UPGRADES IN THE

TOURISM INDUSTRY

Elena-Adriana Cioarec

Vichy, 2011

Table of Contents
Summary ....................................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 4 2. Accommodation ......................................................................................... 6 2.1 The Adventurer ................................................................................... 6 2.2 The Luxury-seeker ............................................................................... 7 2.3 The Art-seeker..................................................................................... 8 3. Travel ......................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Airports ............................................................................................... 8 3.2 Airlines .............................................................................................. 10 4. Leisure ..................................................................................................... 10 4.1 Families ............................................................................................. 10 4.2 The Adventurer ................................................................................. 11 4.3 The Wine-lover .................................................................................. 12 4.4 The Luxury-seeker ............................................................................. 12 5. Sustainability............................................................................................ 13 5.1 Accommodation ................................................................................ 13 5.2 Leisure .............................................................................................. 13 5.3 Travel ................................................................................................ 13 6. Technology ............................................................................................... 14 7. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 15

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

Summary

This report and the following presentation are going to explore the upgrades happening in the Tourism Industry by analyzing each sector: Hospitality, Travel, Leisure adding Sustainability and Technology. Each section is analyzing the current upgrades by giving concrete examples. The first section, Introduction, is explaining the business environment of the industry at the moment and the opportunities. The second section, Accommodation Sector, is divided by types of visitors: The Adventurer, The luxuryseeker, The Art-seeker and is exploring a few choices for each type of visitor. The third section, Travel and Transport, is divided into Airports and Airlines as these are going through the biggest upgrades. The forth section, Leisure, is divided by types of visitors as well: Families, The adventurer, The Wine-lover, The luxury-seeker. The fifth section, Sustainability, is analyzing all 3 Tourism sections: Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and highlighting the sustainable practices in each one of them. The sixth section, Technology, is explaining how the Tourism industry is aligning with the other industry technologywise and is followed by a short Conclusion.

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

1. Introduction
Were living in a world where everybody is concerned about the future, mostly because that is the human nature but in the last years the cause of this uncertainty was the economical crisis. Some of the big businesses across all sectors have taken a big hit because of this crisis, a big number of the small businesses and entrepreneurs went bankrupt but through all of this the demand for tourism products has grown. It seems that now, when the times are difficult, people want to go on holidays more than never. Why is this coming as a surprise? Sunshine.co.uk1 reveals in a survey that a third of under 30s only ever been on beach holidays, so were talking about a big segment of the population that doesnt like to get out of the comfort zone. And why would you bother, when you see in magazines articles with big headings called 10 outrageous travel fees2 that talk about the fees that airlines are charging when you make a booking by phone, priority boarding and seat selection fees, airport fees, car rental insurance, credit card charges or even paying for Wi-Fi in a hotel (Marriott, Sheraton, etc). Still, we can feel that the world is changing. You can hear presidents talking about the importance of tourism for the economy, World Travel Market (London 7-10 Nov 2011) is blowing everybody s mind on social media for a whole week, you can watch interviews with the giants of tourism ( Richard Branson, Michael Frenzel, Bill Marriott) and hear the hope for the future in their voice. The main reason: everybodys expecting a big boom in the tourism industry by 2015-2020. At the moment, according to Lindsay Taub3, there are 10 million millionaires in China, that is more than the population of Canada! No wonder everybody is watching Chinese tourists and along with them Indians and Russians4. In an article called(Un)Packaging Britain for Chinese travellers 5by Peter Myers for Reuters it was estimated that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Europe is expected to grow from 3 million in 2010 to 4.5 million by 2015 and around 8.6 million by 2020. It seems that Italy, France and Germany attract between 500,000 and 700,000 Chinese visitors each per year. Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain 6 thinks that increasing the appeal of Britain to Chinese visitors can help generate nearly 1 billion every

