The feasibility of electric car policy in England's tourism industry - Essay Example

? Page my Research Proposal: The feasibility of electric car policy in England’s tourism industry List of Contents Page Introduction 4 Literature Review 7 Statement of Research Aims 11 Research Question 11 Aims/Objectives 12 Hypothesis 12 Methodology 13 Method 16 Limitations and Areas for Further Research 17 References 18 Appendices 20 List of Tables, List of Figures Page Figure 1. Specific average emissions from fossil fuel-based Electricity generation in the different EU-27 Member States in 2007 8 Figure 2. Global Climate Dashboard 8 Introduction Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and its fast-pace growth can substantially prove it (Trotman Publishing, 2000). As it has become highly associated with travel, there are various important opportunities in tourism that paves the way for it to become one of highly profitable industries across the globe. People constantly have to engage themselves in travel due to business, leisure and other related personal activities. At some point, travel is an integral part of modern-day tourism (Kamra, 1997). As people constantly look forward to go from one place to another, tourism has constantly become one of the major activities in the world that includes travel. Tourism industry without question is one of the oldest industries in the world that until now still receives a wide range of familiarity among tourists and travelers from all parts of the world. Many countries are engaged in tourism and have been remarkably known as destination attraction. England is one of the best destinations in the world due to its wide range of historic towns, national parks and other important target spots that are perfect for someone looking for an exciting and maximum experience. After all, tourism in England is one of the finest in the world. Regarding this, it has various strategies included in its business model just prior to increase the level of visitors’ experience and satisfaction. However, even if tourism industry in England was already established in such a long period of time and earned remarkable reputation for earning higher income, there are still significant challenges it is facing today; not to mention those directly related with human resource empowerment and other administrative-related cases. Many factors are said to affect England’s tourism industry and they specifically are integral parts of the business environment such as political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental concerns. One of the most important issues it needs to face is the prevailing government concern on global warming or climate change. As mandated by the local government, the tourism industry in England has to abide by its political obligation and that includes its role to manage carbon output (Visitengland.org, 2012). This particularly means that the visitor economy should be controlled within certain limit. This has become its great challenge especially that it tries to create the visiting experience appealing to its visitors. England’s tourism industry’s survival relies on the maximisation of the numbers of visitors. However, due to critical consideration of its production of environmental hazards, England finally decided to limit the number of its visitors every year. This substantially would indeed be a challenge to England’s economy. After all, tourism in the British economy is able to provide around 1,000,000 jobs (Ritchie and Adair, 2004). Furthermore, it contributes 4% of UK’s gross domestic product (Hiles, 2011). This would mean a lot to England’s economy. The aim of this research is to come up with effective strategy for tourism industry in England that will focus on the assessment of the government’s move to limit the visitor economy. There are various options that it needs to consider. In particular, it is important to take a look closely at the feasibility of applying electric-generated vehicles in order to ensure adhering to political commitment in the local and national management of carbon emission. As electric-generated motors and cars become increasingly dominant in the UK, there would be no other choice, but to substantially use this alternative in order to cater the promising industry for tourism in England. In fact, UK targets around 1.7 million electric cars on UK roads by 2020 in order to achieve its goal for the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Jha, 2011). In doing this, will there be willingness on the part of the government to invest in electric-generated vehicles? Will the privately-owned firms associated with the entire tourism industry be willing to invest in electric-generated vehicles once this has to be emancipated by the government? How much support then these private sectors should receive from the government if they pursue on this deal? Last year, Shai Agassi, founder and chief executive officer of Better Place commented that UK electric car grants would not be enough, resulting consumers and investors to lose their confidence on the said government program (Jha, 2011). It is the main concern of this paper to assess the level of confidence that England investors in the tourism industry have on the government’s electric vehicles policy, most particularly on its amount and terms of support. In knowing this, it would be specifically important to evaluate how much level of confidence the people in England have on the government’s policy making from the point of view of its entire tourism industry. Literature Review Future vehicles in England’s tourism industry In 2000, around 700 million international tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide and these were considerably assumed to have substantial impacts on the environment (Gossling, 2002). Gossling remarkably considered the investigation of five aspects of the leisure-related alteration of the environment which include changes on land cover and land use, energy consumption and its impact, extinction of wild species and biota exchange, dispersion of diseases and psychological consequences of travel (2002). This study has remarkably shown that the energy consumption together with its impact was a significant highlight of the country’s entire business environment. Thus, this can also be intertwined with the prevailing political consideration of the Tourism Industry in England, which associates the significant impacts of carbon dioxide emission (Visitengland.org, 2012). The amount of carbon emitted in the atmosphere is so massive, making the UK government to substantially control it at its best possible way. Shown in figure 1 and 2 are projected amounts of carbon dioxide that go into the atmosphere from European countries together with a yearly projected output using a graphical presentation. Carbon dioxide emission control, carbon