Investigating the travel and tourism sector

Credit value: 10 1 Investigating the travel and tourism sector The travel and tourism sector is dynamic, exciting and provides a challenging workin...
Author: Evan Blake
2 downloads 0 Views 1MB Size
Credit value: 10

1

Investigating the travel and tourism sector

The travel and tourism sector is dynamic, exciting and provides a challenging working environment. If you’re reading this book, it’s likely that you’re considering a career in travel and tourism and that you’re beginning your studies of the sector. This unit aims to give you a sound introduction to travel and tourism so that you gain an overview of the various components and how they link together. You will also study the roles and responsibilities of travel and tourism organisations within the sector. You will learn about the development of travel and tourism, particularly from the 1960s to the present day. You will find out how changes in demand, new travel and tourism products and changes in the distribution of products have affected the sector. You will also look at the factors which currently affect the travel and tourism sector and the effects on development.

Learning outcomes After completing this unit you should: 1 know the travel and tourism component industries and their organisations 2 understand the role of travel and tourism organisations and their interrelationships 3 know the developments that have shaped the present day travel and tourism sector 4 understand how trends and factors are currently affecting the travel and tourism sector.

1

BTEC’s own resources

Assessment and grading criteria This table shows you what you must do in order to achieve a pass, merit or distinction grade, and where you can find activities in this book to help you. To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show that the learner is able to:

P1 describe the travel and tourism

component industries and provide examples of domestic, inbound and outbound organisations within them See Assessment activity 1.1, page xx

To achieve a merit grade the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass criteria, the learner is able to:

To achieve a distinction grade the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to:

M1 explain the roles of different

D1 analyse the importance of

M2 explain how developments, trends

D2 analyse how travel and tourism

organisations within travel and tourism component industries and how they interrelate See Assessment activity 1.1, page xx

interrelationships within one travel and tourism organisation See Assessment activity 1.1, page xx

P2 describe the roles of different travel and tourism organisations See Assessment activity 1.1, page xx

P3 review the different types of

interrelationships and provide examples See Assessment activity 1.1, page xx

P4 summarise key developments

(from the 1960s onwards) that have shaped the present day travel and tourism sector See Assessment activity 1.2, page xx

P5 review the trends and factors that are currently affecting the travel and tourism sector See Assessment activity 1.2, page xx

2

and factors are currently having a significant effect on the travel and tourism sector See Assessment activity 1.2, page xx

organisations are responding to changing trends and factors See Assessment activity 1.2, page xx

Unit 1 Investigating the travel and tourism sector

How you will be assessed This unit sets the scene for all other units in the qualification. Although you might work in a group, you must have evidence of individual work covering all the assessment criteria. You will be assessed on your knowledge of the different components of the sector, their roles and how they interlink. You will show that you know the developments that have shaped the sector and understand the key factors and trends and their effect on travel and tourism.

Mario, 18-year old BTEC National learner This was the first unit we studied and it made me realise how many different organisations and industries there are in travel and tourism. I had to get used to working with my group at the same time as all this new information was coming at me, but I found it easier when we started our assessment and we began to work together. I spent a whole afternoon working out what was on the Visit Britain website but I found lots of useful information. I had to go elsewhere for the developments so I used textbooks for these. I also found that the Thomas Cook website had historic milestones. We had to present our information in a lively way as we were going to take it on the road to three schools. I am quite good at drawing so I drew a timeline for developments with illustrations of planes, cruise ships and so on. Everything was beautifully labelled and we had little presentations that we shared to go with the timeline. Our tutor had a reading area in our base room with trade papers and all the Sunday papers so that we got used to looking at the press to see what had happened to affect travel and tourism.

Over to you! 1 What resources do you think you will be able to use for your assessments? 2 What newspapers do you regularly access? 3 Think about the kind of presentation you would like to do.

3

BTEC’s own resources

1

Know the travel and tourism component industries and their organisations Tourism is big business!

Set off

Tourism is the provision of services to tourists. Everything that tourists do while they are away is considered part of the travel and tourism sector. Tourism is a significant contributor to the UK economy; many businesses depend on tourism, directly or indirectly. When we think about travel and tourism, we tend to think of national organisations like Thomson and Thomas Cook or attractions such as major theme parks. However, many businesses in the sector are very small such as bed and breakfast accommodation or small visitor attractions. The sector is a major source of employment and contributes greatly to the UK economy. Jobs are also created indirectly by travel and tourism, for example, in construction when a new hotel is built. t How many people do you know who work in travel and tourism? t What kinds of jobs do they do?

