The impact of change on the travel and tourism sector

The impact of change on the travel and tourism sector Analyze the impacts of issues and trends that drive change in the travel and tourism sector Due to the current trends and issues causing change in the travel and tourism sector, the businesses have to adapt to the changes and redesign their products and services. Many changes brought by globalization, technology, world political changes, economics changes and people attitude towards tourism have reshaped the industry altogether. The impacts of these trends and changed can be described below in the context of a major tourism brands. Due to the ageing of the population tourism, businesses are bound to hire older workers. Young people are more qualified and not willing to join the industry due to poor working conditions. Older people are less mobile and more demanding which will have impacts on wage rates and other costs to maintain staff. Lifestyles of the people have changed and their attitude towards tourism services has changed a great deal. People are more demanding and more price conscious now. Firms must cut costs and their profits in order to survive in a more competitive environment now. Technology have helped businesses cut down costs as it has enabled management to manage their resources efficiently and have reduced spare capacity. The increased use of telephone, 3G mobile and internet has helped consumers to access information regarding prices and value for money. This has resulted in a more intense competition. Hotels are responding to the situation by recruiting staff that have skills in information and communication technology. Outsourcing is a key phenomenon in the modern tourism industry. Different products esp. food is obtained from other producers and it’s hard to explain the origin of the food to consumers plus it puts an extra push on the costs involved. Globalization has not only benefited the tourism industry in terms of more revenue and clients but it has also been a sole reason for cheap skilled labor. Skilled labor from poorer regions can be attracted to the industry at relatively cheaper rates which would result in lower employment cost for hotels and catering industry. Globalization also provides this wonderful opportunity to exploit economies of scale. Globalization can cause homogenization in services which might not be good from the customer’s perspective but brand names do ensure higher product quality. Skills gap in the industry is adversely affecting the quality of services. Firms are in a position to charge prices of their own choice in such circumstances. However companies are finding a solution to the issue by providing on-job trainings or paying handsome wages to skillful workers and thus attracting more customers. However the wage rates are mostly affected by the local economic and industrial condition and educational level of the locality as well. Hotel industry is greatly affected by the changes in law as well over the last few years. There is a strong emphasis on working time regulations, minimum wage laws and other working conditions regulations. Laws banning smoking in public places and restaurants etc. are also have impacts in the tourism business. Hotels are now seeking cost effective labor and are more into application of technology. Government and other regulatory authorities are putting more and more pressure on catering firms now to take great care of hygiene and other food related issues. Greater awareness among the consumers related to diet and health have forced the catering businesses and restaurants to reduce the use of sugar and salt in their food. Due to the increased number of obesity cases, consumers are more conscious about the fats and calories rather than just taste. Customers want to know about the origin of the food as well. There is increased food labeling and more information is provided and displayed for the customers regarding the food and its ingredients. There is a great demand for food to be produced in a socially responsible way and this is helping in promoting good practices in the industry. The tourism industry faced a serious setback after the incident of 9/11. The US war on terror and the Iraq war changed the entire industry all together. Many incident s of attacks on tourists, kidnapping for ransom and other political gains were witnessed which created a sense of insecurity among the tourists. Many countries and regions were declared unsafe for tourists. Apart from US, many other cities in Europe and UK were also the victims of terrorism. Madrid and the London bombing somehow created this perception among the tourists that EU member states were the targets of the terrorists. The impact of this is likely to be long term as it will take a long time to restore the confidence of the tourists. Due to this lack of confidence the tourism industry has lost a lot of business and there is a serious decline in investment in this sector. Working conditions have deteriorated and level of employment is showing a downward trend. 4.2 Discuss the likely consequences of businesses failing to respond to market changes Many different businesses are facing many changes in the market. Such changes are economic, social, political and behavioral changes. Tourism industry is not an exception either. Over the last couple of decades the tourism industry has seen a tremendous amount of change and companies are always advised to adapt to these changes. Appropriate strategy and planning can make a company successful and make these changes as an opportunity rather than a threat. However, companies which are not being able to respond to these are likely to face many different failures and problems which are described below. Loss in Sales Revenues Companies which are unable to respond to changes in the market, they are most likely to lose customers and revenues. Due to increased competition and market forces, tourism businesses are bound to charge a low price and earn little profit margin so any failure to adapt to market changes are most likely to cause losses financially. Technology can save a great deal in this regard. Technology not only helps the industry to market their products but also helps in the reduction of labor costs. Different computer applications have made it possible to access and receive information and help in decision making process. A company is most likely to suffer a great deal if it’s unable to adapt to these technological changes. Loss of Competitive Edge As a famous saying goes â€Å"competition improves services†. Tourism industry is facing a strict competition and different businesses related to the industry are bound to cut down costs and still provide best quality services. By the proper change management strategy, businesses can obtain competitive edge over other competitors. The proper use of technology, hiring the skilled labor and other value added services can not only attract more customers but also be a cause of more market share. Failure to adapt to these trends and changes can be a reason of loss of competitive edge. Loss of Goodwill A business is most likely to damage its reputation in case of failure to adapt to changes and recent trends. A tourism business unable to provide valued services to its customers at reasonable price is surely going to lose its customers. Recent trends have shown that customers are most into green products and the hotels and catering industry are affected by this change a great deal. Hotels are expected to operate in an environment friendly manner and promote green practices. However if the businesses are unable to adapt to this, they are going to lose face in this changing market. Regulatory Issues Hotels, restaurants and catering businesses are bound to provide information regarding its products due to increased awareness among customers regarding food and its contents. Products labeling esp. in case of the catering industry has changed a great deal due to this trend. On the other hand there are now more regulations and laws related to the food industry. Use of some chemicals and other ingredients in the food products are banned. Smoking in restaurants and public places is not allowed. Similarly food businesses are properly inspected and regulated now. If restaurants and catering businesses do not take into account all these factors they might be facing some serious regulatory actions in many cases. There are some cases recently where the customers have sued the hotels and restaurants for food related issues. Government regulatory authorities also keep a check on this industry so any negligence in this aspect can be a cause of some serious consequences as well. Growth Issues A company will not be able to grow and expand its business if it is unable to adapt to changes and trends. Tourism businesses must hire human resource with good knowledge of the technology and customers service needs. Use of the technology and skillful labor helps in cutting down costs. Companies in tourism industry must also work in an environment social friendly manner because consumers are more aware and conscious now regarding environmental and social issues. They prefer to go for green products and thus can provide a competitive edge to the business. Failure to adapt to these changes and trends will result in decline in the revenue and thus growth will not be possible. References: http://www.tourismandmore.com/tidbits/confronting-change-in-the-tourism-industry/ http://www.tourismandmore.com/tidbits/why-tourism-industries-fail-part-1/

