Untitled

Tourism in Islands and Small States:Issues and Policies,
London: Cassell, 206±16.
greenspeak
GEOFFREY WALL, CANADA
Greenspeak is that register of the language of
tourism promotion which targets the environmental
tourist �see also promotion, place). Via the
operator's name, logos, slogans, eco-explicit messages
and the green themes of nature, nostalgia
and nirvana, this multi-layered discourse overtly
displays concern for sustainable development.
Covertly, however, contradictions abound, since
the unrestricted universe promised to the individual
is a limited world prone to invasion by the
masses.
gross profit
GRAHAM M.S DANN, UK
In general accounting terms gross profit is the
difference between net sales and the cost of goods
sold. It may be interpreted as that portion of net
sales that is available to cover operating expenses
and to produce a profit. It does not measure overall
profitability.
In simple format, the traditional �manufacturing
industry) form of income statement has gross profit
as a middle level of profit from which operating
expenses and fixed charges are deducted to
determine net income. The contribution made by
gross profit must be large enough to also cover all
of these expenses for the business to earn net profit.
However, the tourism industry has not found the
traditional income statement and concept of a
single level of gross profit adequate. The emphasis
in the industry is on the control of labour and
inventory rather than fixed assets. Therefore, the
focus of profit reporting emphasises the development
of information on revenues, use of inventory
and labour and other resources at the appropriate
level of management. Its statements utilise at
least three levels of profitability: hospitality income
statement, departmental revenues, less direct
departmental expenses, profit from operated de-
partments, less operating expenses, gross operating
profit, less fixed charges, net profit.
The first two levels are both concepts of gross
profit. By defining gross profitability at two levels,
the focus is on managerial responsibility for
revenues and costs at each level. The first level
�profit from operated departments) is defined as
revenue, less direct inventory and labour costs
controlled by department heads: the individual
gross profit of each department. The second level
�gross operating profit) is defined as profit after all
operating expenses have been deducted but before
fixed charges �rent, taxes, insurance, depreciation
and interest). Most hotel general managers, for
example, do not exercise control over fixed charges
as they are incurred or imposed by the owners and
governmental tax authorities. However, a general
manager is held responsible for a level of profit
resulting from the revenues and expenses over
which control has been given �most revenues and
all operating expenses).
Further reading
Coleman, M. �1991) Hospitality Management Accounting,
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. �Covers
gross profit concepts applied to pricing.)
group business market
group business market 265
LEE M. KREUL, USA
The business tourism market can be divided into
two subsegments: the individual business market,
composed of individuals travelling alone or in small
numbers for work-related purposes, and the group
business market, which involves larger numbers of
people travelling together to attend events related
to their common business purpose or wider
interests. The latter is commonly subsegmented
into the corporate and association markets. While
the corporate market may be best described in
terms of the purpose of the event �annual general
meetings, training seminars, product launches,
shareholders' meetings, sales strategy planning
meetings, incentive travel and so on), the
association market is usually subdivided according
to the characteristics of the association or its