Globalization of Tourism - Coursework Example

Globalisation of Tourism Introduction Historically, the term globalization become prominent from late 1980s when it emerged as a fashionable idea expressing contexts related to initial processes where global social and economic integrations began taking shape. This has been noted as structural globalization and supported by different policies by different world governmental and non-governmental authorities underlying, which represents the ideological aspect of the globalization phenomenon (Kacowicz, 2013). Over the years, globalization has come to mean different things depending on arguments posited by either supporter or critics. For the purpose of current study, globalization is perceived as the deepening, expanding and accelerating international interconnectedness through exchange of information, ideas, technologies, goods and services in all aspects of contemporary social life, which covers such diverse contexts as cultural to the criminal and from the financial to the spiritual undertakings of particular societies (Saxena and Omoniyi, 2010). Tourism has emerged as one of the sectors that exemplify the impact of globalization on societies as people take advantage of existing transport and communication infrastructure. Given the ability of the sector to facilitate movement of people, goods and services across the world, globalization is perceived as the most explicit expression of globalization. Although developed countries have attracted a significant proportion of global tourists, developing countries such Egypt has also recorded positive results with the number of visitors rising rapidly over the years. This essay is based on the analysis of the globalization of tourism industry and the influences it has had on industry planning and development strategies undertaken by the government in collaboration private sector followed by discussion of the impact of tourism development Egypt. The Influence of Globalization on Tourism International tourism has been boosted by increased geographical widening of linkages that exists between different places on earth surface with the effect being internationalization of tourism through improved global flows of tourists and increased competition among existing world destinations. Intensified campaigns marketing various world destinations as offering premium experiences for tourists has led to transformations of the minimal flow of tourists to remote areas of the world into large-scale tourist flows (Mpofu, 2009). Consequently, globalization has affected tourism in diverse areas based on its ability to open new opportunities for the development of the sector. Important factors central to the development of globalization of tourism are transport and communication systems in addition to continued expansion of electronic technology. Players in the industry have increasingly taken advantage of these systems and technologies to enhance their capabilities by introducing a computerized information and reservation system. This approach has been instrumental in making the global tourism sector flexible and cost-effective based on the need to reduce costs of air travel and make access to various destinations easy. Among the central aspects of information technology that has made global interconnectedness possible is internet use. The tourism sector has also adopted information technology systems such as the internet to enhance service delivery especially in the areas such as marketing exotic destinations, making direct sales and conduct bookings. Globalization has made it possible for world population to interact through various platforms that exist to either facilitate face-to-face interactions or distance communications. International tourism has taken advantage of existing transport and communication technologies to increase interactions between guests and hosts from different geographical locations. According to Cochrane and Pain (2000), globalization has resulted in increased host-guest interactions as it has made it possible for previously secluded cultures and societies to meet at a local level. The connections between different cultural, social, political, economic, political and technological has led to a perception of the world as a single space with people increasingly travelling to different parts of the world with minimal barriers (Mpofu, 2009). Globalization of tourism has been realised in multiple aspects that have boosted the sector with liberalization of air transport and trade in services playing an essential role in facilitating movement of people (ILO, 2001). Contemporary global travel and tourism have been supported by developments in civil aviation, with governments and nongovernmental organizations advocating for augmentation of coordination efforts between travel industry and tourism sector to ensure effective and efficient air transport, improved airport infrastructure, investment in tourism and development in tourism regulatory and policy frameworks. Bringing together efforts from different stakeholders increases chances of improvement in the industry towards greater contribution of civil aviation industry and tourism sector to national economic development for both developed and developing states depending on tourism as a major source of wealth and job creation. Additionally, such collaborations have important contribution to make towards economic development of countries and regions based on its significance in attracting foreign investment to improve exploitation and management of existing scenic, natural, historical or cultural resources (IVC, 2006). Efforts by major stakeholders within and without national boundaries have enabled positive growth in the tourism sector as evident in recent surveys in the industry. According to the statistics provided by UNWTO, the tourism industry continued to post strong results in 2013 with data indicating international tourist arrivals went up by 5 percent to