1. The International Travel College of New Zealand 1
Special Interest Tourism
Unit #13 Learning Outcome 4
Management needs and issues
of special interest tourism

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Definition of Management
• Management in all business and organizational activities
is the act of coordinating the efforts of people to
accomplish desired goals and objectives using available
resources efficiently and effectively.
• Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing,
leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a
group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the
purpose of accomplishing a goal.
• Resourcing encompasses the deployment and
manipulation of human resources, financial resources,
technological resources, and natural resources.
Wikipedia

3. The International Travel College of New Zealand 3
‘Branches’ of Management
• Human resource management
• Operations management or production
management
• Strategic management
• Marketing management
• Financial management
• Information technology management

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Principles of Management
• Business interests that are interlinked together in the production and
delivery of tourism products operate for profit (with the exception of
charity based tourism)
• To achieve the profit object they need management to get things
done.
• Management is about harnessing the organisation’s resources
(especially people) to create services, outcomes in line with
what the tourist requires as a consumer.
• Tourism business are often organized internally into specialised
functions: marketing, sales, management, accounts
• This horizontal form of organization provides a structure for
employees5
• Companies also organize vertically into a hierarchy, characterized
by differing levels of power, authority and status.

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Hierarchical Management Structure
• Within tourism
organizations managers
are often grouped by
level :
• Frontline staff
• Team leaders
• Middle manager
• Senior management team
• Chief Executive Officer
(or MD)
Front-line staff
Team leaders/Supervisors
Middle managers
Senior management team
Chief Executive Officer/MD

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Functional Management Structure
• Managers can also be classified according to
functional roles.
• Functional managers eg accounting,
research, sales
• Business unit or area managers eg managing
a group or georgraphical area
• Project managers – managing specific
projects

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The Purpose of Management in
Tourism Organisations
In the private sector the key purpose of any manager of a
business is:
Profitability: through higher output, better service, more sales, new
customers, cost minimization
In the public sector other goals may include liaison, raising public
awareness, activities for the wider public good plus:
• Efficiency: for all managers -whether private or public sector, they
need to reduce expenditure and inputs (costs)_ whilst achieving
more cost effective outputs (outcomes, sales etc)
• Effectiveness: achieving the desired outcome, which may not
necessarily be a profit-driven motive.

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Key Management Tasks
• Planning: goals are set out and the means of achieving the goals are recognized
• Organising: the work functions are broken down into a series of tasks and linked to
some form of structure and the tasks assigned to individuals.
• Leading: motivating and influencing staff so that they perform their tasks effectively in
the achievement of organizational goals
• Controlling: the method by which information is gathered about what has to be done
and when by.
• In managerial decision-making, two elements have to be balanced: technical skills
and human skills.
• The balancing of skills is often underpinned by an ability to communicate effectively
and confidently with others, as well as an ability to lead and motivate people.
• Managers also need to possess Cognitive skills (enables managers to formulate
solutions to problems) and
• Conceptual skills: -allows people to take a broader view and consider links with
other areas of the business

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What do tourism managers
manage?
Three principal management functions that
dominate:
• Marketing
• Operational issues
• Human resource management
These three management areas are highly
relevant in a service industry where the service
output is intangible.

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Managing operational issues in
tourism businesses
• Operational issues traditionally dominate the
focus of most tourism organizations.
* the seasonality of tourism operations:
* the recruitment of the right number and caliber of staff
* resourcing the activities for only part of the year
* ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction during
high season when staff and resources are fully
stretched.
• Managers working ‘in resort’ or at the front line
need to develop good delegation skills in order
to maintain high service levels.

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Operational management
key areas
• Capacity: understanding the ability of the organization to produce
appropriate levels of service. (ie ‘do we have the capacity to take an
additional 100 visitors on our city tour today?’
• Standards: maintaining the benchmark industry standards, ie how
long is considered ‘ok’ to wait for a flight, or how long should a
customer expect to wait to check in at a hotel.
• Scheduling: the planning of work and use of the organization’s
physical and human resources. Ie work rotas, tour bus maintenance
and operational schedules
• Inventory: the organizations ability to meet upply and demand. Ie
hotel rooms, seats on a tour bus, cycles available in resort
• Control: ensuring the operations are managed in an efficient and
systemic manner. This brings the planning, preparation and
readiness inherent in the four functions above into action.

