Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking in Nepal. Retrieved from himalayanriveroperator: http://www.himalayanriveroperator.com/

Khadka, S. K. (n.d.). Nepal main rivers and watersheds. Retrieved from newworldatlas: http://newworldatlas.blogspot.com/2011/08/nepal-main-rivers-and-watersheds.html

Lohani, M. P. (2011). Harnessing Nepal Water Resources and expanding tourism potential . Retrieved from telegraphnepal: http://www.telegraphnepal.com/national/2014-11-20/harnessing-nepal-water-resources-and-expanding-tourism-potential.html

N.P. Bhandari, R. D. (n.d.). Preliminary Understanding of the Seti River Debris-Flood in. Retrieved from hils: http://www.hils.org.np/ranjan/papers/setiIssmg.pdf

prabin. (2010, March 28). NATURAL RESOURCES IN NEPAL: Forest, Water, Soil and Minerals. Retrieved from nepaldestination: http://nepaldestination.blogspot.com/2010/03/natural-resources.html

SAARC Tourism. (2009). Rivers of Nepal. Retrieved from nepal.saarctourism: http://nepal.saarctourism.org/rivers.html

Thamel Dot Com. (n.d.). Rivers of Nepal. Retrieved from thamel: http://www.thamel.com/htms/rivers.htm

University of Wisconsin Eau claire. (n.d). Quantitative and Qualitative Data collection methods . Retrieved from uwec: http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/ResearchMethods/Data collection methods/DATA COLLECTION METHODS.htm

The Porter’s 5 forces framework is an outside-in approach whereby the industry forces affecting the business performance is analysed to facilitate managers in decisions to direct their resources in achieving maximum profitability. The 5 forces identified by Porter are the horizontal competition from substitutes, new entrants and existing rivals as well as the vertical competition from the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers (Porter, 1980). In this essay, the author would like to analyse the competitiveness of the hospitality industry by critically evaluating the strength of each force individually with relevant examples and identify the most influential force.

2.1 Threat of new entrants

Threats of new entrants are one of the principal forces of Porter’s theory of five forces (Porter, 1980). Bain (1956) who initiated the study of entry barriers identified the major barriers as capital requirements, economies of scale, product differentiation, government approval and absolute costs. These barriers create constraints for new entrants to enter the industry, creating fewer competitors therefore retaining the market shares of existing firms to achieve higher profit (Botten and McManus, 1999). International hotel chains enjoy large economies of scale (Salinger, 1990) as they have huge numbers of hotel chains and brands therefore expanding their market power. The Hilton Worldwide brand shares the same source of supply through their supply management system and customer database through their technology platform, the OnQ system across all hotel chains (Hilton Worldwide, 2012; Hilton Franchise, 2012), forcing new entrants with small scales to accept the cost disadvantage which directly affects their profits and sustainability (Pearce and Robinson, 2009).

Due to the analogous product and service offerings, brand identification is the best way for hotel chains to differentiate themselves from competitors (Dube & Renaghan, 2000; Makadok, 2010). International hotel chains has succeeded in creating brand awareness through rapid expansions of brands such as Hilton and Holiday Inn (Okumus et al., 2010) with assurance of quality as well as the implementation of different loyalty programmes, causing new entrants the challenge to overcome customer loyalty (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Capital requirement of opening a new hotel is very high. It incurs high fixed costs (Chung, 2000) for the land and the construction plus renovation of the hotel. Huge amount of start-up and running cost is also required to recruit employees and roll-out marketing activities such as the development of the hotel brand through advertising as well as research and development activities (Matovic, 2002). Huge budgets must also be allocated for maintenance and upkeep of the hotel property (Hall, 1987).

Besides structural barriers which are influenced by the nature of the industry, there are also behavioural barriers which Sigfried and Evans (1994) describe as the retaliation strategies firms implements such as patents, predatory pricing, and exclusivity agreements with suppliers and distributors. However, the liberation of trade barriers by governments due to the trend of globalisation lowers the entry barriers especially in developing countries which do not have the resources to provide sufficient hospitality services and requires foreign firms to help develop the tourism sector (Hitt and Hoskisson, 1999). Conversely certain government do limit entries and provide exclusive rights to the local firms.

Weighing the facts in this study, barriers of entry to the hospitality industry is still considered relatively high, especially to the luxury segment where more investment and development of brand is required, and customers loyalty in existing luxury brands are already high which is proved by the high prices the consumers are willing to pay for a hotel room. In the budget or midscale segment, new entrants could attempt price penetration but the sustainability of the business could be unfeasible if consumers’ choices are dependent on the pricing only (Graf, 2011). Generally the threat of new entrant is fairly low, but could increase if there is liberal trading policies and high concentration of the industry in the particular location. But once a new entrant decides to take the high risk of entering the industry and has the ability to innovate and make differentiation in products and services, they will aggressively pursue market share to cover the high fixed cost invested (Matovic, 2002), raising the competition level in the industry.

2.2 Threat of substitutes

Porter (1980) has also identified the threat of substitute in increasing intensity of rivalry. Substitutes give consumers more options often with better prices or value in achieving the same basic needs or wants. Substitutes are often not identified as primary rivals, making them difficult to be anticipated by firms (Magretta 2012). The presence of substitutes limits the profitability of firms by placing a ceiling in prices and increase price elasticity of the hotel product (Porter, 1980). When the pricing factor is considered, threats are formed when substitutes offer lower prices for the similar product, offer better quality products with a slight increase in price and when lower quality of products is provided with a significant drop in prices (Lewis et al., 1989).

Technological advancement supported by the high speed of internet has posed significant threat to the meeting and conference facility of a hotel which are the main revenue source of business hotels with the availability of teleconferencing. Many corporate companies would consider teleconferencing to be an ideal choice as it eliminates the high cost incurred for flight tickets, lodging and rental of conference facilities and equipment as well as the time consuming trips (Leocha, 2009). Other potential substitutes for the business traveller segments could be corporate guesthouses and long stay hotels (Regal Wing, 2011) whereas leisure travellers could opt for cheaper alternatives such as rented apartments, informal lodging with friends or families, RVs, camping, simple capsule hotels or make plans for overnight rides by long hour flight, train or bus. Business of airport hotels are also affected by the availability of sleeping capsules and rooms in airports (USA today, 2009) which removes the need of transit passengers to rent day rooms in hotels.

However, threats of substitutes in upper-scale luxury hotels are relatively low because consumers of this segment demands for exceptional comfort along with exclusive service standards, amenities and recognition which typical substitutes could not meet (Griffin et al., 1997). There are many substitutes in the hospitality industry except for the high end hotels. The author concludes that the overall threat of substitute is moderate as the availability of substitutes is very dependent on the location of the hotel and consumer preferences as hotel provides more comfort, convenience and security compared to the substitutes.

2.3 Power of suppliers

The power of suppliers has direct impact on the profitability of hotels as it controls the input of the hotel which is vital for the operations of any hotel and provides flexibility to a hotel to give surplus to their customers. The hospitality industry is considered a matured industry (Martel 1974) and there are many suppliers who are readily in the market (Kim and Oh, 2004; Olsen and Roper 1998). Hotel suppliers include outsourced firms providing operational services such as accounting, maintenance, security, promotion and storage (Burt and Pinkerton, 1996) or even off-premise laundry services.

Real estate agencies are important suppliers when hotels are planning their pipelines and there are many which are available and competing for businesses from hotels as the investment is very huge. With active mergers and acquisitions in the industry, many hotel chains are actually affiliated with real estate companies such as Hilton Worldwide, La Quita Inn and Motel 6 being acquired by Blackstone group with active real estate businesses (Wikipedia, 2012) eliminating the need of suppliers. However, power of a particular supplier would be high if hotels are searching for unique locations.

Another main input of a hotel would be the employees. With the development of hotel schools and relevant courses, many qualified personnel are available for management trainee programmes and further contribute to the hotels. Hotels are often given credit to the ability to reduce unemployment rate of an area, proving that the ratio of supplier to firm is higher (Hassan, 2000). However hotels face the issue of shortage in manpower during peak seasons due to the employment strategies of hotel establishments to have a core of full time employees and employ casual and part-time labour to meet fluctuation of demand (Lufferty, 1998). The nature of part-time employment results in high turnover rates and high training resources.

A centralised supply management system and is often integrated across brands of major hotel chains, giving strong negotiation power to the hotel, making business from hotels indispensable to suppliers (Cox, 1999). With the vast growth of the information technology sector, there are many property management systems without significant product differentiation for hotel chains to choose from, thus giving hotels high buying powers. Another plus point for hotel groups is the practice of vertical integrations and the opportunity of backward integration (Lafferty and van Fossen, 2001) by owning own real estate agencies, manufacturing plants and hotel schools such as the Accor training academy. Summing up the relevant facts shows that the power of suppliers in the hospitality industry is low.

2.4 Power of buyers

The hospitality industry has many buyers including corporate companies, travel agencies and individual travellers or the user itself. Price sensitivity of buyers depends on the hotel segmentation (Go and Pine, 1995). Buyers of budget hotel segments are generally more price sensitive than those of the luxury segment who appreciates higher quality of services rather than affordability. Switching cost of buyers could be increased through loyalty programmes which provide more value and benefit to buyers as a reward of repetitive patronisation (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Corporate and travel agent discounts are also given reduce the power of buyers to switch their suppliers (Jones et al, 2007). Buyer power has increase through distribution channels of hotels in the internet. It gives buyers access to information and reviews of different hotels available and compare them instantly (Law and Hsu, 2005).

Gu and Canoon (1998) suggest that buyer power could be subject to seasonality depending on the availability of disposable income and leisure time or the geographical factors of the location such as weather, and hotels implement yield management to gain maximum profitability with considerations of these factors (Burgess and Bryant, 2001). During peak seasons when there is an undersupply of rooms and lower price elasticity, hotel products would be sold at rack rates, decreasing buyer power of price negotiating. In contrast with low season and periods of slow economy growth where hotels strive to fill up occupancy to achieve minimum profit to breakeven, buyer power will increase significantly with attractive packages of value and choice of accommodation in the available hotel chains (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). In summary, the power of buyers in is moderate depending on different circumstances.

