UK tour operator strategies: causes and consequences

Abstract

This paper is an investigation of the competitive strategies of British tour operators and their impact on the image and quality of tourist destinations. The strategies considered are the vertical integration of tour operators with travel retailers and airlines, pricing and contracting systems in the resort, and developments in market segmentation. The authors also consider the rationale, development and impact of tour operator branding, a strategy that has accelerated the trend towards standardised holiday products. The study concludes by outlining policies to counteract the negative effects of tour operator strategies and work towards a more fruitful partnership between mass market tour operators and tourist destinations.

Tourism supply chain management: A new research agenda

“…Existing studies cover topics including integration in TSCs (Theuvsen, 2004;Lafferty & Fossen, 2001); competition issues related to hotels (Chung, 2000;García & Tugores, 2006;Mazzeo, 2002), tour operators (Baum & Mudambi, 1994;Taylor, 1996;Caccomo & Solonandrasana, 2001), and attractions (Wie, 2004(Wie, , 2005Candela & Cellini, 2006); relationships between the local government and tourism organizations (Piga, 2003a(Piga, , 2003b(Piga, , 1999Accinelli et al, 2006a), tour operators and destinations (Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001;Carey et al, 1997;Curtin & Busby, 1999;Klemm & Parkinson, 2001), and tourism organizations and tourists (Taylor, 1998;Han et al, 2004); and the evolutionary relationships between tourists and residents (Accinelli et al, 2006b;Bimonte & Punzo, 2007).…”

Sustainable supply chain management in tourism

“…As intermediaries in the supply chain, tour operators are in a position to influence destination management on the supply side, and consumers on the demand side (Carey et al, 1997;Klemm and Parkinson, 2001;Miller and Twining-Ward, 2005;Tapper, 2001). Operators have traditionally claimed to lack control over suppliers (Carey et al, 1997;Middleton and Hawkins, 1998;Miller, 2001;Swarbrooke, 1999;Tearfund, 2001), and are said to not take a long term view to the sustainable development of destinations (Holden, 1996;Klemm and Parkinson, 2001;Tapper, 2001;Welford et al, 1999). However, there is a body of literature and evidence of industry practice that recognises the responsibility of companies with purchasing power towards the well-being and sustainability of their suppliers (Kalisch, 2002;Moir, 2001).…”

Environmental supply chain management in tourism: The case of large tour operators

“…Such strategies allow tour operators to fulfill the key function in the international tourism system, of absorbing the risk of unsold services for suppliers [8], while giving them a high leverage during contractual negotiations with suppliers. More often than not, the relations between large operators and accommodation suppliers or destinations are described as exploitive and manipulative, set only to consolidate the control of large tour operators over tourism trade (through prices) and tourist movements [50,[51][52][53]. By contrast, numerous examples of responsible initiatives come from smaller operators [54].…”