Category: Tourism

Background

There is five company personnel who are slated to travel from London to Barcelona. The two board members are visiting the firm’s foreign subsidiary to discuss strategies and sales performance. The firm’s sales manager will also go to the stated destination for the deliberation. A sales staff is tasked to fly to Barcelona ahead to arrange the meeting of the mentioned personnel. To ensure that their travel will provide good results, an itinerary needs to be provided. Each person will have different perspectives as to flight preference. The most important considerations for the itinerary include the fare and accommodation cost.

Itinerary

Among the personnel who will leave for Barcelona, the sales staff will go first. It is stated that the staff needs to be at the destination 5 working days before the meeting. Based on the schedule, the meeting with the subsidiary in Barcelona is scheduled for April 12, 2008. Hence, the staff needs to be in Barcelona on April 7, 2008. The staff is the point person during the trip. In addition, the sales staff is responsible for the confirmation of accommodations and places to visit.

The members of the Board need to be in Barcelona 4 days before the scheduled meeting. Aside from their identified activities, the Board members are expected to visit some places in Barcelona. In addition, the flight details of the Board members are subject to change.

The sales manager is responsible for the details that will be discussed in the meeting. The manager’s busy schedule means that only 3 days are allotted for the trip. The sales manager will be transported to Barcelona through the plane used by the staff. In addition, the accommodation of the sales staff will also serve as the temporary place of the sales manager during the visit.

Explanation

There are some important points that need to be clarified regarding the details of the itinerary. It is evident that the Directors were provided with a British Airways flight to Barcelona. This decision is explained by the membership of the Directors in the BA Executive Club (British Airways, 2008). Members are provided with discounts and points when flying with British Airways. The Directors were also accommodated in a hotel because of their position. It is important for the Directors to be introduced to the beauty of Barcelona. Hence it is imperative that the best accommodations, restaurants, and tourists attractions will be provided.

The staff was booked in a Ryanair flight because of two reasons. First, Ryanair is a known low-cost airline firm. The company wants to emphasize the need to reduce travel costs. In addition, Ryanair has a promo that covers the travel period of the agent. The fare rate will be reduced significantly because of the option. The accommodation of the staff is considered as one of the finest hostels in Barcelona. But the room rate in the hostel is cheap. Most important, the hostel is 1.5 miles away from the subsidiary office. This means that the staff can freely come and go without the hassles.

The sales manager was provided with another Ryanair flight because of time constraints. Since the staff was able to book a flight, then reserving for the sales manager will be easy. The process will also reduce the cost of travel to be incurred by the manager. It is important to ensure that the sales manager and the staff come back to London together. This will provide more time to discuss the highlights of the meeting. The partnership of the staff and the sales managers is critical in ensuring the future success of the parent company and the subsidiary.

References

British Airways, (2008). Web.

Ryanair, (2008). Web.

The city was founded in the medieval period, and its name can be translated as “High bank”. But it is necessary to mention, that this fact is under doubts. The city was a small village of ferrymen and fishers, and became a relatively large town in the 13th century. Nowadays, it is divided into 13 districts, and the population composes approximately 500 thousand inhabitants. It can be considered as one of the cultural capitals of Germany, as there are about 40 theaters in Hanover.

Hamburg and Bremen

These are the city-states, which means, that these cities have the subordinate territories, and possess the municipal powers. One of the interesting facts of Hamburg is that there are lots of canals in Hamburg, which are crossed by over 2300 bridges — more than Amsterdam (1200) and Venice (400) together.

Bremen is one of the largest port cities of Germany. Major part of the sights in Bremen could be found in the Altstadt (Old Town), an elliptical area encircled by the Weser River, on the southwest, and the Wallgraben, the medieval city walls, on the northeast.

Opera in Hamburg was founded in the 2 January 1678 when the “Opern-Theatrum” was inducted with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile. It became the first public opera house in Germany established by the art-loving citizens of Hamburg, a flourishing member of the Hanseatic League.

The zoo in Hamburg is well known all over the world as the first zoo in the history with the open-air “cages”, representing the natural conditions of life for various animals. It was founded in 1907.

The Hanseatic League

The League acted between the 13^th and the 17^th century, as the league of the entrepreneurs, in order to maintain the trading monopoly in Baltic Sea. The fall of the league happened in the middle of the 16^th century, but as it can be seen from the history, it continued acting for the following century up to the middle of the 17^th.

The Lüneburger Heide

The Lüneburg Heath is an area in Lower Saxony in Germany, and it includes the territory between the Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen. Northern Low Saxon language is still extensively used in the region. The region is plastered by a heathland landscape. The existing landscape appeared in medieval times when woods were cut for to maintain the salt production in Lüneburg.

Helgoland

The island in the Baltic Sea, which formerly belonged to Britain and Denmark. The population of the island does not exceed 1,700 inhabitants, and it takes approximately 2 hours to get to the continent on the ferry.

Introduction

Television remains to be a media force to reckon with despite the advancements made by web technologies in recent years. Still, it has remained the most accessible, if not the most popular among the forms of media available. Its power to spread the word and reach millions in a matter of minutes is still its most potent arm against the many emerging avenues for information.

Taking off from the strength of this premise, television can be utilized as an avenue to promote and support the tourism efforts of a city, moreover a nation. This, however, depends on creative and strategic planning and production as well as careful analysis of the goals set in careful consideration of its viewing market as well as its other potentials.

To carefully analyze and prove how media and tourism truly benefit each other, this paper will attempt to create a travel program focusing on London as the subject. This endeavor hopefully aims to clearly illustrate the symbiotic relationship between media and tourism via a clear-cut and creative example that presents a lot of potentials to both local and international viewers as well as to potential advertisers. Also, it will try to present the other media platforms in which creative content can extend itself, thereby, eliciting more benefits for both the original media – that is television and generate more endorsements for tourism.

In and out – of London on Television

The main base for an excellent TV feature is being able to wrap the content with a superb creative handle.

This will presumably make the material rise against the plethora of travel programs on-air over British television. The crucial areas also to be taken into consideration are how large an audience can this program concept accommodate and how do you keep these so-called viewers from tuning out. In terms of marketability and sustainability (items highly dependent on it are production costs and execution), advertising will also be key to its fruition.

As a major basis for take-off in conceptualization, some program makers will have to consider some crucial givens. In this case, the total running time given is 30 minutes, in which case will requiring two feature strands that hope to generate as much viewership as possible; and the target airtime and airdate, that is Friday, July 4, 2008, UK: 17.00-17.30.

For this afternoon audience, the most ideal prescription for presentation is a unique travel program that will present a new view of the city of London. It will be a come-on to not just those visiting the city but also to locals who in one way or another may rediscover their native dwelling place.

Reaching the Destination: Getting the Audience to Watch

Aside from being the main meat of the matter, it will also determine how many potential viewers will it be able to accommodate. For this proposed travel program, the main creative base will be a travel feature in the city of London. But what makes it any different from the other travel shows airing? First, the show will be fast-paced and exciting, almost similar to a reality-based program. To be able to get to this kind of pace, its creative narrative will be put together in the format of a travel journal. The host or anchor of the show can be a famous, credible, and endearing British personality. He may not be a “star” in the sense that he acts and graces films and drama programs, but he is in his way a popular figure in society. He is talked about and is as controversial as any regular actor on TV.

The program unveils the Travel Journal of Mr. ______ (name of the potential host). At the beginning of the show, he will be caught candidly as he will only know that he is facing “travel” challenges throughout his whole trip in and out of London. This device will create the flavor of pure excitement, something that is “unknown” and possibly unexpected. It will also be a good complement to the predictability of just merely hopping from one destination to another which is way too evident and formulaic amongst travel shows. In this kind of semi-dramatic format also, there is a potential to draw in the interest of the “soap” followers and not just mere travel aficionados, thereby widening its reach and audience share.

It will also be attractive among the young who are in for more dynamism and action. Precisely, the same set of reasons why reality programs are hitting it so well in the market share. However, this travel show will combine information tourism and the exciting human experience that will be full of color and drama. Ideally, set in this landscape, curiosity will be drawn, viewers are subliminally encouraged to see the places for themselves as they are endeared and entertained by the journey of the anchor.