The End of the American Civil War Essay -- American History Historical

The End of the American Civil War The purpose of this paper is to show the events surrounding the end of the American Civil War. The two sides which were at war was the union and the confederacy. Which was basically the United States separated into 2 sections going at war with each other. In this document, I will speak about those people who were involved on the battlefield towards the end of the war. The war started in 1861 and was beginning to end by January of 1865. By then, Federal (Federal was another name given to the Union Army) armies were spread throughout the Confederacy and the Confederate Army had lost a lot of men. In the year before, the North had lost an enormous amount of lives, but had more than enough to lose in comparison to the men of the South. General Grant became known as the "Butcher" (Grant, Ulysses S., Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, New York: Charles L. Webster & Co.,1894) and many wanted to see him removed. But Lincoln stood firm with his General, and the war continued. This paper will follow the events that took place between the winter of 1864-65 and the surrender of The Confederate States of America. All of this will most certainly illustrate that April 9, 1865 was indeed the end of a tragedy. CUTTING OFF THE SOUTH In September of 1864, General William T. Sherman and his army cleared the city of Atlanta of its civilian population. It was from there that General Sherman and his army began its famous "march to the sea". The march covered a distance of 400 miles and was 60 miles wide. For 32 days no news of him reached the North. He had cut himself off from his base of supplies, and his men lived on the land through which they passed. On their route, the army destroyed anything and everything that they could not use but was presumed usable to the enemy. In view of this destruction, it is understandable that Sherman quoted "war is hell" (Sherman, William T.,Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. Westport, Conn.:Greenwood Press, 1972). Finally, on December 20, Sherman's men reached the city of Savannah and captured it. From there Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton" (Sherman, William T., Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. Westport, Conn.: Greenw... ...n opinion. Yes, slavery was the cause of the Civil War: half of the country thought it was wrong and the other half just couldn't let them go. The Union dead numbered 360,222 and only 110,000 of them died in battle. Confederate dead were estimated at 258,000 including 94,000 who actually died on the field of battle. The Civil War was a great waste in terms of human life and possible accomplishment and should be considered shameful. Before its first centennial, tragedy struck a new country and stained it for eternity. It will never be forgotten but adversity builds strength and the United States of America is now a much stronger nation. Works Cited: 1."The Civil War", Groliers Encyclopedia, 1999 2.Catton, Bruce., A Stillness at Appomattox. New York: Doubleday, 1963 3.Foote, Shelby., The Civil War, Vol. 3. New York: Random, 1974 4.Garraty, John Arthur, The American Nation: A History of the United states to 1877, Vol.1, Eighth Edition. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995 5.Miers, Earl Schenck, The Last Campaign. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1972 6.Korn, Jerry, Pursuit to Appomattox, The Last Battles. Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1987

