The tourism industry has been changing and as a result, it has been attracting numerous controversies. Tourism has been changing because of factors like; an ageing population, technology and terrorism activities. The world is changing and so does leisure and vacations do. Zibanai Zhou has been key informative in his publication because of tracing all key factors which tend to influence change in the tourism sector. Changing economies has been a leading factor in the tourism industry change. The article is key because it tends to race all the changes which take place in tourism and how they can be addressed. The media story is key because it has been supported with citations and references and thus it reflects true research results. “Critical shifts in the global tourism industry: perspectives from Africa” is a key topic because it tends to address controversies in tourism.

Zhou, Z. (2020). Critical shifts in the global tourism industry: perspectives from Africa. GeoJournal, 1-20. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-020-10297-y

“The Ten Most Controversial Travel Destinations in The World” article has been developed by Matthew Keyte. The article is trying to give the audience information about how resources obtained in tourism activities are spent. The article is tying present how tourism activities around the globe have been yielding income and the various ways such income has been used. Tourism is a global industry and the article tends to unveil all parties which are involved in coordination or global tourism activities. The media story is genuine because it tends to give out adequate information about how countries like Russia have been spending their income. Global tourism is a huge system that attracts individuals from various regions and thus it has attracted numerous parties.

Keyte, M. (2021). Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://theculturetrip.com/caribbean/cuba/articles/the-ten-most-controversial-travel-destinations-in-the-world/

“Global Tourism Controversies “is an article that has been published by Barbara Mantel to inform the audience about key controversies which are encountered in the tourism sector. The main purpose of the story is to give the audience adequate information and enlighten them about key controversies which they are likely to encounter as they pursue tourism. I have linked the article to marketing controversies in tourism since it gives a depth analysis of how various controversies have emerged and how they impact the tourism sector. The audience will be in a position to learn how they can take caution to bypass the listed controversies. Global tourism is an essential topic that should be covered because tourism is a growing industry and it tends to attract numerous individuals.

Mantel, B. (2021). Global Tourism Controversies. Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2018110900

My goal is to discuss the topic of impacts of covid-19 on tourism with the audience related. Many hotels and restaurants have been shut down due to covid-19. To get the exact situation of this issue, I am conducting an interview with a person who is involved in the tourism sector.

My interview will help many investors and businessman to know the situation and work carefully with this sector accordingly.

Next, I interviewed Mr. Rodgers Koeman, CEO at a Tourism firm. I tried asking less question but asked the ones which will give us a brief.

I will try to make the interview audio clearer and more interested with some ambience sound effects.

INTERVIEW WITH MR. RODGERS KOEMAN

https://soundcloud.com/adeshbir-randhawa/interview/s-xDSqaHuFKyC?si=21d6c9e879834db3a834d5f9e9590345

Interview to Get Opinions on Impact of Covid-19 on Tourism

This interview was conducted  to explore how the Coronavirus has impacted tourism. The interview was conducted to Mr. Rodgers Koeman, a CEO at Debert Tourism firm, a major tourism site in Vancouver, Canada. The following was the list of interview questions.

1. How has the emergence of the Coronavirus affected tourism markets?

Koeman: ‘Thank you for the question, as a leading member in the tourism business, I can feel that the pandemic has led to the deterioration of business because there has been a low number of guests and tourists who travel to visit our sites. The key challenge is the risk of getting infected as one moves from one point to another. Generally, I have observed that the tourism business has gone down which means businesses have to trim the number of employees working in given departments since they cannot be sustained by the domestic tourists.’

• Why do people fear to travel nowadays?

Koeman: ‘People may be obliged to maintain the protocols for preventing the spread of the virus because for instance, traveling in a plane may be a risk factor since a tourist comes across different persons who may have the infection. People are fearing to die or get subjected to hectic situations due to the suffering. Many people do not want to get subjected to quarantine measures after checking in different countries which may be costly. Therefore, they prefer to engage in other forms of adventure other than tourism.’

• Are there economic impacts so far?

Koeman: ‘Well, as I said earlier, due to loss of jobs, economic disparity has been evident since many cannot afford to make ends meet for their families and that affects the economy of the members of the public. If people are not working, there will be a stagnant economy. Okay, for my case, I feel that the Coronavirus pandemic has led to non-development for businesses that are aligned to hospitality. Hotel’s occupancy will be low, staff turnover will be high which means the income rates shall be affected hence making living to be in a contentious state at twilight.’

• What is the future of tourism and hospitality under these challenges?

Koeman: ‘I think that it might take time…well… around two years to come life won’t be easy in the tourism market as the new normal may take time to be embraced. I am optimistic that if people learn how to integrate issues, tourism will revive. For my case, as an employee, I think trends in tourism which were expected to change for better may change for worse. For example, the rates might be lower to accommodate the uneven distribution of resources due to the pandemic. Thus, it will be hard for the tourism to grow significantly as expected.’ 

Tourism and hospitality industry keeps on growing and expanding because of increasing demand all around the globe. Thus, hotels and restaurants are on the run to capture customer attention using all available elements. Most of the time firms are making use unfair modes of advertising and marketing to lure customers into signing deals which cannot be delivered based on the preset expectations. Satisfaction and unique experience being some of the key elements which customers evaluate tends to make customers keep on moving from one company to another in search for outstanding and satisfactory levels.