… the connection between an individual’s acceptance of the realism of televised material and his susceptibility to influence by it? The significance of this question can be illustrated by the argument of an article that appeared several years ago in Sociology and Social Research. The author maintained that every motion picture projects a normative message. This was true not only of films devoted to recognized social problems but also of those which were intended purely to entertain. (Blumler, 1964)

There will also be two feature strands in which the Travel Journal will be segmentized. It will be a trip to the WOW and the WEIRD places in the city of London.

This exciting sectioning will enhance the interest of both tourists and the locals who have not discovered the secret sites and the astonishing destinations that might have been just around the corner. As segments, they will be largely supported with tie-ups with credible tourism authorities such as Londontourist.Org for the conventional and WOW stops and perhaps, link up with historian, illustrator and broadcaster, Peter Jackson, as the source for the WEIRD stops. Jackson, a doyen of London’s most curious and oddity hunters is also the author of London Stranger than Fiction, London Bridge, and, with Felix Barker, 2000 Years of London: A City and Its People.

Linking with just two and not too many tourist organizations can also provide a tight content and format for a short program.

Exposure will be given equally to travel spots that are equally beautiful, significant, and in many ways define in a nutshell the history and the city of London. To be concrete, in the visit to the WEIRD side of the city, we can take the top 10 destinations from Peter Jackson— the gothic Albert Memorial in Hyde Park; The Handel Statue which strangely has someone else’s ear; The star-spangled Spire which commemorates Lincoln’s abolition of slavery; Pierpoint’s Refuge, The Statue that got married and so on. Trooping to the WOW side of London, a tie-up with The London Guide (www.londontourist.org) will create the authoritative side of sightseeing. Given the short running time, close coordination with the support tourism group will help define the best stops to feature also having to consider the season in which the program will air.

Grabbing a share of the afternoon market positions a challenge to a new show that will try to cash in on the old viewing habits of its potential viewers. Heavy on-air promotions on television are just but one of the many devices to create noise for the breaking program. Also basing on the assumption that it is new, it will have to also spread itself to the other media avenues such as print and web to be able to generate more publicity.

Creative placements to bring out all the hype must be put to top gear to make sure that it captures the attention and cravings of the viewing public.

Interactivity can also generate more excitement. Tele-texting and other devices can also generate viewership as well as revenues.

Seeing this opportunity, the travel adventures of the host can have an accompanying texting and online contest.

Viewer participation will be heightened and it will also help prevent tuning-out since the promo spots will also be a matter of excitement in between breaks. On the web, a program micro-site can be created for viewers to fancy.

This will be a great promotional opportunity for the program where the viewer can see more details about each destination or travel how-to’s as well as more info about the anchor and the show itself. This can be a great opportunity to link the Visit London Marketing Department since it will most likely be visited by tourists and travel aficionados. In terms of program content, Visit London will also benefit in many ways. The production team can also closely integrate their ideas for the featured stops about the other sources’ recommendations.

Conclusion

Travel programs present a lot of potential for television programming. Not just in London, but almost the rest of the world have seen how the Amazing Race and Lonely Planet, just to name a few, have unleashed a new breed of out-of-the-box travel programs where the creative and exciting tourism potentials have been seen. No doubt that with a good creative handle, the media can help tourism flourish as well as be a pioneering avenue for more adventurous programming styles.

References

Blumler, J.G. (1964) British Television – The Outlines of a Research Strategy, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol.15 No.3.

Jackson, Peter (2006). Web.

THE LONDON GUIDE . Web.

In order to make Beijing truly accessible to visitors from all across the globe, the authorities must make sincere efforts to ward off the tag associated with the city that it is ‘English unfriendly’. Interpretation techniques help the visitors in understanding what Beijing has on offer, but its effectiveness depends upon a number of factors. For example, it is widely believed that Chinese is a difficult language and for Chinese people English is equally difficult to pick up. But as efforts are being made to bring China nearer to the western world, more such efforts can be seen taking shape in the country. Interpretation is effectively ‘a constant to-ing and fro-ing between different ways of thinking and cultural universes’ (AIIC, 2008). Interpretation can help in bridging the cultural gap and increasing the levels of understanding between two or more concerned parties. The Chinese characters have evolved over a thousand of years from early pictographs to the calligraphy of the day. In the early years of computer age, fears were expressed that the little drawing like characters in Chinese will not be compatible with computer age, but times have proved all such fears unfounded and today Chinese language is as computer friendly for Chinese people as English is for US or UK. Interpretation itself has evolved over the years and today even software is available which help in interpreting Chinese into another language or vice versa. Beijing has continued to take a leading role in the resurgence of Chinese economy. The economic indicators for the period January to August 2007 have registered an upward movement of more than 10 percent. During this period the real sector investments increased to a whopping 90.2 billion yuan (US$11.7 billion), registering an increase of 13.1 percent over the same period in 2006. The Olympic movement is not only helping the mainline Beijing city in terms of investments and tourism prospects, but the city is also witnessing an equally impressive emergence of a peripheral city in the Shunyi District located about 30 kilometres northeast of Central Beijing. This place is to host a number of aquatic events, particularly the canoeing and kayaking competitions and give away 32 gold medals as well. In the coming years Beijing tourism is bound to prosper in the light of the following support factors:

1. The capital city is being spruced up to take a leading role in the business and economy of the country once the Olympic Games are over.
2. China is busy setting up an infrastructure at par or even better than any world class city to showcase its prowess its relevance in the world polity.
3. More and more people are getting used to the Chinese hospitality and tourism sector and with world class interpretation techniques available in hotels, conference venues, institutions, MNC corporate office complexes etc. the language barrier is bound to have minimal impact.
4. Since Beijing administration has a leading role in organising the Olympic events, special resources and powers have been conferred on the city administrators to dress up the city and make it capable of hosting millions of people at a time. Therefore the city administration has been making good use of the opportunity and dressing it up for years to come.
5. The fact that in 2007 the average price of properties in Beijing shot up by more than 40 percent over that of 2006, despite frequent interest-rate hikes is a testimony to the demand of the city, which is bound to translate in windfall of opportunities when more of the MNCs decide to open up their corporate office in Beijing.
6. Well, there are differences in cultural values and traditions amongst China and other nations, which proved to be a roadblock for better understanding for many years but now with the organisation of events like the ‘Cultural Year of Greece in China’, which officially began on October 17, 2007, in Beijing, such differences are bound to become less severe. Such cultural exchanges help in creating a better mutual understanding amongst the countries.

Introduction

Australia was one of the beautiful countries to spend your vacation in. A lot of beautiful and extravagant attractions are found in Australia If your planning to have a vacation trip in Australia most specifically in many cities there including Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, the Gold Coast, and Ayers Rock (Uluru), then visit the said spots on a minimal amount to spend. There are beautiful beaches harbor views to shop, sight-seeing national parks, museums, and galleries in Australia that most of the tourists would like to experience. (Schneider, G., 2007)

The way from New York to Australia

From Montvale, New Jersey, you will be departing from one of the airports in the New York City area and will be soon flying to Sydney, Australia. You have a budget would be $10,000 US Dollars or 11,500 Australian Dollars, and you will be traveling for at least 10 days or so much more. Of course, before traveling you must reserve a booking deal a week before to save or to avail discounts from the packages you want to have. The Sydney City Package is only 425 Australian Dollars (AUD) or $ 370 US Dollars (USD) from the Internet excluding the rates of the hotel where you spend your vacation in. Availing of this package is less expensive since there are inclusions from the package. The package includes the following:

• Seat-in-coach shuttle bus transportation upon arrival and departure.
• Access Fee of the Sydney Airport
• Hotel’s accommodation for three nights (depending on the rates of the hotel)
• Meals to be served (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) that only specified for the itinerary
• Sydney’s Day Tour
• Goods and Service Tax (GST) of Australia (Cervero, R.B., 1998)

From Montvale, New Jersey, you’ll be riding on the New Jersey’s Airlink Bus number 302 that will be traveling to Pennsylvania Station primarily in Newark Airport. This transportation fee cost USD 3.50. From that station, you’ll be catching the Amtrak train that will be going to New York. This train will be running for a day or 24 hours from New Jersey to New York. The Airlink buses departed the Newark Airport terminal every 30 minutes by the journey takes 20-30 minutes. So, you must be an hour earlier from the departure time of these buses. You’ll be spending about 4 dollars for the transportation fee on the way to New York City or the Newark Airport (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