2.5 Rivalry among firms

The level of competition within existing firms in the hospitality industry also affects the profitability of firms (Porter, 1980). Despite the uncertainty in economy, the tourism sector is showing steady growth and remains strong across the globe. It is forecasted that at the end of year 2012, there would be 1 billion international tourist arrivals globally. Growth is shown in every region, with comparison with the previous year, Asia Pacific showed the highest growth of 8%, Africa with 7%, America with 5%, and Europe with 4%, Middle East only showed growth of 0.7% as the region is still recovering from the effect of the Arab Spring (UNWTO, 2012).The growth in tourism increases the demand in the lodging industry therefore encouraging international hotel chains to develop strategic planning to accommodate the tourist by the expansion of their brands in potential markets (Lafferty and van Fossen, 2001). Expansions can be done rapidly with the trend of franchise licensing and management contracts (Chen and Dimou, 2005).

The hospitality industry involves many firms including international and domestic hotel chains ranging from luxury, full service, mid-scale, boutique and budget hotels to accommodate needs of different customer segments. Main international chains found around the globe would be The Intercontinental group, Wyndham Hotel Group, Marriot International, Hilton Worldwide, Accor group, Choice hotels, Best Western, Starwood, Carlson and Global Hyatt with growing numbers of room each year. The hotel industry performance outlook of 2012 provided by tripadvisor shows that 58% of global hotels believe that their firm can gain more profitability in future. Survey done by Travelocity shows that 76% of consumer are planning to spend more on travelling and 53% of consumers are planning to travel more compared to year 2011. This implies a positive growth in the hospitality industry (Marketing chart, 2012).

The nature of the hotel business shows the need of international expansion to meet demands with wide dispersion of geographical spectrum (Matthews, 1997) as the carrying capacity is fixed and the services provided by hotels can only meet the demand of consumer if it is present in the location. Firms such as international hotel chains operating in the same location have market similarities as they share the same sets of market (Chen, 1996). They compete for the same resources or customers and face the same constraints affected by the external environment. Location is the key determinant of one’s rival as the role of a hotel is to satisfy the guest need to get accommodation at that specific area. The strategic decision in deciding the geographical location of a hotel is very crucial as it is the attribute of a hotel that is fixed the fixed cost incurred is very high and (Matovic, 2002). Hotel chains develop in the same location to justify the attractiveness of the area thus reducing the perceived risk of investment by managers (Markussen, 1990). Go and Pine (1995) argues that product segmentation which includes pricing and level of facilities should be considered while determining primary rivals but pricing is highly variable and the change in pricing could cause the hotel to meet new competitors and increase the number of competitors (Roginsky, 1995) therefore damaging the profitability potential of the industry.

Rivalry is often high with firms existing in the same strategic group. Pearce and Robinson (2009) stated that a strategic group would consist of hotels with similar competitive strategies and market positioning; while Hatten and Schendel, (1977) propose that members of an industry can be classified into groups of similar strategy and structure. They have the same distribution channel, features of products and services provided, target market, and identical technology advancement. Strategic groups can be identified by comparing the competitive characteristics of firms by using almost a hundred possible variables (Ketchen et al. 1993) such as the quality range, geographic coverage, degree of service offered and degree of vertical integration. Firms that are present in the same strategic group are identified as a close rivals, assisting managers in constructing competitive strategies and allocate resources efficiently to be ahead of rivals (Matthews, 2000). Structural similarities of firms in the same strategic group cause them to be affected in the same way by external environmental changes and competitive strategies within the group.

Imitation of strategies can be easily done within the same group which is supported by the institutional theory that shows the occurrence of similar competence between firms (Selznick, 1996) under the same internal and external environment causing isomorphism (Oliver, 1988). Isomorphism is the condition when firms competing in the same population share same characteristics. The environmental forces have mimetic influences on hotels (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), where the successful chain is often imitated by the rest to reduce uncertainty the need of investment in their own market research. Obligatory action also causes imitation, March (1981) quoted that ‘obligatory action happens when enough firms do things in a particular fashion, it becomes the norm and from that point on, things are done that way without conscious thought.’ Caves and Porter (1980) suggest that the existence of strategic groups gives an advantage to members of a strategic group by creating a high entry barrier to new entrants because of the saturation of competition within.

Besides the factors mentioned above, rivalry among firms are intensified due to the high exit barriers (Dess et al, 2004) associated with significant capital investment as well as the high exit cost such as the depreciation cost of fixed assets, severance pay for employees and compensation cost for breach of contracts with suppliers and buyers. Exit barriers are especially high for large hotel chain with multiple locations, extensive interconnection with different suppliers and buyers, and large pool of employees. The high amount of sunk and exit cost pressures the exit- prospective hotel to keep its market share and continue running the business along with the implementation of new strategies in hope to revive the performance of the hotel and maintain the employment of the large labour force involved.

Perishable products offered by hotels create the urgency in selling the product as soon as possible to capture revenue, elevating the competition especially during off-peak season with oversupply of rooms (Matthews, 1997). For leisure travellers who do not travel frequently and has no brand preferences, the switching cost is very low or almost nothing as they would be attracted to any hotel chain which gives more perceived value or has lower price without considering the brand of the hotel chain, making them a potential customer for any hotel chain (Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000). Hotel products have very limited potential of differentiation because the basic need of accommodation and shelter for tourist could easily be met and strategies of one hotel could be easily imitated by the other because of the lacking in patented knowledge and technology (Dunning & McQueen, 1982). Weighing the factors and reasoning contributing to the rivalry among firms, the author suggest that this is the strongest force in Porters five forces affecting level of competition in the hospitality industry.

3.1 Conclusion

Given the analysis in the many competitive forces found between rivals, the author suggests that the intensity of rivalry among firm is strong but not to the brutal stage yet. Although growth in mature industries such as the hospitality industry is generally slower, the emergence of complement products such as cheap flights and additional frequent routes has facilitated tourism growth therefore benefiting the hotel businesses (Rey et al., 2011). Development of outbound tourism in emerging BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, Africa) countries and other Asia Pacific region which is expected to capture 29% of total international tourist arrival in 2030 (UNWTO, 2012) encourages the growth of hotel pipelines, giving the hotel business a very good prospect of the future. The hotel industry is also a multi-billion dollar industry with signs of rebound due to the healing economy (Hotel News Now, 2012) with large hotel chains co-existing enjoying great amount of profitability especially with the increase growth in the tourism and motivation in travelling. Furthermore, although many hotel chains exist in the industry, different hotels define competitors with different criteria such as segmentation, price and proximity (Whitla et al, 2007) depending on its strategic group.

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With the following information I have been asked to examine

You are an established Tour Operator offering worldwide, long haul programmes that feature Africa, The Caribbean, Dubai, The Far East and North America. Each programme uses a variety of methods of transportation,

With air being the principle method. You also use local rail and ferry connections and coaches are used extensively for both touring and transfers. It is an accepted fact that major accidents and incidents can occur during the operation of a programme.

Task 1

Describe the major accidents and incidents that could occur throughout the duration of the programme described above.

Task 2

Produce a detailed and systematic Emergency Plan that can be put into action to deal with any major accident and/or emergency.

Notes

You should produce one generic plan that is capable of being implemented for all situations. Do not produce separate plans for each of the accidents and incidents identified in Task 1 above.

Your plan must be comprehensive and include contact and staffing requirements, in addition to the actual plan of action.

Table of Contents ? Page no.

OBJECTIVES: i

INTRODUCTION 1

WHAT IS TOURISM AND TOUR OPERATION 1

Task 1 3

1.1 Activities in tour packages. 3

1.2. Tourism and Transportation 4

1.3.Accidents in tourism 5

1.3.1. Accident Due to Natural phenomena

5

1.3.2. Accident in the Transportation

6

1.3.3.Accidents due to Activities

6

1.3.4.Biological 6

1.3.5.Accident made by man

7

1.3.6.Common Accident

7

1.4.Result of accident 7

Task 2 8

2.1.Planning for Accident 8

2.2.Identifying the main accident and develop an action plan for those accidents 8

2.3.Give necessary training for staff and information for travelersStaff. 11

2.3.2.Information to Clients 12

2.4. Implementing and monitoring the plan 13

INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS TOURISM AND TOUR OPERATION

According to the World Tourism Organization Tourism can define as “The Activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”

Tourism is “the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs” (Mathieson & Wall, 1982, p.1)

Tourism has not been defined universally because it is hard to define if tourism is

an industry and what factors make a person traveling a tourist. “All tourism involves

travel, yet not all travel is tourism” (Mill & Morrison, 2002, p. 1). What this is saying that

you need to go somewhere to be a tourist yet you can go somewhere and not be a tourist,

simply by visiting family. Travel refers to the act of moving outside of one’s usual

environment for business or pleasure

Tourism industry can divide into 3 main categories. These categories are depending on the type of the travel.

Domestic tourism

When People travel within their own country come under this section

Incoming or inbound tourism

When people entering the country in question from the home country, this is a type of international tourism

Outbound tourism

When people travel away from their home country

As we discussed earlier there are some main requirements that a traveler seeks when travelling takes place. Some of them are

-Accommodation

-Travelling Assistant

-Information Assistant

In order to assist with the travel arrangements, specialized travel services providers comes in to action. They are called tour operators, a tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday package for a individual or for group of people.

Sometimes there is confusion over the difference in functions of tour operators and travel agents. Tour operators are the organizers and providers of package holidays. Who makes contracts with hoteliers, airlines and ground transport companies then finally print brochures and advertise the holidays that they have assembled.

Travl
Agency

Cultural Sites

Natural Sites

Destinations

Cultural/Social

Events

Ground

Operators

Ground

Transport

Resturant

Transport to/From

Destination

Accomodation

Tour

OperatorTravel agents give advice, sell and administer the bookings for number of tour operators. As by definition, tour operators design packages, maintains the relationship between the other parties.

Consumer

The Package holidays offered may cover a wide range of destinations, both national and international, and can cover a variety of holidays, such as cruises, adventure, touring, winter and summer destinations.

Task 1

Describe the major accidents and incidents that could occur throughout the duration of the programme described above.

