THC 121: Tourism & Hospitality - Nature and Scope

• The material is titled THC 121 - Micro Perspective of Tourism & Hospitality, and prepared by Johnnalea H. Martinez, MBA, Assistant Professor I.
• Upon completing this chapter, students will understand tourism and hospitality's nature and scope.
• Students will also be able to describe the characteristics of the tourism and hospitality sector.
• The material also intends to analyze stakeholder interplay, illustrate tourism industry structure, and examine external factors impacting business.
• Students will be able to apply trends to future projects, assess travel motivators, and identify employment opportunities.

Nature and Scope of Tourism & Hospitality Industry

• Early travel was often driven by physiological needs such as food, water, safety, resource acquisition and religion.
• As people learned agriculture and animal domestication, they settled down, leading to civilizations.
• Governance evolved from simple resource management to complex systems.
• Travel then became more driven by trade, military activities, and government administration in large empires like Sumerian, Persian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and Roman.
• Travel has consistently relied on technology to provide the means or mode of transport.
• Early travelers primarily walked or rode domesticated animals.
• Improved technology broadened travel opportunities for individuals.
• Roads improved and stable governments increased travel for education, sightseeing, and religious purposes.
• Past travel practices shaped fundamental tourism concepts and principles.
• Today, tourism includes activities, services, and industries offering a travel experience.
• These include accommodations, food/drink establishments, retail, entertainment, activities, and hospitality for individual or group travel away from home.
• The World Tourism Organization (WTO) states, tourism is the world's largest industry with over $3 trillion in annual revenue, or roughly 153 trillion Philippine pesos.
• Tourism is the world's largest employer, providing millions of jobs.
• Hospitality relates to "hotel," "hospital," and "hospice,"
• Tourism involves people entering a new place to see its sites and landmarks, experience its culture, and enjoy its offerings.
• Hospitality facilitates a great tourism experience, and in turn increases tourism.
• Hospitality is essential with tourism acting as a support.

Distinctive Characteristics of Tourism & Hospitality

Perishability

• Tourism products and services are consumed at the same time as being produced.

Inconsistency

• Tourism industry products are never the same
• It is challenging to manage customer perception because quality is affected by uncontrollable factors such as;
  • Weather
  • Construction
  • Other Customers

Investment and Immobility

• Tourism relies on a region's attractiveness for popularity

People-Oriented

• The staff and customers dictate the service quality
• Holiday quality is based on interactions starting by booking to the journey home

Inseparability

• Most travel products are bought and consumed at the same time.
• Tourism products can only be consumed at the suppliers premises.

Intangibility

• Tourism involves the time spent, not physical attributes of the location.
• Tourism is a subjective picture planted into the customer's mind.

Inflexibility

• Travel Products cannot adapt fast enough to the change in conditions
• Hotels try to manage balancing high and low demand

Imitability

• Tourism offers, and the products made are easy to copy

Stakeholders in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

Government

• Policies and Regulations are shaped by the government

Industrialists

• Travel and Transport agencies, organizations in the industry etc.

Customers/ Toursts

• These demand value, quality and great satisfaction
• These are the main source of money in this industry

Employees

• These are internal stakeholders
• Require great internal company policies, job security and truthful communication

Local Communities

• They attract the tourists
• Provide job security, environment protection, protection of local values.

Impact of External Factors

• There are two modern reasons why people travel more often
  • Wanderlust
  • Sunlust

Wanderlust

• Younger people travel to see foreign culture and experiance different lives

Sunlust

• People choose to travel to warmer climates

Other Motivation Factors

• Relaxation
• Escape
• Socialization
• Prestige

Leisure time

• Company leave has helped tourism by increasing the possible 3 day long weekends

Enabling Factors

• Money
• Time
• Availabilty
• Range of Holidays
• Owning a car
• Marketing of Destination
• Ease of booking

Other enabling factors

• New Money, giving disposable income for long-term saving goals
• Air travel is more affordable with competition between providers and low fuel costs
• Industry Consolidation

Technology Factors

• Technology like Medical advancments help innovative medical tourism
• Leisure time

Income

• When people face times of financial difficulty, they are not as likely to travel

Consumer Taste

• Less people will go to an attraction that is no longer popular

Complementary Cost

• If the cost of transport to a place is high, less people will want to go there

Demographic

• Impacts what accommodation, destination and activities tourists enjoy

Trends in Tourism and Hospitality

• Philippino's have begun to see travel as a way of life rather than a luxury
• Travel expos, blogs, vlogs and tangible media is helping to spread the word about Tourism

DIY

• More popular as youtubers create itineraries, travel budgets and other kinds of content.

Sustainability

• Leading to destinations like Boracay being more sustainable

Camping

• Bringing camping material to make your own camp
• Glamping, more advanced camping that has a comfy bed with indoor plumbing

Farm Tourism

• Visiting places like farms to have a greater appreciation for the roots of the population

Pilgrimage

• Catholics can visit centuries-old churches, basilicas and cathedrals.

Local Experiances

• People want to experience an authetic life in a certain location

Healthy and organic food and drinks

• Restaurants are including organic options like;
  • gluten free
  • diary free
  • low fat
  • vegetarian
  • vegan options

Sustainabilty

• More hospitality businesses promoting they are Eco-Friendly

Personalisation

• Customers want to be treated as individuals

Smart Hotels

• These hotels use internet devices

Artificial Intelligence

• AI can be used to improve customer service, for instance chatbots to answer questions

Robots

• They are often equip with AI to use speed and accuracy to improve processes

Bleisure

• People extending business trips to go on Holiday

Virtual Reality

• Allows customers to view the location and hotels where they wish to go

Augmented Reality

• Using devices to enhance real world with information.

Tourist Motivation

• Need for Escape or Change
• Travel for Health
• Sports
• Social Contact
• Status and Prestige
• Travel for Eduation
• Personal Values
• Cultural Experiances
• Shoping and Bargan Hunting
• Professional and business travel
• Natural Beauty

Employment Opportunity

• Hotel Operations
• Event managment
• Cruise Lines
• Casinos
• Goverment
• Many more