From thereon, you may have a connection flight on the way to Sydney Australia in which you will be paying $2887 US Dollars for the round trip flight fee. You will be riding Qantas Airways. The departure time from Newark is 1:15 in the afternoon and the arrival time in Kingsport Smith Sydney Airport in Australia is at 8:00 in the following morning (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

Spending days in Australia

As you arrived at the Sydney Kingsport Smith Airport, the Sydney Airport Service Assistants will collect your luggage and after that, you will be going to the ‘Meeting Point’ located between GATES B and C outside Customs Hall where you will look for the blue wall. There, the SYDNEY AIRPORT TRANSFER SERVICE driver will lead you to to the seat-in-coach shuttle bus going to the Sydney hotel. You are going to Comfort Inn Cambridge (Cambridge Park Inn International) a tourist class hotel located at 212 Riley Street, Surry Hills Sydney NSW, 2010. This hotel is less expensive but the rooms are comfortable to have your three nights stay and have many balconies where you can view the Sydney skyline city. It also takes minutes to visit the Central Business District and other city’s tourist attractions. The Comfort Inn Cambridge is an elegant place to stay your nights in. Upon checking on that hotel, you will be collecting the additional travel information that I will get from the hotel receptionist. Of course, upon checking in, I will pay about AUD 326 per night or USD 284 per night. After the tiring day, you will be resting in my quiet room and enjoy your dinner there. So, from your budget of $10,000 (USD), you spend almost $3546.50. So I still have $6451.50 or $7419.225 for your vacation trip in the next few days (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

On your second day, the tourist guide will inform you of the “Full Grand Sydney Tour” including the tour at Lunch Cruise on Sydney Harbor. But before that, breakfast will be serving first. The Full Grand Sydney Tour took 7 to 8 hours. With this tour, you will encounter the best of Sydney Australia just in a single day. The tour will render a complete and broad coverage of Sydney including, Manly and Sydney’s Northern Beaches and the world’s famous Harbor Bridge. (Angus and Robertson,1926) On this tour, the lunch that will serve as one of their promos is the Christmas Buffet Menu. The menu consists of Sydney Rock Oysters, Platter of Cured Meat, Fresh King Prawns, Thai Red Fish Curry, Sirloin Strogano¬ with Chives and Sour Cream, Traditional Roast Turkey, Mediterranean Vegetable Frittata, Steamed Chicken Hokkien Style, Steamed Rice, Bread Rolls, Salads, Cheese and Cakes, Coffee and Tea. This will happen at the same time when the lunch serves. Right after the cruise, there will be a tour of the Eastern Suburbs and Southern Beaches of Sydney where I can view a lot more on the Watsons Bay, Paddington, Double Bay, Kings Cross, and the Bondi Beach. From that day tour, there are a lot of souvenirs to buy. On your souvenirs and stuff, you can spend $75Australian money or $65.50 in USD. Afterward, you’ll be going back to Comfort Inn Cambridge where you have your time to rest the whole night. Dinner will serve right away. You still have $6386 in USD or AUD 7344 (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

On the third day in Sydney, as the package tells that it will be a free day for you to have your leisure time and discover Sydney’s delights. For you to enjoy Sydney, you should reserve a booking so that you will experience one of the most beautiful architectures and engineering structures of all time, Sydney’s Opera House. Since the Opera House is a walking distance of the hotel, you must take the opportunity to take some pictures from that spot. Maybe, you can spend almost an hour or more exploring this tourist spot. They said that the Sydney Opera House has a very striking view outside. If you are curious about what’s inside then you’re going to see inside the Opera House. Going inside will spend AUD 27.50 or USD 24. So, it’s not that big amount since you’re already in Sydney, you must take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Inside the Opera House, there will be a tour guide walking along. The tour will take almost one hour. They said that the tour would take approximately 200-250 steps so the tourists will have to wear rubber-soled shoes or flat sandals (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

After visiting the Opera House, you can go to your hotel room to take some rest. At 1:00 pm, the Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World will open. Sydney Aquarium is located in Cockle Bay. This is where we experience the underwater life of Australia under the underwater tunnel where you can feed the animal such as seals, sharks, crocodiles, and penguins in the allowable feeding time. Meanwhile, the Sydney Wildlife World is the newest flora and Fauna attraction that is just located next to the Sydney Aquarium. You spent almost AUD 157 or USD 137 on both tours already. Spending the whole day discovering Australia at my own pace is incredibly great. You have total pocket money of USD 6225 or AUD 7158.85 (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

On the fourth day of vacation in Sydney, the Comfort Inn Cambridge will give you some souvenirs, and right after you will be riding on the seat-in-coach shuttle bus that they will transfer me to Kingsport Smith Airport. At that time, I have still USD 6225 or AUD 7158.85 money left in my pocket. There will be a connecting flight going to Melbourne Australia where you will spend your vacation days left. For my airline ticket, you’ll be paying about USD 202 or AUD 176 on the way to Melbourne from Sydney Kingsport Smith Airport. The travel time will take an hour and a half to get there. From the departure time from Sydney Kingsport Smith Airport at 10:15 in the morning, you will be in Melbourne at 11:45 (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

Upon arrival in Melbourne, you have to ride a taxi going to the cheapest hotel which you save up to 70 percent. The taxi costs AUD 10 or USD 8.7. The taxi will take you to Alto Hotel on Bourke. The Alto Hotel costs AUD 75 per night or USD 63. The hotel induces the old world facade of the late nineteenth-century type of building and a modern and attractive interior design of the hotel. This hotel is very convenient since from the center of Melbourne City and it only takes few meters on the way to the Spencer St Station and Airport Bus city terminal. The hotel serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals for only an additional payment of AUD 100 or USD 87. From thereon, you can take some rest to have your tour continues the next morning. From that spot, you still have USD 5890 or AUD 6774 money in your pocket (Cervero, R.B., 1998).

On my fifth day, if you want to spend your whole day touring around Melbourne. The first place you must visit is the National Gallery of Victoria where you can experience and see the glass, porcelain exhibits, painting and art collections, and some South Pacific artifacts. They said that these are the European artists’ works in the 19th and 20th centuries. The great wall of the museum has a glass mosaic ceiling done by Leonard French. There are also souvenirs there for sale. Maybe you can spend USD 100 or AUD 115 from your budget ( Angus and Robertson,1926).

After which, the famous market in Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market will be the next great spot to visit. There, you can spend again as much as USD 75 or AUD 87 for your souvenirs. Queen Victoria Market is a shopping center where you can buy vegetables and fruits, clothes, and even handicrafts that they said more a 100 years old. From Queen Victoria Market, you can go back to the Alto Hotel on Bourke to spend the rest of the day. All in all, you still have USD 3935 or AUD 4526 ( Angus and Robertson, 1926).

On my sixth-day vacation trip, the Dandenong Ranges National Park will be the best place to visit. The Dandenong Ranges National Park has its numerous species of orchids, with forests of ferns, vegetation pattern and a lot of birds. The park is just like a subtropical rainforest. The area is populated because of its natural beauty and attraction. Ferntree Gully is also one of the best tourist attractions. Moreover, there were great restaurants, antique shops, flowers plantation, picnic spots and so much more. From Mount Dandenong, which is the peak point of the park, there will be Melbourne’s skyline to be viewed magnificently. In addition, the Puffing Billy of Dandenong is one of the great attractions on that spot. The amount spends on this spot will most likely AUD 93 or USD 81. The tour will take a minimum of 8 hours from 10:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. The taxi ride would cost AUD 15 or USD 13 and the souvenirs will be AUD 40 or USD 35. Most likely, your budget will decrease to AUD 4377 or USD 3806 ( Angus and Robertson,1926).

On day seven, it would be nice if you are going to spend your vacation in the rest of Australia’s tourist spots. Never miss the Ayers Rock in Uluru. From your hotel, you’re going to the Airport Bus city terminal where you have your booked ticket going to Uluru. The transportation fee would take at least AUD 15 or USD 13. The airline ticket would cost AUD 123.50 or USD 108. If you landed at the airport, get immediately the Ayers Rock Airport Transfer for just AUD 25 or USD 22. From the Uluru Airport, a bus will lead you to Ayers Rock Accommodation Resort (Schneider, G., 2007).

