Chapte

r1
Tourism in Perspective
Learning objectives
● What is tourism?
● Components of tourism & tourism management
● Identifying what sector of tourism interests you
● Importance of the industry to Belize & the World
● Know the benefits and cost of tourism
 What is
tourism ?
What is tourism ?
● Is it visiting Shark Ray Alley ?
● Hiking through the jungles of Costa
Rica
● Visiting Machu Picchu, Peru
● Waving hello to the Statue of Liberty
● Driving down the road to explore
Cayo and to lunch at Guava Limb
Cafe ?

What is it ?
 When we think of
●tourism
We think primarily of people who are visiting a particular
place for:
○ sightseeing,
○ visiting friends and relatives,
○ taking a vacation, and having a good time.
● They may spend their leisure time engaging in various :
○ sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides,
touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment.
 Perspective of tourism
Four perspective :

● The tourist
● The business providing tourist good
& services
● The government of the host
community or area
● The Host community
Tourism is...

defined as the processes, activities, and outcomes arising from the relationships and the
interactions among tourists, tourism suppliers, host governments, host communities, and
surrounding environments that are involved in the attracting and hosting of visitors. (See
the Glossary for definitions of tourist and excursionist.
UNWTO defines tourism as ...
● The UNWTO has taken the concept of tourism beyond a stereotypical
image of “holiday making.”
● The officially accepted definition is: “Tourism comprises the activities of
persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual
environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business, and other purposes.”
● The term usual environment is intended to exclude trips within the area
of usual residence, frequent and regular trips between the domicile and
the workplace, and other community trips of a routine character.
TYPES OF TOURISM UNDER
UNWTO DEFINITION
1. International tourism
a. Inbound tourism: Visits to a country by nonresidents
b. Outbound tourism: Visits by residents of a country to another country

2. Internal tourism: Visits by local residents and nonresidents traveling in the country of
reference
3. Domestic tourism: Visits by locals of a country in their own country
4. National tourism: (Internal tourism + outbound tourism) the resident tourism market for travel
agents, airlines, and other suppliers
What type of tourism
Andrea booked her family summer vacation in Cancun.
am I ?
● They will travel on the ADO buses from Belize city which will take
them approximately 10 hours
What type of tourism am ?
Shane and Sasha are from
Dangriga they have been
planning a weekend getaway
to San Pedro for their
anniversary. They have been
saving all year so they have
chosen to Fly via tropic air.
WHY
TOURI
SM?
The Tourist
TRAVELER TERMINOLOGY
All types of travelers engaged in tourism are described
as a : VISITOR

All visitors are subdivided into two further categories:

1. Same-day visitors

2. Tourists
Classification of
tourist
 ris m n
To u e no
no m
Ph e
Natural resources &
environment
Any given destination is primarily and
unchangeably characterized by its:

1. physiography (the nature and appearance of

its landscape) and
2. its climate (the kind of weather it has over a
period of years; i.e., the conditions of heat and
cold, moisture and dryness, and wind).
3. Finally, the third component of the natural
environment is people.
The built environment
Another dimension of the tourism
phenomenon is the built environment
that has been created by humans.

#1: Culture

The culture of a people reflects many

dimensions of its past development and
its current way of life.
 #2 : Infrastructure

Infrastructure : roads, sewage ,

communication networks, commercial
facilities ( supermarkets & retail stores)

● Put in place for locals but important

component to visitors.

Southern Highway , Belize

 Itz’ana Resort & Residences , Placencia

#3
Superstructure
Superstructure: facilities
built to respond to the
needs of visitors (hotels,
restaurants, car rental,
major attractions)
#4 Technology
Technology: increasing influential of the built environment

● Shaping tourism product/services and travel experiences

#5 Information
Information
● Increasingly, the success of a destination is determined by its ability to assemble,
interpret, and utilize information in an effective manner.

Virtual Reality
Example
#6 Governance
Governance

● Has a profound impact on

the ability of the
destination to compete in
the international
marketplace
Operating
sectors of
tourism
industry
 Spirit of
Hospitality
2 main responsibilities :
• Training Industry Personnel
• Engaging Permanent Residents
Planning,
Development,
Promotion, and
Catalyst
Organizations
The Importance of
Integrated/Collabo
rative Planning
and Development
The Processes,
Activities, and
Outcomes of
Tourism
Sectors of
tourism
Sectors of tourism
Overview: The tourism
industry has been divided into
8 different sectors or areas.
1. Accommodation
2. Adventure Tourism and
Recreation
3. Attractions
4. Events and Conferences
5. Food and Beverage
6. Tourism Services
7. Transportation
8. Travel Trade
Economic benefits of tourism
● Can be developed with local products
● Provides employment opportunities
and resources
● Generates foreign exchange
● Diversifies the economy
● Increases Incomes
● Tends to be compatible with other
● Increases GNP
economic activities
● Can be built on existing infrastructure
● Spreads development
● Develops an infrastructure that will also help
● High multiplier impact
stimulate local commerce and industry
● Increases government revenues
Social benefits of tourism
● Broadens educational and cultural horizons
● Improves quality of life - higher incomes and improved
standards of living
● Justifies environmental protection and improvement
● Provides tourist and recreational facilities that may be
used by a local population
 Cultural benefits of tourism
● Reinforces preservation of heritage and tradition
● Visitor interest in local culture provides employment for artists, musicians
and other performing artists enhancing cultural heritage
● Breaks down language barriers, sociocultural barriers, class barriers, racial
barriers, political barriers, and religious barriers
● Creates a favorable worldwide image for a destination
● Promotes a global community
● Promotes international understanding and peace
Disadvantages of tourism
SOCIAL

ECONOMIC ● Creates social problems

● Degrades the natural physical environment and
● Develops excess demand creates pollution
● Results in high leakage ● Degrades the cultural environment
● Creates difficulties of seasonality ● Threatens family structure
● Causes inflation ● Commercializes culture, religion, and the arts
● Can result in unbalanced economic development ● Creates misunderstanding
● Increases vulnerability to economic and political ● Creates conflicts in the host society
changes ● Contributes to disease, economic fluctuation, and
transportation problems
Belize tourism
Statistics
https://view.genial.ly/622684cb47c17b001a45d64a/soci
al-vertical-post-2021-digest-introduction
Study terms
CLOSING
Thin
CASE
As a group of tourism students, You plan to visit your Dean’s office
and convince him/her that specializations in Hotel Management k
and Culinary arts management should be offered as an option to
specialize in specific segments of the tourism industry. What
disc
arguments would you use? (Think critically) uss
Shar
Why are geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, and e
economists interested in tourism?

Work in your assignment groups to formulate your responses

for our next class session.
Thank you for
listening
Any Questions?