Impact Of Globalization, Demography, And Climate Change On The Tourism Industry: A Case Study Of Tourism Australia

Limitations

This report has been authorised by Dr Gayle Mayes, the course coordinator of TSM221: Policy and Planning for Tourism, Sport and Leisure. This report fulfils the requirements for Task 3 of the course.

The major limitation for this report is that it is entirely based on secondary evidence and research, relying heavily on peer reviewed journals and news reports for affirmation of the hypothesis.

The main purpose of this report is to study the impact of a number of factors like globalization, terrorism, climate change, demography and the advent of internet on the sports, leisure and tourism industry. All of these factors have had a tremendous impact on the tourism industry around the world – while some impacts have been positive, some have dampened the growth of tourism as well. This particular report will use Tourism Australia as an example, to study the impact of the aforementioned factors on tourism in Australia. The impacts of each of these factors will be examined in detail, along with possible strategies and recommendations for the same.

Globalization may be defined as a complex system of social processes which would help in intensifying and expanding the economic, social, political and technological connections across the globe.

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	STRATEGY FOR MANAGEMENT
Increased globalization has had technological impacts on tourism. For instance, the changes in transportation technology have altered global mobility. At present, there are numerous modes of transportation that people can avail, like trains, planes, ships, cruises and other forms of public transport (Dwyer 2014). In fact, technology has enabled the creation of airplanes which can carry passengers over extremely long distances and bear greater load. These are known as long haul transportation facilities.	Tourism Australia is a government regulated tourism organization in Australia. However, in Australia, there is often a lack of proper transportation facilities for tourists, coupled with the problem of traffic jams. With the availability of technology, Tourism Australia should take necessary measures to improve public transportation facilities for the tourists.
As far as the economic impacts of globalization are concerned, it must be remembered that the world population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050. At present, there are at least 1.8 billion young people in the world and more than half the world population is urban. Thus, an intrinsic aspect of the lifestyle of such categories includes holidaying at exotic places (Chang and Huang 2014). The increase in population has also led to an increase in the number of people travelling for pleasure.	As a result, Tourism Australia must implement strategies that are all encompassing and inclusive in nature. For instance, there are at least a billion people travelling to Australia each year. Thus, the government organization must take adequate measures to provide adequate lodging and accommodation facilities for these people. Moreover, the organization must take into account the unique needs and demands of all income groups and categories of individuals traveling to Australia.
With respect to the cultural impacts of globalization, it can be said that people around the world are now more aware of newer tourist destinations and leisure activities. There is a greater need amongst these individuals to move away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and travel to new and unexplored places (Liu et al. 2014).	Australia is the hub for cultural activities, leisure activities, unexplored wilderness and new travel destinations. Tourism Australia should thus resort to robust promotion and advertising strategies which would shed light on the new and potential tourism destinations within Australia.
With regards to the social impacts of globalization, it must be mentioned that it has led to an increased gap between the rich and poor across the world. While globalization has led to an improved economic conditions overall, it has also increased poverty. That prevents a major portion of the world’s population from participating in tourism.	It would be beneficial for the tourism industry in Australia to include the various income groups as part of the industry. Tourism Australia should take necessary measures to provide cheap and affordable lodging and transportation facilities so that everyone can partake in leisure and tourism activities.
The influence of globalization has had far reaching impacts on environment and climate change with increase in air, water and soil pollution.	Tourism Australia should implement sustainable environmental policies and green initiatives in order to counter these impacts.

One feasible recommendation for Tourism Australia to manage the impact on globalization would include:

Tourism Australia should make provisions for safe and affordable public transportation. For instance, there should be collaboration between the transportation companies and the government agencies so as to modify the existing transportation facilities and make them safe for transit. Similarly, guided tours may be organized in the form of tourist buses which would be exclusively used for the purpose of sightseeing (Hsieh and Kung 2013).

Globalization has indeed changed the way people view and communicate with the world around them. In the upcoming years, it is expected that globalization will result in further changes in lifestyle, tourist demand and value systems. This would make the tourists strive and yearn for more varied and wholesome experiences with respect to traveling. Globalization has also led to a number of political changes, for instance, terrorism (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley 2015). As a result, some destinations are considered to be safer than others. Consequently, Tourism Australia should take adequate measures to improve security and safe lodging and transportation facilities.

Demography refers to the development and composition of the population in a given place. The growth of population and the varied characteristics which differ from individual to individual would play a key role in determining the tourism of a place.

