European Tourism Industry Network - Essay Example

Executive summary Competition, environmental issues, culture and social aspects are but the few of the many external factors that a business needs to consider before expanding. By providing a well research report I aim to answer the clients concerns about the external factors that will have an impact on the future of her business. The main factors that seem predominate are culture, technology, social and environmental. The reason for this is that these are the main players in the travel industry. The other factors such as legal and political will not be dealt with due to the fact that the focus is within the EU and it is known that the EU countries do have a similar political environment. There has not been noted any significant changes within this external environment that will impact on the client. Word count: 1,417 (Excluding the executive summary) Table of contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 3 The external factors that will have an impact on the future of the client's business. 3 Culture 3 Technology 4 Environmnetal 5 Social 6 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction Expansion is the key to unlocking business success and business competitiveness. But in order for the client to effectively evaluate where they stand in terms of business expansion possibilities a clear and defined topic related research has to be understood. This will enhance the chances of success while limiting the chances of future business failure. The benefits of the tourism industry in relation to travel are that it is an industry that is constantly growing and changing. "In the context of the three interdependent pillars of sustainability; co-ordinating economic success, environmental sustainability and social and cultural considerations, a balance has to be drawn. The raison d'etre of an industry is clearly economic, but the sustained economic success can also have environmental, social and cultural benefits. As Europe's largest industry with great opportunities for employment there can be no let up in the efforts to ensure that tourism continues to prosper and grow." http://www.rete.toscana.it/sett/turismo/euromeeting_2003/greg_richards_engl.pdf The external factors that will have an impact on the future of the client's business. The main concern when a company is entering a new market is whether the political and legal environemt will allow room for the business. The client is part of the EU ccommunity which aims to implement progress in all the political and legal aspects of all the community members. These are the benefits that the client can consider since it is also clear that the EU community intends to improve the tourism industy as well. Culture The external enviroment which will act as a plus for the client is culture. This is due to the commonly accepted fact that people are interested in exploring other cultures. The reason that people are also aiming to travel more is that they want to experience different aspects of the different cultures. It might seem that since the EU is becoming one community all the cultures will adopt each others habits, therefore making the experience of travelling outside ones home country mundane and boring. However most countries pride themselves in their heritage and therefore aim to keep it that way. So in this respect the option of expanding is more viable as culture keeps the flames of curiosity burning. Technology Technology is one aspect that is constaly changing and the rate of change often has a high impact on the small businesses. This external factor will play a role in whether the client is sucessful or not. So in analysing this option the main focus will lie on the countries that the client intends to expand in. These countries fall within the EU community and if one aspect of technology affects one of the community memebers the logical conclusion will be that the same affect will happen in the rest of the community. However to ensure that business progresses within the EU community, the decision makers have implemented plans through which technology can assist in the development and sustaining of the development of the tourism industry. This information is without a doubt essential in assisting the client with her decision. It is clear that since the company has started entertaining the notion of expansion within the EU community there are evident benefits. The EU community is starting to focus on major improvements in terms of technology, environmental and economic factors. These will also have an impact on the tourism business. In terms of technology the EU is incorporating new strategies to improve the business industries. "There is hardly any sector of the European economy that has not felt the impact of new Information Society technologies. ICT play an important role to foster innovative products and business processes - and the challenge has now shifted to incorporating electronic business in both the internal and the external activities of companies. European policy is increasingly focussed on assessing the readiness of EU enterprises to conduct business electronically." http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ecowor/sectors/index_en.htm To futher enhance the uses of technology the EU has outlined how it will incorpaorate these technological advances. The reason for understanding this is that the client will be able to see that technology will be an external factor that is beneficial as oppossed to being a negative factor that could destroy her chances for future business success. "Tourism. The IST program supports research into electronic booking systems, and innovative ways of providing visitors with information about the places they are visiting, as and when they need it. Health services. Applied IST research in eHealth: Electronic Health Cards; online health services (information on healthy living and illness prevention, electronic health records, teleconsultation and e-reimbursement, etc.); Health Information Networks. Transports. Applied IST research in eSafety for road and air transport. Main themes: intelligent transport infrastructure (helping to reduce congestion, pollution and risk); more efficient ways to provide travellers with information; optimising transport network capacity; monitoring pollution; managing emergency systems; development of intelligent vehicles (able to warn of impending collisions, or keep a safe distance from other vehicles automatically)." http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ecowor/sectors/index_en.htm So it is clear so far that there is an advantage to the tourism business. This will definitely affect the client positively since she is considering using technology to assist in her expansion. Environmnetal An important note on expansion is its effect on the environment. In the business of travel the enviroment is without a doubt the basic product input. This means in terms of travel business success that the enviroment must be preseved. The best solution now lies within the EU's capablity to ensure this and it seems like they are more than just interested in improving environmental conditions. "For example, the Grecotel hotel chain in Greece has for the last decade been developing pioneering cultural and environmental programmes both inside and outside their hotels. These activities include professional eco-audits, water and energy conservation, waste management and consumer awareness." The EU community is also intending to implement more stircter rules which can affect the client negatively "In a number of important instances, we have as yet failed to do more than slow down the rate of environmental deterioration." http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/agend21/implem.htm Social The client has established her own niche market with which she is working. Therefore it is important to give an overview if whether her clientelle will increase or decrease. This extenal factor plays as a crucial role in that is can make or break the business in the future. The current trend is that more and more people are getting educted. This way they are aspiring to more higher paying jobs thus a better retirement plan. This trend seems to be increasing as appossed to decreasing. With all the Eastern European people taking up most of the lower income jobs emphaises this. The logical conclusion is that more people are going to want to explore the options of travelling as a means of spending their retirement. The demand for travel is ever increasing as this knowledge of being able to spend your hard earned money in an educational yet fun and relaxing way is indeed becoming appealing to more people. Furthermore it is also evident that more young people are taking an interest in their retirement and are saving more at an early stage towards their pension. "Almost two thirds of people agree that putting money into a pension is the most secure way of saving for retirement." http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.aspid=1275 This is a clear indication that there will be more potential customers for the client, thus sustainablility of her business. Conclusion It is clear that in analysing the important external factors that will affect the client, that innovations are taking place within the travel and toruism industy which aim to improve conditions within the industry. These changes are the catalyst through which the client can foresee in her own business success. By incorporating these changes into her own expansion plan she can prevent any unnecessary mishaps that might occur due to unawareness. That is why it goes without saying that it is my personal recommendation that the clients thought for expansion will be the best option for her. The industry is growing and expanding so the opportunity does exist. She will not need to worry about all the significant changes that will be occuring as they all pinpoint to being more positive than negative. They are all mainly focused on assisting the small travel businesses to find and keep their success. The only downside to the expansion is the competition that is sure to arise from new and established firms. But by ensuring customer loyality by constantly providing effective and reliable service then even that hurdle can be overcome. References 1) Greg Richards European Tourism Industry Network (ETIN) http://www.rete.toscana.it/sett/turismo/euromeeting_2003/greg_richards_engl.pdf (Viewed: 15:17 pm, 9 March 2006) 2) Message from the President of the European Commission http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ecowor/sectors/index_en.htm (Viewed 15:30 pm, 9 March 2006) 3) Across the board: the range of sectoral applications of ICT http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ecowor/sectors/index_en.htm (viewed: 16:00pm, 9 March 2006) 4) Specific sectoral uses of ICT supported by EU initiatives http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ecowor/sectors/index_en.htm#tour (Viewed: 16:45pm, 9 March 2006) 5) Attitudes: Retirement & Pension Planning http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.aspid=1275 (Viewed: 18:13pm, 9 March 2006) Read More