Introduction to Tourism

Tourism involves the activities of people travelling and staying in a place away from
their home environment for leisure, business or other purposes.
Mathieson and Wall (1982) define tourism as follows −
"The temporary movement of people to destinations outside their usual places of work and
residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities
created to cater to their needs."

Tourism was mainly been traditional in its early form. With the evolution of cultures,
economies, and knowledge, tourism took a different form called sustainable tourism
with the aspect of well-planned tour, well-studied destination, and conservation of
destination.

Nature of Travel & Tourism Industry

Nature of Tourism:

Tourism is a multi-facet activity. It touches nearly all the sectors of life. Rapid and
continuous growth has been the key-note of tourism. The present day, a traveler comes
from a wider social background and his tastes and desires are much more varied and
his leisure time is much more restricted. Now a day’s people have started moving for
exciting and exotic activities of mountaineering, water skiing, under water swimming,
pony tracking, etc. to utilize their leisure time. They like riding, boating, shooting, etc.
organized by large private groups, constructing their own specially designed low-
priced accommodation and very often providing their own entertainment and other
services. Tourism is, in fact, a composite phenomenon which embraces the incidence of
a mobile population of travellers who are strangers to the places they visit.

Characteristics of Tourism:

1. Intangibility:
Cannot be touched, gripped, handled, seen, smelled, tasted or heard before
purchase. Unlike goods, which can be touched and inspected before purchase,
tourism services are essentially intangible.

2. Perishability:
Tourism service cannot be stored like tangible products. A hotel room or
aeroplane seat that is not sold on a particular night/day can never be sold.
Unused capacity cannot be stored for future use. For example, spare seats on one
aeroplane cannot be transferred to the next flight, and query-free times at the
reference desk cannot be saved up until there is a busy period.
 3. Variability:
The extensive involvement of people in the production of a tourism service
introduces a degree of variability in the outcome. There is a strong possibility
that the same enquiry would be answered slightly differently by different people
(or even by the same person at different times). The same employee may hence
render services of varying standard, depending on his mood, the time of the day,
the day of the week or the customer involved.

4. Seasonality of demand:
Most tourist destination areas are characterized by fluctuating periods of
demand called ‘peaks’, ‘shoulders’ and ‘troughs' Peak – Time of the year during
which demand is highest. Shoulder – An abbreviated season that falls between
the peak and low troughs - off season, time of the year during which demand is
very low.

5. Interdependence:
"Interdependence" occurs because when tourists visit a destination their
experience is made up of several services, such as accommodation,
transportation, and attractions. Even an individual tourist buys a whole set of
products supplied by different firms –the attractions have no economic value
without the necessary accommodation.

6. Fixed and Variable Costs:

Fixed costs are costs that are independent of the number of customers and must
be paid anyhow, whereas variable costs are costs that are incurred as a function
of the number of customers received at any given time.

7. Inseparability:
The tourism service consumer is inseparable from service delivery because he is
involved in it from requesting it up to consuming the rendered benefits. Tourism
service cannot be separated from its provider. The hotel guest cannot experience
counter service if the receptionist is not available, nor can the receptionist render
the service if there is no guest.

Types of Tourism:

Tourism has two types and many forms on the bases of the purpose of visit and
alternative forms of tourism. Tourism can be categorized as international and domestic
tourism.
International Tourism
When people visit a foreign country, it is referred to as International Tourism. In order
to travel to a foreign country, one need a valid passport, visa, health documents, foreign
exchange, etc.
International tourism further divides into two types; Inbound Tourism & Outbound
Tourism.

Inbound Tourism
This refers to tourists of outside origin entering a particular country. When people
travel outside their host/native country to another country, then it is called inbound
tourism for that country where he/she is traveling. For example when a tourist from
Indian origin travels to Japan then it is  Inbound tourism for Japan because foreign
tourist comes to Japan.

Outbound Tourism
This refers to tourists traveling from the country of their origin to another country.
When tourists travel a foreign region than it is outbound tourism for his own country
because he/she is going outside their country. For example when a tourist from India
travel to Japan then it is outbound tourism for India and Inbound tourism for Japan.

