Defining Hospitality Industry And Factors Affecting Travel Business Tourism Essay

Published: Last Edited:


When think of the hospitality industry, normally we will think of restaurants and hotels. By then, the term of hospitality industry has a much broader meaning. According to Oxford English Dictionary, hospitality is means the reception and entertainment of customers, strangers and visitors with liberality and good will. The word of hospitality is derived from hospice, a medieval 'house of rest' for travelers and pilgrims. A hospice was also an early from nursing home, and the word is clearly related to hospital. Besides that, hospitality also refers to other types of institutions that offer shelter or food or both to person away from their home. These kinds of institutions have more than a common historical heritage. Moreover, they also share the management problem of providing food and shelter, example like: erecting a building; preparing and serving food in a good will; providing heat, light, and power; and cleaning and maintaining the premises. When customers stay in a hotel or dine in a restaurant, they hope that all of this problem can be done with liberality and good will, but they can also rightfully expect the same treatment from the dietary department in a health care facility or from a school lunch program. In additional, as a successful manger in the hospitality industry, they must exhibit many skills and command much specialized knowledge, such like, a manger wants to make things for the guests. Food has to be savory and hot or cold according to design and delivery it on time. The rooms must be clean and the beds should be made. A hospitality system includes many works, and the manger must see that it is done.

Answer of Question 1

What is hospitality industry? Finding one all - encompassing description of hospitality as an industry is also hard. The means of hospitality industry are comprises businesses that serve guests who are away from home or can be defined by its scope, mission, and providers. Other definition of hospitality industry will be continually updated and refined, expanded, and honed.

Historians have traced the development of the hospitality industry through thousands of years and many cultures. Viewing the industry through the lens of history is helpful because it reveals the close relationship between the shape of hospitality and the needs and expectations of different societies, this is because societies will continue to change in what they need and want. Besides that, the hospitality industry is also extends over a wide range businesses, each of which is dedicated to the service of people away from home. Nowadays, the main components of the industry are those that satisfy a guest's need for shelter and lodging and those that provide their patrons with food service.

Other than that, when imagined us as the manger of executive chef of a fine restaurant, a general manger at a supreme and luxury hotel, resort or at a casino. These are all possibilities but our choices are wider than perhaps our ever dreamed. A hospitality management degree or diploma and experience can connect us to a network of careers in travel, tourism, leisure and recreation, simply because of the scope of these related enterprises. Besides that, there are also some advantage and disadvantage for each business and staff.

Figure - Example of Hospitality Industry


Hotels and resorts have been compared to miniature cities in the way that they incorporate life support system such like light, heat, food, shelter, security, water and sanitation facilities. Normally lodging establishment always include within their 'city limits' elements of recreation, food service, entertainment and personal services for travelers. There are close to a dozen major categories of lodging facilities, ranging from tiny bed and breakfasts to the latest development, megaresorts. The niches in between these extreme consists of commercial hotel, airport hotel, economy properties, residential hotels, casino hotel, resorts and suite hotels.

The goal of all businesses is to link or match supply with demand example like: hotels want to sell room and other kinds of services to guests who provide their demand. Every business should bringing supply and demand together to make a profit. Supply is such a holistic concept in a service industry like lodging; that must be considered as a whole or through system and cannot simply as disconnected pieces of puzzles. Supply includes of tangibles, suck like hotel type and physical amenities, and intangibles, or such like the many personal services there provided by the lodging staff. Other than that, demand is same means with customers needs and wants, is often changing and varied. There are many consumer groups or market segments that demand certain types of lodging facilities to satisfy the customer expectation or needs.


View on the angle of economics, the advantage of lodging in hospitality industry is the ability to provide a product or service of superior quality and reasonable cost is what a company should pay to produce or provide it. A comparative advantage is when a company can provide something of comparable value at a lower cost, which can result that in a lower price for the customer than the competition offers.

Another advantage is localization. The country, the city and other specific place where it is located influences its competitive advantage abilities over other hotels, example like: a specific city can have lower opportunity costs for specializing hotel service due to lower costs for other services or goods on which the hotel may rely.

Prices are an important factor for lodging industry advantage. Even the services are good and the localization is suitable, but hotels with high prices will probably not survive so long and the guest will stop to coming and buying the service, no matter how good it is. Therefore, hotels must be giving a lower price to their customers.

One of the sources of comparative advantage is natural environment. Sun, sea and sand are great environments with which to surround a hotel or resort. In some cold country, with cold environments, proximity to ski slopes and quality entertainment contributes to a hotel's or resort's comparative advantage.


One of the source disadvantages of lodging in hospitality industry is environment. With the growing concern for the environment, customers and other interested parties have begun making environmental demands upon the lodging industry. There are two primary areas of environmental concerns for the lodging industry, which are site pollution and internal operational ecological. Site pollution means that concern arise when the lodging facility is built without regard for the surrounding natural environment. Internal operational ecological issues have to do with how the facility conserves resources.

Another source of disadvantage of lodging in hospitality industry is technology. The issue of technology in the lodging industry consist the application of computerized methods to replace processes previously done by hand. When compared with other industries, the lodging industry has been a latecomer in computerizing its operation. Sophisticated hotel management systems assist general and departmental management in more effective operations. Other than that, both chain - affiliated and individual independent hotels are linked to national and international markets through computerized reservation system.

