The Future of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Teaching and Training

This chapter examines the ways in which teaching and training in tourism, hospitality and events have evolved and adapted to the contemporary demands of academia and industry. It explores the development of education in tourism, hospitality and events, the contemporary factors which influence teaching and learning, and discusses the rise of Massive Open Online Courses with a particular focus on their potential application within tourism, hospitality and events curriculum. The chapter concludes by providing an overview of Open Badges and their importance in education. At the time of writing, the world has been confronted by the Covid-19 global pandemic which has caused great disruption at all levels. The impact of Covid-19 is briefly addressed in this chapter as the enforcement of social distancing measures has led to a significant increase globally in online education.

Solving Future Problems in the Tourism, Hospitality and Events Sectors

The management of tourism, hospitality and events is often consumed with solving problems. Whether it be the daily operation of the business or planning for the future, the manager must make decisions concerning problems that are faced by the organisation. Senior management are often responsible for solving the more complicated problems and issues. These may include having to deal with external stakeholders and the public, who have vested interests in particular outcomes. Solving problems at scale creates challenges for the manager of an organisation or destination. This chapter considers the ways in which problems can be evaluated and solved and alternatives for some of the bigger issues that senior managers and organisations face. It opens with a discussion of traditional approaches to solving problems; those which individuals generally take in their day-to-day lives. It is argued that this does not work well for the types of issues faced by senior managers. Two alternative approaches are introduced which can provide insights into problems and assist in unravelling the issues involved in complex decision-making.

Tourists of the Future

Today, more and more people are travelling than ever before, with 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals recorded in 2019 and the forecasted 1.8 billion international arrivals set to be reached well before its predicted 2030 (UNWTO, 2019; 2020). Traditionally, the wealthier industrialised world has predominately been responsible for both the supply and demand of tourism. However, in recent years a gradual shift has occurred with new destinations beginning to challenge these traditional destinations. There is the expectation that 57% of all international tourist arrivals will be in emerging destinations by 2030 (UNWTO, 2017). The rise of the middle class has resulted in more of the world’s population gaining access to leisure time and the means to increased international travel. Travel experiences in the past have typically consisted of sun, sand and surf type holidays. Tourists are no longer content with these passive activities, rather seeking more experiential and engaging travel experiences instead. This suggests a change in demand from the mass tourism holidays of the 1970s and 1980s to more individualised tourist experiences (Sharpley, 2005). Drivers of change contributing to these changes in travel demand include increased globalisation along with a variety of economic, social, political, technological and environmental trends (Dwyer et al., 2008). Chapter 2 discusses the key drivers of change, along with several trends considered to have an impact on the future development of the international tourism industry. This chapter explores some of these trends further in the context of future tourist behaviour, namely smart tourism, virtual tourism, smart boredom, super sabbaticals and solo travellers.

The Future of Health and Wellness Tourism

Wellness tourism is currently one of the fastest growing tourism niche markets having experienced exponential growth over the past two decades (Global Wellness Institute, 2018). The attributed reasons for the exponential growth is wellness being an essential factor in shaping people’s lives, as well as being increasingly influential in patterns of consumption and production. The wellness industry plays a crucial role as an important driver for future business growth and major innovations (Voigt and Pforr, 2013; Pyke et al., 2016). This chapter defines the relative terms of health, wellness, spa and medical tourism, identifies the current trends in the health and wellness sector, details the various wellness providers and considers the future direction of health and wellness in connection with tourism and destination development. The chapter concludes with a case study discussing the success factors of wellness spa tourism in Thailand.

Future Proofing a Crisis

The nature of the international tourism industry makes it prone to crises. Its service characteristics together with the number of potential external threats considered beyond its control, contribute to its susceptibility and make the risks difficult to manage (Evans and Elphick, 2005; Santana, 2008; Pforr, 2009; Nian et al., 2019). Interruptions to services at the destination itself and within transit routes, as well as the (mis)perceptions of consumers in distant markets, contribute to an increased vulnerability to the short and longer term effects of a crisis The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) considers a crisis, in the context of the travel and tourism industry, as ‘any unexpected event that affects traveller confidence in a destination and interferes with the ability to continue operating normally’ (2011). The terms ‘crisis’ and ‘disaster’ are often used interchangeably within the literature although it may be argued a difference in meaning exists (Rindrasih et al., 2019). The scale and responsibility, or control factors within the causation of the event, appear to be the key elements used to distinguish the two terms. Faulkner (2001: 136), for example, makes the distinction between the two terms by defining a crisis as ‘a self-inflicted event caused by problems, such as inept management structures and practices or a failure to adapt to changes’; and a disaster as ‘a situation in which an enterprise (or group of enterprises) is confronted with sudden unpredictable and catastrophic changes over which it has little control’. Within a tourism context, Bierman (2016) makes the distinction of crises as being either Category 1 or 2. Category 1 crises are beyond the control of management and include natural disasters, acts of terrorism and war, crime, political conflicts and sudden economic downturns. Category 2 crises result from management’s failure to act or implement processes to prepare for or deal with predictable risks such as high staff turnover, lack of insurance in a situation of fire or flood, service and equipment failure, financial fraud and loss of data (Bierman, 2016). For the purpose of this chapter discussion, a definition adapted from Beirman (2003: 4) relating to a destination crisis will be used, primarily focused on the large-scale nature of the crisis events discussed, these being considered as Category 1, and beyond the control of destination’s management and tourism authorities

