Environmental and Economy Issues in Baldauf

Baldauf (2011) quoted a famous writer known to many, Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one\'s lifetime\". The majority of society needs to travel the world to better themselves in their careers or even for leisure. Without transportation, we would not be able to move around the globe, go to and from work, or visit a neighbor.

What was the first type of transportation? The answer is the human foot; we had been walking everywhere before we came up with any technology. Later, there was water, road, rail, air, and even pipeline transportation. These are known as the five modes of transportation. Even though we travel, we must figure out a way to ship cargo from one place to another; this is where logistics comes into play.

Some would say logistics can be a nightmare, but not if we have plans and policies in place to assist in the majority of situations that may occur. Many jobs contribute to society, but transportation and sub-industries such as tourism encourage society\'s developments locally, regionally, and internationally, which affects the economy. Dinu (2018) defines tourism as ‘“the operation of, and interaction between, transport modes, ways and terminals that support tourism resorts in terms of passenger and freight flows into and out of destinations, and the provision of connecting transport modes in the tourism generating region”’(p.

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184). Traveling opens up opportunities for new jobs, so owners and employees must know how to attract stakeholders. Something as seemingly small as shipping a bottle of water to Brazil, or medical supplies to New York, or even going on a vacation to the Bahamas, or a business trip to Tokyo, is essential to people. Tourism is an industry that can provide economic, environmental, and social benefits to society, significantly impacts personal and business travel decisions.
First, one must look at the economic benefits method of attracting people and carefully examine the economic issues that impact cities, states, and countries. People use various modes of transportation platforms such as airports, train stations, highways, seaports, and pipelines, for the movement of people and cargo. The public pays for the transport structures that are generally used by the local community, people who travel for business, and tourists. The government may not have provided enough funding or any funding at all; it can cause vital improvements in transport infrastructure, which causes delays and other concerns. If the government does not assist in providing money, there will be congestion, suspensions, and other problems for the local community, business travelers, and tourists (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2001). Congestion and construction are everywhere in the United States, especially in major cities where roads are not fixed. On the way to the airport, for example, a situation may arise where one might run into construction underway. This construction can cause a delay in one’s travel plans, and now they have missed their flight, or they have to cancel it. In an article by van der Tuin & Pel, (2020) also explains why “travelers may depart a little late to reduce experienced congestion time, choose another method of transportation, or cancel the trip entirely” (p.1).
Another example could be a pothole on the freeway that has not been fixed and has caused an accident, leading to a major car crash and significant delays for society. A tourist spends time traveling on highways to see attractions in the community. However, now most of their time has been wasted sitting in traffic. This time lost could lead to a tourist or business traveler canceling their plans or being seriously late. Throughout history, there have been trains that derailed because the rails have not been replaced or improved, rails were improperly installed, and equipment was faulty. In 2002, NBC News reported that Florida Amtrak Auto Train derailed killing four people and injuring hundreds because of a track buckle heated up, which was caused by improper installment (DeFrank & Chuck, 2016). These types of concerns affect society and could cause harm to people if not handled properly. There is a price to pay when there are too many people in an area; that price is paid with one\'s time because of the congestion. When people travel for business or leisure, a portion of the money pays for airlines that have thousands of people working all over the world. Transportation by road impacts business travel because it is a significant source of income for car services such as Uber, Lyft, and taxicabs. Car dealerships use cars as a source of income for the business, and the use of these cars cause congestion (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2001). To make it somewhere on time, one must first choose the right mode of transportation. Statistics have shown in January 2020 that people travel on time anywhere from 84.6%; the remaining percentage is based on cancellations, delays, and interruptions (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2020).
Also, there has always been an issue where there is not enough funding for public development and the management of facilities. An example of this would be convention centers, libraries, hospitals, and other facilities the public may use. The issue is the community’s spending on facilities and services to attract people. Hotels support a significant number of jobs in tourism and business travel. Think about how many people travel and need a place to stay if they are not staying with family or friends. The majority of those people in hotels are staying there because they are in town for business or leisure. Libraries, schools, and hospitals are facilities that need financial assistance and improvements to better society. For example, if a person goes to a facility, and it is not upgraded or does not possess the necessary resources for a tourist or business traveler, why would they stay there? It is good to improve local facilities to attract people, but not at the expense of education, medical issues, and other purposes. The government should reconsider the policies it has for funding public developments and facilities that need proper care. Kozica, Kot, & Rianna (2019) mention that the “requirements and expectations of the market determine changes in the available variety, price, quality, and way of promoting tourism-related goods and services” (p.2). The biggest concern is being able to give tourists and business travelers products that will satisfy their wants and, at the same time, cater to their needs. Kozica, Kot, & Rianna discuss the dynamic improvement of the industry, resulting mainly from the progress of new IT technologies, which requires objects involved in tourism-specific actions to change the method in which the presented goods and services are provided (2019).
