role of catering establishment in tourism industry - print

BHM-1st Semester- Paper – V F&B service – 1 (topic I a) UUC/BSHMT/2015-16 Page 1 of 3

ROLE OF CATERING ESTABLISHMENT IN TRAVEL & TOURISM (topic 1 a)

Catering dates back in the 4th millennium BC in China. The culture of grand eating and drinking was also present in old Egypt at that time. Most of the services were provided by slaves. The ancients Greeks are credited with making catering a trade by offering free services at their inns and hostels which continued into the Roman Empire, primarily to serve soldiers. In the Middle Ages catering centered on monasteries and the Christian pilgrimages in Europe. The trade spread during the reign of Charlemagne. By late Middle Ages the new bourgeoisies (people of the city) and a monetary economy helped the popularity of catering to flourish. When the industry drew the attention of German legislators in the 14th and 15th century, food and beer regulations began to take form. But much of the industry was still primarily seen in feasts and celebrations for kings and other noblemen. After the French revolution in the 18th century and the lack of an aristocracy, catering guilds were forced to find new ways to sell their talents and the first French restaurants were started.

The food sector or catering industry is one of the most important elements in the travel and tourism industry. This includes restaurants and take-away outlets, but it can also include catering providers to hotels and airlines.

Catering and food service industry plays an important role in the promotion of local food features and culture of tourism destination through providing catering products and services for tourists.

Many countries have designed and developed catering and food brand with own features and style, such as the Beer Festival of Munich in German, Pickled Cabbage Festival in South Korea, series unique meal of cactus and corn in Mexico, Samba Carnival and characteristic barbecue in Brazil and so on.

As an important part of service industry, catering and food service industry is the important carrier of the brand and culture for a country or region with the characteristics of wide market, extensive influence and more employment opportunities.

In recent years, the development of global catering and food service industry maintains a rapid and healthy momentum of development. A wide variety of catering products and different styles of food culture has been shaped in the background of different regions and cultures.

These food service groups provide a fast catering and food service for the consumers from more than 100 countries and regions all over the world. It can be seen that the convenience has gradually become the trend of the development of catering market with the rapid development of economy and society.

In many countries, tourism is regarded as a means of developing wealth and creating employment, especially when traditional activities are on the decline. It is expected to contribute significantly to increasing GDP but identifying skill needs, especially prospectively, causes major problems due to the absence of any consensual definitions in tourism.

The core activity in tourism is the hotel and catering industry, which includes business and leisure tourism, as well as the everyday business and leisure activities of local inhabitants.

Catering is still perceived as an opportunity available to people of all ages which do not require much capital investment or many qualifications. Anyone can open a restaurant, and in the US, only some of the States require those working in the trade to take a basic training course in hygiene. But, in both countries, the development of hotel and restaurant chains is gradually increasing the amount of wage-earning jobs available, which may come to reduce the prospects of those setting up their own business.

Different sectors of the tourism industry are performing their particular roles in contributing to the success of a destination. Generally, these sectors can be classified into two different groups: (1) ‘Private Sectors’ and (2) ‘Public Sectors’. Table below shows some common examples of sectors categorized under these two dimensions.

Private Sectors Public SectorsHospitality GovernmentTransportation Tourism OrganizationsAttractions Other Public Sector

Facilitators World Tourism Organization

Intermediaries Travel agencies Local tourism institutions andstatutory groups

Tour operators (wholesalers / retailers)

Government départements

Other Private Sector Facilitators

Travel guide services Travel visa institutionsTravel insurance and financial services

Travel course and training institutes

Travel publications

BHM-1st Semester- Paper – V F&B service – 1 (topic I a) UUC/BSHMT/2015-16 Page 2 of 3

Travel training and educationRetail shops and restaurants

(Note – some of the attractions, transportation and hospitality organizations can also be owned and managed by public organizations, such as the government

Food and Beverage Similar to accommodation, the food and beverage sector is broad and it covers many different types of national cuisines and styles of services.

