1. We must abide by Government legislation to ensure cohesive workplace environments, where people from different cultures and social backgrounds work together to achieve individual and organisational goals. All tourism organisations must abide by Anti-discrimination law nationally and within their State or Territory and many include anti-discrimination in their policies. Referring to the "Anti-Discrimination Guidelines for the Hotel and Accommodation Industry" document below, answer the following:
i. What is considered ‘direct discrimination' of a customer or work colleague?
ii. What is considered ‘indirect discrimination' of a customer of work colleague?
iii. What sort of things can tourism organisations do to ensure they are legally responsible for following this law?
2. We often hear about places, products and services that are ‘on trend' or ‘hot', the popular and "latest" destination of the moment. How can we find out what is currently on trend for tourism destinations, products and services?
3. Computerised reservations systems CRS or Global Distribution Systems GDS such as Galileo provide easy efficient reservations systems for travel companies. Research and briefly discuss some other CRS that are available to tourism businesses?
4. Quality Assurance schemes (also referred to as ‘accreditation systems', ‘total quality management systems' (TQM), ‘quality management systems' (QMS) etc. are not new to the industry. They all have a common purpose and goal - to provide quality products and services to consistently meet customer needs and expectations. Following are just a few of the many accreditation schemes for the tourism industry:
• ATAP - Australian Tourism Accreditation Program
• AAA Tourism STAR Rating Scheme (for accommodation hotels, resorts etc)
• Ecotourism Australia
• ATAS - The Australian Federation of Travel Agents Travel Accredited Scheme
• TQUAL Accreditation
5. Every organisation or business must comply with Government legislation. Legislation includes Anti-discrimination laws, Australian Consumer Laws, WHS etc. Industry specific legislation also exists, which tourism providers must be aware of. The following questions relate to legislation of a concern to our industry:
a. Extract from the Smart Traveller Website - Criminal Code Act (1995) for child sex offences outside Australia. What role could a travel agent play in supporting this legislation?
b. Extract Queensland Tourism Services Act (2003). Discuss why this legislation was introduced and its importance to the growth of our tourism industry?