UNIT 8- Legislation and Ethics in Travel and Tourism Sector Assignment Sample

A Management Report

Executive Summary:The following management report of TUI Travel PLC discusses the role of business ethics in travel and tourism industry. Here, a few major factors that affects the travel and tourism sector of different nations across the globe were mentioned. In addition to this, the Corporate Social Responsibility of TUI Travel Plc., have been discussed.

1. Introduction

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Business ethics are important for businesses, especially in the era of rising competition. If proper ethics are not followed, then customers and employees will leave the organization. In addition, company's revenue may go down and it will lose its goodwill in the market. They say ethics and profits are inversely proportional. In this section, let's see how business ethics plays an important role in Tourism industry.

4.1 Analyse ethical dilemmas faced by the travel and tourism sector.

In many research, it was found that the main domain of ethical dilemmas that affects the tourism sector includes, corruption, bribery, sexual harassment, racial and gender discrimination, deteriorating natural resources, serving unhealthy food items. Apart from this, many studies have highlighted political instability or dysfunctional government as one of the key factor affecting the travel and tourism sector. For example- Russia, Syria, North Korea, Pakistan, etc., are some places that are often under political warfare or riots, that puts a dent on the canvas of these countries and majorly affect the tourism industry. Furthermore, social and cultural factors, such as institution, host communities, society, and government policies also play a crucial role. For instance, countries, namely Vietnam, Nepal, Bangladesh, etc., attract the tourist by offering a hassle-free visa process and documentation. On the other hand, nations like the USA and UK follow the stringent policies for tourists that include pile of documents and loads of paper work which is quite time-consuming process.

Another unfortunate factor is child labours employed in the tourism and hospitality industry as cleaners, helpers, and other staff. This has been found in the developing countries, such as India and South Africa where the rising unemployment and poverty are the major reasons for the increasing number of child labour cases.

4.2 Analyse the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy of a specified travel and tourism business

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to approaches the business organizations adopt to contribute to the society. It includes, equal opportunity, practicing sustainability, and environmental protection, (Crane et. Al., 2012). Organizations dealing in social responsibilities may involve the local community to get their needs and business responsibilities fulfilled. CSR makes use of social, environmental, and cultural sources to conserve the bio-diversity.

CSR consists of two major sub-divisions:-

1. Environment: It aims to promote the tourism by preserving and showcasing the environmental treasure of a city.
2. Philanthropy: It's a form of a promotion while serving the society by raising the charity.

The Corporate Social Responsibilities of TUI include:-

1. Promoting cultural and social values.
2. Procuring endangered eco-system.
3. Giving a viable rates to the customers.

TUI Travel PLC is one of the finalists for 'Best CSHR Strategy' in an award function in 2014. Its 'Sustainability Holidays Plan' supports the sustainability vision of the organization: "To make travel experiences special whilst minimizing environmental impact, respecting culture and people and bringing economic benefits to communities." The plan combines the social and environmental principles into their way of carrying out business activities.

Conclusion

In the report, the different types of dilemmas faced by the travel and tourism industries of different nations was discussed briefly. It was shown that government policies alone don't affect the tourism, but some social factors, such as child labor and sanitation also contribute in slowing down the growth of this sector. Moreover, the concept of CSR was discussed thoroughly in context of the chosen organization i.e., TUI Travel Plc. In addition, the discussion ended with mentioning the sustainability vision of TUI.

Conclusion

In this report, many relevant aspects of travel and tourism industry were highlighted and discussed. Different tasks have been attempted in order to deepen the knowledge of this particular sector. In the first task, various legal and regulatory framework of tourism sector was discussed in reference to England and Wales. Their impacts on businesses was briefly explained in this report. Moving further, the laws related to sea, water and surface transport in UK was talked about. The next task was answered by mentioning the impacts of safety, health and security legislation on tourism sector of UK. The contract legislation plays a crucial role in this sector, therefore it has been explained thoroughly along with the legislation for consumer protection. Before ending on a high note, ethical dilemmas faced by the travel and tourism was briefly explained in here. Lastly, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was elucidated in reference to the chosen organization.