Breaking Travel News (2011). Sunshine.co.uk reveals third of under 30s only ever been on Beach Holiday. Available: http://tiny.cc/8003n, Accessed 29th Oct 2011. 2 th Fox Business (2011). 10 Outrageous travel Fees. Available: http://tiny.cc/lg7e2, Accessed 25 Nov 2011. 3 Lindsay Taub, (2011). Why you should be keeping an eye on the Chinese Travel Market. Available: http://tiny.cc/abq8m, th Accessed 4 Nov 2011. 4 th Breaking Travel News (2011). WTM vision expands to Russia and China. Available: http://tiny.cc/8de3x, Accessed 8 Nov 2011. 5 Peter Meyers (2011). (Un)Packaging Britain for Chinese Travelers. Available: http://tiny.cc/vwnhy, Accessed 21 Oct 2011. 6 Breaking Travel News (2011). New Report outlines UK Travel Industrys Multi-Million Opportunity. Available: th http://tiny.cc/94e0f, Accessed 9 November 2011.

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

Chinese Visitors
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 8.6

millions per year

4.5 3

Year 2010

Year 2015

Year 2020

year- a Chinese tourist spends on average 220 per night and can spend more than 600 on a shopping trip7. Recently, the Barcelona Institute Of Architecture has released a top 10 Architectural Wonders of Dubai 8. This comes after a long series of tops by all kinds of travel blogs and magazines and makes the readers (the ones that have a bit of money saved) want to just go crazy and book a luxury holiday in a dream destination. All this being said it should now come as no surprise the fact that the Hospitality, Travel, Tourism and Leisure industries are supporting great changes and upgrades. Everything is becoming an experience, from airport transfers to flights to hotels and activities for leisure, according to a few CEOs for a few major travel companies in UK and US, The tourist wants to feel taken care of. The era where everybody was a bulk has passed, all the packages need to be personalized in the way that fit better and satisfy to the maximum the customer.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts (2011). New Report Outlines Opportunities for Europe To Attract Lucrative Chinese Travel Segment. Available: http://tiny.cc/08nup, Accessed 25 Oct 2011. 8 th Mike Payne (2008). The Top 10 Architectural Wonders of Dubai .Available: http://tiny.cc/dxqge, Accessed 28 Oct 2011.

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

2. Accommodation
As I said before, Chinese is the main travel market for inbound and outbound tourism, no wonder starting November 2011, Bill Marriott is going to open every month for the next 3 years a hotel in China9. But what is difference between what is on the market now, hospitalitywise, compared to 10, 20 years ago? Well to begin with, a hotel is not just a place to rest your head anymore, it has become and experience as well-everything can be a hotel!

2.1 The Adventurer

Take for example the Daily News Worlds Craziest Hotels10- in this category you can find Hotel Palacio de Sal, Bolivia- a hotel made entirely out of salt, even most of the furniture, McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel in Portland, Oregon- a former elementary school, Hotel im Wasserturm, Germany- classified as a world heritage site, offers luxury lodging in what used to be Europes largest water tower, Shady Dell in Bisbee, Ariz.,- nine vintage aluminum trailers decorated in kitschy period style, California's Madonna Inn, US- a hotel with extremely unique designs(i.e. cave, carriage), The Galactic Suite Space Resort- first space hotel, expected to open in 2012, The Gamirasu Cave Hotel, Turkey- a Byzantine monastic retreat, dated to about 1,000 years old, Hotel de Glace in Quebec, Canada, ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, Lainio Snow Village, Finland and the Alta Igloo Hotel in Norway- ice hotels, Jules Undersea Lodge in Florida, US- underwater hotel, The Giraffe Manor I, East Africa- hanging out and eating dinner with giraffes, Mardan Palace Hotel, Antalya- a half-an hour by gondola swimming pool with a sunken aquarium with 2,400 fish in the middle, Jumbo Hostel, Sweden- spend the night onboard a real jumbo jet (on the ground).

Still, nothing says crazy like Dubai: Burj al Arab is a luxurious hotel design like a blowing sail overlooking the Arabian Sea.

