Current Issues and challenges of Hospitality and Tourism Industry

The hospitality and tourism industry has been evolving every now and then because of the changing needs of the society. This is because the industry as a whole deals in a wide range of issues and aspects that need to be fully adhered to for customer satisfaction.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Current Issues and challenges of Hospitality and Tourism Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It should be known that customers in the hospitality industry are always demanding unique products and services and this is up to all stakeholders to take up the challenge. In this case, there are a lot of emerging issues and challenges in the hospitality and tourism industry that has forced stakeholders to go back to the drawing board and this is what this paper will mainly focus on. There is need to stay ahead of customers and this is one of current issues that are facing the tourism and hospitality industry (Mitchel, 2009, p. 12). This is because their service expectations are always changing meaning that they need to be matched at all costs. It should be known that the tourism and hospitality industry has been growing in recent years and this is because various economies have been on an upward trend. As a result, there has been an increase in the demand for accommodation. This aspect has increased the demand for hotels thereby piling pressure on the industry to increase their facilities. An increase in the demand for hotels is something that needs to be attended to because all customers can not be accommodated by one facility since this might compromise the services that they are being given (Bar kin, 2002, p. 23). Technology is something that is always evolving and any industry can not do without it. The rate at which technology has been evolving and emerging is too fast that if you are left behind, you will likely miss customers.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's se e if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This means that technology is one of issues that the hospitality and tourism industry has to cope with for long terms sustainability There is an implication that technology is one of the current issues that are facing the tourism and hospitality industry in a broad way. The product aspect of the tourism and hospitality industry has been changing in recent years and this is a trend that needs to be coped up with. For instance, ecotourism is an emerging industry as far as tourism and hospitality are concerned and this means that efforts should be directed towards the satisfaction of customers (Kummer, 2010, p. 18). The relationship between tourism and development is one of the issues that have emerged in recent years and this is a major issue that has brought in governments, international bodies and different industry stakeholders. In this case, the line between these two aspects needs to be drawn effectively to do away with any contradictions or conflict of interest that might come by. Pricing in the hospitality and tourism industry is a major issue that needs to be attended to. This is because the industry is wide and covers a large geographical area. In this case, pricing trends have been changing depending on the product or service but this has had an impact on the number of customers (Kummer, 2010, p. 31). We can wholesomely say that the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry greatly depends on pricing and products.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Current Issues and challenges of Hospitality and Tourism Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This implies that the industry has to choose between growing their own margins and increasing the number of customers. Plane ticketing is one of the current issues that the industry has to look at. In this case, people do not want to travel for long distances and this affects the industry in a broad way. All this withstanding, the needs of the hospitality and tourism industry will continue to change and emerge as time goes by meaning that all stakeholders should be up to date with what is needed. The hospitality and tourism industry is facing a lot of challenges and this is bound to affect it in a broad way. In this case it should be known that the challenges are numerous and complex. The rapid growth of the industry has brought in a lot of challenges that need to be solved by all stakeholders. Labor and skills shortage has been identified as one of the challenges that are facing the tourism and hospitality industry. This has mostly been complicated by the emergence of new technologies and trends that need to be satisfied and attended to. As a matter of fact, the new environment under which the industry operates demands a new approach to labor and skills (Economy Watch, 2011, p. 27). This has given the industry a big challenge because they h ave to meet the needs for new skills and labor at all costs to keep customers. In extreme cases, the industry has been forced to develop this skills and talents at huge costs. An increase in construction costs is a challenge that the tourism and hospitality industry has continued to face in recent years (Quinion, 2005, p. 21).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It should be known that the demand for new facilities has been going up because of an increase in the number of customers. On the other hand, the cost of constructing new facilities has been skyrocketing every now and then posing a major challenge to players who want to expand to new markets. Whenever such costs go up, the industry has to find another way of covering up for this and most likely they can increase prices which will affect customer numbers. The availability of capital is a challenge that the industry has faced in recent years mostly because of the global economic crisis (Economy Watch, 2011, p. 35). We all admit that the industry has been growing tremendously and various players and stakeholders need money for expansion activities, value addition and financing of operations. In this case, the availability of capital has been limited. As a matter of fact, the industry has been forced to obtain capital at high costs thereby affecting their operations. Different countries have enhanced their security measures because of an increase in crime and terrorism activities (Travels, 2009, p. 31). In this case, there have been a lot of travel permit restrictions that have ended up affecting the hospitality and tourism industry. In this case, customers are not free to travel to different destinations before being checked up. As a matter of fact, some people have been restricted to move to other places and this has been a major challenge to the industry as a whole. Most notably, such measures have affected tourist numbers yet the industry might have spent a lot of money trying to woo and attract customers. Regulation is another challenge because the industry does not operate in one definite location (Kummer, 2010, p. 29). As much as the industry has a body that can champion for its rights, this has been at the expense of different governments. Some of these laws have been punitive and affected the growth of the tourism and hospitality industry in a broad way. All in all, the industry has a great potential and there should be efforts to ensure that it is sustainable. Reference List Bar kin, D. (2002). Eco tourism for sustainable regional development: Current Issues in Tourism. Washington, DC: Island Press. Economy Watch. (2011). Tourism Industry Trends. Retrieved from http://www.economywatch.com/world-industries/tourism/trends.html Kummer, F. (2010). The Hospitality Industry and Some of the Personnel Challenges it faces. Retrieved from https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2010_3rd/Aug10_HospitalityPersonnel.html Mitchel, J. (2009). Value chain analysis and poverty reduction at scale. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann. Quinion, M. (2005). Dark Tourism. New York: World Wide Words. Travels. (2009). 2009 tourism trends. Retrieved from http://moelwintravels.blogspot.com/2009/01/2009-tourism-trends.html This essay on Current Issues and challenges of Hospitality and Tourism Industry was written and submitted by user Aaden Dillard to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.