The catering industry is comprised of businesses that provide food, beverages and other services to a variety of clients, usually for special events. Catering industry jobs vary from small intimate affairs to large events that involve providing not only food and beverage service but also tableware, linens, service personnel and other aspects of the event. Companies that provide catering services might be as large as a business with several locations or as small as an individual who provides catering services on his or her own. A caterer might be part of a restaurant or have his or her own business. Caterers might make use of independent contractors for some aspects of their catering service.

Today’s travel and tourism industry has grown into a global economic powerhouse whose combined direct and indirect impact on the world economy, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The travel and tourism sector in India provides significant socio economic benefits.

By the end of 2015, the Travel & Tourism sector will contribute US$7,860 billion, 10% of global GDP, once all direct, indirect and induced impacts are taken into account. The sector will account for 284 million jobs, 9.5% of total employment, or one in eleven of all jobs on the planet.

While many small-scale projects have been developed to combine tourism with poverty reduction, on a large scale this requires the implementation of effective national poverty reduction strategy plans (PRSPs). Economic development, poverty reduction and foreign direct investment (FDI) Hotels and restaurants provide numerous opportunities to reduce poverty in many parts of the world.

Tourism Towards 2030 is UNWTO’s long-term outlook and an assessment of the development of tourism over the two decades from 2010 to 2030. According to Tourism Towards 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide is expected to increase by an average of 3.3% a year over the period 2010 to 2030. In absolute numbers, international tourist arrivals will increase by some 43 million a year, compared with an average increase of 28 million a year during the period 1995 to 2010.First, a dramatic shift is underway in the “world order” of travel and tourism fueled by the emergence of a strong global middle class, especially in countries like China, Russia, India and Brazil whose collective pent-up demand to see the world beyond their national borders and to experience other cultures is boundless.

For reference:Foodservice (US English) or CATERING INDUSTRY (British English) defines those businesses, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal prepared outside the home. This industry includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats.Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house (pub), or other location.The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Travel refers to the activity of travellers. A traveller is someone who moves between different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration. Travel comprises all journeys from one place to another. It includes all journeys made by people who enter a country for leisure, to work, reside, study or who just pass through a country without stopping. Travellers Any person who is taking a trip within or outside his/her own country of residence irrespective of the purpose of travel, means of transport used, even though he/she may be travelling on foot.Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure.Tourism means the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work, as well as their activities during their stay at these destinations. It should be noted that all tourism should have some travel, but not all travel is tourism.

Tourists (overnight visitor) A tourist is a person who travels to destinations outside his/her residence and working place, and stays for at least 24 hours, for the purpose of leisure or business.

Excursionists (same-day visitor or day tripper) An excursionist is a person who temporarily visits a destination and stays for less than 24 hours, for the purpose of leisure or business, but not for transit.

Visitors Any person travelling to a place other than that of his/her usual environment for a period not exceeding twelve months and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited.

Catering is defined as the business of providing food and drink, typically at social events and in a professional capacity either on-site or at a remote site. The term was originally coined by the

BHM-1st Semester- Paper – V F&B service – 1 (topic I a) UUC/BSHMT/2015-16 Page 3 of 3Merchant Marines, who were among the first to employ catering officers for their vessels. These catering officers were responsible for purchasing goods, preparing food, and serving the meals and beverages to the other people on board the vessels. They also had to perform other ship-related tasks.WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council – London, United Kingdom - WTTC India Initiative, A-228, Sushant Lok, Phase I, Gurgaon, Haryana - 122 002. India. Tel: 91 124 426 1874, Fax: 91 124 426 1875. Email: wttcii@gmail.com)World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) {Calle Capitán Haya, 42 28020 Madrid, Spain Tel.: (+34) 915 678 100 Fax: (+34) 915 713 733 Website: www.unwto.org, Email: omt@unwto.org}