The importance of tourism in Paris - Assignment Example

? International Tourism Business by of International Tourism Business Outline: Introduction Significance of Tourism in Paris. Market Segmentation that Paris is mainly focused on. Pathways the destination tries to build visitor (customer) relationships. Implemented strategies and policies that Paris focuses on, in order to improve its added value with it repeaters. Operations of the hospitality sector in Paris. New policies for further tourist growth in Paris. Reference REPORT INFORMATION Tourism is one the fastest growing activities in the world. There are over the 950 tourists travelled around the world in last year. For this report, I have selected Paris form one of traditional tourist places in the world. This report contains almost all the information about this destination form the perspective of international accounting business. This research report explores the case of Paris to measure the importance of tourism on this destination. The first part of this paper includes a short introduction about tourism and its effects on Paris. The second part contain on the evaluation of the market segment that Paris is mainly focused on. An examination and evaluation of implemented strategies to build customer relationships have been made in third part. This part includes all the strategies that grab the attention of potential visitors towards this destination. The next part contains on the information about the operations of hospitality sector in Paris. Proposal about the new policies for the further tourist growth have been made at the last part of this report. This section includes some major suggestions that can contribute in the growth of the tourism activates in Paris. References have been made at the last page of this research report. Introduction In recent modern environment, the world is moving towards fifth generation. The trend of tourism is increasing with the speed of bullet. People want to visit new places to feel the maximum pleasure of their journeys. Tourism is one the fastest growing activities around the world. This activity is playing an important role in the economies of the countries. Tourism is also referred as a major contributor of recent developments in many countries. According to Edgell (1993), tourism acts as a stimulator in the development of infrastructure and attracts the foreign investment in efficient manner. Traditional Tourism Destination in Europe; Paris Paris is one of the most famous traditional tourist destinations in Europe. Paris is situated on a river side in northern France. It is also one of the metropolitan cities in the world (Insee, 2010). According to some recent estimates (PWC, 2009) Paris is one of the world’s leading cultural center and contributed in almost all the areas such as education, entertainment and art. According to Courtney Traub (2011), Paris is also considered a world’s most romantic city in the entire world. Paris is popular due to its stunning places like Eiffel Tower, Louvre pyramid, Disney land and other parks and gardens. Significance of Tourism to Paris Tourism acts as a major contributor in the development of Paris. There are some factors that show the significance of tourism to Paris has been mentioned below separately. Economic Growth: Tourism is one of those factors that have made many positive influences in economies of the countries. The report of world travel and tourism council state that tourism has affected the economies of many countries in last decade. The economic factor is also one of those factors which influence the tourism activities in Paris in efficient manner during last few decades. According to the Mak (2004), economy of any destination plays an important role in the decision of potential tourists. For example, tourists are interested to know that what the benefits of visiting any specific destination are. In addition, the cost of goods, availability of resources in any place may convince the tourist to visit any destination. According to some recent survey reports, tourism is playing a key role in the economic growth of Paris. The report of tourism department (2006), showed the revenue of 35 billion euros in 2006. Tourism in Paris is also contributing in the growth of GDP of France. According to some reports, there is an average growth of 8% in the GDP due to tourism activities in last five years. This sector is also generating higher level of job opportunities for the people. In recent tough economic trends, there is low level of tourism activities in the world due to higher level of borrowing costs. On the other hands, Paris is one the major economies of the world. Tourism has played an important role in economic growth of Paris and France during last few years. Legal and political factors: Political and legal factors can influence the tourism activity in any destination. Political and legal factors directly relate to security and safety on the destination. Potential visitors may want to know about the security and legal rules that can effect on their journeys. On the side of political and legal situation in Paris, it is stated that Paris is the safest place for the tourist because of its political stability and safe environment. Cultural Effects: Social and cultural behaviors of any destination play an important role to build the visitor relationships. For example, any activities, people behaviors and special events may force the visitors to visit any specific destination. Cultural aspects and social behaviors of the people of Paris play an important role to build the good customer relationship. Some people argue that the Parisian behave rudely with tourists. On the other hand, this is the fact if