The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today sees tourism as the largest industry in the world.

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today sees tourism as the largest industry in the world (Cooper 1998). In the UK figures show that 2.1 million people are employed in the tourist industry. That’s 7% of all people in employment in the UK. () With statistics like these it is therefore vital that tourism has a framework in which to operate. Policies and procedures have to be formulated at the highest level i.e. governments, and cascaded throughout the industry to give guidance and boundaries in which the industry can operate effectively.

Tourism in the UK alone was worth an approximately £75.9 billion in 2002.

24.1 million visitors spent £11.7 billion in the UK economy in 2002. This is a 6% increase in visitors and a 4% increase in spending compared to 2001. Domestic tourism spending is estimated to be around £61 billion in 2002. ()

Cooper (1998) states that with tourism being a major factor for economic development and an important opportunity for investment, no government can really afford to ignore its potential.

With so much monies being generated through tourism the government cannot afford to be complacent in tourism, as in reality they have so much to gain in an economic sense, through revenue from taxes. So combined with the economic potential and the sheer size of the industry, government must put in place policies on how the administration of the tourism industry can be done effectively.

Many governments will see tourism as an investment opportunity for their countries. These countries will want to improve their countries economic climate. They will want to improve the wealth of its population and to be able to grow financially in the global tourist market. In developing countries this is especially so where infrastructure, education, and development opportunities are poor. If their governments want to compete with the rest of the world they need to be able to assess the overall picture of what their tourism industry has to offer potential consumers.

Governments need to control activities such as marketing, research and promotion of their countries. In the UK the tourism industry is made up of 127,000 businesses, and 80% of them have a turnover of less than £250,000 per annum (). Many of these smaller businesses could not compete competitively if they were responsible entirely for their own marketing, research and promotions. Marketing campaigns in developing countries can help attract tourists to their countries and give them the opportunity to bring in much needed monies in the form of foreign exchange. These monies can then be used to develop their infrastructure, education of their people and creation of employment in their own economy. Governments must maximize the economic and employment benefits that tourism can bring. Opportunity lies in the tourism industry to encompass a varying degree of employment creation. Employment for many sectors of the community can be found in tourism from skilled to unskilled, male or female and the young or old. With policies put in place the tourism industry will have guidelines as how employees should be trained and developed. There can be a lack of consistency within the tourism industry in the UK with much of the tourism being seasonal, so many employees are employed on a part-time temporary basis, and may hold different positions from one season to the next. Employers recognise this tradition within the industry and are therefore reluctant to spend money in the areas of training and development of staff.

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Many organisations within the tourism industry depend on others within the organisation to complete the overall experience for the tourist, i.e. the airlines bringing tourist into the UK, the tourist getting picked up by the taxi driver and being transferred to their hotels. It is therefore essential the whole picture of tourism be of a satisfactory level in terms of quality, performance and safety. Ensuring policies are in place to provide an acceptable level is a necessity. Tourism providers must comply with Employment Law, Health & Safety, and Food Hygiene regulations.

Governments must be able to carry out ...

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Governments must be able to carry out research on the tourist industry to ascertain the environment in which they are competing. They need to be able to predict future trends so the can plan effectively for the future needs.

In today’s ecological environment governments must be aware of the impact of tourism in certain regions and they must do all they can along side the tourism industry to sustain the level of natural resources. In the UK the “Green Business Scheme” was introduced with emphasis being put on employees within tourism to be more aware of green issues and appropriate training packages were put in place. By awareness and careful planning governments can ensure non-wastage or no ecological damage is caused to the environment ().

Government’s will also regulate suppliers of tourism in the interest of the consumers and to prevent large organisations competing unfairly. Monitoring the levels of tourism activity would be too vast for one business to try and attempt so the government will also undertake this responsibility and work closely with the tourist industry to help plan for the future.

It is vital that government and the tourist industry all desire the same outcomes for the industry to remain successful. Communication between the two must be coherent. With the two working together an appreciation of costs can be ascertained and appropriate funding structures can be put in place. Above all, it is important policies are put in place so the government and the tourist industry can work together in securing an environment in which tourists will want to visit.

Everybody involved in tourism needs to be pulling in the same direction for objectives to be successful. An excellent example of differences of opinions happened between the Spanish central government, hoteliers of the Balearic Islands and the regional government of the Balearic Islands.