The tourism supply chain management (TSCM) has changed its practices to attend to tourist needs. According to Michailidou et al. (2016), “TSCM is defined as a network of tourism organizations engaged in different activities ranging from the supply of different components of tourism products and services, such as accommodation and flights, to the distribution and marketing of the final tourism product at a specific destination” (p.30). He goes on to inform people that over time tourism has grown and is one of the fastest-growing economic industries in the world. The World Tourism Organization enlightens society on whether the occupational capacity of tourism is the same or goes beyond others like oil exports, food products, or automobiles (Michailidou et al., 2016).
Next are the environmental impacts of tourism and business travelers’ infrastructures, like roads, airports, railroads, and even pipelines. These landmarks are harmful and damage natural environments, create pollution, and use valuable resources. In tourism, it is entirely expected to have a difference between the physical and social environment. The determination of the physical environment consists of air, water, vegetation, and wildlife. The goal of the social environment is political, economic, cultural, and social influence on society and life (Asadzadeh & Mousavi, 2017). When tourists and business travelers use air travel, it is a significant environmental problem because of the emissions, noise pollution, use of non-renewable resources, and waste. A solution to this problem would be for airlines to have a noiseless, more fuel-efficient aircraft with firmer international policies and guidelines (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2001). Tourism is responsible for the weakening of the environment in tourist areas due to it not being taken care of properly. The earth and its environment must be protected appropriately to survive in the future. Policymakers have realized that the development of the tourism industry in the future, needs to be consistent and by the requirements of the environment. Michailidou et al., (2016) suggest “in response to the increasing concern of tourists about environmental issues, the tourism industry has switched to ‘“green”’ in their supply chain” (p.30). Various environmental factors influenced travelers, which is why the industry came up with several products and services based on tourism. Another harmful factor to the environment is chemicals and other man-made products humans use. Asadzadeh & Mousavi (2017) explains how sewage problems and the spraying of pesticides and chemical fertilizers have become significant sources of environmental pollution in the passenger’s destination. Some places like tropical islands that attract tourists are very vulnerable to the harmful effects such as pesticides. The opposing tourism industry has had terrible impacts on the environment. For example, the berthing ships and their crews have inflicted severe damage on the environment of the Maldives by destroying coral reefs and fishing marine animals.
According to Michailidou et al. (2016, p.1), “greening the supply chain is the process of incorporating environmental criteria, policies, or concerns into organizational purchasing decisions and long-term relationships with suppliers.” The environment has also been affected by climate change, which affects tourist attractions because of the weather. There are facilities or infrastructure that have had complications because of the weather and improperly building; this can be very dangerous to tourists or local people. Van der Tuin & Pel, 2020 wrote in an article, “the number of infrastructure failures has increased due to aging of infrastructure, extreme weather events caused by climate change, and increased traffic loading (p.1).
Now, society and businesses need to focus on how they can make the environment better and efficient for everyone. People have suggested that tourism is responsible for the environments of the area that is being visited. Michailidou et al. (2016) informs one, “for this reason, the concept of a Green Tourism Supply Chain Management (GTSCM) is to promote the overall background of tourism-related activities. The outcome is to consider the terms of environmental fall and climate change, and initiatives to reduce its effect” (p.1). The hotel industry uses a large amount of water, energy, and other products and also creates vast volumes of waste. Some of the problems of waste disposal are garbage being thrown away by tourists and improper disposal facilities made by tourist organizations (Michailidou et al., 2016, p.2). Manual water and waste management inform the tourism industry about what they can do to improve their performance. “Large hotels are up for the challenge of implementing environmental management arrangements to ensure that their services and products are environmentally friendly. They also use a marketing brand that works for both sides. If a hotel can show society what they are doing to improve, more people are willing to travel and stay in the hotel or surrounding area. They have the ability, resources, and can bring appropriate skills to introduce environmental protection measures. Large-sized hotels also need to determine if all of the services and products they buy from suppliers are environmentally-friendly. They incorporate environmental awareness and efficiency as a product quality issue for their suppliers” (Michailidou et al., 2016, p.6). Hotels, too, have been encouraged to lower prices to decrease the harmful effects of their operations on the environment. Tourists and business travelers tend to waste more because they do not pay the utilities of where they stay. Hotels and other infrastructures built to a standard architectural model, and design does not appreciate the surrounding area, which all relates to excess and high energy usage (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2001). Several factors affect the environment when it comes to tourism or business travel.