1.1 Types of tourism

Outbound tourism

Before you start looking at the components of the sector there are some important terms to unde understand.

Generally, when we use the term outbound tourism in the UK we are referring to UK residents travelling out of the UK. For example, you are an outbound tourist from the UK if you go to Spain on holiday.

Domestic tourism Domestic tourism relates to people w who are travelling within their own country for tourism purp purposes. People on day trips are not officially tourists as tthey are not staying away from home. Statistics consider tourists to be people who stay away for at least one night. However, as day trippers spend a lot o of money in the tourism sector, particularly on trave travel and in the visitor attractions sector, it is important to measure the value of their spending. In England, th this is measured in the UK Tourism Survey which indicate indicated that day visitors spent almost £40 billion in 200 2008.

Inbound tourism Inbound tourism measures thos those people coming in to visit a country which is not th their country of residence, for the purposes of tourism. IIf a tourist comes from the USA to the UK, then they are iinbound to the UK. This also means that they are an outbound tourist from their own country.

28 4

Types of tourist There are many types of tourists, but for statistical purposes they are categorised according to their purpose of travel, broadly as follows: t leisure t business t visiting friends and relatives (VFR). Leisure travel includes travel for holidays, cultural events, recreation, sports, religion and study. Business travel includes all travel for business reasons, such as meetings, conferences and exhibitions. Usually business travellers have their expenses paid by their company, which can make a difference to the services they choose or have chosen on their behalf. VFR accounts for many trips, particularly within the UK.

Unit 1 Investigating the travel and tourism sector

Visitor attractions

Activity: Types of tourist Study each of the examples below. What kind of tourists are they? Note that some examples might fit into more than one category.

Example

Accommodation

Raj is going on holiday to Bournemouth. He lives in Leicester. Year 11 at Chichester Village College are going to visit Leeds Castle for the day. Sheena and Donald are going to Madrid for a weekend break. They live in Glasgow. Mary is a sales director. She is going to a sales conference in Barcelona. The Patel family are going on holiday to Disneyland, Paris. Jerry goes to visit his father in Dublin every Christmas. Mario is visiting the UK from Spain to undertake a language course.

1.2 Travel and tourism component industries By components of travel and tourism we mean the different parts of the sector that provide travel and tourism products and services. None of these components is able to work in isolation. Each relies on one or more of the other component parts to be able to operate. As you study each of the components you will meet some examples of organisations, their roles and the products and services they provide.

Ancillary services Travel and tourism sector

Type of tourist

Marianne is taking a holiday in the UK. She lives in Austria.

Transport

Tour operations

Travel agents Tourism development and promotion

Figure 1.1: Components of the travel and tourism sector

Accommodation There are many different types of accommodation available in the travel and tourism industry. Remember that accommodation can be serviced (which means that meals are on offer and your room will be cleaned for you) or it can be non-serviced (where you look after yourself and do your own cleaning, shopping and cooking). Hotels Hotels may be independently owned or part of large chains. The chains tend to be more impersonal, but they do provide consistency of quality throughout the world. For example, if you were to stay in a Mercure Hotel in London or in Paris, the room would offer exactly the same facilities, and often the layout is exactly the same. Hotels offer many products and services, catering for different customers. The prestigious and more expensive hotels, like Sofitel, offer greater luxury. Budget hotels such as Premier Inn and Travelodge offer good value for money. In addition, hotels cater for both business and leisure customers so they need a range of products to suit each type. Conference customers may come for just a day and will need different services from the residents.

Activity: Local hotels List the hotels in your town or local area. Find out which hotels belong to which group. Are there any independent hotels? Choose one of the hotels in your area. Describe how the hotel appeals to different tourists.

29 5

BTEC’s own resources Guest accommodation tion

t all insurances included in fixed prices t

This includes bed and nd breakfast accommodation, guesthouses and farmhouses. mhouses. Homeowners who wish to capitalise on the extra space they might have available often run n this type of accommodation. Many tourists consider itt charming and an opportunity to experience local culture culture.

t one-way rentals – you don’t have to return the car to the place where you picked it up. Co Coaches C Coach operators have adapted their products to meet consumers’ changing needs and coaches today are very luxurious. Fly-coach holidays are offered so that customers do not have a lengthy initial journey but have the benefits of coach travel for touring, for example in California. There are extensive coach networks operating in the UK, offering scheduled services between towns and also into Europe. Eurolines is a group of independent coach companies which claims to connect to 500 destinations within Europe. Coach services are usually very comfortable with toilets, refreshments and video available on board.