On 1 May 2001 an eco tax on tourists was introduced in the Spanish Balearic Islands. The levy of one Euro (60p) was formulated and implemented by the regional government of the Balearic Islands, against the wishes of the Spanish central government. The regional government wanted to use money raised, and estimated £72 million a year (www.news.bbc.co.uk), to clean beaches, increase the fresh water supply, plant more trees, and to buy back land from developers so no more hotels could be built. Fresh underground water levels had dropped 95 meters since 1979 and the need for energy from their grids had shot up 37% in 2001 (). Due to the combined islands population of 800,000 and the 11 million tourists each year, great strain was being put on local resources and the islands were at saturation point. Organisations such as Tourism Concern welcomed the tax, and their own research conducted in 2001 concluded that 35% of respondents would be willing to pay an extra 5% for a holiday that was environmentally sound, and a further 36% saying they would be prepared to pay an extra 10%, much more that the proposed eco tax (). Although it would be fair to state that the research was conducted through a readers survey in a magazine on ethical tourism and would not give a fair representation of tourists visiting the Balearic Islands.

By January 2002 visitor figures had decreased in the Balearics by 900,000, creating a deficit of more than £800 million (). The Mallorca Hoteliers Association announced than only 28 hotels out of the 100 plus on Playa de Palma had remained open during the winter season (). Hoteliers were opposed to the tax, which they were responsible for collecting from tourists, and many tried to sugarcoat the tax by giving back to tourist vouchers for food and drink in compensation for the tax.

When the newly elected Balearic Islands government the Popular Party (PP) took power on 25 May 2003, it pledged to eradicate the eco tax (). The Association of British Travel Agents were pleased as they felt the tax was an unfair burden, especially for families on a tight budget ().

The eco tax did not have major impact on the UK travel industry. Many people visited other destinations instead of the Balearic Islands. However, impact was felt by the tourism industry in the Balearics themselves. Hoteliers were losing money as the either paid the tax themselves or were not filling their occupancy levels as people were holidaying elsewhere. This had a major knock on effect to other businesses sustained by tourism such as restaurants, visitor attractions, shops and bars.

Joan Flaquer, Minister for Tourism in the newly elected Balearic Island government stated that visitor numbers had fell by approximately 2 million since the introduction of the eco tax and the Islands image had been damaged. With the eco tax being phased out by November 2003 he believes that the Balearic Islands could again be the number one tourist destination in Europe, as they had been in 1999. The Spanish central government has pledged 24 million euros to the Islands in a bit to help the environmental problems being experienced by the islands ().

The eco tax that was collected was used for environmental projects, such as regenerating parks, planting fruit trees and restoring historical sites ().

In Sri Lanka, tourism policy has helped build the country into a popular tourist destination for Indian tourists. The Ceylon Tourist Board in Sri Lanka has devised an aggressive marketing and promotion campaign to attract more Indian tourists (). The Ministry of Tourism had identified through research the potential of India as a tourist market, after figures released showed Indians as the number one spenders, and the biggest single group of tourists to visit Sri Lanka. The Hoteliers association noted that Indians spend approximately $2000 dollars during their holidays in Sri Lanka, while the average tourist spends approximately $600 dollars per holiday (). Tourism minister Secretary Ramanujam has put forward proposals to lift the restrictions on the number of flights Sri Lanka could operate to India, and to allow more private domestic airlines to operate between the two countries (). With the Sri Lanka government identifying this trend they can adapt tourism policy, such as flight restrictions to capatilise on the demand from the Indian tourists. Indian travel agents and Sri Lanka businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, tourist shops and bars would benefit hugely from such a policy being put in place. More Indians will now be able to include Sri Lanka in the lists of holiday destinations.

In conclusion it is important that tourism is given as much support and guidance from governments, and that a framework be established in which the industry can operate. It is also vital that every organisation involved in tourism all follow the same procedures to establish consistency in the industry and to offer an acceptable level of service to visitors. When this is achieved the industry can maximise all the potential available and help secure an economic climate for its residents.

REFERENCES

Cooper C, et al, Tourism Principles and Practice, Longman, 1998, 2nd Edition