Travel marketing has been surrounded by increased controversy due to increasing use of online platforms to sale and show case customers services which cannot be delivered .Technology has enhanced quality of posters and graphics used when advertising various services and products in the tourism industry making them attractive to customers .Most of the customers end up making decisions based on the false impression created by the images and graphics which are used when advertising products and services .For ,example some of the poster have been characterized by quality images showing suitable travel destinations which are characterized by good looking aspects of nature such as green forests(As illustrated by the image 1 below) but on the real aspect such nature views are not available(As outlined by image 2 below) .

(Image 1)

(Image 2)

The use of technology has increased distribution of false and fake information which keeps on luring customers into signing deals only to be frustrated during the actual travel or visit times.

Travel agencies are increasing and they have been on the raise as result of lucrative deals in the tourism industry. There has been increased matters related to travel agencies regulations because they keep on souring customers from all around the globe based on strong convincing marketing techniques but they do not rely on actual information .In the world of technologies travel agencies are making use of technological systems to route customers to various destinations without physical contact .Most of the bookings are done online and during the actual travel dates customers are channeled though various agents sourced by the travel agencies .Therefore ,what is happening in travel bookings seems to be complicated because of increased middle persons in the business who tend to offer various promises to customers. Demand for travel packages has been on the rise and most of the individuals have been subjected to unfair deals because some tourism companies keep on partnering with individuals with the aim of building various packages. The increased partnership has rendered some of the packages inaccessible due to cost and unrealistic nature when it comes to delivery. The image below illustrates some of the travel packages which keep on attracting customers in the tourism industry;

Conclusion

As result of increased controversy in the tourism sector, customers are supposed to scrutinize all travel agencies and hotels to ensure that content aired during marketing can be delivered appropriately when orders are placed. Before any travel and tourism bookings are done in depth examination of service providers should be undertaken in order to ensure that customers do not fall into deals which are not genuine or which are not worth money and resources rendered.

Travel marketing refers to the strategies that hotels, airlines, and other hospitality-oriented enterprises use to advertise their brands. This methodology is used to promote the business by increasing reservations and other forms of the portfolio. However, due to the trend of carrying out this aspect online, many establishments have been accused of exaggerating their levels by having low-standard products and services contrary to what they post online (Vidal, 2019). For example, while a guest is reviewing hotels near a given tourist attraction in TripAdvisor, they may see photos of a nice hotel with appealing ambiance in terms of banqueting, conferencing, and food and beverage service. However, on the ground, it may be different and end up frustrating the client and make the tourism experience a disappointment.

This project proposal covers the travel marketing issues such as the rationale for the theme, the core angles and questions that the project intends to answer, and the media outline in regards to the research done by the study. Through the project, the audience will know what is travel marketing, the effects and trends associated with the issue, and contemporary issues in regards to travel marketing in the tourism industry.

Rationale

This topic is necessary to cover because it enables the audience to have an understanding of elements that comprise travel marketing. It enables the reader to be aware of the challenges associated with the matter and the major trends that contribute to the adoption of the idea in major hospitality destinations in Canada. After the project, anyone willing to travel around the world will be enlightened about how to avoid being overambitious before visiting a place, and the significance of travel marketing in Canada.

Questions/Angles

1. What involves travel marketing?
2. Why travel marketing has been a key challenge in the tourism industry in Canada?
3. Can travel marketing be changed to better the experience at major hospitality destinations in Canada?

Core angles

1. The adoption of travel marketing in social media in Canada.
2. Travel marketing as a key advertising element for major tourist attractions in Canada.

Media Outline.

Figure 1: Illustration on marketing hotel accommodation services using travel websites

This project derives its major premises from articles that have been written online in regards to hotel travel marketing insights. In 2018, ASA was critical about the nature of advertising for services and products that may not exactly exist for given hospitality outlets. Some of the issues that the text has involved marketers misleading photos as shown in figure 1 above, quoting inaccurate prices to lure customers among other issues (ASA, 2018). This text is important as it enables the proposal to have a foundation of issues associated with travel marketing. For instance, many hotels and airlines have conspired to have inadequate availability of facilities as shown in the online platforms.

While interviewing Mr. Rodgers Albert, a conferencing manager at Cascade Hotel Ltd in British Columbia, the project proposal learned that many online adverts and images uploaded may be incorrect because facilities may have lower standard amenities or outdated levels of service. Thus, through listening and holding information by Mr. Albert, the piece is important as a guide towards presenting information on how travel marketing has been surrounded by deceptive controversial issues.

An editor’s review on travel industry issues by Jesse Ashlock on May 19, 2021 talks about the resilience of travel marketing that is evident in modern-day hospitality sections. The editor notes that one way to entice guests is to advertise through online posting of the hotel portfolio. This shows travel marketing through social media as an issue that may spike reactions especially on the authenticity of the content (Ashlock, 2021). An investigative video about the destination traveling by CBS News Agency highlights instances where hospitality outlets may use appealing photos to draw attention for more reservations by guests (CBS, 2021). Thus, it shows the audience that travels marketing may be a subject that may be technical and that needs to be thoroughly explored to make a sustainable tourism business.