Food Service

The preparation and delivery of food to guests and travelers is another seemingly omnipresent category closely connected with lodging, travel and recreation. The hospitality industry is, in many ways, like an extension of families. Hotels and restaurants house and feed people when they are away from their home, as do hospitals, schools and prisons.

A food service operation is an organization outside the home that prepares food for people, either for sale, as in a restaurant, or as part of a service, as in a hospital. Food service operations do the very same things as we do at home to produce meals for our families.

Professionalism in food service management is essential in today's highly competitive market. This overview of food service management is intended to demonstrate the scope and seriousness of food service management and to underscore the importance of professional training or education for potential food service managers. Besides that, food service management can be wonderfully fulfilling, fun and satisfying, but only if we are properly to manage.


New staff come to an industry sometimes have advantages over more experienced professionals. In a job hunt, junior professionals can have an advantage over their more experienced counterparts. Prospective employees always view the less experienced workers as more trainable and more coachable than their senior. This means that, the mature professional who has already excelled in a first career can, with credibility, change careers and transfer skills to other industries.

Another advantage of working in food service industry is jobs for all. The food service line such as restaurant has many positions. Anyone with just a basic education or degree from a college will be able to work at this line. A people with good education example like degree, they can work as manager, assistant manager or other such management positions. Besides that, a person with a lower education, they can work as table cleaners, waiters, dishwashers and so on. Moreover, as one gains experience, he or she can get a job advancement receiving better pay.

Location is also one of the advantages in food service industry, because there is not location specific. No matter where we live, we can easily to find a restaurants, it's just a pierces of cake. Even we need to find a job, we also can get it easily, because that is too many restaurants in the world.


Newcomers to the field may have disadvantage compared to their senior. Almost by definition, the inexperienced professional such like a young person who has recently earned a college degree is less tested and less experienced than senior managers, so the resume and cover letter of the inexperienced professional may always have to sell their potential to do something his or her never done before. Lack of experience in the field he or she wants to enter can be a stumbling block to the junior manager.

Competition is one of disadvantage in food service industry. Food service is big business and has become so complex that it is less and less feasible for nonprofessionals to succeed using 'seat of the pants' ways. Some restaurants fail in their first year, it is because their creators naively believed they could succeed through optimism or by 'winging it'. Professional managers or staffs learn to look for and recognize trends, through reading magazines and newspaper, and generally keeping up to date, paying attention to what consumers say and do.

After that, another disadvantage in food service industry is environment. Energy conservation, hazardous chemical disposal, and waste management are important to food service managers. How these agents are used and disposed of affects the health and safety of the staff and the health of the world. Many companies are seeking methods to reduce excess waste before purchasing. By that, we are not likely to see purchasing agents carrying string bags and canvas tote, we are already seeing them weigh waste factors in the bidding process.


The hospitality industry is one that is primary focused on customer satisfaction. For the most part, it is built on leisure or is supreme-based, as opposed to meeting basic needs and wants. Some of the business that the hospitality industry garners is transient and intermittent, but collectively, it accounts for a large source of its revenue. Moreover, exceptional service is normally very important for all of these businesses. Customer satisfaction normally leads to consumer loyalty, which assists to make sure the success of a company in the hospitality industry. Other kinds of services in the hospitality industry include of special event planning for social and corporate functions. Finally, an advanced hospitality and tourism degree may not be required for all management positions in the hospitality industry, but working our way up through the ranks can mean years of lost income potential and missed opportunities. By upgrading our academic training, we will advance faster and have more careers open to us.

Question 2



Obviously, the travel and tourism play an important role in the hospitality industry. Some parts of the industry, such like hotels are derive almost all of their sales from travelers. Even through, the food service attributes roughly 25 percent of its sales to travelers. Other than that, there are also many leisure oriented businesses with a major food service and hospitality component are also dependent on travelers, such like theme park, shopping mall and so on. As employment in smokestack industries that is manufacturing which was falls, the service in industries, including those businesses serving travelers, should be take up the slack by providing new jobs. In the economy as a whole, the importance of tourism and the hospitality industry is increasing each year, because tourism is health of the hospitality industry. Tourism is the collection of productive businesses and governmental organizations that serve the travelers ways from home. These kinds of organizations include restaurants, hotels, motels and resorts. The industry also consist those organizations that support these firms' retail activities, including of publications, advertising companies, travel research and development agencies, and transportation equipment manufactures. Travel trends are significant to students or family of hospitality because they represent the way in which many of guests reach. This is where much of business comes from.

Answer of Question 2

Why do people like to travel? There are two reasons for travel which is wanderlust and sunlust. A lot of young people have to hope that to travel and see cultures of the country and to get the experience of travel; this is call wanderlust. However, sunlust is means that other people want to go somewhere warm and escape from climate for a while. There are also other motivating factors, which include relaxation, escape from a boring life, socialization with friend, rest and prestige. These kinds of motivating factors have not really changed over the years. Besides that, tourism growth continues to be fueled by more leisure time, enabling factors, technology factors, income, and demographic.