On the following morning, you and your tour guide from the hotel will take you to the Ayers Rock located Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The Kata Tjuta National Park ran and owned by the local Australian Aboriginals. The Ayers Rock appears to have changes in color due to the sun’s angle. On the low paces of the Ayers Rock’s walls, there are Aboriginal paintings, which are the main tourist attractions. Aside from visiting the beautiful spot, try to have a secluded dinner in the middle of the desert at the Sounds of Silence Restaurant where you can view the millions of stars. This will cost AUD 148.75 or USD 130. Your money will now AUD 4078 or USD 3546 ( Angus and Robertson,1926).

Spend your ninth day at the place called “the Alice” which just costs AUD 63 or USD 55 where you can enjoy an Uluru sunrise breakfast that will be provided by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Center. The bus transfer from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs will have an experience of the most elegant and incredible of the Australian’s red center landscapes. This will cost AUD 122.50 or USD 107 with snacks served on a promo basis. You spend as much as AUD 75 or $66 for the souvenirs that you will buy from the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Center ( Angus and Robertson, 1926).

Your last day is worthwhile when you spend it in Cairns. From Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Center, a bus transfers you to the airport where you will be departed the place and go to the Crain’s Airport where you paid AUD 78 or USD 68. From Cairns Airport and your arrival time at 10:00 am, you were going to transfer to the main spot where the hot air balloons were found. Riding in the hot air balloons of Cairns is a wonderful and memorable experience. This cost AUD 180 or USD 157. This is a package trip that includes the sensational hot air balloon ride, balloon chasing over the country, breakfast serves (Hot and cold) with Champagne, expert pilot, and tour guide, and also you can get a commemorative flight certificate for free. After a long day trip riding in the hot air balloon, there will be a Cairns Airport Transfer. You still have AUD 3557 or USD 3093 in your pocket (Schneider, G., 2007).

A trip back

From Cairns Airport, since you availed of the roundtrip ticket way back from New York to Sydney, you don’t need to pay any more for the airline tickets. All you have to do is to pay for the ticket from Cairns to Sydney that costs AUD 174 or USD 152. To New York from Sydney, of course, you spend for your food at the Newark Airport costs more or less USD 15 and if you want to buy some souvenirs in New York such as the “I Love New York” t-shirts and chocolates then you must have a budget of USD 150. From that spot on, you’ll be riding a bus from Pennsylvania Station going to the New Jersey’s Airlink Bus. The transportation fee would cost USD 3.50 again. The train will be running again for a day or 24 hours from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. You still have USD 2772.50 in your pocket. Therefore, from your budget of USD 10,000, you can save a lot if you avail yourself of the less expensive packages on your Australian tour. Deal with the less expensive and extravagant tours that you will only experience at the heart of Australia (Schneider, G., 2007).

References

1. Angus and Robertson. “Australian Encyclopaedia” Volume 2, p 524, Limited, 1926. Web.
2. Cervero, R.B. The transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry, 1998. Island Press. Web.
3. Schneider, G. Electronic Commerce 7^th edition. 2007.

Introduction

The concept of Post Modern Tourism has gained a wider meaning and relation among certain sections of tourists and the intention and idea of a vacation are no longer going to Hawaii or seeing the sights of Greece. In postmodern tourism, the tourist seeks what is called learning and self-enriching experience. The idea is to undertake it as a preoccupation with the own self and in which self-development activities, though they may be very tiresome, becomes a leisure activity. People in this activity become tourists in their own identity and an ecological sensibility. This paper presents a discussion on various aspects related to tourism and examines various factors and issues related to the tourism industry. The paper specifically addresses the impact of various factors on Viva Macau a low-cost carrier (LLC).

Post Modern Tourism

Featherstone M.(1988) has suggested that new-age tourism has its beginning in the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s and the New Age Movement of the 1980s. The most important feature is the preoccupation with the self, in which the own self-development becomes the customary leisure activity and people become tourists in their own identity and that they also develop an ecological sensibility. Though this form is relatively marginal and still under development it forms a significant form of tourism that reflects the influence of post-modern culture. Post-modern tourism is closely connected with the yearning for new, exotic, and transformational experiences. The author speaks of development activities offered by New Age centers that may think of themselves as tourism products. In such places, several courses, activities, and experiences can be availed. These services and experiences include activities such as the traditional hands-on and skills-based workshops such as hedge laying and woodturning) aesthetic pursuits such as art, drama, and music; formal scholarly learning such as courses hosted by visiting New age spiritual and intellectual gurus. Other pursuits are personalized and experiential self-development, such as courses on meditation, personal relationships, and self-knowledge; and also courses on alternative approaches to health and welfare such as homeopathy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, and Shiatsu massage. Some centers offer a very wide and diverse range of activities such as a complete personal maintenance service here the body is subjected to intense sessions of massage and oil therapy and others can learn a new skill such as bead and newly designed, attempt to redefine their spirituality, undertake activities such as team exercises that involve exercising their brains as well as the body and some even take up an authentic country living complete with camps, ranching, horse riding and taming or horse whispering as such activities are called. The New Age has been described as “a rather broad group of contemporary movements, therapies and quasi-religious groups which have in common a concern with personal self-realization, liberation or fulfillment.’ This rather heterogeneous group of movements, therefore, are linked by their concern with the self, whether this is in an ascetic or hedonistic fashion or indeed a mixture of both. Some of these movements explicitly draw upon the spiritual traditions of the East or other non-European cultures and most renounce Cartesian mind-body dualism that underpins the Enlightenment notion of the person (Sharma, 1992)

Sarup, M. (1996) argues that though the type of tourism as practiced by Post Modern people is rather limited when compared to the standard tourism beats such as the Bahamas, its limitedness does not lessen its definition of tourism. Post-modern tourism involves traveling to specific destinations that are normally not in the gambit of the realms of everyday experience. It requires activities that take place in a leisure setting and during leisure time, necessitating a self-imposed and self-indulgent choice on the part of the practitioner. This form of tourism involves a commercial transaction with the tourist buying a product but it also has the possibility of exotic, life-transforming. novel and even a holy experience. The author argues that new age and post-modern are placed in the regions of alternative tourism in which the tourists feature rejection of the traditional approach of Fordist mass tourism. The new form assumes a greener Post-Fordist, innovative and specialized thought and this, in turn, has been influenced by the values and practices of the counter-cultural movements of the 1960s. This form of tourism offers activities and experiences that relate to this broad ideological spectrum. It utilizes some form of environmentalism, community values, and constructive host and guest interactions and takes the form of social responsibility seriously.

Huyssens (1990) has defined post-modern as “a slowly emerging cultural transformation in Western societies, a change in sensibility”. The author argues that Postmodernism is a form of general orientation to the world. It is also a way of experiencing nature and people in a manner that challenges the accepted beliefs of reason, truth. It takes the form of pastiche, eclecticism, cultural pluralism, fragmentation, and playfulness. The author further argues that while the distinction between reality and representation disappears it is identified by the blurring of boundaries between fact and fiction, truth and false. Arguing further, the author suggests that post-modern tourists do not have coherence and a clear sense of what is the self and other but have a fragmented identity and they like to celebrate cultural pluralism. He says ” Indeed in the post-modern the distinction between the past, the present, and the future implodes, and time and space have been compressed. Finally, the post-modern condition is that of the consumer. Consumption and instant gratification are the main motifs of the post-modern tourist and instant gratification is what they seek”.

Gentry (2007) speaks of rather some exotic activities that post-modern tourists seek and these include Ghost themed walking tours that have gained popular appeal in the United States. The author suggests that though walking tours are considered with a structure of pre-determined direction and content, a ghost walk tour in Georgia has been reported. Although the tours are not usually free-form, interviewed ghost walk tour guides speak openly about how the tour experience is often negotiated and altered by the tour participants. The author argues that “ghost tourism is an important yet grossly under-analyzed aspect of the larger phenomenon known as “dark tourism,” This concept refers to the transformation of death and disaster into saleable tourism-based commodities. In an earlier era, dark tourism referred to enclave dark tourist sites such as cemeteries, prisons, Roman catacombs, castle dungeons, battlefields, sites of assassination, and museums that focus on particular atrocities such as the Holocaust. These places have distinct entrances and exits that separate them from the public space beyond the bounds of the tourist site. This spatial separation helps regulate the tourist experience, instilling visitors with a shared sense of place and heritage without interruption from the outside world. Dark tourism destinations feed a growing public fascination with death and are often used to encourage somber reflection about tragic aspects of history. The author also speaks of the World Trade Centre tours, the site of the horrific bombings of September 11 that then New York promoted to increase tourism. The author has also spoken of areas in India such as Karla that are renowned for the special form of ayurvedic treatment in which people are subjected to the soothing and healing effects of herbal treatment.

