Different Types of Tourism-Unit 6.docx

**Key types of tourist groups and how their needs are met** Different Types of Tourism Domestic Tourism--Taking Holidays and Trips in your own country. An example of domestic tourism for UK residents would be, a family from Birmingham in the Midlands taking a short break to the seaside resort of B...

**Key types of tourist groups and how their needs are met** Different Types of Tourism Domestic Tourism--Taking Holidays and Trips in your own country. An example of domestic tourism for UK residents would be, a family from Birmingham in the Midlands taking a short break to the seaside resort of Blackpool. Inbound Tourism--Visitors from overseas coming into the country. Generally, when we use the term inbound tourism in the UK we are referring to the people from different countries travelling to UK. E.g. a tourist coming from the USA to the UK Outbound Tourism--Travelling to a different country for a visit or a holiday. Generally, when we use the term outbound tourism in the UK we are referring to the UK residents travelling out of the UK. For example, you are an outbound tourist from the UK if you go to Spain on holiday. **What Are The Different Types Of Tourism Travel?** Traveling is one effective way to see the world, experience new cultures and meet new people at the same time. For many tourists, however, traveling accomplishes many other purposes that don't even have anything to do with the joy of visiting a new place. This is why there are many different types of tourism that explain why tourists choose a particular destination and the things that they expect to do when they are there. Perhaps the most common type of tourism is what most people associate with traveling: **Recreation tourism**. This is when people go to a place that is very different from their regular day-to-day life to relax and have fun. Beaches, theme parks and camp grounds are often the most common places frequented by recreational tourists. If the objective of one's visit to a particular place is to get to know its history and culture then this type of tourism is known as **cultural tourism**. Tourists may visit different landmarks of a particular country or they may simply opt to focus on just one area. They may also attend festivals and ceremonies in order to gain a better understanding of the people, their beliefs and their practices. For tourists who want to see wildlife or bask in the joy of just being in the midst of nature, **nature tourism** is the answer. Ecotourism and nature treks are all part of this kind of tourism. Bird watching, for example, is one activity that nature tourists are fond of doing. What marks this kind of tourism is that it is environmentally responsible, has low impact and advantageous to the local community. Many people today are stressed out in the corporate rat race and in need of rejuvenation. Thus, they go on trips that refresh their souls and spirits. This is called **pleasure tourism** and usually includes yoga workshops and detox vacations, among others. Others, however, de-stress by engaging in a particular sport. Called **sports tourism**, travelers here target places which are known for a particular sporting facility. Skiing, for example, is a type of sports tourism. Also included in this category are those who go to a destination to experience a sports spectacle such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and others. **Religious tourism** is another type of tourism where people go to a religious location or locations to follow the footsteps of their founder or to attend a religious ceremony. Catholics, for example, go on pilgrimages in the Holy Land to experience the paths where Jesus walked. **Medical or health tourism** is a relatively new type of tourist activity where the main focus of the travel is improving one's health, physical appearance or fitness. For instance, certain countries promote the expertise of their doctors and surgeons in the field of cosmetic surgery and invite foreigners to have their liposuction, facelift, nose lift and other forms of cosmetic procedures to be done there. Medical tourism also incorporates aspects of recreation tourism where the patient goes to a relaxing getaway to recover from the procedure. **Adventure tourism** is another type of tourism that is catered for those who want to do more than just visit regular tourist sites. These kinds of trips involve challenging activities like rock climbing, mountain climbing and wild water rafting. It should be noted that there are no strict delineations when tourists go on their trips. These kinds of tourism often overlap so it's not unusual for travelers to experience more than one type of tourism in one vacation. **Ecotourism** is a form of [tourism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism) involving visiting fragile, untouched, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial [mass tourism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_tourism). It means responsible travel to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveller, to provide funds for [ecological conservation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_conservation), to directly benefit the [economic development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_development) and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for [human rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights). Since the 1980s, ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavour by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Several university programs use this description as the working definition of ecotourism. **Sustainable tourism**is the concept of visiting somewhere as a [tourist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist) and trying to make a positive [impact on the environment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact), society, and economy. Tourism can involve primary [transportation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation) to the general location, local transportation, accommodations, entertainment, recreation, nourishment and shopping. It can be related to [travel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel) for leisure, business and what is called VFR (visiting friends and relatives). There is now broad consensus that tourism development should be sustainable; however, the question of how to achieve this remains an object of debate. **Incentive Tourists** Incentives tourists are those few lucky individuals, who get a holiday package as a reward from his company, for good work or achieving targets, set by the company. Incentive tourists draw inspiration from such tours to work harder, improve work relations and focus on team bonding. **Alternative forms of Tourism** Alternative tourism aims at seeking a change from impersonal, traditional tourism to establishing cardinal rapport between visitors and the local community. Instead of using touristic commodities these tourists prefer to use or share the services of local people. The focus in these travels is the preserved natural environment, authentic atmosphere and cuisine, and local traditions. Alternative tourism is nowadays regarded as a key to sustainable development. It is also known as special interest tourism. It is of various types - Ecotourism- "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education" - Food tourism- A tourism activity that revolves around visiting restaurants and tasting food in a destination of interest. - Agro-rural tourism- Agro-rural tourism emerged in the 20th century, which includes agricultural farms related to tourism and is important to the rural as well as the urban areas. This concept exploits