offset programmes, and alternative biofuels with low emission for carbon and high reduction of emitted amount of greenhouse gases are current strategies for climate change abatement that are especially applied in England’s tourism industry (Veal, 2010). Regarding this, electric-generated cars are the most possible options in the future(Jha, 2011). This would not be by far to be applied in the tourism industry, knowing that it has considerably adhered to the government’s existing policy on the reduction of greenhouse gases and maximisation of sustainable use of energy. Figure 1. Specific average emissions (CO2, SO2, NO2) from fossil fuel-based electricity generation in the different EU-27 Member States in 2007 (European Wind Energy Association, 2009) Figure 2. Global Climate Dashboard (NOAA Climate Services, 2010). Carbon dioxide (ppm) Clarity of UK government regulations on electric cars Better Place, a Californian transport company wanted to make sure that the UK government would support its policy on electric cars in the long run and not for just about a short term, and not within a small covered amount (Jha, 2011). There is an important concern about the real issue of the entire tourism business in here. The said transport company was hesitant not because of anything else, but due to having more clear support from the government in terms and conditions. The year 2011 was a breakthrough year for electric cars in the UK as the government was able to launch ?5,000 electric car grant scheme (Vaughan, 2011). This definitely would hopefully make the following years in the UK exciting for car buyers because they will have the chance to buy for electric cars. However, in October 2011, there was a slump sales on electric car and this might probably be due to high price like that of the Nissan Leaf (Vaughan, 2011). In cases like this, it is evident that the government has a special role to play in order to at least create some ways and means so that people can afford to buy cars that are expected to start a successful green revolution in the UK. What is specifically important about the case of UK’s goal to revolutionise the car industry into something covered by environmental protection, management and policy is merely for the competitive advantage of the whole nation. Total reliance on the fossil fuel would somehow decrease its economic productivity as it continues to pursue on environmental sustainability management. Thus, the move to go forward to electric cars is so far one of the best alternatives in England, as there are other alternative energy that could generate electricity in the future. Such of these would include solar, wind, and other related-alternative energy. However, in achieving this goal, it is important on the part of the UK government to consider reliable information on how the entire thing should be implemented and be willingly executed by the public buyers in the future. Some disadvantages of electric cars Despite the government’s massive grant of ?5,000 in the UK, electric cars were still not selling that much. In fact, it was reported to have 50% downward sales figure in the second quarter of 2011 (Grover, 2011). According to the above report, there were two important or major reasons why the electric cars like Nissan Leaf were not making a great hit in the market, despite the fact that the government assured of a specific amount for massive grant just to motivate buyers to go try a new electric car model that is proven environmental friendly. One particular reason is its being expensive. Buyers still found it expensive to have such this car because its remaining price less the government’s grant is still higher than the price of traditional cars. Furthermore, potential buyers got to decide for any available facilities that could help them re-charge the car anytime and anywhere. Unlike the traditional cars, electric cars need to recharge making it a particular challenge and issue to be taken into great account. Furthermore, the idea of electric cars may be surpassed by the potential use of bike or people’s ability to walk short distances within the British cities. Thus, this would substantially create an impression among the British people about the electric cars with such impracticality. Statement of Research Aims This study will be conducted in order to evaluate or critically analyse the response of the tourism industry in England on the government’s policy on electric cars, and to further know their suggestions on its sustainable implementation in the future. Research question In order to achieve the above research aim, the respondent will answer the following questions at the end of this study. 1. What is the level of response on the government’s electric cars policy among investors in England in the tourism industry who are involved in the business of visitor economy with frequent use of travel? 2. What are the specific suggestions of these investors for the sustainable implementation of electric car policy in the future? Aims / Objectives 1. To be able to use an evaluative measure that could substantially define the level of response of the tourism industry in England on the government’s policy on electric cars. 2. To be able to achieve different responses that could generalise the entire voice of England’s tourism industry towards the sustainable implementation of electric cars in the future. Hypothesis Tourism Industry in England has a strong stand on electric cars policy based on certain conditions. Methodology Overview This study will try to investigate the specific response of investors in the tourism industry in England particularly those who are involved in the visitor economy, engaging themselves frequently in the business travel. Research Design Descriptive research specifically deals with finding “what things simply are like” and not on critical investigation “why they are those ways” (Vaus, 2002). In other words, the goal of descriptive research is to describe whatever information would be obtained from specific sets of data. It is its goal to verify specific hypothesis and not to make any judgment or interpretation of the obtained information. In this study, the proponent will use a descriptive research design in order to fully describe the specific response of investors in England in the tourism industry especially giving focus on those involved in the business of daily travels. Furthermore, this would help address the research hypothesis in a straightforward manner. Quantitative approach seeks to preserve neutrality and prevents bias because the data collected will be subjected to quantitative analysis, which the descriptive research can be best employed (Bennett, 1986). Qualitative approach on the other hand tries to identify information contrary to quantitative approach. All information under qualitative approach cannot be numerical in