Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
person's right to privacy. The DPA applies to fi rms
holding information about individuals in electronic
and paper-based format. Under the terms of the
Act, organisations holding information may need to
register and comply with a series of Data Protection
Principles, covering such matters as accuracy and
security of the information and its use for lawful
purposes.
FOCUS ON INDUSTRY
COMPANY ETHOS AT BRITISH AIRWAYS
British Airways publishes a document that outlines its
social and environmental policy, in which it states that
the company will
'strive to improve its environmental
and social performance and to contribute to a better
quality of life for everyone, now and for generations
to come'
. The responsibilities for implementing the
policy lie with all staff, line managers and directors.
Companies must also follow contract law when selling
their products and services to customers.
Standards of practice
As well as laws and regulations, the travel and tourism
sector also promotes voluntary codes of practice, for
example the ABTA Code of Conduct. Codes of practice
lay down guidelines that members of organisations
must follow when operating their businesses and
state what must happen when things go wrong,
e.g. complaints procedures and compensation
payments. AITO members also agree to abide by the
principles in its 'quality charter' (see AITO case study
in Unit 1 on page 30). There are particular rules and
regulations governing advertising. The Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA) regulates the content of
adverts in newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and on
the internet.
Weblink
Check out this website for full details of
BA's environmental and social policy.
www.britishairways.com
Consumer protection
Travel and tourism organisations must follow a variety of
laws and regulations when carrying out their marketing
activities, including:
•
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 - this Act makes
it a criminal offence for an organisation or individual
to give misleading price information about goods,
services, accommodation or facilities they are
offering for sale. The Act has special signifi cance for
travel and tourism operators who must ensure the
accuracy of any price information in their brochures,
on the internet or in other publicity material;
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on the work of the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
www.asa.org.uk
•
The Trades Description Act 1968 - one of the
Political, economic, social and
technological (PEST) factors
original pieces of consumer legislation that aims to
protect customers against false descriptions, either
verbally or in writing, given by suppliers of goods
and services. In the case of travel and tourism,
any description of, for example, a hotel or tourist
attraction, must be truthful at the time it was written
(if circumstances subsequently change, the operator
must inform the customer);
Travel and tourism organisations need to be aware
of external infl uences on their marketing activities,
i.e. factors outside of their direct control. Many use
a technique called PEST analysis to examine their
external business environment - PEST stands for
political, economic, social and technological. The
PEST analysis will vary between different organisations,
but is likely to include information on the following
factors:
•
The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 - this important
legislation, originally introduced in 1984, aims to
promote high standards in the handling of personal
information by organisations and so protect a
