1. The Tourism Industry: Contemporary Issues
Contemporary Tourism
The Tourism Industry:
Contemporary Issues
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

2. Lecture Objectives
Understand that tourism businesses have a range of objectives
Be familiar with the causes of globalisation
Recognise the responses of tourism businesses to globalisation
Appreciate the benefits of knowledge management for tourism businesses
Realise the explanatory power of network analysis for understanding the tourism industry
Be aware of the importance of embedding within networks for tourism businesses
Recognise the distinction between small businesses and entrepreneurs
Understand the characteristics of tourism small businesses
Appreciate the critical importance of human resources to tourism businesses
Be aware of the challenges facing tourism human resources
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

3. The Industry Tourism businesses allow the tourism experience to happen
Business Objectives:
Profit
Sales
Prestige
Output
Satisficing
A quiet life
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

4. Key Issues 1. Globalisation; 2. The knowledge economy; 3. Networks;
4. Small businesses; and
5. Human resources
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

5. Globalization Boundarylessness Drivers Technology Economy Politics
Culture
Environment
Business
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

6. Service Sector Strategies
Strategic capability to develop national responsiveness
Administrative structure to allow networking flexibility
Alliances and partnerships
Internationalization
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

7. Managing Knowledge in the Sector
Generation and transfer of knowledge to the tourism sector
Knowledge-based economy based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge
Technology facilitates
Depends on people
Abundance of knowledge
K-commerce
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

8. Types of Knowledge Tacit knowledge Explicit knowledge
Transfer the key for tourism
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

9. The Issue of Scale
Knowledge management traditionally for individual organizations
Destinations are networks of many organizations
Articulation of knowledge from individual organizations through networks is the key
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

10. Benefits of KM Cuts learning time Encourages smart solutions
Enhances responsiveness
Effective
Enhances staff performance
Uses intellectual assets
Leverages partners
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

11. Networks Organizations changing
Flatter structures
Instant communication
Flexible specialization
Alliances
Loosely articulated networks as destinations or value chains
Businesses can ‘embed’
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

12. Approach Useful for Tourism
Tourism needs collaboration to deliver product
Acts as a flexible diagnostic tool
Give insights into business behaviour
Shows how destination networks can be optimized
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

13. Tourism Networks Networks Types Actors Relationships Resources
Innovative
Networks of businesses
Networks of destination organizations
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

14. Benefits
For tourism businesses membership of a network delivers a range of benefits including:
ｷ Scale and scope economies (such as alliances);
ｷ Coordination of complementary assets (such as marketing synergies); and
ｷ Higher strategic benefits where the members of the network share a common vision (such as destination branding).
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

15. Networks in the Future Internal Vertical Inter-market Opportunity
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

16. Small Businesses Tourism dominated by SMEs and entrepreneurs
No agreed definition of small businesses
SMEs protected by policy
SMEs seen as force for good
BUT - undermanaged?
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

17. SMEs and the Destination
ｷ They rapidly diffuse income into the economy through strong backward linkages into the economy of a destination;
ｷ Similarly, they contribute to employment;
ｷ They provide a localised welcome and character by acting as a point of direct contact between the host community and the visitor; and
ｷ In a market that increasingly demands tailored experiences, SMEs play an important role in responding to tourists’ demand and so facilitating ‘flexible specialisation’ (Ateljeic and Doorne, 2001).
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

18. Entrepreneurs Who are they? Are all SMEs run by entrepreneurs?
They play a key role in tourism development
Three features
Expertise
Motivation
Source of capital
No blueprint for success
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

19. Tourism Human Resources
Tourism is labour intensive
Opportunities for women, the young and the less advantaged
Essential for tourism product delivery
Not taken seriously
Issues
Demographics
Jobs and working conditions
Management
© Chris Cooper & C M Hall 2016 Contemporary Tourism 3e, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.