IMPACT OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES	STRATEGY FOR MANAGEMENT
Increase in population is one of the most important demographic changes which have affected the tourism industry. With the population increasing at an alarming rate, the number of people (with unique requirements and expectations) traveling today are more.	Tourism Australia should take necessary measures in order to accommodate the growing number of travelers. This can be done by increasing lodging and transportation facilities.
As far as the social impacts are concerned, the current demographic trends show that the baby boomer generation is presently in their 60s and 70s. This particular generation is used to a definite urban lifestyle, and is nearing retirement. As such, this older generation would be more receptive to the idea of traveling at both national and international levels.	Tourism Australia could introduce a number of leisure and tourism related activities to attract both the younger and older generations. These activities should be unique and promoted effectively. In other words, Australia should be promoted as a place where anyone, irrespective of their age or class, can go and have fun.
The cultural impacts of demographic changes are diverse. For instance, more women are opting to travel solo or go for backpacking trips today than in the past.	However, Australia lacks women friendly travel and tourism facilities. Tourism Australia could include new policies which provide women only affordable lodging or transportation facilities.
Political demography or the impact of demographic changes on politics have had an impact on tourism. For instance, youth bulges are a major factor which determines the quality of tourism. With an increase of the younger generation between 16 and 30, the tourism labor industry is saturated with youngsters.	Tourism Australia should implement strategies which take into account the following: · Needs of the different demographic groups in political demography · Needs of the workers within the tourism industry, especially with respect to the youth bulges.
With demographic changes, the number of environmental hazards, deforestation, increase of land use and pollution has increased because the way people view and treat their surrounding environment is different.	Tourism Australia should implement robust environmental policies which would regulate use of natural resources and energy within the tourism industry.

One key recommendation for Tourism Australia would be as follows:

Tourism Australia should conduct thorough market research into the exact customer needs and demands of the potential tourists traveling to Australia. For instance, the youths of today would have different expectations from their traveling experiences as compared to the older generation (Bernini and Cracolici 2015). Accordingly, the organization could come up with new and innovative tourism and leisure related activities which would be appealing to all age groups.

With changes in demographic patterns, there has been an increased demand of tourism related products and services which are often influenced by factors like age, income, sex or traditional and cultural beliefs. By incorporating the various beliefs and values of different generations, Tourism Australia has tremendous scope for future growth. For instance, understanding the mindset of the baby boomer generation who grew up in a period of economic regeneration would help develop tourism strategies and activities which would specifically cater to this demographic group (Yeoman, Schanzel and Smith 2013).

Terrorism may be defined as certain activities which use intimidation and violation as strategies for political agendas. Terrorism has had the following impacts on tourism.

IMPACTS OF TERRORISM ON TOURISM	STRATEGY FOR MANAGEMENT
Terrorism has had a major impact on the way people plan their vacations. For instance, destinations which are perceived to be less risky or less prone to terrorist attacks are more likely to be common tourist spots for travelers (Korajli? and Kešetovi? 2015).	Australia had witnessed relatively less terrorist attacks in the past. However, Australian cities are not exempt from violent activities. Tourism Australia should thus come up with strategies to spread awareness about security and safety measures so that tourists can rest assured.
From a political point of view and keeping in mind the latest terrorist attacks in Europe, the acts of terrorism are deliberately aimed at tourists to strike fear in the minds of people. This has also affected peaceful relationships between countries.	Understanding the ideology or the goals of terrorism would help government organizations come up with preventive measures which would safeguard national and international tourists.
From a cultural perspective, terrorism has affected the image of destinations in Australia and around the world. The touristy lifestyles of foreign tourists are often unacceptable to locals which may trigger terrorist attacks. This affects the way tourists view certain destinations.	Tourism Australia could help in spreading awareness about these issues, adopting preventive measures to counter the same and incorporate safety measures for the tourists.
Terrorist attacks may lead to political and economic instability in a country. For instance after the September 2001 attacks, the tourism industry suffered a major setback for tourists were afraid of traveling to the United States (Bac, Bugnar and Meester 2015).	Tourism Australia would need to adopt strategies that demolish negative images that certain western cultures harbor. For instance, the rate of racial discrimination is high in Australia, resulting in a number of terrorist attacks.
Terrorism has had an immense impact on tourism traveling behavior. For instance, tourists are more likely to research thoroughly on a place and ensure complete safety before booking a holiday.	Government organizations like Tourism Australia should adopt measures to spread awareness amongst foreign tourists about the safety measures in place and take adequate measures to reassure them.

One recommendation for Tourism Australia would be:

Tourism Australia would need to adopt campaigns which would spread awareness for the locals as well as the foreign tourists. The campaigns would entail potential concerns of the tourists and would assure them of adequate safety measures. Social media and other forms of communication could be used for this purpose (Baker 2014).

