Trailfinders Travel Agency - Research Paper Example

Research Proposal: Trailfinders Travel Agency Introduction Tourism is one of the pioneer industries in the contemporary business world. During the last decade, the tourism industry has shown substantial improvement in the whole world, especially in the United Kingdom (The Telegraph, 2014). As a result, in order to capture the opportunities in this industry, many travel agencies have expanded their business across the local, regional and international peripheries. Therefore, travel, from being the social and global leisure activity has shifted its perspective towards economic opportunities for many individuals and business entities. Rapid commercialization of the travel agencies and their effort for brand enhancement and brand recognition has been able to explore new dimensions of the tourism industry (Xiang, Magninia and Fesenmaier, 2015). The aim of the research paper is to investigate the existing operations and future prospects of the famous travel agency company, Trailfinders. Trailfinders is the largest autonomously owned travel agency in the United Kingdom that consists of more than 30 travel centres in the UK and throughout the world. Though operating since 1970, its endeavour to provide tailor- made travel packages and world class travel experience has enabled the company to capture attention of approximately 14 million clients (UK Tourism Statistics, 2014). Literature Review Primarily, tourism and travel agencies are defined as the commercial organization that facilitates individuals in visiting the places of their interests. According to Swarbrooke and Horner (2012), tourism is considered to be the biggest and fastest growing companies in the whole world. In this segment, the conceptual framework behind tourism industry and the growth of travel agencies will be discussed in the light of theoretical studies of eminent researcher. Buhalis, Costa and Ford (2006) have defined tourism as the mixed blend of sociological desire and economic thinking which is required for balancing both the emotional aspects and financial consideration of various places in the world. Initially, tourism was considered as the personal aspirations for a set of individuals that drive them to travel around the world. Gradually, researchers have associated the concepts such as consumer preferences, sustainable development and source of revenue generation with travel and tourism. Becker (2013) has also linked tourism with climatology as well. As per the theories proposed by Xiang, Magninia and Fesenmaier (2015), correlation is very high between consumer behaviour and travel and tourism. They are of the opinion that, recently, during the last five years, when the world economy had become languished due to the aftermath of global financial crisis, tourism was the only industry that had continued to show a steady growth rate. Becker (2013) has presented the rationale behind such strong growth as the eastern countries were less affected by the great recession as compared to the western countries. Therefore, the Asian countries and other emerging markets recovered at a faster pace than that of the European or American countries. As the per capita income returned to its initial position, an increasing urge has been noticed among them to travel the world. Experiencing such consumer perception, travel agencies capitalised the opportunity and adopted every possible approaches to attract the consumers into the respective countries. In this context, Peng, Song and Crouch (2015) have also identified that event such as London Olympic, 2012 has also attracted many tourists across regions and borders. Various activities such as shopping and dining of the tourists with sound purchasing power enriched the economy of London and UK as a whole by generating huge additional revenue. Therefore, the governments also gained an incentive to promote the tourism industry and also aided the travel agencies to establish and expand business in the region. Apart from the association with consumer preferences, Swarbrooke and Horner (2012) have highlighted another aspect that deals with reflexive tourism and sustainable development. As per their notion, reflexive tourism indicates the mutually benefitting relationship between tourists and destination which leads to yield a win-win situation for both the parties. Such reflexive tourism contributes significantly towards the sustainable development of the economy of the destination as well as the accomplishment of the purpose of visit of the tourists. Peng, Song and Crouch (2015) have exemplified the development of economies such as Bahamas, Macau, British Virgin Islands and Malaysia are totally dependent upon tourism industry. Therefore, the travel agencies in such regions are highly influenced to enhance their activities and curriculum in such a way that can attract more and more tourists over time and a sustainable economic framework can be established. On the other hand, Bhatia (2006) have identified that each year many students and workers migrate into the large economies for the purpose of higher studies or employment. A trend of visiting the friends and families of such individuals has been noticed during their tenure of employment or education. Excellence of the travel agencies lies in converting the normal visit of the families into providing them exotic travel experience in the region. As per the reports of Euromonitor International (2015), tourism industry is considered to be the fifth largest industries of the nation, generating £24 billion revenue per year. Whereas, the manufacturing and service sector has shown marked deceleration since the financial crisis of 2008, the tourism industry continued to grow at a faster pace and has been able to create 30% more revenue in 2014 as compared to 2008 (UK Tourism Statistics, 2014). The industry is also responsible for 10% of the total job responsibilities