Tourism is a thriving global industry with the power to shape developing countries in both positive and negative ways. It is a vital part of the global economy. In 2008, tourism industry generated roughly $1 trillion in global receipts. Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner for 83% of developing countries and the leading export earner for one-third of the world’s poorest countries. (Martha & Raymond, 2009)
Tourism is the second-most important source of foreign exchange after oil. Tourism Industry helps transform societies, often for the better. It has advantage over other industries as: directly benefits the communities that provide the goods, enables communities that are poor in material wealth but rich in culture, history, and heritage lead to generate comparative advantage, and creates networks of different operations, from hotels and restaurants to adventure sports provider and food supplier. It has also supplying chains of goods and services, supporting a versatile labor market with variety jobs for tour guides, translators, cooks, cleaners, drivers, hotel managers, and other service sector workers. (Martha & Raymond, 2009).
Tourism can only achieve the goals if it respects the environment and places host communities at the center of the development process. Responsibility lies with the governments of developing nations to ensure that tourism grow in a sustainable manner.
To attempts to build a sustainable tourism sector has to consider regulations, plan
development and sensitive attitudes toward host communities, where will take lot of tangible benefits. (UNEP & WTO, 2005). Tourism has several advantages over other industries:
- It is consumed at the point of production so that it directly benefits the communities that provide the goods.
- It enables communities that are poor in material wealth but rich in culture, history, and heritage to use their unique characteristics as an income-generating comparative advantage.
- It creates networks of different operations, from hotels and restaurants to adventure sports providers and food suppliers. This enables tourist centers to form complex and varied supply chains of goods and services, supporting a versatile labor market with a variety of jobs for tour guides, translators, cooks, cleaners, drivers, hotel managers, and other service sector workers. Many tourism jobs are flexible or seasonal and can be taken on in parallel with existing occupations, such as farming.
- It tends to encourage the development of multiple-use infrastructure that benefits the host community, including roads, health care facilities, and sports centers, in addition to the hotels and high-end restaurants that cater to foreign visitors.
Travel agencies play a critical role in the tourism industry, making important links between tourists and destinations. Normally, travel agencies known as selling airlines tickets, hotel booking... and general speaking it running main travel services supplier, travel expert and counselor. (Xavier, Benjamin, & Leeds, 2005)
The success of a destination depends on the positive support of travel agent who may sell a destination or refuse to provide recommendations for specific destinations. It is not difficult to recognize (Xavier et al., 2005), and the important of travel agents in the decision-making of customer choice for destinations and contributing in destination development, (Lawton & Page, 1997). Obviously, travel agencies will influence to sustainable tourism development, (Carey, Gountas, & Gilbert, 1997).
Tourism – a set of activities aimed at attracting visitors to geographical area, receiving these visitors and satisfying their demands – is a particularly complex industry.
It comprises residential activities (hotels, apartments, camp sites, second homes);
transportation (by air, sea, and overland); services in the place of origin (tour operators, travel agencies, information services); and services at the place of destination (accommodation, foodservice, sports, leisure, culture, banking, insurance, health care, security). All these activities overlap with and influence one another, as well as resident’s other activities. Furthermore, tourism branches into numerous specialties, including sun and beach tourism, ecotourism, rural tourism, ethnic tourism, city tourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism, esoteric tourism, revolutionary tourism, conflict tourism, religious tourism, movie tourism, business and conference tourism, sexual tourism, medical tourism, volunteer tourism, space tourism… and combinations thereof (Singh, 2004).
As an economic phenomenon, it encompasses all the investment, production, distribution and consumption activities undertaken in the process of attracting, receiving and satisfying visitor demand. Its economic impact is undeniable in terms of the volume of revenues it generates and the pull effect it exerts on other industries. Above all, it is a human and social activity, an activity full of meanings.
The tourism industry is dominated by small-and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
According to Agenda 21 for European Tourism (2002), SMEs can contribute to sustainable tourism development through demonstrating CSR behavior. Specifically, SMEs in tourism can minimize environmental impacts due to their small as well as contribute to strengthening local cultures and customs by providing various tourism activities (Ford Robert & McLaughlin., 1984). Moreover, small-sized tourism companies can contribute to the local economy by “transforming local resources into tourist products and services” Ford Robert and McLaughlin. (1984).
Travel agencies, the small-and medium-sized business within tourism, and the CSR behaviors of it different from large company. Horobin. H & Long. J (1996) Identified that small business relevant to sustainable tourism and environmental and social responsibility. Weber. (2008) were examined that the responsible behaviors of small, family-owned business in terms of environmental practices and educating tourists on conservation matters. They found that members and owners of small, family owned businesses are more likely to express positive attitudes toward implementing sustainable tourism behaviors. There are a few studies regarding what factors affect the behaviors of
small business regarding sustainable development, some scholars agreed that the attitudes of owners and managers are most critical in determining behaviors (Huizingh, 2007).
According to (Horobin. H & Long. J, 1996) the attitudes and behaviors of owner and managers of small business regarding to sustainable tourism, they perspective is small business owners perceived the importance of sustainable tourism development, even though they felt there was a lack of information on how to implement it.
• The role of travel agencies in the tourism industry
Travel agencies play a critical role in the tourism industry, making important links between tourists and destinations. Traditionally, the role of travel agencies was recognized as selling airlines tickets, and hotel bookings, however recently their role has been transferred as main travel service supplier or travel expert and counselor (Leblanc, 1992). Recently, due to the Internet, tourists have been able to plan and package their own travel itineraries through accessing information online. As the results, travel agents have had to rethink their traditional roles.
The information on the Internet has provided that given a sense of credibility for tourists have left less need to work directly with travel agents. Thus, travel agents have found a way to provide value added information as well as superior customer service as a way to maintain a customer base and entice new customers (Lawton & Page, 1997).
Moreover, travel agents have determined that they are in a position where they can influence destination choice as well as itinerary choice based on personal experience (Fam-trip) and customer feedback (testimonials). Lovelock (2009) has argued that “more than any other stakeholder, agents are in a critical position to influence the tourist’s destination choice”. Furthermore, travel agents have determined that they can play a role for tourists that the internet based companies cannot when the tourist is in location, particularly in the event of a crisis, in that they can be a familiar voice on the end of the phone when needed.
Travel agencies have also contributed to the development of many destinations.
According to Lovelock (2009), the success of a destination depends on the positive support of travel agents. Travel agents may sell a destination or refuse to book or provide recommendations for specific destinations. With the recognition of the important role of travel agent in decision-making of destination choice and destination development
(Lawton & Page, 1997), some studies argued the need for research to understand the role and influence that the travel agents have towards sustainable tourism development (Carey et al., 1997); (Lovelock, 2009). In the study of (Lovelock, 2009) showed that travel agents feel a greater responsibility to their customers and employers than to the host community. According to this study, travel agents behave ethically and responsibility in order to satisfy the need of tourists, employers, and a social ethic. The study also concluded that travel agents play an important role as “moral mediators when faced with a number of alternative choices that benefit or harm various stakeholders”. Travel agencies can contribute to the sustainable tourism by providing detailed information about responsible behaviors at the tourism destination and educate tourists about the various impacts their behaviors, (Pennington-Gray, Reisinger, Kim, & Thapa, 2005).