Meaning and Characteristics

of Tourism
 Sources of Data: A/D Cards and Shipping Manifests

The country welcomed 474,854 tourists for the month of June, up by

3.42% from the 459,138 arrivals in June 2016.

By sub-regional grouping, East Asia is the biggest source of arrivals

with 239,987 arrivals with a market share of 50.54%. Korea, Japan
and China which belong to this region accounted for 44.81% of the
total volume.
Source: http://www.tourism.gov.ph/industry_performance_june.aspx
By major regional grouping, the largest chunk of arrivals came from Asia, covering
61.11% of the total or 290,177 visitors. Arrivals from the Americas contributed
20.32% to total inbound volume equivalent to 96,512. On the other hand, 40,610
arrivals (8.55%) came from Europe while some 25,074 arrivals (5.28%) were from
Australasia/Pacific.
Source: http://www.tourism.gov.ph/industry_performance_june.aspx
Among the top twenty markets, Taiwan registered the highest per capita expenditure for
two consecutive months. In average, a visitor from Taiwan spent Php 116,443.45 while in
the country. Visitors from Vietnam followed with Php 97,440.99 per capita spending.
Korea recorded a high per capita expenditure of Php 80,722.99. Other top markets with
high per capita spending include China with Php 79,420.88, Norway with Php 59,981.81
and Malaysia with Php 59,883.58.
International tourist arrivals to the
Philippines rose by 7.7% to 7.1 million
visitors in 2018 compared to its level last
year.
South Korea remained the country's top
tourism market with 22.3% share to the
total PH tourist arrivals in 2018, with
1,587,959 visitors. China was second with
1,255,258 visitors in the country, followed
by the US with 1,034,396, Japan with
631,801 and Australia with 279,821.
The highest number of tourist arrivals in
2018 was recorded in January at
732,506 visitors, while the lowest was in
September at 512,240 visitors.
 What is Tourism?
WTO defines tourism as:

“comprised of activities of persons travelling to

and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive
year for leisure, business and other purposes.”
 Travelers vs. Visitors

Travel is one word that is used interchangeably

with tourism. However, not all travels are
tourism. Thus, there is a need to differentiate
travelers from visitors.

Travelers are people on a trip between two or

more places, while visitors are people who
engage in tourism.
 Visitors are different from other travelers
because of the following three criteria:

1. The trip should be a place other than that of

the usual environment.

2. The stay in the place visited should not last

more than 12 consecutive months.

3. The main purpose of the trip should be other

than the exercise of activity remunerated from
within the place visited.
 Types of visitors:
1.Tourists – temporary visitors staying 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.Excursionist – temporary visitors staying less

than 24 hours in the destination visited and not
making an overnight stay, including cruise
travelers but excluding travelers in transit
Visitors are further classified
into:

1. International visitor

1. Domestic visitor
 International visitor
Refers to any person who travels to a country
outside his/her usual environment and other
than the one in which he/she his/her usual
residence, but for less than 12 consecutive
months and whose main purpose is other than
the exercise of an activity remunerated from
within the place visited.
 Domestic visitor
Refers to any person who travels to a place
other than of his/her usual environment but still
within his/her country of residence for less than
12 consecutive months and whose main
purpose of trip is other than the exercise of an
activity remunerated from within the place
visited.
 Tourism Industry

Described as the range of business and

organization involved in delivering the
tourism product.
Tourist
• Is anyone who travels to places other
than the one in which is his habitual
residence, outside of their everyday
environment, for a period of at least one
night but not more than one year and
whose usual purpose is different from
the exercise of any remunerated activity
in the place to which he goes.
 Forms of Tourism

Tourism has three forms in relation to a given

area (like region, country, group of countries),
namely:

1. Domestic Tourism
2. Inbound Tourism
3. Outbound Tourism
 Domestic Tourism

Tourism involving residents of the given

area travelling (as visitors) only within that
area
Ex: Filipinos traveling within the Philippines
 Inbound Tourism