Tourist destination is the most important component in a tour package. This helps tour operator to attract tourist for their packages. Following are some of main tourist destinations tour operators use to attract tourist for their tour packages

1.1 Activities in tour packages.

Based on the type and the requirement of the consumer tour operator creates a packages. If the tour package is based on adventure tourism it will mainly consist of activity based tour itinerary. These activities are based on the tourist location they visit. As an example tour package in Africa includes a safari tour, in Dubai shopping and also safaris in deserts etc.

Following are some of main activities that include in a tour package. These activities can be change by demand of travel group. And also it is tour operators responsibility to arrange these activities with safety measures.

Safari tour

Surfing

Rafting

Horse riding

Hiking

Nature walks

Hot air balloon

Helicopter tours

Bridge jumping

Diving

Whale watching

Cruising

Historical Places Visit

Group Events in hotel

Shopping

Cultural event

Boat Riding

Another adventure events

1.2. Tourism and Transportation

Transportation is the method using for travel one place to another. Travelling is main part of any kind of tourism. No tourism take place without considering about transportation. There are four main transportation methods used when it comes to travel and tourism, they are air, road, sea and railway. Most of tour operators used following methods of transportation heavily for their travel arrangements.

Air :- Aviation

This is the most common method use for transportation within the tourism industry. This can be divide in two ways. International and domestic travel. Tour operators get this service through the travel agents.

Ground:- Coaches and Rail

These are the two methods tour operators used to travel tourist in the ground. Most tour operators manage their own coaches services with well manage staff. If not they get the service from travel agents. Depend on the size of the group coaches can be varied.

Railway is mainly managed by rail companies. They provide scheduled service within the home country. Tour operators may reserve seats for tourist group and use this service.

Sea :- Ships, Ferry

This is the transport method heavily used when people travel in the water. Ships and Ferries provide link between group of islands, or islands and a larger land mass. Tour operators get the service through the cruise or ferry operators for their packages.

1.3.Accidents in tourism

An accident is a specific, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.(Wikipidea )

As described above even in tourism there is a big possibility to take place an accident during the tour program. Following are some major accident that could happen in the tourism industry. These accident can be divided in to several section depend on the accident type and location it happens.

1.3.1. Accident Due to Natural phenomena

It’s a common fact that natural phenomena cause huge accident and damages to tourism industry. As an example Tsunami in 2004 December results number of deaths in the coastal area including tourist who were there at the time when it happened. Following are some of natural phenomena identified around the world

Earthquakes

Flood

Landslides

Erosion

Fire

Storms

1.3.2. Accident in the Transportation

When tour operators creating packages as described above they use various method of transportation to travel tourist. Following are some accidents that can take place while transporting passengers,

Air accidents

Sea accidents

Rail accidents

Road accidents

1.3.3.Accidents due to Activities

As we described in this article travelers are participating various kind of activities in the event. Due to these activities traveler can face to these type of accidents.

Animal Attacks

Pool Accident

Beach accident

Falling down

Overturn Boat

1.3.4.Biological

Also there can be certain incidents that a traveler may face with following types of accidents,

Communicable diseases

Food hygiene

Illness

1.3.5.Accident made by man

In a destination there can be sudden attracts or picketing that a traveler might face in to, some of them are

Political Reasons

Incident investigations

Terrorist attacks

Tour operator goes bankruptcy

1.3.6.Common Accident

Apart from all other following accident can happen to anyone including tourist at any time in anywhere,

Meat with a robbery

Lost in the way

1.4.Result of accident

Accident always brings up the bad result. Following are some of results can occur due to an accidents in the middle of travel package.

Dead of one or more in a travel group

Injured of one or more in a travel group

Trip Cancellation

Group stuck in a location

Illness of one or more group members

Delay from a schedule time

Economy problem of group members

Lost baggage.

Task 2

Produce a detailed and systematic Emergency Plan that can be put into action to deal with any major accident and/or emergency.

As describe in above accidents are unpredictable and can occur anywhere at any time of the day. Since there are many great risks involved in tourism accidents it is commonly understood there should be proper measures take before those types of incidents take place. By which will ease the situation and avoid the panic among others.

2.1.Planning for Accident

It is tour operators responsibility to give safety for their travelers till the end of their journey. Using good plan to response for accident can prevent or minimize risk for travelers. In this section we are talking about how to create a common plan to face above mention accidents.

An emergency plan it can be divided in to three main section.

Identifying the main accident and develop a action plan for those accidents

Give necessary training for the staff and information to travelers.

Implement the plan and monitor the progress

2.2.Identifying the main accident and develop an action plan for those accidents

In this step tour organizations must try to identify and narrow down what are the possible accident that can take place in a destination and how to develop an action plan for those. Priorities for the action plan can be changed depend on the tourist destination. As an example tour operator must give enough measures for accident related to animal attacks, communicable disease or food hygiene on trip in Africa but less in Dubai. As we design a common plan for all of those identified potential incidents we need to bring forward the most suitable emergency plan that covers most of the accidents that can happen in destination.

Following are the main points that need to be considered to complete in this step. The outcome for each point can be changed according to the destination.

Point 1:- appoint a person who can be in charge when accident occurs.

Every tour operator must have one or several people in charge to manage an event of emergency. Each group or individual must have a responsible person to lead them, in this case basically a guide can be used to do both guiding, that is part of the service a tour operator provide and in an accident to act as a trained helper by giving proper prior training to him/her

Point 2 :-appoint a member or members from staff to response when accident occurs

One or more members must be included in the response team. Each of them must be given different tasks, response team must consist of following members to support in the event of emergency

Communication

This members responsibility is inform the head of the team first and then if required to travelers if emergency occurs

Supportive

This member responsibility is to check equipment, records and other thing are safe and in order.

Fist aid support

This one is responsible for first aid support to travelers in the event of emergency.

Tour operators must identify or train current staff before members select team or appointing them to act in an accident

Point 3 :-Information is very important for every emergency plan. There for following information must include in the emergency plan. These details can be changed depending on the tour destination.

Emergency assembly sites

When an event of accident tour operator must provide separate safe site to assemble for the travelers. As an example if the hotel met with fire put travelers to another hotel.

Evacuation route

Always must have a backup route to travel for destination. Then travelers can avoid a place where possible to meet with accidents. As a example avoid flood areas.

Staff contact details

Every action plan must have contact details of every member in the response team as well as the important numbers of tour operator company staff.

Emergency contact numbers

In this section must have the numbers we can get help from in the event of emergency. As an example Police, Fire Department, Hospitals

Warning message receivers

In this section we are keeping a person or an organization where we can get further information regarding events of an accident or situation. As an example contact details of whether department, local police station.

Point 4 :- To reduce the impact of an accident tour operators must provide sufficient equipment to travelers. In this point emergency plan list down the equipment needed for a emergency

First aid kit

Fire distinguish

Life jackets

When first step is completed tour operator must come up with basic plan to meet up with the accidents. It will list down all the actions and details that they must be prepared for in an event of an accident. Following table show a sample of the outcome of first point. Using this information tour operators can minimize or prevent the effect of accident to travelers. This emergency plan must be given and communicated well with every tour guide who coordinates the travel group.

Emergency Plan for Tour operator aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦.for destination aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

1

Head of responsible

2

Teams

Name Contact Number

Communication

Support

First Aid

3

Information

Emergency assembly sites

City Site

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦. aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

Evacuation route

Destination Evacuation Route

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦. aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

Staff contact details

Name Contact Number

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦. aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

Emergency contact numbers

Department Number

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦. aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

Warning message receivers

Department Number

aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦. aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦..

4

Equipment

Type No

First aid kit

Fire distinguish

Life Jackets

2.3.Give necessary training for staff and information for travelersStaff.

Even though tour operator makes a good emergency plan they need to involve the two parties that face the real situation. Those are staff and travelers. In this step main consideration is how to train the staff to face for accident situation and provide necessary information and assistance to the travelers.

2.3.1.Staff Training

When it comes to staff training company must decide what kind of training is needed. Also company need to decide who, where and when these training to be conducted. Following are some of the trainings that members of the emergency plan must undergo to act wise and confidently in an emergency.

Basic training

Every staff in the organization must have an idea about emergency procedure within the organization. In this training all the staff will be trained about current emergency procedure in the organization. Following are some sections that are need to cover in this training

Information handling

Evacuation practice

Basic first aid training

Specialist training

When selecting staff for the team, like first aid, communication, etc they need separate specialist training in those fields.

2.3.2.Information to Clients

Before the tour starts tour operator must give information to travelers how to act when an emergency. Following are some important information that can provide to the travelers.

Where is evacuation Places

To whom they must inform when an emergency, like fire, illness, suspicions act. Also the contact details of staff in charge

Where are the equipment to use when an event of emergency

Apart from that it always good to display these information where ever possible to see to both staff and travelers. Company can use following methods to display information

Handouts

Display Boards

Operation Manual

2.4. Implementing and monitoring the plan

After above preparation tour operator must put this plan in to practice. Even through act perfectly right in company create emergency plan, does not entirely mean everything will work without any problems according to plan when in real situation. However it will help people in charge to practice and memories the things they need to do in an situation all though it always create problems when put these plan into practice. So tour operator must monitor the plan regularly and do the necessary changes to the plan. As an example if new evacuation point is created those details must update in to the plan or a member of an emergency plan leaves the operator new one should be appointed accurately.

Anyhow creating an emergency plan that will be perfect for all incidents is like a never ending loop. It always goes in a circle. If there is something new or someone new comes in we need to change the plan accordingly that mean we cannot create emergency plan once and for all and use it, we need to keep on adding changes and monitor it constantly to make it accurate and effective. By implementing this kind of method can have a most reliable emergency plan for the operator.

Training/ Information to staff and client
Implement and Monitoring Plan
Making Emegency
Plan for Accident
CONCLUSION

Accidents in tourism is never a new or surprising thing to anybody, although accidents are common in this sector as many other sectors, tour operators must take enough precautions to minimize the impact of the accident as it will destroy the business they are involved and as well as the future of the industry, there for it is very vital to identify accidents that can occur during a tour programme and take appropriate steps to minimize these accidents and impact on those to the consumers, one generic way is to plan and implement emergency plan that covers most of the accidents and incidents that can take place while at a tour. For this, it is very important tour operator provides relevant training to the staff who are in and provide accurate information, facilities and support to minimize the impact on an accident to both consumers and to the industry itself.

