Tourism Journal Winter 2009 by Script Media

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The Tourism Society Trinity Court, 34 West Street, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1SH T 020 8661 4636 F 020 8661 4637 E journal@tourismsociety.org W www.tourismsociety.org Registered in England No. 01366846. ISSN: 02613700 Designed and produced by Wharncliffe Publishing Contact Tony Barry 47 Church Street Barnsley S70 2AS T 01226 734333 E tb@whpl.net W www. whpl.net ÂŠ Copyright 2009 The Tourism Society Tourism is the journal of the Tourism Society.The views expressed in Tourism are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of the Tourism Society. Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neither transparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned. The Tourism Society cannot be held responsible for any services offered by advertisers in Tourism. All correspondence must be addressed to the Editor. Tourism is only available to members of the Tourism Society and on subscription, it is distributed quarterly to 1500 professionals working in national and regional tourist boards, local government, travel agencies, and tour operators, visitor attractions, accommodation and catering, entertainment, information services, guiding, consultancies and education and training.

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Contents

Editorial Closer and closer to fulfilling its potential On several occasions last year I was asked by TMI members to say what I thought would be the benefits of the Institute’s integrating with the Tourism Society. It was quite a long list. But high on that list I always said that a key benefit would be for TMI members to both regularly receive copies of the TS Journal and to contribute articles to it from a Destination Manager perspective. It is therefore a particular honour for me to be guest editor of this, the first edition of the Journal to be published following integration. And what an edition it has turned out to be! 2010 will be a pivotal year for the industry as the world slowly emerges from recession and the credit crunch. But will international tourism return to its previous growth rates? Or will consumers’ greater need for security, coupled with the impact of measures to slow down climate change and take greater care of the world’s finite resources have caused a seismic shift in buying patterns? And what will the impacts be for UK domestic tourism, group travel and the business and conference market? And finally, what further structural and resource changes can we anticipate following the General Election? You won’t, of course, find the definitive answers to these questions in this Journal. But it would be hard for you to assemble a better informed group of experts to guide your own thinking and decision making, whatever sector of the industry you belong to. With every edition, I believe the Journal gets closer and closer to fulfilling its potential of becoming the primary forum for reviewing all the major tourism issues of the day: An indispensable “State of the Industry” report which should be essential reading for anyone with serious claims to understanding the complex interplay of the many factors that are, even now, shaping our future. Paul Hemphill FTMI | Immediate Past President,Tourism Management Institute

Future Trends for Domestic and Inbound Tourism David Edwards

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The Political Outlook Ken Robinson CBE FTS

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UNWTO’s International Forecast Geoffrey Lipman

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The Future of Destination Management Paul Hemphill

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The View in 2023 Keith Richards

Hospitality Revisited Martin Evans

The Prospects for Aviation Helen Neal

Attracting Groups Nick How

Case Study: Tourism in the Maldives Ahmed Moosa

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Case Study: Emerging from Conflict Benjamin Carey

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The Green Future of Travel Tricia Barnett

The Rise and Fall of Tourism Bob Gibson

TCN – Tourism’s Impact Roger Withers

TMI – Supporting Practitioners’ CPD Cathie Guthrie

Membership News

New Members

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From the President’s Desk The CBI have just produced a fascinating booklet, “The Shape of Business – The Next Ten Years”, which looks at where business will be in 2020. Put together by a think tank of truly great and good in the business world it sets out a range of significant changes which it believes will take place over the next decade. Like all such forward looking pieces of work it is probably wrong. That, however, is not the point. Like the Bank of England’s forecast the job is not to get an exact answer but to highlight a direction of travel; and in that regard it is almost certainly more right than wrong.Two projections caught my eye. First, that there will be a change in the way businesses

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relate to each other with a more collaborative rather than transactional approach, and second that risk will be spread far wider with risk management becoming a key part of every employee’s responsibilities rather than just a manager somewhere. Over the years I have from time to time done a ten years ahead look at tourism. I have nearly always been wrong in my conclusions but I have more often than not got the direction of travel right. It is not something which I would like to try at the moment because so many of the fundamentals are in a state of flux, but that is precisely why it should be attempted.There are obvious drivers of change, such as climate change and the impact of carbon

pricing on travel; telecommunications and their impact on business travel; and the emergence of countries like India and China. All these factors and more will have far reaching consequences. However, I suspect that the greatest impact on the future shape of tourism will be the same factors identified by the CBI, and that is a significant shift in the way we do business and how businesses are financed. One thing I know – whatever I prophesy will be wrong, but the direction of travel and the speed of change will be greater than we foresee. Lord Thurso MP FTS | President,Tourism Society

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Future Trends for Domestic Tourism Is tourism as recession proof as Domino’s pizza? According to latest figures, Domino’s Pizza sales increased at an annual rate of 11% in the third quarter of 2009, meaning that in the first nine months of the year sales were up an impressive 8.3%. The company has long recognised that it can benefit from a gloomy economic outlook but the big question is whether tourism has been equally successful in combating the economic storm clouds. The answer for those not wishing to read to the end of the article is that it depends on which tourism topping is adorning the pizza; for some – well, in fact, many – tourism businesses 2009 has been a thoroughly successful year, while others have seen tough trading conditions. As our thoughts turn to the first year of a new decade tourism businesses that have enjoyed a strong year are pondering whether the good times will continue in 2010, while those that have struggled to weather the harsh economic conditions are hoping that a new year will bring renewed growth in demand. Looking first at the evidence from 2009 we find that Britain welcomed fewer inbound visitors than in 2008, the first back-to-back annual declines since 20002001. News on inbound visitor spend was more upbeat, remaining flat in real terms.The single most important factor leading to spend outperforming volume is the favourable exchange rate that the majority of inbound visitors were able to take advantage of.The number of exchange rate induced trips may be modest in number, but those visitors who would have visited regardless of the exchange rate will have spent more in sterling terms than their counterparts from recent years. It is a mixed bag when we investigate

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trends by journey purpose for inbound tourism.The global financial crisis that hit in late summer 2008 had an immediate impact on business tourism driven by the financial and business services sector, and as the world slid into a deep recession the volume of mainstream business travel was hard hit. Overall inbound business tourism looks to have declined by well in excess of 10% last year. By contrast, the number of holiday visitors plumping for Britain as their destination has increased, most substantially from Eurozone markets such as France. For domestic tourism we find a similar story. While the overall volume and value of domestic overnight trips has remained broadly stable, the era of the ‘staycation’ certainly seemed to arrive with the volume of Britons holidaying in Britain increasing substantially, delivering the best

‘While the overall volume and value of domestic overnight trips has remained broadly stable, the era of the ‘staycation’ certainly seemed to arrive with the volume of Britons holidaying in Britain increasing substantially, delivering the best summer season for trip taking since 2005’

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summer season for trip taking since 2005. One sector that benefited considerably from a growing keenness on holidaying at home was camping and caravanning, aided by weather that was, if not the forecast ‘barbecue summer’, at least much less dismal than 2008. We got a timely reminder that tourism activity supports all manner of jobs when Halfords reported strong sales figures courtesy of growth in the number of camping products being purchased. The number of trips taken on business or to visit friends and relatives declined in 2009, so while Brits were definitely not going to give up their holiday other discretionary travel was hit by the downturn and business related travel suffered as companies reined in costs, or in some instances ceased to trade altogether. By and large, visitor attractions enjoyed an excellent year when it comes to the volume of admissions, although a trend apparent in some quarters of the sector was for the amount of secondary spend by visitors (on items from the shop or in terms of food and beverage purchases) to contract in comparison to earlier years. So far the only gloomy note has related

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to business tourism, but the broader hospitality sector has seen a tough year. Defining what is or what is not tourism is something of a minefield, but it certainly seems true that the amount of ‘eating out’ that families undertook in 2009 was curtailed in favour of more affordable options (hence the success of Domino’s Pizza). Consumers who did eat out were certainly keen on using promotional offers in order to get the best value out of their evening’s entertainment. Finally a brief look at the accommodation sector. Statistics can mislead, and those on occupancy would certainly lead to a conclusion that 2009 was not at all bad, with average occupancy broadly in line with 2008 figures. However, as any hotelier or B&B owner will attest, it is not how many bodies there are in the beds that counts, it is the rate that guests are willing to pay and the amount spent on sundries such as drinks at the bar which determine the health of the ‘bottom line’. Room rates fell in 2009, in many instances by a double-digit percentage. The dramatic decline in business travel resulted in rates having to be cut in order to attract leisure visitors, with this being particularly true for higher-end accommodation establishments. The decline in the number of trips Britons take abroad has been stark in the past year resulting from the dual impact of recession and an exchange rate that means foreign travel is a lot more expensive than has been the case for most of the past decade. As families re-evaluate their holiday options in light of changing relative costs significant numbers will have chosen to rediscover what Britain has to offer during 2009. Enough of the past. What about 2010? The British economy should finally move out of recession, but the consensus is that growth will be at best rather sluggish. For the short-term, Brits will still find buying Euros to be an expensive past-time with the flip-side of this being many overseas residents will be delighted by the value for money Britain offers as a holiday des-

‘The British economy should finally move out of recession, but the consensus is that growth will be at best rather sluggish. For the short-term, Brits will still find buying Euros to be an expensive past-time with the flip-side of this being many overseas residents will be delighted by the value for money Britain offers as a holiday destination’

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tination. In theory the coming year looks promising for domestic and inbound holiday tourism, and an improving global economy ought to deliver a fillip for business tourism. Question marks abound, however; some degree of bounce-back in business tourism is inevitable as more economic activity is undertaken, but it is distinctly uncertain that the propensity to take a business trip will return to pre-creditcrunch levels – corporate profits remain under pressure and businesses that have invested in technology that lessens the need for face-to-face meetings will want to get the most out of their investment. On the inbound front steep increases in Air Passenger Duty could offset an improved value for money message, especially for visitors from long-haul markets.