nature but in a verbal form (Creswell, 2003). Thus, this would allow the researcher to have subjective decision or analysis about the data. In this study, the proponent will both used quantitative and qualitative approach. Finding for the descriptive information on the respondents’ response would mean usage of quantitative approach. On the other hand, the interpretation of respondents’ verbal response could be best organise in great detail using a qualitative approach. Participants This research will employ respondents coming from those investors in historic towns, national parks and those involved in other leisure-related tourist attractions or spots, which from time to time would initiate travels. Ten percent of them will be randomly chosen for an interview in a questionnaire. Instruments A questionnaire will be given to the respondents with answers to choose with scale from 1 to 4. Furthermore, this questionnaire will also contain open ended questions. Shown in Table 1 from the Appendix section is the questionnaire for this study. Data Processing and Analysis Weighted average will be computed for all responses from the given question. This study will use a simple descriptive mathematical tool in order to describe the actual level of average response of the respondents using the following scale of interpretation: Range                                                Interpretation 3.01 – 4.00                                        Strongly Agree 2.01 – 3.00                                        Agree 1.01 – 2.00                                         Disagree        0.00 – 1.00                                        Strongly Disagree Ethical Considerations The proponent will treat all information that will be gathered with all confidentiality. Furthermore, the respondents should not be allowed to disclose personal information for the sake of leaving their names anonymous. Method Sample size should be randomly chosen 10% from the total population of the respondents. When randomly chosen, this would be representative of the entire population (Bennett, 1986). Furthermore, this would be enough to statistically justify the reliability of data to represent the entire samples, provided that randomization method is applied. All respondents should be from those investors in historic towns, national parks and those involved in other leisure-related tourist attractions or spots, which from time to time would initiate travels. A letter of request to conduct interview with the chosen respondents will be sent prior to the actual data gathering. The letter should be approved by the adviser, instructor or school representative. All respondents will be given with token of appreciation for their time and effort for participation. Limitations and Areas for Further Research This entire research will be dependent entirely on the respondent’s response and their willingness to participate in this study. Any actual misinterpretation of the questions given will be out of proponent’s control. Time constraint is another probable limitation. If the chosen respondents will have no enough time for this study, probable delays of the actual processing of data and analysis will be out of respondent’s control. A substantial area in this study that would create further research is a substantial comparison of responses on electric car policies among respondents from different cities. References Bennett, S. (1986) The Quantitative Approach in Political Science: An Introduction. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. Creswell, J. W. (2003) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. 2nd ed. New Delhi: SAGE. European Wind Energy Association (2009) Wind energy – the facts: a guide to the technology, economics and future of wind power. London: Earthscan. Grover, S. (2011) UK Electric Car Sales Down 50%, Despite Massive Government Grant [online]. Available from: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/uk-electric-car-sales-down-50-despite-massive-government-grant.html [Accessed 19th January 2012]. Hiles, A. (2011) The Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Jha, A. (2011) UK electric car grants ‘not good enough’ says Shai Agassi [online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/09/uk-electric-car-grants-not-enough [Accessed 19th January 2012] Kamra, K. K. (1997) Tourism: theory, planning, and practice. New Delhi: Indus Publishing. NOAA Climate Services (2010) Global Climate Dashboard [online]. Available from: http://www.climate.gov/#climate [Accessed 19th January 2012]. Ritchie, B. W., and Adair, D. (2004) Sport tourism: interrelationships, impacts and issues. Ontario: Channel View Publications. Trotman Publishing (2010) Tourism. 2nd ed. Surrey: Crimson Publishing. Vaughan, A. (2011) UK government launches ?5,000 electric car grant scheme [online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/01/electric-car-grant-uk [Accessed 19th January 2012]. Vaughan, A. (2011) Electric car UK sales sputter out [online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/oct/21/electric-car-uk-sales-sputter [Accessed 19th January 2012]. Vaus, D. A. De (2002) Surveys in social research. 5th ed. St Leonard, NSW: Routledge. Visitengland.org (2012) A Strategic Framework for Tourism in England 2010 – 2020: Opportunities and Challenges. http://www.visitengland.org/ Veal, A. J. (2010) Leisure, sport and tourism, politics, policy and planning. 3rd ed. Oxfordshire: CABI. Appendices Appendix 1. Questionnaire A. Instruction: From question 1 to 5, the following probable answers are the following: Strongly Agree 4 Agree 3 Disagree        2 Strongly Disagree 1 1. Do you agree with the government’s electric car policy? 2. Do you agree to be involved in this government program? 3. Do you agree to implement this right away into your business this year? 4. Do you agree with the government’s plan to grant special financial support for investors? 5. Do you agree to spend for electric car? B. Please answer the following questions. 1. What do you think the government should do in order to make its electric car policy more feasible and advantages to investors?_________________________________ 2. What do you think are substantial flows the government has prior or during its electric-car implementation?____________________________________________________ 3. What would make you go for electric car policy? ______________________________ 4. What things are you willing to give up for electric car policy? ___________________ 5. What do you think the government should do to make electric car policy successful? _____________________________________________________________________ 6. What is/are the good thing(s) about electric car policy? (If any)________________ Appendix 2. Resource Implications (including estimated costs) Items Amount Tokens Papers and printing Transportation Others Read More