This paper is a research on the factors that have influenced growth in the boutique hotel sector, demonstrating that boutique hotels have become a popular alternative to five star properties. The study methods included a review of the literature and surveys of boutique hotel guests.

Location, high quality, uniqueness, services provided and the personalized levels of service offered the top five attributes attracting guests to these hotels. The growth of the boutique hotel sector may be because of hotel clients looking for alternatives to standard and more traditional accommodation. This paper will investigate the growth of the boutique hotel sector and the factors that influence the consumers’ decision to purchase this type of accommodation.

Introduction. Origin of boutique hotels.

1980’s were the time of the construction boom in the hotel business. Thus, only during 1980-87, the number of hotel rooms in the USA increased by 40%. Economic globalization has not bypassed the hotel industry: nowadays, mergers and acquisitions no longer involve just individual hotels, but the entire hotel chains. Huge international hotel groups are created, such as “Bass Hotels & Resorts”, “Starwood Hotels & Resorts”, and “Carlson Hospitality Worldwide” (Keeps 2006).

At the same time, hotels are becoming more and more comfortable, offering guests new services that previously simply did not exist or were accessible only to guests of 5-star hotels – spacious apartments, cable TV, high speed internet access, recreation complexes, and guaranteed security. But it turns out that the modern consumer is not enough satisfied with what traditional hotel give him; he needs now more than reliability and the program of “earning points” (Bender, 2009).

While the giants of the hospitality industry excelled themselves in the struggle for the customer, constructing mega-hotels – the most spacious, highest, most expensive, with a set of all conceivable service, they have lost the most perspective clientele: relatively young business travelers aged 25-45, rich and tending to everything unusual. Hotel giants are now challenged by small privately-owned hotels, each of which has its own unique style. By analogy with small shops, selling things from well-known designers, these hotels received the name of “boutique hotels” (Bender, 2009).

The first hotel of this format appeared only in the early 80-ies of the 20th century. It is believed that the first boutique hotels – sometimes referred to as design hotels (design hotels or lifestyle hotels) – opened their doors in 1981 on two continents simultaneously: “The Blakes Hotel” was opened in London, South Kensington, sponsored by a former actress, now a famous designer and hoteliers Anouska Hempel, and “Bedford” in San Francisco, located on Union Square. Subsequently, this hotel has become a part of a network of boutique-style hotels exclusively under the administration of one of the most famous players in the market – Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (Boutique Hotels On The Rise).

In 1984, three years later, the first object named “Morgans” which officially gained the status of a boutique hotel was opened in New York by the famous hotelier, developer and designer Ian Schrager, who is now considered a trendsetter on the market of boutique hotels (Bell 2008).

Definition and Features of a Boutique Hotel

A boutique hotel is a type of accommodation which can be called the embodiment of a design idea of modernity. Taste, luxury and exclusivity are the basic ingredients for the success of a boutique hotel. Further, the paper covers the main components, making up the notion of a boutique hotel (Boutique Hotels Defined).

First of all, a boutique hotel is usually a small hotel, the number of rooms in which rarely exceeds one hundred. The average number of rooms usually reaches 20-30 apartments. According to some experts, the maximum number of rooms in a boutique hotel should not exceed 150, because only in this case, the service may be personalized. They believe that the main feature of a boutique hotel is its chamber character and some mental connection between the clients of the hotel and its staff (for example, in some hotels the staff should know all the guests staying at the hotel by name). Others, including the founder and CEO of “Ian Schrager Hotels” Ian Schrager, believe that the key to the boutique hotel is not a small number of rooms and personified service, but the opportunity to involve the guests into a special atmosphere, influencing all their senses through architecture, design, colors, light and music. For example, these are the main peculiarities of Schrager’s boutique hotels “Paramount Hotel” (597 rooms) and “Hudson Hotel” (1000 rooms) (Bell 2008).

The word “boutique” also determines the degree of comfort and uniqueness of the hotel service. A boutique hotel is primarily a unique interior design. A boutique hotel is not necessarily trendy, but is always stylish. The design of a boutique hotel is often strictly kept within one theme: English aristocratic gloss of the late 19th century or ultra-minimalism, for instance. Nowadays, certain interiors for boutique hotels are developed by the leading representatives of the world’s design art, from Philippe Starck to Christian Lacroix (Craig, 2010).

Special services offered today by boutique hotels form another quality that makes them special. Services provided by various boutique hotels are typically exclusive. For example, the boutique hotel “Benjamin” in New York takes care of guests’ domestic animals; “Manor at Ngorongoro” at the foot of the volcano Ngorongoro in Tanzania offers an exciting excursion to Maasai tribe’s encampment. Classic services of VIP-tourism and boutique hotels also include helicopter transfer or jacuzzi with champagne. The main task of a boutique hotel lies in bringing individuality, sometimes at the maximum level. The style, intimacy familiar to the guests, and palpable contrast to other hotels – these are the characteristic features of a boutique hotel, which is an ideal place for customers looking for a hotel where they can relax and all their wishes will be fulfilled quickly and accurately (Craig 2010).

That is why sometimes boutique hotels are based on old castles or old hotels, i.e. places which have their own history and heritage, providing special individuality of boutique hotels. For the same reason, boutique hotels can often be located in places not originally intended for tourists. Today, they are opened on the territory of former factories, abandoned farmsteads and even aircraft hangars. At the same time, while creating a hotel, designers often try to preserve the atmosphere of the previous premises in order to make the guest feel special. Thus, the customer of a boutique hotel can feel like a character of a fairy-tail, adventure novels, detective or love story (McIntosh & Siggs, 2005).

All the boutique hotels in the world can be divided into 2 groups: urban and resort hotels. Having much in common, these groups still have significant differences. For example, in urban boutique hotels, one of the key factors for success is the location. The hotel must be located in a “landmark” city and preferably in the most popular part of it. The location is determined not only by the concept of convenience, but also by the presence of stylish and trendy neighbors. That is why lots of boutique hotels are located in cities like New York, Miami, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, although recently there emerges a trend of opening boutique hotels in smaller cities with the great potential for future development (Hachisu 2008).

Another situation concerns resort boutique hotels. The hotel’s location is also important here, but fashion placements are often hidden from prying eyes and seek to create a chic and exceptional comfort far away from the civilization, e.g. on remote islands or in wild jungle. Moreover, the more difficult is the road to the hotel, the more stylish and fashionable it is considered. While urban boutique hotels are often full of technical gadgets, from banal DVD-players to exotic electronically controlled beds, resort boutique hotels tend to provide recreation in isolation from technologies; and the lack of phones or TV-sets in the room is not some sad omission, but the deliberate technical asceticism. And this is not a complete list of differences (Lim & Endean 2009).

Another feature of a boutique hotel is that its main target audience is represented by people aged 20-50 with average or high income. The cost of living in a boutique hotel due to its uniqueness is often really quite high. Typically, each room of a boutique hotel is unique and each one has its own price. Today the lowest level of prices per room in a boutique hotel is about 200 Euros per day. This price level is valid for the boutique hotels of Europe, particularly Paris, Barcelona, Florence, Moscow, Istanbul or Rome, as well as for hotels in New York, Mexico City and Buenos Aires (Aiemens 2008).

Thus, by analogy with the trading format, a boutique hotel should be small, should offer high quality services, and provide individual service. Therefore, it should be classified as a five-star or luxury hotel. In addition, such hotels, obviously, should be unique and have impressive interiors. At the same time, there are no single international standards managing the procedure of designation of an object to the class of boutique hotels, so each operator interprets the word in its own way. Today, one can find five-star (ecological “Vida Sol e Mar” in Brazil) and three-star (“Rockhouse” villas in Jamaica) hotels, as well as hostels (“Rooms Deluxe” in Valencia, Spain) among the “boutique” hotels (Parker, 2006).

However, there still exist some characteristics allowing hotel owners to refer to the status of “designer” or “boutique” hotel. For example, when selecting objects for the “Mgallery” network, the hotel chain “Accor” outlines the following conditions: 1) the building and (or) the hotel should have its own history, 2) it should have an outstanding location, known for its unique concept, 3) it should be exclusive in its interior design and (or) the exterior (architecture), 4) it should prove personalized services (The Complete Guide To: European boutique hotel).

It seems that the absence of strict standards, allowing the inclusion of an object to the “boutique” format, opens up great opportunities for operators. Each hotel with small number rooms and apartments should strive to become a boutique hotel, which would sound nice and expensive. In addition, the “individuality”, which is perhaps the only more or less general criterion for this format, can hide the mismatch with the classical standards of hotels in relation to the amount of apartments and range of services (The Complete Guide To: European boutique hotel).

But for some reasons, the hoteliers do not hurry to declare their objects as “designer” or “boutique” hotels. In fact, the status of a boutique produces too many obligations, and it is sometimes easier to position the hotel as a mini-hotel and get free of special obligations to guests. In general, it is rather expensive to build a boutique hotel and it is rather difficult to create a special atmosphere. Thus, boutique is a complex of feelings the hotel wants to give to its guest. The service and staff form the desire to always return to this hotel. At the same time, every privilege entails responsibility (Parker 2006).

Difference between Boutique Hotels and Hotels

That is true, that the majority of population has already got used to the term of “hospitality industry”, and the contemporary hotel business is really a powerful industry. But the question is if the contemporary “industrial” approach compatible to the very notion of “hospitality”, the warmth which is so necessary for the guest exhausted by the current stressful life and willing to feel the same comfort and convenience far from home. And though the competitors accuse “boutiques” in the aggressive behavior on the market and even give them the nickname “boutique terrorists” (the term belongs to John Jarvis, the Head of “Jarvis Hotels”), the secret of their success is rather in their capacity to revive the forgotten “art of hospitality” (Keeps, 2006).

