Supervision and Leadership in Tourism and Hospitality - Essay Example

TOURISM Students name: Institution: Instructor: Date: TOURISM Tourism is the act of people traveling to and staying in places away from their usual environment usually, for not more than a consecutive year. It is often done for the purpose of business, leisure and other reasons depending on the tourists. Tourism can be domestic or international. International tourism has some implication to a country’s balance of payment. Today, it is the principal source of income in most host countries. Hospitality has been one of the most significant metaphors within the entire tourism. It refers to the one of the crucial projects in tourism industry such as hotels, catering, and tour operation. In another sense, it represents the social interactions between the local people and tourists. The aim of this research is to ensure the general success of tourism. We will be discussing the environmental, economic and social-cultural implications of tourism putting in mind the Hillary’s Boat Harbor. Tourism and hospitality have positive and negative impacts to the economy of a country. Travel and tourism sector have the ability to provide the positive economic impacts. One is increased income and foreign currency earnings. The host country gains increased domestic income hence improving its economy. Foreign currency earning is brought by tourists and they help in maintaining the value of host’s currency. Two is the fact that tourism creates employment. The staff tourism sites are employees hence improving their living standards. Third is that tourism improves the infrastructure of a country. It is through the best means of transport that are prepared for the tourists. The sector generates income for private individuals, local councils, voluntary bodies, companies and the government at large. However, it also has some negative economic impacts such as increased living costs, seasonal employment and leakages of money from the destination area. It is usually the positive economic impacts that persuade individuals, companies, and the government to get involved in the development of tourism destinations (Van & Davies, 2012).  The quality of the environment, whether man-made or natural, is very important to tourism (Laws, 2014).  However, the relationship between tourism and the environment is very complex. Tourism particularly ecosystem and nature contributes to the conservation of wildlife. It also conserves natural resources such as rainforests which are now regarded as tourism assets. Tourism also provides funding and the maintenance of animal and marine parks through entrance charges. Most important is that by creating opportunities for employment, tourism reduces problems of deforestation and over-fishing in developing nations. On the contrary, tourism poses a threat to the environment. It involves many activities that adversely affect the environment. Many of these impacts are connected to the construction of the airports, roads and tourism facilities such as hotels, shops, and marinas. It affects water supply, heritage sites, beaches through overuse. It also causes increase pollution through littering, traffic emissions, noise and increased sewage production. Tourism also has some socio-cultural impacts on the host country. The improvement in factors such as infrastructure and leisure amenities that result from tourism benefit the local the country and especially the local community. Tourism encourages the preservation of cultural custom, festivals, and handicrafts, especially for the communities around the tourist sites. These communities always interact with the tourists through performing their cultures, and they get paid for such shows and demonstrations. For this reason, the cultures are maintained as it is a source of income and tourists always find them so interesting. However, it also has some negative effects socio-cultural aspect of the host. Visitor behavior can adversely affect the host. For example, the issue of drugs and alcohol problems, congestion, crowding, prostitution and increased crime activities. Tourism can also infringe the rights of the locals where they are displaced from their land for the construction of tourist sites (Andrews, 2011).  Hillary’s Boat Harbor is the best marina in Western Australia as per the Marin Industry Awards. It has great economic impacts on the government and the local council. First, it creates employment opportunities for the people of Western Australia. The fact that it creates employment improves the living standards of its staff. Secondly, it increases the domestic income of the country. Here is where the locals come and pay to enjoy themselves. People pay for activities such as fishing, diving, and whale-watching; hence, it’s an income-generating tourist site. Foreign tourists also visit the site thereby increasing the foreign currencies which improve a country’s foreign exchange. Nevertheless, this site has improved the infrastructure of the region. It is through the development of good road, airport, and water transport that led to improved infrastructure. The local are the beneficiaries of such developments as they can move about freely doing their activities at ease (Western Australia & Oceanica Consulting Pty Ltd, 2011).  