Lastly, this industry is known all over the world for a source of income, employment, and private industry growth, which helps society. Social tourism has been described as the relationships in the area of tourism resulting from involvement in travel by deprived essentials in society. The social and cultural impacts on society are affected by the social changes in the local people, infrastructure improvements, and lifestyle changes. The social effects of tourism and business travel in areas where people are wealthier than the locals can cause resentment or anger and a feeling of inferiority in the community. Social impacts also come with ethical matters that are brought to light when community establishments can find the money for an airport but not for things the community needs (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2001). For example, school and healthcare. Another social impact is when people travel to areas and spread viruses and diseases, such as sexually- transmitted diseases or, currently, the coronavirus is also known as COVID-19. COVID-19 has affected travel across the entire world, and the logistics industry has been critically impacted. The current pandemic now has travel agencies updating their policies to improve the way they handle these types of situations. Unfortunately, many people have been quarantined or stuck on ships, held up at airports, and even experienced delays in delivery of cargo to ensure the rest of society is not affected by this virus. Many countries have policies and plans in place already if someone is diagnosed with a disease or illness, for example, areas in Southeast Asia, with black syphilis. The thought “that for a tourism product supply chain to operate efficiently, not only the entities being parts of the chain but also the relations between them and the end client is of exceptional importance” (Kozicka, Kot, & Riana, 2019, p.2).
Tourism is an industry that has the potential to stimulate locally, nationally, and international development. Tourism-specific arranging and organization are dictated by the identification of events that are critical for the health and safety of the international economy. In order to create visible changes, individuals working in the market need to change their methods and views regarding competitiveness and managing tourism-specific products. To guarantee effective and maintainable supervision, all the compartments involved in the industry have cooperated to ensure the progress and pleasing improvement of tourism. For products that are related to tourism, the industry has to focus on meeting the opportunities of its customers, and close participation of organizations like tourism is vital. The need to coordinate requires each unit to complete specific details while simultaneously, looking at how this may impact operations for other companies (Kozicka, Kot, & Riana, 2019, p.2). Being able to host two events at the same time but in two different locations of a building or area of a city when a tourist arrives is an example. This may be something simple as attending to an elderly crowd and or a group of adolescent children from school.
Therefore, tourism and business travel have impacted society significantly. According to the history of transportation and tourism, the roles of transport have improved over time due to technology and the guidelines that have been set forth. Tourism, transportation, and logistics have grown and have allowed the economy and countries to develop and expand over time. Dinu (2018), lets one know that “time has proved that transport can be very beneficial to a marketplace for many reasons, such as employment, movement of goods, and people” (p.183). They are traveling in the hope of a better life or economic growth that allows this industry to increase by providing jobs, spreading cultural preservation and development. The capital gained from tourism can be used to improve infrastructure and services in the local areas in a safe manner. Some form of regulation is required if the industry does not prove it can regulate itself. It also has to be able to adopt a more responsible attitude towards its impacts. The tourism industry cannot wait or merely rely on others’ actions; it must take responsibility itself for its effects. When it comes to transport infrastructure, owners need to look at going reactive infrastructure management towards proactive management; by doing this, prioritizes improvements for critical resources. Dinu (2018) tells people that “transports ensure the movement of people and commodities has the role of bringing the goods where they are needed, without transport we cannot talk about the existence of trade and how trade is a factor that determines the existence of cities, the lack of transport facilities is a real obstacle to the emergence or development of cities. Transport represents the cause and the effect of tourism growth” (p.183)