Teaching Ethics (Topic 8)
One article from an academic journal appeared in Topic 8. Three-hundred-twenty-six
hospitality seniors over a four-year period completed questionnaires to get at their opinions of
ethics in the hospitality industry. The results from the questionnaires completed each semester
were used to stimulate discussion in an ethics unit in a course they were taking on hospitality
issues. The author’s use of student-generated data made for lively, personal class discussions
because the questionnaires asked students about their own work experiences and their own
ethical beliefs. The focus of the instruction was on ethical decision-making and the consequences
of various decisions. The author believes his approach encourages student self-reflection, critical
thinking and analysis, and an increased quality of decision-making (George, 2008).
Tourism Ethics (Topic 9)
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Nine of the ten articles appearing in Topic 9 were in published in academic journals.
Three of the articles were somewhat positive reviews for Hall and Brown’s book, Tourism and
Welfare: Ethics, Responsibility and Sustained Well-being. The introductory textbook focuses on
the welfare and wellbeing of tourists, tourism workers, the tourism industry, and animal welfare
(Dunkely, 2008), providing “conceptual direction and practical reflection” (Hegarty, Roberson,
& Bogardus, 2008). Much of the published academic research on the above topics is
incorporated in the text and gives readers a “valuable outline of issues, current knowledge, and
an honest appraisal of the complexity of the issues” (Ryan, 2008).
An article published by the same Hall and Brown (2008) was followed up by two other
articles offering additional discussion and another perspective (Butcher, 2008; Fennell, 2008).
Codes of conduct, with little stakeholder input, are often focused on tourists and their behavior
rather than on tour operators. The codes, though largely unenforceable, lead to a perception that
the tourism industry is aware of its ethical responsibilities and doing something about them.
Until the tourism industry is regulated with enforceable policies, ethical tourism is unlikely. The
tourism industry, as such, will not be effective in reducing poverty (Hall & Brown, 2008).
Fennell (2008c) points out that human beings tend toward self interest and this tendency
must be taken into account when addressing ethical tourism issues. Butcher (2008), on the other
hand, argues that tourism welfare issues cannot be separated from economic growth. To require
indigenous cultures in tourism destinations to stay the same turns their “culture into a cage.” He
suggests that there may be new solutions and new resources that can be good for all stakeholders
(Butcher, 2008).
Mendoza, in the only article in Topic 9 not from an academic journal, states that while
tourism does add a substantial amount of money to the destination’s Gross Domestic Product,
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development is away from agrarian reform, food security, social services, and industrial
development, leaving the residents dependent upon low pay service jobs with transnational
companies. He argues that tourism cannot be just an economic activity, but must take into
account welfare issues and be only a part of “the larger social project to achieve basic reforms”
in a poor destination country. (Mendoza, 2008)
.
Responsible or Ethical Tourism distributes the benefits of tourism fairly to local
populations and does not harm the destination. It is described as a different way of doing tourism
which may be possible only if tourists can look into themselves, recognize the truth, and then
choose to act on that truth, the truth being that love for ourselves and others is healthier than self
interest. Companies that make decisions that are good for their communities, foster trust and
cooperation. If all individuals and organizations, made up of individuals, choose to do that which
is good for others, Responsible Tourism will be one result (Fennell, 2008b).
A study of travel agents in New Zealand found them to be somewhat ethically aware, but
they mostly put their ethics aside and took on all clients and sent them wherever they wished
without concern for the rights of inhabitants of host communities or their purpose for traveling to
a destination (such as sex tourism). The respondents generally held tourists’ right of freedom to
travel as inviolable. It is, probably, not reasonable to expect travel agents to take a leading role in
promoting ethical tourism (Lovelock, 2008b).
Most of the travel agents, in the same study, were found to be uninformed about human
rights abuses in many of the destinations they were selling. They tended to believe that ethical
problems were above their understanding and preferred to have policies to follow when faced
with ethical decisions. The policies by the management of their travel agencies were generally
slanted towards increased profits for the agency. Only when tourist agents feared for the safety of
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their clients, would they consider making a “moral” choice. The closer the stakeholder was to the
tourist agent determined the level of concern, with clients, agency, agent, being considerably
closer than the population of the host country (Lovelock, 2008a).
Trends, Issues, Challenges (Topic 10)
Six of eleven articles were from academic journals and concerned issues while four were
from trade journals and were about trends. Biotechnologies are processes applied to materials of
biological origin to preserve, protect, or make more useful. The processed food industry is one of
the fastest growing industries worldwide with $20 billion in sales in the U.S. each year. Crops
have been genetically modified to be herbicide resistant in order to sell more pesticides. Thirty
percent of all U.S. corn is converted to ethanol. The amount of corn needed to fill one car tank
with ethanol “would feed a poor Mexican for a year.” Biotechnologies can be used to do good or
bad. The human race cannot survive unless leaders make wise, informed decisions that will
manage and utilize scarce resources for the good of humanity rather than for the profit of a few
(Hulse, 2008).
Animals are used in the hospitality and tourism industries for entertainment, food,
transportation, and to be hunted. Zoos, rodeos, circuses, aquariums, dolphins, wild life parks,
safaris, hunting and fishing trips are but a few familiar examples of animal attractions that have
been criticized for abusing animal rights and welfare. Public opinion has changed and considers
the humane treatment of animals to be important. Hospitality and tourism companies that utilize
animals in their operations are warned and encouraged to implement responsible animal
attractions understanding that consumers now prefer natural habitats for animals.
Animals must
have some privacy, and their dignity should be maintained. Education on animal welfare and
conservation should be incorporated in any animal-based attractions (Shani & Pizam, 2008).
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Mobilizing Hospitality: The Ethics of Social Relations in a Mobile World was positively
reviewed by Lugosi (2008). The book, written for an academic audience, examines the insecurity
and displacement that can occur due to tourism, along with other topics related to the increased
mobility of modern life and how it affects relationships.
Ellis and Rossman (2008) propose a model for staging recreation experiences that
combines technological and artistic performance factors and encourages acceptance of the model
as a means of creating value for guests as well as providing a coherent curricula for university
parks and recreation programs which have been fragmenting into separate specific disciplines
such as sports management or event planning. In well-staged recreation events, guests receive a
desirable emotional or motivational experience, possible transformations, and memories of the
experience
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