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For domestic holiday tourism a balmy October half-term in 2009 could encourage a wave of early bookings for UKbased holidays as thoughts turn to 2010 trip planning. We should recognise, though, that unemployment is unlikely to fall substantially for many months to come and most analysts fully expect fiscal tightening after the next election – in short, many families will find themselves having to remain frugal in their spending habits during 2010. Tourism businesses offering value for money and a fulfilling experience look set to perform strongly again this year, but businesses relying on consumers being willing (or able) to spend that little bit extra on ‘luxuries’ might be disappointed. Expect more buoyant trading reports from Domino’s Pizza in 2010.

David Edwards FTS | Head of Research and Forecasting, VisitBritain

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The Political Outlook

What are the odds on future success for UK tourism? The Party Conferences are over, the race is on … to the finish line – the 2010 General Election. The politicians are shaping up for months of ill-tempered wrangling, against the background of a UK tourism industry that despite good domestic performance in 2009 has never faced so many obstacles and disadvantages in the way of international competitive success. Some things are beyond the power of politicians, such as climate change and instability, conflict between ideologies, and the threat of pandemics. Others are completely within their power to resolve, to unlock the potential – and create more jobs and sustainable economic growth for Britain. So how aware are our politicians of the preconditions for success? What are the key issues and what can our next Government do about them? Well for now, we have to check the policies that are being considered for inclusion in the Party Manifestos.The Conservatives and Lib Dems have both said Tourism will feature…Labour has not, nor did it in the 100+ pages of its 2005 Manifesto. Britain faces exceptional economic challenges for any incoming Government. Theoretically, Labour says we should spend and invest our way out of the

‘The politicians are shaping up for months of ill-tempered wrangling, against the background of a UK tourism industry that despite good domestic performance in 2009 has never faced so many obstacles and disadvantages in the way of international competitive success’

problem.They have been printing billions, but what is their payback plan? Sadly, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) thinking focuses only on cuts. Reducing grant-in-aid to VisitBritain and VisitEngland by 18% in 2011 is, they say, “a saving”, showing how out of touch Government policy is with the reality of what can be achieved. The immediate tax return to the Treasury in year 1 covers its cost many times over.The biggest battle we have with all parties is to get this agreed, to trigger adequate investment. Who will win the Election? The opinion polls and the punters leave little room for doubt that Conservatives will win the most votes, but a hung Parliament could result; so at this stage the policies of all main parties are important.

Labour: In 2008 the Framework Review was undertaken by VisitBritain after DCMS had announced the 2011 cuts. Formulated after wide consultation, it set out a number of key proposals. Shortly afterwards the Prime Minister attended a Tourism Summit in Liverpool at which (quote from DCMS) “He presented to

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tourism industry leaders his determination to … maximise the tourism opportunities over the next decade and to support the industry through the global economic downturn and better position it following recovery”. There has been little evidence of that since.Two positive outcomes of the Review were, in fact, just re-inventions of things that Labour had abolished or neglected. One was the creation of VisitEngland (they had abolished the national Board in 2003) and another was the reformation of the cross-Government Ministerial Group (which had been started by Chris Smith years before, but which had ceased to meet). A third positive outcome was the creation of DCMS’s Tourism Advisory Council. After Gordon Brown’s comments in Liverpool, the Minister called for a list of urgent “Key Asks” from the industry. These were presented to the first TAC meeting in April 2009.The minutes of the third TAC meeting in October 2009 record that the Minister only hopes to provide a formal response to the industry “by the end of the year”. The Tourism Society asked about Labour’s support for tourism – their response boasts of “the overall level of public sector investment in tourism from local, regional and national sources to well over £2 billion in the current spend-

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ing review period up to 2011.” These misleading and erroneous totals have previously been dissected by the industry – they disguise the standstill budgets, followed by cuts. Most competitor countries have acted to support tourism recovery. Sadly, in the UK, Government changes to APD,Visas,VAT and core budgets are all negative.

Conservatives: All credit to the shadow Tourism team, and Tobias Ellwood as shadow Tourism Minister in particular, for so thoroughly considering the needs of tourism. In 2007, a Tourism Task Force was established, chaired by John Lewis, Hotelier and former interim Chair of BTA.Tourism “Summits” were held in mid-2009 in Brighton and Blackpool. The Task Force Report, published in October at a crowded Conference fringe meeting, has not gained immediate endorsement as party policy. Tobias Ellwood has said: “For the long term, it contains many interesting points for us to consider, along with other representations, as we formulate our future policies, to encourage the future success of the Tourism industry.” However, some aspects of Conservative Policy are now clear.They strongly agree that Government has not given adequate attention to Tourism, or fully appreciated the potential. They are committed to having a dedicated Tourism Minister.The brief given to the Task Force brought specific proposals to encourage family holidays, boost “green tourism” and revitalise Coastal Resorts, including the creation of Tourism Growth Zones. The greatest impact of current Conservative Policies in England would be their promised abolition or reformation of RDAs. Ellwood used to talk of “taking the tourism money back from RDAs and distributing it to better effect”. But there is almost no “tourism money” as such, as most is RDA general funding that they choose to spend on tourism, to

‘Who will win the Election? The opinion polls and the punters leave little room for doubt that Conservatives will win the most votes, but a hung Parliament could result; so at this stage the policies of all main parties are important’

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address their required “core outputs”. Unless the tourism spend is ring-fenced, any changes to the RDAs could reduce funds reaching tourism. On the other hand, their recognition of the role of Local Authorities would see more of this funding channelled to them. How would this be allocated? There are no answers yet. David Cameron has also promised a wholesale culling of quangos, but it seems that Ellwood is well aware of the industry’s support for VisitEngland and the national Boards’ support for VisitBritain, and they know that the abolition or weakening of either would be debilitating. Liberal Democrats: They have had several tourism policy reviews during

believe in Regional Tourism Bodies, and would give greater recognition and support to the role of Local Government. They “…would increase VisitBritain’s budget, which has suffered years of decline, to better enable it to perform the task of marketing what our country has to offer.” If they held the balance of power after an election, these policies could be very positive. And all this is before detailed discussion of Daylight Saving, Olympics tourism, Skills, Quality, … and many other topics. The challenges of overseeing the competitive development of the UK’s tourism industry are difficult for politicians to address, as they result from the complex interplay of a diverse range of issues, impacted by the policies of several government departments, and involving effective networks at national, regional and destination levels. To read the Labour and Liberal Democrat submissions and the Conservative’s Taskforce on Tourism report, go to www.tourismsociety.org/ research_statistics

Labour’s time in power. Currently they say tourism is “a critical part of the UK economy – has been let down by the current Government and MUST (sic) receive far greater support in the future … that will enable every region to maximise social and economic benefits.” Whilst not mentioning RDAs, they

Message to Politicians – Understand, and believe in tourism and with your help, the tourism industry can achieve sustainable economic growth for Britain.

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Ken Robinson CBE FTS | Chair of the Tourism Society Think Tank | Chair of the Tourism Alliance

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International Forecasts

Prospects for global recovery and a plan for sustained performance This is a good time to reflect on tourism’s response to economic recession during the past year and emerging signs of recovery in the year ahead. In October 2009, the IMF released a fairly positive GDP growth forecast for 2010 – at some 3% globally. And in the same month, pivotal European and US figures showed a welcome return to growth. There are those who suggest that the green shoots of growth are appearing for the economy as a whole and that means tourism will be carried along. Frankly speaking, it’s early days in the worldwide movement from recession and the jury is still out on its pace, scale and sustainability.The reality is that the G20 are still carefully monitoring the health of the world financial system; debating the length and intensity of stimulus and intervening to encourage credit availability. Some economists talk about a W curve with growth and moderation alternating. Others say it will be more like a square root sign with a short sharp rise followed by a long period of very moderate growth. And who knows? Churchill once said “if you give me two economists in the same room I get two different interpretations ... and if one of them is John Maynard Keynes I get three.” Robert Shelbourne, a leading UN Economist, recently offered UNWTO

members some sobering thoughts on the prospects for the big economy, suggesting: Currently economies are supported by extraordinary government measures. Financial systems are likely to stay dysfunctional for some time. Neither consumers nor business is in a position to spend; debt is too high. Unemployment is still rising, threatening “jobless recovery”. He concluded that 2010 will see a slow recovery in the US and Western Europe, that Eastern Europe may not recover until 2011, and that only Asia would show robust sustained growth. Whilst domestic tourism has performed reasonably well in many countries this year, for international Tourism and Travel, 2009 will be a bad year by any measure. UNWTO forecasts a global result in international arrivals of minus 5%. In real terms our markets are performing at the same levels as 2007. The worst results were in key source markets of Europe and North America. Asia has not had a good year – particularly by its own historic standards – nor the Middle East, but there are indications of emerging upturns in both regions. And we expect 2009 revenues to perform marginally worse than the numbers. The top 10 source markets are all showing serious expenditure declines in the

‘Whilst domestic tourism has performed reasonably well in many countries this year, for international Tourism and Travel, 2009 will be a bad year by any measure. UNWTO forecasts a global result in international arrivals of minus 5%. In real terms our markets are performing at the same levels as 2007.The worst results were in key source markets of Europe and North America. Asia has not had a good year – particularly by its own historic standards – nor the Middle East, but there are indications of emerging upturns in both regions’

