Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Understand how travel and tourism
organisations gain competitive
advantage to achieve busine
ss
aims
SECTION 3
part of t
h
eir profi ts in projects that support responsible
to
u
rism and more environmentally-friendly types of
trav
e
l. Airlines are experimenting with new types of
bio-fuels to reduce their carbon footprint, while many
tour operators are signing up to initiatives such as the
Travel Foundation and the Tour Operators' Initiative for
Sustainable Tourism to help protect the environment
and culture in the destinations that their customers
visit. This is known as corporate social responsibility
and is growing in popularity across all industries within
the travel and tourism sector.
All travel and tourism organisations try to be as effi cient
as possible when running their businesses and attempt
to gain an advantage over their competitors whenever
possible. How an organisation sets about gaining an
advantage has a lot to do with what it is ultimately
trying to achieve - in other words its business aims
and objectives. As we shall see in the fi rst part of this
section, aims and objectives vary gr
e
atly, depending
on whether the organisation oper
a
tes in the private,
public or voluntary (not-for-pr
o
fi t
)
sector.
Financial aims
Weblink
Check out these websites for more
information on the work of the Travel
Foundation and the Tour Operators'
Initiative for Sustainable Tourism.
www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk;
www.toinitiative.org
The great majority of travel and tourism organisations
are private sector companies with fi nancial aims, i.e.
their primary objective is to maximise their revenue and
make a profi t for their owners and any shareholders they
m
a
y have. This is the case with tour operators, airlines,
h
otels, guesthouses, theme parks, activity holiday
companies, etc. As well as using methods to increase
revenue, travel and tourism organisations must also
minimise their costs in order to remain competitive. If
we take the example of a low-cost airline such as Ryanair
- their managers attempt to maximise revenue through
extra seat sales and by selling ancillary products such
as travel tickets, food, scratch cards and gifts onboard
their aircraft. At the same time, they minimise their
costs by using airports that charge lower landing fees,
buying fuel and aircraft when prices are low, keeping
staff numbers to a minimum and making maximum use
of their aircraft.
Non-profi t making organisations in travel and tourism
have much wider aims than simply making a profi t.
These may be social, community or environmental
aims, for example conservation and providing tourism
facilities for the public. Organisations such as the YHA,
wildlife trusts, English Heritage and the National Trust
fall into this category. Regulatory bodies, for example
the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), are also non-
profi t making organisations that exist to 'police' the
different industries that make up the travel and tourism
sector, ensuring a fair deal for consumers and a safe
and secure holiday.
Products
Image
An important way that travel and tourism organisations
try to gain competitive advantage is by introducing
new products to meet a demand and/or improving
the quality of their existing products and services.
Many travel and tourism organisations are realising
that simply having fi nancial aims may not be in the best
interests of the organisation in the long term. Some
of the best-known names in the sector are investing
