The Tourism and Hospitality Industry - Term Paper Example

Ethics in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry The tourism and hospitality industry is a continually changing and competitive business environment. Its players are trying their best to come up with ways of staying ahead of their competitors. Some of the conventional ways they do to remain top are such as lowering service prices and offering them in the best way possible (Fannell & Mallody, 2007). Organizations in this industry are, therefore, responding to the competition by creating a better partnership and collaborative relationships with customers. In regard to these relationships and attaining their profits, there have been several discussions pointing at the ethical practices in the industry. It is quite obvious that players with good ethical and moral standards enjoy long-term benefits. Professionals in the industry as well face some interesting, but complex ethical issues. To help address those issues, their causes must first be unearthed. Various studies show the key factors that predispose the industry to the ethical dilemmas are such as competition, social, legal, environmental, and economic issues. Based on the industry’s nature, employees and customers find themselves in tempting situations that have ethical concerns. The ethical issues are not new and have been in the industry for a long time. Tourism and hospitality businesses are currently one of the top drivers of the global economy. All countries are players of the industry by either acting as a tourist destination or source market. By 2002, the number of international tourist arrivals was 700 million compared to 25 million in 1950. The rise represents an annual growth rate of about 6 percent (World Tourism Organization, 2005). Tourism alone has seen the industry rise as the all-time leading source of foreign exchange. It leads as the source of the exchange in 40 percent of the countries worldwide. It also ranks top for exports in more than 83 percent of countries (WTO, 2005). Despite the industry’s display of economic dominance, there are equally well-recognized and published ethical issues arising from its operations. The success of the industry depends on environmental and cultural resources and, as a result, it has environmental and social impacts. The activities of the industry continually interact with the natural systems (Costello & Hogan, 2002, p. 250-255). Tourists, for example, crave for secluded and scenic accommodation that leads to clearance of several natural resources to develop resorts and hotels. Additionally, the tourists’ means of transportation to various attraction sites is facilitated by the use of locomotives that use fossil fuels. The products of the fuels contribute to greenhouse gases, as well as, polluting the air. Solid and organic wastes also contribute to environmental pollution. All these efforts of developing the industry are good but are criticized because of their impact on the environment. One wonders whether it is ethical for the industry to thrive while the society and environment are deteriorating (Cooper & Ruhanen, 2005). In addition to interacting with the natural systems, the industry also involves both direct and indirect with the local communities. Eco-tourism, home-stay tourism, and agrotourism all involve direct engagements between the tourists and the host community (Sharpley, 2004). Contrary to that, mass tourism has less direct involvements. In all situations, however, the contact between the tourists and the community results in problems such as importing of lifestyles and cultures, conflict of values, and over-commercialization of local commodities. All these have ethical concerns because by virtue of the nature they lead to economic imperialism, pollution, environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources, and sexual exploitation (Hall & Saarinen, 2008). The vital link between hospitality and tourism industry and the physical and social environments implies that its success largely depends on its ability to maximize profits. The industry must, however, deduce ways on how to reduce its unwanted effects on the society and environment (Walle, 2010, p. 188). The interactions between the industry and local community can significantly reduce if some natural settings degrade, lose the aesthetic value or pollute because of poor planning and development. In the same way, tourism and hospitality business can lose their value because of ethical issues arising from problems such as alcohol abuse, increased crime, prostitution, and use of drugs. Hence, getting solutions to these problems can go a long way in improving the industry’s value (Hall, 2002). There are several legal issues that impact the policies that guide the tourism and hospitality industry (Hassanien & Dale, 2013, p. 150). The laws regarding the operations of businesses in foreign countries greatly impact the industry. Governments are the most important stakeholders of the industry because they make the regulations and policies to be followed (Peceri, 2010 p. 200-210). In consultation with the local communities and private sector, it makes policies and ensures the industry follows them. Failure to follow them has legal consequences. Again this raises issues as to whether even the tourists caught on the wrong side of the law should be punished. The industry is dynamic, and the policies involved keep changing which necessities the need for regular reviews with law experts (Peceri, 2010). The tourism world becomes even more complicated when both the clientele and customers are aware of their rights and demand them from the courts. What of when players in the industry assume and disregard laws? The law at times fails to hold them responsible, and one or the other party is abused in the process. The industry players including the tourists should, therefore, be encouraged to behave decently and be mentally and physically prepared on what to expect on their various destinations (Barth & Hayes, 2006). They should learn how to respect people and the environment, and not to intrude them with a show of selfish lives. There are no sufficient laws that can solve individual conscience if it is not sensitive to the ethics of respecting others. The law can intervene but will not always provide a solution (Reid & Bonjanic, 2010). Tourism and hospitality are two related fields that have grown together to establish an industry that is the backbone of the economy of various countries. The realization of the worth of the industry and its contribution to revenue has seen several firms emerge on the global scene, as well as, the local level (Beeton, 2006, p. 195). The firms provide hospitality and tourism services to tourists and adventure enthusiasts. Due to the presence of the several service providers, competition has set in the industry. There have been changes in operation standards as each firm competes for a share of consumers in a bid to maximize