TOURISM- BARRIERS TO TRAVEL 9
Introduction
Travelling is the act of moving from one place to another, particularly over long distances. People travel through means like roads using cars, railway lines using trains, water using ships and air using aeroplanes. Tourism is, therefore, the act of people travelling for the sake of enjoying themselves. It could also be defined as the commercial organisation that caters for the needs of tourists regarding giving information on places to visit, organising transportation and accommodation.
Over the years, tourism played an essential role in the economies of many countries as it has helped generate revenue income and create jobs for many people. Countries with spectaculars tourists’ sites have benefited the most. For example, people travel to Paris to see the famous Eiffel tower and to Africa to see wild animals and experience the beautiful sandy beaches. People also tour parts of their own countries with exotic views especially during the holidays to relax and rewind.
However, various challenges face the tourism industry and threaten to discourage people from travelling wherever and whenever they want. Edgell (2018) lists issues surrounding visas, passports, immigration, airline services, fees and delays to be the most affecting the tourism industry. This paper looks into discussing how these and other issues affect tourism and what needs to be done to ensure that tourists are well served, and their needs adequately are taken care off.
Visas
Travel visas are documents given to foreigners of particular countries allowing them to go into a state without restrictions. Permits are attached with time limits within which the person is allowed into the country, and when the limit reaches expiration date, the person is required to apply for an extension of time if the purpose of the visit is not yet concluded. For instance, when a person exceeds the stay period on their visa in the United States, once the person leaves the country he or she will not be reissued a permit until three years are over. Some states, however, make pacts that allow people from either country to move freely within the region without having to show a visa at the border. The restrictions on visa permits are merely a way to keep a state secure from people with ill motives since, during application, the purpose of the visit is thoroughly investigated.
Unfortunately, some countries use visa restrictions as a means to prevent people from coming in, and they do this by complicating the process of visa application, and tourists tend to give up along the way. The reason they decide to be strict on visits by tourists is the growing rate of insecurity(Edgell, 2018). Even though applicants are interviewed before being issued with visas, it is possible that people with ill motives will give false information. However, these restrictions have a significant effect on the tourism industry because when tourists are barred from visiting a country, those who depend on tourism as a means to livelihood suffer a considerable loss. Therefore, governments must put in place systems to make issuance of visas and other essential documents easy and affordable.
Passports
Passports are travel documents that are issued by countries to their citizens containing their personal information about identity and nationality so basically, they are used for identification. Without a passport, one cannot be allowed to leave the country. In many countries, people may be allowed to enter with a passport to show what country they are from and therefore disputing states may prohibit each other’s citizens from entering once a passport is presented. Some countries allow for dual citizenship; hence a person may have two passports from two different countries. Each state has its own rules and regulations about factors to consider when issuing a visa.
As stated earlier, some countries may refuse to grant safe passage to citizens of other countries that they are not comfortable. A situation where one intends to visit a specific place for the holidays and is stopped for whatever reason can be a huge deal breaker. Also, the process of attaining a passport in some countries is hectic and cumbersome due to weak systems or doing things(Edgell, 2018). Countries that depend mostly on tourism for revenue tend to suffer when tourists are unable to visit, and businesses go down. Thus, states must embrace new technologies to create better systems of issuing passports for people to be free to tour other countries and promote the tourism industry.
Immigration issues
Immigration is the process of examining one’s passport and other travel documents to certify that they can be allowed to enter a country and those in charge of this process are called migration officers. The process is meant to verify that the documents presented are real and this is mainly used as a security measure. However, immigration officers may tend to take things a notch higher especially where they suspect that the traveller has illegal documents or bad intentions. They may conduct a much thorough inspection, and this could be annoying when the traveller is innocent.
Most people find themselves arguing and getting into fights with immigration officers, and this leads to people forming negative stereotypes about specific countries. Some even go to the extent of advising others against visiting some countries just because immigration officers in those countries are mean and of course this is very bad for tourism. Therefore, immigration offices should advise their employees to treat foreigners with respect and situations where the legibility of travel documents is questionable should be handled appropriately.
Airline services
Airline companies provide flight services to people. These services are delivered by various employees who play their part to ensure safe and comfortable flights to passengers. The people who work at airlines include flight attendants, technicians, flight dispatchers, ticket agents, flight instructors and pilots(Edgell, 2018). However, some of these employees lack proper customer care skills and might end up discouraging people from boarding their planes. Tourism in such countries may suffer as tourists end up opting to visit other countries instead due to previous bad experiences. Therefore, action must be taken on rude flight attendants and ticket agents who annoy customers and treat them with disrespect. Also, airlines should not only provide customers with a suggestion box to write away their complaints but also take the allegations seriously and deal with the issues addressed.