tourists treat local people in friendly manner, then they treat in more effective manner. This factor has also been pointed put by Steve Fallon & Annabel hart (2006), People of Paris can treat friendly to tourists if tourists speak only two or three French words with them. Market Segmentation That Paris is Mainly Focused On Paris is mainly focused on three main market segments. Domestic and Local Market European Countries Asia and Pacific Regions In recent days, the domestic market is treated dominant market segment because there is low portion of local visitor in Paris. Local and repeat visitors also do not need any visas to visit this destination. Both of other regions are the main source of visitor in Paris. In this way the European countries, Asia and pacific regions are the segments that Paris is mainly focused on. Paris has captured almost all the market share in these regions because it is inexpensive and economical in comparison with other holiday destinations in European cities. Pathways That Paris Tries To Build Visitor (Customer) Relationships There are many pathways that Paris tries to build visitor relationships. Some of them are mentioned below separately. Location and Places: Paris is considered a most beautiful and glamorous city in entire Europe. Old market, paragon styles, old pedestrians, underground commercial complexes and beautiful hotels grab the attention of the potential visitors in efficient manner. There are many traditional buildings such as Eiffel Tower, Louvre pyramid forces the visitors to visit this place. There is also the existence of new technological buildings in the city but most of the old traditional buildings are remain unchanged. There are over 150 art galleries and museum in Paris. In addition, there are lots of small cafes and restaurants in almost all the streets. City Theaters: City theaters are the way of feeling maximum pleasure of night life in Paris. The world leading productions performs in the form of theater and dances. Many classical concerts are also arranged for the enjoyment of potential customers. There are many cultures and traditional events are performed in city theaters to grab the attention of visitors. Hospitality Factor: Hospitality is one the positive factors in Paris. People are very impressed with the stunning hospitality styles of this region. There is also the presence of many luxury hotels that provide the luxurious facility to their customers. On the other side of coin, there is also the presence of many other places and hotels that provide their services on reasonable prices to their customers. In this way, potential customers have the choice to deal with Paris trips in accordance with their own wish. There is also the possibility for potential visitors to take all the information about the hospitality plans form the internet online. Sports events: There are many kinds of traditional and cultural sports are played in Paris. French open is one of the biggest tennis tournament is played every years in Paris. According to Christopher Clarey (2001), French open is of the most watched French event in entire world. It is reported that many visitors visit the Paris every years just to watch this tennis event. In short, this event is one of the key pathways to build the level of visitors in Paris. Operations of the hospitality Sector in Paris The hospitality sector is one of those sectors that have material effects on tourism activities in Paris. The hospitality industry in Paris serves almost all luxurious to normal facilities to its visitors. According to some recent survey reports, hospitality industry sector in Paris faced some downtrends due to tough economic situations in recent years. Most of the hotels in Paris are famous due to their location, architecture. Some hotels are famous due to their stunning and luxurious services. According to a report of Deloitte (2010), there are eight luxury hotels in Paris. There are also uncounted restaurants and cafes in almost all the streets. There is high level of competitive trends can be seen in the hospitality sector in Paris. Due to this competitive environment, hospitality operations are on tough stage in Paris. Each hotel wants to provide quality of services to its valuable customers. Customer satisfaction is one the major keys to win the race in competitive environment and any negligence in providing quality services to patients may affect the good will and reputation of the business. There is also the presence of boutique hotels in Paris. These hotels have major importance in the hospitality sector. There are high number of people who visit these prefer to visit these hotels during their trips. The impressive styles and services of these hotels attract the tourist to visit these places. Most of the operations of hospitality sector have shifted on the internet. There are lots of people who choose their travel plans and hotels form internet online. There are many websites that provide all the information about the hotel in Paris on the internet. These websites also enable the potential visitors select the hospitality plans in accordance with their own wish. There is also the presence of many websites that provide video presentations about all the destinations to potential visitors. The problem only arises when the tourists are not able to choose proper service provider. According to many tourists, selection of service provider for trips is only art not a science. The only art is to choose the well reputed service provider that is capable of giving good value to your precious money. Propose New Policies for Further Tourist Growth in Paris Paris is most popular tourist place in the world. According to some recent estimates, approximately