The Aspects of Feasibility Analysis - Assignment Example

Running header: Feasibility analysis Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: INTRODUCTION Tatour Hotels Holdings will be a hotel chain based in the East African country of Tanzania. It will provide hotel and catering services to the rising number of tourists touring the country from both local and international sources. The services to be offered include accommodation and provision of high quality meals to the guests. This will be in a bid to ensure that it will be the leading favored hotel by the tourists visiting the country. Over the recent past, there has been an influx in the number of visitors to the country each year. It a bid to meet this rising demand, the venture will be established to provide accommodation and other facilities to the tourists. EXPLORATION OF THE TANZANIAN TOURISM According to the stat6istics, Tanzania is country which possesses many tourist attractions. About 44% of the land area of Tanzania is covered with national parks and game reserves. There are 16 national parks in the country, 29 game reserves, 40 controlled conservation areas and marine parks. Tanzania is also home to the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. It the year 2012, Tanzania received an award from the New York Times as the 7th of the 45 top destinations in the world to visit in the year 2012. This signifies the high number of visitorsto the country (Tanzaniainvest.com, 2014). Other than the mountain, another famous tour destination is the Serengeti national park. It is one of the most famous game parks and is also the lo0cation to the 7th wonder of the world; the Great Migration. TheNgoro Ngoro Reserve is also a famous tourist destination. It is an extinct volcanic caldera with excellent game viewing from the crater rim. The coastal towns of Tanzania are also famous tourist destinations in the country. INDUSTRY TRENDS Over the years as earlier stated, the tourism industry in the country has been on the rise. The tourism industry at the moment in the country currently supports 27000 jobs in the country. It also generates a quarter / 25% of the country’s foreign exchange. It is one of the most well preserved industries in the country as a result of its significance in the economy. In the year 2011, Tanzania expected to receive one million tourists by the end of the year. It also as a result expected to generate about US$1.7 billion in revenue which is an equivalent of about sh2.7 trillion. This is a large base of the back bone of the economy and hence reason for well preservation of the industry. DRIVING FORCES FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY Tanzania is home to many tourist attractions. The large number of game parks and reserves is one of the factors that have led to the high number of tourists. It is also a country which possesses a lot of indigenous culture. This can be well illustrated by the presence of cultural tourism such as the Maasai Boma and the Bushmen settlements present in the country. The Government of Tanzania pays key attention on the development of the tourism industry. This is portrayed by the development of infrastructure such as roads and communication and electricity networks around the game parks (Rhonda, 2013). This helps ease the movement around the parks. The government can also put in place several factors to boost the industry. They include among others; a. Increasing the household income b. Reducing the cost of air travel c. Rising the number of retired baby boomers with time and money to spend The government can also put in place several factors to boost the industry. They include among others; a. Increasing the household income b. Reducing the cost of air travel c. Rising the number of retired baby boomers with time and money to spend DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Tatour Hotels Holdings focuses on offering world class accommodation and meals to our customers. We aim at offering exemplary services to our customers. Our goal is utmost customer satisfaction. We believe that to be a one of a kind destination, we have to well serve the interests of our customers. We intend to construct world class accommodation facilities. The lodges will provide utmost comfort to our customers. Quality and well designed beds and rooms will be our special characteristic. Our accommodation facilities will be eco- friendly and will well match with the nature around our premises. We intend to design them I a way that the visitors will have a one of a kind view of the beautiful scenery. In our cafeteria, we will provide the best available dishes. We will prepare finger licking meals to our customers. Toachieve this effectively, we will seek the services of well trained and competent chefs. The other staff will also be well trained to ensure that they offer the best services. We believe that the best can be attained from the staff if they are well motivated. Other services to be offered will be swimming pool facilities, gyms, massage parlorsand entertainment facilities.so as to achieve proper contact with our customers, there will be vans specially designed to transport our customers from the pick up points to our hotel premises and back. We want to transform our hotels to give the visitors an experience of a home away from home. To achieve all of these, several factors must be well managed. They include; a. Security Well trained and armed security personnel should be hired. This is to ensure that the security of the tourists is maintained at high levels. This is because insecurity incidents results to lack of trust by tourists to the firm.The premises should be well secured to ensure that the visitors are not subject to any cases of theft or attack from either animals or human beings b. rescue services The swimming pools should have rescue staff and first aid staff so as to cater for emergencies incase they occur. This should be in order to prevent cases of drowning by those using the swimming facility. c. cleaning services There should be well trained staff and personnel to deal with the cleanliness of the premises (Yale, 2005). This is because the outwards appearance of the premises talks more of the facility than words can tell. The levels of hygiene should be well maintained. d. Condition of the assets The vehicles and vans used for transportation should be maintained at the best conditions. They should be able to withstand all the weather conditions and provide efficiency and comfort in transportation. This attracts the tourists to the company’s services. Product differentiation is necessary so as to maintain a competitive advantage in the hotel industry. By putting in place the above listed services which include; maintenance of good asset condition, improvement of security, and the company is able to maintain high standards in the competition market. Similarly, they can have a trademark color for designing our vehicles. This means that all the vehicles in the fleet can have a color that differentiates them from those of the competitors. OPERATIONS PLAN Operations plan ensures that Tatour Hotels Holdings offer exemplary service delivery to our customers. We strive at offering the best without compromise. Visitors are the reason of our existence and hence their preservation is very necessary to us. We would like to establish long lasting relationship with our customers so as to increase the chances of repetitive visits from them. 1. Operations objectives The operations objectives help ensure that there is maximum utilization of the resources available to the organization. By this, there is reduction of wastages in the processes therefore increasing profitability and hence improve service levels and standards. 