10

Travel Blackboard (2011). A Marriott month starts in China. Available: http://tiny.cc/2z1yj, Accessed 8 Nov 2011. th Daily News (2010). Worlds Craziest Hotels. Available: http://tiny.cc/cnige, Accessed 27 Oct 2011.

th

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

2.2 The Luxury-seeker

Travel and Leisure Magazine11 takes a bit of a dip in the other sector of the hospitality upgrades: luxurious accommodation. As this is a very important time for the Tourism Industry, it should come as no surprise that Hilton Hotels are reinventing themselves as the magazine says and open a new luxury hotel in Gdaosk, Poland with an eye-popping sculpture made of 25,000 hand-blown glass sea flowers ,gleaming Hansgrohe bath fixtures, and a lot of contemporary artwork. To go in a bit of depth with the luxurious hotels we can talk about luxurious penthouses around the world, so lets take Departures magazine top 1012: Presidential Suite, InterContinental Hong Kong: Hong Kong- five bedrooms, a dining room, a study and many, many seating options in its duplex layout, rainforest shower, a sauna and a steam room, infinity pool and wrap around terrace with incredible view over Victoria Harbour, Ty Warner Penthouse, Las Ventanas Al Paraso: Los Cabos, Mexico- Sleeping with the Stars option: outdoor (on the terrace) king-size bed next to the plunge pool, The Empire Suite, the Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel: New York City- three-bedroom duplex on the 28th and 29th floors of the hotel with American and French Art Deco touches combined with rich fabric textures like cashmere and boiled wool, Sultan Suite, Ciragan Palace Kempinski: Istanbul- 1,200-squ-ft penthouse, which was home to Ott sultans in the 16th century, gilded faucet handles, a handmade hammam and a private steam room, Turkish paintings and crystal chandeliers, a butler on call at all times, The Peninsula Suite, the Peninsula Beijing: Beijing- 7,104-square-foot showcase suite with a dedicated lift from the lobby, formal dining room that seats 18, a baby grand piano, a private gym and a full kitchen with a private entrance for discreet catering, Presidential Suite Penthouse, Hasseler Roma: Rome- a personal rooftop terrace appointed with citrus trees, a gazebo and a 360-degree view of the city, The One Penthouse, One&Only Cape Town: Cape Town, South Africa- living room, dining room, pool deck, kitchen, gym, study and four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, Maestro Suite, The Dolder Grand: Zurich, Switzerland- two bedrooms, a spa tub and sauna and an outdoor terrace, cozy seating arranged under the sloped ceilings, fireplace and bar, Penthouse, The Fairmont San Francisco: San Francisco- grand piano in the living room, signature twostory circular library, topped with a gold-leaf rendition of the night sky, a secret passage hidden amid the bookshelves and finally The Apartment, The Connaught: London- a master bedroom, a king-sized second bedroom and a chefs kitchen, as well as two teak terraces overlooking Mayfair.

And while Hilton Hotels is trying to reinvent itself, others are trying to get recognized on the market. Take for example Miura Group13: they just opened a fantastic luxury hotel in eladn, Czech Republic with a
11
nd

Michael Wise (2011). Reinventing the Hilton Hotel. Available: http://tiny.cc/iu69d, Accessed 2 Nov 2011. 12 th Departures (2011). 10 Stunning Hotel Penthouses. Available: http://tiny.cc/ccjxw, Accessed 16 Nov 2011. 13 th Breaking Travel News (2011). Miura Hotel Opens in Czech Republic. Available: http://tiny.cc/wk36x, Accessed 25 Oct 2011.

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

very interesting design, a 36 hole golf course (hosts the tournament of the European PGA Tour Czech Open 2011), spa, pool, sauna and featuring the artwork of well-known Czech and International artists.