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first half of the year and travel companies all have deep, deep discounts out in the marketplace. The major exception to the numbers results has been Africa, which will show a 3% increase this year and continuing growth going forward.The FIFA World Cup should keep a sustaining promotional interest in the continent as a whole. In the mature markets of Europe and North America it again looks like a difficult year in 2010. To quote Shelbourne again, “we have lost 50 trillion in wealth in the past 18 months which means consumers/businesses have that much less to spend and governments will have tighter budgets with stimulus coming to an end.” For our sector, consumers are still postponing or cancelling business travel and scaling back leisure trips. Booking later, staying shorter, going closer to home and paying less. Travel companies are strained – lowering costs, focussing on top yielding markets, promoting to fill capacity, cutting prices. Large, medium and particularly small operators are stretched dramatically. Banks haven’t been extending credit in this sector anymore than in others – and there are no signs that this is about to change. And this analysis does not reflect the potential adverse effect of a serious H1N1 pandemic that would clog up systems, reduce consumer/business confidence further and adversely affect travel projections. And above all it does not seriously factor in the potential problems around unemployment levels that are already approaching 10% in the major source markets and predicted to keep growing until 2011. It’s not a pretty picture but it’s a realistic one. So what if anything could be done to improve prospects? In October, UNWTO Member States

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unanimously adopted a “Roadmap for Recovery” to help in two distinct ways: First, as a manifesto for top policymakers who are striving to keep the world’s economy on track – to show how our sector can contribute Second, as a framework for collective industry action. Its central message is “Tourism creates more jobs than any other sector and is the best export for the poorest countries – if governments use it in crisis response programmes it will give them a significant boost.This is due not only to the direct economic impact of travel but the catalytic effect on other sectors in the supply and delivery chain – construction, manufacturing, agriculture and communications. The Roadmap is divided into 3 elements linking government and industry initiatives, covering issues such as credit lines, tax breaks, reduced regulation and copromotion of domestic and regional travel. It also underscores the value of skills training, technology transfer, capacity building and financing for poor countries to enhance tourism competitiveness. First it focuses on Resilience – to preserve existing jobs and small businesses that are the strength of the tourism value chain. Second it calls for Tourism to be at the core of Stimulus programmes (we have tracked some 70 where it is already reflected – but for the most part suboptimally). One of the best examples of what can be done is China – on track to become the largest inbound and outbound market by 2020 if not before.This year China has taken substantial steps in general stimulus activity to boost domestic tourism, maintain travel abroad and finance massive infrastructure programs – airports, fast trains and superhighways. This should support strong inbound and outbound growth in 2010 and be a major boost across the entire region. Third it deals with transformation to the Green Economy. Way beyond traditional sustainability programmes of the last decade – capitalizing on the shift to a low carbon renewable energy lifestyle with tourism as a lead transformation sector. This will be a long term process that involves real responses to the

Copenhagen climate deal, as well as strengthening ecotourism and conservation. It will mean climate-proof buildings, low energy transport and genuine consumer-focused production/demand shifts. It will cost trillions of dollars and involve massive transfers to the poorest countries. But it means big opportunities for early movers and will create millions of green

‘The Roadmap is divided into 3 elements linking government and industry initiatives, covering issues such as credit lines, tax breaks, reduced regulation and co-promotion of domestic and regional travel. It also underscores the value of skills training, technology transfer, capacity building and financing for poor countries to enhance tourism competitiveness’

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tourism jobs in the years ahead. This Roadmap tracks closely with the kind of programmes initiated by the G20, the UN family, the OECD, the EU and others, to coherently respond to key global challenges. UNWTO is now working hard to put tourism on their agenda. Some Ministers are seeking champions at the Head of State level. The Minister of Tourism of South Africa is leading a “T20 initiative” of Tourism Ministers to underpin this process in the G20. And we are seeking engagement with us from across the sector, to intensify cabinet level understanding in all countries of the potential of tourism to help in the global response to the climate, economic and poverty imperatives. Frankly it’s a mission whose time has come.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman FTS | UNWTO | Victoria University & The De Haan Institute

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The Future of Destination Management Changes, challenges and opportunities We used to be called Tourism Officers and our organisation was called BATO – The British Association of Tourism Officers. By “we”, I am of course referring to the Tourism Society’s newest set of members, those of us in the Tourism Management Institute or TMI. Now we call ourselves Destination Managers and the over-riding vision of TMI is for destination management to become recognised as a distinct profession with chartered status. So what is Destination Management? Well, as a crude approximation you could say it is that part of tourism which is mainly funded by the public sector (or at least which relies heavily on the taxpayer) – although an increasing number of destination managers now work for organisations which are actually private companies, limited by guarantee. And the sort of organisations we work for include National and Regional Tourist Boards, Regional Development Agencies, Destination Management Organisations and Local Authority Tourist Offices. It’s all about promotion and marketing then, isn’t it? That’s a big part of it. But it’s not the whole story by any means. I would estimate that no more than one third of Destination Managers are directly involved in marketing and advertising. So what else do Destination Managers do? Just about anything to do with looking after a tourist destination (which could be a town, city, region or even a country) from marketing and promotion to improving the visitor experience and helping tourism businesses to prosper and grow. In the days of BATO, we were mostly generalists, working on our own or with two or three other people in a Local Authority Tourist Office. In those days we all did a bit of everything; from putting together the annual Holliday Guide, giving advice to someone who wanted to open

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a B&B, nagging the Countryside Department to improve the footpath signage, and organising a meeting of all the local attraction operators. It was an exciting, if somewhat chaotic life – but inevitably a lot of things didn’t get done as well as they should. Times have changed and there are not many of the old school Tourism Officers left. Now, although we are all part of destination management, most of us are also specialists in a particular field. We are strategy and policy makers. We are market researchers and research analysts. We are information system engineers. We are web designers. We are public sector investment managers. We are business support officers and skills advisers. We are event organisers. We manage conference bureaus. And of course some of us really are brand and marketing managers. What instigated this drive towards specialisation? In one way it’s no different from any other profession. Lawyers, doctors, engineers and scientists – everywhere you look the jacks of all trades are being steadily replaced by masters of a particu-

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lar area of expertise. But I might surprise a number of people when I say that I think the biggest single factor to change the lives of Destination Managers was actually a disease only found in farm animals, namely Foot & Mouth. The 2001 FMD crisis had a devastating impact on the tourism industry, especially in rural areas. And – perhaps for the first time – it brought home to government just how important tourism is to the national economy. In the wake of the crisis, government carried out a number of consultations with industry leaders and they agreed that steps had to be put in place to better manage future crises like FMD. But industry also told government that there were a lot of other problems that needed to be tackled. Problems like too much duplication of effort between agencies, not enough involvement of tourism businesses in local decision making and not enough effort being put into attracting international visitors. And what did government do to address these issues? There are lots of ways of answering

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that question. But as far as Destination Managers are concerned the short, simplistic answer is that they passed the responsibility to VisitBritain at national level, and at regional level they asked the Regional Developments Agencies to sort it out! The big advantage of this approach was that a lot of new expertise, thinking and money was lavished on the industry by the RDAs, especially in the north of England.The disadvantage is that all the RDAs subsequently developed slightly different solutions, based on their local circumstances and priorities. Of course, RDA supporters (like me!) would argue that is precisely what RDAs are for: to find the best economic development solutions for their particular region. Having said that, over time most regions have moved towards a broadly similar model in which a Regional Team or Tourist Board supports and works alongside a small number of sub-regional partnerships, based on the primary tourist destinations of that region. And the “Big New Idea” of the RDAs to solve the

‘Assuming (perhaps rather too hopefully) that we are now entering a period of some stability with respect to organisational change, the key challenge and the key opportunity can be summed up in one word: Connectivity.

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problems posed to them by government was to create or develop new Destination Management Organisations or DMOs – of which there are now about 50, spread across England, from Northumberland to Cornwall. DMOs have given groups of Local Authorities the opportunity to stop competing against one another and pool their marketing and business support resources; whilst bringing local tourism business representatives on to the DMO Boards to create thriving new public-private sector partnerships.This has freed up more resources for international marketing in most regions whilst at the same time the RDAs have been working closely with organisations such as Business Link and the Learning & Skills Councils to encourage them to also devote more of their resources to helping tourism businesses. You’re painting a very rosy picture! It can’t have been that easy! It wasn’t easy at all; and indeed the challenges that lie ahead aren’t getting any easier either. Whilst many welcomed the new approach there was a lot of resistance to change. It is a rare TMI member who has not been through difficult personal circumstances over the last decade including redundancies, re-skilling and applying for new, usually more specialist jobs. And of course, all of this change has been accompanied by other major factors – some good, like the growth of the internet, but many extremely difficult to manage, like the impact of terrorism and climate change and more latterly the effects of the global recession.

