TOURISM IN PERSPECTIVE

TOURISM IN PERSPECTIVE

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TOURISM IN PERSPECTIVE

DEFINITIONS

TRAVEL. Travel is going from one place to another—and doing things when arriving there—for reasons
not associated with everyday life. Travel is usually divided into 2 categories: leisure travel and business
travel. Leisure travel is travel for the purpose of enjoyment. The person travels to take a vacation, to get
away from his/her everyday home and job. On the other hand, business (also called corporate) travel is
travel beyond one’s general home for reasons related to work.

TOURISM. Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places
where they normally live and work and their activities during their stay at these destinations with the
intention of going back to their original place. Brukart and Medlik cited five main characteristics of
tourism:
1. Because of its complexity, tourism is a combination of phenomena and relationships.
2. It has two essential elements : the dynamic element—the journey and the static element—
the stay.
3. The journey and stay are to and from destinations outside the place of residence and work.
4. The movement to destinations is temporary and short-term with the intention to return
within few days, weeks or months.
5. Destinations are visited for purposes not connected with paid work, that is, not to be
employed and not for business vocational reasons.

TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY. This industry includes all businesses that cater to the needs of the
travelling public—transportation and destination marketing firms (e.g. tourism bureau, tourism offices,
convention bureaus, and chamber of commerce).

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. This includes the organizations and establishments that provide lodging and
accommodation and food services for people when they are away from their homes. Sometimes, the
definition of hospitality is expanded to include theme and amusement parks; entertainment businesses
(when they target vacationers); meeting, sports, entertainment, and convention venues; attractions;
and/or cruise companies.

TYPES OF TRAVELLERS OR VISITORS

1. TOURISTS – temporary visitors staying at least at least 24 hours, whose purpose could be
classified as :
a. Leisure such as recreation, holiday, health, study, religion or sport
b. Business
c. Family
d. Mission
e. Meeting
2. EXCURSIONISTS – temporary visitors staying less than 24 hours in the destination visited and
not making an overnight stay, including cruise travellers but excluding travellers in transit.

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ELEMENTS OF TRAVEL

Four basic elements have been used as criteria for defining travellers and/or tourists. These are:
distance, length of stay at the destination, residence of the traveller and purpose of travel.

1. Distance
What must be considered under distance is the difference between local travel or travelling
within a person’s home community and non-local travel or travelling away from home. It
excludes commuting to and from work and change in residence.
A measure that has been used to distinguish travel away from home is the distance travelled on
a trip. A trip is defined as “each time a person goes to a place at least 100 miles away from
home and returns.” Travellers, on this basis, are individuals who travel at least 100 miles in one
direction from home.
2. Length of Stay at Destination
The definition of tourists and excursionists is largely teased on length of stay. Tourists are
temporary visitors who make at least one overnight stay while excursionists are temporary
visitors who do not stay overnight in the country that they visit.
3. Residence of the Traveller
The residence or the origin of the travellers is the third basic element of travel. For business and
research purposes, it is important to know where people live.
4. Purpose of Travel
The fourth basic element is the purpose of travel. It can be divided into:
a. Visiting friends and relatives (VFR)
b. Conventions, seminars and meetings
c. Business
d. Outdoor recreation – hunting, fishing, boating and camping
e. Entertainment – sightseeing, theatre, sports
f. Personal – family, medical, funeral, wedding
g. Others

FORMS OF TOURISM

The WTO classified 3 forms of tourism according to where one travel to and stays:
1. DOMESTIC TOURISM – visits by residents of a country to their own country.
2. INBOUND TOURISM – visits to a country by non-residents.
3. OUTBOUND TOURISM – visits to residents of a country to another country.

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These forms may be combined in various ways to produce the following categories:
 INTERNAL TOURISM – visits by residents and non-residents of the country of reference
(Domestic tourism plus inbound tourism).
 NATIONAL TOURISM – domestic tourism plus outbound tourism
 INTERNATIONAL TOURISM – inbound tourism plus outbound tourism

THE TOURIST PRODUCT

In a narrow sense, the tourist product consists of what the tourists buys. In a wider sense, the tourist
product is a combination of what the tourist does at the destination and the services he uses during the
day.

