Language Roles and Model Tour Company in Enhancing Competitiveness in Tourism Industry

 
 

Language Roles and Model Tour Company in Enhancing Competitiveness in Tourism Industry  

Thavorn Thitthongkam Doctoral Candidate at the School of Management, Shinawatra University, Thailand

thavorn.th@spu.ac.th 

Assistant Professor Dr John Walsh, School of Management, Shinawatra University, Thailand.

jcwalsh@siu.ac.th

 
 

Abstract

The paper examines the roles and the importance of language to the model tour company, investigates the guidelines and the process in organising the model tour company and studies problems and solutions in managing the model tour company so as to increase competitiveness for the tourism industry. The results of the paper highlights the positive view on managing the model tour company, emphasises the language role, particularly for communication. Language increases the possibility in working and competition for the model tour company. It also creates the first consciousness for tourism industry. Managing the model tour company, tourism educational institutions need to provide enough foreign language skills training for students. The paper suggests that educational institutions and related organisations should assist to improve the quality of human resources for tourism industry.

 

Keywords

Competitiveness, Modelling, Tourism management, Tourism industries, Tourism planning, Languages

 

1. Introduction

Tourism industry is an important industry for a range of countries’ economic systems. This industry supports stimulating revenues (Font, Cochrane, and Tapper, 2004; Tricharoenwiwat, 2009) to the government. It affects everyone, and intertwines throughout the entire structure of a country (Cook, Yale and Marqua, 2006). Currently, the tourism industries in many countries are facing with the financial and economic crisis (World Bank, 2009), and it reluctantly drives these countries to find out how to push forward their tourism industry. As a result, there have been campaigns in some countries (e.g. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China) to urge their people to have more domestic tour so as to head their countries’ stability. They are also trying to attract international tourists to tour in their countries as much as they can.

 

In case of the Thai tourism industry, it requires eligible people to perform for tourism companies (Cunningham, Edler and Flanagan, 2009), organisations or even for governmental departments. Although there are numbers of graduates in tourism industry every year, still, they do not have enough basic experiences and skills to manage the tourism business. Some educational institutions (e.g. Sripatum University, Silpakorn University, Bangkok University) have been cooperating with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to provide a course that encourages students to have an opportunity to study and work in authentic situations, under the supervision of the qualified lecturers. The course provides a model tour company for students to put into practice. Students have a chance to study about roles, importance and problems in organising the model tour company. Furthermore, they learn more about its method and process for managing the model tour companies that can help boosting the Thai tourism industry competitiveness.

 

Managing model tour companies, language is an imperative factor (Engman, 2005) because there are also international tourists. These international tourists are the ones who visit Thailand each year. In 2009, Office of Tourism Department, Thailand reported that there were about 9.6 million people. Language certainly will help the Thai tourism industry to get more efficient performance because it is a means for communication (Yletyinen, 2004). It helps satisfy people with the basic functions such as describing ideas, making requests and solving problems in the clearest way (Adler and Rodman, 2000). Language also assists people to approach information about countries’ cultures which can interest many international tourists to learn and find out about the countries (Wood, 2006).

 

The tourism institutions and concerning sectors should pay attention on managing activities (Trim, 2003) such as the language skills’ training and the model tour company managerial skills. These activities support the students to deal with real situations’ practices. The activities also provide a chance to expand the tourism workforce’s skills for the tourism industry, which is really important to drive the tourism industry forward. Moreover, focusing on these real situations, preparation will be a key to build up the tourism industry competitiveness (Darbelnet, 2004).

 

A model tour company is a company organised as an actual company. Language certainly, plays an important role in communication (Hammar, 1997; Sokolova1 and Lapalme, 2007), particularly, in managing either communicating between people within each department or outside. It should be correct, clear and concise. Otherwise, it will affect negatively in a working process. This includes using language to communicate outside the organisation with other tour companies and organisations. Consequently, the needs in the tourism industry competition should begin initially at the concerning workers’ development (Lindell and Stenstrom, 2005), especially, students who are studying in tourism education or other major related. This aims to train them about their duties and responsibilities, and to motivate them to be able to stand on their on feet.

 

The purposes of this paper are to study the roles of language and the importance of language to the model tour companies at Sripatum University, to investigate the guidelines and the process in organising model tour companies, and to study problems and solutions in managing the model tour companies so as to increase competitiveness for the Thai tourism industry.