2.3 The Art-seeker

So far we covered the accommodation for adventurers, the one for luxury-seekers so now were going to cover the accommodation for art-lovers. In this category were going to be a bit more specific and talk about the music-lover tourist. So we have The Guardian Travels article about Rockn Roll Hotels 14- a short description of the hotels for music lovers or where music legends like John Frusciante (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Led Zeppelin, Kelly Osbourne, George Michael, Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Madonna and others have left their mark. Naming just a few, we have: Backstage Hotel, Amsterdam- piano in the 24-hour private bar, free air guitar rental, Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool- a tribute to The Beatles and John Lennon, covered with pictures of them, funky yellow submarine jukebox in the lobby, John Lennon suite( White piano and champagne with breakfast), Hotel Aria, Prague- four guestroom floors of the Aria Hotel are each dedicated to a different musical genre: Jazz, Opera, Classical or Contemporary Music (Each of the 52 rooms and suites then celebrates an individual artist or composer who was particularly influential in their genre, all rooms feature an iPod filled with more than 520 related songs)

3. Travel
Just like in the accommodation sector, we have upgrades in the travel section as well but unlike the other sections, in this one we have a winner- The Virgin Group: for a while now theyve been the leaders in travel innovations.

3.1 Airports
When talking about innovations regarding airports we are, just like accommodation sector, talking about more than just a place to get a plane from: its an experience- especially for those who love shopping!

14

Greg Simmons (2011). The Worlds most Rocknroll Hotels. Available: http, Accessed 23 Oct 2011.

rd

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

The Economist talks in an article called Just keep building15 about the fact that Dubai airport (DXB in aviation-speak) is going to expand in order to be able to accommodate 90 m by 2018. It makes sense being the fact that Emirates (national airline) have just bought 70 Boeings long-range 777 jets, worth a whopping $26 billion at list prices and considering that this year about 51m passengers are expected to pass Dubai Airport and the current capacity is 60 m. When talking about the amenities offered in airports, Travel channel gives us a help with an article called Best in-airport services16 starting it with the airport supermarkets- you can find them in Zurich, Geneva ,Frankfurt International, Singapore, etc and they offer drinks, snacks, candy, souvenirs at low prices. Next on the list are airport healthcare services you can find them in Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta , Charlotte, JFK International Airport ,Newark Liberty International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Philadelphia International, Orlando International, etc and they offer Flu shots and other healthcare services, primary care, physical therapy and travel immunizations, walk-in clinics and pharmacies. There are of course fun activities to entertain the traveller such as country's tallest water slide, a movie theatre and gardens (Singapore International Airport), viewing areas of planes taking off (Hong-Kong International), Casino , 5-minute 6D movie, city tour on the Floating Dutchman (Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport), indoor putting green for golf (Palm Beach International), work-out, swimming pool, steam room in the Hilton Hotel facilities connected to Terminal 2 at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. artwork or paintings on the walls (San Diego International Airport has had an exhibition of birthstones by the Gemological Institute of America and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has featured Van Gogh masterpieces), have a wine tasting (Vino Volo 12 airports in U.S.) cognac experience (trying to identify different types of cognac while blindfolded- currently available in a few airports in Europe such as Paris and Amsterdam).

The biggest upgrade in travel is probably the one Virgin Galactic is planning17: space travelling. 800 guests were on hand to witness a fly-past from WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo as part of a spectacular opening ceremony of the Spaceport America in New Mexico18. In the meantime Virgin is also wowing everybody with the services offered for the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class19: a special airport wing in
15 16

The Economist (2011).Just keep building. Available: http://tiny.cc/wpevf, Accessed 16 Nov 2011. th Kayleigh Kulp (2011). Best In-Airport Services. Available: http://tiny.cc/o4n6u, Accessed 4 Nov 2011. 17 th Richard Branson (2011). Space adventure so close we can taste it. Available: http://tiny.cc/81xtc, Accessed 18 Oct 2011 18 Breaking Travel News (2011). Branson inaugurate Spaceport America in New Mexico. Available: http://tiny.cc/oiwd1, th Accessed 18 Nov 2011. 19 th Travel Pulse (2011) VIDEO. Experience Virgin Atlantics Clubhouse.Available: http://tiny.cc/ncnu1, Accessed 20 Nov 2011

th

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

Heathrow Airport, London, for the customers who booked Virgin Atlantic Upper Class: personal butler that checks-in your bags, no queues at the check-in desk, private security channel, clubhouse with restaurants, lounge, quiet gallery, haircut saloon, sauna, hot tub, massages, pool tables, laptops available for browsing- not an ordinary airport experience but a luxury 5 star hotel one.