The marina also has some environmental impacts. As we discussed earlier, it was clear that an environment is an important factor in tourism. The tourist site conserves wildlife as it deals with fish and other marine animals such as whales. It provides the suitable environment that these creatures can survive since they are their main contributor of income. Tourists pay to perform the activity of fishing and watching the whales. Therefore, the tourist site maintains these creatures through the entrance charges paid by the tourists. Tourists also visit the Rottnest Island and the coastal sides of the tourist site. It is where tourists enjoy the beautiful look of the environment especially the sunset. However, the marina has some threats to the environment. It involves the overuse of water for the consumption of tourists. Also, the menace of pollution is also a problem where litter and another substance is thrown anyhow especially into the water bodies hence endangering the lives if marine creatures. It also involves fishing as leisure an activity and can lead to overfishing (Porter, Western Australia & Uloth and Associates, 2013).  Socio-cultural effects also exist at the Hillary’s Boat Harbor (Blanksby, Prokop, Thipthorp & Australian Fishing Network, 2010). The marina has resulted in interactions between the locals and tourists. The improvements of infrastructure and leisure activities have assisted the local communities in one way or another. The tourist site has brought about the interaction of people bringing about activities such as cultural exchanges and intermarriages. Resulting in a good relationship is built among different communities. The constant visits by tourists have led to the maintenance of Aboriginal customs; here Dreamtime stories and history of the Noongar people are recited. For this reason, the culture and traditions are maintained because tourists pay to listen to these particular stories. However, the visits have led to negative social impacts such as prostitution, overcrowding and increased crime activities in the area. Nevertheless, some improve the sustainability of Hillary’s Boat Harbor. The most important are to ensure that security of the tourist site area is heightened. Tourists can comfortably visit areas where security is maximized. No one would risk hi/her life to visit a site that has security issues even if they have the interesting tourist attraction. Therefore, the Hillary’s Boat Harbor environment should contain maximized security. The issue of pollution should also be observed. Visitors and locals should be taught on the issues of pollution so that they don’t pollute the environment in any way. For instance, if water is polluted at this tourist site, it will lead to the death of the marine animals and as a result decreased income will be realized. Creation of employment to the locals is very important. It will make the locals avoid activities such as overfishing that will lead to losses as tourists will not find what to fish and therefore cannot pay for such activities. Creation of employment also reduces the chances of increased crime rates. Employment will make the locals earn a living and for this reason, they cannot engage in criminal activities to make money. These ideas will improve the sustainability of Hillary’s Boat Harbor (Atkinson, 2010). In conclusion, tourism and hospitality is a very important sector in any country. It is the main contributor to economic development in host countries. In our discussion, we have seen that it’s among the top sectors that provide employment opportunities to the locals. It also preserves the culture, customs, and artifacts of the local people and this is important because the traditions cannot be influenced by western cultures. It is also evident that through tourism, we conserve our wildlife and the environment. Tourism also has some socio-cultural impact in the sense that it provides interactions between the visitors and the locals which can lead to intermarriages and other acceptable social activities. However, tourism has several negative impacts on the economy, environment, and the socio-cultural aspects. Despite the fact that it has some negative impacts, it is the main income generator for the private individual, the local councils and the government at large. References Van, . W. L., & Davies, C. (2012). Supervision and leadership in tourism and hospitality. London: Cassell. Laws, E. (2014). Improving tourism and hospitality services. Wallingford: CABI Pub. Andrews, S. (2011). Introduction to tourism and hospitality industry. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Crouch, G. I. (2014). Consumer psychology of tourism, hospitality, and leisure: Volume 3. Wallingford, Oxon, UK: CABI Pub. Western Australia., & Oceanica Consulting Pty Ltd. (2011). Hillarys Boat Harbour structure plan and implementation strategy referral document. Perth, W.A: Dept. for Planning and Infrastructure. Porter, D., Western Australia., & Uloth and Associates. (2013). Hillarys Boat Harbour traffic study and concept design. Perth, W.A: Dept. for Planning and Infrastructure. Blanksby, K., Prokop, F., Thipthorp, R., & Australian Fishing Network. (2010). Fishing guide to Western Australia. Croydon, Vic: Australian Fishing Network Atkinson, L. (2010). Frommer's Australia 2010. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Read More