A little more than a decade passed since the time when the American hotelier Ian Schrager first formulated the concept of the “boutique” hotels, and now “boutique” hotels can be found in major business centers in the world – New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Los Angeles. In the vast metropolis, where life is humming 24 hours a day, they are the oasis of peace and comfort (McGinnis 2004).

Generally, boutique hotel differ from the dull monotony of branded hotels with their creativity and imagination both in interior design and style of service. But returning to the previously given distinctive features of the boutique hotels, it is worth noting that sometimes everything regarding them is mistakenly reduces only to the design, but boutique hotels are not only design. Surely, exclusive design primarily determines the individuality of the hotel, but it is designed to help sell the hotel once or twice; later the guests will need something more. And this “something more” is individuality, distinguishing these hotels from just branded ones (Lea).

Saying “boutique hotel”, one always involves the notion of individuality in everything: not only and not so much in service and personification of the customer, but rather in architecture, staff, and atmosphere. According to Ian Schrager, boutique hotels are “subversive. The idea is to do something contrary, something that violates the status quo, and as long as it is well executed it works. If it’s not well executed, then it’s just trendy” (Boutique Hotel Resort Trends).

Compared with other hotels, boutique hotels have one more difference, but rather an advantage in terms of economy. Sometimes, boutique hotels may not spent money on the creation and maintenance of such expensive components, as a restaurant or conference hall. Despite the fact that the boutique hotel may successfully exist without them, the establishment of such services can bring significant additional income to the hotel. So the hotels sometimes rent such premises themselves or provide rent to some other organization (Yanos, 2008).

Besides, the statistics of visits of boutique hotels shows that they have a considerably higher percentage of customers’ return, compared with industry averages. This allows them to better survive in the hard times of economic crises and recessions. Nevertheless, boutique hotels have to constantly monitor the changing market, consumer tastes, fashion trends in the field of hospitality, in order to maintain their competitive advantage and continue to be in the forefront of the market (O’Neill & Mattila, 2010).

Reasons for growing popularity of Boutique Hotels

Experts believe that one reason for the stunning success of boutique hotels are the changes in the customer base of hotels: with the rising living standards the number of rich young clients who travel a lot has increased; they get bored of the monotony proposed by standard hotels and are looking for hotels, which would give them a sense of not only physical but also spiritual comfort (Boutique Hotels Magazine, 2009).

Of course, all of the above does not mean at all that the era of large branded hotel is coming to an end. This is evidenced by the success of giant companies like, for example, “Hilton London Metropole”, which focuses on the congress market, having 1,073 rooms and 39 halls, 2 of which can accommodate 1900 people each, and another – 1300. Its competitor for the title of Europe’s largest hotel is Berlin “Estrel Residence & Congress Hotel”. These hotels, built in the late 1990’s, in no way resemble a “conveyor for sleeping”. Elegantly eclectic, they are different in functional comfort and technological perfection. And the results are explicit – their load rarely falls below 90% (Bender 2009).

The success of such hotels suggests that the needs of the people are changing, and those who want to succeed in the hospitality business of the 21st century, must take into account that the marketing approach to identification of potential customers by demographic characteristics (age, sex, nationality, socio-economic status) is out-of-date now, since these characteristics do not determine the person’s inner world, his desires and needs (McKinney, 2008).

Psychography, which studies the values a certain person is committed to, the feelings that he experiences, his vital interests, and all the things that truly characterize a person, must now form the basis of marketing strategy.

According to Chip Conley, the president the chain of 16 boutique hotels “Joie de Vivre Hospitaliry”, hotel owners should realize that their task is not just to provide people a place to sleep, but to help them implement their dreams. Three days stay in our hotel makes a customer feel a bit more refined, artistic, and intelligent; it even changes one’s manner of speaking. And we win the competition, because we give our guests a unique opportunity to experience their personal uniqueness (Bell, 2008).

The growth of supply always, including the hospitality market, leads to increased competition. The ruined hotels have been acquired by more successful competitors; some of them have themselves asked for that. Surely, in sharp competition for independent hotels it has been more difficult to survive. Life has pushed hoteliers to “chain reaction” (Bender 2009).

Today, fans of the world’s most famous chains can find their favorite hotel in any corner of the world and be at the same time sure that the facilities and furnishings, a set of services, the food, and even the staff uniforms are almost identical in all the hotels of the chain – whether in New York or London, Mexico City or Paris, Moscow or Singapore (Bender 2009).

The unification surely gives the brands significant advantages in the fight for the customer compared to independent hotels, which keep their individuality. Many people are afraid of the unknown. Using the services of a hotel with a famous name, the client having lived in the hotel of the chain is quite aware of what awaits him, and as a consequence, the choice of the hotel is based on the previous positive experience (Bell, 2008).

Originating as small independent companies, managed by private entrepreneurs or small companies, boutique hotels have changed over time and are now represented among the major hotel operators. First separate chains appeared consisting solely of boutique hotels (for example, “Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts”, created with the participation of Luxury Group, a division of Marriott International Company that also managers hotels “Ritz-Carlton”; networks of “SLS Hotels” and “Joie De Vivre” hotels), and then the majors of hospitality market, seeing the success of these hotels and noting the faster growth of income, including rate RevPAR, as compared to conventional network hotels, decided to enter the market of boutique hotels and recapture market share themselves. Among the most striking examples of the recent period are “W Hotels” managed by the well-known international operator “Starwood Hotels and Resorts” (McIntosh & Siggs 2005).

Design Hotel, originally conceived as an alternative to the standard objects of classical hotel chains, today themselves unite in networks: “Boutique Hotels & Resorts International”, “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”, “Select Hotels & Resorts International”, “Relais & Chateaux” are just some of them (Lea).

Investors and Boutique Hotels

Researches carried out by audit firms show that the niche of boutique hotels is very promising from a commercial point of view. Thus, for 6 years, from January 1995 to November 2000, the demand for the rooms in boutiques has increased by 14%, whereas in the traditional branded hotel deluxe it grew by only 4%. The average load in boutiques in 2000 was 74%, which though slightly, only by 1-2% but exceeded the load of luxe hotels. The average room prices (ADR) in the boutiques by the end of 2000 was $ 210 compared with $ 150 in luxe hotels. And RevPAR (Revenue per average room) in the boutique in this case was $ 160 versus $ 118 in luxe hotels (Craig, 2010).

Hotels, owned by Ian Schrager and Bill Kimpton, a chain of hotels “Joie de Vivre” (“Joy of Life” – a meaningful name), and finally the hotels W, created by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, are rapidly filling America, going beyond its borders – recently, the first “W” boutique appeared in Sydney. Interestingly, the hotel was rebuilt from the former wool storing warehouse. Today, the “W” chain includes 16 hotels, 5 of which are in New York. Hotels of the chain are characterized by rather small size for America, unique architectural and design solutions, and exquisite service, which allows them to attract a variety of important clients including the stars of show business (Boutique Hotels On The Rise).

The services proposed to the guest deserve a special mention. Apart from conventional high-quality hotel services like round the clock room service, guest parking, strong rooms for storing valuables, health center and meeting rooms, they offer a service which is not found anywhere else, except “W” hotels – the so-called “Whatever/Whenever” service, which implements literally any desire from a ticket to a fashion show to champagne bath (McKinney 2008).

Life has confirmed the correctness of the chosen strategy of Starwood – in 2000, 12 “W” hotels gave 15% of all incomes of the giant group, and it was not due to gaining over the clients from Westin and Sheraton, also included in the Starwood Group. The nearest plans of Starwood include bringing the number of “W Hotels” to 50-70, going beyond North America (McKinney 2008).

Boutique hotels have become a very fashionable trend in the hospitality industry. Investors want to build them, travelers want to stay there, travel news commentators praise their advantages. But how popular are they among owners? How profitable are boutique hotels compared to other hotels of the class? To answer this question, the company PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR) conducted an analysis of revenues, expenses and profitability of boutique hotels that provided their annual reports to the annual study of trends in the hospitality industry. The sample involved only hotels that provided data for all years from 2000 to 2006 (Lea).

For the analysis the boutique hotels of famous brands and independent hotels were selected. In 2006, selected boutique hotels had an average of 166 rooms with occupancy 77.3% and the average price $ 223.23. For comparison, independent hotels were taken by an average of 244 rooms with occupancy 71.8% and the average price $ 140.84 (Yanos, 2008).

From 2000 to 2006, boutique hotels showed a steady growth of the following indicators: occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per average room (RevPAR). For seven years, boutique hotels achieved the increase in RevPAR by 162.6%. This was the result of occupancy increasing by 106.1% and ADR by 154.4%. In 2006, income from hotels’ restaurant service was 23.5% of the total income. This is lower than the average number for the industry – 26,7%. Nevertheless, the total revenue of boutique hotels was by the record 56.1% higher than the average for the United States. It should be noted that some of the boutique hotels rent restaurants to other companies, which reduces their share in total income. But the expenses of boutique hotels are also higher. From 2000 to 2006, the expenses of boutique hotels were about 55% higher than the average in the U.S. (Yanos 2008).

Despite the high rates in the period from 2000 to 2006, the profitability of this segment varies widely from year to year. In good times boutique hotels reach record levels, but the decline in the industry in 2001-2003 affected them more seriously (Yanos, 2008).

From 2000 to 2003 the average U.S. hotel revenues decreased by 15,1% and return by 36,2%. Boutique hotels had the same indicators decreased by 25% and 52.9% respectively. On the contrary, from 2004 to 2006, boutique hotels recover from the recession quicker than the rest of the industry. Their income increased by 36,6% and operating profit by 75,5%. Restoration of most ordinary hotels was more gradual: 26,7% and 45,8% respectively. Unstable rates of boutique hotels may be partly related to their predominantly urban location. Largest cities suffered most from the recession, but recovered quicker. Boutique hotels have to pay for their high performance by its instability (Yanos 2008).

The first generation of boutique hotels had many similar characteristics. They were often housed in historical buildings a few blocks from downtown. Thanks to tax rebates for the restoration of historic buildings they could keep costs at a manageable level and redirect most of the money to the interior design. Moderation in construction costs, along with outstanding market performance creates opportunities for return of investment (Hachisu, 2008).