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But a decade or so on from Foot & Mouth, it would also be a rare TMI member who would not agree that Destination Management is now considerably more sophisticated, professional and rewarding than it was before the crisis first struck. Finally, what are the major challenges and opportunities ahead for Destination Management? Assuming (perhaps rather too hopefully) that we are now entering a period of some stability with respect to organisational change, the key challenge and the key opportunity can be summed up in one word: Connectivity. There is so much good work going on at all levels: the Local Authorities focussing on their incredibly important “Place Shaping” role – getting their destinations in top class condition for their visitors; the DMOs engaging directly with the thousands and thousands of individual tourism businesses across the country; the RDAs and Regional Tourist Boards acting as the lynchpin between national level and the major destinations; and the increased creativity and energy of the national Tourist Boards, including the exciting new work programme of Visit England. Now we have to give special focus to improving the connections between all the levels, providing greater clarity about individual roles and responsibilities; and – most important of all – using modern IT solutions to ensure that the information flows between organisations, and from the industry to the consumer, are the very best that they can be. Paul Hemphill FTMI| Immediate Past-President, Tourism Management Institute

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The View in 2023

Tourism 2023 brings industry heavyweights together To ABTA, ‘sustainability’ means working to ensure the tourism industry enjoys a healthy future. Sustainability has long been a core part of ABTA’s leadership role in the industry, from the founding of the Travel Foundation, the development of www.reducemyfootprint.travel, to the merger with the Federation of Tour Operators and the rolling out of the Travelife sustainability system. Much of this has been aimed at helping business mitigate its impacts on the environment and optimise the cultural and economic benefits tourism has the potential to deliver. For so many destinations around the world prosperity arrives by plane. But to be fit for the future, businesses need to be prepared, and to understand what the challenges and opportunities will be. And in an uncertain future, adaptability is the key to business success. Where might the destinations of the future be? What will influence where and how customers travel? Of course no-one knows for sure. But to help, we launched Tourism 2023 in October – a culmination of 18 months of workshops, research and discussions with experts.Tourism 2023 gives real insight into what possible futures our industry faces and provides the opportunity to plan for those. It examines whether developments in the economy, politics, technology and energy will combine "to encourage or restrict overseas travel", and whether increasing environmental awareness will make travel more or less attractive. We examined many things over which we have little or no control. But these are

‘But to be fit for the future, businesses need to be prepared, and to understand what the challenges and opportunities will be. And in an uncertain future, adaptability is the key to business success’

Keith Richards | Head of Professional Development, ABTA The Travel Association

things we all need to prepare for.The possible outcomes by 2023 range from a booming sector to destinations devastated by the impact of climate change. But all the scenarios provide real opportunities for any business prepared to adapt and change. Common themes emerged: climate is changing and some popular destinations are already being severely affected; populations are ageing which brings new challenges about predicting the behaviour of these customers; oil production is rapidly reaching peak production and will then fall with dramatic implications on cost; carbon is being priced into what we do and this affects the price of travel; and the economic forecast is unpredictable. And for many destinations that are currently popular with UK holidaymakers there will be additional large-scale pressures from the new emerging middleclasses in China and India who are likely to have the money and freedom to travel in very large numbers. ABTA,The Travel Foundation,Thomas Cook, British Airways, Carnival UK,The Co-operative Travel, Advantage Travel Centres, and Sunvil, have all signed up to the vision and made a commitment to taking action now.You’ll find the detailed

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scenarios we developed at www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/touri sm-2023. So what next? No single business, however large or influential, can do much alone.The next step is to take urgent action together on three key areas: First, on sustainable destinations, demonstrating the economic benefit tourism delivers to destination communities. Secondly, on low carbon innovation, finding and implementing solutions to make tourism a low-carbon, low-impact industry.Thirdly, on driving customer demand, increasing the market share for a more sustainable form of tourism. ABTA will lead the next phase of the project, co-ordinating the measurement of activity and encouraging more companies to work with us. We want others to join us to help increase understanding of what the future may hold, to help plan for those uncertainties and to commit to making a real difference.To join us on the next phase of Tourism 2023 send an email to T2023@abta.co.uk With strong leadership and commitment we can help shape the future we want – a thriving outbound travel and tourism industry that is both profitable and sustainable in 2023 and beyond …

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Hospitality Revisited

Opportunities to develop as the sector adjusts

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”, said Eleanor Roosevelt. No doubt hospitality operators like the directors of Aviemore Resort, Folio Hotels, Guest Invest, Niche Hotels and Owner Hotels all had their beautiful dreams before they went into administration in the last 18 months. But for a really successful future in hospitality, you need more than dreams.Thank goodness, then, that there are thousands of other hospitality operators across the UK with great marketing plans, sound financial controls, and excellent staff and operating procedures – as well as beautiful dreams! The last few years have not only seen UK hotels come under great financial pressures – with hotels going out of business at the rate of one every two days in the three months from March to June 2009 but they have also given us an insight into what should actually be an exciting future. From the £1 bedroom offered by the Hoxton in London to fashion-brand hotels like the new Missoni in Edinburgh; from genuine no-frills properties like the Yotel at Gatwick to £100m+ refurbishments like the Savoy’s. Let’s deal with the recession Figures for the first three quarters of 2009 showed UK hotels room yield to be down 7.4% in London and 13.1% in the provinces, according to consultants

Deloitte. Looking forward, it’s safe to say that although the recession may technically soon be over, its effects – such as rising unemployment, lower public sector spending and fear of risk – will form a black cloud over hospitality for the next year or two. In the medium and longer term, however, the markets will recover and hospitality will continue to benefit from increases in global travel and the desire to take rising numbers of short breaks. As we know, despite the recession, this year – the “year of the staycation” – has seen strong growth in domestic leisure breaks in hotels – and that trend is expected to continue as budget airlines, and tour operators, further reduce capacity. Product and location The hospitality sector already includes ‘hotels’ (sub-divided by the AA and tourist boards into full-service hotels, country house hotels, town house hotels, budget hotels/lodges, and ‘metro’ hotels), ‘guest accommodation’, (B&Bs, guest houses, restaurants with rooms, farms and pubs), and also other operations such as apartments, hostels, holiday centres, residential conference centres, spas, health farms and timeshare accommodation. The chains already represent some 25% of hotels in the UK, and this is expected to grow – with international brands like Corinthia, Accor’s All Seasons and Starwood’s ‘W’ Hotel all making a UK debut in the next two years - whilst

more and more independents seek marketing and distribution shelter under the umbrella of a consortium or franchise brand. Other hospitality product types for the future include more eco-hotels (the Scarlet in Cornwall, pictured, is paving the way), and even portable hotels which could be transportable between sites where special events or other reasons create temporary demand. A good location is vital, and, looking forward, winners are expected to include hotels at visitor attractions (like developments planned for Legoland and Chester Zoo), on university campuses, at sports stadia (like recent additions at Doncaster Racecourse and Twickenham), and other mixed-use developments which offer high footfall, good access and a strong local business community. Operating the business Hospitality operators will also have a lot of other serious issues to grapple with if the sector is to have a secure future. Issues which are expected to grow in importance in the future include exterior and interior design, new technology, product quality, the green movement, branding, pricing and distribution, booking lead times, legislation and red tape, operating costs (including utility and wage inflation) and recruitment and skills shortages. Perhaps some things never change after all! Martin Evans FTS | Managing Partner, The Tourism Business

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The Prospects for Aviation

Will increases in APD mean fewer people flying? The aviation industry is currently facing one of its toughest challenges yet. As with the wider economy, aviation is feeling the effects of the global economic downturn. In the past year, airlines have grappled with record fuel prices only to be hit head on by weakening consumer demand as a result of the wider economic woes felt around the world. Virgin Atlantic has always maintained that airlines that cannot survive should be allowed to fail. Bailouts are not the solution. But that does not mean that governments should sit by whilst airlines struggle with record losses and increased costs. There is much that they can do with a few simple changes to the way politicians approach airline policy. Nowhere more is this the case than with the Government’s changes to Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is set to increase by as much as 113% over the next year. Not only are the increases to APD unjust, I believe that APD itself is a flawed tax. Since the tax was introduced in 1994, the levels have snowballed, seeing some flights’ contribution increase from £10 to £170. Several justifications have been used as to why APD needs to increase, however none of them are credible if we dig below the surface. The first justification sometimes used is that aviation is an under taxed industry. This is simply incorrect. Aviation pays about 32.5% of the wealth it generates to taxation in comparison to the UK economy as a whole of 32.1%. However, if APD

‘Increasing the cost of flying only hits those who have the least ability to pay whilst the wealthy carry on regardless.The access to mass travel has had immeasurable benefits on society’

is included, aviation’s tax contribution actually rises to a massive 54.5%*. The second is that aviation does not pay for its environmental cost elsewhere and therefore should be taxed. But in reality, aviation already pays for its environmental costs and will be paying for all of its carbon emissions through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012. The UK Government’s own cost assessment of aviation’s emissions put the climate change cost of aviation at £1.8bn. Yet the Treasury is intending to increase its total tax take to over £2.5bn in 2010, not a penny of which is dedicated to reducing climate change impacts. Politicians must come clean with passengers and admit that a blunt tax like APD is nothing more than a tax to raise revenue for the Chancellor. Some argue that there should be a limit on the growth of aviation and that the UK should take the lead in reducing the number of flights by increasing fares. Aviation is a global industry and therefore competes in a global market; limiting capacity growth at Heathrow will only shift that same growth elsewhere, potentially to a region outside of any environmental regulation and damage an important British industry. Furthermore, increasing the cost of fly-

Helen Neal | Manager, Parliamentary & External Affairs, Virgin Atlantic Airways

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ing only hits those who have the least ability to pay whilst the wealthy carry on regardless.The access to mass travel has had immeasurable benefits on society. Do we really want to revert to the times when flying was only for the very rich? Of course, no industry likes to pay tax, and many argue that they pay too much. However, the new increases to APD are so high, and so expensive, that it could result in the Chancellor seeing revenues from APD actually decrease as passenger numbers drop and airline businesses are damaged. APD has always been a blunt tax, but to increase the levels of the duty to such an extent is not just short sighted, it is dangerous. UK aviation is a great British success story.Virgin Atlantic is especially proud that we have led the world in great product and services whilst always maintaining great value for money for our passengers. Such innovation and dynamism should not be stifled by bad policy decisions, they should be encouraged so that industry can help steer the UK towards a brighter future. * Oxera Report prepared for the Association of Airport Operators Association, ‘What is the Contribution of Aviation to the UK Economy?’ November 2009

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Attracting Groups

Unleashing the potential of Group Travel Organisers The latest estimates suggest groups travel generates around £140m to attractions and destinations in the UK per year. A significant proportion of this business comes through Group Travel Organisers (GTOs) but these individuals are often overlooked in favour of direct approaches to coach and tour operators. Based on research conducted in 2009 by QA Research, in the following article I will set out the background to the GTO market and summarise our findings. I will then suggest a number of ways attractions and destinations can develop their groups travel offer and make better use of this valuable income stream.