Domestic Tourism
The tourism activity of the people within their own country is known as domestic
tourism. Traveling within the same country is easier because it does not require formal
travel documents and tedious formalities like compulsory health check and foreign
exchange. In domestic tourism, a traveler generally does not face much language
problems or currency exchange issues.
Importance or Significance of Tourism

Tourism has always been a booming sector across the globe. No matter where you live,
there will always be a group of people, big or small, who want to visit your home
country. Therefore, tourism is a very important aspect not only for a country’s
economy, but also their global standing. There are many factors as to why tourism is
important, and they mainly focus on the economical side of it. Tourism brings in
wealth, exposure, growth and employment to name a few. Below we look at these
factors a bit more in-depth.

Influx of Wealth

The biggest advantage of tourism is the influx of money into a country’s economy. This
is especially important in countries whose economy is new or weaker than others.
Tourists from “first-world” countries bring in cash that is stronger than the local
currency and therefore are willing to spend more of it. This then has many layers of
advantages. This money is not solely spent on tourist activities that help local tour
operators, vendors, etc. The money is also spent on hotels, food, and transport,
therefore helping local businesses across the board.

Diverse Income

Many countries rely heavily on a few industries, and their economy suffers heavily
when these industries become strained. Tourism offers a constant flow of income into a
country and is often – except in times of crisis – more reliable. Tourism helps ease the
strain of a suffering industry and stops it from having a massive effect on the country’s
economy. This is almost a safety net for countries and is of massive economical benefit,
especially for new and developing economies.

Employment

Jobs are possibly the most obvious advantages of tourism in any country. This spreads
all the way from the pilots who fly the tourists in to dishwashers at restaurants who see
a rise in customers at the height of the tourist season. Tourism also creates many new
jobs, as local people start their own businesses in the tourist industry, and hire locally.
The secondary effects aren’t as obvious, but local produce growers, for example, benefit
due to the increased need for what they grow or sell.

Infrastructure

One of the most important benefits of tourism is the construction and improvement of
local infrastructure. The increased spending helps local communities improve the
conditions of their roads, parks, community areas, schools and hospitals. The tourist
industry will struggle to run smoothly in any country if the infrastructure of the
country is lacking. 

Social Advantages

The importance of the tourism industry extends to social advantages as well. Tourism
creates a source of pride for local communities and their traditions. Tourists want to
experience the “real” side of a country, and that allows locals to showcase their
traditions and keep them alive in an ever-changing world. This expands to local
heritage sites and buildings, as they become hubs for tourists exploring the country.
And that, in turn, keeps the sites from being destroyed, securing the local community’s
traditions in the process.

Environmental Benefits

Most of the world is trying to turn the corner and become more environmentally
friendly. Encouraging tour operators and businesses in the tourist industry to
differentiate themselves by being much more environmentally aware. These businesses,
in turn, support local environments by adding an environmental twist to their
packages, which then helps protect these areas. These practices encourage visitors to
respect the areas they are in.

Business Opportunities

Tourism, especially in developing economies and countries, allows entrepreneurs to

develop new businesses and products. These opportunities would usually not be viable
if they relied on the local communities alone. The money that tourists bring in allows
businesses to grow quickly. Especially if they offer a unique service or product that
fulfils a tourist’s needs. Tourism can play a massive part in the economy of small and
developing countries and is sometimes the main source of income in a country.
Therefore, tourism is an incredibly important aspect, almost a need, across the planet.

Multiplier Effect in Tourism

Multipliers are a means of estimating how much extra income is produced in an

economy as a result of initial spending or injection of cash. Every time money changes
hand, it provides new income and continuous series of conversions of money spent by
tourists from what economists term “Multiplier Effect” .The more often a conversion
occurs, the greater its beneficial effect on the economy of the recipient country.

Types of Multiplier

Sales & Output

Sales (Transaction) Multiplier –this measures the extra business turnover created
(direct and secondary) by an extra unit of tourist expenditure.
Output Multiplier –this is similar to the Sales Multiplier but it also takes into account
inventory changes, such as the increase in stock levels by hotels, restaurants and shops
because of increased trading activity.

It should be noted that few researchers specify whether or not inventory changes have
been taken into account.

Income

Income Multiplier- this measures the income generated by an extra unit of tourist
expenditure. Confusion arises over the definition of income. Many researchers define
income as disposable income accruing to households within the area, which is available
for them to spend.

Although salaries paid to overseas residents are often excluded, a proportion of these
salaries may be spent in the local area and should therefore be included. In considering
national economies some studies include revenue accruing to the government in
income.

Income multipliers can be expressed in one of two ways: the ratio meth expresses the
direct and indirect incomes (or the direct and secondary incomes) generated per unit of
direct income; or the normal method, which expresses total income (direct and
secondary)generated in the study area per unit increase.