Factors Effecting Viva Macau

Viva Macau is a low-cost fare airline that operates from Macau. The company has its base at the Macau International Airport. Among the various offerings, it wants to provide are the long-haul service that would start from Macau to destinations in the Middle East, North America, Australia, and other places. The company already operates flights to places such as Malé, Phuket, Haiphong Jakarta, and others. Among its fleet are two Boeings of the 767 variety and it plans to lease about 12-15 aircraft in the coming months. A screenshot of the company website is provided below (About us. 2007).

Issues of Demand and Supply

Dennis (2004) has raised some serious questions about the viability of low-cost airlines continuing to operate in Europe and Asia. The author argues that fear of flying due to increased risks of terror, intense competition from small airlines as well as big airlines would reduce the loading of the airlines. Combined with the low cost of the airlines is the problem of highly reduced rates and the author suggests that many such operators will be grounded. The author suggests that the low-cost airline sector in Europe is still undergoing a phase of rapid development and positioning. Already the short-haul market share of low-cost airlines in the UK and Ireland and there are signs that the low-cost bubble may be about to burst and that not all the current players can be winners in the longer term. The author argues that is it a question of demand and supply and when the supply is far more than the demand, then the result is that there would be under capacity utilization and for low-cost airlines this would be a disaster since their margins are already reduced. The cost bases of the low-cost and traditional airlines will inevitably move closer together. The airline with an ability to produce costs per seat kilometer one-third those of the majors will be eroded. The long-term differential is more likely to be in the order of 5:3. The important question to be answered is if the airline can attract the volume of passengers required at remote airports, in competition with the major airports and airlines, with this diminished price advantage. The author suggests that secondary airports that do not have a local natural customer base would be liable for failure as the hubs are the airlines go bankrupt or change the strategy they have used. Passengers are very fickle and they tend to change loyalties and preferences for other airlines. The author contends that people are finding flying less glamorous over time. Many airlines have realized that the concept of maintaining profits and yields remain and have to be met even when the costs are slashed.

Implications of national and international policies

The impacts of the national and international policies are best illustrated by the following Porter’s Five Forces analysis that provides details of the implications for Viva Macau airlines. Since the airline industry can be impacted by many factors, the following analysis provides a better understanding

Bargaining power of buyers: (Access Asia. 2007)

Bargaining power of suppliers: (Access Asia. 2007)

Threat of new entrants: (Access Asia. 2007)

Intensity of Competitive rivalry (Access Asia. 2007)

Impacts of Tourism

Access Asia. (2007) has suggested that the tourism industry is expected to reach a figure of 156 US$ billion by the year 2010. The report also suggests speaks of the Post Modern tourism these include adventure sports tourism where participants take part in a number adventure activities such as rock climbing.

Resort Life Cycle

Andriotis (2001) has written about the resort life cycle and how it affects the tourism industry. The author has attempted t trace out how a tourist resort took birth how it developed and finally how it stagnates and he calls this the resort life cycle. According to the author, in its infancy when the place is still not very popular, only a few visitors arrive drawn by the particular attractiveness of the location. Facilities gradually improve on a small scale to meet visitor needs. As the facilities grow, the number of visitors keep growing and the facilities try to keep up with the influx and soon there are tall hotels, lavish rooms, cars, and the pollution increases and the place become just like any other place and begins to stagnate and diminish in importance a people try to find other less crowded places until the collapse of the place becomes final. He calls this the life cycle of the resort.

Product Life Cycle of Tourist Industry

Cooper (1990) speaks of the product life cycle of a product such as a resort, hotel, destination, or activity. According to the author, changes in fashion and demand within the main tourist markets in Europe and North America can set up diseconomies. This growth and relative decline of older tourist centers should also be seen within the contact of the product life cycle. The tourist looks for a new kind of experience including some familiar ingredients which the tour operator supplies at an affordable price. Since the mid-1980s, there has been an extension of mass tourism to new long-distance and more exotic destinations such as Florida, Kenya, Thailand, Goa, Australia, and even the Arctic and Antarctic poles. These destinations had until recently been reserved for elite tourism since the price was beyond the reach of the mass tourist. The development of charter flights using long-haul jumbo jets has brought these destinations within the affordable reach of the mass tourist market. Enlargement and development of resorts of large-scale tourist operations and the government and private sector in the host countries have brought scale economies lowering the prices at the resort without sacrificing quality. Hence these long-distance mass tourist destinations are very competitively priced compared to other areas and the older areas are attempting to rejuvenate themselves by bringing in modernizations and cleanup so that people visit the places again.

Factors that effect the tourism industry

Carr (1996) has mentioned several factors that affect the life cycle, demand, and supply of the tourism industry. These include factors such as economic, environmental, social, and cultural. These are explained in the following sections

Economic

Carr (1996) speaks of several Economic factors that affect the demand and supply of tourism in a particular area. The effects are both positive and negative and these are explained below.

Social Factors

Carr (1996) speaks of a number of social factors that can impact the tourism in an area and these are listed in the following table.

Cultural

Carr (1996) has suggested a number of cultural factors that can impact the tourism in an area and these are listed in the following table.

Environmental

Carr (1996) has suggested a number of environmental factors that can impact the tourism in an area and these are listed in the following table.

Conclusion

The paper has discussed various aspects related to Viva Macau, the low-cost carrier, and also examined various features related to the airline industry. The paper discussed the phenomenon of post-modern tourism and in this form, the tourist seeks what is called learning and self-enriching experience. The idea is to under-take a is a preoccupation with the own self and in which self-development activities, though they may be very tiresome, becomes a leisure activity. People in this activity become tourists in their own identity and an ecological sensibility. The paper has examined some issues that would impact the company and have pointed out that fear of flying due to increased risks of terror, intense competition from small airlines as well as big airlines would reduce the loading of the airlines. Combined with the low cost of the airlines is the problem of highly reduced rates and the author suggests that many such operators will be grounded. The impacts of the national and international policies have been illustrated by using the Porters’ Five Forces analysis that provides details of the implications for Viva Macau airlines. Factors such as Bargaining power of buyers, Bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, and the Intensity of Competitive rivalry have been analyzed in great detail. The impact of tourism, resort life cycle, and product life cycle has been examined along with factors such as economic, environmental, social, and cultural.

References

1. About us. 2007. About Us and Our Story.
2. Access Asia. 2007. Travel & Tourism Market: A Market Analysis. Access Asia Limited. London. UK
3. Andriotis, K. 2001. Strategies on resort areas and their lifecycle stages. Journalism of Tourism Review. Volume 56. Issue 1/2. pp: 40-43
4. Carr Michael. June 1996. Patterns, Process and Change in Human Geography. Publisher: Thornes, Nelson. ISBN-13: 9780174386810
5. Cooper, C. 1990. The life cycle concept and tourism. Conference Paper Presented at Tourism Research into 1990s. Durham: University of Durham.
6. Dennis Nigel P.S. August 2004. Can the European low-cost airline boom continue?: Implications for regional airports.
7. Featherstone M. 1988. In Pursuit of the Postmodern: An Introduction, Theory, Culture and Society, Volume 5, Issue 2 and 3
8. Gentry Glenn W. 2007. Walking with the Dead: The Place of Ghost Walk Tourism in Savannah, Georgia. Southeastern Geographer. Volume. 47. Issue 2. pp. 222-237
9. Huyssen, A. 1990. Mapping the Postmodern in Alexander, J.C. & Seidman, S. (eds.) Culture and Society Contemporary Debates, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
10. Sarup, M. (1996) Identity, Culture and the Postmodern World, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
11. Sharma, U. 1992. Complementary Medicine Today. Practitioners and Patients. London: Routledge

With its location at Cotai Strip, the Venetian Macao Resort hotel offers over 3000 deluxe suites and is thus considered as a flagship project in Macao. It harbours the largest casino in the globe with a large commercial space approximating 300,000 square meters, an exhibition and a convention venue, entertainment and theatre facilities. Originally the Macau peninsula used to be an island, but this was gradually turned into a narrow isthmus by a connecting sandbar.

