Travel and Tourism:Partners in Hospitality

The Relationship of Hospitality to Travel and Tourism

• The components of hospitality network may be independent and competitive businesses, yet they share an interdependency that has evolved over the centuries.

• Although travel encompasses all movements or displacement of people, not all travels involves tourism.

• Refugees, migrants, explorers, nomads, soldiers, and commuters certainly travel, but they are not tourist.

• Tourism-related travels involves the movement of visitors to a place to enjoy its attractions, special events, hospitality, lodging, food, and entertainment.

• Tourist- People who travel hundred of miles or more and stays at least one night away from home.• Excursionist- People who travel to a

site and return home on the same day.

• The tourism industry is concerned with attractions and events that draws tourist and excursionist to an area.

Interdependence In Hospitality and Tourism Network

• Without attractions and hospitality establishments, there is usually no popular destination; without a popular destination, there may be no need for an airport; without an airport, there maybe less need for travel agent.

• The interdependence among the components of hospitality, travel, and tourism is strong, especially for countries that relies on hospitality and tourism for a major portion of their economic base.

Tour and Travel Packages• The travel hospitality, travel, and tourism

industry has recognized the advantage of putting various components together and selling them for single price.

• A tour package is a composite of related services offered at a single price.

• The package might include more than one transportation.

• Tour packages usually save people money, and many people like having all of the arrangements made for them as they travel.

Frequent Flyers/Frequent Guest Programs

• One innovative program introduced by the airlines is the Frequent Flyers Program.

• Later, hotels adopted the idea, calling it the Frequent Guest Program.

• Frequent Flyer privileges now include first-class seats, preferential boarding, fast-track security lines, and standby upgrading privileges.

Familiarization Trip

• A Familiarization Trip or “Fam Trips” is a free or reduced-price trip given to the travel agents, travel writers, and others in the travel trade, who will promote the destination.

• Several travel association hold annual trade shows where suppliers, carriers, destination marketing groups and intermediaries exhibit.

High-Tech Amenities

• Those businesses that target business travellers offer extra services that facilitate business transactions.

• Technological advances in air travel are making it possible for air travellers conduct their business.

• On board fax machines, credit card-operated phones at every seat, and business radio and video service help business people keeping in touch with their offices and the rest of the country despite the fact that they are 30,000 ft. above the ground.

• In September 1991, Singapore Airlines became the first to offer international telephone service from the sky.

• All components of the tourism and travel network benefit from technological advances. From quick-service restaurants with customer-access computers for ordering to remote offices centres in hotels, high-tech amenities remain a popular customer draw.

Female Business Travellers

• Women now make up over 46% of the total work force.

• By the year 2014, women will account for more that 47% of the total work force, and 61% of all working-age women will be employed.

• When the market segment in the 1970’s, industry professionals weren’t sure how to handle it.

• Attempting to answer the question, “What do businesswomen want?”.

• Some hotels instituted women-only floors with pastel-coloured rooms.

• Some hotels provided magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan.

• This strategy proved to be a major blunder.• Overall, female business travellers need the

same basic service as their male counterparts.

Distribution through Travel Intermediaries

• Middlemen- business firms that distributes products from the producer to the clients.• This middlemen are called travel

intermediaries.

• The most common travel intermediaries are retail travel agents and whole sale tour operators.

• Other types of travel intermediaries are corporate travel managers, incentive houses, meeting planners, and most importantly, in-line travel agencies are becoming dormant

Retail Travel Agents

• A Retail Travel Agents is a retailer in travel service who receives income directly from the suppliers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies) and other intermediaries in the form of commission (typically 10% for airlines and lodging).

• A retail travel agent also serves as a counsellors, advertising travellers on and recommending destinations, hotels, and carriers.

Tour Wholesalers and Operators

• A Tour Wholesalers is a company or an individual who designs the package tours.

• Instead of buying each of this item separately, the tourist purchases them all in one package, usually for far less money than they would cost if purchased one by one.

• Once a tour package is designed, the Wholesalers sells the packaged tour either directly to clients, through retail travel agents, or on their own e-commerce Website.

• Three types of Wholesalers:1. Charter Operators- assembles the package tour

and sells it to the public or tour operators.2. Tour Operators- may then resell the package to a

group of tourist. The package usually include an escort or guide with the tour.

3. Inbound Operators- Specialize in providing tour packages to international travellers visiting U.S.

Corporate Travel Managers

• Many large corporations have in-house travel departments headed by a corporate travel manager.

• The corporate travel manager handles all aspect of travel arrangements for employees of the corporation.

