Role of Commercial Aviation Within the Tourism Industry - Coursework Example

Airline and Aviation Contents Introduction 3 Role of commercial aviation within the tourism industry 3 Traveller’s movements using air travel 5 Contribution of aviation to destinations accessibility 7 Destinations that have been impacted by airline routes 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Aviation sector plays a critical role in growth of tourism industry. Global economy has been improved to a great extent with the support of tourism industry. There are employment opportunities created by tourism sector and this improves upon economic conditions. GDP growth has been facilitated in many regions because of air transport. Commercial aviation has increased accessibility of many destinations and this has contributed towards growth of tourism industry. This study is centred towards analyzing impact of air travel on destination development and tourism sector. Social and economic benefits are provided by air transport both in context of international and domestic markets. Role of commercial aviation within the tourism industry The rapid growth of global tourism industry is facilitated through international air transport. Tourism industry contributes magnificently towards global economy. 101 million jobs were provided by the tourism industry across the globe and it even contributed $2 trillion in context of world GDP. Aviation sector plays an integral role in tourism industry. Statistics reveal that more than 50% tourists prefer to travel by air. Tourism can be considered as an important economic development strategy and also plays a key role in wide array of developing countries (Dwyer, 2007). For instance, overseas tourists travelling by air are responsible for creating employment opportunities in Africa of about 2.5 million individuals. 30% of tourism jobs in Africa are because of aviation sector. National economy is enhanced in many island states due to tourism sector. Air transport is responsible for GDP growth and even employment opportunities in tourism sector. The direct relationship between these two industries is in the form of creation of jobs (IATA, 2014). Foreign visitors, who travel by air to any destination, generate sufficient funds to facilitate 14.6 million jobs. Aviation sector related jobs are not included in this employment list. The job category mainly encompasses vacancies in restaurants, hotels, car rental, visitors’ attraction spots and local transport. On the other hand, there is indirect relationship also prevalent between tourism and aviation industry. Visitors travelling across the globe by air are also responsible for creating indirect jobs of about 13.4 million (IATA, 2008). There are other induced job opportunities created through extended support of air transport. Employees are witnessed to spend their earnings on various services and products and this results into improved economic conditions. Commercial aviation plays a critical role within tourism sector since it is responsible for bringing in visitors. Tourism industry is highly dependent on visitors, who are able to access destinations because of air transport (Beaver, 2005). On the contrary, profitability margins of aviation sector are also closely knitted with tourism sector in order to initiate demand. Air transport has helped in expanding tourist destinations and adopts the role of shaping diversity and scale of tourism. The spending of foreign visitors is directed towards tourism jobs. Figure 1 represents support of aviation sector in relation to employment opportunities in tourism industry. Figure 1: Tourism related employment supported by aviation industry (Source: Spilsbury, 2011) As per figure 1, it can be stated that employment conditions in various locations have been improved with the support of aviation industry. Traveller’s movements using air travel International Air Transport Association has observed a phenomenal trend in traveller’s movements. The number of passengers travelling is expected to grow by 5.3% every year. 331 million passengers are observed to access international routes whereas there are 500 million domestic passengers. International passenger numbers are expected to grow in coming years due to rapid increase in tourist destinations. There are some countries which accounts for international travel such as United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain (Rhoades, 2008). The rate of international travel in United States has increased by 42.1 million, in Germany by 28.2 million, in United Kingdom by 32.8 million travellers, 23.4 million new travellers in France and in Spain by an amount of 21.6 million. Air transport was originally viewed as a method to travel from one location to another (IATA, 2012). However in current scenario, this form of transport has facilitated revenue growth and enhanced employment conditions. The impact of air transport in international markets is observed in terms of forming strong connection with different cultures, people and countries. Tourism and trade is generated in international markets due to air transport facilities. In domestic markets too, air travel helps to generate high degree of tourism. Increase in job vacancies across domestic and international markets is because of funds gathered by air travel. Air transport serves as a catalyst in both international and domestic markets. It is a key driver behind indirect and direct jobs in international and domestic markets (European Commission, 2015). Air travel also impacts economic conditions of domestic markets. It is considered to be better means of transport in comparison to rail and road transport. In international markets, the impact of air travel is observed in alleviating poverty level. This aspect is eradicated through contribution of tourism industry. Living standards of domestic markets are improved with the support of air travel (UNWTO, 2012). Air transport in these markets has been able to provide wide array of social benefits. These benefits are in context of job creation, economic growth, and