But in recent years, boutique hotels have mainly been built anew without the charm of antiquity, which is associated with boutique hotels. On the contrary, they thrive because of their modernity, fashionableness, style and technological equipment. As a result, construction costs increase, but get balanced by traditionally high rates in this sector (McGinnis, 2004).

The new wave of boutique hotels makes emphasis on the modern surrounding, high-tech electronics, thought-out selection of works of art and fashion individual features, such as living-rooms in the network of “W Hotels”. An example of a new generation of hotels may be the “W Hotel” under construction for the 225 rooms in Hoboken, New Jersey, located on the bank of the Hudson River opposite to Manhattan (McGinnis, 2004).

The project appeared back in 2001 when brothers Michael and David Barry from Applied Development proposed to build a hotel and residential building of the “W” in Hoboken, which was then just beginning to develop. And now the construction of 26-storey building is at full swing. In December, when the hotel opens, visitors will see the beautiful panorama with views of Manhattan, a bar with fireplaces and room for parties for 500 people. Occupancy perspectives now seem more serious than before – five Manhattan “W” hotels are often overcrowded. Hoboken is only the beginning. It is planned to open “W Hotel” in Oak Brook, Illinois, in La Jolla and Huntington Beach in California and in the Coconut Grove in Miami (O’Neill & Mattila 2010).

The largest independent network of boutique hotels Kimpton, which appeared in 1981, has recently opened “Palomar Hotel” in Arlington; it’s their third hotel in northern Virginia, in the suburbs of Washington, where they own seven hotels. The plans of Kimpton include the further development of the network in the province, for example, in Chantilly, Virginia, 25 miles from the city. Nine of the forty-two existing hotels Kimpton are located in the suburbs (O’Neill & Mattila 2010).

Recently new hotels have been opened by the brand “Hotel Indigo” owned by InterContinental in Newton, Massachusetts (near Boston) and in Fishers, Indiana (near Indianapolis). Half of the 17 existing and half of the 62 planned hotels “Hotel Indigo” are suburban, mostly near the prestigious shopping, business and residential centers. The main reasons for locating design hotels in province are as follows:

Tourists are tired of traditional hotels. Business people and young people are especially demanding. For markets where luxury “W” is not required, Starwood formed a network of mid-market hotel segment “Aloft”. The first one will open this year in Lexington, Massachusetts, 10 miles from Boston.

Suburbs are developing. Local business is developing, and large retail chains such as Ikea, Pottery Barn and Target are helping to clear the way for democratization of design.

The cost of land in major cities is growing. It is more profitable to open hotels in the suburbs, where land and construction are cheaper. In addition, there is less competition (Yanos, 2008).

So far, these hotels are mainly being opened in the suburbs of the 25 largest U.S. cities, where one can raise the price higher. And most of these hotels belong to the networks with limited services and no restaurants, such as the “Holiday Inn Express”, “Fairfield Inn”, “Hampton Inn’ and “La Quinta” (O’Neill & Mattila 2010).

In promoting and advertising boutique hotels, it is necessary to remember that these hotels are visited not because they are convenient or comfortable, but, primarily because they are fashionable and prestigious. Therefore, promoting a boutique hotel, like in the case of many other products on the market, where it is not the product but an image which is sold, should be done appropriately. The main task is, as marketing expert say, sending a message. This message in the case of boutique hotels is more important than ever. No matter what it would be: the formation of a special aura of the hotel connected with its location or atmosphere, or a beautifully presented history of the hotel; the main thing is to create a smart and unique product that is then necessary to properly convey to the audience, using various channels: direct marketing, media and public relations, profile travel agencies (O’Neill & Mattila 2010).

Conclusion

Thus, small exclusive boutique hotels have become more popular among affluent travelers, than the major hotel brands. In contrast to the well-known and comfortable hotels, peculiar with their uniformity, boutique hotels can offer an individual approach to the customer’s interests. In addition, nowadays there is a growing demand for luxury and extra comfort among the tourists, while each boutique hotel is the only one of its kind, allowing guests to feel their uniqueness and belonging to the higher strata of society (Parker, 2006).

The owners of hotel chains do not disregard such a promising market. Furthermore, according to findings by researchers from the hotel school at Cornell University, independent hotels have practically no chance to compete with hotel chains. Nowadays, realizing the dominant advantage of boutique hotels, the hoteliers have started creating chains of boutique hotels, which are supposed to have promising future (Aiemens, 2008).

PKF Hospitality Research predicts a relatively stable situation for the next few years. No significant jumps up or down in the hotel industry as a whole, occupancy rates and tariffs is not expected. Given the mobility of economic indicators of boutique hotels, it will be interesting to see how they will show themselves in a stable situation. According to PKF-HR, boutique hotels will continue to demonstrate high levels, but without previously observed strong deviations (Parets 2004).

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil, the third largest urban area in South America and the main tourist destination in the Southern Hemisphere, being the first South American city to ever host the event is a great responsibility. The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro, which has an area of 1,182.3 square kilometers, is about 6,100,000. The population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at 11 to 13.5 million. It was Brazil’s capital until 1960. In 2009, Rio was elected to host the summer 2016 Olympic Games, winning the election against Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo. The sports competitions will take place on Barra da Tijuca situated on the west side of the city, Copacabana on the south zone, and Maracana and Deodoro on the north side. It may be considered a great accomplishment for the city, however some may disagree that Rio de Janeiro is not fit and does not have financial and secure conditions to be the main focus of the world in 2016. This essay might be of great interest to the people living in Rio and sports fan all around the world planning on watching the Olympic Games, as it describes mainly the city’s geography to host the games. Also this topic might be of interest to people that question if Rio can successfully host such a big event without any casualties and will the city in general benefit from being the center of attention worldwide. The topic is also important for the city which has started planning and making budgets, looking forward for being a successful host, a great amount of money must be invested in long term repair in stadiums and general sports facilities as well as security. Brazilian people are also known for having a great passion for sports and there was a big celebration when Rio was announced to host the games as people want to show the world that Rio is capable of holding such an important event. Controversies regarding Rio being the host for the Olympic Games arise as the city is constantly regarded as un-safe due to the high rates of criminalities and drug dealing taking place in the “favelas” or shanty towns. It is also worth writing about how Rio can benefit from all this development and planning as well as tourism generated from the Olympic Games as other controversies state that the money spent in investment for hosting should be instead invested in education and the economy of the city for further development. The topic will be more focused on how will the city invest on long term plans and solutions to problems, how will the event be evenly distributed through Rio and how will it be good for Rio in the future. Rio de Janeiro may be considered then most “challenging” city to judge and make a prediction if it has the capacity of hosting the biggest sports event in the world. Barcelona, Sydney, Vancouver, and London are considered to be more developed as they are located in More Economically Developed Countries and have more developed infrastructure as well as taking efficient anti-terrorism methods.

Although the city is considered a great tourism tropical destination, studies reveal that the city lacks infra-structure, educational means and is affected by great poverty with a large number of the population living in slums. Due to these facts, a part of the population demanded the money to be invested in those means helping the city develop, instead of building sports facilities. It is also estimated that by 2016, the whole nation is capable of eradicating extreme poverty, however for this to happen Brazil must maintain its developing process shown in the last five years. Counter claims may argue that the Olympic Games will bring an excessive amount of profit due to tourism and sponsoring as well as jobs being generated (the city also show significant amounts of unemployment). The government however states that all security and geographical issues were presented to the Olympic committee and was approved almost unanimously, being confident in the long term plans as seven years of preparation seem enough. Another research, states that Rio will manage to achieve a target made by the UN that states must decrease levels in poverty by 50%. There is a lot of statistical data that implies that Rio de Janeiro will manage to achieve sustainable levels of economy, and poverty by the end of 2016, however measures must be taken and the process of development shown in past years must be maintained. 50% of the events will take place on Barra da Tijuca, which is a developed area, with less poverty and almost no slums as well as a wide space and facilities built from the Pan-American games. The transport system is also well developed with a network of trains, buses and subways linked to other sides of Rio where other events are going to take place. Promises were made to the Olympic committee that the Guanabara Bay and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon will be cleaned sp water sports can be held. A bullet train linking Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo was also presented to the committee which will play a big role in the transport system if introduced before the Olympic games.

Recent researches and statistics show that there are more than one thousand favelas spread through out the city with the majority of them being located on the north side (Zona Norte). Also a statistical map indicates that 20 to 30% of the population living in Brazil, live in a slum. This can be significant data while analyzing the city for hosting the games as each slum is dominated by drug dealers and criminality and safety around them can become an issue for the development of Rio until 2016. For the development to be maintained, the city must invest in a crucial factor which is safety. Safety is considered weak in almost every event held although casualties regarding them are rare. For the games to be hosted in the north zone of the city for example, which is considered to be one of the highest rates of criminality in the world due to drug dealing and poverty, long term measures must be taken. An example of long term plan by the government which already started to be implemented in 2009 is the UPP (Unidade de Policia Pacificadora) is a unit of the military and civil police designated to eradicate and exterminate drugs and arms. The UPP have been very successful just recently where a total of eight slums have already been pacified and are controlled by the government. The police which also have a history of corruption within the state, trading with dealers have been mobilized to end illegal dealings in the slums, with the intention of offering more safety by 2016. This method seems like the most appropriate measure in increasing the security issues of the city, and if it continues to develop and spread throughout the city a significant increase in safety will be applied to the event. The UPP would greatly help the city in the developing process for hosting the Olympic Games as studies made reveal that if every slum in the city is occupied by the government, an increase in 20% of the PIB (sum of financial production) which would represent 38 billions reais for the development of the city as well as an decrease of about 80% of criminality. This is the most efficient method of violence contingency shown and is the key for offering security during the Olympics, however it is a very hard task and taking into consideration past government activities, it will take probably more than seven years for it to be implemented with success. In almost one year that the UPPs were implemented a huge profit and efficiency was achieved with a significant decrease in violence in the surroundings, so in seven years of preparation for the Olympic Games, the governor of Rio Sergio Cabral guarantees that the project will continue. However the government must not forget a big threat to security of Olympic Games, which is international terrorism. Therefore a certain amount of training is necessary and constant monitoring.