rural culture as an attraction for tourists, focussing on the cultural landscape instead of natural landscape. This encourages tourists to get familiar with the agricultural life in rural areas. TYPES OF TOURIST Tourists are classified, according to their needs and their reasons for travelling, into four broad categories: ♦ business and professional tourist ♦ leisure and holiday tourists ♦Tourists travelling to visit friends and relatives (VFR) ♦ Youth tourists, including backpackers and gap year travellers. ♦ The tourism industry tries to meet the needs of all types of tourists by providing suitable facilities and services for each category. ♦ Business tourist: travel is related to business and the world of work. MESE which stands for meetings, exhibitions and special events. These are all part of the business world. All major cities have conference centres that cater for the needs of business tourists. An example of a business tourist would be a salesman who travels to another city to attend a trade show and promote the products he sells. ♦ Education tourists: travel to attend a place of learning in another town, city, or country, in order to study for or improve a qualification. They may also be people that attend workshops to learn new skills or improve existing ones. A clinic nurse who travels to another province to attend a workshop about infectious diseases is an example of an educational tourist. ♦ Incentive tourists: are people who are rewarded in the form of a company paid holiday for their hard work, or for achieving goals set by their company. This incentive to travel motivates employees to work harder, improves work relationships, and builds team spirit. A salesman who receives a holiday package for achieving the most sales in the company is an example of an incentive tourist. ♦ Health or medical tourist: travel because they want to visit a holiday spa, needs medical special treatment that is only available away from home, undergo procedures that are cheaper in another country, or are recovering from an illness in a healthier climate. Many tourist come from oversees countries to South Africa to have plastic surgery. ♦ Adventure tourist: want an unusual and exciting experience. They want to participate in activities that may be dangerous, such as rock climbing, river rafting, skydiving, shark cave diving and bungee jumping. ♦ Cultural tourist: want to experience different cultures, such as San rock art, or cultural related festivals such as the National Art Festival in Grahams-town, or the International Jazz Festival in Cape Town. They would also want to experience the World Heritage Sites in the country. ♦ Eco-tourists: travel to experience nature such as traveling to Bonita Gardens in Bloemfontein South Africa ♦ Leisure tourist: want to rest and relax and have a break from the usual routine Examples of this type of tourism are a cruise on a cruise liner, a trip on a Blue train, attending a special music special music performance or relaxing on the beach. ♦ Religious tourist: want to see and experience places of religious importance. There are many religious destinations in the world such as the Hajj in Mecca, Jerusalem in Israel, Varanasi in India, and the Vatican in Rome. During Easter the largest Christian pilgrimage to Zion City, Moria, Limpopo, takes place. More than a million pilgrims travel to Moria to every Easter. ♦ Shopping tourist: travel to shopping malls, shopping centres, factory shops, crafts market, festivals, and touring shopping routes such as the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal. Their main purpose is to buy items. ♦ Special interest tourist (STI): have particular interest such as bird watching, food and wine, flowers, fishing during the Sardine Run, or attending the Cape Town Book Fair. ♦ Sport and recreation tourist: participate in or watch sporting events. Popular events include the Soccer World Cup, Winblendon Tennis Championship, Comrades Marathon, and Fisher River Canoe Marathon. Surfing, mountain climbing, cricket, swimming, golf and tennis are popular sports. ♦ Tourist visiting friends and relatives (VFR) want to stay in contact with friends and relatives and travel away from home to visit them. These tourist may travel to attend a wedding, funeral, or birthday celebration of friends or relatives. ♦ Backpacking or youth tourist: generally have little luggage, are on a budget, want to experience adventure and excitement, tend to travel independently, enjoy meeting other traveller, and have flexible travel schedules. A group of young tourists on a weekend walking tour in the mountains, or a student touring around the country by bus are examples of this group of tourist. ♦ Gap year travellers: do not study further or enter job opportunity after school, instead they take break called a gap year. They travel, work and earn money, learn new skills or do volunteer work in another country. During this time they gain skills and life experience before starting tertiary education. These young people are also known as "gappers". ♦ To make sure that the needs of all types of tourist are met it is important for travel agents to draw up tourist profile. This is a summary of facts about what tourists want and expect form the travel experience. **FIT** stands for **Free Independent Travelers (or Tourists).** It means a small number of tourists (usually fewer than 5 persons or couples) who take packaged tours at a time of their own choice. They eschew mass tourism and the holiday package concept promoted by Travel operators, in favour of a more individualistic approach to travel. On contrary, **GIT** stands for **Group Inclusive Tour**. It is a travel program with a special fare and specific requirements (usually a minimum number of persons often more than 5 persons traveling as a group throughout the tour). Based on above differences, the rate for FIT is often higher than GIT. FIT tour is recommended for couples or family because the rate is not much higher but you receive much care and attention from the tour operators. They also customize the itinerary to meet your needs and interests. If you travel alone, you\'d better join GIT because you can save money, enjoy the tour with other people so you will not be alone in a strange country. Mass tourism is a form of tourism that involves tens of thousands of people going to the same resort often at the same time of year.  It is the most popular form of tourism as it is often the cheapest way to holiday, and is often sold as a **PACKAGE DEAL**.  A package deal is one in which all of the tourists needs are catered for by one company (such as Thomas Cook), these needs include travel/flights, activities, accommodation and sometimes food (called full board when all meals are included, half board includes 2 meals a day whilst self-catering means you cook for yourself).  These types of holiday are often the opposite of sustainable tourism, extreme tourism and ecological tourism. **HOME WORK** **Research Plog's and Cohen theory on types of tourist in tourism.** **ASSIGNMENT- UNIT 6** 1. Explain how providers offer products and services to meet the needs of different groups. The main providers should include: Airlines (scheduled and charter) and airports; Hotels and accommodation; Tour operators; Rail services and terminals; Vessels and ports, and Attraction venues. The main groups should include: Leisure (singles, families, elderly and special needs); Business (including incentive groups), and Independent travellers. 2. Tell the relationship between purpose of travel and the consumption of tourist products and Services. 3. What is Ecological tourism? **Rubric for the Assignment** This should include: - **No more than 10-15 pages** TOTAL 60%