Tourism Organisations

Organisations Linked with the Industry
Sectoral Organisations. based on the interests of a particular sector of industry (or link in the chain of distribution)
Destination Organisations. concerned with a specific tourist destination, whether resort or region
Tourism Organisations, based on a concern with tourism activity as a whole.

Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing (ATOL)
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
World Tourism Organisation (WTO)

IATA – International Air
Transport Association
IATA is an airline trade association with its main offices situated in Montreal, Canada and Geneva, Switzerland.
It was founded in 1919, but was suspended at the beginning of the Second World War until 1945.
IATA in its present form brings together 280 airlines whose flights are comprised of more than 95% of all international scheduled air travel.

The aims if IATA
The original aim of the organisation was to benefit both passengers and airlines.
The main objectives of IATA are:
To promote safe and regular air transport for passengers, cargo, mail, and to encourage air commerce.
To provide a forum for collaboration among the air transport companies.
To co-operate with the International Civil Aviation Organisation and other International Organisations.

ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organisation
In 1944 the governments of the world agreed to set up an organisation to establish standards in the areas of navigation, equipment and safety.
The aims of ICAO were to ensure the safe and orderly growth of civil aviation by:
Encouraging aircraft design to meet standards for safe, efficient and economical air transportation.
Preventing economic waste caused by unreasonable competition
Avoiding discrimination between states
Promoting safety and development in all aspects of civil aviation.

ISO - International Organisation for Standardisation
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than 140 countries. Established in 1947, the ISO is a non-governmental organisation whose mission is:
To develop standards and related activities in the world, with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods
To develop co-operation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activities
In the travel industry ISO are responsible for the standardisation of many codes and abbreviations, e.g. country codes and currency codes.

ABTA - Association of British Travel Agents
ABTA was founded in 1950, initially to represent the interests of travel agents, and later, as operating developed discretely from the retail sector, those of tour operators.
Two separate councils, the tour Operators’ Council (TOC) and Travel Agents’ Council (TAC), serve the interests of each sector
ABTA works closely with the Travel Training Company (TTC), which is responsible for approving vocational qualifications for the industry.

the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITA)
ABTA serves the interests of travel consumers
ABTA’s Stabilizers role - undertaken the responsibility of protecting the consumers booked through a system ABTA members
ABTA operates an arbitration system
ABTA is the UK’s Premier Trade Association for Tour Operators and Travel Agents.
ABTA’s members number approximately 800 Tour Operators and 6700 Travel Agency offices who are responsible for booking 80% of UK sold holidays.

ATOL – Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing
ATOL provides financial protection for holidaymakers in the event of an air travel firm becoming insolvent. Formed in 1972 it now gives consumer protection to 28 million people in the United Kingdom who purchase flights or holiday packages each year.
ATOL is compulsory for the licensing of agencies and is managed by the Civil Aviation Authority.
ATOL is the only protection scheme for both flights and air holidays sold by tour operators in the UK.

CAA – The UK Civil
Aviation Authority
The CAA is the UK’s aviation regulator with responsibilities that include:
Air Safety
Economic Regulation
Airspace Regulation
Consumer Protection
Environmental Research and Consultancy

The aims and objectives of the CAA are:
To ensure that UK civil aviation standards are set and achieved
To regulate airlines, airports and National Traffic Services’ economic activities and encourage a diverse and competitive industry
To manage the UK’s principal travel agent protection scheme, ATOL
To bring civil and military interests together to ensure that the airspace needs of all users are met as equitably as possible

WTO – World Tourism Organisation
The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations and the leading organisation in the field of tourism.
The WTO is a global body that is concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information on international tourism.
Following are some of its tasks:
Collection of statistics on global tourism
Presentation of vital data on international tourism
Promoting potential destinations
Assisting with tourism education
Releasing publication
UNWTO plays a decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the interests of developing countries.

‘Visit Britain’
Visit Britain was formed on 1 April 2003.
It builds the value of tourism by creating world class destination brands and marketing campaigns and by building partnerships with – and providing insights to – other organisations with a stake in British tourism.
The mission is to build the value of tourism to Britain and England.
‘Visit Britain’ is Britain’s national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and for developing England’s visitor economy.
It works in partnership with thousands of organisations from across the UK.

Public sector organizations

Private sector organizations

Tourism organizations may be viewed in the following ways:

Government Role in Tourism

Government Involvement in Tourism
The Ministries: the tourism ministry, transportation ministry, aviation ministry, community development ministry, home affairs ministry, foreign affairs ministry, etc.
Quasi or Government Statuary Boards: These are bodies empowered by the government with a specific mission to execute policies (ex. National Tourist Office (NTO)).
In some larger countries due to size there will be Regional Tourist Offices (RTO) assisting the NTO. Besides the NTO there are other statuary boards such as the aviation authority, transportation authority, ports authority, etc.

Different Tiers
of Government Organisation
1. Federal (National) Government level
• Primarily responsible for setting overall direction for leisure and tourism in the Nation and for marketing country to the world
• Also creates an environment for leisure and tourism which includes a number of areas such as regulatory and economic/business development and investment
• Responsible for visa arrangements with other countries, aviation policy and cooperation with the states in development of leisure / tourism.