About the groups travel market

For the purposes of the research we defined a Group Travel Organiser (GTO) as an individual who acts on behalf of a group of travellers, usually twenty or more people, from a club, society or organisation where a common interest is shared. Based on circulation figures for leading GTO magazines and the proportion who read more than one publication, we estimate the number of GTOs is 10 11,000. The most popular types of group travel organisation are Retirement Clubs, Social Clubs and Special Interest Groups, but GTOs do cover a broad and diverse range of organisations, clubs and societies. What our research with GTOs found Choosing where to go The most important information sources for GTOs are still word of mouth and previous experience.They are more likely to be confident if they have had a previous positive experience themselves or have talked to others they trust who have. Proportion of day trips increases Nearly three quarters (71%) of GTOs are running about the same number of trips as in 2006, the last time this research was conducted. However, the proportion of UK group visits by day/evening is on the rise, while the pro-

portion of short and longer breaks is declining, with longer breaks (i.e. over 5 nights) remaining static. Using the Internet Only a third of GTOs use the internet as a resource for planning group travel. Although the internet is becoming more important, destinations and attractions are still likely to require an online and physical presence to deal with requests, take bookings and advise GTOs. How to appeal to GTOs and their members Be active, not passive Since word of mouth recommendations are still the most important information source, destinations and attractions should devise strategies to ensure their destination or attraction is proactively and positively recommended by GTOs rather than relying on this happening by chance. Understand the needs of GTOs Staff taking bookings or dealing with enquiries should have experience of dealing with groups or should have been on group travel holidays themselves.This will help them understand the issues and challenges GTOs face. Give something back GTOs who deliver large groups expect something in return: a discount, bespoke guided tours, vouchers for drinks or food, or some other indication that they are

getting value for money. Keep in touch With a sizeable minority of GTOs (20%) open to revisiting old favourites after a year or two it is important to provide a memorable first visit and keep communicating with these GTOs to attract them back for repeat visits. Encourage longer stays Given the proportion of GTOs undertaking day trips, destination managers targeting groups should think about strategies that maximise the use of their attractions both during the day and also in the evening. Create something ‘new’ GTOs are very receptive to new ideas and themed ideas. 98% agreed or greatly agreed that they “are always looking for new ideas and places for my group to visit”. Destinations and attractions which already attract a large group market need to either develop new products or at least create the perception of offering something new by packaging and themeing their offer differently. Don’t rest on your laurels Above all else, successful destinations and attractions should always be looking to rethink their offer and marketing strategies. For more recommendations from the full report visit: www.qaresearch.co.uk/index.php?/component/option,com_rokdownloads/Itemid,49 /id,37/view,file

Nick How MTS | Head of Leisure and Tourism Research, QA Research

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Case Study: Maldives

Rapid growth, political change and climate change From small beginnings in 1972 with the arrival of the first tourists (12 Italians), the tourism industry on the Maldives has blossomed.Today, nearly 700,000 tourists visit annually, with a large number of them repeaters, attracted by the beautiful beaches and year-round tropical climate. Honeymooners, families and people coming to enjoy the fantastic diving and now also surfing will find some of the most elegant and luxurious resorts in the world, including top range brands. In addition to the 110 resorts currently in operation, with a bed capacity of nearly 22,000, there are also hundreds of safari yachts.These give the visitor the opportunity to enjoy the full breadth of the exotic beauty of these 26 natural coral atolls made up of more than 1,200 islands and 5,000 coral reef formations in the Indian Ocean. Tourism is now the main economic activity in the Maldives, contributing 28% of the GDP directly.The support industries have also hugely benefited from the tourism sector, making it the biggest foreign exchange earner and the main source of government revenue. From the early days resorts in the Maldives were developed with a unique style and embodied local culture and heritage. A more sustainable development approach was adopted with the compilation of the tourism master plans. Maldives resorts are self-contained and energy independent.The unique design and features of these resorts has meant that

‘Tourism is now the main economic activity in the Maldives, contributing 28% of the GDP directly.The support industries have also hugely benefited from the tourism sector, making it the biggest foreign exchange earner and the main source of government revenue’

Ahmed Shafeeq Moosa | Envoy for Science and Technology, Republic of Maldives

over the last 20 years the Maldives has been known as an up-market destination. However, there are resorts ranging from the average to the very high-end, making the Maldives affordable to people from all walks of life. The Maldives have gone through a remarkable transformation in the last 5 years.The first ever democratic government of the Maldives took office just a year ago, on 11th November 2009, bringing an end to a 30 year old dictatorship. The new administration announced key policies to diversify the tourism sector and to attract more inward investment. Amongst these policies was one allowing 100% foreign ownership of luxury villas to be developed across the archipelago. These villas built on local islands, in addition to private guest houses and hotels, will create a community-integrated tourism, generating more social and economic development opportunities for the local population. In addition, the new government of the Maldives believes that the country needs to focus more on cultural tourism. A pilot project framework is now in place for developing new visitor centers based on more than 2,000 years of the Maldives’ rich history. As a nation of small coral islands, the Maldives is vulnerable to climate change. In recognition of the role the nation needs to play, the new government

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announced earlier this year that the Maldives would be the first carbon neutral country in the world within 10 years by switching our fossil fuel dependence to renewable energy. The islands are also home to some of the greenest holiday resorts in the world, some of which have gone beyond 70% in cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, from the very early days, the Maldives resorts were only permitted to develop after a full-scale environmental impact assessment to ensure the right balance between nature and development. Also, amongst the most important pledges of the new government is the establishment of a proper transport network connecting all islands and atolls. Under the plan, half the country is now connected by a ferry system, which the government believes will increase economic activities, making the societies more affluent with the development of the new community-integrated tourism sector. Getting to your resort in the Maldives is now easier than ever, with direct flights from major European cities supported by the world’s largest sea plane network to transfer you to your dream destination. A journey above the gems of the Indian Ocean is a mesmerizing experience to treasure for life. Welcome to the Maldives and enjoy the most beautiful coral islands anywhere.

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16&17

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Case Study: Emerging from Conflict Tourism as a driver for economic recovery and co-operation Having Jack Dee make fun of them on ‘Have I Got News For You?’ was not a specific objective of the Tourism Board of Iraq. But it was certainly a memorable result of our efforts to help the country reconnect with the world’s tourism markets. We had expected the enthusiastic response from Al-Jazeera and The Times, although the Daily Mail’s scepticism was a wee bit disappointing. But Fox TV was delighted by the return of tourism to Iraq as a sign of normalisation and further evidence that Bush had been right. And having the BBC’s former Baghdad correspondent Caroline Hawley in the middle of London’s World Travel Market talking about the country without her trademark flak jacket was a real tonic for the Board’s Chairman. Preparing a strategy to market postconflict destinations like Iraq is often surprising, but always rewarding. As with any sustainable tourism strategy, it is necessary to engage with many stakeholders; but in post-conflict countries you sometimes have to dig a little deeper. Working in South Lebanon involved consultations with all the usual suspects from hoteliers and restaurant owners to journalists and town mayors. Perhaps even involving religious leaders and school teachers is not that unusual. But dropping in for a cup of tea with local UN forces, being taken on the back of a motorbike to meet the regional Hezbollah commander and sitting down with former inmates of El Khiam Prison indicated that this was rather different territory from normal tourism strategy development. And sitting around a table with Sunni, Shia, Druze, Catholic and

Chitral, NW Pakistan Orthodox Leaders who had all fought each other during the civil war in order to talk about visitor needs took things to a whole new level. But when problems are great, the rewards of overcoming them can be greater still. So, partly prompted by the commander who prayed in front of his lieutenants that his young sons would not take up arms but instead become tour guides, contact was established with Israeli tour operators to explore opportunities for cross-border tourism “when the peace comes”. I was reminded of the commander’s prayers when recently the Governor of Timbuktu, Colonel Marnadou Mangara,

‘The Governor argued that “poverty, not terrorism, is the biggest threat” and that “negative travel advice is worsening poverty”. His argument is compelling, when you consider that Mali is ranked 178th (out of 182 countries) on the Human Development Index’

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complained about the UK Government’s advice “against all travel” to everywhere north of the River Niger. The Governor argued that “poverty, not terrorism, is the biggest threat” and that “negative travel advice is worsening poverty”. His argument is compelling, when you consider that Mali is ranked 178th (out of 182 countries) on the Human Development Index. The challenges of tourism development in marginal and less established destinations (which post-conflict places tend to be) are the same everywhere: How can you create an environment that is supportive of tourism enterprise so that young people who have gone away to gain an education have a good reason to return? And what can be done to promote tourism as a realistic livelihood option in an area with limited recent experience of visitors? In my experience, treating tourism as an economic opportunity and a marketing challenge achieves much better results for a destination emerging from conflict than

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focusing on historic security problems. Criminality and even terrorism are often a function of social and economic disadvantage - look at piracy off the coast of Somalia. That is why in Sierra Leone Tony Blair identified tourism as having “huge untapped potential” that provided the country with “a positive, coherent and ambitious vision for the future”. He therefore believed that the country should be supported to implement its tourism strategy as one of the best ways of attracting much needed investment to the destination. My own organisation, Dunira, has been working in Sierra Leone with a number of international agencies with the emphasis on creating enterprise opportunities for young people and marginalised communities; and then connecting with key markets in Europe and North America. One recommendation is to work towards the inscription of a new transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site to commemorate the Atlantic Slave Trade. This is not simply to acknowledge history, but also to open up new marketing channels that will support the tourism enterprise opportunities that have already been identified in West Africa. It is often assumed that UNESCO is essentially a heritage organisation; in fact it exists to promote peace. Its 1945 Constitution, drafted in the shadow of the Second World War, declared “…since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”. Cultural heritage, science and education are simply tools to support this vision, much like post-conflict tourism. All tourism is about communication, embracing national identity and celebrating heritage. In a post-conflict situation, it is also about helping to establish a common understanding and supporting sustainable livelihoods. When I was first contacted by a representative of the Tourism Board of Iraq earlier this year, I admit that I did do some checks to ensure that it was a genuine enquiry. But it quickly became clear that this was the beginning of an extremely exciting partnership and an opportunity for us to implement a text book strategy for tourism development.