3.2 Airlines
When it comes to the actual means of travel, we discover that most of the upgrades are happening on the airlines20: Emirates, Gulf air and Virgin already have for the business classes high-speed internet with continuous streaming for sports events, news and stock exchange rates, all mobile devices are allowed to be use (Smartphone, tablet, laptop), you can even make Skype phone calls from the plane! Of course we have the most recent innovations from Virgin Atlantic Upper Class21: not only the airport has been upgraded but the flight itself: onboard bar, each private suite has direct aisle access, laptop power and a large table to work, sleep suit (pyjamas), a 202 cm long fully flat bed, every suite is fitted with a multi-directional 10.4 TV screen with a big choice of movies, TV programmes and games.

4. Leisure
4.1 Families
The leisure section is going to be open by the Orlando Park, Florida22, one of the leaders in Leisure tourism as it offers Theme Parks, attractions, shopping areas, spas, sport-recreation-outdoors facilities, golf, restaurants. According to Orlando Attractions Magazine23, the opening of Legoland this October (the first major theme park to open in the last decade) was a huge success, even though their target market are the children age 2-12. Also, before Christmas, Orlando is going to witness another major event: the opening of ICE! Shrek the Halls24 featuring Shrek, Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda and other characters sculpted in crystal ice and coloured ice. It is going to be one of the main events at Orlando during Christmas.
20

Event Report (2011), Gulf Air lancia internet veloce e streaming TV a bordo.Available: http://tiny.cc/cbm9r , Accessed 17th Nov 2011. 21 th Travel Pulse (2011)VIDEO. Get Onboard With Virgin Atlantic s Upper Class. Available: http://tiny.cc/xv5qg, Accessed 20 Nov 2011 22 th Visit Orlando (2011). The Official Source for Orlando Travel Planning. Available: http://tiny.cc/wumw1, Accessed 25 Nov 2011. 23 Matt Roseboom (2011). Legoland Florida holds his grand opening ceremony- Floridas newest theme park now open to all. th Available: http://tiny.cc/6ezwf, Accessed 18 Oct 2011. 24 Matt Roseboom (2011). Ice sculptors arrive at Gaylord Palms ready to create Shrek the Halls. Available: http://tiny.cc/qeb6s, th Accessed 18 Oct 2011.

Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

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As you probably guessed holidays are a big part of the marketing campaigns. For example for the 2011 Halloween, you had a lot of choice at Orlando: SeaWorld25 had an IPhone/Android app that helped you go on a treasure hunt with your kid and win prizes (available each weekend of October), DisneyWorld26 had a special show of lights and fireworks for Halloween, etc. Orlando Park wasnt the only one taking advantage of Halloween, it seems that these days everybody is looking for a new experience, the traditional trick-or-treating is not enough anymore. Right before Halloween, Extra Magazine published an article called Most Haunted Places to Visit Around The Globe 27 that included places like Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood, CA, Wiltshire, England, Roswell, New Mexico, Alcatraz, San Francisco, CA and others. Another article comes from The Guardian and its called York, the ultimate ghost town28 with the opening paragraph: York is teeming with ghosts even M&S is haunted and there's no better time to visit than the run-up to Halloween when there are spooky events galore and the city's historic buildings are lit up for the Illuminating York festival, which starts today- I guess we can consider this a marketing upgrade: selling everything, anytime- in this case selling Illuminating York festival for Halloween.