Tourism involving non-residents travelling (as

visitors) in the given area.
Tourists coming into a country from another
country, such as French tourists visiting
Philippines.
Ex: Koreans visiting Philippines
 Outbound Tourism

Tourism involving residents travelling (as visitors) in

an area other than the given area.
Outbound Tourism is the activity of travelling to a
foreign country by the residential citizen.
Ex: Filipinos travelling to a foreign country
 Elements of Travel

1. Distance

2. Length of Stay at Destination

3. Residence of the traveler

4. Purpose of Travel
•Distance

What must be considered under

distance is the difference between
local travel or traveling within a
person’s home community and non-
local travel or traveling 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 traveled on a trip.
•Length of Stay at
Destination

The second basic element of

travel used as a criteria for defining
travelers is the length of stay at a
destination.

The definition of tourists and

excursionists as proposed by the
WTO is largely teased on length of
stay.
•Residence of the Traveler

The residence or origin of the traveler is

the third basic element of travel.

For business and research purposes, it

is important to know where people live.
•Purpose of Travel

The fourth basic element is the purpose of

travel. It can be divided into seven:

1. Visiting friends and relatives

2. Conventions, seminars, and meetings
3. Business
4. Outdoor recreation – hunting, fishing,
boating, and camping
5. Entertainment – sightseeing, theater, sports
6. Personal – family, medical, funeral,
wedding
7. Others
Independent Tour vs. Package Tour

A package tour, sometimes called

inclusive tour is an arrangement in
which transport and accommodation is
bought by the tourist as an all-inclusive
price and the price of the individual
elements cannot be determined by the
purchaser himself.
 The tour operator who organizes
the package tour purchases transport
and hotel accommodation in advance,
usually obtaining these at a lower price
because he is buying them in bulk.

He then sells the tours individually

to tourists direct or through travel
agents.
 On the other hand, an
independent tour is one in which the
tourist buys these facilities separately,
either making reservations in advance
through a travel agent or en route
during his tour.
 Tourists purchasing package tours may
do so on the basis of either individual or group
travel.

An independent inclusive tour is one in

which the tourist travels to his destination
individually, while in the group inclusive tour,
he travels in the company of other tourists.

The abbreviations IIT and GIT are used

for individual inclusive tour and group inclusive
tour respectively.
 The Tourist Product
Tourist product consists of what the
tourist 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 his stay.
Characteristics of Tourist Product
1. It is a service
2. It is largely psychological in its
attraction.
3. It tends to vary in standard and
quality over time
4. The supply of the product is fixed.
 The first characteristic of a tourist
product is that it is a service.

It is an intangible item. It can not

be inspected by prospective purchasers
before they buy as they can with a
washing machine, a stereo or other
consumer goods.

The purchase of a package tour

involves a high degree of trust on the
part of the buyer.
 The second characteristics is that the
tourist product is largely psychological in its
attraction.

It is more than a collection of services

such as an aircraft seat and a hotel room.

It is the temporary use of a strange

environment plus the culture and heritage of the
region and other intangible benefits such as
atmosphere and hospitality.
 Another characteristic is that the tourist
product tends to vary in standard and quality
over time unlike the production of a television
set.

A package tour cannot be consistently of

equal standard. A bumpy flight can change an
enjoyable experience into a nightmare; a good
room in a hotel may be spoiled by a poor food
and a holiday at the seaside can be destroyed
by a prolonged rainy spell.
 Still another characteristic is that the
supply of the product is fixed.

The number of hotel rooms available at a

particular resort cannot be varied to meet the
changing demands of tourists during a particular
season.

The unsold hotel room or aircraft seat

cannot be stored for rarer sale as is the case
with tangible products.

Thus, great efforts are made to fill hotel

rooms and aircraft by discounting the prices of
these products at the last minute.
 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:

1. attractions
2. amenities or facilities, and
3. accessibility
 Attractions may be site and event
attractions.

A site attraction is one in which

destination itself has appeal while 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 the Alps, a city, a
resort such as Boracay.

