Reading Week One
Key Issues in International Tourism Management * The authors try to identify what they consider to be 20 major issues in international tourism management today, which will then be discussed in a little detail. * The political enviroment: * Tourism tends to flourish only when the political environment is stable, particularly in the tourist destination, but also in the countries which generate the tourism trips. * International terrorism, whcih has left no corner of the world feeling safe and secure. This has had a devastating effect on the tourism industry as the willingness of people to travel has declined, particularly in the US markets. * Unlike previous terrorist attacks, the current ones are not isolated incidents and terrorism seems likely to be a global factor of life for the foreseeable future. * The lack of economic, as well as political, stability has been a major factor in the problems faced by the tourism industry worldwise since 2001. This political and economic uncertainty seems set to remain a factor of life for the toursim sector for years to come. * Technological Developments: * The development of tourism has often been driven by technological innovation. Technological developments influence the tourism industry in terms of eveerything from the products it offers to the way it sells its products to and how it managers its operations. * The most important technological development for the tourism industry, overall, is the internet . * In the case of the internet, we have a technological development which is a threat to a major sector of tourism, namely the traditional high street retail travel sector. * We must also acknowlege that other technologies will influence the future of tourism in specific sectors of the industry such as virtual relaity in theme parks