4.2 The Adventurer

For the adventurers Matador Sports29 comes with 7 proposals for testing your body or adrenaline level over the roof. The options are Barkley Marathons- a 20-mile loop run five times, in both directions with a total of 105,800 feet of elevation gained and lost in 60 hours with no trail, just a map and a compass, Great Divide Race - starting in Roosville, Montana and ending in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, from the Canadian border to the Mexican one, sometimes days can pass by without seeing a human being, Iditarod Trail Invitational (formerly Iditasport)- 1,100-mile route of the classic Alaska dog-sled race, but is snowshoed, skied or biked, Dakar Motor Rally- 5,625 bone jarring miles through Argentinas canyons, across the sands of Chiles Atacama Desert, and over the Peruvian Andes, covered in just over two weeks, The Tough Guy Race- wading through mud pits with vacuums attempting to suck you in, crawling under barbed wire while course marshals dressed as commandos fire machine guns with blank rounds overhead, crawling through dark tunnels with live electric wires(in the history of this race 2 people have died),

25

Darcie Vance (2011). SeaWorld adds new interactive mobile game during Halloween Spooktacular. Available: th http://tiny.cc/bclt0, Accessed 25 Oct 2011. 26 Shawn Slater (2011). A Spooktacular in the Sky at Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts. Available: http://tiny.cc/0y2ps, st Accessed 21 Oct 2011. 27 th The Extra stuff (2010).Most Haunted Places to Visit around the Globe. Available: http://tiny.cc/mf9ji, Accessed 25 Oct 2011. 28 th Joanna Moorhead (2011). York, the ultimate ghost town. Available: http://tiny.cc/10nmk, Accessed 27 Oct 2011. 29 th Eric Warren (2011). 7 of the Worlds toughest races. Available: http://tiny.cc/kn3k2, Accessed 15 Oct 2011.

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Vende Globe - 24,840 miles following the route of the old clipper ships south of Africas Cape of Good Hope, Australias southern beaches, South America Cape Horn, Texas Water Safari - 262-mile race floating a canoe down south Texas rivers, gator infested lakes, portages over dams and thick underbrush, being harassed by poisonous water moccasins and toothy, prehistoric fish called Alligator Gar, which can grow up to ten feet long, drop-out percentage 96%.

For the adventurers that want to experience the adrenaline without the danger, The Guardian comes to help with an article called Snowy adventures for non-skiers30 and to name a few proposals we have Cooking course in the Alpes (France), Mountaineering in the Highlands(Scotland), Whale watching (Iceland), Stay in an igloo(Slovenia), Winter walking (Switzerland, France)

or if you prefer a sunny and warm weather you could always do a Black Canyon River Rafting Tour (Colorado)31 or Bird Watching (Malaysia)32 .

4.3 The Wine-lover

It seems that there is something to do or see for anybody these days, regardless the personality or personal preferences, the days where everybody that was looking for a boring, comfortable beach holiday, nowadays you have even wine destinations (if you are even remotely interested in that kind of thing) and Emil Hunefak brings us a top 10 destinations33: Tuscany ( Italy), Bordeaux, (France), Northern California(USA), Stellenbosch(South Africa), South Australia, New York, (USA), Rioja(Spain), Marlborough( New Zealand), Baden(Germany), Central Valley (Chile).

4.4 The Luxury-seeker

And last but not least, the luxury part of leisure. Just like in the other sections of Tourism (Accommodation, Travel) we cant finish without spicing things up a bit with the luxury upgrades. Breaking Travel news34 is bringing us an article about Four Seasons Punta Mita Mexico that are introducing to their customers the new Luxury Spa treatments one of them being The Pearl Wrap a sensuous 80-minute treatment that begins with gentle exfoliation before a full body wrap with white pearls and a hydrating facial using ingredients derived from black pearls. A Vichy shower follows, and
30 31

Susan Greenwood (2011). Snowy adventures for non-skiers. Available: http://tiny.cc/ij1ye, Accessed 22 Oct 2011. th Viator Las Vegas (2011).VIDEO. Black Canon River Rafting Tour. Available: http://tiny.cc/3ck65, Accessed 7 Nov 2011. 32 th Viator Malaysia (2011). Bird watching in Malaysia. Available: http://tiny.cc/n36dh, Accessed 20 Oct 2011. 33 th Emil Hunefalk (2011). 10 Top Places for Wine Across the Planet. Available: http://tiny.cc/20jhe, Accessed 13 Nov 2011. 34 Breaking Travel News (2011). Four Seasons Punta Mita, Mexico introduces Luxe new Spa treatments. Available: th http://tiny.cc/2xrei, Accessed 10 Nov 2011.