The seventeenth century land reclamation changed Macau into a peninsula with a flat terrain, although several steep hills reflect the original land mass. Macau has a dense urban environment with no pastures, arable land, woodland, or forest. This has made residents of Macau to be dependent on the sea as a source of their livelihood.

MICE Facilities and Venues

Traders and travellers of west and east have been meeting in Macau from the 16th century, when Macau was the main entry to China and a crossroad for cuisines, commerce and cultures. This history is currently the main attraction, particularly because Macau offers international class hotels with a wide variety of meeting facilities making it easily accessible. It also offers imaginative management, good service and freedom from official interference. Additionally, it is less hectic, less expensive, and conveniently compact. Exhilarating forms of sea transport are available with Macau tour operators making the required transfer arrangements.

Venues range from 7000-seat hall to rooms accommodating various individuals are smart, modern hotels and can convert quickly into dinner, banquet, or cocktail.

Dining at Macao-Resort-Hotel is a pleasant feast of attractive tastes offered by Master Chef from the entire globe. it is such an exciting experience in that it keeps visitors coming back. Food service is ever available at hotel with convenient nodle bars, wonderful restaurants, and in-suite dining services available day and night. Beverages and cocktails are available as well.

Macau Economy

Its economy is based mainly on tourism, with much of it geared toward gambling. In consideration of the limited land resources and the Macau’s population, a policy of close cooperation has been launched with Guangdong and the neighbouring province of Pearl River Delta. Other major economic activities in Macau include export based garment and textile manufacturing, banking as well as other financial services. Clothing industry accounts for three quarters of total export earnings while tourism, hospitality and gaming industries contributes an estimation of over 70% of Macau government revenue and over 50% of its GDP.

Macau is one of the WTO founding members with its representative office is based in Geneva. It has made market opening pledges at WTO basically in the field of financial services while maintaining sound trade and economic relations with over 120 regions and countries with Portuguese-speaking and European Union countries in particular.

Currently, Macau participates in the IMF where World Bank categorize it as a high income economy alongside developed economies as well as developing economies, for instance, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. Economic growth rate in Macau averaged 13.1% annually between 2001 and 2006. The GDP grew by 22.05% in the last two quarters of 2006.in 2006, the GDP per capita USD $28,436 while unemployment rate was 3.5% during the fourth quarter of 2006.

The number of visitors has been increasing gradually from 9.1 million visitors in 2000, 18.7 million visitors in 2005, 21.98 million visitors in 2006 and the figure is expected to be 25 million visitors this year. Most of these visitors come from the mainland China. Tourism and gambling are the main reason behind the increasing number of visitors. Hong Kong has the highest number of tourist accounting for about 30%.

A dark spot on the Macau economy disappeared after the 1999 return to Chinese rule, Triad underworld violence, this in return has benefited the tourism sector greatly. In addition, Macau was named Asia’s most promising future tourism destination and was crowned with the Future Award 2007. it was voted by over 26,000 German travel trade members of GoAsia; an association that comprise airline companies, tour operators, among others. The World Tourism Organisation ranks Macau as one of the world’s top tourism destinations.

Macau emerges as one of the best known tax haven and offshore financial centres in the world alongside British Virgin Islands (Bahamas), Bermuda among others. Bank of China, Tai Fung Bank, Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Seng Heng Bank are among the most influential banks. Besides, there are various foreign banks established and registered in Macau, these include; HSBC – Macau and Bank of America – Macau.

Being a free port, Macau has a low taxes and no monetary control policy imposed. Offshore service businesses operations are feasible in Macau due to the related offshore law that has been used since 1999. Offshore finance business is supervised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Macao, while Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute controls the supervision and regulation of the offshore non-finance business. The Macau’s local and foreign currency government issuer ratings was upgraded from ‘A1’ to ‘Aa3’ by Moody’s Investors Service, citing Macau’s government’s solid finances as a large net creditor. Macau’s foreign currency bank deposit ceiling was also upgraded to ‘Aa3’ from ‘A1’.

Demographics

According to Forbes.com Macau is one of the densely populated regions in the globe, with a population density of 16,521 persons per square kilometre. 95% of Macau’s population comprises the Chinese, primarily Fujianese, Cantonese, as well as some Shanghainese, Hakka, and overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia. There is a large population of Burmese people. The rest are of Portuguese ancestry and there are Thai and Filipino migrant workers in small proportions.

Many Macanese and Portuguese left Macau in 1999 after being handed to China. Immigrants from mainland China and the influx of overseas workers accounts for the dense population considering that Macau has the lowest birth rate in the world. The population of Macau stands at 508,500 (Macau SAR Government statistics).

Macau’s official languages are both Chinese and Portuguese. Other languages such as English, Hokkien and Mandarin are also spoken by some local communities. English is commonly taught in schools, and is a means of instruction in most tertiary academic institutions. English has become Macau’s “lingua franca” since its economy depends heavily on trade and tourism.

Macau Business Tourism Centre

Established in April 2006 the Macau Business Tourism Centre serves to establish a foundation for thecommunication of tourism industry , to comprehend local industry needs thus strengthening the liaison work in the trade. The Centre is interactive and solicits the opinions of civil and trade associations to achieve set objectives. The centre has a mission of defining Macau’s major strategic orientation relating to various competitive destinations interms of MICE as well as positioning Macau as a more exiciting international meetings destination alongside accelerating its entry into the world.

Climate

The climate at Macau is humid and subtropical. Temperature differences between winter and summer are significant because the seasonal climate is largely influenced by the monsoons. Annual temperature averages 22.3 °C, while monthly temperatures average 28.6 °C. January is the coolest month while July is the warmest month. With its location being the coastal region of south China, Macau has adequate rainfall, averaging 2,030 millimetres.

Nevertheless, winter is mainly dry as a result of the monsoon from mainland China. Humidity is always high averaging between 75% and 90%. Therefore, autumn (i.e. October – December) is the best season in Macau, since the humidity is low while days are warm and sunny. On the other hand, Winter (i.e. January – March) is sunny but relatively cold. Humidity starts to increase in spring (i.e. start from April), while summer has a warm to hot climate characterised by occasional typhoons and rain.

Culture

The mixing of Portuguese and Chinese cultures and religious traditions has left Macau with a unique collection of festivals, holidays and events. Macau Grand Prix in November is the biggest tournament of the year, here the main streets within the Macau Peninsula are converted to a racetrack similar to Monaco Grand Prix. Other annual events include the Macau International Marathon in December, the International Music festival in October and/or November, the International Fireworks Display Contest in September, and the Macau Arts festival in March. Macau International Music Festival is annually conducted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government.

References

History of Macau. 2007. Web.

Lo, Shiu-hing. (1989), Aspects of Political Development in Macao, The China Quarterly 120: 837-851.

Matsu’s life and incident. 2007. Web.

Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. 2007. Web.

Zimbabwe is located in the southern part of the Africa continent and the region being tropical has different risks to diseases or rather an illness. There are several precautions to be taken by the traveler when visiting the area to prevent these infections. First, different food-borne diseases are one is exposed to. These are Cholera, Salmonellosis, Entero-haemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) hepatitis A and Acute Aflatoxicosis (Roberts 76). The above-mentioned diseases are mostly caused by the contamination of food eaten by a person.

Cholera is highly contagious and spreads over a wide area in a short period. Therefore to be safe there has to be extra careful with the food one eats. This can be done by avoiding such habits as buying food from street vendors. This is because the possibility of these foods being contaminated is very high since one is never sure of when that food was prepared (Tinker 69). Contamination of food and hence foodborne diseases can be as a result of poor storage of food by the traveler. This can lead to what is commonly referred to as the traveler’s diarrhea. About this extra care has both be taken when handling any food material and if the food has gone to stale it should not be eaten at all. Due to its economic status and also or account pollutions, Zimbabwe could not have adequate

Consumption of contaminated or rather untreated water may lead to water-borne diseases. Travelers are therefore to consume bottled and treated water. There has also been a food security crisis in addition to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The entire populace has not had enough food to feed all the people. If a traveler travels with his or her food, then it should be kept safe to avoid contamination (Gosden and Hather 75). One should also take food in recognized hotels where adequate care has been taken in preparing the food. One should always avoid eating food or accepting food offers because it might be contaminated.