Looking at the recent past, Rio de Janeiro has hosted an important event similar to the Olympic Games which was the Rio 2007 Pan-American games, and no problems were faced. The money was well invested and the games were a success by generating jobs ad tourist attractions. However the Olympic Games are a much bigger event with a wider variety of activities therefore more space and planning must be taken into consideration. On the contrary of some people may think, the developing process to host the games can bring even more benefit and help the city show a significant growth internationally, as even more jobs can be generated as well as tourism. However, Rio currently really needs investment in security and education, so how can it benefit by hosting the games? Firstly, the Olympic Games further increase the world’s awareness of the city. In Beijing, China, for example the number of headquarters for multi-national companies and large-scale domestic enterprises has multiplied ever since Beijing started its Olympic preparations. The preparations for the Olympic Games can also help update the functions of the city such as environment, transportation and infrastructure. Taking Beijing as an example, the Olympic introductory work will also ease the city’s economic growth. Beijing’s GDP rose to 102.6 billion dollars in 2006, twice as much as in 2001, as its GDP per capita exceeded 6300 dollars, also twice as much as in 2001. With this significant increase in the economy of the city, the number of tourists in Rio which is already very big may increase by more than 1.5 million. Another good past example, in the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, the benefits have been projected to be $10 billion. Another fact which can cause a great impact against Rio for hosting the game is the fact that the city is one of the 12 chosen to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and is considered to be “not in the right path” by the FIFA. Brazilian venues are falling behind schedules and little work has been carried out in the last 25 months after the announcement, constructions and general repairs are late. Inspections have been held and it is proven that Rio along with other cities has not met the deadlines of repairing stadium which are the main attraction of the World Cup. Upgrades in the main stadium are yet to start and are still lingering, which sounded an alert to the FIFA that Brazil is already late. Rio has managed to successfully host a World Cup in 1950 although conditions and requirements were less strict, and maybe with all these upgrades, constructions, jobs and increase in security for 2014, some of it may in fact be useful for the Olympics two years later. The city will gain infra-structure and general increase in security and sports facilities with the world cup in 2014.

Generally, not only in the case of Rio, revenue is generated for national companies, the image of the city worldwide is improved and the flow of tourism is improved. But accelerated growth necessary in hosting the Olympic Games disrupts the long term town preparation of the city and cause long term negative effect. On the other side there are the costs for developing facilities necessary to host different sports, as well as the financing for the “Olympic village” were the athletes must stay, with a significant amount of money being invested in transportation and security. However if the money is invested in schools, hospitals or other public, employment could still be created, sometimes even more and are considered permanent institutions. After the Olympic Games, sports facilities will have obviously less value will be less used and not so significant in helping the city and economy to develop. The employment and part of the benefit brought by the Olympic Games may be considered rather temporary as well as few significant long term growths linked with the games. Although there is a temporary boost in the output of the economy, in the long term there is barely some change. Therefore these “temporary” and necessary changes to host the Olympic games, can be of great use long term for example security. As the city invest on security and decreasing levels of criminality for the games, it helps to exterminate an old problem of the city which is the criminality. There are counter claims for this argument as all these improvements for changes including the UPPs are temporary and monitoring may decrease shortly after the Olympic Games. In the end, the money spent by tourists during the games might not be sufficient to cover all costs even if they bring benefit to the city. Especially Rio needs to invest in public institutions and education, more than Vancouver and Sydney for example. Although there are major problems and uncertainties a list of benefits can be made such as: with world class facilities built future events may be held, new construction project generating jobs, spectators, sponsors and broadcasting make the city “the center of attention worldwide”, powerful “marketing tool”, increase reputation resulting in a long term benefit for economy, international recognition and etc. The country itself still needs to study how to do permanent public policies as no strategic planning happened in the Pan-American games. In the case of Rio, which still faces cases of prejudice and stereotype against low class civilians, jobs being generated can really fix an old problem in which people living in shanty towns face unsuitable living conditions, no access to sewage disposal and clean drinkable water with high levels of crimes, unemployment and low incomes.

Just recently, a very serious case of flooding took place in Rio. A natural disaster is a rare however alarming event in which developed cities are supposed to be prepared for. Rio de Janeiro is expected to cope with any sort of situation; however in April 2010 the city faced the biggest flood in the history of Rio with an astonishing 288mm of precipitation in less than twenty four hours. A total of 95 people were confirmed dead mainly as a result of land slide and, of course, became news headline worldwide. It became clear that Rio did not support an appropriate infra-structure and was not prepared for such a disaster. The poverty surrounding the city was also highlighted as land slides in shanty towns killed and injured dozen of people, as well as interrupting several activities during two whole days. The government however states that it is impossible to maintain a controlled situation with such a huge amount of precipitation which was never seen before and especially when Rio is still going through a big process of development. International repercussion is common as it is clearly a matter of safety, and the spectators and athletes waiting so long and traveling so far for such an important event wants safety. Methods of future flood prevention are being studied, such as the creation of flood plains, winding streams and levees. Each method can contain drawbacks and a huge amount of effort however a good way to prevent future accidents.

Rio’s Demographic transition model can be seen above with the central business district in the middle and a large area of “Favelas” in the surroundings. It is clearly not balanced and the games will be held around the CBD with a few exceptions through “B”. Below an urban morphology and characteristics map of Rio de Janeiro can be seen as the higher class districts and CBD is concentrated near the coastline with the suburbs in the rural area.

As a conclusion, Rio de Janeiro has the conditions to host the summer Olympic Games with success, however it may not bring the expected amount of benefit. Seven years of planning and introducing extreme measures to overcome major problems in the city will not be a problem. Significant increase and development regarding security, and economical growth in Rio de Janeiro has been shown in recent studies. Just recently Rio has hosted a big sports event which was the Pan-American games with great success and no casualties bringing even some benefit. The population in general has been very excited with the decision of the city for the host as it is already a tourist destination and improvement for the games will help the city in the future. However Brazilians in general shows great passion towards sports mainly soccer and shows great enthusiasm and cooperation when the result for Rio being the host was announced, and as a result can forget about some major issues the city need to take care of as a part of its development before making such a big investment for an event such as the Olympic games. In order for a conclusion to be made the goals for the city must be analyzed first. So, is it good for the city to organize the Olympic games? For example Vancouver and London which are already considered developed and share a good outside image, having few ambitions and determination for growth may not achieve such a great improvement in their image and economy, and sports facilities and changes might be made redundant. However cities in development like Rio and Beijing may have the ambition of showing their development and improving their image and showing the world they are competitors to host other future events. Even internationally, it is questioned if Rio can host the Olympic Games, due to security reasons as one week after the announcement, fourteen people were killed and a chopper was shot down on a operation in a favela. However there is the argument that Brazil is not affected by terrorism, like London for example. For a successful prediction to be made if Rio can host the Olympic Games, the past major event hosted must be analyzed, which is the Pan-American games in 2007. The same argument that was used in the Pan-American games were used to convince the Olympic committee, that it was Brazil’s turn to show what is it capable of, one of the 10th largest economy in the world and a population that have and indefinite passion for sports. The aftermath of the Pan-American games did not quite show any transformation into a more modern, international and safer city. Promises were also made in 2007 that criminality would decrease, a new road system (“via light”) and 55km of subway lines would be introduced as well as cleaning up the Lagoon located in the centre of the city and finally the Guanabara Bay, whose smell assails visitors driving into town from the international airport. Although hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, the unpleasant smell persists and the bay remains a foul-smelling spot on the landscape. Chico Alencar, a respected Congressman from Rio and also a researcher for the enormous overspending at the Pan-American games revealed that the games ended up costing much more than the original estimate (about 180 million US dollars) and none of it was used to built the promised infrastructure projects. After the Pan-American games, the city came back to its original “mess” although a four week celebration was given to the people and athletes, and the same problems faced back in 2007 might be the same in 2016 but the sports event is even bigger. Therefore there is a tendency that Rio will spend even more money on this bigger event, maybe halting the development of other areas in need. Brazil in general needs to learn from its past mistakes and areas of society must unite for no overspending. Finally, other questions rises when analyzing if Rio can host the Summer Olympic Games and can it benefit from it such as: Can Rio learn from past mistakes (Pan-American games)? Can the city keep its promises for development? Will the infrastructure provided be sufficient for hosting such a big international event? Will current issues such as security be a problem and can the city overcome it? These questions are still left unanswered, but Rio has been given a chance to prove critics wrong after an almost unanimous decision against more developed cities.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1926094,00.html#ixzz0k9Ts0zcY

http://geographylost.blogspot.com/2007/03/rio-de-janeiro-wish-i-had-found-this.html DTM maps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Olympics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_janeiro#Geography

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficheiro:Urban_population_living_in_slums.svg fatos e figures de favela

http://www.sober.org.br/palestra/12/11O481.pdf

Indice de Pobreza pode ser erradicado do Brasil em 2016

http://www.ipea.gov.br/sites/000/2/comunicado_presidencia/100112Comunicado38.pdf – prediction brazil 2016 vai acabar pobreza

http://mercadoetico.terra.com.br/website/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/grafico1.gif – meta onu

http://mercadoetico.terra.com.br/website/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/grafico2.gif

VEJA RIO magazine – “Operacao Favela Livre”

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/preparation/n214180326.shtml pequim

http://minimaxblog.com/2010/03/costs-and-benefits-of-hosting-the-olympic-games/ costs benefits

http://goodpoint.elc.polyu.edu.hk/print_list.php?mapid=2244

list of benefits

http://www.rio2016.org.br/pt/Rio2016/

http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2010/04/06/rio-vive-pior-enchente-da-historia-916261532.asp flood

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/brazil/7686639/World-Cup-2014-Fifa-sound-alarm-as-Brazilian-venues-fall-behind-schedule.html world cup

This mini report aims at providing valuable information on the chosen research topic of sustainable tourism. The report aims at looking deep in to the topic by drafting the core literature of the topic followed by methodology and some finding and conclusion.