Characteristics of a Tourist Product:

1. A tourist product is a service.
2. The tourist product is largely psychological in its attraction.
3. The tourist product tends to vary in standard and quality over time.
4. The supply of the product is fixed.

THE TOURIST DESTINATION

The tourist destination is a geographical unit which the tourist visits and where he stays. It may be a
village, a town, a city, a district, a region, an island, a country or a continent. The success of a tourist
destination depends upon the interrelationship of three basic factors: attraction, amenities or facilities
and accessibility.

Attractions may be site and event attractions. A site attractions is one in which the destination itself
has appeal while an event attraction is one in which tourists are drawn to the destination solely because
of what is taking place there. A site attraction may be a country, a geographical region such as alps, a
city, a resort (Boracay). Event attractions include congresses, exhibitions, festivals such as the Ati-atihan
festival and sports events such as Olympic Games.

Attractions may also be natural or man-made. Natural attractions include mountains, beaches, climatic
features such as sunshine and pure air. Man-made attractions include buildings of historical or
architectural interest such as Fort Santiago, holiday camps or theme parks such as Disneyland in Los
Angeles, USA.

Amenities or facilities include accommodation, food, local transport and communications and
entertainment at the site. Amenities will differ according to the attraction of the site. Sometimes, the
amenity is itself the principal attractions.

Accessibility means having regular and convenience of transport in terms of time/distance to the
destination from the originating country at a reasonable price. If private transport is to be the means of

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access, tourism flow will depend upon adequate roads, gasoline station and the like. Good railways and
coach service, airport and seaports are designed to facilitate accessibility.

TOURIST SERVICES

The travel and stay of tourists give rise to wide range of services in the course of a holiday. The principal
tourist services are supplied by passenger transport which provides the means to reach the destination
as well as the movement at the destination. Distinction in transport are between public and private,
domestic and international, and among the various modes—land, sea, and air.

Accommodation, food and beverage, and entertainment constitute the second group of tourist
services. Hotels are of vital concern to a large proportion of tourists. At present, food and beverage
operations cut across all sectors of the travel industry since eating is a necessity as well as a pleasure for
travellers. Entertainment combined with amusement and recreation is the primary reason why millions
of people travel.

A third group of tourist services consists of those provided by the travel agent and by the tour operator.
The travel agent is the distributor of the product while the tour operator is the manufacturer of the
product. The travel agent provides an intermediary function between the tourist and the providers of
transport and accommodation while the tour operator combines the individual components of a holiday
into a product which is then sold directly to the public or through travel agents.

Other tourist services include currency, documentation, information, sightseeing and shopping.

THE A’s OF TOURISM

Each component of tourism can be explained by concepts that begin with letter A. For that reason, we
shall call them ‘A’s of tourism. The tourists and residents are the primary actors in the tourism system.
As far as the industry is concerned, the most important components are:
 ACCESS – entities that provide transportation services to and from, as well as within the
destination.
 ACCOMMODATION – establishments that provide places tot stay.
 ACTIVITIES – enterprises that let tourists have something to do while in the destination.
The place or destination has a strong chance of becoming successful if it has:
 ATTRACTIONS – whether man-made or natural that draw tourists to the area.
 AMENITIES – facilities that contribute to the comfort and convenience of the visitors.
 ATMOSPHERE – the general impression made by the destination, such as in terms of feeling safe
and being welcomed.
 ATTITUDE – the readiness of the residents of the destination to accept tourists in their midst.
Supervision involves carrying out programs that are related to:
 ADMINISTRATION – management of tourism in the destination

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 ASSISTANCE – helping out tourists and supporting the tourism industry

 AWARENESS-BUILDING – tourism promotion activities done by the government.

COMPONENTS OF TOURISM

Tourism is a complex phenomenon, one that is extremely difficult to describe succinctly. Any model of
tourism must capture the composition—or components—of the tourism system, as well as the key
process and outcome that occur within tourism. These processes and outcomes include the very
essence of tourism, the travel experience and the supporting means by which tourism is made possible.

