Essay on How Are the Tourism, Hospitality, and Events Industries Responding to the Challenges of Disruptors and Uncertainty in the 21st Century?

The tourism, hospitality, and events industries are to some extent related, in the sense that they share customers. This implies that the three industries are affected by the same trends. For instance, in the UK, the industries are experiencing various disruptors and uncertainties that have initiated key changes to the industries. These refer to the key trends and occurrences that are forcing the industries to respond by making changes. The most common disruptors in these industries related to demographic changes, political events, and social lifestyle among others. In this regard, the study examines the key disruptors, including increased competition, the Brexit, and demographic changes in UK’s tourism, hospitality, and events industries and how these industries are responding to such trends.

Increased Competition

The progressive joining of new players in the industries has highly increased competition. For instance, the entry of online giants such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Flip Key in the UK hospitality industry has initiated key changes. The online platforms offer cheap rates alongside unique venues, which are highly attractive to customers. The traditional hotels are greatly feeling the impact of online platforms and responding accordingly. In that regard, the hospitality industry has been experiencing significant changes, especially in regard to booking of rooms. The increased competition, mainly from online platforms has greatly resulted in overtourism, particularly during holidays. The new firms have offered foreigners an opportunity to secure places to visit and live in the country, thereby leading to overcrowding in key attraction centres (Oecd-ilibrary.org., 2019). The trend has also seen some firms close down part of their businesses promoting to unemployment. In response to the increased competition firms in the industries, have increased locations for guest bookings, while others are integrating the online features to their businesses. However, such a move is increasing the industries’ business risks, as many firms may end up making losses and eventually collapsing, in the case customers never considers their facilities. In fact, in the next 5-10 years, it is expected that new markets are going to emerge in these industries to serve the increased number of competitors and increased use of technology in the quest of firms to overdo one another.

Brexit

The Brexit is another critical factor affecting tourism, hospitality, and event industries in the UK. After voting to exit from European in 2016, the UK tourism and hospitality industries experienced a growth in the number of customers (David, 2019). This is basically due to the fall of the value of the pound. This implies that foreigners could spend less while touring the country and it is cheaper for locals to spend their vacations within the UK than in foreign nations. At the same time, the industries have been experiencing a massive resignation of employees who are from the EU countries. In this regard, the industries are incurring increased operational costs by training local personnel to take up the vacant positions. The Brexit is also among the key factors enhancing overtourism in the UK. The influx of foreigners and an increase in the number of local tourists has led to overcrowding in key attractive areas. In response to overtourism, there is increased investment in tourism and hospitality facilities in the UK, to deal with the increase in customers. Equally, the industries are applying new technological advancements such as online booking of events and rooms to deal with the increased number of customers brought about by Brexit. It is expected that in the next 5 years, new markets are likely to emerge to serve the increased tourism and hospitality demands brought about by the political event of Brexit.

Demographic Changes

Demographic changes in the world are another trend associated with major implications in the tourism, hospitality, and event industries in England. The current demographic changes, including increasing population, migration, and increased life expectancy are presenting fresh problems for the industries. The disruptor impacts upon the types of tourists that are expected in the UK, where they come from, types of accommodation they prefer, and finally what they engage in. The trend is impacting the industries both positively and negatively by presenting opportunities and challenges. For instance, the increasing population is translating to increased customers in the industries, which has increased employment opportunities in the UK. However, the industry is at risk, considering the fact that the lifestyles of people keep changing with time. According toFuture Foundation (2016), a larger population of travellers in the world can be described as the middle-aged. The group of people is self-confident, has full control of their lives, and adopts a lifestyle that makes them young. As customers in the industries, this demographic enjoy change and are flexible (Murison, 2016). This implies that the industries require changing at high speed to meet the interests of these people. In response to such challenges, the industries are applying technology to personalize holiday packages as opposed to the conventional ones that were standardized. In fact, the industries are offering alternative holiday packages such as alternative therapies, dancing, and new adventures to meet the interests of the demographic. The industries are away that as the demographic changes, lifestyles keep changing. Therefore, technology is applied in coming up with key aspects such as therapies that will offer satisfaction to the individuals. Equally, it is expected that in the next 5-10 years, new markets are going to emerge to serve that changing demands of the people. For instance, there will be an increased number of therapy joints, due to the increased number of aged individuals by that period.

Conclusion

Overall, the UK tourism, hospitality, and event industries are experiencing great changes. The current trends, including increased competition, Brexit, and demographic changes are posing challenges, which have seen the industries responding to by making key changes. Such trends have affected the industries in various aspects ranging from overtourism, employment, the emergence of new markets, and the advancement of technology, among others. For instance, the industries are adopting technology to deal with the profoundly changing demands of the middle-aged population, who form a large number of customers. With such trends, many changes are expected in the next five years.

References

David, D. (2019). What effect has Brexit had on the UK economy?. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47168866 [Accessed 6 Jul. 2019].

Future Foundation (2016), Millennial Traveller Report: Why Millennials Will Shape the Next 20 Years of Travel, Expedia, https://blog.expedia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Expedia-Millennial-Traveller-Report.pdf.

Murison, M. (2016). Disruption in the Travel Industry: Seven Trends Worth Keeping an Eye On | Travelshift. [online] Travelshift. Available at: https://travelshift.com/disruption-in-the-travel-industry/ [Accessed 6 Jul. 2019].

Oecd-ilibrary.org. (2019). OECD iLibrary | OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/tour-2018-en.pdf?expires=1562326739&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=5AD5FCC3990A549EEE7DCFF322455C84 [Accessed 6 Jul. 2019].