In addition, a traveler should have counter medication and supplies according to appropriacy. First, one should make sure he or she is up to date with all routine immunization according to the health schedules. The following immunizations are recommended. Hepatitis A is caused by person-to-person contact, contaminated water, ice, fruits, or vegetables:

• Hepatitis B especially if one is exposed to blood or body fluids.
• Rabies results from ones’ exposure to rural areas for example hiking and going out to a camp.
• Typhoid is a result of contaminated food and water.

Ones should also take booster closes for tetanus, measles, and diphtheria to reduce the risks of infections. Nevertheless, there are other medical immunization one requires enlarging the country. The first is yellow fever. This is not very common but a certificate of immunization is required for you to enter the country. This is particularly important for travelers from South America. One is also required to take either of the following drugs to prevent Malaria which is also very rampant in the area: doxycycline, mefloquine, primaquine. These drugs will keep you away from any malaria infection in the area.

Some parasites are found in southern Africa that contaminate food and water. These parasites cause diarrhea and vomiting (Ecoli, Salmonella, Cholera, and parasites). The contamination can also cause liver damage (Taylor, Peter, and Mcqarvey 57). However one can prevent himself or herself from insect bites by wearing protective clothing, avoiding densely populated vegetable areas.

The parasites that cause diseases directly can be prevented by avoiding exposure to them for instance one should always sleep under a treated mosquito net. Also, a traveler is advised to use a latex condom to reduce the risk of being infected with HIV. One is also required to have a blood-borne pathogen prevention kit. This kit which supplies emergency medical services when traveling should have such materials as anti-malaria drugs for instance doxycycline or primaquine. This drug should however be taken before, during, and after traveling. It should also have yellow fever and measles drugs in case of emergency.

With the above precautions adhered to one will have a peaceful stay in Zimbabwe without fear of any infections except for some unpredictable diseases.

References

Gosden Christ and Jon Hather. The prehistory of food: Appetite for change. London.

Taylor, Mascie N, Jean Peter, Stephen, Macqarvey T. The changing Face of Diseases:Implications for society. Boca Raton, FL.

Roberts, Cynthia A. The Food Safety Information Handbook. Westport University, CT: Oryx Press.

Irene Tinker. Street Foods: Urban Food and Employment in Developing countries.New York: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

Overall, we can say that the hospitality industry has a very large complex of safety and security measures; it is hardly possible to describe all the aspects in a three-page report. The person, who holds the position of a hotel manager, should be able to develop the program, of safety and security measures according to the particular situation because it is impossible to apply the same rule to every hotel. It stands to reason, that there are some basic principles, but it is always necessary to modify them.

Main body

If we take for example Monee Ponds Hotel in Melbourne, it is first worth mentioning that this building includes can be classified as a large complex that includes a great number of the department. However, it is possible to single out two major parts, the front, and the back part. Safety and security measures should cover various aspects such for instance emergency lighting, smoke alarm, smoke detection system. Certainly, this list is not complete, but it is not necessary to enumerate them.

As it has already been mentioned before, we can divide the building into two parts. As regards the front part, the following safety measures should be taken. First, the lobbies should not be overcrowded. It may cause, because it may cause a lot of crushing incidents. This problem must be attended to by the following members of the staff: porters must effectively help loaders with their luggage and secondly information department (Shedlock, p 33).

The second security measure is the smoke-free environment,(it implies to every part of the building). To implement this policy, hotel management requires an effective smoke detection system, which must be operated by qualified personnel.

Another important aspect of the security measure in the front part of the building is the necessity to secure effective work of elevators. At first glance, it may seem a strange suggestion to say the least. However, hospitality lawyers say that some lawsuits against hotels arose in connection with these issues. Certainly, a separate group of technicians must see to this task.

Such safety policy as the effective functioning of air conditioners also should not be disregarded, because AC malfunctioning may cause a lot of serious.troubles to the hotel management.

The issue, which is of the utmost importance, is the effective functioning of the fire alarm system and evacuation of the lodgers. This includes a set of measures such as example constant inspection of smoke and alarm detectors.

If we try to develop a training schedule for the employees of the hotel, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the hotel management. First, it is worth mentioning that we can train a very small group of the personnel because they have their immediate duties. However, it is possible to hold at least five-minute sessions each day.

If we try to compile an incident report, which is aimed at recording and monitoring injuries of the employees or the lodgers, It should consist of the following parts. First, it includes personal details such as the name, address, phone number of the injured person. Secondly, such a report must include incident details such as the date, the cause of the accident, and its description. Another part of the document is the type of the injury and the treatment that the person received (Knowles, p 44).

The most important part of the incident report is that one which focuses on prevention measures, that have been taken, or this part of the document may describe possible ways in which it is possible to eliminate the defects, that caused the injury.

Naturally, every case of injury is investigated by some committee. We can say that it may consist of five members; each of them represents a certain field of the hospitality industry. The head of this committee must be an independent expert in hotel safety measures. The second member can be a hospitality lawyer, who focuses mainly on the legal side of the issue, in another word whether a hotel has to suffer some expenses in connection with the case itself.

Such investigation committee should also include a member of the hotel personnel, who attends to the technical support, in other words, the person who is responsible for the correct implementation of some safety policy. For example, if the injury is connected with the malfunction of air conditioning this person must give his what was the cause of the problem.

The other two members of this committee can be people who are two independent experts, who specialize in the technical side of the particular problem The question arises, why do we need so many experts. Perhaps two independent experts will suffice.

Thus, having analyzed the major peculiarities of safety measures in the hospitality industry we can conclude that they represent a large complex of programs.

Bibliography

Bill Shedlock. (2000). Hospitality Industry and Safety. Chicago University Press.

Tim Knowles. (2001) Safety and Health at Work. Palgrave, 2003.

The Objective of maintaining International connectivity through a strategy is to “mitigate the impact of long distance travel on the local and global environment and to improve the transport network as much as possible”.

Earlier UK has no direct control over long distance rail, coach, air or sea services, to promote the international trade. The International travel strategy offers the most sustainable mode of journey type and transport modes for local and international access

The international travel strategy helps the nation to reduce journey times, and improve frequency, reliability and quality of service. To achieve real growth in the economy, the travel industry needs to reestablish its place and the strategy gives a direction to it.

A National Travel strategy helps the country to:

• Improve journey times and connections to avoid congestion in the travel chain and to improve integration to achieve the objectives for economic growth, social inclusion, integration and safety
• Reduce emissions and to protect the environment quality and climatic changes, balance the air quality to improve healthy economy.
• Improve accessibility, quality and affordability of travel and tourism to provide a better public transport, with more availability, quality in transport services and value for money

UK’s National travel strategy is based around the following priorities:

• Maintenance of safety operations for the existing assets
• Establishing and promoting measures for quality and optimum utility of the, existing capacity through innovative solutions.
• Promotion of necessary, affordable infrastructure

An overview of the transport infrastructure and services sector in UK:

UK’s transport sector can be divided into three main categories:

• manufacture and distribution of transport vehicles, eg trains, ships and their associated parts
• infrastructure projects, eg Air ports facilities, railway building, regeneration and maintenance
• transport services, eg the commercial movement of freight and passengers by road, air and sea

The UK logistics industry including the commercial transport through freight, road, rail, sea and air accounts for 5% of the UK’s gross domestic product and employs 1.7 million people. There is an evidence of rapid growth in the air transport sector. The Department for Transport estimates for 2005 – 2020 states that the number of passengers at UK airports will grow from 229 to 401 million. Within this the commercial goods and marine transport are the major segments for the expected growth besides passenger segment. According to the Office for National Statistics data, “more than 26.6 million passengers, 7 million cars and 555 million tonnes of freight moved through UK ports in 2004” (Office for National Statistics).

The UK’s International transport manufacturing through export sector is constant, with a value of £13.01 billion in 2005. Imports in the same year were valued at £12.07 billion (Office for UK National Statistics).

Key drivers of the UK Commercial traveling sector

UK has a long standing reputation for the quality and expertise in the traveling industry. The Global Railway equipment manufacturing and infrastructure projects are witness for this.