profits (Wallace, 2005). In order to attain a competitive advantage, the organizations end up adopting unethical practices with the sole aiming of increasing their profits. The attainment of the competitive advantage is, however, not easy, and some resources must be used in controversial ways for the firms to be successful. The firms disregard the environment, engage in business fraud and other unfair treatments all in the name of profits (Hayes & Ninemeiber, 2009). Employees are also discriminated against their gender, age, and religion. The unethical behaviors arising from competition have, therefore, given rise to questions on how organization ethics can be enhanced and how they can be used to address the challenges in the industry (Patterson, 2005). There are several theories that explain the ethical dilemmas in the tourism and hospitality industry. The three most important theories are; Theological, Deontological, and Cultural Relativism. Theological Theory The theological theory argues that an action is neither wrong nor right by itself. The results of the action are what justify its state. Currently, the world is witnessing growth in the industry promoted by the states and market in a bid to make profits for a few individuals. In Asia and Africa, for example, tourism is viewed as a solution to poverty. As responsible people guided by appropriate ethics, the long-term effects of the industry’s activities against inequality among people. People of good will must be guided by a concern for the less fortunate and marginalized in the society. How the industry is structured is a major factor in third world poverty. Beneath its glittering image, there is a dark side that is hidden (Fannell, 2006). There is a misconception that tourism generates a large revenue for countries, and people can benefit from it. The media are in the forefront of promoting the misconception and make people believe it alleviates poverty. As a result, planners are diverting resources meant for maintenance of basic infrastructure to the industry. Theological communities and faith-based movements should be the first to challenge such assumptions. Theological institutions can also design courses to challenge the misconceptions from a justice perspective. Tourism thrives by taking advantage of God’s creation that should instead be shared by all people. The industry does not respect environment, life, and cultures because it has roots in pleasure, enjoyment, and profits. The industry and, in particular, tourism, results in destruction of God’s creation. It is, therefore, founded on unethical grounds that men of God should be against (Fannell, 2006). Deontological theories In contrast to the theology theory, deontology theories insist on upholding of values and following rules regardless of the consequences of their acts. Stakeholders in the tourism industry should follow the set guidelines without wanting to know the results. It is the community and the government to deal with the consequences whether bad or good (Crouch, 2004). When justifying the alleged moral rules, duties, or corresponding rights, deontologists appeal to the value of those things it applies. Animals, for example, have an intrinsic value to the tourism and hospitality industry. They have a moral right to decent treatment that then generates a moral duty to hoteliers and tourists not to treat them as a means of getting profits. Killing of animals for food and concentrating them on cages violates their moral rights (Hansen, 2002 p. 524). The code of ethics in the industry would, for example, advice operators and tourists to stay at least 50 meters away from the killer whales. The code disregards the fact that venturing any closer to them will not have any effects on the tourists and the whales. From the deontological point of view, the tourist and operators should follow the guidelines without compromise. Since they are not told why they should not get any closer, the consequences of their actions do not focus on the message. A universal ethical duty in the industry should always be to do the right thing. It is everyone’s responsibility, for example, to behave according to the moral laws and to always treat others with dignity, but not as a means of reaching the end. Using women to entice tourists disregards their moral dignity regardless of the profits the industry makes. In making use of the theory in the industry, it is the duty of all parties involved not to harm other people even if the results are good (Foster & Hegarty, 2009). Cultural Relativism The theory teaches people to follow norms, habits, and the local rules. According to the theory, there is no bad or good because they are relative and depends on cultures. Every culture and society have standards that spell out what is right or wrong (Kozak & Guclu, 2006, p. 32). The standards depend on the laws, practices, and customs of a given culture. Since cultures vary, the acceptable behaviors are also different, and there are, therefore, no universally acceptable behaviors (Fennell, 2005, p. 87-90). The industry players should learn to follow the standards and rules of a given culture and not judge their standards. In Italy, for example, corruption is acceptable, but in the United States, it is a crime. Stakeholders in the industry particularly in an international context should take note of the ethical standard of the host cultures and respect them (Fennell & Malloy 2007). It is certainly impossible to solve all the ethical issues discussed in the essay at a go. Nevertheless, the industry players can opt to develop their businesses in a manner that gives room for the changes in the societal structure. They can introduce positive changes in the international arena by being swift in responding to all unbecoming values and practices. In the last decade, sustainable tourism has been the basis and key trend in the shift of consumer market trends to ethical consumption. Hospitality organizations have started recognizing the importance of promoting ethical values in their activities as it improves their public perception, employee relations, management effectiveness, as well as, profits. Embracing ethical standards can ruin the profits and operations of the industry, but will be of benefit in the long run. Reference List Barth, S. C., & Hayes, D. K. (2006). Hospitality law: managing legal issues in the hospitality industry. New Jersey, Wiley. Beeton, S. (2006). Community development through tourism. Collingwood, VIC, Land Link Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Cooper, and L. Ruhanen.: 2005, ‘The Positive and Negative Impacts of Tourism’, in W.F. Theobald (ed.), Global Tourism (3rd edition), (Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, New York), pp. 79-102. Costello, H and Hogan (2002), I Codes of ethics in Hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Hospitality Management 2/4, 243-268 Crouch, G. I. (2004). 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