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THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM ENVIRONMENT

Factors Affecting the Industry (Exogenous Variables)

What Factors Are Involved?


Changes in Destinations-growth and decline Customer types Length of stay Greater variety Political aspects Security and safety Technological growth Highly competitive environment

Changes in Destinations-growth and decline


Choice of places visited will change over time-so destinations must be responsive: Some destinations become unfashionable Others fall into decline New ones emerge Impacts

Customer Types
Greater use of market segmentation in the industry enables focus on more varied customer types: Leisure customers Business customers Independent travellers Package holidaymakers Age specific groups Special interest groups

Length of Stay
The industry has become more responsive to customer demands for flexibility: Availability and choice of short breaks More customers taking multiple breaks More companies adopting flexible working patterns

Varied Offer
Social factors such as demographic change and trends to healthier lifestyles have encouraged: Adventure holidays Leisure and activity related breaks Extreme and risky sports holidays

Political Aspects
Many political factors have influenced the industry: Security concerns-but political barriers may prevent global response Global warming-the race is on to deal with the issues Sustainability-varied responses-not all about the environment Responsible Tourism-can be a marketing tool

Security and Safety


The challenge is to protect travellers as they move around the world by using: Rail/stations Air/airports Cruise ships/ports Ferries/ports Buses/coaches Hotels and restaurants

Security and Safety Issues (cont.)


Airport security attracting more attention Expense of technological solutions Not all countries have same view of security risk or respond in same way as Northern European countries and US Impact on individuals of antiterror measures

Health & Safety Aspects


New epidemics have power to severely disrupt the industry: Impact of `Bird Flu on Mexico Effect of Foot and Mouth and BSE on tourism in UK Skin Cancer Hotel Safety

Technological Change
Developments in transportation : Super ferries and floating resorts Super Jumbo (A380) and Boeing Dreamliner Continued growth of e-commerce: Increased use of travel management systems for business tourism Increase in independent bookings

Highly Competitive Environment


Each component is subject to severe competition e.g. hotels sector, airline sector, cruise sector, tour operations. Leads high levels of integration.

Keeping Up With The Industry


Collecting items from newspapers? Joining industry groups to receive e-mail alerts. Watching/recording news and documentary programmes.

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