The hospitality industry contributes greatly to the tourism sector because it acts as a source of tourist attraction for both local and foreign tourists. Social media denotes various technologically backed tools and amenities that facilitate easy communication and interaction through the internet.
Social media has a unique ability to share resources and data across a wide geographical proximity through the use of several (Andrews 2007) modes of transmission. This can be through images, text formats videos, and other multimedia data formats. There are diverse means through which social media is taking shape. In today’s world, technology seems to be undergoing change within short periods.
Thousands of applications and technical (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010) inventions are being introduced to various fields all over the globe. This research study mainly touches on the current trends in global hospitality industry with regards to ethics.
Research shows that there are several dilemmas taking (Barrows & Powers, 2008) shape in various work settings. Conversely some of the most profound issues in business morality include corruption, extortion, facilitation recompenses, ecological complexities and human rights.
Furthermore sexual and cultural bias, cost disparity and destructive items add on the budding list of business ethics. I, therefore, contend that for hospitality business to thrive ahead of the non-service industry, they need to study their customers to comprehend destinations they prefer, nature of information is vital to them to establish how they want to be in touch with their business operations and uphold moral standards.
They will be required to employ the power of social media to develop a positive image to the global client. But simply putting up a Facebook (Andrews 2007) page is not adequate to the targeted population.
However, changes in political position and Legislation have greatly impacted hospitality industry both negatively and positively. If there are changes in the political structures or there is political instability in the source country, then the tourism industry of the country will be adversely affected.
In terms of legislation, if the source country introduces some travel advisories restricting its citizens from touring another country, the target country’s tourism industry will be negatively affected (Barrows & Powers, 2008).
On the other hand, the removal of political constraints between countries will promote the tourism industry of both countries, a fact which will benefit the resorts and other tourist destination in the region. Nevertheless, society’s values and habits have also had some impact on the well being of the industry.
The truth is, the hospitality sector will greatly benefit from efficient two-way informational cycle supported by such online masses to create and provide demand pushed preference for brands across various consumer classes.
These online facilities will enable industries with such statistics like the hotel sector to increase their productivity due to resultant advantages behind social media marketing. Largely, social media marketing is proving to be a formidable force in the global commerce, apparently, there are (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010) much wider impacts expected within the operational realm of industries such as the hospitality one.
As the world continues to study the emerging trends of technology on various economic sectors, there is a drastic change of procedure brought about by social media applications (Curbmings et al. 1998) in most industries.
In the hospitality industry, new innovations have impacted heavily on most procedures involving customers and different service providers (Buhalis, 2003) as a result hospitality industry guests are now able to utilize reliable and instant service and brand information with minimal cost and time requirements.
References
Andrews, S., 2007. Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Industry. India: Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited.
Barrows, C.W., & Powers, T., 2008. Introduction to the Hospitality Industry. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cummings, P.R., Kwansa, F.A. and Sussman, M.B. (1998). The Role of the Hospitality Industry in the Lives of Individuals and Families. United States of America: Haworth Press, Inc.
Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.