Globalisation, Ethics, Terrorism, Outsourcing and the Tourism and Hospitality Industry - Coursework Example

Globalisation, Ethics, Terrorism, Outsourcing and the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Name Institution Tutor Date Introduction As an evolving issue, globalisation is a process that affects practically every aspect of human life, because it refers to the growing interaction of social, economic, political and cultural activities beyond national boundaries (Mihajlovic & Krzelj-Colovic 2014). Globalisation has also donned the tourism and hospitality industry to a great extent, especially considering that visitors are usually international, and there is a gradual development of a tourism market in which destinations have to compete equally irrespective of the country (Peric 2005). Considering the inevitable effects of globalisation on the industry, emerging challenges relating to global ethics, terrorism and outsourcing are therefore part of the issues that tourism and hospitality has to cope with. This paper discusses globalisation, with particular reference to ethics, terrorism and outsourcing, and concludes by revisiting their relationships within the tourism and hospitality industry. Global Ethics Globalisation has facilitated the growth of ethics in tourism and hospitality. Computerized information systems have particularly made it easier for customers to connect with their destinations, and made them more knowledgeable and experienced (Peric 2005). Part of the new awareness has been the acknowledgement that travel and tourism can also have damaging results to the local people and their environments (Donyadide 2010). According to Evans (2015), cost savings are usually the main industry pursuit, but this raises an ethical issue because companies that base competitiveness entirely on price end up overlooking such issues. Lovelock & Lovelock (2013) note that with globalisation, there has been a growing interest in tourism ethics hence codes. The increasing visibility of the industry’s impact on the environment has led to recognition of the need to for the industry to ensure an improvement in its triple bottom-line. This, according to Donyadide (2010), consists of environmental, economic and social responsibility components. There is a growing demand for ethical tourism, where the industry operators are expected to be guaranteeing sustainability in the long-term, and locals are on their part be assisted in pursuing sustainable development even as they enjoy the economic benefits of tourism. In addition to cost, location and availability, clients often make choices basing on ethical criteria for instance charitable giving, the environment and working conditions of employees. The push towards global ethics is causing a change in the nature of tourism and hospitality operations. According to Knowles et al. (2004), there was an early setting of a trend towards a new tourism, guided by global ethics in place of the kind of mass tourism from the twentieth century. Many businesses, for example, are therefore keen to ensure greater quality specification, planning, control, restraint in physical developments and environmental sensitivity. Gossling et al. (2015) point out that there have usually been conflicts relating to value perception, hence a focus on these in ethics. For instance, sex tourism is linked with issues of exploitation and physical well-being of the people involved. There is a shift from the earlier focus on only the economically positive elements of tourism to negatives such as consumerism, commercialization, exploitation, commodification and environmental impacts of tourism and travel. As a result, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has provided a Tourist Code and Tourist Bill of Rights which spells out the rights of tourists. Considering that there has been a growing moral angle to tourism, there have been efforts towards creation of a global ethical code of ethics which although not legally binding, provides a workable reference guide on the issue. Terrorism The threat of terrorism is a major contemporary issue facing the tourism and hospitality sector. The industry has for a long time been the target of terror attacks (Howie 2014). Tourism and accommodation facilities are highly vulnerable as possible terrorist targets (Singh 2013). This is because tourists are soft targets that may easily be identified as symbols of the terrorists’ ‘enemies’ (Baker 2014). Guests may also at times turn out to be terrorists (Tarlow 2011). The threat is worsened by the fact that visitors and locals are also often differentiated by cultural variations so that for instance clashes between their cultures can also end up making them be perceived as outsiders who represent a threat to existing values (Baker 2014). Such issues are important to the industry because Australian businesses engage in taking Australian tourists elsewhere to visit. Globalisation processes have worsened the threat of terrorism upon the industry. According to Baker (2014), tourism, terrorism and hospitality are connected because they share characteristics such as extending beyond national boundaries, involvement of citizens from different countries and their dependence on communication and travel technologies. Mihajlovic & Krzelj-Colovic (2014) argue that information technologies are a catalyst to globalization by enabling quicker information transfer. According to Newton (2008) however, the technologies have ensured that the terrorist threat is increasingly decentralized through the use of the internet. There is the growth of networked terrorism and stricter controls at borders are likely to pose barriers to tourism and travel growth. The industry is therefore left with the challenge of maintaining security and safety, including bio-security and cyber-security, considering that safety of destinations from terror is increasingly becoming a determinant of consumer choice. According to Tarlow (2011), modern tourism is heavily dependent on security as every traveler requires safety and security while on the move. Failure of systems to ensure that travelers and tourists are safe presents a possible risk of loss of lives, property and even reputation of business establishments. Security and safety are currently major factors in ensuring consumer confidence within the tourism and hospitality industry. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2008), most travelers tend to be more concerned about the risk posed by terrorism. Stakeholders in the industry within Australia, for instance, acknowledges the growing terrorist threat, and therefore need to invest more in the security and safety of clients, considering that Newton (2008) points out that the main factors behind international terrorism are unlikely to disappear in the near future. Sonmez et al. (1999) therefore recommend that dealing with terrorism will require crisis management planning within the industry’s marketing and sustainable development strategies. This will enable the protection and rebuilding of the prior image as safe or attractive destinations and also reassure potential visitors that the place is safe. Outsourcing The globalisation process has led to increased reliance on outsourcing. Outsourcing refers to the contractual relationships between clients and providers where service providers commit to deliver what has been agreed on (Evans 2015). Peric (2005) observes that the rise of a global society has particularly made tourism and hospitality businesses able to operate globally, with some of them opting for internationalization as a competitive strategy. According to Palugod & Palugod (2011), globalisation provides larger and wider markets for companies, leading to their ability to focus more on areas where they have competitive advantages. Evans (2015) therefore notes that firms increasingly concentrate some of their day to day activities in places where there is the likelihood of quality, cost or other such advantages. Considering that the configuration of business activities across national boundaries usually provides competitive advantages, they are therefore often faced with the question of whether to carry out certain activities on their own or whether they should outsource them to suppliers who are specialists. Outsourcing in the industry is usually because of the need to focus on core competencies or the pursuit of cost savings. For instance, Information Technology is a commonly outsourced feature in the industry, because the internet is increasingly providing new capabilities and opportunities for firms and because they find it challenging to self-manage information systems, many opt to outsource (Sourenkova & Louvieris 2005). Outsourcing is particularly common in airlines and international groups of hotels. An example of this Qantas Airlines which for a long while focused more on minimizing its cost base and in 2013 had to close down its maintenance base at the Avalon Airport, Victoria. The move led to a loss of about 300 jobs and the company afterwards opted to carry out much of its maintenance in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore because the cost is lower in these countries than in Australia. The ethical issue that arises relates to the challenges that usually arise in relation to outsourcing. These include a decline in staff morale, exposure of the company’s information to security risk, a reduction in management control and possible protests by labour unions (Evans 2015). The Relationship between the Concepts Globalisation has significantly impacted on tourism and hospitality. Its information systems have promoted universal ethical ideals within the industry. Terrorism has also been worsened by tourist mobility and easy identification of targets, while outsourcing has been popularized by open access to internationalized services. From the discussion, it may, therefore, be concluded that the three concepts and globalization are closely linked. Global ethics is propagated by information systems arising from globalisation, and the institutions providing ethical standards are also global. Terrorism is on its part a challenge that goes beyond national borders and is worsened by human mobility and easy identification of tourism and hospitality sites because of the many nationalities of the visitors, some of whom the terrorists consider to be enemies. Outsourcing is however the most globalized concept of all three. This is because it arises from international connectedness of services, which is facilitated globalisation as a process. Conclusion The above discussion has presented an insightful discussion about globalisation, with particular reference to ethics, terrorism and outsourcing, and concludes by reexamining their relationships within the tourism and hospitality industry. The paper identifies various ways in which globalisation has instigated ethics in the tourism industry in various regions. In addition, the paper acknowledges the fact that emerging issues such increased terrorist activities have continued to rise due to the influence of globalisation. In addition, the globalisation process has led to amplified dependence on outsourcing. In conclusion, it can be stated that globalisation is inevitable in the contemporary society, as a result, it essential for the tourism industry to effectively deal with the challenges and opportunities presented by the process. Reference List Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2008. Terrorism and the Australian Tourism Industry. Barton: Australian Strategic Policy Institute Baker, D., 2014. The Effects of Terrorism on the Travel and Tourism Industry. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, Vol. 2 (1): pp. 58-67 Palugod, N and Palugod, P., 2011. Global Trends in Offshoring and Outsourcing. International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 2 (16): pp. 13-19 Donyadide, A., 2010. Ethics in Tourism. European Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 17 (3): pp. 426-433 Evans, N., 2015. Strategic Management for Tourism, Hospitality and Events. New York: Routledge, 2015 Gossling, S, Hall, M and Scott, D. (eds), 2015. The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and Sustainability. New York: Routledge Howie, L., 2014. Security Guards and Counter-terrorism: Tourism and Gaps in Terrorism Prevention. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, Vol. 2 (1): pp. 38-47 Knowles, T, Diamantis, D and El-Mourhabi, J., 2004. The Globalization of Tourism and Hospitality: a Strategic Perspective. London: Thomson Lovelock, B and Lovelock, K., 2013. The Ethics of Tourism: Critical and Applied Perspectives. New York: Routledge Mihajlovic, I and Krzelj-Colovic, Z., 2014. The impact of Globalisation on the Development of Tourism within Social and Economic Changes. European Scientific Journal, 1857- 788: 108-120 Newton, P., 2008. Transitions: Pathways towards Sustainable Urban Development in Australia. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing Peric, V., 2005. Tourism and Globalisation, in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of the Faculty of Management Koper, pp.33-41 Singh, R., 2013. Terrorism and Tourism. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, Vol. 2 (11): pp. 187-198 Sonmez, S, Apostolopoulos, Y and Tarlow, P., 1999. Tourism in Crisis: Managing the Effects of Terrorism. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 38(1): pp.13-18 Sourenkova, T. and Louvieris, P., 2005. IT Outsourcing in Tourism Businesses in the UK: Decision-making Approach. 13th European Conference on Information Systems, Information Systems in a Rapidly Changing Economy, pp. 1-12 Tarlow, P., 2011. Tourism Disaster Management in an Age of Terrorism. International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, Vol. 1(3-4): pp.254-272 Read More

