Tourism management has its own share of challenges, which the Coronavirus pandemic has further elevated. Let us have a look at some of the core challenges and issues that tourism management professionals are currently facing and the key ways they can take to overcome these challenges effectively.
30-seconds summary:
- Building and maintaining a credible online presence is not only the need of the hour but is also one of the biggest challenges amid the growing competition in the industry
- The need is to maintain a balance between the global and local suppliers to prevent supply chain disruptions
- The significance of market studies in keeping up with customer expectations is undeniable
- Mitigating the challenges of the global pandemic through introducing a host of new health and security measures
In the past couple of years, the tourism industry has come up as one of the chief drivers of growth among the service sector in the country. In the last financial year, thirty-nine million jobs were created in this sector, and the number is expected to rise by two percent per annum to lead to more than fifty-two million jobs by 2028. Furthermore, during this period, both the rate of foreign tourist arrival and the presence of hotel chains in India are going to rise in tandem.
Thus, there is no denying that the industry is broadening its horizon at a rapid pace, with more key players and greater opportunities coming to the forefront. And, in such an ever-growing sector with rising competition, challenges are bound to come up on a day-to-day basis. As such, mitigating those challenges and moving past them is what makes a tourism manager truly stand out in his/her field.
With that being said, we, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, a renowned tourism management institute in Kolkata, will take a closer look in this article today at the major managerial challenges in the niche of tourism management and the most effective ways to overcome them.
Building and maintaining a credible online presence
We live in the day and age where an average tourist would spend hours online researching about the place, the hotels, the restaurants, and more before booking anything. In fact, eighty percent of travelers take over four weeks to complete their research and actually book something. In such a scenario, if the tourism management fails to offer adequate attention to their online presence, the losses would run too high to count.
As such, many management teams are going for approaches where they partner with famous cab aggregators to combine their powerful web presence with successful mobile apps. Additionally, there is increased attention being paid to organic SEO, content marketing, and responsive apps and websites.
The disruption of the supply chains across the industry
The tourism industry heavily relies on the diverse network of global supply chains, many of which have been deeply imfpacted by the pandemic. As a matter of fact, seventy-five percent of the companies have claimed that their supply chains have been disrupted. Furthermore, some of the supply chains that have remained relatively the same until now are likely to experience issues in the future.
As a way to address this issue, the management has to create contingency plans for maintaining a high level of service. Per se, one of the viable options is hiring suppliers from other countries and opting for alternative delivery companies and local replacements. Thus, tourism management professionals have to understand the necessity to maintain a balance between the global and local suppliers.
Keeping up with the changes in guest expectations
Keeping up with the demands of the modern-day tech-savvy and worldly-wise guests is certainly one of the major challenges faced by the tourism industry. With a majority of the establishments bringing in sophisticated tech involving AI and VR, along with increasing the expenditure on smart gadgets and rooms, a company that is yet to invest in these aspects is certainly going to lag behind. Thus, the startups that are newly setting foot in the industry have to learn too much too soon, and thus, raise more capital in order to meet the demands of their target audience.
Of course, the businesses that have newly started making their presence felt in the industry need their tourism management professionals to come up with other avenues to entice the customers. As such, the management can decide on reward systems, discounts and offers, and a better marketing budget in order to fulfill customer expectations within the company’s allotted resources.
Maintenance of their own service standards
We, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, have noticed that the common perception about the scenario of increased competition is about addressing the need to be better than the competitors in the market. However, it is equally challenging for businesses to maintain and improve their own service standards in the current scenario, where everyone is targeting the same group of millennial travelers.
So, the key to solving this particular challenge starts with carrying out a thorough market study focusing on the specific demands of customers from the business. As such, it is not only about ensuring the presence of advanced facilities, but also about having a structured training schedule for all the employees. Moreover, even the tourism management teams have to keep themselves updated about the latest trends in the market and have them followed accordingly.
A host of challenges brought in by the global pandemic
The fact remains that the global pandemic has compounded the challenges that were already being faced by the tourism managers. For instance, the pace of digitalization had to be accelerated, the facilities for contactless travel had to be established, and the employees were trained and prepared again, and so on. To top it off, the message that all these additional steps are carrying had to convincingly reach the customers to make them rely on the business more.
There is no denying that the pandemic has changed the tourism industry in unforeseen ways. The high-mileage travelers are changing their bucket lists and focusing more on the options that are safer and closer home. Thus, it offers the right opportunity for the tourism management professionals to focus more on the traveling ‘experience’ offered by their companies, along with ensuring a greater attention to maintaining the general safety protocols.
When it comes to facing the multitude of core managerial challenges in the tourism industry, the young professionals need to be trained and prepped to the optimum, whereby they become the solutions that the sector needs. And this is where Avlon Shiksha Niketan comes into the picture as one of the premier tourism management institutes in Kolkata, successfully honing and grooming the aspirants for past many years to enable them to make their mark in the niche of tourism and travel management. With our holistic and real-world based approaches, we, at Avlon Shiksha Niketan, have always made sure that all our students are prepped up well to turn challenges into accomplishments in their illustrious careers