Hospitality in Tourism
Hospitality in Tourism is used to refer to how a host interacts with a guest at any of the tourism centers, events, or activities. Generally, the interaction between guests and hosts is expected to help the guests feel welcome and offer them help as they engage in their tourism activities.
This means hospitality in Tourism is a service for leisure and customer satisfaction; whoever offers the hospitality services is more bent on satisfying the customer creating memorable, pleasurable, enjoyable, and luxurious services to the customers.
Offering the customer or guest the most excellent and above satisfactory is the main goal for hospitality in tourism; so all stakeholders focus all their energies creating quality services and atmospheres for the customers or guests
Hospitality in Tourism is wide and can include a lot of things especially in this era where new things come up each day; new services are being included in hospitality daily in different parts of the world. That said the original idea of hospitality in tourism has not been watered down and the common things you find in tourism hospitality range from hotels, restaurants, animal parks, cruises, entertainment events to many many more.
Over the years the tourism sector has evolved causing a tremendous growth in hospitality but the core value still remains customer satisfaction and leisure; and below we break down the main sections of hospitality in tourism.
Travel Agents and Tour Operators
When one desires to travel for tourism, it’s common that they will seek help from more skilled and experienced persons in the tourism sector to help them plan and execute the much desired trips; this makes travel agents and tour operators an important section of hospitality in Tourism because of their ability to plan, organise and execute tourism trips.
Tour operators offer travel packages that are a combination several hospitality services that include but not limited to accommodation, logistics, parks, personalised host services etc. Tour operators are the best option for planning a trip because they take care of all the trip details.
Travel agents on the other hand sell tourism products and services on behalf of supplies, if you are planning self-trip, travel agents will normally direct you to the service providers that suit your need and preference. Most travel agents operate over internet but they are still some who operate traditionally meeting individual per individual.
Accommodation
This is the most prominent section of hospitality in tourism; the accommodation section is mainly focused on providing up to standard and satisfaction areas for sleeping and refreshing for Tourists. Most accommodation facilities are constructed in such a way to fit different customer brackets that is budget, midrange and luxury; so customers are normally aware of the cost of whichever accommodation they opt for on their tourism trip. Accommodation facilities include but not limited to Hotels, lodges and motels, Bed and breakfast, resorts, serviced apartments, tented camps, hostels and many more. Different countries and communities may also have different terminologies for facilities but the key factor remains that it’s an area for sleeping and refreshing.
Food and Drinks
Everyone needs food and drinks wherever they are so second to accommodation facilities are food and drinks facilities whose main goal are to provide food and drinks for customers on their tourism trips. Though Food and drinks facilities can stand alone, they are usually integrated into accommodation facilities. The food and Drinks facilities include but not limited to Restaurants, Bars & Cafés, Tea & Coffee Shops, food courts and many more.
Logistical services
This generally includes services that cover a tourist’s movements to and from their location also on their trip; this section commonly covers flights and car services, though some may stretch to bikes, drivers etc. Logistical services help a customer get from one place to another safely and comfortably. Logistical services are usually arranged for you by a tour operator.
Animal Parks
Almost 80% of the people that travel for tourism travel to see various wild animals in animal parks; this makes animal parks an important section of hospitality in tourism, because the terms and conditions for accessing and seizing animal viewing opportunities in the park, attract or discourage customers. Several animal parks’ terms and conditions include but not limited to entry fees, car fees, game viewing fees, fines, age limit admissions and many more.
Several animal parks have come up with favourably terms and conditions and offers for customers so that the customers will get a satisfactory service at their parks. For more information about animal parks contact your nearest tour operator.
Recreational services
The list of recreation services is long and wide plus it varies from community to community; meaning what I may call recreational here may not be recreational there, but for the purposes of discussing hospitality in tourism in this article when we say recreational services we mean cruises, entertainment (concerts or in casinos, bars, nightclubs etc), movies and theatre, hiking and water adventures among other things. All these recreation services and activities are done for enjoyment and leisure of the customers, which is the sole purpose of hospitality in tourism. So facilities or companies or groups or personnel that offer these services to customer always ensure that their customers have the most memorable time to their satisfaction.
Personal Hosts or Tour guides
When individuals travel for tourism, they are normally travelling to areas they have never been before and would to take part in activities they have never engaged in before, so they will almost always need a personal host or a tour guide that will aid them on their trip for them to make the most of the trip.
Personal hosts or tour guides are normally acquired through a tour operator, so if you plan to travel and you need one, you will need to plan your trip through a tour operator.
These highlighted sections we feel are the most important sections of hospitality in tourism however, more sections keep emerging and the list grows longer and longer as the hospitality industry keeps expanding.