1. The Tourist
The very heart of the tourism phenomenon model is unequivocally the TOURIST and the travel
experiences that he/she seeks when visiting a tourism destination. In order for a destination to
provide stimulating, high-quality experiences, it is critical that both policy makers and managers
are able to understand tourist’s motivation for pleasure travel, as well as the multiple factors
that influence their selection of a destination, their mode of travel, and their ultimate choice
among the myriad activities that may fulfil their travel needs.
2. Natural Resources and Environment
A fundamental dimension of the model – the very basis of much tourism – is the natural
resources and environment component. Any given destination is primarily and unchangeably
characterized by it physiography (the nature and appearance of its landscape) and its climate
(the kind of weather it has over a period of years). Finally, the third component of the natural
environment is people. In the case of people, we must distinguish between two very important
categories of individuals: (1) those who belong to the destination (its residents), and (2) those
who are current or potential visitors to the destination (the tourism market).
3. The Built Environment
Another dimension of the tourism phenomenon is the built environment that has been created
by humans. This built environment includes:
a. Culture of the residents of the host region. The culture of people reflects many dimensions
of its past development and its current way of life. Culture is relatively a very permanent
characteristic of a destination, and one that cannot (and should not) be changed simply to
enhance tourism development.
b. Infrastructure. The infrastructure of a tourism destination is yet another dimension that has
not been put in place mainly to serve tourism. Such basic things as roads, sewage systems,
communication, networks, and many commercial facilities (supermarkets and retail stores)
have been put in place to meet the needs of local residents. While these components of the
infrastructure can also be important to visitors, their primary functions are related to the
ongoing daily needs of residents.
c. Superstructure. A destination’s tourism superstructure includes those facilities that have
been developed especially to respond to the demands of visitors. The most obvious
examples include hotels, restaurants, conference centers, car rentals, and major attractions.

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d. Technology. Technology is one of the most recent and still increasingly influential
dimensions of the built environment that is shaping the nature of both tourism
products/services and travel experiences. The advent of jet aircraft and the massive invasion
of telecommunications technology, linked closely with computer technology, has had a
dramatic impact on the very essence of the tourism phenomenon.
e. Information. A recent addition to the built environment of a destination is that of
information. Increasingly, the success of a destination is determined by its ability to
assemble, interpret, and utilize information in an effective manner.
f. Governance. A dimension of tourism that often receives inadequate attention is the overall
system of governance within which the tourism system functions. For present purposes, it
should be noted that system of governance surrounding tourism (the legal, political and
fiscal systems regulating its functioning) has a profound impact on the ability of a
destination to compete in the international marketplace and subsequently plays a major
role in determining the profitability of individual firms.
4. Operating Sectors of the Tourism Industry
The operating sectors of the tourism industry represent what many of the general public
perceive as ‘tourism’.
a. Transportation sector comprising of airlines, bus companies, and so on, tends to typify the
movement of people and travel.
b. The accommodation sector, which includes many well-known brands such as Hilton,
Marriott, Howard Johnson, Best Western and so on, is highly visible to the public.
c. The attractions sector also contains many well-known icons in the tourism industry. The
undisputed leader of the attraction world is the Disneyland/ Walt Disney World.
d. Closely related to attractions is the events sector. Its icons include the Oktoberfest in
Munich, Germany; the Calgary Stampede in Canada; the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil; the Boston Marathon; and the Super Bowl in the United States as well as
such transient events as World Cup Soccer and the International Summer and Winter
Olympic Games.
e. The adventure and outdoor recreation sector is one of the most rapidly growing
components of modern tourism. Changes in demographics, values, and lifestyles are
creating increasing demand for activities such as golfing, skiing, snowboarding, white-water
rafting, parasailing, hang gliding, mountain biking, and mountaineering. Most of these
activities are characterized by both an element of thrill seeking and an element of being
outdoors.
f. At the other end of the ‘natural-manufactured’ spectrum is the equally fast growing
component of entertainment. Certain destinations, most notably Las Vegas, Nashville, and
Branson, Missouri, have grown up on a heavy diet of world-famous entertainers. More
traditionally, New York/Broadway and Los Angeles/Hollywood have used various aspects of
the entertainment industry to consolidate their worldwide reputations as ‘must-see’
destinations.
g. Less glamorous, but still essential to the success and well-being of the tourism industry, are
the travel trade sector and tourism services. The travel trade is composed of the retail

