(HSC 2007) Describe the nature and spatial patterns of global economic activity and predict

its likely future directions. Justify your predications.

Tourism is a service-based, profit-oriented global economic activity that’s nature, spatial

patterns as well as future directions are influenced by a variety of diverse ecological,
technological and biophysical factors. Most notably, biophysical factors such as human-
induced climate change will determine the future financial sustainability of the industry as
well as the spatial distribution of viable tourism enterprises. Ecological considerations such
as the rise of eco-tourism have similarly informed the character and location of tourism
enterprises and will have significant impacts on the future directions of the industry.
Moreover, technological advancements pertaining to air travel technology have fewer
notable implications for the nature, spatial patterns and future directions of tourism.

To begin with, the nature, locational factors and future characteristics of tourism are most
notably impacted by the biophysical implications arising from human-induced climate
change. In particular, the present nature of tourism is heavily informed through climatic
factors as participation in tourist activities is facilitated by particular conditions including
optimum solar radiation, temperature, humidity and wind speed. The future viability of
tourism destinations such as winter-based or coastal resorts will be negatively impacted by
the temperature and sea level rises associated with climate change. For example, winter-
based tourism operations occurring in mountainous locality will be devastatingly influenced
as increasing temperatures reduce natural snow cover as well as the capacity of enterprises
to artificially manufacture snow. In fact, an increase of 0.6oC by 2050 will result in a
decrease of between 15 to 20 days of snow cover in the Australian Alps. Similarly, tourist
destinations in low-lying coastal regions such as the Maldives will be negatively impacted as
climate change is predicted to result in a sea level rise of 0.45m to 0.8m by the end of the
century. Consequently, it can be determined that biophysical factors associated with
climate-change will impact the future sustainability of the industry as well as the spatial
distribution of viable tourism enterprises.

Additionally, the present character and future implications of tourism are significantly
influenced by the ecological factors including rise of eco-tourism. This relates to the
purposeful travel to natural areas which ensures the maintenance the integrity of the
ecosystem. Eco-tourism has important impacts on the nature of tourism as it positively
contributes to the future viability of the industry, as ecologically sustainable tourism
enterprises invest in holistic infrastructure and consultation with local communities. The
emerging success of eco-tourism is demonstrated as data from the travel search engine
‘booking.com’ illustrates that consumers are three times more likely to book
accommodation that is marketed as ‘green’ or environmentally sustainable. Furthermore,
the future spatial patterns of tourism are informed by eco-tourism as destinations which are
ecologically sustainable continue to experience increased visitation patterns. For example,
Costa Rica which prioritises the protection and preservation of its 25 national parks and over
60 wildlife refuges, received over three million international arrivals in 2019. The
importance of eco-tourism in defining the future directions of tourism is demonstrated as it
has a growth rate of approximately 10%-30%. Hence, it can be observed that the rise of eco-
tourism greatly informs future nature and spatial patterns of the global economic activity.
Furthermore, technological advancements relating to air travel have the capacity to
positively influence the future directions of tourism. Air travel through enterprises such as
Emirates facilitate the nature of tourism as a global economic activity. For example, prior to
the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates serviced over 330 million customers in almost 40
countries and connected approximately 5200 destinations. Technological advancements will
ensure future viability of the industry by improving this connectivity through constructing
more direct routes between destinations at a domestic and international scale. Moreover,
the introduction of more ecologically sustainable aircrafts will further impact the future
directions of tourism. For example, the QANTAS Dreamliner aims to connect Perth to
London (a distance of over 14,000km) in approximately 17 hours. The direct nature of this
flight path results in increased efficiency in the flow of people and consequently improves
the future financial viability of the industry as more affordable international travel options
will increase overall participation in the economic activity. Moreover, the Dreamliner
technology provides opportunities for tourism to become more environmentally sustainable
as the aircraft produces a fifth of the nitrogen oxide emissions of an aircraft of equivalent
size. Similarly, Boeing 787 aircrafts, which currently service over 130 routes at a global scale,
produce around 20% less fuel emissions than vehicles of comparable size. Subsequently, it is
evident that technological advancements in air travel have significantly impacts in shaping
the future directions of tourism.

To conclude, it is evident that tourism as a profit-oriented, service-based global economic

activity will be influenced by a variety of biophysical, ecological and technological factors. In
particular, the spatial patterns of viable tourism enterprises will be significantly determined
by the rise of eco-tourism as well as human-induced climate change. Moreover, the future
sustainability of the industry will be further informed through technological advancements
relating to air travel.

30 mins / typed without notes