hit 1,087 million overnight visitors. International tourism was among few international economic sectors to withstand global economic difficulties to register approximately 52 million tourists crisscrossing the world. The report also provided optimism for the sector based on the projection of 4 to 4.5 percent growths for 2014, which is above the long-term projections (UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, 2014). The ability of global tourism to take a short period to rise from decline stage provides unique opportunity for the industry to post further growth in future. The sector has recorded positive growth since the 1960’s although a number of political, economic and security issues for the period between 2000 and 2003 had significant negative impact on the global number of tourists. Factors such as economic recessions, war on terrorism after the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack and threat from diseases such as SARS epidemic were the main occurrences for the period. However, the sector bounced back from the negative effects occasioned by these factors to record the best annual growth as arrivals moved up 10 % in 2014 compared to 2003 (IVC, 2006). International tourism has also been boosted by the ability of tourists to respond to different social and economic aspects to alter their patterns and behaviour. An analysis of current trends among tourists indicates many are leaning towards increased frequency of travel, but making short tours. Many are also in favour of low cost destinations that are closer to home, therefore leading to development of regional-centred tourism that has been motivated by increased number of low- cost airlines (IVC, 2006). Tourism Development in Egypt Before seeking to make an analysis of inputs from various stakeholders in the Egyptian tourism industry, it is important to note the extensive array of resources existing in the country. Existing archaeological sites within Egypt have cultural and historical significant as they have been in existence from the 27th century B.C (Touropia, 2014). These sites include among others tombs and temples existing since the dynasties of pharaohs and spreads along the banks River Nile. Egypt has for centuries remained an important centre of Arab political, cultural and religious heritage while the city of Alexandria rose to prominence as an important territory during Christian era and Roman Empire. Egypt is renowned globally for its historic and cultural significance in Arab and western culture, with resources such as the Cairo museum and library of Alexandria being important reference points. The red sea and Sinai regions have also become important tourist attraction centres based on existence of marine ecology with the Mediterranean region contributing to tourism driven by visitors interested in different aspects such as sun and sand, history and culture. Desert tourism is also an area of great potential for tourism based on existing connections between oases and trade routes and the rest of destinations in the country (Christie, Fernandes, Messerli and Twining-Ward, 2013). Tourism is an important foreign exchange earner and employment creator in Egyptian economy with the sector contributing to economic development of the country. By 2004, tourism had emerged as an important contributor to the country’s GDP based on data indicating the industry had contributed to 2.2 million in tourism and other related industries and services with the earnings representing 11.3 percent of Egypt’s GDP (Helmy, 2004). Development of tourism in Egypt had seen positive trends since the 1950’s although recent political instability has threatened further progress (Mayerowitz, 2011). The country recorded approximately 0.1 million visitors in 1951 with the figures rising to 1.8 million in 1981, while in 2000 there were 5.5 million visitors. The number of visitors hit the highest mark in the history of Egyptian tourism industry in 2010 when a record 14.7 million tourist visited the country (Ragab, 2014; Index Mundi, n.d). As a result of these numbers of tourists flocking into the country, the revenues also were also the maximum with figures indicating 12.5 billion dollars were collected (Ragab, 2014). However, there have been a reversal in this income and visitation trends since 2010 with a reported 9.5 million visitors and 5.9 billion dollars in 2013 as the political unrest continued to hamper perception of international community about the potential of Egypt as one of the places in Africa and Arab world to visit (Ragab, 2014). Existing statistics indicate tourism in Egypt is yet to pick from the robust industry it had become in the period leading to the year 2010 based on available data on the first half of 2014, which indicates there was a 25 percent further decline in both visitation and revenues (Farouk, 2014; Smith, 2014). The continued dwindling figures represented in both visitation and revenue has seen the global positioning of tourism industry in Egypt fall by 10 places to 85th in 2013 compared to 75th in 2011 (World Economic Forum, 2013). The development of tourism in Egypt over the years was based on government investments in the industry while also attracting investors through privatization of large sections of the industry. Private investors have therefore been a part of tourism growth in Egypt based on the perceived potential of the industry to attract millions of visitors on annual basis. Consequently, international players industry such as Hilton, Accor, Intercontinental and Sheraton moved into the Egyptian industry as part of the strategy to attract global brands. Such brands improved the status of Egyptian tourism industry based on their reputation of constructing luxury brands in term of five and four Star facilities. The brands have taken advantage of existing territories and sites that contain opportunities around old attractions such as the pyramids and new attraction provided by destinations such as