The rate of terrorism is growing at an alarming rate, with a large number of western countries being the target. Australia may very well be the target of a terrorist attack, which could be either internal or external. The acts of violence may be triggered by a number of cultural, social or political factors (Saha and Yap 2014). As such, it could adversely affect the way people view other destinations in the future, having thus a negative impact on the tourism industry. Unless measures are taken by the government, terrorism and its widespread impact could be detrimental to tourist behavior and growth of tourism in Australia.

Scope

The growing population, coupled with modernization and urbanization, has led to an increasing number of environmental challenges. The most important amongst them would be climate change.

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE	STRATEGIES FOR MANAGEMENT
From a political point of view, the change in climate has led to the implementation of stringent policies which regulate the use and abuse of natural resources and energy.	It is thus the responsibility of Tourism Australia and other such organizations to ensure that these policies are taken into account during their tourism activities.
Climate change has led to more acidic oceans and a rise in sea levels, which is bound to affect the economy of coastal tourism.	Tourism Australia could thus implement string promotion strategies which would promote and advertise coastal tourism, since that is an integral aspect of the tourism industry in Australia.
From a social perspective, the change in climate and weather would have a significant impact on the comfort factor while tourists are travelling (McKercher et al. 2015).	Tourism Australia should thus include additional provisions, which are based on the unique climatic conditions in different locations.
On an international level, the climate changes have affected the rate of tourism growth which has led to poverty and unemployment (Pang, McKercher and Prideaux 2013).	To counter this, Tourism Australia could introduce a number of volunteering and internship programs which would generate employment opportunities.
From an environmental point of view, climate change has led to coral bleaching in the coral rich areas of Australia. This has affected the scuba diving facilities in Australia (Amelung and Nicholls 2014).	Tourism Australia should take necessary steps to test the water and surroundings in scuba diving locations, and ensure that the tourists are not put at risk.

Tourism Australia could start a green movement, which would highlight the impact of climatic changes on coastal areas and surrounding environments. This movement would help spread awareness about the pending threats and even provide solutions for the same. This would also make the tourists aware of the impact of their activities on the environment, so that they could take precautionary measures (Shani and Arad 2014).

One of the most important factors which determines the success of the tourism industry in a location is its accessibility and appeal. However, the changes in climate would not only affect the natural beauty of the concerned destination but also affect its accessibility. For instance, climate change has led to an increase in sea levels. This is bound to lead to coastal erosion and flooding in the long run. This could dampen the growth of coastal tourism in Australia and worldwide (Ruhanen and Shakeela 2013).

The advent of the internet and social media has led to an increase in tourism by increasing awareness about tourism opportunities and promoting newer and exciting locations.

IMPACT OF INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA ON TOURISM	STRATEGIES FOR MANAGEMENT
From an economic perspective, social media and internet has led to a boom in the tourism industry by increasing awareness about newer travel destinations (Lewer et al. 2013).	Tourism Australia could use this opportunity to spread awareness about uncommon and unexplored placed in Australia and even organize guided tours.
From a social perspective, customers are now more inclined to rely on social media posts while making informed decisions about their vacations.	Using social media to reach out to customers would help Tourism Australia promote its services and packages online.
From a technological perspective, social media and internet has introduced a number of changes to tourism. For instance, tourists can now book their holidays online, in a hassle free manner.	Tourism Australia should implement strategies to enhance its online travel booking and payment methods to provide a seamless experience for the customers.
Social media has also allowed tourists to directly interact with travel agencies and related organizations and make informed decisions accordingly (Alcazar, Pinero and Maya 2014).	Tourism Australia should have a strong social media presence so as to enable open and clear lines of communication with the customers.
Social media has also increased chances of word of mouth advertising, with more and more tourists providing feedback and influencing each other (Zeng and Gerritsen 2014).	This could be a potential opportunity for Tourism Australia, and the organization could thus take to the various social media platforms in order to promote their activities.

One recommendation for Tourism Australia in this case would be to increase its social media presence to a number of platforms. The organization would need a dedicated digital communications team that would remain active on these social media platforms, regularly update blogs and posts, track leads and even interact with potential or existing customers (Benckendorff, Sheldon and Fesenmaier 2014).

The penetrative nature of social media is increasing at a rapid rate and it is only set to grow in the upcoming years. In due course of time, customers would prefer to interact online more than any other platform. Accordingly, Tourism Australia and other similar organizations could benefit from using social media to promote their activities and travel packages in the form of digital marketing (Hultman et al. 2015).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that the tourism industry in Australia and around the world is affected by a number of factors like social media, terrorism, globalization, climate change and demographic trends, all of which are interconnected. It is thus the responsibility of organizations like Tourism Australia to account for these issues. The above report studies in details the various issues and impacts related to each of the factors, and provides strategies and recommendations for the same.

References:

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