One of the emerging issues in the hospitality and tourism is last minute booking by the consumers. Some of the major hotels around the world have a strict policy that calls for bookings to be done within a specified period. Nevertheless, some tourists go against the regulations and they are forced to miss some out on excellent experiences that are provided by state of art hotels. In the past two years, the number of ticket cancellations to the tourist destinations and hotels’ bookings has been on the rise (Nyheim, McFadden, and Connolly, 2014, p. 23). Most of these cancellations are caused by the consumers’ commitments to other factors or influence from their friends against visiting the destinations of their choice. Subsequently, this has a negative impact on the revenues that are generated by the tourism and hotel sector.
Social issues and visa liberalization
The hardest work for the industry is to convince different consumer segments that the sector is not only for the rich. Most of the luxurious hotels around the world are very expensive and not affordable to some of the middle-class population and the low-class population. Some of these individuals are blocked entry into the high-end hotels due to the lack of adequate funds (Collins, Cobanoglu, and Malik, 2008, p.15). Border control issues and visa challenges also hinder a section of tourists from specified countries from accessing tourist destinations in a given nation. Under Trump’s administration, civilians from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria among others are banned from entering the U.S. That implies that the hotel and tourism sector will in the future continue being denied significant revenues from this consumer segment.
Technological issues
In the past decade, the world has witnessed advancement in the levels of technology and this has had both positive and negative impact on the hospitality and tourism sector. The use of camera phones is not allowed in some of the tourist destinations (Hospit, 2017, p.12). However, some of the tourists, using their smartphones, take “selfies” in some of those areas that are prohibited. Luxurious hotels in some countries have also been blamed for placing cameras in their rooms. Subsequently, this denies the persons using their facilities the privacy that they deserve (Hospit, 2017, p.16). The mobile apps that are currently being used to improve travelers’ experience have not been that effective in dealing with the challenges of delays in the booking of tickets and marketing of tourist destinations.
Environmental issues
One of the global concerns that have a major impact on the tourism and hospitality sector is the environmental issues. Most of the tourist destinations have in the past decade implemented various measures that are aimed at preserving the environment (Law, Qi, and Buhalis, 2010, p.13). However, some tourists visiting tourist parks and locations continue to dispose of plastic bags and bottles. Reports of a significant percentage of the tourists feeding animals have also been on the rise and this exposes wild animals to danger (Bakir, Wickens, Boluk and Avgeli, 2017, p.247). With the growth in the world population, forest encroachment has also become an issue that requires immediate attention.
Current solutions aimed at addressing the issues
In the quest for dealing with the challenge of last minute booking and cancellations, the hotel and tourism sector has strengthened its marketing and advertisement strategies. Currently, most of the hotels and tourist destinations around the world have gotten into a partnership with airline companies and this is aimed at marketing and advertisement of their services (Pantano and Di Pietro, 2013, p.212). Through promotional awareness campaigns such as social media marketing, consumers are advised about the essence of online and timely booking of hotels. In the process, the measure has proven effective in dealing with the issue.
The rise in firms such as Airbnb is a clear indication of the efforts that the sector is slowly making in eradicating the notion that hotels are only for the rich people (Small, 2014, p.12). Airbnb is an application that provides tourists with an opportunity to access affordable hotels and places where they can spend time without parting ways with huge sums of money. As for the Visa issues, those nations that have had their civilians banned from accessing the U.S. are considering alternative tourist destinations.
Lack of privacy due to the use of smartphones in the tourist destinations has gotten the attention of the sector. The same case applies to the installation of CCTV cameras in hotel rooms. In the past two years, stringent rules and regulations have been implemented that control the use of smartphones in some of the tourist destinations (Marinkovic, 2016, p.13). Moreover, the rules prohibit hotels to place cameras in the hotel rooms. Consequently, this contributes to an enhancement in the privacy levels for not only the tourists but also some of the tourist destinations.
Environmental pollution remains a major concern for the tourism and hotel sector. The implementation of stringent rules and regulations that aim at protecting the environment is one of the measures that have been implemented. In some of the tourist destinations, for instance, tourists are not allowed to enter with plastic bags and bottles (Hou Wee, 2017, p.2). Encroachment into forest reserves by the neighboring population is also strongly prohibited under the rules. The hotel and tourism sector relies on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in raising awareness about various environmental protection initiatives (Wang, Park and Fesenmaier, 2012, p.379).
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