Operations Management in the Travel Industry

Citation

Yagci, K. (2011), "Operations Management in the Travel Industry", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 21 No. 6, pp. 690-692. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604521111185664

Every industry in the world has a form of organisation, in which at least one manager is appointed, and the travel and tourism industry does not mean an exception. Managers are responsible for smooth running businesses, leading their organisations to success and surviving in a harsh competitive operational environment. From a broader perspective operations management focuses on carefully managing the processes to produce and distribute products and services. Operations management and tourism industry are usually two different terms not used in the same sentence until recently due to their natures. While classical operations management theory deals with issues like stock control, line balancing, linear programming and project management topics these generic headlines may be perceived a little intangible for a typical person related to travel industry.

While these terms are very important for the travel industry, they might not answer questions related to customer satisfaction, service quality and some other crucial phenomenon which are crucial for the industry without tourism professionals' focus. The textbook subject to review just comes in handy at this very point, both aiming to provide sound and comprehensible examples to students on operations management as well as helping instructors in transferring contemporary information to readers in a smooth and simple language.

The textbook consists of ten chapters some which are; logistics and supply chain management in travel operations, marketing, human resources management, financial awareness for travel operations management, travel society and culture which are key managerial aspects for a travel industry manager and for those who want to get involved in some part of the industry. Each chapter contains objectives, review questions and related information on the topic covered by the chapter.

The very first unit is classified as the introduction of the whole book, which consists of three parts: A, B and C:

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  Part A: structure of the book gives the reader an opinion of the following areas covered by the writer.

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  Part B: travel includes the definitions and backgrounds of these terms as well as the types of travel.

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  Part C: management deals with the schemes for approaches which are also presented in the book.

The very last part of the unit includes links and references for further research.

The second unit of the book handles the topic of career development skills and strategies in the travel industry. Although it is hard to organise all intense concepts placed in the chapter, the writers Ghislaine Povey and Ade Oriade have divided the chapter into two sections. The first part deals with career strategies, education and strategies, and it is highly useful in terms of given samples of application forms that one might need in planning their career; whereas the other part is heavily focused on more personal details of the individuals, and with the help of the illustrated information it is easy to read more of the book. At the end of the chapter the writers gives a summary, and references, links as they did earlier.

Sine Heitmann and Christine Roberts have presented the theories of human resource management for travel and tourism. As pointed out under the heading of objectives of the chapter, the authors aim to explain the theories and concepts in the industry, and also they aim to be a guide for managers in the target industry. Unlike the first two chapters, this unit fades with review questions and includes case studies in the chapter.

“Operating management” chapter has been written by Peter Robinson and Steve Gelder, and the chapter is heavily focused on management, implication of service process, and interrelationship among the existing operations. The chapter includes case studies, and handy information for the target group. The chapter finishes with useful links, and references for further research.

The fifth chapter of the book which is written by Ade Oriade focuses on the logistic perspective of the travel industry. Illustrating the key concepts and including case studies throughout the chapter, Oriade handles various issues like information processing, transportation or planning with a detailed, but easy‐to read perspective. The questions asked through the chapter have more than one answer and require proper judgment and information about the sector; hence the summary at the end of the chapter is useful for both logistic managers and customers.

The sixth chapter contributed by Crispin Dale deals with the strategic planning, management process and the relationship between long and short term planning. The impact of management over operations is demonstrated with the help of shapes and case studies through the chapter. The author enhances the comprehension with review questions at the end, and paves the way of researching more on the subject by giving references.

The seventh chapter written by Debra Wale is helpful in understanding the concepts and process of marketing by giving well‐organised categories. The chapter includes up‐to‐date concepts and their explanation as well. With good examples of applications and related studies the chapter is not only easy‐to‐understand, but also a good guide way.

The eighth chapter of the book divides the topic of financial awareness for travel management into two subcategories. The first category focuses on explaining and analysing the process of financial planning; and the second part focuses on performance measurement. Giving the rates and tables supported by formulas the chapter is also rich in sample activities.

The ninth chapter of the book highlights the importance of sustainable management and gives the description of sustainable tourism. Heitmann and Robinson underline the distinction between the opportunities for developing tourism and the sustainability of it through the chapter.

The last chapter written by Heitmann and Povey is for the idea of the target of the world heritage, touristic motivation, host‐guest relationship. Last, at the very end of the book the authors discuss the future of travel as concluding remarks.

For a last word, the textbook reaches its goal to cover a niche topic in the travel industry by presenting numerous cases that help readers to understand the operations management framework. There is one minor point however that is to be said; trying to cover every aspect of management issues in a single textbook is nearly impossible as any of the chapters in the book covers a deep related literature, but as the book is mainly targeted at foundation level courses this lack of in‐depth analysis may be neglected. One has to congratulate the editor and the authors in their attempt to conceptualise and adapt operations management topic for the travel industry.