Figure - Factors Affecting Travel and Tourism

Leisure Time

The reason why for the increase in leisure time is people has more time off from work or school holidays. Most company vacation policies have become more liberal. Besides that, the number of legal, paid holidays has increased and, significantly for tourism, more of these are timed so as to supply three day weekends. Although the typical work week has stayed at 40 hours for many years, flexible scheduling arrangements have also added to people's leisure time.

Enabling Factors

Some people have motivators for wanting to go on holiday, but there are some reasons why they can't go. The main reasons are money and time. If can't afford it, means that the people can't go. Having enough time and money are examples of enabling factors. There are also another enabling factors which include: availability of travel such as flights to different locations; suitable products example like range of different holidays; owning a car, therefore can be travel more easily; marketing of a destination for bringing attention; and ease of booking. These types of enabling factors allow the people to act on their motivators. When investigate the change of customers needs and wants, it will be help to find out more enabling factors.

Technology Factors

Technological changes within tourism surround several different factors from medical advances to the innovative space tourism. Similar to tourism, technology is an ever changing and sometimes unstable business. Better communication, transport and safety have encouraged new customers to the industry. Besides that, the main impact of new technology on consumers has been Internet, which has given people the chance to be more independent and make their own travel and holiday plans and arrangements. Through technological advances, online booking has been one of the biggest factors in affecting tourism, recreation and leisure in today's world. On average residents in the United Kingdom spend 164 minutes online every day compared to 148 minutes watching television. This show that how much the internet is now an integral part of life and has had an effect on other aspects influencing the tourism business. More of more people are now booking their holiday on the internet, as many people are looking for a better priced deal than they are being offered by their travel agent. In additional, nowadays, most consumers want easier, quicker and cheaper service only technology has helped tourism fulfill the customers need.


The two income family has become more and more important factor in travel. Nowadays, the women desire that they can work at outside. A two income family is adds to the family's security, and not only increases total family income. If another partner loses a job, that does not eliminate all of the family's income. There are many motivates for women to work at outside the home. The main reasons are career and necessity. A lot of women choose to be in the workforce for professional and career reasons and for the challenge, stimulation and variety that working provide. Another reason, for many woman, however is to maintain the family income at a level affords the family a satisfying and comfortable lifestyle. In some cases, family members have shifted from highly paid manufacturing work to less well paid occupations, always in the service sector. Thus, some women work at least in part because they have to maintain their family income. Furthermore, almost all two income families have no time. When they both go work, the household chores still need to be complete and the parent will normally behest their children to cared about it. This means that many people may have to sacrifice leisure time for household and family maintenance chores. So that, when they do get away, time is at a premium. Through sensitive to price or value comparisons, these travelers generally seek good value for their money rather than low cost recreational experiences.


According to the middle aging America, that has suggested the impact of demographic changes on tourism. Middle age generally means higher income and a greater propensity to travel. The ages of the middle age group are between 35 until 44. This age group is most likely to use hotels and to take longer trips. Close behind them are the 45 till 54 year olds. Besides that, another significant demographic development for tourism is the growth in the mature market, that is, people over 55 years old. Although, this group represents a smaller share of household income, people 55 and over control over half of household wealth. The people in this age group can use their retirement pay to travel.

The pattern of growth in the mature market suggests two subsegments that will be very important. The 55 -65 year old group, which will grow by a remarkable two - thirds from 1995 to 2010, as the first baby boomers move into their and learning to deal with extended leisure, that is the ability to take longer vacations as seniority increases vacation entitlements and as retirement approaches or as early retirement permits. Another growth segment is at the extreme of the mature market, who are over 85 year old. The needs of people in this group do suggest a major expansion in assisted - living facilities, but they also suggest opportunities for family travel that involve grandparents and grandchildren or all three generations.

Safety and Security Issues

Challenge is to protect travelers as they move across this huge industry using by rail, hotels and restaurants, buses, cruise ships and airports. There are some security and safety issues which are:

Airport security seen as priority, so can attracts more investment.

But this may leave traveler exposed to risks at other points in their journey.

Expense of technological solutions to detect terrorists.

Political barriers prevent a global response to risks.

Not all countries have same view of security tasks.

Impact on individuals of anti terror measures likely to increase inconvenience os some travel options.


The most common reason for travelling is for pleasure and business. More people prefer to travel by car than by other transports such like airplane, motorcycle, bus and so on. Travel by air increased over the last 10 years but fell somewhat when fares began to rise, suggesting that travel is price sensitive, because it is too expensive. The economic significance of tourism is clear: Tourism ranks in the top three for total business receipts. Besides that, about one in twenty people is employed in an activity supported by travel expenditures. Indeed, communities seeking potential employers may profitably use tourism as an attraction. The United Kingdom is also an international tourist attractions, its popularity often based on the value of the UK dollar versus that of other currencies, as well as a number of others factors. Other than that, in looking at air travel, the organization should considered the competition between hub and spoke and point to point airline systems and the strengths and weakness of both. At last, the travel industry although brash will always be around due to the need and want of consumers to travel.