Event attractions include congresses,

exhibitions, festivals such as Ati-atihan Festival
and sports events such as the Olympic Games.
Site Attraction
Event Attraction
 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.
 Natural Attraction

Jumeirah Beach , Dubai

• Man Made Attractions
Burj Al Arab
• The Burj Al Arab is a hotel located
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• It is the third tallest hotel in the world
• Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial
island 280 meters (920 feet) from
Jumeirah beach and is connected to
the mainland by a private curving
bridge.
• The shape of the structure is designed
to mimic the sail of a ship.
• The Burj Al Arab is one of the most
luxurious hotels to stay in. It has been
called “The World’s Only 7 Star
Hotel”.
• 1. Construction began in 1996, and wasn’t
completed till 2006. During this time more
than 3000 workers took part in its
construction.
• 2. It’s made up of mostly natural materials
such as marble, stone, gold, crystals and
semi-precious stones.
• 3. It’s the largest Mosque in the United Arab
Emirates, covering approximately 30 acres.
• 4. The carpet in the main prayer hall is said to
be the largest single piece of handmade carpet
in the world, measuring around 67,570 square
feet and weighing around 35 tonne. With around
1,200 carpet knotters contributing, it took
approximately 2 years to create, using wool
from New Zealand and Iran.
5. The Mosque contains seven chandeliers, each
are made up of millions of Swarovski crystals.
The largest of these is the second largest in the
world, measuring 33ft in diameter and 49ft high.
6. There are 96 marble pillars in the main prayer
hall, each delicately inlaid with mother of pearl.
It also contains a Qubla wall, facing Mecca,
which has 99 names for Allah inscribed on it.
 Al Bahr Towers
Cooling building of
Abu Dhabi
 Burj Khalifa
The world’s tallest building
Is this natural or man-made attraction?
 Al Khalid Lagoon

It is a man made lagoon located in

Corniche, Sharjah UAE
 Special Assignment
1. Identify 10 natural attraction and 10
man-made attractions in the
Philippines.
Discuss each attraction; give details
and / or information / trivia on each
attraction.
• 2. Document your most memorable trip by
narrating your experiences on such place.
Pictures are also to be attached.
• Submission is on
 Amenities or facilities include
accommodation, food, local transport, and
communications and entertainment at the
site.

However attractive a destination, its

potential for tourism will be limited unless
the basic amenities which a tourist requires
are provided.

Amenities will differ according to the

attraction of the site.
 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 access, tourism flow will depend upon
adequate roads, gasoline stations and the
like. Good railways and coach services,
airport, and seaports are designed to
facilitate accessibility.
 Tourist Services
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.

Distinctions 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 constitutes the second group of
tourist services.

Hotels are vital concern to a large

proportion of tourists. However, many stay with
friends and relatives, and in other private
accommodations. Others provide their own
accommodation in the form of caravans and
tents. 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
travelers. 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:

1.Currency
2.Documentation
3.Information
4.Sightseeing
5.Shopping
 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. In other
industries, an item manufactured in a factory
is brought to the wholesaler and retailer and
ultimately to the consumer.

2. The products of tourism are not used up;

thus, they do not exhaust the country’s
natural resources. The product of other
industries have a limited life and at the end
of it are either junked or replaced with new
ones.
3. Tourism is a labor-intensive industry. It
requires more manpower than other
industries.

4. Tourism is people-oriented. It is primary

concerned with people. One of the most
important motivations of tourists is to meet
other people and see how other people
live.

5. Tourism is a multi-dimensional
phenomenon. It is dependent on many and
varied activities which are separate but
inter-dependent.
6. The tourist industry is seasonal. During
vacation seasons, millions of tourism travel
which result in increased revenues for
several tourism agencies, but when
vacations are over, these companies
experience a big decline in profits earned.

7. The industry is dynamic. It is characterized

by the changing ideas and attitudes of its
customers and therefore must be always
prepared and willing to adjust to these
changes.