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travel agent and the wholesale tour operator. Both of these entities are critical to linking
‘experience suppliers’ and the tourist.
5. Spirit of Hospitality
As discussed above, the operating sectors of tourism are responsible for delivering high-quality,
memorable experiences. Care must be taken, however, to wrap these experiences in a warm
spirit of hospitality. Quite simply, it is not enough to deliver all the attributes of an experience in
a cold or detached manner. Visitors have a natural human desire for warm acceptance as they
seek to enjoy the range of experiences the destination has to offer. As such the challenge to
facing destinations is to deliver their experiences in a way that enables the visitors to believe
they are welcome, that they truly are guests.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISM

1. In tourism, the product is not brought to the consumer; rather, the consumer has to travel and
go to the product to purchase it.
2. The products of tourism are not used up; thus, they do not exhaust the country’s natural
resources.
3. Tourism is a labor-intensive industry. It requires more man-power than other industries.
4. Tourism is people-oriented. It is primarily concerned with people.
5. Tourism is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. It is dependent on many and varied activities
which are separate but interdependent.
6. The tourist industry is seasonal.
7. The industry is dynamic. It is characterized by the changing ideas and attitudes of its customers
and therefore must always be prepared and willing to adjust to these changes.

IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM

Tourism has become one of the world’s major industries. Both developing and highly developed nations
are now taking a closer look at the potential benefits from tourism:
1. Contribution to the balance of payments 5. Social benefits
2. Dispersion of development 6. Cultural enrichment
3. Effects on general economic development 7. Educational significance
4. Employment opportunities 8. A vital force for peace

BENEFITS AND COSTS OF TOURISM

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There is no question that tourism delivers benefits, but tourism is not perfect. Even advocates for
tourism acknowledge that tourism is not an unqualified blessing. There are costs and benefits, and they
do not accrue equally. First, we look at the plus side of tourism:
 Provides employment, both skilled and unskilled, because it is a labor-intensive industry.
 Generates supply of needed foreign exchange.
 Increases incomes
 Creates increased gross national product
 Can be built on existing infrastructure
 Develops and infrastructure that will also help stimulate local commerce and industry
 Can be developed with local products and resources
 Helps diversify the economy
 Tends to be one of the most compatible economic development activities available to an area,
complementing other economic activities
 Spreads development
 Has high multiplier effect
 Increases governmental revenues
 Broadens educational and cultural horizons and improves feeling of self-worth
 Improves the quality of life related to a higher level of income and improved standards of living
 Reinforces preservation of heritage and tradition
 Justifies environmental protection and improvement
 Provides employment for artists, musicians and other performing artists because of visitor
interests in local culture, thereby enhancing the cultural heritage
 Provides tourist and recreational facilities that may be used by a local population
 Breaks down language barriers, sociocultural barriers, class barriers, racial barriers, political
barriers, and religious barriers.
 Creates favourable world image for a destination
 Promotes a global community
 Promotes international understanding and peace

On the minus side, we find a number of problems that can be created by tourism, especially by its
overdevelopment:
 Develops excess demand for resources
 Creates the difficulties of seasonality
 Causes inflation

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 Can result in unbalanced economic development

 Creates social problems
 Degrades the natural physical environment and created pollution
 Degrades cultural environment
 Increases the incidence of crime, prostitution and gambling
 Increases vulnerability to economic and political changes
 Threatens family structure
 Commercializes culture, religion and the arts
 Creates misunderstanding
 Creates conflict in the host society
 Contributes to disease, economic fluctuation and transportation problems.

EXERCISES

 Research on the history of travel & tourism and answer the following questions.
1. Describe the Grand Tour.
2. Describe tourism in the
3. How did Industrial Revolution bring about major changes in tourism development?
4. Discuss tourism in the 19th and 20th century.
5. Who was the first travel agent, and what services did he provide?

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Explain the meaning of tourism.

2. Differentiate tourism from migration.

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3. How do tourists differ from excursionists?

4. Differentiate tourist product from tourist destination.

5. How is tourism different from other industries?

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