Key drivers for Air freight and passenger transport businesses in UK include the following:

• The UK Travel and tourism industry is more concerned about the environmental efficiency, cost effectiveness and fuel efficiency.
• Expanding and improving the UK international trade
• Safety of vehicle, passenger and vehicle from the possible climatic calamities and terrorist attacks.

PPP

However, to have an adequate international travel strategy and to execute it effectively, a country needs to raise funds either publicly or privately. Across the Globe, the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is gaining popularity to improve the country’s infrastructure. PPPs take concern about building infrastructure assets or maintaining the existing layouts. According to some authors, PPP doesn’t necessarily involve financing, but design-build-finance-operate arrangements. An increasing number of countries are interested to implement and administer PPP, including U.K. This sometimes can be implemented in the form of micro finance or Private Finance Initiative according to the need and necessity. And for the developed countries like UK, PPPs can be said as the economic backbones. A recent study of PPPs in “Europe found that between 1990 and 2005, more than a thousand partnerships had been signed in the European Union alone, representing an investment of almost 200 billion euros”.

Many successful implementing countries like UK became the path makers for many developing countries.

The UK Government’s approach for PPP is to,

• Deliver considerably improved public transport services, by increasing the quality as well as quantity of investment in the sector
• Utilizing the state owned business, in aiming for the optimum utility of the public sector assets, including – providing value for the taxpayer and therefore wider benefits for the economy
• Offering a fair share of the benefits of PPP to the stakeholders – including taxpayers, employees and customers.

Investing through PPP programme in a country’s physical infrastructure can catalyze the economic growth, human welfare and directly reducing poverty by creating employment opportunity.

In UK, though the Government is the major provider of infrastructure services an increasing number of Public and Private Partnership programs are taking a role in the development of infrastructure concept. However, the partner investors in PPP programs are supposed to function according to the Government’s Vision for transport businesses using the national rail and road networks.

The PPP programs aim at the following:

• To help to deliver a number of major infrastructure projects.
• Offering expertise and fund to the UK transport network on behalf of UK Government especially through UKTravel and tourism Ministers
• To deliver improved services by establishing a centre of excellence with the right professional skills in travel and tourism industry

Transport Scotland

Transport Scotland is a form of PPP working for Scottish Ministries and functioning according to the national transport strategy. Hence, ‘Transport Scotland’ is accountable to Scotland Parliament as well to the public. Transport Scotland works as an alignment of government, local authorities’ and private sector transport operators. In order to clear the transport problems of the Scotland, the PPP is formed as a network with seven regional transport partnerships (RTPs) and works under a strategic view of national strategy.

The agency of Transport Scotland was launched in January 2006 and is made up of the following six directorates. They are:

• Directorate of Rail Delivery
• Directorate of Strategy & Investment
• Directorate of Major Transport Infrastructure Projects (MTRIPS)
• Directorate of Trunk Road Network Management
• Directorate of Finance & Corporate Services
• Directorate of Business Improvement

The PPP of the Transport Scotland is responsible for the following:

• Coordination and execution of the National Transport Strategy for Scotland
• Networking with regional transport agencies and administering for funding.
• Striving for sustainable transport by observing travel safety and improved accessibility
• Policy making for local travel connectivity
• Policy making and execution of different means of traveling like rail, bus, freight
• Optimum utilization of travel connectivity with ports, harbors and ferries.

In the United Kingdom Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have changed the style of public service and brought modernization in the UK government’s working style, leading to the British Government’s economic growth strategy.

Reasons for successfulness of PPP in UK?

During 1980s UK faced many problems with public procurement and public service delivery. The conflict between contractors and the public sector sponsors lead to poor performance with cost and time overruns.

However, the UK’s programme of privatization of large-scale infrastructure such as power, water and transportation influenced expertise of Governments functioning in the public service.

The private finance initiative (PFI) in the UK involves the public sector working in co-operation and partnership to provide infrastructure and services. In order to assist confidence levels in both the private and public sectors the UK Government recognized the need for a systematic and ‘top down’ driven approach to generate a momentum in PPP projects. This was capitalized as Partnerships UK (PUK). PUK is nothing but the PPP itself with 51% of shares owned by the private sector. UK, being the PPP leader has closed over US $76 billion of PPP projects. About 50% of the total spend has been in the Transport sector with nearly 45 projects.

Advantages of PPP

PPP has provided a number of benefits compared with conventionally procured public sector projects.

• Service Improvement: PPP allows the competitive tendering which in turn allows the powerful incentive for innovation and gives the winning team a mandate for change and the responsibility to prove;
• Strengthening of Infrastructure: Infrastructure utilities like – power, water, telecommunications and transport systems can be provided quickly, efficiently and effectively than the traditional state counterparts.
• Better Mobilization of Capital: Accountability and reinvestment of funds by the private sector makes the utilization of the funds more proper.
• Value for Money: The integrated design and construction results in cost reduction and better value for money.
• Transparency of finance: PFI model restricts the places to hide the over expense leading to much transparency.
• Provision of great buildings and services that would otherwise not be available: PPP-PFI programs have invited major constructions like air gateways, security checks, provision halls etc.,
• Innovation: The threat of competition and the desire to stand ahead of the competitors will lead the PPP agencies to adapt significant innovation while learning the organizational culture, design and construction and technology.
• Elimination of cost overruns: PPP contract structure encourages efficient and timely completion by keeping a hold on the payments of private sector by the authoritative public sector..

Maintenance of assets to a high standard:

• International quality standards and the market demands drive the need to maintain high standards with PFI projects.
• Airport infrastructure: The Airside services like airfield, gates, air bridges, and all facilities associated with the movement of aircraft. All facilities considered beyond the passenger security areas (runways, taxiways, aprons, etc.).

However, some of the cautions that should be taken care for the success of PPP involve the following:

• PPP contracts should not be entered just for the sake of undertaking a PPP project.
• A detailed costs and benefit analysis should be performed with the private sector that is to be involved to ensure that a PPP enhances the public benefit.
• The level and degree of private involvement should be controlled to match the objectives and needs of the project and the public.
• PPP structure should be carefully designed to appropriate the factors like cost and ability to smoothen the implementation.

Cases of PPP in UK Travel Industry

Edinburgh’s freight movement by rail

An Air Transport Forum has been established for Edinburgh Airport, and has established a surface access strategy. This Forum has two sub-groups, considering improvements to Infrastructure and Information. BAA works with this Council and Lothian Buses plc to establish a Quality Partnership covering the bus link. The Council is represented on this forum and supports its efforts to improve the attractiveness of more sustainable surface access to the airport.

Navcanada Air Traffic Control PPP

The Navcanada Air Traffic Control is a success example of UK PPP programs. The program is aimed to provide air traffic services in Canada. The PPP Concessionaire involves Navcanada (Crown / trust corp.) The project is worth of ~ Euro 600 million. The major issues with the PPP project are to have strong predictable cash-flows, to keep hard currency revenues, to have non-Government interference, to have private sector management regime and to have off balance sheet.

Under PPP program, UK Government wanted to reform NATS to have sufficient funds for capital investment, to fulfill the following objectives:

• Maintenance of national security an safety standards. Separately for service provision from safety regulation
• Improved project management skills
• To exercise greater freedom to invest and to improve its services free from public sector constraints
• Safe guarding of the tax payer while achieving the national benefits.

As a result of this PPP program, the Air traffic system is able to survive through the commercial impacts of 9/11 terrorist attack.

References

1. Stuart Wilson, Strategic Transport Projects Review.
2. Transport, transport infrastructure and services.
3. Steve Jhonson, Transport & PPP.
4. John F.White, International Air Transport Association.
5. Air Transport Infrastructure: The Roles of the Public and Private Sectors.
6. What are Public Private Partnerships? Web.
7. Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure, A brief overview of DFID Programmes of Support.
8. Nigel Evans & David Campbell, Strategic Management for Travel and Tourism: Prentice Hall.
9. Overview of Public Private Partnerships in the UK,. Seminar: Financing Infrastructure.
10. Dr Neil Bentley, CBI Public Services Forum ‘Going global: the world of public-private partnerships.
11. T.M.Blaiklock, PUBLIC – PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS [“PPP”].
12. How to access UK expertise in Public Private Partnerships: A brief guide from UK Trade and Investment 2004.
13. UK and International Connections.