over 80 million of foreigners visit the Paris every year. The travel guide of Yahoo travel (2011) mentioned three most popular places in Paris, Disneyland, Eiffel tower and Louvre. These places captured over 24 million visitors in last year. These figures can be increased in positive manner by increasing implementing more policies and procedures. These policies can contribute in the tourist growth of Paris in more effective manner. For better understandings, some of the major suggestion about the new polices are described below. Sustainability Issues: Sustainability issues are the issues those are related to the natural environment. In addition, these issues also cover all the economic and social problems. According to United Nations Environment Programme (2005), sustainability is only the way to generate benefits for the stakeholders. The work on sustainability can act in the best interest of the stakeholders and society as whole. In addition, this can also solve many serious problems. In this way, there is a strong need for government and regulatory bodies to work on the sustainability issues in Paris. This factor can contribute tourist growth in efficient manner. Role of the Government: Most of the policy makers on tourism state that government have a major role for the tourist growth in any place. The level of government engagements shows the factor the how the government is interested in the development of tourism. There is a need for government to focus on the tourism activities in Paris. Government engagements can prove many positive impact on the potential visitors. In addition, people will feel more secure to visit the Paris because they will have the maximum security on their journeys due to government engagements. Hospitality Sector: As it is mentioned earlier, the hospitality sector is contributing to in the tourist growth of Paris in efficient manner. There is a need for more developments in this sector to increase the level of potential visitors. There is a need for the stakeholders of this sector to introduce more favourable hospitality plans for the ease of potential visitors. It is also the need to concentrate on the factor of services because the services have a key role to win the race in competitive environment. Location and Places: According to travel guide of Yahoo (2011), locations and places in Paris grab the attention of visitors. There is a need for the regulatory bodies to take much care of all traditional places. There is also a responsibility to maintain the originality of these places to attract more visitors in the future. Health and Safety Issues: As it is mentioned earlier, the health and safety issues act as key factor in the decision of a tourist to visit any specific place. There is a strong possibility that potential visitors might have an interest to get the information about availability of necessary health care services in any specific area. In the light of these points, it is recommended to policy makers to implement effective health care policies in Paris. For example, policy makers can offer travel insurance policies to provide the maximum level of health security to potential visitors. Government and regulatory bodies should offer free necessary medical facilities to visitors for further growth of tourism in Paris. On the side of safety issues, there is a need for regulatory bodies to implement more efficient strategies for the safety of tourists in Paris. There are also many other suggestions for the development of tourism in Paris. All these proposed suggestions can act positively in the further tourist growth in effective manner. Conclusion In the light of this research report, tourism plays an important role in social and economic growth of both Paris and France. Like other historical and cultural cities, there are lots of attractions for visitors in Paris. There is a need to take account for some further considerations for the further tourist growth in Paris. In my opinion, this destination can get more strong position in the tourist market and other market segments by adopting above mentioned suggestions. References Insee [online]. (2010) [Accessed 21-March-2012]. Available from: . PWC [online]. (2009) [Accessed 21-March-2012]. Available from: . EDGELL, D. L. (1993). World tourism at the millennium: an agenda for industry, government, and education. [Washington, D.C.?], U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration. Deloitte. (2010). France Hotel industry perfomances February 2010. Available: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4046079.html. Last accessed 23-Mar-2012. Yahoo Travel. (2011). Paris, France. Available: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-191501740-paris_vacations-i. Last accessed 23-Mar-2012. Tillier, A. (2006). Paris. London, New York. http://www.contentreserve.com/TitleInfo.asp?ID={C1229828-7E0C-4FAE-8387-4C0033F65C61}&Format=50. United Nations Environment Programme, & World Tourism Organization. (2005). Making tourism more sustainable: a guide for policy makers. Paris, United Nations Environment Programme, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics. Snyder, J. (2007). Tourism in the Polar Regions: the sustainability challenge. Paris, France, UNEP DTIE. Sharma, d., & Singh, A. K. (2004). Tourism industry in India: impacts, sustainablity [i.e. sustainability] and strategic implications. Lucknow, New Royal Book Co. Christopher Clarey (2001). Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction : Wimbledon:World's Most-Loved Dinosaur [online]. [Accessed 24-Mar-2012]. Available from: . Courtney Traub (2011). Is Paris Still Europe's Most Romantic City? [online]. [Accessed 26-Feb-2011]. Available from: . Read More