Understanding Tourism Systems and Components

• Tourists travel and stay outside their usual environment for >24 hours, but <1 year, for any purpose.

Types of Tourism

• Domestic tourism involves tourism activities within a tourist's country.
• International tourism involves tourism activities outside a tourist's country.

Tourism System Components

• Tourist generating regions: Areas where tourists originate.
• Tourist destination regions: Areas that attract tourists.
• Transit routes: Pathways connecting tourist generating and destination regions.
• These components are interconnected.

Tourism System Examples

• A Singapore executive flying to Manchester exemplifies how tourist generating regions send people to tourist destination regions via transit routes.
• The 40-year-old executive: The tourist
• Singapore: The tourist generating region
• Manchester, England: The tourist destination region
• Air travel: The transit route

Volume and Direction of Travel

• Transit routes influence travel volume and direction between regions.
• More transit routes provide more options and increase travel.
• Additional options can result in shorter travel times.
• Volume refers to the number of traveling tourists.
• Direction refers to the specific route taken.
• Fewer direct flights between Singapore and Brazil results in fewer tourists.

Tourism Regions

• Tourism generating regions source tourists and host significant tourism production sectors.
• Tourism destination regions attract tourists, experience tourism's consequences, and house primary production elements.
• Transit routes facilitate tourist passage to destinations.

Relationship Between Tourist Regions

• Tourist movement relies on push and pull factors.
• Push factors exist in generating regions.
• Pull factors exist in destination regions.

Interdependence

• Interdependence exists between tourists, businesses, and organizations in both generating and destination regions.

Push and Pull Factors

• Tourist movement depends on generating regions' "push" and destination regions' "pull".

Push Factors at Generating Regions

• Factors that cause tourists to leave:
  • Stressful work environment
  • Unpleasant living conditions including overcrowding and pollution
  • Lack of recreational options

Pull Factors at Destination Regions

• Qualities that attract tourists:
  • Scenic beauty
  • Special events (concerts, festivals)
  • Attractions, facilities, and amenities

Push/Pull Interplay

• An interplay between push and pull factors develops the need and motivation to travel.
• People in fast-paced environments may seek relaxing nature getaways.

Mutual Dependence

• Tourists, businesses, and organizations are interdependent in tourism.
• Tourists need accommodations in destination regions.
• Businesses rely on tourists for revenue, creating mutual dependence.
• Tour agencies assist with bookings and provide guides.
• Tour agencies rely on tourists for revenue and can benefit hotels by directing tourists to them.

Tourist Organizations

• Tourist organizations are critical as they recommend businesses to potential tourists.
• The BHA provides recommendations and accreditations for places to stay.
• Accreditations enable tourists to select accommodations based on their needs, benefiting businesses.

Tourism and the Environment

• Tourism interacts with nature, communities, and economies.
• Businesses that are tourism-related affect nature.

Positive Impacts

• New opportunities for services arise, benefiting local populations.
• Local economies benefit from tourist arrivals due to interactions with nature and communities.
• In Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, tourists interact with natural limestone formations and local communities.
• Community based tourism lets locals participate in the tourism sector.
• Local employment and income increase, growing economies.
• Minimizing the impact on wildlife or pollution of ecosystems is crucial.
• Environmental awareness may arise.
• Scientific and conservation projects may get funding from travelers.

Negative impacts

• Tourist destinations may face degradation of the natural environment.
• A degraded environment results in less tourism.
• Decreased local incomes due to fewer tourists.
• Locals may lose income, and have their livelihoods negatively affected.
• Economic downturns in tourist generating regions, lead to less tourism activity.
• Loss of income and jobs may occur in tourist destination regions as a result.
• Business that directly rely on tourism may be impacted and reduced demand may occur.

Motivation to Travel

• Satisfying needs through travel, driven by a mix of push/pull factors increases the growth of Tourism.

Statistic

• International tourist arrivals grew from 25 million (1950) to 1.5 billion (2019)

Relaxation and Travel

• Hectic lifestyles have increased people the need to seek relaxation through travel.
• Coastal landscapes in Phuket, Thailand, provide tranquility for relaxation.
• Theme parks enable escape from stress and worries.

Self-Fulfillment

• The desire for personal growth has increased travel.
• Culinary Tourism: Balinese cooking classes
• Spiritual Tourism: Mecca pilgrimage for Muslims
• Challenging Activities: Mountain climbing and skydiving

Examples

• Climbing Mount Everest for personal challenge.

New Experiences

• Experiencing unique environments and cultures is a part of traveling.

Examples

• Hiking in remote forests and seeing glacial landscapes
• Sharing travel experiences on social media raises interest in unique destinations.

Global Impact

• Globalization improves accessibility via transport networks.
• Remote areas are impacted by rising rates tourism as a result.

Unique Destinations

• Antarctica offers a sense of adventure and exclusivity away from mainstream tourism.

Eco-Tourism

• Increased environmental awareness motivates travel to destinations emphasizing sustainability.

Growth in Tourism

• Growth in disposable income and increased leisure time facilitate travel, supported by tourism industry innovations.
• Increased disposable income, rather than necessity is a large motivation.

Statistics

• China's outbound travelers reached ~155 million in 2019, triple the 2010 figure.
  • This growth is as a result of increased income.