Bird festival in south Lebanon Whilst some progress had already been made by the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, the national tourist board in Baghdad recognised that it would be some time before Basra could regain its title of the ‘Venice of the East’; and the return of regular tours by ‘culture vultures’ to Babylon, Nineveh, Samarra and Ur was not an immediate prospect. At the same time, officials realised that they had to start planning for the future.They had to conduct comprehensive surveys of tourist accommodation and attractions, devise training programmes for a whole new generation of tour guides and hospitality managers and build the capacity of the tourism board nationally and throughout the regions.They also had to reconnect with the markets that in recent years have inevitably lost sight of Iraq as a viable tourism destination. In this context, the Board’s recent visit to the World Travel

‘Whilst some progress had already been made by the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, the national tourist board in Baghdad recognised that it would be some time before Basra could regain its title of the ‘Venice of the East’; and the return of regular tours by ‘culture vultures’ to Babylon, Nineveh, Samarra and Ur was not an immediate prospect’

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Market was a very public start of its recovery as one of the world’s great tourism destinations. In the future, as tour operators and travellers seek out ever more unusual destinations, those emerging from conflict can be those that lead the way. Cambodia, Croatia and Nicaragua have demonstrated the economic opportunity of post-conflict tourism. Iraq, Palestine and Yemen have all been doing tourism for thousands of years; their growing confidence and pride in their own extraordinary heritage is already helping them reconnect with new markets. Of course there are some very real security challenges to be addressed in post-conflict destinations if tourism is to become part of their economic portfolio. But here tourism has two functions: It enables responsible travellers to experience a destination that has been out of bounds for some time. It also allows entrepreneurs to put the past behind them and move on in peace, sharing their distinctive heritage and not least their often sublime food with visitors.Tourism development in post-conflict destinations is about recognising the impact of poverty and the value of heritage. What greater prospect is there for peace and prosperity in a destination emerging from conflict than sharing the pleasure of a traditional meal with a tourist?

Benjamin Carey FTS | MD, Dunira Strategy | Chair, Tourism Society Scotland | Member of the UK National Commission for UNESCO Working Group on Peace

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The Green Future of Travel

Accepting responsibility and spreading the benefits There is a very striking series of Oxfam adverts in London’s tube stations and elsewhere about global warming.They are designed to pull you up short: ‘Some people are finding climate change particularly hard to stomach. And with their children going hungry, who can blame them?’ ‘Right now in the developing world, extreme weather conditions mean the only thing farmers are growing is hungry.’ This is strong and in your face. People living in developing countries are put centre-stage. Usually global warming is about statistics and the amount of carbon tonnage. It’s about ice caps melting and animals losing their natural habitats. People are, of course, centre stage in tourism as it is local people’s environments that we travel to.The green future of travel has to include these people, otherwise it is not sustainable. High up on the agenda for everybody is climate change.The green future of travel has to include climate change as well as people. Climate change hits poor countries first and hardest although rich countries are responsible for current levels of greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential that rich countries set rigorous targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. As I write this the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December is imminent. Regardless of the outcome, it is imperative that the tourism industry recognises its responsibilities now for its own emissions. Otherwise legislation might take over. Too often have I heard it said that travel

‘The green future of travel has to include climate change as well as people. Climate change hits poor countries first and hardest although rich countries are responsible for current levels of greenhouse gas emissions’

and tourism contribute ‘only’ 5 per cent of the emissions (or even 3 per cent), when in fact this is an average of global emissions and does not reflect the actual contribution within the markets. According to the report Plane Truths (New Economics Foundation 2008), in the UK it is closer to 12%.This figure reflects the unequal contribution between rich and poor countries to climate change.This inequality is central to the change debate and it highlights the issue of responsibility which the industry needs to address. Hotels are responsible for about 25 percent of tourism’s carbon impact. I do not believe that a straightforward solution exists. For too long operators and holidaymakers have clung to the carbon offset comfort rag. Offsetting does not magic away the harm, and funds raised are not necessarily spent in the most meaningful and beneficial manner. More fundamental change is needed. It was therefore very good to read that responsibletravel.com is no longer going to be asking customers to contribute to offsetting their flights.Tourism Concern has always argued that this absolves travellers from questioning the necessity of their flight and it also lets the carrier off

the hook. Carbon trading is also very questionable as it helps to legitimise increased exploitation of the developing world’s energy sources by rich countries. We all probably know people nowadays who have decided not to fly. For the time being they are a tiny minority of travellers and are unlikely to bring about any radical change outside their own lives. In any event there is a dilemma. If we do not travel to poor countries that are overdependent on tourism, do we impoverish poor people even more? We have amassed a great deal of evidence over the years at Tourism Concern that tourism too often maintains people in poverty. Many problems resulting from unsustainable tourism developments have never been tackled, remain unresolved and fester. Climate change is now a significant driver in such problem areas. However, when people are living in unbalanced economies where tourism is the primary business, what happens if the tourists do not come ...? For travel to have a green future it must strike a balance between sharing more of the economic benefits among its key supply chain stakeholders and the vital need to find new ways to manage and reduce its emissions.

Tricia Barnett | Director, Tourism Concern

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The Rise and Fall of Tourism

UK’s golden age of travel – about to lose its lustre? Within just sixty years, international tourism has grown almost forty-fold.The UK, along with other developed economies, has been at the forefront of this phenomenon.Three criteria are key to this growth: The availability of convenient, affordable transport; More people enjoying additional leisure time; and Increasing disposable income These three ingredients have driven popular tourism growth since factory workers of the industrial revolution began to escape their grim surroundings to reach a newly-promised land of the seaside thanks to the steam train. In the UK a distinguishing social feature of the post World War II era is the freedom to travel for almost all. Expectations have steadily grown, as tourism has generally prospered save for occasional minor blips precipitated by economic and diplomatic crises.Transport has improved, helped by huge technological breakthroughs precipitated by desperate military need in World War II such as jet engines and radar. Leisure time has increased for most and holidays with pay are now taken for granted. Things can only better…. or perhaps not. Closer examination of those three staples of modern tourism against a rapidly changing 21st century social order raises some disturbing questions. Advances in aviation may give us the technical ability to travel from the UK to Australia within the time currently taken to reach the Canary Islands, yet such realisation will almost certainly flounder on both financial and environmental grounds. Concorde is now a museum exhibit and jet travel is arguably slower, and certainly less pleasant, than two decades ago, as air travellers endure worsening experiences from poor quality products marketed on the altar of ‘low cost’ appeal and irksome, but necessary, security restrictions. A World that steadily diminished in size for most of the 19th and 20th centuries now has a more stable and static appearance. A key enabler of mass travel has been the use and availability of fossil fuels, a sit-

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uation under increasing threat from both finite resources and now widely accepted theories on climate change and its alleged causes.The fashionable solution of punitive taxes, such as APD in the UK, makes little effective contribution to an urgent need to develop new technologies to overcome this dependence on fossil fuels. Indeed, such taxes may negate growth and especially hinder lucrative long haul tourism, both outbound and inbound (the latter having implications for much of the UK leisure industry). The continuance of increased leisure time and paid holidays may face less threat than continued improvements to passenger transport, though modern technology does not always lighten the burden. Sometimes an increased employee commitment is expected, as a worldwide 24/7 culture demands instant responses to workplace issues. However, continued increases in disposable income are much less certain: demographic changes will almost certainly skew the marketplace as the 1:4 retired / employed ratio rapidly worsens. And

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whilst recent decades have seen tourism benefit greatly from ‘well-pensioned early retireds’, the changing demographics of most mature economies suggest ever more dependence on such older travellers. Alas, for many an era of less prosperous retirement seems imminent.The OECD already places UK pensioners behind most European countries and many pensions will diminish as final salary schemes are substituted with less generous packages. Coupled with a squeeze on the disposable income of young professionals when enormous debts are now typically incurred on even a standard degree course, the longer-term omens for leisure spending are taking on a less favourable appearance than hitherto. Even if just one key ingredient were threatened, future tourism patterns would be affected, but with two of three, transport and disposable income, likely to endure severe pressure in the next two decades, the UK tourism industry may have to be very innovative to avoid the golden age of recent decades losing its lustre.