Fees
The type of plane determines flight prices and the booking class the seat is located in, namely economy class, business class and first class. First class has the most expensive fees followed by business class than economy class. Passengers who pay for the first class enjoy benefits such as more space, very comfortable seats and a wide variety of food and drinks. Business class for people who want to continue working on their personal computers while on board, while the economy class offers the best value for money.
Air tickets are considered affordable, but to some people, they are worth a whole lot. People who love the idea of travelling to other countries to explore nature but have limited funds find it hard to do so especially when air travel is the only means available. Airline companies are therefore advised to consider revising their fees to make air travel affordable to people with limited money. They could also come up with discount programs during the holidays to give people equal opportunity to travel.
Delays
Flight delays are said to occur when flight land or takes off later than scheduled. The delays are brought about for many reasons such as airline glitches, bad weather, maintenance problems and security issues. Such delays tend to inconvenience passengers as they get late to wherever they were going, and this could cost them heavily. Airlines are disadvantaged to as they are expected to compensate passengers for the delays by offering food, access to phone calls and accommodation if the suspension goes through to overnight(Fletcher, 2013). The amount of compensation is dependent on the length of the delay and distance of the flight.
Flight delays are a significant inconvenience to the tourism industry because when tourists are held in a foreign country for long hours, they get insecure. Nobody likes to get stranded anywhere, and it gets worse when you are stranded in a different country, and some tourist decides never to go back to countries they have experienced delays. Therefore, airlines should always ensure all the aircraft is in proper conditions(Fletcher, 2013). Also, governments should tighten up security measures to ensure that visitors feel safe and that flight cancellation due to insecurity are avoided.
Insecurity
However, the issues mentioned above are not the only barriers to travelling today. Insecurity has become a major concern, and tourism agencies strive hard to provide safety and security to tourists. Many cases of terror have been reported to occur during the holidays when people gather in public places to enjoy themselves and terrorists come to inform of suicide bombers to harm people. When something like that happens, people tend to stay away from visiting such countries, and this profoundly affects the tourism industry. Hence, it is essential for countries to put up measures to enhance security, especially during festivities for tourists to feel safe and secure.
Maintenance of resources
Different countries have specific tourist attraction sites that are unique to them. As mentioned earlier, foreigners love Africa for its culture, wildlife and climate. A lot of money is needed to protect and maintain such places to keep tourists coming. When sites like game parks are not miss managed, for instance when the trees are left to become thick bushes and the animals are not well taken care of, tourists will become uninterested of such places. Hotels and resorts should also be kept clean and services offered should be appealing to attract more tourists in future.
Local tourism
Many people believe that tourists are only those who come from foreign countries. They even travel to other countries for tours and fail to recognise and appreciate the tourist destinations found in their own countries. Local tourism is more affordable as compared to going outside the country. Tourism companies should advertise their products locally as well and encourage citizens to explore what their own countries have to offer regarding perfect holiday destinations. Tourists should also seek to promote tourism in their own countries first as this increases revenue which benefits them one way or another.
Disruptions by trends in the country
The tourism industry is affected dramatically by negative trends in a country. Such factors are natural disasters like floods, health issues like outbreaks of certain diseases and problems political like election periods and coups(Dickinson and Lumsdon, 2010). Most countries have suffered the loss of revenue from tourism during such events. Tourists avoid travelling to such places in fear of their lives and security. It is hence vital for governments to deal with such issues as soon as they emerge to prevent them from becoming uncontrollable. When such problems occur, governments must be quick to address the nation and prospective visitors on the state the matter and what they are doing to control the situation.
Conclusion
The travel and tourism industries are growing fast especially in countries with state of the art tourist destinations. However, various travel issues are prone to dragging down the tourism industry if not well addressed. Issuance of visas and passports takes too long a process, and this discourages people from travel plans. Also, immigration issues and poor airline services are other causes of deterioration of tourism activities as people reconsider visiting some countries from past experiences. Moreover, high flight fees and flight delays tend to discourage people from visiting countries that encounter such problems.
In addition to that, more issues affect tourism that is not based on travelling and these include insecurity, poor maintenance of resources, lack of knowledge on local tourist destinations, and disruptions by negative trends happening in the country. Countries should seek to resolve these issues to maintain a sustainable income through the promotion of the tourism industry.
References
Dickinson, J. and Lumsdon, L. (2010). Slow Travel and Tourism Tourism, environment and development. Routledge, pp.27, 28, 52.
Edgell, D. (2018). 10 Important World Tourism Issues. [online] Blog.ecu.edu. Available at: http://blog.ecu.edu/ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2018].
Fletcher, J. (2013). Tourism-Principles and Practice. Harlow: Pearson Education.