the Mediterranean shore (Vignal, 2010). Additionally, the partnership between government and both internal and foreign private investors has seen the stakeholders develop a clear framework for sharing different roles in the industry. For instance, existing international hotels such as Hilton and Sheraton are run through management contract agreements with owners of the properties, which are in many cases citizens or Egyptian government. Such arrangements has proven to be effective over the years as the hotel brands concentrate in offering quality services instead of dividing attention by looking to purchase prime properties for construction of hotels. Other forms of agreements also exist with companies entering into franchise agreements in management of international brands in Egyptian territory. This is a common trend in many of the Arab world countries where Gulf groups with financial capabilities enter into agreement with global brands to hold regional licenses for operation under the brand name. Among the hotels operated under such agreements is the Four Seasons Hotels operated by a Saudi group, Kingdom Hotels Investments (KHI) under licensure of legal owners of Four Seasons brand (Vignal, 2010). Apart from the input from the government and local and foreign private investors in the industry, there were also other important sources of funding. Among important sources of financing in Egyptian tourism industry is the World Bank, which committed significant resources to the development of urban and tourism projects. Tourism projects by World Bank funds include the improvement of infrastructure in Luxor and partly funding the development of Cairo museum. The Unite States Agency for International Development also had an input in the industry through various projects on the Red Sea, which provided an essential role in diversification of tourism in Egypt. Some of these agencies had significant contributions in development of tourism in Egypt, especially in motivating the government of the day to increase the level of private partnerships in the industry (Vignal 2010; Christie, Fernandes, Messerli and Twining-Ward, 2013). Prior to involvement of these agencies, the government was the main financier of the industry through public funds instead of seeking private investments to support government efforts. Therefore, despite the country being a one-party state during the 1980’s surge in the number of visitors, tourism was one of the few industries that the government allowed extensive private investment. There was a clear government policy that was based on clear roles for the parties involved with the government assuming its position as promoter of private investment in tourism (Christie, Fernandes, Messerli and Twining-Ward, 2013). While other sectors of the economy faces strict government control through regulations, players in the tourism industry have been accorded leeway to perform their roles including allowed unlimited foreign direct investment, the right to liquidate and move with capital and profits elsewhere. Additionally, the government introduced policies on open skies for important tourism airports that have boosted the travel industry to facilitate the arrival and departure of millions of visitors annually (Blanke, 2007). This provided the government with an opportunity to work on bureaucratic impediments to land access with the creation of the ministry of finance and tourism Development Authority (1991) being central to these efforts (Christie, Fernandes, Messerli and Twining-Ward, 2013). Impact of Tourism Development in Egypt Preservation of local customs and heritage has become essential as the country seeks to maintain original architectural and heritage sites. An example of the importance of tourism in preservation of culture can be found in the Nubian villages where the government working in conjunction with private investors and communities has been able to preserve the authenticity of the people’s cultural heritage. Apart from visiting the nearby tombs and Nubian museum, tourists enter villages such as Gharb Sehel by camel and visit various homes in the village. Tourists visit to learn about the way of life of the people in these villages making it an important contributor to the tourism economy. Preservation of such cultural heritage is important as it provides foreign exchange to the country while also improving the positioning of the country as an important ecotourism destination for authentic cultural practices (Wurzburger, Pratt and Pattakos, 2009). One of the most significant results of selling Egypt in the global arena as a tourism destination is improvement in infrastructure. Tourism development leads to improved infrastructure to match international standards enjoyed by the tourists; however, there is a spin-off effect as local people also enjoys services such as, roads and utility including gas, water and electricity. The hotel industry is one of the areas that have seen greater development is the hotel industry where new accommodation facilities had to be constructed to meet the need of increasing numbers of visitors. Approximately 50 000 rooms were available to accommodate the country’s tourists in the early 1990s, with increased investment by the government in addition to privatization leading to expansion of up to more than 1031 hotels, having over 171 288 rooms (Vignal, 2010). As a labour intensive industry, tourism has a multiplier effect that creates avenues for more money to circulate in the local economy. An increased employment opportunity is among the benefit of global tourism as investors increase the number of hotels, guides and entertainment venues. During its highest point, employees in the tourism industry represented approximately 12 percent of the total national workforce, indicating its importance in reducing unemployment statistics (Dziadosz, 2009). Tourism in Egypt is therefore a source of both direct and indirect employment with other forms such as formal