Leisure Time

• Paid leave and more free time facilitates the chance for travel.
• More financial stability results while having time away from work.

Example

• More travel and domestic tourism arose due to Chinese government encouraging half-day Fridays.

Innovation

• Business innovations, lower transport costs, and reduced accommodation costs contribute to growth.
• More fuel-efficient modes and communication advancements also contribute.
• Tour operators are increasingly replaced by websites and applications.

Examples

• Website allowing comparisons of accommodation.

Impact of Air Transportation in Tourism

• Air transport has become increasingly affordable.
• Increased carrying capacity reduces costs.

Statistics

• Airbus A-380 carries 853 passengers while the Boeing 747 initially held 853.
• Communication and Innovations in travel are driving down the cost of flights.

Options

• There are more websites and applications that lower prices and provide convenience.
• Budget airlines offer affordable travel options.

Mobility

• There are more routes for public transport and private vehicle ownership.
• More airports, roads, and railways are being constructed to improve transport.
• Changi Airport created Terminal 4 to allow more flights.
• Expanded bus and train routes facilitate ease of use.

Example

• The Downtown MRT line in Singapore improves accessibility to attractions with multilingual maps.

New Modes of Travel

• Development of faster, further, transit.

Example

• Conventional trains from Tokyo to Osaka took 6 hrs 40 minutes.
  • Bullet trains cut the trip to 3 hrs 10 minutes.
• Lower traveling times and convenience has been seen in new aircraft post 1950s.

Examples

• Singapore to London used to take 2-4 days, whereas now this is only 14 hours.

Private Car Ownership

• Private cars improve convenience to locations.
• Increased car ownership to visit spots may gain spiritual enlightenment.

Tourism Development

• Tourism destinations evolve and change over time.
• The key features and tourist arrivals evolve.
• Destinations grow in popularity when investors and tour operators enter newly discovered locations.
• Over time popularity declines if the location isn't looked after.
• Destinations go through different stages, these stages may not occur in a linear fashion.

Tourism Stages Overview

• Destinations progress through six stages relating to tourism development.

Six Stages of Tourism Development

1. exploration
2. involvement
3. development
4. consolidation
5. stagnation
6. decline OR rejuvenation

Exploration Stage

• A small number of individual tourists visit destinations that may not always be active year-round.
• The destination relies on natural attractions without many facilities.

Example

• Jaco Island in Timor Leste.

Tourists

• Are few international travelers due to limited tourism facilities and location.
• Are often attracted to Houses of national parks with coastlines.

Involvement Stage

• There is an increase in advertisements and publicity in tourist arrivals for various seasons.
• The local economy starts to rise.
• There are goods and services provided via the locals for a destination that boasts rise in goods, services and facilities to cater to tourists.

Authority Intervention

• Local Authorities that are usually in charge of the facilities that are requested in an attraction.

Example

• Kuang Si waterfalls improve facilities through investments such as roads and transportation, the rise of travel agencies and the construction of car parks and bathrooms.

Development Stage

• Tourist numbers increase rapidly as the destination gains man-made attractions and foreign labor
• There are a higher amount of tourism jobs and workers than before that benefit the economy.
• Heavy advertising helps drive the economic success and the recognition of tourist destinations.

Example

• Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island

Consolidation Stage

• More tourists than locals often make up the number of the visiting attraction.
• Tourist jobs increase rapidly as numbers of tourists climb to new heights.

Example

• Most of the hotels and facilities are in the hands of multi-nationalists.
• Tourism in Goa and India have a wide display of buildings that feature architecture and Portuguese culture.

Impact

• There is an increased investment in the tourism sector by the Government as well as higher employment opportunity and economic growth which are impacted by growing tourist numbers.

5. Stagnation Stage

• Destinations face limited numbers as tourist arrivals stop based of carrying capacity.

6. Decline Stage

• No revival will result negatively on previous economic growth as facilities and attractions see a lower rate of tourists and a negative impact on the local community.

7. Rejuvenation Stage

• Destinations gain more attractions and facilities as there is new investment to attract new and old tourists that result in re-branding.

Personalities Affecting Tourism

• Individual travel choices are influenced by spectrum of individual personalities, thus travel desitnations are impacted.
  • Tourist types: Dependables versus Venturers

Tourist Classifications

• Tourists are classified as pure Venturer or Dependables
  • It is found this is only 2-4% of the population.
• There is 62% of people that are in the middle with leanings to one side or the other as greater numbers for that spectrum fit near the near-venturer or near-dependable scale.
  • 16% of tourists fall in that range.
• Venturers:
  • This type of tourist often likes to spend their money more readily and reach out to find and explore the world.
• Dependables:
  • This type of tourist often is more cautious when spending money and want to try and make their daily lives predictable.

Travel

• Venturers:
  • Are always planning their own trips and activities for a mass tourism base
• Dependables:
  • Tend to prefer structure and routine travel choices.

Choice Factors

• Personality influences preferences, destinations, and activities.
• Mongolia being underdeveloped attracts Venturer-type tourists who can tolerate less accommodations.
• Tourists tend to influence decisions as tourist destination evolve over time. The way a location caters to a tourist base that it wants will develop personality over time.