|
|
|
|
|
ITM BA 2. Sem. 8035: Special Tourism Management |
|
TOURISM AND GLOBALIZATION
Stages in the Globalizsation of Tourism (after Anne-Mette Hjalager, Aarhus)
PDF: Here (Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 437-457) There is more to the globalization of tourism than cross-border flows of customers and purchasing power. This paper distinguishes four stages and different manifestations of the globalization of the tourism industry, and shows that it, like many other business systems, is undergoing an irrevocable globalizing process. Outsourcing, transnational ownership structures and investments, cross-border marketing collaborations, the purchase and sale of knowhow, and the free movement of labor are developments not confined to manufacturing alone, but are also highly relevant for the modernization of tourism. It and media logics are converging, and the scene is global. New policies that proactively include the potentials of its globalization are called for.
Globalization is a restructuring process that works across units and affects all aspects of human life: from capital flows, through political collaboration, to the flow of ideas. It also includes environmental pollution, criminal behavior, disease, and, ultimately, terror. Travel and tourism are among the many causes and results of globalization processes.
Four stages of Globalization of Tourism: The model consists of four stages. Although the model suggests a logical progression toward the last more complex phase, in practice they overlap. The basic assumption of the model is that, by embracing
globalization in stages, individual firms, destinations, and countries
may be able to By joining still more complex international networks, tourism agents can address institutional and investment pressures at home. Globalization is further enhanced by developments in information and communications technologies and transportation opportunities. In principle, actors in the tourism system will experience a gradual, albeit inevitable, need to take account of the next phases and to adapt to the subsequent opportunities and competitive forces.
Another assumption is that the evolutionary process takes time. Along the way, specific organizations may become obsolete, and established routines and modes of operation will lose effect. New patterns will emerge, possibly after painful transformations. However, this process will not evolve in parallel in all countries and all continents. On the national scene, some segments of the economy will be more advanced in the globalization process than others, thus contributing to the complexity. The pace of globalization may be affected negatively by, for example, increased energy prices.
Basically, globalization in tourism is not a new issue, and the industry has been undergoing an internationalization process for decades. However, it is suggested that new trends in stage four tend somewhat to change the nature of tourism operations. For example, there is no doubt that the quality of employment and earnings is better in connection with the stage-four-transcending economy, including the media, consulting, development, and so on, than in the traditional low-skills, low-earnings delivery of services. The paradox, of course, is that this employment is almost solely reserved for the well-educated laborforce, and that there are fewer jobs available. The belief among some government and local tourism bodies that employment will be unaffected by the mechanisms of globalization are, at best, naıve. Some segments of the industry will be able to benefit, while it is likely that others will face considerable hardship and increased competition. There is a particular need to address the political implications of globalization in much greater detail and to develop new policy models accordingly.
|
|
|
|
Contact:
|
|