 

2. Literature Review

 

2,1 The importance of language for tour company

Every step in the life of a human being needs to communicate unavoidably with others. All activities in the tourism industry need fine communication. A Tour company business is a business within the tourism industry. It cannot be individual in the situation of the high competition. Thus, the tour company, particularly its staff, should be able to communicate properly and effectively with their tourists. In other words, a key to be successful in running a tour business is the ability to communicate with tourists (Lukšaitien and Valiaugien, 2009) by using their own languages. Actually, tourists are always looking for something extra that make them feel special. Being worthy for what they have paid a little bit more for a product or service. This can be a way to make them have more satisfaction in paying for services (Maloney, 2004).

 

Focusing on communication, Wood (2000) defined it as a universal process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings. In addition, every situation should contain effective communication that involves achieving one’s goals in a manner, and ideally, maintains or enhances the relationship in which the communication occurs (Adler and Rodman, 2000). In general, a communication that occurs once will consist of elements; senders (sources), receivers, messages, channels, noise and feedbacks. Language is a kind of channel at anytime a communication occurs, and communicating by using language usually takes place in face-to-face interactions when someone speaks and listens. This kind of channel is called as “vocal channel” (Devito, 2003). Thus, everyone needs language as a crucial tool to communicate with others in daily routines. If there is not a verbal language included whenever a communication taken place, it cannot be a completely correct and effective communication. Accordingly, everyone will get panic with complicated understanding between each others.

 

The tourism industry is considered as a main industry that can be managed to grasp the interest of international tourists to travel into a country. It is an important source of returns, foreign exchange receipts, and employment. These benefits can drive the economic growth and development, especially for those countries with the limitation of natural resources and industrial capability (Edgell, 1990). On the other hand, tour companies are as important as other businesses in the tourism industry, hence, it should be awakened to compete in the circumstance that is getting more and more heated.

 

For the time being, the world is globalising. All people at every corner around the world are linked together. It is really hard to be separated them from others because of the new connection by high technology. The tourism industry has become universal. New technology reduces barriers to entry into the world of international businesses. Furthermore, tourism industry can be a leading industry in this globalisation process, and it can be successful if the management understands how to activate in the international arena (Reinhold, Diamantis and El-Mourhabi, 2004). The tour company, however, has got to adapt itself as it becomes global and international business, particularly adapting the communication either inside or outside the organisation. Language is a basic channel for people simply to hand on their ideas or feelings, and showing their representative cultures, so language competences would be an abundantly necessary asset for tour companies to communicate to everyone with the same understanding whether they are employees, employers, tourists or even competitors.

 

2.2 Language problems for tour company

In order to be a business organisation that is able to renovate the country, it has to have chances to be in the risk of the global or domestic economic crisis. The economic crisis is affecting and bringing various tribulations to companies all over the world, counting Thailand. These crises associated as financial difficulty, unemployment, and even politics. Although the tour company faces with many troubles concerning with the economic crisis, it might also face with a certain interior problem. That means the personnel’s skills in concerning positions. The staff must have almost all skills about conducting all affairs in the company. Nevertheless, every staff in the company has to be licensed or regulated as a tour company or tour operators. In order to obtain the legal licensing, the staff has to take some courses up to learn and practice some necessary skills for managing the tour company. These licensing practices are designed to promote responsibility and to assure that companies deliver the services advertised in a timely manner (Edgell, 1990).

 

It is not yet enough for the tour company’s staff to be able to manage only affairs concerning to the tourism business, they should also be able to communicate with the international tourists successfully. To emphasise, foreign languages are very important and required in worldwide business. Referring to the existing situation, every business is meant as a worldwide connection. Even though, there is a common language such as English for every people in every corner around the world to communicate with each other. Some countries have their own languages, and they do not want to use English as a common language even when they are staying in another country. The tourism industry, especially the tour company is certainly affected with this problem. International tourists who are travelling in other countries such as Thailand need the appropriate prompt accommodations and services, which include the competence to communicate in their own languages. For that reason, the tour company’s staff should understand at least 2-3 languages to perform business or to communicate with others in any channels. Besides, the ability to communicate using foreign languages is a key tool to hold up their business to be successful as a phrase mentioned “The language of business is the language of the international tourists.”

