HTSP: Hospitality and Tourism Strategic Planning - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Conclusion 15 References Appendix 1. Introduction One of the key challenges of firms activating in the international market is to identify the strategic framework, which will be able to protect them in case of severe market turbulences. Firms that are already well established in the global market have an additional problem to solve: the continuous entrance in the market of new firms; from a first point of view, this fact would not threaten a global corporation. Still, this trend could weaken the customer base of the organization – under the terms that the firm’s customers could be attracted by new technologies or innovative products/ services available by the new competitor. The above perspective has been thoroughly examined by theorists and researchers working on the strategic management field. Their response to the above problem has been the establishment of a series of theoretical frameworks, which can, if appropriately developed and monitored, guarantee the stability, or even the growth of organizations within their industry. Current paper focuses on the examination of the strategic planning of Virgin Atlantic, one of the major competitors in the British Tourism industry. The firm’s current strategic choices have been aligned with the conditions in the British market and the firm’s aims/ resources. The aim of the firm for continuous growth has been the basis of the continuous update of the firm’s strategic plans, a practice, which cannot guarantee the stabilization in the firm’s growth in case of severe market turbulences. The firm should update its strategic processes focusing on flexibility and the availability of alternatives. The existing literature published in the specific field is presented and critically analyzed, focusing on strategic models, which are commonly used by firms internationally. Two of these models have been chosen, as most appropriate for Virgin Atlantic, and are evaluated as of their potential use for the update of the firm’s strategic framework. Moreover, a business plan is suggested aiming to increase the effectiveness of the organization towards its competitors, a need, which may not be quite clear now, but it could appear at any moment, if taking into consideration the extremely strong competition in the specific sector of the British market. 2. Virgin Atlantic in the UK travel industry 2.1 Travel industry in Britain, characteristics and performance The travel & tourism sector in Britain is quite profitable; despite the sector’s decline, under the influence of the recent recession, still its power to influence the British economy has been kept at high levels, contributing to a percentage of ‘8.6% in the country’s GDP’ (Clarke 2011). The prospects of the sector in the future seem to be significant. In accordance with a relevant report, ‘the value of the sector could reach the ?188b in the next decade – from its current value of ? 114b’ (Kuhn 2008). In March 2011, the British government released a Tourism Policy paper aiming to set the rules governing the particular sector (Higgins 2011). The specific initiative indicates the importance of the sector for the British economy, meaning the profits gathering from the specific sector could fund a series of critical governmental projects. Despite the important performance of the specific secto ...Download file to see next pages Read More