Bob Gibson MA PhD FTS | Freelance researcher & tutor, University of Warwick Open Studies

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Tourism’s Impact

International tourism – a blessing or a curse? This is one of the world’s hottest topics for debate and is a major concern for many Tourism Society members. Whilst instinctively we tend to stress the economic and social advantages of tourism, we must recognise that many people condemn the industry for destroying local culture and damaging the environment. The current concern over tourists’ air miles is part of the issue, but in this nothing is black and white. Remote (as well as not so remote) villages can be found where tourists have yet to be seen, but the local youth are already in US baseball caps and on Facebook.TV and the Internet change cultures faster than tourism. An uncontrolled spread of forestry and urban development is as guilty of environmental damage. Badly managed tourism is the curse, but with professional management the benefits can outweigh the downside. For many developing countries tourism is now a significant component of their GDP. In Kenya, tourism more than matches coffee and agriculture as their primary foreign currency earner, and the social benefits are wider.The Seychelles would not have spread their community clinics and schools so quickly if it hadn’t been for the positive impact of tourism on the national economy.This July, Lelei LeLaulu, Chairman, Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International, told a Tourism Society meeting that in certain Pacific nations the economic impact of incoming British tourists far outweighs any aid provided by DfID. While all countries want to diversify their economies, some smaller states see tourism as a salvation. With no resources but a beautiful landscape and a good climate, then tourism is an industry that is labour intensive, employs a greater proportion of women and young people than manufacturing or extraction, and can get going with limited investment. Tourism is also resilient. An UNCTAD report on the effects of natural and manmade disasters on economies found that in hurricane hit islands of the Caribbean, tourism could recover much faster than

Lamu seafront agriculture and other industries. In January UNWTO was announcing that tourism had a key role to play in the current global economic recovery “due to its immense capacity to create jobs and its recovery potential.” UNWTO said that close to one billion international tourist arrivals per year generate millions of jobs. Even in these recessionary times travel and tourism is one of the few sectors that cuts across the economy mobilizing employment, investment and sustainable development opportunities both for emerging and developed economies. In my own city of Salisbury, our beautiful 13th Century Cathedral would be hard pressed even to carry out its religious mission without the income local and foreign tourists bring.This year UNWTO has been celebrating the diversity of international tourism and raising awareness of the significance of diversity and sustainable tourism. It highlights: Tourism’s capacity to maintain diversity in the face of globalization How tourism can enhance cultural and environmental diversity The role of tourism in engendering international cooperation and understanding.

Unfortunately, we continue to see the dark side of tourism. Unregulated and overdevelopment of coastlines plus desperate price cutting can result in tourism slums. Different cultures may have limited defenses against sex tourism, and physical heritage, often a primary tourist attraction, can be eroded by uncontrolled tourism. The starting point must be professional and inclusive management to ensure that destinations do not lose out on the opportunities of profitable international tourism.The challenges faced by destinations with weak management include: Stakeholders with short term political rather than longer term social or commercial agendas; A lack of leadership from the very top; A lack of understanding of the internationalism of tourism; and lastly No real recognition of practical long term community goals. The greatest contribution that British consultants can make is to support best practices and encourage professionalism within local industries. Local communities must have real pride in tourism, as without a sense of community ownership that essential welcome will soon fade.

Roger Withers FTS | The Tourism Partnership

Quarter 4 Issue 142 Winter 2009

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Supporting Practitioners’ CPD Helping destination managers keep pace with evolving customer expectations The integration of the Tourism Management Institute (TMI) and the Tourism Society means that the TMI experience of developing and implementing continuing professional development (CPD) will be extended across the wider Tourism Society over the coming year/eighteen months.To begin this process I would like to provide a flavour of the Institute’s current CPD programme. TMI’s proudest achievement in this area has been the development and launch of two new professional Postgraduate courses in Destination Management, awarded by Leeds Metropolitan University and delivered in partnership with Bournemouth and Lancaster Universities. Open to all destination management practitioners, the courses are designed to ensure that both subject matter and assignments provide a rigorous grounding in underlying concepts whilst remaining directly relevant and applicable to participants’ work situation, to offer direct benefits for participants and their organisations. Feedback from current students and their line managers indicates that this is certainly the case: “very relevant to my current employment in a destination management organisation” “provided a clear and much needed link between academics and practitioners in the field of destination/tourism management and can only improve levels of professionalism in this field” These developments are welcomed by Brian Wisdom, Chief Executive of People 1st: "The new postgraduate qualifications in destination management are set to raise the skills bar in this dynamic and

‘The new postgraduate qualifications in destination management are set to raise the skills bar in this dynamic and increasingly complex area’

increasingly complex area. Destination management is a key component of the travel industry and it's essential that destination managers are fully equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to anticipate and surpass customer expectations as they become even more discerning.” The TMI CPD programme also includes a Recognition Scheme for Courses in Higher Education intended to strengthen links between destination management and the HE sector. Recognition gives the university use of both the TMI and TS logos on marketing material relating to the course and an entry on the CPD Resources web pages, and reassures students that the course qualification they will gain at the end of their studies is accepted by the professional body for destination management. As Jayne Stocks, Principal Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, puts it: “Linkages between tourism industry professional bodies and Higher Education institutions are vital to ensure that tourism courses are relevant, and provide students with the knowledge and skills to meet industry needs. Sheffield Hallam University believes this is confirmed by TMI Recognition Scheme endorsement of its BSc (Hons) Tourism Management course.” TMI sees its mission as supporting the

professional development of destination managers, and has been working to develop a personal CPD recording system for members. Still in its pilot stages, this is a space on each TMI member’s area of the web site where they can record not only attendance at conferences, events and seminars, but other forms of CPD activity, such as reading this journal, coaching team members or active participation in working groups and committees.They are also encouraged to reflect on their experience, prompted by space for recording good and bad points and, most importantly, what they have learned and will use from the activity. Over the coming months, the CPD Working Group will be encouraging TMI members to use the system and developing a more formal hours- or points-based record leading to reward and recognition for CPD activity. In due course, this is likely to be rolled out and available to all Tourism Society members. Full details of the Postgraduate Qualifications and the Recognition Scheme can be found at www.tmi.org.uk, or contact Cathy Guthrie, CPD Co-ordinator (e-mail: secretary@tmi.org.uk, tel: 01467 620 769).To apply for the Postgraduate Qualifications, contact Jessica Stacey, Course Administrator at Leeds Metropolitan University (tel: 0113 812 6771; e-mail: j.stacey@leedsmet.ac.uk) Cathy Guthrie PhD FTMI FTS | TMI Hon. Secretary and CPD Co-ordinator

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Membership News To say my feet haven’t touched the ground since joining the Society is certainly an understatement. This has been one of the busiest last quarters of the year in the Society’s history, with more events than ever and very positive growth in both corporate and personal membership.Things will also step up another gear in 2010 as we go into the very exciting integration with Tourism Management Institute (TMI). The next few months will see some very exciting initiatives, one especially adding a very new and exciting dimension to our regional and national Chapters. Members’ benefits

will be enhanced, and by adding as much value as we can we hope to see membership increase. Thank you to all my friends and colleagues in the industry and the Society’s Board of Directors for your kind support and welcoming comments; it is very much appreciated. As I look out of the office window into Sutton High Street, however, with the rain coming down in stair rods, I have, on the very odd occasion, reflected on Dubai and the current 30 degrees... but also want to report that I am delighted to be back. Mark Miller MTS | Executive Director| mark@tourismsociety.org

From the Chairman’s Desk 2010 and a new era for The Tourism Society as we welcome the integration of the Tourism Management Institute which brings with it a strong Destination Management specialist section open to all members qualified in this area of expertise as well as additional regional chapters and a highly valuable CPD program. Members involved in destination management should seriously consider joining the TMI section. In challenging times career development becomes fundamental to an individual’s success and the CPD program will certainly assist anyone involved in destination management. Sign up now and encourage your colleagues/staff to do the same. As we read, the three main UK political parties’ support of the world’s leading growth industry leaves opportunity for the industry to inform and

advise new parliamentary candidates of the industry’s impact and role in the sustainable economic development of all countries.The tool kit available via the website has been designed to enable anyone in tourism to engage their local representatives and play an active part in pushing tourism higher up the agenda. Wishing you all a successful 2010! Alison Cryer FTS | Chairman | The Tourism Society

Obituary

Jimmy Hoseason OBE: 1927-2009 When he retired in 2000 as Chairman of the company, James (Jimmy) Hoseason’s tourism career spanned nearly half a century in which he was one of the most successful and influential pioneers of modern UK domestic tourism. He created and developed a holiday organizing/booking agency business model that still dominates the self-catering holiday market today. He was a sponsor of the Tourism Society in its first year in 1977, a Founder Fellow and also a Member of the former English Tourist Board. Hoseasons Holidays was launched by Jimmy’s father in 1946 as a boat hire business on the Norfolk Broads. When his father died suddenly in 1950, Jimmy took over the small business at the age of 22 and developed it rapidly by adding holiday cottages to the boat business, initially in East Anglia. Although the company did not provide transport to the destinations in its brochures, Hoseasons was already acting fifty years ago as an entrepreneurial tour operator in the UK domestic market.The Company did not own any of the boats or cottages it marketed but developed as a dedicated marketing

Quarter 4 Issue 142 Winter 2009

and booking agency. In the late 1960s the brand and business was repositioned to go national by embracing all Britain’s waterways and adding caravans on holiday parks throughout Britain to its established holiday cottage sector. Further expansion brought in boat hire and holiday homes in France and Ireland. Impressively, the major growth of the Company took place in the decades in which the holiday sector of UK domestic tourism was decimated by the competition of outbound tour operators. By 2000 the company and its brand had become one of the largest holiday operators in the UK, offering some 12,000 places to stay and arranging holidays for over one million people a year. Over the years Hoseasons achieved some 50 Awards for the leading-edge quality of its products, its customer service and staff training methods. Under Jimmy’s lead the company was also always in the vanguard of information technology and was thus perfectly placed to perceive and exploit the new branding, marketing and distribution power of the Internet. Victor T.C. Middleton OBE FTS

