Tourism: Global Activity & Tour Guides

• Tourism is increasingly competitive, requiring countries, states, and regions to create superior tourist experiences to increase international and domestic tourist inflows
• A key factor in this is creating a resource base of professionally trained tour guides
• The tourism industry is managed by professionals, and competition among service providers has led to raising the bar in terms of facilities for tourists
• One major underpinning of increasing competition is technology
• Technology enables people to know what is happening in other places, especially for industry players and customers
• Understanding the tourism product and tourist motivations is imperative
• Understanding the characteristics of the tourism product is key to accurate tour guiding

Tourism as a Global Activity

• Tourism is seen as a major contributor to globalization
• Understanding the pace of change in tourism is crucial
• Changes in tourism are influenced by diverse factors, requiring practitioners to understand them in the local context

Tourism Product

• A tourism product concentrates on the physical and psychological satisfaction provided to tourists during their travel
• It focuses on facilities and services designed to meet tourist needs
• It is a composite product comprising a country's tourist attractions, transport, accommodation, and entertainment, resulting in customer satisfaction
• Components are supplied by individual service providers like hotels, airlines, and travel agencies
• Analysis is based on attractions, accessibility, accommodation, and amenities

Attractions

• Attractions are crucial as one of the four basic components of a tourism product
• Without an attraction, tourists are not motivated to visit
• They determine the tourist's choice of a destination
• Attractions can be cultural, archaeological, historical, natural (flora, fauna, beaches, mountains), or event-based (trade fairs, festivals, games)
• Tourist demands are susceptible to fashion changes

Accessibility

• Accessibility is the means by which a tourist can reach the located attractions
• Tourist destinations are less important if they are inaccessible
• Tourists need a mode of transport (car, coach, airplane, ship, or train) to reach their destination
• Attractions near tourist-generating markets with efficient transport receive the most tourists
• The distance affects tourist choices with longer distances costing more
• Easy accessibility is a key growth factor of tourist movements

Accommodation

• Accommodation and other facilities complement the attractions
• Accommodation is central and necessary for tourist destinations
• The World Tourism Organization defines a tourist as someone who spends at least one night in the destination
• The demand for accommodation away from home is met by a variety of facilities
• The range and types of accommodation has varied
• Larger hotels are increasing their share of holiday trade and conferences, notably in big metropolitan areas

Amenities

• Amenities are facilities to aid tourist centers
• Seaside resorts need facilities such as swimming, boating, yachting, surf-riding, and recreation
• Amenities can be natural or man-made
• Natural amenities include beaches, sea-bathing, opportunities for fishing, climbing, trekking, and views
• Man-made amenities include entertainment and facilities that cater to tourist like banks and shopping malls
• Excellent sandy beaches, sheltered from sunshine and offering good bathing conditions become good tourist attractions
• Spacious waters suited for sailing, opportunities for fishing, hunting, etc. are also important

Characteristics of Tourism Products

• Tourism products are mainly service products with several features
• Conference planning and management in business tourism is an example, tourism fairs and festival fall here too
• Cultural attractions in Ghana include festivals, dances, and music
• Wildlife, flora, and fauna are natural products

Intangible Products

• The product cannot be seen or inspected completely before purchase, for example a rented seat on a plane can't be pre-tested until the ride

Unstable Demand

• Tourism demand is influenced by seasonal, economic, political and social factors
• Certain times of the year see a greater need than others causing strain on services

Fixed Supply

• Tourism products need tourists presence unlike traditional retail
• Requires the user go to the product
• In depth users behaviours need to be studied

Composite Products

• Tourist products can not be manufacturered like traditional productes
• Consist of travel to a speciffic location
• Example of this is Airline + Hotels + Booking Agencies + Local Restaurants

Perishable

• Tourist products are not stored like retail goods
• When consumption begins, it cannot be stopped, interrupted or modified
• Lack of use == lost oppertunity

Absence of ownership

• Tourist dont gain ownership over the product
• Instead, they gain tempporary used
• Examples include taxies and hotels

Heterogenous

• Tourism is varies in standards of quality as production values are not consistent accross the board
• Examples of this include flight standards

Tourist Accomidation

• Some places rely soley on tourist accomidation to draw in visitors
• In fact, a large number of tourists visit a particular destination or town simply because there is a first class luxury hotel or resort which provides excellent services and facilities.
• Examples are located in Switzerland, Holland, France, Austria, and Belgium are known for it

Objectives of Tour Guides

• Tour guides promote the country visited
• It is important to engage them in the process
• Inspires visitor confidence
• It reflects well on the company, and therefore reflects on you
• Must understand the holistic product, and accurately convey the information

Explore the impact of tourism on globalization and the importance of professionally trained tour guides in creating superior tourist experiences. Discover how technology and the evolving tourism landscape drive the need for skilled guides who understand tourist motivations. Grasp the key characteristics of the tourism product.