Introduction

This co-authored book was researched and written during a time that few had foreseen, let alone prepared for. The impacts of Covid-19 are being felt across the world’s societies, economies and natural environment. Some industries have been more impacted than others, including the international tourism industry. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) predicts that due to the travel related impacts of Covid-19 international tourism could decline by between 60-80% in 2020, with US$80 billion already lost in exports from the industry for the first quarter of 2020 (UNWTO, 2020a). In these unprecedented times, it becomes more important than ever to consider what the future might hold for the industry. By examining current and future capabilities of the industry, this research book explores the opportunities available to shape the future through rebuilding, disrupting and developing greater resilience in the tourism industry. The common theme throughout the chapters is change – no matter how change emerges, the authors of this book recognise that the industry is always going to face times of turbulence, whether it be climate change, political or financial disruptions or pandemics, those in the industry need to have resilience, understand the forces of change and be prepared to adapt. This chapter sets out the core principles associated with anticipating the future of the international travel, hospitality and events sectors. It starts with a broad overview of the global tourism industry, followed by the definitions and scope of the sectors that will be covered in the book. A discussion on tourism futures as an area of research is presented and finally, the sections and individual chapters are introduced.

Building Future Scenarios

This chapter examines challenges for the future and other emerging ideas in the travel, hospitality and events sectors. The tourism industry is rapidly evolving, and change appears to be the dominant trend. Innovative ideas may serve as a future trend or penetrate an industry to generate a new product or service which becomes the norm and are sought out to maintain a vibrant, growing tourism industry. Fifteen future scenarios are explored with the intent to invoke thought and discussion on how change is embraced. The chapter concludes by suggesting that these are only some of the larger challenges faced by the tourism industry and many more issues need to be considered.

The Future of Film Tourism

Film tourism refers to a post-modern experience at an attraction or destination which has been portrayed in ‘some form of media representation, such as the cinema screen, television or video’ (Kork, 2018: 5). Film-induced tourism occurs when a tourist visits ‘a destination or attraction as a result of the destination being featured on television, video, DVD or the cinema screen’ (Hudson and Ritchie, 2006: 256). Screen tourism, movie induced tourism and TV induced tourism are other terms commonly used in association with this type of special interest tourism (Riley et al., 1998; Connell, 2005; Connell and Meyer, 2009). Beeton (2005), categorises film-induced tourism based on where the tourism activities occur, namely ‘on-film’ and ‘off-film’ induced tourism. ‘On-film’ induced tourism refers to tourism resulting from where a part of a film is shot and shown on the screen, while ‘off-film’ induced tourism refers to events or artificial destinations actualised through the involvement in films (Beeton, 2005). Film-induced tourism falls under the umbrella of cultural tourism as it represents the cultural heritage of a destination and may be considered an expression of visual arts and local traditions (Gjorgievski and Trpkova, 2012), with Kim et al. (2007: 1351) suggesting it has ‘great potential to advance cultural exchange and understanding’. As an illustration of the size and extent of movies which are filmed away from traditional studios, the 11 Star War movies filmed between 1977 and 2019 utilised a number of location sites throughout the world, in addition to sound film studios in the United Kingdom (Elstree and Pinewood Studios) and Australia (Fox Studio). Locations included the countries of Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Norway, England, Guatemala, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Thailand, Spain, Ireland, Bolivia and the Maldives (Obias, 2018a). Only two USA locations were used for filming, both in California, however outside of the traditional Los Angeles and Hollywood sites. Similarly, many scenes in the six Mission Impossible movies spanning from 1996 to 2018 were filmed on location in various parts of the world, including Prague, Norway, Paris, London, Washington, Virginia, Sydney, Utah, Berlin, China, Vatican City, Morocco, Vienna, Kuala Lumpur, Budapest, Moscow Mumbai, Canada and Dubai (Looch, 2018; Obias 2018b). Table 8.1 shows a variety of on-film and off-film induced tourism.

The Future of Visitor Attractions

This chapter explores the future of visitor attractions by using the examples of theme parks and world-renowned tourist attractions to illustrate the possible developments in this area. The chapter considers the impact of social media on visitor attractions and the associated phenomenon of ‘overtourism’ to demonstrate the types of problems being faced by visitor attractions and reflect on how tourism authorities are addressing these issues.

The Demise of Tourism

This chapter investigates the possibility that the tourism industry, as we cur- rently know it, will significantly change and perhaps will not exist in the future. Some topics will be discussed in the realm of plausible futures, meaning that they may not happen, however it’s a possibility and in the event it does occur, the tourism industry should be prepared. The topics discussed in this chapter include having an understanding of the reliance of natural resources in the travel, hospitality and event sectors; global population growth; food security; the impact of war on tourism; and the moral considerations associated with certain tourist experiences. Pandemics including Covid-19 are mentioned in Chapters 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 14. The case study focuses on food security and the dangers of depleting the quantity of food around the globe, along with the availability of quality nutritional food. It also explores the changes in the types of food supplied to the tourism, hospitality and event sectors, and provokes consideration of the disparity between the wealthy and populations born into poverty.