 

The tour companies offer a wide variety of services about touring activities for almost all tourists, including providing information, making reservations, ticketing, and securing other services and travel-related documents for them as tour companies have now become the department stores of the tourism industry (Cook, Yale and Marqua, 2006). This indicates that these companies must contact with many kinds of tourists, and certainly, many kinds of tourists’ nationalities. The problem has occurred worldwide today. It is not only English totally used as a major international language, in France and Germany, for example, it is necessary to use French and German to solve the problems. Additionally, by a survey of leading executives in European countries, it points out that only 30 percent reported using English for professional purposes, and increasingly, only English cannot be used in non-English speaking markets. Consequently, the tour companies have got to consider this problem very carefully if they really need to have some stable spaces in the international tourism arena.

 

2.3 Tour company and language management

As discussed, the international tourists who visit a country need something extra than fine accommodations and services. They additionally need fine communication that they can perceive accurately with the same understanding with someone associated to their trips. Exactly, these international tourists have many different nationalities, and also many different international languages that almost tourism staff would be confused with these kinds of languages and accents. As a result, the tour companies should focus on these problems very carefully, and provide some useful methods to respond to these problems well. Up till now, English is still a common language using to communicate worldwide, but after a past few years, a lot of people have been getting to be interested in studying other international languages such as Chinese, Japanese or even other European languages. Therefore, tourists from these countries are proud as their languages attract people from other countries to learn, and then, they would realise that it is not no more necessary to know English to communicate with others whenever they are overseas. In short, this new notion directly affects the tourism industry.

 

 One of primary methods to increase the tourism industry competitiveness, it should begin mainly at the first recruitment. The Human Resource Department of each tour company has to provide effective recruitment to achieve skilful personnel to work in suitable sections matching with their skills, or at least, selecting efficient personnel to work in the company (Cook, 2007; Cook, Yale and Marqua, 2006). Otherwise, training is a solution for increasing capability in tour business managing or communication. Language training, however, is needed increasingly for tour companies’ staff (Thitthongkam and Walsh, 2009) to compete in the global market, so tour company owners are now eager to support their employees to practice or take some more courses up in order to develop these skills.

 

2.4 What is a model tour company?

Although many countries have confronted a problem of the economic crisis, the tourism industry is increasing continually. It makes skilfully the competitive in the tour industry. Various issues are important to the change of tourism industry. Not only economics, society, politics, environment issues or the market, skilled personnel are also one of the necessary issues. Without these skilled workers, the competition in tourism industry would be tough (Deangroj, 2004). Several institutions and companies are paying close attention to develop and improve their students’ or employees’ skills beneficial to the tourism industry. These people are well-trained to efficient workforce. They collect more experiences (Zhang and Chow, 2004) when they work on the model tour companies.

 

The model tour company is a small company that is modelled by many people in a group. It aims to help students to get the general knowledge of tour managing, and to comprehend the process in managing a tour company. Another objective is to provide ways to build up a good relationship with other tour companies. Every institution and company put a great effort to train their students or employees to be ready to work from role situation that may happen in actual companies.

 

The model tour companies are founded by groups of students. All companies have the same goal to reach. They have lecturers who advise and follow up the results from students. Participating in the model tour company generates students’ knowledge on how to plan tasks and perceive a process of work (Baraya, Budden and Juban, 2005) as if the students are in the real tour company. Students are also assigned the duty to complete in many departments. This creates the students’ understanding on how to work in those departments. They have to survey the routes which they will bring tourists to visit. Consequently, they can see places, estimate the time, and plan things.

 

The main objective that they built the model tour company is to enhance the understanding in all of the tour business for students. Students, as a result, can clarify elements of the tour company, and manage the tour company. This will lead students to have the capability in running tour business after their graduation.

 

In short, the model tour company can help students to understand on how to plan and run a tour business. It provides them chances to practice and learn the process of planning and tour business in real situations. Also, it helps students to use sensibility to solve problems that occur from working to adopt in the future. At the same time, it is good for students to learn how to work in team.