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Membership News Congratulations to... Stephen Munn, Commercial Director at Beaulieu Enterprises, who has been upgraded to a Fellow of the Tourism Society (FTS) and to Professor Victor T.C. Middleton OBE FTS, who was awarded the Bernard Gooch Award, entitled Cumbria Personality of the Year, for Services to Tourism from Cumbria Tourism. Welcome New Corporate Members Ogilvy 0207 309 1000 www.ogilvy.co.uk Ash Coleman-Smith MTS Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide ash.colmansmith@ogilvy.com Rachel Francis MTS Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide 0207 309 1008 rachel.francis@uk.ogilvypr.com Charlie Mitchell-Heggs MTS OgilvyAction 0207 479 0758 charlie.mitchellheggs@ogilvy.com Serge Nicholls MTS Ogilvy Advertising 0207 345 3095 serge.nicholls@ogilvy.com South African Tourism 0208 971 9350 www.southafrica.net Matthew Armstrong MTS matthew@uk.southafrica.net Stena Line Limited 01407 060 666 www.stenaline.com Peter Croft MTS 01407 606 846 peter.croft@stenaline.com Sally Jenkins MTS 08705 421 130 sally.jenkins@stenaline.com Dermot Cairns MTS 02890 884 038 dermot.cairns@stenaline.com Graham Howatson MTS 01407 060 666 graham.howatson@stenaline. com Welcome to Yorkshire 0113 322 3500 www.yorkshire.com Gary Verity MTS 0113 322 3561 chiefexecpa@yorkshire.com

www.tourismsociety.org

Dee Marshall MTS 0113 322 3563 dmarshall@yorkshire.com Peter Dodd MTS 0113 322 3523 pdodd@yorkshire.com Marcus Falconer MTS 0113 322 3524 mfalconer@yorkshire.com Welcome New Members Jeremy Kerrison MTS Telelingua 01873 812 012 info@telelingua.co.uk www.telelingua.co.uk Robert Baldry MTS Flexis Hospitality Solutions 07932 221149 rob@flexishs.com www.flexishs.com Jay Commins MTS Footprint Impression Management Limited 0113 251 5698 jay@fim.org.uk www.fim.org.uk Louise Browne MTS Colin Buchanan & Partners 028 9023 4110 louise.browne@cbuchanan.co.uk www.colinbuchanan.com/ Helen Bray MTS Brooklands College 01932 797 873 hbray@brooklands.ac.uk www.brooklands.ac.uk Claudia H O Vasto MTS Air Malta 0208 394 5099 clauv@uol.com.br Peter Allport MTS Breakfree Holidays Ltd 0207 025 4600 peter.allport@breakfree holidays.co.uk www.breakfreeholidays.co.uk Yvonne Crook MTS View Marketing 01463 470 990 yvonne@viewmarketing.co.uk www.viewmarketing.co.uk

Joe Reader MTS Precise Media 0207 264 4733 joe.reader@precise.co.uk www.precise.co.uk Fiona Drane MTS Bright Light Marketing 01750 505 053 E: fiona.drane@brightlightmarketin g.co.uk www.brightlightmarketing.co. uk Jacqui Bates MTS Lounge Pass 0870 366 5145 jacqui.bates@loungepass.com www.loungepass.com Julia Horne MTS The National Trust 01793 818 540 julia.horne@nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk Iride Azara MTS University of Derby Buxton 01332 594 646 i.e.azara@derby.ac.uk Charles Grimaldi MTS Grand Breaks Ltd 01323 730 889 charles.grimaldi@grandbreaks. com www.grandbreaks.com Emma Bettinson MTS University of Wales Institute Cardiff 02920 417 132 ebettinson@uwic.ac.uk www3.uwic.ac.uk Petra Glover MTS University of East London 0208 223 7366 p.glover@uel.ac.uk www.uel.ac.uk Kevin Jones MTS VisitBritain 0207 578 1102 kevin.jones@visitbritain.org www.visitbritaindirect.com Linda Landles MTS Bluegrass Research Limited 0191 469 1565 lindal@bluegrassresearch.co.uk

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www.bluegrassresearch.co.uk Laurane Herrieven MTS Coke Estates Limited 01328 713 103 l.herrieven@holkham.co.uk www.holkham.co.uk John Floy MTS University College Birmingham 0121 604 1000 j.floy@ucb.ac.uk www.ucb.ac.uk Laura Locke MTS University Campus Suffolk 01473 338 585 l.locke@ucs.ac.uk www.ucs.ac.uk Anita Beresford-Webb MTS University Campus Suffolk 01473 338 582 a.beresfordwebb@ucs.ac.uk www.ucs.ac.uk Katelijne Lenaerts MTS Independent tourism consultant 07767 885 514 kattraveller@hotmail.com Helen Oliver MTS Training and Consultancy Services 01638 742 484 helenoliver01@btinternet.com Eileen Hinson FTS Pan-Leisure Consulting Ltd 0161 234 0089 eileenhinson@panleisureconsulting.com Chris Stone MTS Manchester Metropolitan University 0161 247 2745 chris.stone@mmu.ac.uk Georgina Bowen MTS English Riviera Tourist Board 01803 296 296 georgina.bowen@torbay.gov.uk www.englishriviera.co.uk Elizabeth Pippett MTS English Riviera Tourist Board 01803 211 211 liz.pippett@torbay.gov.uk www.englishriviera.co.uk New members, continued Page 24

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Mark Di-Toro MTS VisitBritain 0207 578 1000 mark.di-toro@visitbritain.co.uk visitbritain.co.uk Nikki Smith MTS Flamingo Marketing Ltd 01872 510 489 nikki@flamingo-marketing.co.uk www.flamingo-marketing.co.uk Frances Young MTS Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners 0207 837 4477 fyoung@nlpplanning.com www.nlpplanning.com Graham Morphy-Morris MTS Hospitality Consulting Service gmm@hospitalityconsultingservi ce.co.uk www.hospitalityconsultingser vice. co.uk Andrew McKean MTS Andrew McKean andrew@andrewmckean.co.uk Joanne McCarthy MTS Woodyhyde Ltd 01929 480 274 camp@woodyhyde.fsnet.co.uk www.woodyhyde.co.uk Josep Ejarque MTS four tourism +39 011 440 7078 josep.ejarque@fourtourism.it Mark Sandberg MTS Sandberg Consulting 01622 808 785 mark@sandberg-consulting.com www.sandberg-consulting.com Casey Mead MTS Flagship Consulting 0207 886 8450 casey.mead@flagshipconsulting. co.uk www.flagshipconsulting.co.uk Anna Matthew MTS Suffolk New College 01473 382 268 E: annamatthew@suffolk.ac.uk Ginna Clark MTS Lifestyle Media Group Ltd 01799 544 655 ginna@catalink.com www.lifestylemediagroup.co.uk Alison Rice MTS Alison Rice 0207 226 1887 alisonrice@rocketmail.com Eddie Ottmann MTS EKO Marketing eddie@ekomarketing.co.uk George Ristich MTS Independent Public Relations 01628 630 965 george@independentpr.co.uk www.ipr-online.co.uk Rick Ball MTS Staffordshire University 01785 887 861 rick.ball@cesr.staffs.com Omololu Olumuyiwa MTS Travelscope Magazine +23 480 586 16964 olumololu@yahoo.com Clive Tilley MTS Wightlink Ltd 023 928 55469 clivetilley@wightlink.co.uk W:

www.wightlink.co.uk Syed Niyaz Basha MTS Eksalife Pte Ltd +65 6493 3994 sbasha@eksalife.com

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Bogda Smreczak MTS Torfaen County Borough Council 01446 411840 bogda_smreczak@hotmail.com Students Eva Agics University of Bedfordshire eviagi@freemail.hu Magdalena Bacikova University of Bedfordshire magdicka.b@email.cz Olatz Beitia London College of International Business Studies olatzbeitia@hotmail.com Sara Borghi University of Lugano saraboargs@gmail.com Katherine Bowhay Bath Spa University katherine_bowhay@hotmail.co.uk Clare Bryan Staffordshire University clare_bryan@hotmail.co.uk Maksim Chernogor Oxford Brookes mchernogor@yahoo.co.uk Mariela Diogenova The University of Greenwich dm806@gre.ac.uk Sara Dumani Bournemouth University grabacloud@hotmail.com Karen Edwards Coleg Llandrillo Cymru kaz_edwards@hotmail.com Judit Fabok University Of Surrey fabokj@yahoo.co.uk Monika Gebala Buckinghamshire New University monicagebala@yahoo.co.uk George Ovidiu Ghiuta Bournemouth University george.ghiuta@hotmail.com Marta Golebiewska Glasgow Caledonian University golebiewskamarta@yahoo.co.uk Monika Hausmanns Queen Margaret University mumpizxx@gmx.de Natalie Hooton University of Plymouth natalie.hooton@plymouth.ac.uk Masood Khodadadi Glasgow Caledonian University Masood.Khodadadi@gcal.ac.uk Izabela Klepacova University of Westminster izabelaklepacova@hotmail.com Livia Kupcova Univeristy of Bedfordshire livinka215@azet.sk Ian Lacey Univeristy of Surrey ian_lacey@tiscali.co.uk Louise Mitcheson University College Birmingham prettysemblance@hotmail.com Olivia Murai University of Greenwich oliviamurai@hotmail.com Chris Phelan University of Central Lancashire cjphelan@uclan.ac.uk Nichola Salmon National University of Ireland Maynooth nichola.salmon@gmail.com

Corporate Member

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Corporate Member

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