Relationship Between Hospitality and Tourism Industry

The relationship between Hospitality and Tourism: Tourism and hospitality go hand in hand, the hospitality industry offer services like accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, recreation and leisure. Tourism is the activity by the tourists where they engage in travelling to destinations where they want to experience recreational and leisure activities and most of the time avails of accommodation, food and beverage. The hospitality industry is the supplier of the services for tourism.

The meaning of hospitality is providing a safe and enjoyable environment for patrons. It also means responsibly serving liquor, to ensure that patrons do not become unduly intoxicated and subsequently a problem for management, staff and the neighborhood.

Hospitality working conditions (Chef): The Hospitality industry is a high pressure environment it entitles you to work long hours on your feet for long periods at a time, allot of chefs find it a highly rewarded career as it gives them the opportunity as it indulges in their passion.

Another point to consider is that many restaurant and institutional kitchens have modern equipment, convenient work areas, and air conditioning, but many kitchens in older and smaller eating places may not as well equipped. Working conditions may depend on the type and quantity of food being prepared and the local laws governing food service operations. Workers usually must withstand the pressure and strain of working in close quarters, standing for hours at a time, lifting heavy pots and kettles, and working near hot ovens and grills. Job hazards may include slips and falls, cuts, and burns, but injuries are seldom serious. 3).

Legislation that affects the Hospitality industry covering these point Liquor Health and Safety Hygiene Gaming Workplace Relations Workers Compensation Consumer Protection Trade Practises Duty of Care Building Regulations Equal Employment Opportunities Anti Discrimination Act

The Hospitality law and legislation covers a wide range of legal issues which include contracts, hotel liability, duty of hotels toward guests, employment laws, antitrust legislation, alcohol licensing and food safety to name a few. Industries such as transportation, hotels, bars, motels and other various leisure establishments and services must comply with all laws set forth by the various governing authorities of this area of practice. The aim of the Liquor Control Act is to control the sale and consumption of alcohol, to reduce the misuse of alcohol and to promote improvements within facilities such as restaurants and hotels which serve alcohol.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act is the overriding legislation that covers all workplaces and describes the general requirements that will ensure a healthy and safe workplace. It is a framework of responsibilities and outlines the duty of care that employers, employees and others have, to promote a safe and healthy work environment.

The Food Hygiene, Health and Safety Act provides food hygiene regulations for people who work in the hospitality industry it reviews the legislation which regulate hygiene, health & safety practices. The Chefs role in the safe preparation and service of food is critical and the law states that a food handler has a legal responsibility to ensure that food is maintained in a hygienic & safe manner.

The Gambling Act: Tourism is one of Australia’s most important industries and together with the hospitality and gaming sectors makes up a significant part of our economy. The industry is facing a raft of challenges from decreased global travel to increased regulation and workplace reform, the objective of this Act is to ensure the State and community as a whole benefit from interactive gambling. This regulation is designed to protect players and the community, ensuring games are fair, people and organisations offering interactive gambling act honestly and harm to individuals is minimised.

Rehabilitation and Compensation Law: The law provides reliable worker’s compensation for employees not only protecting heir business from financial burden, but builds better employee relations, staff retention and improves overall productivity, this law is called the Worker’s Rehabilitation and Compensation and it was developed to make sure that when a worker is injured at work that both the worker and their employer try to get them back to work as soon as possible with minimal cost.

Consumer protection Law: The consumer protection law consists of laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves.

Trade Practises Act: There is an awful lot of legislation that affects the hospitality industry but most of it is in place to protect your rights or your customer’s right the Trade Practices Act is a federal law that deals with almost all parts of the marketplace including unfair market practices, product safety, price monitoring and industry codes of practice. Its aim is to inhibit unethical practices by competitors and to give customers confidence that they are dealing with businesses that adhere to high standards.