Exclusionary Rule Evaluation Essay

The Exclusionary Rule was designed to exclude evidence obtained in violation of a criminal defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizures by law enforcement personnel. If the search of a criminal suspect is searched unreasonable, the evidence obtained in the search will be excluded from trial. The Exclusionary Rule is a court made rule it is not in any of the statutes, it was not created by the Legislative bodies but rather by the United States Supreme Court. The Exclusionary Rule applies to the federal courts by virtue of the Fourth Amendment. Police misconduct plays a key role the rule and if there wasn’t misconduct within our police department the Exclusionary Rule would not exist today. The Fourth Amendment and the Exclusionary Rule go hand in hand; the 4th Amendment protects us from unreasonable (illegal) search and seizures and if there is evidence steaming from a violation of the 4th Amendment then that evidence ikest thrown completely out of the trial. The rule mostly is there tas the enforcer on the government, the Exclusionary Rule was introduced by the Supreme Court in 1914 from the case Weeks v. United States. I think that the rule does not need to be abolished because the government should be held accountable for their actions; even though the government is a system divided. I think that we the people are held accountable in the court of law then it is only right they are too. Have you ever taken a leap in good faith? Well, the Exclusionary Rule has a good faith exception And it provides that when an honest mistake is made during the course of a search and seizure any subsequently obtained evidence will be considered admissible. (Worrall, 2012) I think some things could be updated not only in the criminal justice system but the Constitution and statutes. The judges are given absolute immunity protecting them from any of their decisions and the prosecutors are given qualified ammunity References www.findlaw.com www.studymode.com Criminal Procedure John Worrall, (2012)

The Economic Policies Of Supply Side Economics - 1150 Words

Ever wondered why you have to pay those extra couple of cents at the grocery store? Or why gas prices seem to be constantly fluctuating? The answer lies within a nation’s economic policy. Economic policy is the actions taken by a government to influence its economy. Types of economic policy actions can include setting interest rates through a federal reserve, regulating the level of government expenditures, creating private property rights, and setting tax rates. Economic policy hopes to accomplish economic growth and a stable economy. More specifically, the federal government hopes to accomplish stable prices, economic growth, and full employment by its economic policy. Economists debate over three economic policies: supply-side†¦show more content†¦The methods that supply-side economics uses to improve economic growth are to lower marginal taxes and less government regulation. Under President Ronald Reagan, Congress passed a plan that would slash taxes by $749 billi on over five years. As a result, Reagan was called a great advocate for supply-side economics and was praised for his great leadership. Although supply-side economics is based on the idea of encouraging people to work harder, it also seems to not always work. For example, Congress passed the cut in tax rates after Reagan was elected, but tax revenues did not rise. This goes to show that other economic policies need to be examined in order for the economy to be successful. Demand-side economics is based on the belief that the most important thing affecting economic activity and thus resulting in the most stable economy is consumer demand for goods and services. Also called Keynesian economics, demand-side economics was developed after the Great Depression when supply-side economics fell through. Demand-side economics was founded by John Maynard Keynes and is based on aggregate demand. Aggregate demand is the total level of demand for desired goods and services, which is made up of the sum of consumption expenditure, investment expenditure, government expenditure, and net exports. Demand-side economics utilizes methods such as increasing the buying power of the lower and middle classes, which increases the demand for more goods