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Managing Service Provision
Tourism can be conceptualized as a client
purchasing ‘the skills, service and
commitment of a range of human contributors
to the experience that they are about to
embark up on’ highlighting the importance of
human resource management (HRM) issues
and the challenge this poses for tourism
managers.
Baum (1993)

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Human resource issues and
service delivery
• Demographic issues related to size of available pool of
employees and labour shortages
• The tourism industry’ image as an employer
• Cultural and traditional percepts of the tourism industry
• Rewards and compensation for working in the sector
• Education and training
• Skill shortages at the senior and technical levels
• Linking human resource concerns with service and
product quality
• Poor manpower planning
• A remedial rather than proactive approach to human
resource issues
Baum (1993)

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Managing Human Resource Issues:
Scope and extent for busineses
• A critical awareness of the scope and nature of the
labour market
• The design of jobs
• Recruitment, selection, appointment and retention of
staff
• Induction, equal opportunities, training and development
• Evaluation of staff performance
• Salaries and incentives
• Employment termination, grievance and dispute
• Industrial relations and employment law
• Motivation of staff
Baum (1993)

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Cooper et all (1998:458) wrote:
It is clear that for the tourism industry to
function well it needs a well-educated, well-
trained, bright, energetic, multi-lingual and
entrepreneurial workforce who understand
the nature of tourism and have professional
training.
A high quality of professional human
resources in tourism will allow enterprises to
gain a competitive edge and deliver added
value with their service.

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Tourism and Innovation:
Challenge for Tourism Managers
Innovations can be divided into:
* Introduction of a new product/service
* Introduction of a new method of production
* Opening of a new market
* New source of supply of raw materials
* Creation of a new type of industrial organization
• Human factors, environmental factors and external factors can induce innovation
• But is management necessary to encourage motivation?
• Or will it occur without the influence of management?
• Managers need to understand the role of innovation and its potential to improve business
processes and add value to the business.
• Tourism is reliant on new ideas, experiences and destinations for the generation of new
product ideas.
• ‘Pioneer adopters’ embrace innovation and the change it may induce
• ‘Innovation laggards’ hold out against innovation and change until the majority of the workforce
accepts it.
• Niche tourism is one outcome of the innovation process in the tourism industry

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Pressures for tourism to change:
• At a global scale consumer attitudes towards tourism are
changing
• Concern over the self-destructive nature of tourism causing
visitors to question the impact of where they travel
• Greater consciousness of the effects of tourism with both
consumer and tour operators
• Slow process of change
• There will always be a role for ‘mass’ tourism
• At upper end of the market there is greater demand for
environmentally sensitive and conservation-oriented niche
products
• Providers are beginnings to recognize these consumer tastes

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Offer factors affecting tourism trends:
• An ageing travelling public
• New social trends
• New outbound markets
• Crises and disasters
• Technology
• Climate change
• New business trends eg. hypercompetition

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Management Issues for Special Interest
Tourism Providers:
• How to attract and retain specialist staff?
• How to find suitably trained staff to work in seasonal conditions?
• How to deal with seasonality generally?
• Where to accommodate staff in tourist destinations?
• Establishment and maintenance of effective communications systems: internet, cell phones etc
• How to position field staff cost effectively, in the correct time frames, and return them at the end
of the season?
• Acquisition of relevant visas, work permits and associated documentation for staff
• Ensuring that the tourism operation impact on local people, resources and environment is
minimized
• Where to source equipment locally on an ongoing basis
• Sourcing suitable premises, accommodation and transport arrangements
• Developing and maintaining ongoing safe health and safety practices
• Risk identification processes to identify operational risks and develop risk minimization strategies
• Developing effective working relationships with local people
• Ensuring cultural differences are dealt with appropriately
• What measures can be taken to avoid exploitation of local populations?
• Establishing and working within relevant laws and regulations and securing appropriate permits
and licenses
• Developing effective working relationships with essential business partners and agencies
• Establishing operable contingency plans for disasters and emergencies
• Maintaining appropriate cash flow and profit levels
• Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction is established and maintained through all
operational conditions

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Organizational and Support Logistics
involved in Special Interest Tourism
• Logistics is the ‘management of the flow of resources between the
point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet some
requirements.’ In other words, getting the right resources (people,
vehicles, food, equipment etc to the right place on time!
• The resources managed in logistics can include physical items,
such as food, materials, equipment, liquids, and staff, as well as
abstract items, such as time and information.
• The logistics of physical items usually involves the integration of
information flow, material handling, production, packaging,
inventory, transportation, warehousing, and security.
• The minimization of the use of resources is a common motivation
and management issue in tourism. ie it’s a better use of resources
to use less petrol or use a smaller vehicle when taking visitors on a
tour.

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Typical logistics issues in SIT
• Transport – shortage of vehicles, the wrong vehicles, roads impassable or
dangerous,
• Personnel – shortage of skilled drivers, guides, translators, field workers
• Accommodation – shortage of hotels at the right standard, overbookings,
price fluctuations, high levels of complaints leading to customer
dissatisfaction
• Resourcing – finding the right level of the right resources at the right time
and at the right price
• Local relationships – difficulties in communicating with local providers,
cultural barriers, social relationship issues, gender related issues in Middle
Eastern cultures
• Communications: lack of or unreliable internet, no cell phone coverage or
patchy coverage, shortage of printers or printer ink.
• Safety and security – political instability in the area, civil unrest, poor
policing and high crime or violence
• Equipment – insufficient levels of gear, poor quality, losing gear,
breakdowns and shortage of repair facilities

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Impacts of tourism on a host
destination
• Socio cultural
• Environmental
• Economic