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12

finally its a soothing body massage and application of magical pearly emulsion, leaving the whole body luminous.

5. Sustainability
The issue of sustainable tourism has become a trend in the industry and is leading to quite a few upgrades over different sectors. Regardless of the motivation behind all of these upgrades (good publicity, keeping up with the competition, save the planet) this can only be good for the environment.

5.1 Accommodation
We have quite a few examples of sustainable practices, in the accommodation sector for example, InterContinental Hotels Group35 are implementing Innovation house which more or less are a series of sustainable practices for a hotel (reception, bedroom, bathroom, meeting room, back office, exterior) such as green roofs and solar power, meant to help with the recycling, lowering the carbon emissions, etc. Hilton Worldwide36 is coming with a solution as well according to Breaking Travel news37: a partnership with Global Soap Project that would help with the recycling of used soap.

5.2 Leisure
There are sustainable destinations38 such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Austria, Switzerland, France, Laos, Thailand, New Zeeland that offer eco-cottages, hiking trails, cycling tours, bicycle rental39(Rio has the best programme and 200km of lanes and paths for bicycles), tree houses- all in all, the possibility of booking an eco-holiday.

5.3 Travel
Still, the most polluting sector of the Tourism industry is the Travel and Transport one. Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Group) has been investing a lot of money in finding new sources for sustainable

35 36

IHG (2011) Welcome to Innovation Hotel. Available: http://tiny.cc/widei, Accessed 29 Oct 2011. Hilton Hotels and Resorts (2011). The Waterfront beach Resorts Partners with Streamline Finished for an Eco-Friendly th facelift. Available: http://tiny.cc/rjpsh, Accessed 4 Nov 2011. 37 Breaking Travel News (2011). Hilton Worldwide collaborates with Global Soap Project to recycle used soap. Available: th http://tiny.cc/gugqv, Accessed 10 Nov 2011. 38 Zoe Smith (2011). How to plan and Eco-Friendly RTW trip: 9 Destinations to go Green. Available: http://tiny.cc/ildb5, th Accessed 20 Oct 2011. 39 th Viator Rio de Janeiro (2011). Public Bike-rental Program in Rio De Janeiro. Available: http://tiny.cc/cgyv2, Accessed 15 Nov 2011.

th

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13

travel40, so are the Governments of quite a few countries (U.S., France, U.K., Germany, etc) and there are quite a few results so far: Heathrow airport 41(London) has launched an automated shuttle system at terminal 5, from the building to the short-term business car park, 21 low energy battery-powered vehicles able to carry 4 passengers at a time. United Airlines4243, Thomson Airlines 44and Virgin Atlantic45 have all had flights with bio-fuel from algae over the past two years and they hope it is a step forward, that this is opening a door to the future of sustainable transport.

6. Technology
Alongside with everything else, the technology in the Tourism industry has reached new levels as well. The use of Social media46 (blogs, websites, YouTube and Vimeo) and Social Networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +, Bebo, etc) has a very important role in the marketing and advertising of a business. Were living in a world where everybody is connected to the internet 24/7 regardless the location47, time difference or any other elements for that matter, we have smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs. In order to be big on the market, you have to be big on the internet as well. Before going on a holiday, you Google the hotel48, places to go49, reviews of restaurants, everything and when you get to the location you know which places to go, which to avoid and what activities are available. SEO50 (Search engine optimization) has become a very important part of the marketing planning, the leaders of the industries have offices working in this sector to make sure the company is as present on the internet and Google searches as it is on real life. It should come as no surprise when a hotel receptionist is asking you Do you want to
40