• Many corporations think that an in-house manager can reduce their travel cost and increase their bargaining power in negotiating prices for hotels, carriers. And other types of travel services. The clients of the corporate travel managers are employees of the company, and most of the travel arrangements are business purposes.

Incentive Houses

• A Incentive House manages incentive travel.• Incentive travel is a marketing and

management tool currently used by many North American corporations to motivate clients, salespeople, and others employees to meet sales objective.

• Case studies show that incentive travel program can be a powerful management and marketing tool.

• The most frequent users of travel incentives in North America are insurance companies and home appliance manufacturers

• Usually, incentive travel redemption occurs at exotic destinations.

• Destination promoters and marketers are well aware of this phenomenon and their products accordingly.

Meeting Planners• The increasing number of conventions and

meetings has led to the creation of the position of professional Meeting Planners.

• A Meeting Planner, whether independent or an employee of an association or a corporation, coordinates every details of meeting and conventions, which can be complicated affairs.

• Meeting Planners needs specialized knowledge and skills to handle all these details for an event efficiently.

• As a result many associations and corporations have found that hiring a meeting planner is a must for a successful meeting or conventions.

• Today travel agencies are both traditional e-commerce based. Significant travel and travel-related service can be assembled online. Indeed, often the best pricing is available through on-line sources.

Choosing Destinations Today

• Travellers today avail themselves of hospitality service for many as the same reason as in the past.

• The two main reason for travel are Business and Leisure-time activities.

Business Activities• Business travel has become an important part

of hospitality and tourism industry.• The airline, rental car and Lodging industries

are particularly interested in this segment because it is not as variable as pleasure travel.

• Destination choice for the business travellers rarely matter of personal taste or preference.

• Although demand for business travel is elastic, meaning demand changes with economic conditions, it is not as elastic as the demand for pleasure travel.

• Pleasure travel can be postponed when the economy is poor.

• Whether economy is bad or good, certain types of business travel must still take place.

• Business travel is less seasonal than pleasure travel.• Whereas most vacations travel

occurs during warm weather months, business travel occurs continually through out the year.

• Meetings and conventions account for a large segment of business travel.

• Originally a convention referred to a meeting with large numbers of people in attendance.

• Today it is generic term referring to a virtually any size of business or professional meeting held in one specific locations.

• Conventions are held by large corporations, government agencies, and other organizations known as SMERF (Social, Military, Educational, Religious, and Fraternal) groups.

Business people and professional people travel to meetings and convention for a variety of reason:• To learn the latest trends in an industry.• To take part in training programs.• To see demonstration of new technologies.• To meet contacts.• To find out about the competitions.

Leisure- Time Activities

• Leisure- Time destination choices and motivations for travel can be grouped to common categories.

Visiting Friend and Relatives

• One of the strongest factors in choosing a destination is the desire to visit friends and relatives. Although people visiting other people often do not need commercial lodging, they will probably take advantage of other hospitality and tourism services such as recreation, attraction, food, and many more.

Education

• Some people choose a destination because of the opportunity it offers for further their studies.

• Elderhostel a none profit that offers educational tours for mature adults often organizes group study the language, art, culture, nature or history.

Culture

• Cultural attractions are very popular to tourist. Art museums, natural history museums, historical villages, Icons, architectural masterpieces.

Nature

• Visiting natural landmarks as a destination is largely a 19th century U.S creation.

• The accommodations at nature sites may be on the rustic side and some tourist may rely on camping gear and stay at campsites.

Recreation

• Destinations that offer visitors the opportunity to participate of sports or activities such as hiking, golf, fishing or gaming draw large crowds.

Historical Significant Places

• A serious side to leisure-time travel involves memorials and monuments. Many tourist visit monuments that have been erected to honour an individual or group of people in remembrance of the lost of their lives or their patriotic tribute.

Events

• Sometime people arrange their vacation travel around specific events. The events may involve sports, such as Olympic Games, Super Bowl, or The World Cup soccer finals.

Religion

• Religious holidays, pilgrimages and pageants have long motivated people to travel.

Health

• Spas are popular today as they were during Roman era. People travel to places that would help them shape up, trim down, or feel better physically. Sometimes destinations are chosen due to it’s climate.

Other Factors

• Other Factors also affect the choice of destination. These includes ease of access, price, attractive advertising, and level of satisfactions in previous experiences. Another factor is the attitude of the local residents. Vacationers are more likely to return to a destination where they feel welcome than to one where they feel unwanted.

Multiple Motivations

• Obviously, these categories are very general. Any one destination may be chosen for a number of reasons.

• In addition, one destination might offer different motivation to same visitors.