2. proposed location We would like to construct the headquarters of the holdings at Moshi Town. This can be attributed to the closeness of the town to Mt. Kilimanjaro. This will enable us to construct our rooms facing the beautiful landscape of the mountain. By this the visitors will be able to see the snow capped mountain at the comfort of their rooms. Another branch will be located at Arusha town. This is because of the presence of Arusha airport and the advantages gained from it. It is also not far from the Serengeti which is world class tourist destination. The third branch will be located at the coastal city of Dar Es Salaam. This is in a bid to accommodate the tourists in the beaches and also the marine tourists. Another branch will be located at the Zanzibar Island. This is because the Island is a historical town which attracts many tourists to it. All these four branches will enable Tatour Hotels Holdings to well manage their grip of the country at large and the most visited tourist sites in the country. 3. Acquisition Of Properties The headquarters of the venture which will be located at Moshi Town will be constructed. This will be in order to achieve all the required room designs and all other specifications. Construction will give enough room to make all the changes required and to make all the desired paintings, carvings and decorations easier to design. All the other branches will be located on leased properties. This property will be renovated where necessary and designed to the liking of the Hotel Holdings. It is however very expensive to purchase land at the Moshi region due to its proximity and location next to the Kilimanjaro Mountain. It is however the best option available to the very high costs of renting or leasing of property at that region. 4. service process Tatour Hotels Holdings will be solely specialized on offering hotels and accommodation services to our customers. We believe that in order to offer the best services, we have to specialize on one field and get the best out of it. This is the sole reason underlying our focus to only hotel service and accommodation. the service process include services such as online hotel booking by customers, picking of customers from point of landing e.g. airports and sea ports and bus stations, hotel reception and accommodation and transport back to the predestined and agreed points. The chart simplifying this is shown below. ONLINE HOTEL BOOKING ARRIVAL RECEPTION TRANSPORT TO HOTEL HOTEL RECEPTION AND ACCOMODATION TRANSPORT BACK The service process begins with online booking by the customers. During the booking, the customers indicate their favorite destination region e.g. the coast or next to the Kilimanjaro mountain. Based on this the necessary arrangements are made. The customer is then picked at the port or station of arrival by the vans of the Hotel. He is the driven to the branch which he had preferred most. From there, registration occurs at the reception desk where the customer gives his details and is shown to his room. After that, he enjoys the services of the hotel until the lapse of the tile period he will be at the country. On lapse of the time, he is transported using the company van to the departure station. The process is recurrent cycles based on the fact that the customers after being transported back to the ports apply again online and hence the repetitive nature of the cycle. 5. Facilities Different equipment is needed to enhance a smooth flow of activities. Efficient performance of this equipment to optimality ensures smooth flow of activities. They include; a. Buses and vans- they are very crucial in the transportation of tourists from one place to another. The destinations include from the pick-up points which include the airports and sea ports to the branches. They should be well serviced and maintained at the best of conditions. 10 vehicles are required for efficient transportation. The purchase option for the vehicles is very cost efficient. One vehicle is retailing at a price of Kshs 700,000 and a purchase discount of 10% is offered on the purchase of more than five vehicles. b. Computers and printers and related hardware- they are very essential for communication purposes. The computers should have internet connectivity so as to enable online updates of the websites. It is also essential for the purpose of monitoring online ticketing and bookings by the clients. The printers on their part are necessary for printing of receipts and tickets. Computers recommended are laptops for the purpose of portability and fewer complications involved in them. A good laptop can be purchased at an amount of Kshs 65,000. About 20 laptops are required so that they can be distributed to the other branches and the main branch. c. Stationery- stationery is also required. They include field note books, receipt books, biros and rulers. They can be purchased from the Haco Industries at a price of 300,000 all inclusive. d. Furniture- furniture is required for effective performance. The furniture includes office desks and chairs and the workers desks. The furniture can be acquired at a total price of Kshs 300000 because of the additional designs required in the chairs. MAINTENANCE PROCESS So as to enhance efficiency of the vehicles, regular maintenance is required for the vans and the buses. This is in order to reduce occurrence of breakdowns during transportation of the customers. So as to make these possible, a contract has to be agreed between the venture and Tankan Motors Limited to offer car maintenance and servicing on a monthly basis. An IT specialist should be hired so as to manage and program the computers. He assists in reduction of chances of computer breakdowns during operations. Efficiency should be enhanced by each branch having a specialist attached to them