1. Tourism Product & Services Management Examination
Dec 2007
WITH GUIDELINE ANSWERS
Time Allowed: 45 minutes.
Instructions Answer ONE question from a choice of three below:
• IN ENGLISH
• In the format of an ESSAY.
All questions carry equal marks.
German/English and English /German Dictionaries are
permitted.
Q1. “Tourism is less of a traditional ‘product’, rather more of a ‘service’, and
perhaps, more correctly, an ‘experience’. This very fact renders managing Tourism
experience delivery and quality exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, because the
‘experience’ is a personal one unique to and defined by each tourist. The Tourism
manager is simply not in control of all elements of the tourist experience.”
de Frohberg, Araminta (2007)
Discuss.
Guideline Answer.
Students should systematically dissect the Q in order to identify key instructions and
phrases upon which to focus. Taken together this should produce a solid structure for
the answer. These key features to be discussed are:
• Tourism as a product and/or service and/or experience
• Difficulty in managing tourism service / experience quality
• Experience is user-defined (not produced)
• The Tourism manager’s lack of control of the elements of tourist experience
In order to achieve this students should draw and expand upon their knowledge of the
unique characteristics of Tourism:
• Perishability
• Intangibility
• Inseparability of service delivery and consumption
• Variability of service quality – given the human interactions involved precludes
perfect replication.
• Lack of trialability prior to purchase (inc. sale by description and buyer ‘collects’)
Systematic consideration of the above should enable students to conclude that even
though Tourism involves some products being produced and consumed (food for
instance), overall, looked at from the supplier’s point of view, he is providing a
combination of things which amounts to a range of services, whereas from the
consumer’s point of view he is extracting and deriving his individual Tourism
experience from these services. Managers can influence the choice of customer
(research and marketing), the consumption context (design), the service outputs
(training) but the outcome remains the province of the tourist.

2. Q2. “Companies are forever seeking to develop and sustain ‘competitive advantage’.
At its heart this means successfully matching the capabilities of the organisation to
the opportunities presented by an ever-changing business environment…and
consistently doing so more efficiently, effectively, economically and quickly than the
competition. Most organisations have a good idea of their internal capabilities but
are often desperately lacking in relevant and reliable information concerning critical
changes in the business environment and unsure of what the impacts and implications
of such information are when they do have it.”
Cognito, Ann (2007)
Discuss, giving particular consideration to ways and means by which Tourism
organisations can monitor, analyse and evaluate changes in the business environment
and the potential opportunities arising therefrom.
Guideline Answer.
Students should systematically dissect the Q in order to identify key instructions and
phrases upon which to focus. Taken together this should produce a solid structure for
the answer. These key features to be discussed are:
• Defining ‘Competitive Advantage’ in terms of its development and sustaining.
• Matching capabilities to opportunities
• Context of an ever-changing business environment
• …more efficiently, effectively, economically and quickly than the competition
• Organisations lacking reliable information on external environment changes
• Organisations lacking the ability to analyse and evaluate external change in order
to predict impacts and implications and produce a strategic response
• Particular consideration of:-
• ways and means of Tourism companies monitoring, analysing and evaluating
change
• how Tourism organisations can identify strategic and tactical opportunities
arising from the above.
Students should define Competitive Advantage drawing upon the work of Michael
Porter and subsequently utilising models such as Porter’s 5 Forces … Generic
Strategies and Ansoff’s Growth Vector Matrix. Students had also considered my
own model of matching internal capabilities with external opportunities and could
use this most profitably in this context. All students had worked in groups to consider
Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic and Political changes and the
opportunities and threats these pose for Tourism businesses. We had considered at
length a case study of the development of the Low Cost airline model and the
strategies of such operators and counter-strategies of the traditional operators. All
such material belonged in this answer. Students should also consider the research and
Management Information Systems functions within organisations and the need for
managers to have their own personal information access points (Intranet, Professional
Associations / conferences and trade fairs etc…..).

3. Q3. “Tourism organisations have used new developments in information and
communications technology over the past 15 years to change business models, extend
markets, lower cost structures, improve quality, personalise products/services and
remove intermediaries from the distribution chain. Inevitably there have been
winners and losers in this technology-driven race ……and the race isn’t over yet….”
Serah-Serah, Kay (2007)
Discuss, illustrating your answer with examples from the world of Tourism.
Guideline Answer.
Students should systematically dissect the Q in order to identify key instructions and
phrases upon which to focus. Taken together this should produce a solid structure for
the answer. These key features to be discussed are:
• New developments in ICT since (1992) and their role in:
• Changing business models
• Extending markets
• Lowering cost structures
• Improving quality
• Personalisation / customisation of services
• Removing intermediaries from the distribution chain
• Winners and losers (past, present and future)
• Give Tourism examples
The above headings could be developed usefully with illustrations such as:
• The low-cost model (egs airlines / outsourcing etc)
• The www acting as a relatively low cost global distribution system with low
minimum efficient scale.
• Broadband connectivity enabling fast transfer of large volumes of information in a
variety of formats – a boon to an industry which is information intensive and sold
by description.
• Dynamic online packaging of holiday components by consumers (as opposed to
the offer of fixed package content).
• Direct selling by end suppliers (airlines / hotels). Travel Agents becoming their
own online Tour Operators … and vice-versa.
• Winners:
• New online intermediaries: Expedia / Tavelocity / Opodo etc
• Online low-cost operators: EasyJet / Ryanair et al
• Agri-tourism consortia
• Losers:
• Flag carrier airlines: BA / Air France (too big and slow to respond –
hampered by legacy systems, contracts and intermediary relationships
• Mid-size tour operators and travel agents (too big to be niche/specialist… too
small to go multi-channel /mode)
T. Jolley 05.12.07