Duty of Care: Hospitality establishments need to be safe and healthy environments, whether they are food and beverage restaurants, commercial kitchens, clubs, hotels and accommodation, tourist enterprises or cafes. Employers and employees all have a shared responsibility to promote a safe secure and healthy work environment that minimises risk of harm to any person.

This responsibility is called duty of care. Duty of care is a person’s obligation to prevent workplace accidents, illnesses and injuries. Equal Employment & Discrimination Act: The workforce composition in the hospitality and tourism establishments is definitely vast and diverse, it employs all types of people from all walks of life and nationalities. The Anti-discrimination and Equal Employment Act in the hospitality sector regulates the industry as it’s such a vase multicultural workforce. These acts are in place to set guide lines and rules of conduct and behaviour.

The Anti-discrimination law refers to the law on the right of people to be treated equally. Some countries mandate that in employment, in consumer transactions and in political participation people must be dealt with on an equal basis regardless of sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity and sometimes religious and political opinions. The Equal Employment Act means equal access to jobs and benefits and services for all employees and prospective employees in the workplace. It aims to ensure fair and equitable outcomes in all areas of employment which relate to recruitment, selection, and access to information, supervision and management.

Job Opportunities in Hostility Industry: The hospitality industry offers career paths that reflect its dynamic, often vibrant nature. There are many opportunities to start at the bottom and work your way up to management there are two main categories in which we divide the provision of services in the hospitality industry, these are back-of-house and front-of house. The ‘front-of house’ type of services is usually referred to as front-line, and that’s where the term ‘front-line staff’ comes from. Some sectors of the industry provide the more traditional vertical career paths, such as the kitchen where it is possible to move from being an apprentice chef up through various positions to head or executive chef.

Many chefs move on to become owner/operators of their own restaurants, or move into management positions in hotels. I’ve listed some different job positions in the industry

• Front office
• Housekeeping
• Food and Beverage
• Finance / Accounts
• Human Resources
• Kitchen/ Food Production
• Gaming
• Security
• Maintenance
• Waiter / Waitress
• Accounts Receivable Clerk
• Maintenance Officer
• Customer Liaison Officer
• Receptionist
• TAB Attendant
• Turndown Attendant
• Apprentice Chef
• Personnel Officer

Environmental Issues that affect the industry: Tourism and Hospitality are environmentally dependent industries. Facilities and infrastructure are not enough by themselves to attract tourists.

Tourism relies on both the natural and cultural environments of host communities as these provide one of the major reasons for visiting an area. A problem emerges: Tourism needs the environment to survive, and in using it so, can impact on it in such a way that the tourism opportunity is destroyed.

Environment Issues of Concern Waste management:

• Recycling of waste, paper, glass Energy Conservation:
• Energy efficient Appliances
• Timers for Heating and Air conditioning
• Room keys for use of Lights

Intercontinental Hotel program Pollution:

• Regular cleaning and maintenance of heating, cooling, laundry and cooking Equipment for efficient pollution-free running
• Correct Disposal of oils and fats Anti Smoking legalisation( although evidence shown not being adhered to)

Water Conservation:

• Shower restrictors
• Laundry water reclaiming units Work Ethics Excellent personal presentation: This means that if there is a uniform, you should make sure it is cleaned and well ironed and always worn neatly. If you do not have a uniform, you should still dress smartly and appropriately for your particular role to ensure you make a good impression and project a positive image of your place of work. Be able to communicate with people: In any hospitality establishment, you will come across people from all walks of life. They may speak different languages or have disabilities or just be impatient or rude.

You should be able to communicate to all people clearly and politely at all times. Handle pressure and respond appropriately to complaints: Hospitality establishments can often be very rushed and busy and you could find yourself under a lot of pressure. This is why it is important that hospitality staff are able to work under pressure while still maintaining a professional attitude.

You will also need to be able to handle complaints. You should listen to customers and handle their complaints accordingly so that they feel they are being looked after and that their business is important to your company. Work as part of a team: Following are some points which highlight what it means to be a good and effective team member.