Ethical issues in the Tourism Industry

The tourism industry can become one of the main sources of income for several countries, especially developing nations, which have a huge potential for tourism. Ironically, it is also one of the prominent service sector which sees a gross violation of corporate ethical conduct. Simply because a foreigner to a country is not aware of the system of operations, as well prevalent cultures, the local population tends to exploit that ignorance to their benefit. They without a conscience act upon ways to manipulate the trust which the ignorant tourist places upon them.One of the several issues in the ethical issues of the tourism industry is the non-disclosure of information to the tourist. The information provided to the tourist before they avail the service is many a time misguided and fine print, well, you could call it a bit too fine! A lot of relevant information is left out, leaving the consumer tourist confused. The exchange and return policy on products, the fares of commercial vehicles, the added expenses of a trip, you name it, the tourist has been exploited.

Tourists on a regular basis are told about domestic travel and package deals, which seem pretty attractive and affordable prima facie, but when the actual trip commences they find several added expenses being incurred, leaving the tourist feeling cheated. The authorities do not provide sufficient information as to the rates of travel, stay, and places which are the places the tourist should be aware of, which might be a threat to them.

There are several ways the tourism industry may take better care of this problem. The main initiative is required from the tourism ministry of the country, since it is the regulatory authority. More stringent norms for tourist satisfaction, providing easy access of relevant information to the tourists, about rates, tariffs, certified places of accommodation and modes of travel, are required to prevent the tourist being duped. A tourist’s satisfaction is of the utmost importance, because a displeased tourist leaves a bad impression about a whole nation.

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