This report reassess the growth of the term, commencing with a debate of the confusion arising from the vague and contradictory definitions of the concept, and the need to differentiate between sustainable tourism and the development of tourism on the main beliefs of sustainable development. The paper then re-examine the green focus of consultation of sustainable tourism and disagree for the need to ensure that the impression incorporates and is functional to the human environment as well as the physical environment. Concentration then moves to effort of haulage capacity, organize of tourism development, and the implication of the term to mass or conservative tourism. Last but not the least, the mini report concludes with a discussion of the prospect way of sustainable tourism and the probability of expansion moving in this direction.

Tourism in the current millennium, correctly managed, has the latent to partake in, revolutionize and recuperate the societal, political, cultural, as well as the ecological magnitude of people’s potential lifestyle. In this new era, one of the maximum purposes of this policies and philosophies of tourism will be to cross-examine the cultural, economical, political as well as environmental reimbursement of tourism for the people, destinations and countries in order to prolong a healthy lifestyle (Edgell, 2006) Moreover, sustainable tourism can certainly become a major vehicle for realization of mankind’s uppermost ambition in the mission to attain affluence while maintaining social, ecological and environmental veracity (Edgell, 2006).

As such there is no particular definition of sustainable tourism. Complementing this, (Swarbrooke, 1999) mentions that sustainable tourism can be defined as the type of tourism which is ecologically practical but does not destroy the resources on which future tourism depends remarkably on the bodily environment as well as the social structure of the multitude community.

Aims and Objective

To review the topic of sustainable tourism

Measuring the growth of sustainable tourism and answering the research question of is sustainable tourism consistent.

Literature Review
The tourism Industry

The tourism industry today has reached a considerable level in terms of profits, number of tourists at varied destinations etc. In addition, the tourism sector has grown tremendously in the last decade providing visitors with a ur plus of destinations to visit. There have also been different types of tourism that have been developing namely, sports tourism, animal tourism, destination tourism, etc. Moreover, the type of tourism in the current lime light has been sustainable tourism as this is now playing a vital role in environmental issues (Edgell, 2006). Furthermore, details about sustainable tourism have been mentioned in the report further.

Sustainable Tourism itself

One of the main problems with the idea of sustainable growth is the method in which the solitary word ‘sustainable’ has been useful to a diversity of performance pedestal on the supposition that it takes with it the ideological and theoretical inference of the thought (Harrison 1996). In the case of tourism, the effect has been the exterior and prevalent espousal of the term ‘sustainable tourism’, repeatedly devoid of any shot to define it (Hunter and Green 1995).

In the situation of tourism, an apposite classification of sustainable tourism is ‘tourism in a form which can continue its practicality in a vicinity for an indistinct period of time states (Butler 1993). Tourism at places such as Niagara Falls, London, Paris or Rome, is extremely sustainable. It has been winning in that place for years and depicts no cipher of declining. With such a definition, the importance is on the preservation of tourism, but in most issues, tourism is rival for capital and may not be the top or wisest use of possessions in these locations in the future..

The above mentioned definition, though, is not what is usually unspoken by the term ‘sustainable tourism’. Somewhat, relying on the present literature, what is in general meant by that term is as follows: tourism which is developed and maintained in an area in such a mode and at such a extent that it leftovers practical over an unlimited epoch and does not mortify or adjust the environment in which it survives to such a level that it proscribes the triumphant expansion and well being of performance and processes. (Butler 1993)

The dissimilarity between these definitions is not just a theme of semantics. The meaning of sustainable tourism above mentions very modest about something except the future of tourism. Wall (1996) has noted, a single sectoral approach, a little that is at odds with the thought of sustainable growth, which by its extremely environment is holistic and multispectral. Thus sustainable tourism is not unconsciously identical as tourism urbanized in line with the philosophy of sustainable advance. As long as it is this way, then haziness and uncertainty will go on. Therefore the need to label the type of tourism being intentional or developed beyond the catch-all of ‘sustainable’ is therefore critical, if information about the sustainability of tourism is to be long-drawn-out.

Major issues in Sustainable Tourism

The key term in this concept is the one of restrictions. However much proponents of growth may disregard the detail, implied in the impression of sustainable progress is the thought of confines. In the case of tourism, this is usually articulated in terms of numbers of tourists; though implied in this is the linked infrastructure development and scenery modifications.

While accepted wisdom on carrying capability has been tailored really since the 1960s, researchers were looking for the ‘magic number’ of guests who could be put up at a specific spot, the distress of volume still remains (Butler 1996). though it is by and large traditional that numbers unaided are not an fully pleasing measure of the belongings of tourism, there is hesitation that, in approximately all tourism contexts, there is a utmost figure of tourists who can be productively house.

The detail remains, but, that in approximately every imaginable context, there will be an higher limit in provisos of the information of tourists and the quantity of advance associated with sightseeing that the target can withstand mentions (Shipp 1993). Once these echelons are surpassed, by and large in undesirable form. The environment of tourism itself modifys, the natural world of the purpose changes, the attractively and therefore the feasibility of the purpose declines, and tourism becomes no longer sustainable in its original form. If overeat and overdevelopment continue unabated, then any form of tourism may become indefensible in that location (Butler 1991; Cooper 1996; Zanetto & Soriani 1996).

‘An input part of scenery aim for sustainable tourism is the establishment of the tourism carrying faculty of a destination area’ (1996). In fact little, development suggestions classify or advise such restrictions. If sustainable increase ethics are incorporated in expansion plans in everything more than name barely, they are as a rule understood in indistinguishable terms which are long on sentiment and short on details.

This is describes, in part, by the detail that researchers and policy makers in tourism have never grabbed the agitate of haulage capacity or confines and have never fashioned measures that could be used in such contexts (Butler 1996). The burning necessitate to take such steps at the local altitude as well as at new superior levels of government has been harassed more strongly just (Coccossis &C Parpairis 1996; Johnson and Thomas 1996).

Methodology

The research methodology enables the researcher to collect the significant and relevant data for a particular research. In order to understand the recent developments in sustainable tourism, a secondary research has been conducted. Data in this research has been analyzed using graphs and charts. Some of the data is also presented in the discussion format to get the deeper knowledge. Moreover, secondary data included google books, academic articles as well as research journals in order to find accurate and precise data. Industry professional interviews were also considered.

Findings and Conclusion

In trying to identify where the state of the art of current research on tourism in the context of sustainable development stands is rather difficult. There is now a sizeable body of literature on this subject, which is growing rapidly. The topic has even resulted in the appearance of a journal {Journal of Sustainable Tourism) devoted to this field. A great deal more research by geographers and others has been conducted and is just reaching the publication stage (Pigram &c Wahab 1997; Hall &C Lew 1998; C. Becker, University of Trier, personal communication). Thus one cannot conclude simply that there is little written and that much remains to be done, nor can one argue that the key questions have been resolved. Although a great deal has been written, particularly in the last 5 years, I feel that much research does still remain to be undertaken. The key problem, in my mind, is the current inability to define to the satisfaction of all, or even most, of the stakeholders in tourism, exactly what is meant by ‘sustainable tourism’. As noted above, this remains a major problem and, because ambiguity exists, almost any form of tourism can, and often is, termed sustainable. Related to this fundamental issue is the question of how sustainability might be monitored and measured if and when a satisfactory definition of sustainable tourism is established and accepted. It is clear that current research in all disciplines involved with tourism has not really tackled the problem of monitoring the effects of tourism in any context. Despite the real need to benchmark and monitor, first called for many years ago (Mathieson 8>C Wall 1982), such efforts have, by and large, been at best sporadic and non-systematic. Given the hype that exists in industry and political circles to persuade people that much is being done to achieve sustainable tourism, there is implicit, if not overt, opposition to research that might show that very little new or existing tourism development is sustainable, or at best that a decision on its sustainability cannot be made for many years to come. Also, many proponents of the idea of sustainable tourism seem unwilling to accept that, because an operation calls itself sustainable, it may not be so in reality. To assess the real impacts of tourism and the level of sustainability achieved requires in-depth longitudinal research and environmental, economic and social auditing. This requires stable funding and a willing- ness on the part of researchers to commit to a research programme for a considerable period of time. There is very little evidence that this sort of commitment currently exists and good long-term research on sustainable development in tourism or any other field is extremely scarce (Wall

1996). One can argue, therefore, that the greatest research need is to develop measures of sustainability and to apply these to existing and new forms of tourism development to help determine what affects sustainability and how it can be achieved; in other words, to operationalize the concept and evaluate it in operation. This is far more complex than it sounds because, as discussed above, a multi-sectoral approach is essential, and this requires much more than simply estimating the direct effects of tourism on the physical and human environments of destination areas.

Even when the elements and processes of sustainability are identified and understood, there is still no guarantee that it will be practised in destination areas. It will be necessary, if sustainability is to be achieved, to ensure that all stakeholders are willing participants in the process. If the industry, at all scales, cannot be persuaded that it is in its own direct interest to commit to some principles of sustainability, then efforts ofother stakeholders will have little effect. If the public sector is not willing to educate and, if necessary, enforce sustainable policies and actions, then few are unlikely to follow them. Simply listing appropriate actions and strategies and calling for their adoption (Table 2), as some governments have done (Tourism Canada 1990), is but a first step – specific action and enforcement are necessary as well. If local residents cannot see the short-term as well as long-term benefits to themselves of sustainable policies, they will subvert or ignore them. Finally, if the tourists themselves do not enjoy or anticipate satisfaction from sustainable forms of tourism, they will not participate and not visit destinations geared to offer this type of tourism. One of the other tasks facing researchers, if they wish to ensure the application as well as the understanding of sustainable development of tourism, is to find ways to ensure the necessary policies and actions are acceptable to all stakeholders in tourism. Simply saying that all is well and that sustainable tourism is the way of the future because there is a growing interest in the concept will not ensure its adoption or success. At present, there is a disturbing tendency, in the desire to promote sustainable tourism, to claim that any small-scale, environmentally or culturally focused form of tourism is sustainable, particularly where it is developed by or for local residents. In the absence of accurate and reliable indicators and monitoring, one cannot comment on the sustainability of any enterprise until many years after its establishment, and only then, after comparing its operation and effects, to the state of the environment at the time of its establishment. Given that the term sustainable development did not enter the lexicon until 1987, it is still too soon to say if anything created since then is truly sustainable or not.