Almuth Ernsting (2008). Richard Branson and the Virgin Groups biofuel investment: from palm oil and soya biodiesel in th trains, to synthetic biology for aviation fuels. Available: http://tiny.cc/jyaag, Accessed 5 Nov 2011. 41 th The Travel Magazine (2011). Heathrow pods replace bus shuttles. Available: http://tiny.cc/jllrl, Accessed 20 Nov 2011. 42 Wendy Koch (2011). United flies first U.S. passengers flight using fuel from algae. Available: http://tiny.cc/te4fq, Accessed th 14 Nov 2011. 43 Breaking Travel News (2011). United Airlines flies first U.S. commercial advanced biofuel flight. Available: th http://tiny.cc/42cat, Accessed 8 Nov 2011. 44 Thomson Holidays Communication Center (2011). Thomson Airways today makes aviation history with its first flight for UK th customers on sustainable biofuels. Available: http://tiny.cc/kkgqf, Accessed 6 Oct 2011. 45 Virgin Atlantic (2008). Virgin Atlantic is the first airline to operate demonstration flight using a biofuel blend. Available: th http://tiny.cc/win3l, Accessed 25 Nov 2011. 46 iVisitorGuide (2011). The importance of Social Media and Mobile to Travel&Tourism. Available: http://tiny.cc/46hqs, th Accessed 17 Nov 2011. 47 th Breaking Travel News (2011). Free wi-fi more users at HKCEC. Available: http://tiny.cc/62jyo, Accessed 12 Nov 2011. 48 th Tripadvisor.co.uk (2011). Plan the perfect trip. Available: http://tiny.cc/xp2wk, Accessed 25 Nov 2011. 49 th Viator (2011). Unforggetable experiences, unbeatable deals. Available: http://tiny.cc/cqn95, Accessed 25 Nov 2011. 50 st Mellissa (2010). Tourism SEO and Internet Marketing. Available: http://tiny.cc/kjie8, Accessed 21 Nov 2011.

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download our Concierge app?51 or Are you interested in our hotel cookbook app?52It is not only Europe or U.S.: African Travel industry leads the World in mobile commerce 53: 489 million mobile users and 60% of them use their phone to purchase goods, including holiday packages, flights or booking hotels.

7. Conclusion
Worlds third largest industry, Tourism&Travel, has potential to grow. At WTM 54 (World Travel market) this year in London, 1 in 4 executives have complained that the governments are not doing enough to help the tourism (i.e. infrastructure). On the other hand, we have governments that give great support to the industry: the president of Colombia stated at UNWTO/WTTC Global Leaders for Tourism 55 Campaign in Bogot that Tourism generates quality employment and is a powerful engine for growth and development, also involving other sectors of the economy encouraging other state leaders to support the industry. We can conclude that it is not enough for the industry to try and grow up itself, it needs a bit of help56. Of course, the upgrades in the tourism sectors are a huge benefit for the growth of the companies and if the companies are growing and expanding then the packages for the customers are more accessible, giving even more value for money and allowing the population to travel around the world making them even more aware of the possibilities and problems that surround us.

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eHotelier.com (2010). InterContinental launches Concierge app for the IPad. Available: http://tiny.cc/2cpuo, Accessed 28 Oct 2011. 52 th HotelChatter (2011). InterContinental Throws down a Cookbook for your IPad. Available: http://tiny.cc/mdtj3, Accessed 20 Oct 2011. 53 Breaking Travel News (2011). African Travel Industry Leads the World in Mobile Commerce. Available: http://tiny.cc/86i6g, th Accessed 8 Nov 2011. 54 Breaking Travel News (2011). Worlds Third Largest Industry has potential to grow. Available: http://tiny.cc/202za, Accessed th 8 Nov 2011. 55 Breaking Travel News (2011). Tourism an Engine for development says President of Colombia. Available: th http://tiny.cc/moquw, Accessed 9 Nov 2011. 56 Breaking Travel News (2011). Travel industry must develop long-term thinking if it is to survive the many tests in the future. th Available: http://tiny.cc/xo8n4, Accessed 9 Nov 2011.

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Upgrades in the Tourism Industry

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