and informal and seasonal, part time and permanent also existing. Due to internationalization of tourism in Egypt employment opportunities are not available to locals only, but also to foreigners who are attracted to the industry to government strategy of advocating for private-public partnerships. Additionally, the government has accommodated existence of foreign workers because many of the five and four-star hotels operate under contract from international hotel management companies. These contracts provides for free movement of workers, which creates room for management to employ foreign workers in the industry. Although the number of foreign workers is small compared to that of locals, their presence in the Egyptian tourism industry is significant when considering the positions held in different facilities. Available data indicates foreign workers occupy the top top managerial posts in most of the five and four-star hotels (Zaytoun 2002). Environmental conservation has been adopted as an aspect of sustainable tourism development. Emergence of tourism as an important contributor to the economy has led to increased government efforts to conserve the environment. Over the years, the government has introduced environmental regulations and authorities to inform policies on the best approaches to protect the environment from adverse effects of tourism in Egypt. Among the areas of concern in the Egyptian tourism industry is the destruction of the natural environment along the Red Sea. The destruction has been blamed on lack of proper conservation policies during planning of hotel and resort construction (El Sherbiny, Sherif and Hassan, 2006). To protect such territories, the government pushed for enactment of the Environmental Control Act of 1983 to oversee construction of new facilities while ensuring the rules and regulations concerning protection of marine ecosystems are followed. Environmental impact assessment for all projects in tourism development must be conducted and should pass various measures before government approval (Frihy, 2001). After the establishment of Tourism Development Agency, now a specific agency has been mandated to function as planning and supervision body in tourism development projects affecting natural environment. Impact of Recent Political Instability on Tourism in Egypt Having made an analysis the role played by international tourism in Egypt, it is necessary to assess the implication of recent political turmoil on the industry, which had taken decades to develop up to its peak in 2010. While Egypt is geographically located in Africa, the country has developed closer cultural and religious ties with the Arab world therefore being involved in a number of political and religious occurrences taking place in the Middle East. Terrorism has always posed a challenge to the development of international tourism in Egypt. However, the country has historically developed strategies to protect the industry from political and security issues affecting the Middle East. Among the method adopted in order to guarantee security of visitors is the creation of insulation mechanisms to cover hotels, beaches, and other important tourist sites. Tourists activities have been carried out from special zones that protected by improved security presence based on the anti-terror campaigns. For instance, the location of luxury resorts along the red sea excludes tourism activities from the daily affairs of the host country. This exclusion provided grounds for the country to market its tourism industry in the international markets based on ability of the security department to guarantee peaceful experience for the visitors (Hazbun, 2006; ABC Investments, 2009). However, recent political unrest in Egypt has failed to insulate the industry from suffering the internal clamour for power. Comparison of existing tourism statistics for 2010 to 2014 indicates the extent of damage done to the industry by the political instability as the country moved from a high of 15 million tourists in 2010 to 10 million in 2011 although there was subsequent improved in 2012 as the sector recorded 11.5 million visitors (Gordon, 2014). Therefore, the Arab spring had negative effects on the tourism industry in Egypt as seen in the drop of the number of tourism between 2010 and 2011. However, coming at the time when political uncertainty was still high means the industry was able to survive the turmoil as drop in the number of visitors did not cripple the tourism industry. A return to political stability in the short-term will see the industry peak up from the peak of 2010 and continue development especially since global tourism predictions in indicate an overall positive movement in the number of visitors. Conclusion The tourism industry has taken advantage of improved communication and transport technologies to ease operations that connect different stakeholders located in multiple locations in the world. Increased collaborations among players in the industry such as airlines, those offering hotel and accommodation services and the government have led to improved service provision as every group performs functions that have been agreed upon. The Egyptian tourism industry provides an important case for analysis of how globalization has influenced and impacted tourism. The paper has identified the willingness by the government to work with local and foreign private investors as the turning point that led to development of the industry from 1980s. Development of tourism has had significant impact on the economic, cultural and environmental conditions of the country investors take advantage of existing resources to attract visitors from across the world to come and experience the uniqueness of Egyptian people, cultural and social heritage in addition to exotic sites. References ABC Investments, 2009. Tourism Sector Report January 2009. Amman: ABC Investments. Blanke, J., 2007. 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