so as to reduce costs of transportation. MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES Many different supply material supplies are required. They includepromotional materials, booking record forms, vouchers, airline tickets, re-validation stickers, credit card charge forms, credit cards, bill heads, luggage labels, ticket wallets, compliment slips,files, toners, letterheads, and envelopes. Supplies also include the food commodities. These are the commodities required to be used in the hotel cafeteria. There should be strict adherence to time by both parties in the supply cycle. The suppliers should deliver the commodities in time and avoid any delays (Covello, 2005). This is because delays in the system would lead to losses and ineffectiveness. The venture should also pay for the supplies in time as agreed so as to reduce the chances of conflict with the suppliers. Through this a good relationship is developed between the parties. It is more advisable to have a logistics department established in the venture. This is due to the fact that the department will be able to better monitor the ordering and supplying process in a better and more specialized manner. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Inventories of the venture include office equipment and food stuffs. The office equipment should be stored in areas away from any damages and breakages. The foodstuffs are very perishable inventories. Due to this, adequate refrigeration facilities should be put in place. This is in order to avoid damage of the commodities. Skilled staff should also be employed so as to well mange and control the flow of inventory (Kano, 2012). Inventory control programs should also be adopted so as to lessen delays occurring in the process. A first in first out (FIFO) approach should be developed for the case of perishables. This states that the first arrived supplies should be the first to be used in the operations. Through this, wastes are reduced in the system. Proper management should be emphasized in areas especially in; a. Inventory storage b. Inventory retrievals c. Inventory add ups d. Management of inventory levels SEASONALITY OF DEMAND The tourism industry is faced by many cases of seasonality of demand. Through this, there are many tourists in some periods of the year compared to others. This results to varying number of customers to the hotel. Many tourists visit the country mostly during the great wild beast migration period. There are also many tourists in the pre and post Christmas period. So as to effectively deal with these varying numbers of tourists, several measures must be put in place. They include; -Hiring and leasing of vans and buses during the peak seasons -Putting in place a part time staff employment system -Having precautionary stock in place so as to meet the high demand during peak seasons RELEVANT REGULATORY ISSUES Different regulatory issues and standards must be adhered to in order to ensure smooth flow with the authorities. They include among others: a) Vehicle standards- the transport vehicles should meet all the specifications listed by the Ministry of Transport so as to be allowed to use the Tanzanian roads b) Licenses- the company should apply and pay for the trading licenses in time. This helps prevent occurrence of conflicts with the revenue authorities (Kano, 2012) c) The hotel should offer and serve food which meets the requirements of the food regulatory bodies. Proper hygiene ethics must be adopted by the employees so as to offer good quality menus to the customers. EMPLOYEE REQUIREMENT Due to the many departments involved, different employees are required for the normal business functioning. They include among others, cooks, chefs, security officers, receptionists, cleaners, marketers, IT personnel, finance officers and drivers. Due to our goal of offering the best quality services, we strive at having the best fit employees for the jobs. Remuneration for the employees will vary according to the working hours and the job description. There will be annual promotions offered to the best performing employees. Salary increments will also be annual but the rate will also be dependent on the job group and the job description. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT Tourist numbers- Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of tourists visiting Tanzania. As a result of this, the demand for accommodation and hotel facilities has gradually increased over the period of time. Due to this, the venture will be well timed and well suited to meet this demand for accommodation. Increasing returns are therefore expected to accrue from the venture. Location of the venture and its branches- the location of the venture is well suited to meet demands accruing from the visits. Most tourists are attracted by places rom where they can view beautiful landscapes and scenery from the comfort of their hotel rooms. This has been offered in the main branch. The one of a kind view of the mountain will attract many tourists to seek the services of the Holdings. The location of the other branches is also more than perfect. The branch at the coastal city will see it accommodating the tourists in the region. The other one at Arusha will likewise accommodate those visiting the famous Serengeti. Those visiting the Island of Zanzibar will be well accommodated by the branch located there. Government commitment- in Tanzania, tourism is one of the most protected, preserved and maintained asset of the country (Bruce, 2006). Due to this, the government goes an extra mile in effort to seek the growth and development of the industry. This is evidenced by its serious attention on the infrastructure leading to the parks and the reserves. This infrastructure includes the roads which are well maintained by the government. This is a feature of the future existence of the tourism industry from which the venture is placed. Competition- the venture is well able to meet and counter the present competition. Several factors can be attributed to this. They include specialization present in the firm. Also by strict following of the code of conducts and offering of exemplary services to the customers, the firm is able to well meet the existing competition in the market. References: Tanzaniainvest.com, 2014, Tanzania tourism sector report, Retrieved on 1st April, 2014, from; http://www.tanzaniainvest.com/tanzania-tourism-sector Rhonda, A2013, Successful business plan: Secrets and strategies, London, Rutledge. Yale, B2005, Essentials of marketing, London, Rutledge. Covello, J2005, The complete book of business plans, New York, Sourcebooks, Inc. Kano, M2012, Inventory management systems, London, Rutledge Bruce, B2006, Business feasibility analysis pro, Sydney, prentice Hall. Read More