GEO PP 1.1

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Conceptual Aspects

• Geography is the study of Earth's description, representation, and human factors (economic, social, political) on the territory.
• Geography studies space's past, present, and future transformations as the relationship between environment and humans changes with time.
• Physical geography studies regions' natural characteristics (climate, atmosphere, land, etc.) and how humans alter them.
• Human geography studies the relationship between people, society and the natural environment. It includes examining how people use and alter their environment, and how political, economic, and social systems organize geographic space.
• Regional geography combines physical and human geography elements.
• Leisure is the remaining time from work, sleep, and personal daily tasks.
• Recreation involves diverse activities during leisure time, restoring people's strength and vitality.
• Tourism is a type of recreational activity, encompassing travel and stays in places outside one's usual environment, optionally for business or other purposes (not exclusively leisure).
• Tourism is complex, difficult to define unequivocally due to interconnectedness, various perspectives, and a lack of absolute definitions.
• Tourism involves various disciplines (economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, etc.) that influence its study.
• Tourism has a complex interrelation with space, place, and environment.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Geography and Tourism

• Tourism geography is a branch of human geography examining travel's effect on places, understanding it as an industry and a social/cultural activity.
• The development of tourism geography emerged more consistently in academic journals in the second half of the 20th century.
• Key areas of interest in tourism geography include spatial patterns, geography of resorts, movements and flows, tourism impacts, and tourist space models (Pearce, 1979).
• Tourism is inherently geographical due to its nature as movement and activities between specific places, the formation of identities, and relationships in landscapes and among people.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Climate Change and Tourism

• Climate change is the change in climate either directly or indirectly attributed to human activity altering the global atmosphere's composition, different from normal climate variability observed over certain periods.
• Factors like melting ice caps, rising water levels in coastal areas, extended droughts, and more intense storms/hurricanes are consequences of climate change.
• Global warming results from excess greenhouse gases (CO², CH₄, N₂O) trapped in the atmosphere.
• Tourism is vulnerable to climate change, affecting the length and quality of seasons, environmental conditions, operational costs, and tourist patterns.
• The tourism sector is a significant global economic driver, supporting numerous livelihoods and generating USD 6 trillion in revenue annually.
• Tourism's sub-sectors like mountain, forest, and coastal tourism are particularly susceptible to climate change impacts such as water availability, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise.
• Tourism is responsible for carbon emissions through travel frequency, aviation/ship usage, increased travel distances, and growing tourist numbers.
• The industry needs to adopt more sustainable practices to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change and contribute toward a more climate-friendly future.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism- Climate Change and Tourism - Structure of tourism geography

• Tourism geography encompasses various subfields like recreational resources, tourism infrastructure, environmental changes within tourism, patterns of tourist movement, local and country studies, and the varied types of tourism.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Climate Change and Tourism - Key Roles of Tourism Geography

• Planning and development, management and sustainability, marketing promotion, research and education, understanding tourist behavior, cultural preservation, economic development, environmental conservation, and public policy and governance are key roles of tourism geography.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Geography and Tourism - Geographical Nature of Tourism

• Tourism's inherent spatial nature is based on two arguments:
  1. The spatiality of the tourism phenomenon is an implicit condition.
  2. Space plays fundamental functions in the tourist production/consumption process. Spatial components include physical support, resource and product, and destination.

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Geography and Tourism - Elements That Interact in Tourism Development

• Tourism development involves interacting elements, including:
• The Demand
• The Offer
• The Geographic Space

Introduction to the Geography of Tourism - Climate Change & Tourism - Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism

• The tourism sector is significantly impacted by climate change. Impacts include altered travel frequency, increased air travel, extended travel duration, and other factors.
• Tourism emissions are projected to increase by 130% from 2005 to 2035.
• Mass tourism development is increasing at an alarming rate due to increased air travel and globalization.
• Climate change-related problems for mass tourism include increased water consumption, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste disposal, and biodiversity loss.
• To address these issues, responsible tourism practices, including different transportation methods and support for local economies, are crucial.