increased tax revenues, instant delivery of humanitarian aid or emergency relief, and growth in commercial airlines fleet to establish connections across varied destinations. Contribution of aviation to destinations accessibility Transport can be stated as an essential element within tourism industry. It forms a link between destinations and tourists. Transport conditions help to facilitate good accessibility and are necessary for destination development. Aviation is an important mode of transport when it comes to tourism industry. International tourism is largely supported by aviation sector since it accounts for a dominant mode of travel specifically in long distances. Nodal function framework is able to denote increased accessibility through aviation industry. Interconnectivity is behind accessibility of tourist destinations. Aviation network comprises of wide set of links and this helps in connecting terminals (ATAG, 2014). There are four functions of these nodes such as gateway, origin, destination and hub. Nodes can be represented as particular destinations whereas gateway or hub encompasses certain characteristics due to their connectivity within network. The core element of tourism industry is to establish a destination which is able to attract large number of tourists. There are different factors which are evaluated by tourists before selecting a particular destination. They are price, accessibility, image, attraction, amenities, etc. International airlines hub plays a critical role in context of flow of passengers (Papatheodorou, Forsyth and Graham, 2012). Dubai and Singapore have been able to attract large base of tourists due to its hub position. This is because tourists have to stop in these cities when they are on long haul routes between Southwest Pacific, Europe and Asia. The role of airport and air travel has been magnificent in terms of reaching out to many undiscovered places (Dickinson and Lumsdon, 2010). There had been less number of tourists in established destinations and many countries, islands or regions had not been accessed if there were no air transport facilities. Many countries such as United Kingdom, United States, etc., invest lump sum amount in research and development activities related to air travel (Airports Council International, 2004). This in turn increases accessibility towards known and unknown destinations. Governmental support has enhanced contribution of air travel in relation to tourism sector. It has been observed that government engage into development of strong relationship with airline partners and airports (Goedeking, 2010). Liaison activities and joint airline negotiations are also key factors behind destination accessibility provided by aviation sector. Destinations that have been impacted by airline routes Airports and airline routes have been able to increase accessibility to different remote locations. There are various remote places located in Europe which are being developed with the support of air travel like Scotland, Greece, Spain and Scandinavia. Improved air service has immensely supported regional competitiveness specifically in Puglia and northern Sweden located in Italy. Destination development is also noticed in terms of retention of workforce and reducing overall percentage of unemployment. Regional communities in Europe are being connected with the help of air services. Regional accessibility in places such as Norway and France is increased due to extensive support of air transport. Norwegian government has stated that air links are a major factor for sustaining economic activities within this region (Airports Council International, 2004). Often establishment of small regional airports leads to changing lifestyle conditions of local people. The accessibility need is fulfilled through such airport development and increase in traveller percentage leads to better economic conditions of the destination. An important social function is addressed by air services in isolated parts of Northern Scotland. Many regions within European zone would not have been able to set forth their position in modern world if there remained inappropriate air services (Wald, Fay and Gleich, 2010). There are many destinations which have been developed after introduction of air routes and still there are chances of forecasted development in coming years. Figure 2: Destination Development (Source: Martinez, 2008) As per figure2, there are places such as Jordan, Israel, Caribbean, Turkey, Mexico, Egypt, etc., which were not previously accessed but now belongs to the list of top destinations. The number of flights to European destinations has increased in recent years. Air services between Berlin and Lufthansa drastically improved and it eventually led to development of wide array of nearby destinations. A total of 74 flights are seen to operate across European destinations. The air routes are constantly developed and range of flights is increased for long haul routes, like that of Tokyo and New York (Gray, 2015). Air route development has influenced passengers to travel across the globe and thereby increasing revenue margins essential for destination development. Conclusion As per the study, aviation industry is closely knitted with tourism sector. These two industries are inter-related and help in upgrading economic conditions. Air travel has intensive impact on domestic and international markets. Air transport is responsible for social and economic progress in international markets. Employment conditions in developing and developed economies are enhanced with the support of air travel. People’s leisure conditions are broadened through air travel and this upgrades image of domestic market. Air connectivity is all about setting up a route so as to ensure that people can travel across any destinations. There are destinations which could not be accessed in earlier times but air connectivity eradicated this problem. References Airports Council International., 2004. The social and economic impact of airports in Europe. 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