 

2.5 Managing the model tour company

Managing the model tour companies is not too complicated. The model tour company consists of different departments depending on the purpose of each institution or the tour company. Having the model tour companies, it is important to set the organisation structure (Warakulwit, 2003). The structure is a tool to manage the tour program to achieve the goal.

 

Generally, the model tour companies comprise of departments: Planning Department, Administration Department, Sales and Marketing Department, Operation Department, Finance Department, Transportation Department, and Information Department. Each department operates under the direction of a tour company general manager.

 

      Planning Department is responsible for arranging a tour program in short term and long term by considering from type, model and method of tour program (Bangsomboon, Isichaikul and Limsuwan, 2002). The planner can set the plan and contact other organisations in advance such as a car rental company, restaurants and so on. Additionally, the planner needs to explain the process of tour program to other departments so as to work together smoothly. Planning tour program is about setting the price of tour program, entertaining, and taking care of the tourists. There are three sub-divisions; planning tour program, transportation and tour guide. Planning Department is responsible for surveying tourism attractions. All staff needs to think of quality and appropriateness of each place that is suitable for the tourists. Setting tour program needs to think of an interest, an appropriateness location, time, budget, and on site accommodation. Restaurants should be suitable for the tour program. At the same time, Transportation Department may need to manage the shuttle bus for customers to go to other places, and take care of the customers energetically. Finally, tour guide is responsible for helping and facilitating. They should give the useful information or details about the tour as well.

 

Administration Department is responsible for managing the policy, setting objectives, monitoring and managing business operations in all. It consists of senior executives such as a president, a general manager, a vice manager, etc. Administration department has employees to take action the management and to support the model tour company. This includes the chairman and head of department who are responsible for managing the policy with other departments. They allow other departments to act out those policies efficiently. The administrative work such as secretary, report, printed out documents, computer, management the file storage, tourist history, and circular between departments as well as taking care of the staff and sending or receiving the letter in the company are also tasks of the Administration Department.

 

Sales and Marketing Department is responsible for contacting the tourists to offer and sell the tour package and answers all the questions might have. This department is divided into three sub-divisions: advertisement, public relations and information. It is attractive for the tourists to buy the tour package. Staff should give the information and prepare the document for touring clearly. It helps create the relationship between tourists, company and community.

 

Operation Department arranges the tour programs. Staff who is in charge of the tour program such as a head of tour program, a tour guide and so on are responsible for accommodation, tourist attractions, number of tourists and some special request. They have to cooperate with other organisations. In the same way, the staff need to contact the organisations to make a negotiation concerning reservation, deposit and payments including documentation and equipment operators. Staff should also arrange the tour guide for the tourists.

 

Finance Department is responsible for accounting, revenue expenditure of some companies. It may have two parties in the same department such as finance and accounting department which are responsible for mutual separation, but they do a job interoperable because funds and accounts need to congregate correspondingly, and they must try to maintain its interests as possible.

 

Transportation Department is responsible for contacting the rental vehicles to tour on land and water coordination with the Operations Division to ask for the number of tourists in the program. Staff held the right vehicles, including the driver held responsible for the board of tourists.

 

Information Department is the final division. It is responsible for gathering information and document, which are related to the tour or operations of the company.

 

2.6 Model tour company in Thailand

Even though, there were internal problems of insecurity of unstable government and politics in the past few years. Still, tourism industry is the second main industry that makes revenue to Thailand. Actually, it is estimated that tourism industry in Thailand in 2009 would have 14.1 million international tourists with the revenues of EUR13, 424.84 million. However, the Thai tourism industry could not reach the target. The tourists have decreased by 23% (Thanomjit, 2009).

 

These figures indicate that the impact arise in the Thai tourism industry. So, all institutions have to cooperate and help each other. In this case, educational institutions can produce professionals for the labour market. Many universities offer curriculums in the tourism education that can help to produce the professional personnel to support the Thai tourism industry. They are providing many courses which can help students to have more knowledge. For this reason, they organise the model tour company in their institutions. The model tour company is a copy of the real tour company that runs by students who are studying in tourism management. It provides similar circumstances as the real tour company. The model tour company in Thailand is set up by many higher tourism education institutions. There are Sripatum University, Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Silpakorn University, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University, Khon Kaen University, Naresuan University, Bangkok University, and Mahasarakam University. For the purposes of this study, the model tour company at Sripatum University was focused.