2. State Government
• Each state focuses upon marketing its own facilities and attractions
• In this sense there is some overlap with the federal agencies
• Generally however, the state’s involvement is more specific to issues in the state level.
3. Local Government
• A great deal of actual implementation and development occurs at the local level
• Local government deals with issues like:
- Signposting
- Zoning of land for tourist development sites
- Provision of infrastructure and utilities such as access roads, water and sewerage and power
• Don’t underestimate the importance of local government in the planning and development of leisure and tourism

Promoting Economic Development
Facilitate and support industries by giving tax rebates and incentives.
Raise revenues through collection of taxes.
Create a stable business environment by setting appropriate laws and standards.
Look into the other aspects of tourism, encouraging and supporting educational programs and development of skills.
Implement supportive tourism policies such as:
The role of tourism in the economy
The control of tourism development
The Administration of tourism
The control of the tourism impacts
Monitor and implement policies to protect the environment before there is a detrimental impact on local communities.

Reasons for Government Involvement
• Controls flow and entry / departure requirements
• Influence development and management of tourism products
• Destination image and attractiveness
• Maximizing economic and other benefits of leisure and tourism without compromising long-term interests of citizens.
• Coordination
• Regulation
• Stimulation
• Protection of interests

Government Regulations
Consumer protection laws
Fire safety laws
Health and food safety regulations
Competency standards

Services Provided by Government
1. Need Services
2. Protective Service
3. Amenity Service
4. Facility Services

National and International Involvement
International Involvement
A government cannot work in isolation. It has to cooperate with other international political organisations such as:
• WTO – World Trade Organisation
• UN – United Nations
• UNDP – United Nations Development Program
• UNEP – United Nations Environment Program
• ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organisation
• UNWTO – World Tourism Organisation
• ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• EU – European Union

Within the policies set by the International Political Organisations, the two critical types of policies are:
Multilateral Trade Agreements: These agreements contain principles and practices that guide the signatory countries’ economic and trade relations. They include:
GATT – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades
GATS – General Agreement on Trade in Services
NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement
Bilateral Air Agreements: These agreements spell out the terms and conditions of air transportation rights between two countries.
Bilateral Ties: Based on the relationship between countries, policies such as visas and entry requirements are implemented

National Tourism Office
Regulating licences to travel agents
Marketing and promoting the nation
Encouraging private sector support in shaping tourism policy
Representing the nation in International Trade Shows and Expositions
Production and distribution of marketing and promotional materials
Production and promotion of special events
Conduct market research and analysis
Maintaining representative offices in other countries
Provide support and assistance in education and training for the tourism and hospitality industries.

The functions of a typical National Tourism Organisation
The functions of a typical National Tourism Organisation

Tourism Policy
Tourism policy can be defined as a set of regulations, rules, guidelines, directives, and development/promotion objectives and strategies that provide a framework within which the collective and individual decisions directly affecting long-term tourism development and the daily activities within a destination are taken.

National Policy Objectives

National Tourism Policies

Policy Tools

What Is Tourism Planning?

The Importance of Tourism Policy
Tourism policy fulfils the following functions:
It defines the rules of the game – the terms under which tourism operators must function.
It sets out activities and behaviours that are acceptable for visitors.
It provides a common direction and guidance for all tourism stakeholders.
It facilitates consensus around specific strategies and objectives for a given destination.
It provides a frame work for public/private discussions on the role and contributions of the tourism sector to the economy and to society in general.
It allows tourism to interface more effectively with other sectors of the economy.

Areas Addressed
by Tourism Policy
The roles of tourism within the overall socioeconomic development of the destination region
The type of destination that will most effectively fulfil the desired roles
Taxation – types and levels
Financing for the tourism sector – sources and terms
The nature and direction of product development and maintenance
Transportation access and infrastructure
Regulatory practises (e.g. Airlines, travel agencies)
Environmental practises and restrictions
Industry image, credibility
Community relationships
Human resources and labour supply
Union and labour legislation
Technology
Marketing practices
Foreign travel rules

Political Benefits of Tourism
Change the image or perception of an area.
Tourism is often regarded as a relatively ‘clean’ economic activity, hence it usually present a favourable image to the outside world.
Create a national identity.
Promoting tourism in both domestic and overseas market can stabilise and established a country’s identity.
Promote regional prosperity.
Using tourism as an impetus for further economic and social developments in urban and rural areas.

Improve quality of life.
When tourism developments are professionally executed, local community can also enjoys benefits such as; improve quality of life with extensive infrastructure and superstructure.
Promote cultures.
Using tourism as a platform achieving political aims of cultural and linguistic traditions by ethnic groups.
Promote peace and human understanding. Social benefits of tourism, such as meeting people from different cultures, religions and races can contribute to greater understanding thru globalisation and promoting world peace.

The Nature of Government Involvement
St Helena

Protection versus Development
Twyford Down

Government Control Over Entry
The USA
The Baltic States
Russia
Ukraine
Georgia
The UK

Taxation Policy
The Balearic Islands

Social Tourism
L'Agence Nationale pour les Chèques-Vacances
Family Holiday Association