STANDARDS FOR TOURISM & RELATED SERVICES - IH&RA POSITION

There is increasing pressure from a number of international bodies including WTO-Tourism and ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation - for the development of standards for the Tourism industry, specifically in the area of Tourism Services. This trend is not supported by the majority of our members.

Current IH&RA Position

Reasons for opposing the standardisation of hotel & restaurant services:

• hotel & restaurant services are already subject to stringent regulation at the national level
• the promotion of standardised services goes against the visitor’s desire for diversity in the travel experience and negates cultural & geographical diversity in destinations
• visitor expectations differ according to purpose of travel (business, leisure etc.)
• international standards are not a prerequisite for quality
• the accommodation & restaurant sector is already working pro-actively to promote high quality service suited to national conditions and the markets they serve
• the establishment of such standards leads to a multiplication and superimposition of standards – at the local, regional, national and international levels, thereby increasing the financial and administrative burden linked to their implementation, particularly for Small & Medium-sized Enterprises
• standardization work at the international level is very time-consuming and costly and should only be embarked upon after a detailed cost/benefit analysis and only with the support of the industry

The risks for the industry are:

1. Incremental capital & operating costs
2. Potential controls on room rates & other pricing
3. Potential controls on labour rates
4. Potential link to taxation (property, business & retail)
5. Conflicting & subjective interpretations of quality
6. Erosion of cultural product differences
7. Disconnect with market expectations
8. Conflict with existing classification systems
9. Uncontrolled reduction or increase of construction standards in new developments
10. Potential influence on project financing.