The push towards global ethics is causing a change like tourism and hospitality operations. According to Knowles et al. (2004), there was an early setting of a trend towards new tourism, guided by global ethics in place of the kind of mass tourism from the twentieth century. Many businesses, for example, are therefore keen to ensure greater quality specification, planning, control, restraint in physical developments, and environmental sensitivity. Gossling et al. (2015) point out that there have usually been conflicts relating to value perception, hence a focus on these in ethics. For instance, sex tourism is linked with issues of exploitation and the physical well-being of the people involved. There is a shift from the earlier focus on only the economically positive elements of tourism to negatives such as consumerism, commercialization, exploitation, commodification, and environmental impacts of tourism and travel. As a result, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has provided a Tourist Code and Tourist Bill of Rights which spells out the rights of tourists. Considering that there has been a growing moral angle to tourism, there have been efforts towards the creation of a global ethical code of ethics which although not legally binding, provides a workable reference guide on the issue.

The industry has for a long time been the target of terror attacks (Howie 2014). Tourism and accommodation facilities are highly vulnerable as possible terrorist targets (Singh 2013). This is because tourists are soft targets that may easily be identified as symbols of the terrorists’ ‘enemies’ (Baker 2014). Guests may also at times turn out to be terrorists (Tarlow 2011). The threat is worsened by the fact that visitors and locals are also often differentiated by cultural variations so that for instance clashes between their cultures can also end up making them be perceived as outsiders who represent a threat to existing values (Baker 2014). Such issues are important to the industry because Australian businesses engage in taking Australian tourists elsewhere to visit.

Globalization processes have worsened the threat of terrorism upon the industry. According to Baker (2014), tourism, terrorism, and hospitality are connected because they share characteristics such as extending beyond national boundaries, involvement of citizens from different countries, and their dependence on communication and travel technologies. Mihajlovic & Krzelj-Colovic (2014) argue that information technologies are a catalyst to globalization by enabling quicker information transfer. According to Newton (2008) however, the technologies have ensured that the terrorist threat is increasingly decentralized through the use of the internet. There is the growth of networked terrorism and stricter controls at borders are likely to pose barriers to tourism and travel growth. The industry is therefore left with the challenge of maintaining security and safety, including bio-security and cyber-security, considering that the safety of destinations from terror is increasingly becoming a determinant of consumer choice.  According to Tarlow (2011), modern tourism is heavily dependent on security as every traveler requires safety and security while on the move. Failure of systems to ensure that travelers and tourists are safe presents a possible risk of loss of lives, property, and even reputation of business establishments.

Security and safety are currently major factors in ensuring consumer confidence within the tourism and hospitality industry. According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2008), most travelers tend to be more concerned about the risk posed by terrorism. Stakeholders in the industry within Australia, for instance, acknowledge the growing terrorist threat and therefore need to invest more in the security and safety of clients, considering that Newton (2008) points out that the main factors behind international terrorism are unlikely to disappear shortly. 

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