Ratio multipliers indicate the internal linkages which exist between various sectors of
the economy, but do not relate income generated to extra sales. Hence, on their own,
ratio multipliers are valueless as a planning tool.

Employment

Employment Multiplier – this can be expressed in one of two ways: as a ration of the
combination of direct and secondary employment generated per additional unit of
tourist expenditure to direct employment generated, or as the employment created by
tourism per unit of tourist expenditure.
Inter relationship between Travel, Tourism and Hospitality

Tourism & Hospitality go hand in hand, the hospitality industry offer services like
accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, spa, business center, recreation and
leisure. Tourism is the activity by the tourists where they engage in travelling to
destinations where they want to experience recreational and leisure activities and most
of the time avails of accommodation, food and beverage. The hospitality industry is the
supplier of the services for tourism. The meaning of hospitality is providing a safe and
enjoyable environment for patrons. 

Reasons for Traveling

Tourist motivations are the factors to make people wishing to go travel. They are the
reasons why people travel around the world. Tourists would not learn all the things by
their routines or from television and books. It is better for them to get experiences by
themselves, because of unedited by anyone else. Afterwards travel can make a marked
difference with routines, and it will provide exciting, uncommon or strange things to
tourist. Furthermore, the high-tech world increases social lives. For example, people
will go to the movies, shopping malls or concerts with friends and colleagues. 
Travel for shopping
Shopping motivation is from wish, drive or urge. People will go and shop when they
are in need of something. In addition, there are a lot of shopping motivations during
trips, such as low currency rate and bargain prices. Nowadays, shopping becomes an
important part in the tourism industry. It is even a main part of a journey.  For example,
tourists’ shopping spending makes a powerful impact on Hong Kong local economy. It
is still the main spending among all spending categories until 2009.

Travel for business

Business Tourism is about people who go travelling for their work as the main purpose.
Business travel is one of a most ancient tourism types. The famous one is “silk road”
which was the main connecting route of trading silk from Asia to Europe. Today,
businessmen have to travel around the world frequently due to many purposes. They
have to present at the meeting, conferences, training courses, exhibitions and trade
shows. The motivation of the business tourism is closely related to the companies. For
this reason, they usually do not care about the cost of the trip, such as, air tickets prices.
They prefer the best business deal to the negligible cost. Moreover, business tourists
always consider the most convenient and fastest way to arrive the destinations, so the
trustworthy and frequent transportation is very important for them. It is not only
flights, but also boats and trains. 

Travel for visiting friends and relatives

Visiting friends and families also has a history. This type of tourism trend has been
pandemic from sixteenth century (Girouard, 1978). There are plenty of people migrants
around the world. This permanent immigration can develop a tourism trend, visiting
friends and relatives. Nowadays people go and join the wedding party which is also
defined as visiting friends and relatives, it is not just in an earlier stage. The
transportations are becoming well developed, people can travel in other countries
easily.

Travel for experiencing other cultures

Every country also has their own local culture. There are 12 cultural elements mainly,
they are handicrafts, language, traditions, gastronomy, art and music, history, local
work, architecture, religion educational system, dress and leisure activities. All of them
can enable tourists to experience more about the local culture of the travel destinations
(Mathieson and Wall, 1982). It is usually the main reason of a visitor travelling in a
country. Tourists can have a good opportunity to deeply understand the local culture
through the. For example, they can go to heritage attractions, try the local food and
attend the local festival celebration during the journey.

Currency rate
This is a significant part in tourism industry. It deeply concerns about the customers’
consumption. Tourists will be willing to travel in that place and they will spend more if
the exchange rate is low. Exchange rate is big influence to the tourism industry since the
total cost of the trip. It is the main factor of tourist behavior. Tourists will decide the
travel destinations, length of stay, the amount of spending, the frequency of travel time
and the travel style because of the exchange rate. For example, people will stay in hostel
instead of hotel if the currency rate is high. Some tourists will even change to other
travel destinations where low currency rate are.

Government involvement
Governments contribute greatly to the tourism industry through financial support, they
will initiate a lot of new projects which are planning and helping for the tourism. They
need to manage and dominate the related component parts as all cost a very large
amount to develop. They act a main role in tourism industry. They can be a big help in
tourism development. The countries, which target tourism revenue as their primary
national income, always have tourism development scheme. It is included what new
manmade attractions should be built, and attracting more tourists come and spend in
the country. However, then they can hurt the industry at the same time. The national
leadership can produce wide influence in tourism.