of the whole United Kingdom. Naturally, travel agencies such as Trailfinders will expect glorious future prospect as a result of operating in this industry in the UK. Research Objective and Central Question The objective of the research is to examine the following attributes: To what extent the travel agency, Trailfinders contributes in the growth of the UK tourism industry? What are the strategies adopted by the travel agency for attracting both domestic and international travellers? Considering the current resource base and strategies incorporated, will Trailfinders be able to continue its leading position in the UK tourism industry in future as well? Research Methodology Research methodology indicates the system of accumulating relevant data and information required to carry out the research in constructive manner (Creswell, 2013). In the next segment, a detailed research methodology will be presented showing the best possible way of conducting the indicative research. Data Collection: Secondary Sources For the purpose of analysing the present performance and future prospects of the travel agency, Trailfinders, secondary data will be collected from various sources such as company’s annual reports, journals and magazines related to travel and tourism, recent industry reports and market research reports (Creswell, 2013). Research Approach: Qualitative Research As the aim of the researcher to run indicative analysis on the present scenario of the UK based travel agency, Trailfinders, and to identify the future opportunities and challenges that the company will be going to encounter, qualitative research approach will be implemented. Such research approach will explore the intrinsic connotation of the obtained information regarding the tourism industry of the UK and explain the rationale behind adopting the particular strategies by the travel agency (Krathwohl, 2008). Research Paradigm: Interpretivism In the research epistemology, research paradigm indicates the extent of contribution of the conceptual pattern and theoretical framework on the research agenda. Interpretivism is a research paradigm that allows the researcher to evaluate the viewpoint of multiple experts in the area of research and develop his own understanding based on the scholars’ interpretations (Krathwohl, 2008). In this context, as the research is based on the secondary data and qualitative analysis, interpretivism will help the researcher to analyse the contradictory arguments proposed by different connoisseurs and consequently arrive at his own conscience regarding the future capability of the travel agency, Trailfinders. Result The result of the analysis will facilitate the researcher to understand the actual contribution of the travel agency, Trailfinders on the expansion of tourism industry in the United Kingdom. In order to derive the objective of the research, correlation between the revenue generated by the company in last five years and revenue generated by the industry as a whole should be identified by the researcher. The stronger the correlation, the more will be the contribution of the company. Considering the strategies adopted, the researcher will evaluate the existing strategies practiced by the travel company to identify the loopholes so that the best possible strategies can be suggested for Trailfinders which will help it in experiencing superlative outcomes. The following Gantt chart represents the expected time required for completion of the project and for drawing the research results. (Author’s Creation) Conclusion Tourism is one of the most prominent industries in United Kingdom. When the large industries such as manufacturing, service and information technologies etc. failed to generate revenue due to the recessionary effect, it was the tourism industry, contribution of which had lessened the gap in revenue deficit of the nation to some extent. Therefore, conducting research in this avenue in order to explore the nature and functioning of the industry holds utmost importance. Trailfinders is the best travel agency of the United Kingdom, as per the survey done by The Telegraph in 2014. Therefore, it is expected that the company will reflect the efficiency and the best strategies incorporated by the industry as a whole. Hence, the research paper will provide a holistic outlook of the workings of travel agent companies in the UK tourism industry and will draw inference on how the company will continue to contribute positively towards the success of the UK tourism industry. Reference List Becker, E., 2013. Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism. New York: Simon and Schuster. Bhatia, A. K., 2006. The Business of Tourism: Concepts and Strategies. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Buhalis, D., Costa, C. and Ford, F., 2006. Tourism Business Frontiers. London: Routledge. Creswell, J. W., 2013. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. California: SAGE Publications. Euromonitor International, 2015. Travel and Tourism in the United Kingdom. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 26 June 2015]. Krathwohl, D. R., 2008. How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. New York: Syracuse University Press. Peng, B., Song, H. and Crouch, G. I., 2015. A meta-analysis of international tourism demand forecasting and implications for practice. Tourism Management, 45(1), pp. 181–193. Swarbrooke, J. and Horner, S., 2012. Business Travel and Tourism. London: Routledge. The Telegraph, 2014. Britains best tour operators. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 26 June 2015]. UK Tourism Statistics, 2014. Tourism: At the Forefront of the UK’s Economic Recovery. [PDf] Available at: [Accessed 26 June 2015]. Xiang, Z., Magninia, V. P., and Fesenmaier, D. R., 2015. Information technology and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22(1), pp. 244–249. 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