Transport – rail Network Rail owns and operates the national rail network in the UK. Its role is to maintain the infrastructure and renew tracks as necessary. Why are tourists attracted to guest accommodation like this?

Self-catering accommodation may be in ho holiday parks or in rented apartments or holiday cotta cottages. Cooking facilities will be provided. An example of this kind of accommodation in France is the popular gîte.

Transport – road Cars The private car dominates road tra travel. Car ownership iss very high in the UK, and most domestic holidays and day trips are taken by car. In additio addition, many people choose to hire a car when abroad abroad, and this has led to the growth of the car-hire sec sector. Major car-hire groups in the U UK include Hertz, Avis and Europcar. All have internat international operations. Their products and services have bec become very sophisticated, making car hire very easy an and convenient for customers customers. Car hire companies offe offer: t online or telephone pre-b pre-booking t airport pick-up or drop-off t a wide range of choice of vehicles

6

The train-operating companies (TOCs) lease trains from rolling-stock companies. There are 25 TOCs in the UK, and they compete for franchises to run each passenger service. There are similar companies for freight. The Department for Transport issues the franchises. They also monitor the train-operating companies to make sure the interests of rail passengers are protected; they can fine the TOCs if they fail to meet agreed standards. The TOCs are commercial companies and aim to make a profit, but they do receive government grants. Examples of TOCs are Virgin Trains and South West Trains. The TOCs are represented by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), an industry body that helps to promote their interests to stakeholders, government and the media. Other important aspects of the rail system are the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and, of course, Eurostar. Eurostar is the passenger train service through the Channel Tunnel. It operates from St Pancras International in London and Ashford in Kent to Paris, Lille and Brussels. Eurostar is owned by London and Continental Railways, and run by a management company.

e c a p WorkS

Sarah Turner Sarah is a twenty-one year old BTEC National Travel and Tourism graduate who currently works in the tourist information centre for the city of ambridge. ‘I’ve lived in Cambridge most of my life and know all the ghts and attractions, so armed with my BTEC in tourism I find this job eally satisfying and enjoyable’. Her role is to respond to any questions or queries that tourists might have about the city and to recommend to them any activities they might enjoy on their visit to the city. A city like Cambridge relies on people like Sarah to ensure that tourists have a good time and are satisfied as tourism spend contributes to the city’s economy.

How did you manage to get a job in the tourist information centre and what skills does your job require? I was able to get a part-time job at weekends here at the tourist information centre while I was doing my BTEC. But to get a full time position here I did have to do a lot of research and study all of the University colleges as they are a main tourist attraction. I have to have excellent customer service as that is essentially what my job is. I found that the BTEC helped me a lot with this. I have to be able to answer any question about the city and its attractions and services. I also have to know the location of pretty much everything in the city – I probably know my way around better than a taxi driver now! The main skills I need are to be as friendly and helpful as I can to the customers. Where do you see yourself in the future and do you think this is a good job to gain experience? I’ve gained some amazing experience here that will help me in the tourism industry. I will continue to work here for another year or so and then I would like to join the tourism department of the city council and get more involved in tourism strategy. I’m sure that my BTEC National qualification and experience working for the tourism information office should help me move on.

Think about it! 1 Where is your local tourist information centre? 2 Find out what kind of services they offer. 3 What kind of work experience is available there?

BTEC’s own resources

1. How did the development of low-cost airlines impact on travel and tourism? 2. What is meant by deregulation? 3. What are the elements of a package holiday? 4. Give an example of legislation affecting tourism in the UK. 5. Describe the different methods of distributing travel and tourism products to consumers. 6. Why has Croatia increased in popularity as a holiday destination? 7. What is the difference between scheduled and charter airlines? 8. How do call centres motivate their staff? 9. Who are the major tour operators? 10. What is horizontal integration? 11. What is vertical integration? 12. Which government department is responsible for tourism? 13. What is the role of a tourist information centre? 14. What is the role of the AUC? 15. Describe the two types of motivation to travel and give an example of each.

t Although lots of statistics are given in this unit, they change all the time. Make sure you know your way around the VisitBritain website to find current figures. t Every time you come across a useful report, download a copy onto your PC so you can find it again easily. t You will only know about current trends and factors and their impact if you read newspapers and the trade press. t Useful websites are: www.visitbritain.org.uk www.tttglive.com www.travelweekly.com

30