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TOURISM E
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TWELFTH EDITION
TOURISM Principles, Practices, Philosophies
Charles R. Goeldner J. R. Brent Ritchie
JOHNWILEY & SONS, INC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goeldner, Charles R. Tourism : principles, practices, philosophies / Charles R. Goeldner, J.R. Brent Ritchie.—12th ed.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-07177-9 (hardback) 1. Tourism. I. Ritchie, J. R. Brent. II. Title.
G155.A1M386 2011 338.4 0791—dc22
2011016026
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents E
Preface xiii
PART 1 TOURISM OVERVIEW 1
CHAPTER 1 Tourism in Perspective 2
Introduction 3 What Is Tourism? 3 Components of Tourism and Tourism Management 9 Basic Approaches to the Study of Tourism 15 Economic Importance 18 Benefits and Costs of Tourism 24 Summary 25 Key Concepts 26 Internet Exercises 26 Questions for Review and Discussion 26 Case Problems 27
CHAPTER 2 Tourism through the Ages 28
Introduction 29 Early Beginnings 29 Early (and Later) Tourist Attractions 38 Early Economic References 39 The First Travel Agents 40 Historic Transportation 40 Accommodations 43 Chronologies of Travel 44 Summary 47 Key Concepts 48 Internet Exercises 48 Questions for Review and Discussion 48 Case Problem 49 Endnotes 49
CHAPTER 3 Career Opportunities 51
Introduction 52 Job Forecasts 52 Job Requirements 52 Career Possibilities 53 Career Paths in Tourism 62
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Internships 64 Other Sources of Career Information 65 Summary 66 Key Concepts 66 Internet Exercises 66 Questions for Review and Discussion 67 Case Problems 67
PART 2 HOW TOURISM IS ORGANIZED 69
CHAPTER 4 World, National, Regional, and Other Organizations 70
Introduction 71 International Organizations 71 Developmental Organizations (International and National) 77 Regional International Organizations 78 National Organizations 79 Regional Organizations 88 State and Community Organizations 88 Education and Educational Organizations 91 Summary 92 Key Concepts 92 Internet Exercises 92 Questions for Review and Discussion 93 Case Problems 94
CHAPTER 5 Passenger Transportation 95
Introduction 96 The Airline Industry 98 The Rail Industry 105 The Motorcoach Industry 108 The Automobile 111 The Cruise Industry 115 Other Modes of Transportation 120 Summary 120 Key Concepts 121 Internet Exercises 121 Questions for Review and Discussion 121 Case Problems 122 Endnotes 122
CHAPTER 6 Hospitality and Related Services 123
Introduction 124 The Lodging Industry 124 The Food Service Industry 136 Meetings Industry 140 Miscellaneous Services 146 Summary 146 Key Concepts 146
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Internet Exercises 147 Questions for Review and Discussion 147 Case Problems 147 Endnotes 148
CHAPTER 7 Organizations in the Distribution Process 149
Introduction 150 Travel Agents 151 The Internet 159 Consolidators 161 The Tour Wholesaler 162 Tour Wholesaler Organizations 165 Sightseeing and Receptive Service Agencies 165 Specialty Channelers 167 Choosing Channels 169 Summary 169 Key Concepts 169 Internet Exercises 169 Questions for Review and Discussion 170 Case Problems 170 Endnotes 171
CHAPTER 8 Attractions, Entertainment, Recreation, and Other Tourist Draws 172
Introduction 173 Attractions 173 Gaming 178 Recreation 181 Live Entertainment 188 Festivals and Events 188 Sporting Events 190 Shopping 190 Summary 192 Key Concepts 192 Internet Exercises 192 Questions for Review and Discussion 193 Case Problem 193 Endnotes 194
PART 3 UNDERSTANDING TRAVEL BEHAVIOR 195
CHAPTER 9 Motivation for Pleasure Travel 196
Introduction 197 A Focus on Customers 197 The Need for a Theory 203 The Development of Motivation Models 206 Summary 207 Key Concepts 207
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Internet Exercises 208 Questions for Review and Discussion 208 Case Problems 209 Endnotes 209
CHAPTER 10 Cultural and International Tourism for Life's Enrichment 211
Introduction 212 Importance 212 Life-Seeing Tourism 214 The Romance of Pleasure Travel 215 Developmental and Promotional Measures 216 Anthropography (Geography of Humankind) 218 Types of Destinations as Travel Experiences 219 Other Tourist Appeals 221 Tourism and Peace 229 Summary 235 Key Concepts 235 Internet Exercises 236 Questions for Review and Discussion 236 Case Problems 236 Endnotes 237
CHAPTER 11 Sociology of Tourism 238 Introduction 239 Effects on the Individual 239 Effects on the Family 239 Effects on Society 239 Life Characteristics and Travel 243 Emergence of Group Travel Patterns 249 Social (Subsidized) Tourism 250 Summary of the Principal Social Effects of Tourism 253 The International Tourist 253 Barriers to Travel 256 Summary 257 Key Concepts 257 Internet Exercises 257 Questions for Review and Discussion 258 Case Problems 258 Endnotes 258
PART 4 TOURISM SUPPLY, DEMAND, POLICY, PLANNING, AND DEVELOPMENT 261
CHAPTER 12 Tourism Components and Supply 262 Introduction 263 Supply Components 263 Natural Resources 264 Built Environment 265 Operating Sectors 267
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Spirit of Hospitality and Cultural Resources 273 Matching Supply with Demand 278 Summary 283 Key Concepts 283 Internet Exercises 283 Question for Review and Discussion 284 Case Problems 284
CHAPTER 13 Measuring and Forecasting Demand 285
Introduction 286 Why Demand Is Important 286 Demand to a Destination 286 Measuring Demand 288 Projection Methodology 290 Summary 296 Key Concepts 297 Internet Exercises 297 Questions for Review and Discussion 298 Case Problems 298
CHAPTER 14 Tourism's Economic Impact 299
Introduction 300 Tourism's Economic Impact: An International Perspective 300 Comparing International and Domestic Expenditures 302 Optimization 304 Economic Multipliers 312 Tourism Satellite Accounts 318 Summary 321 Key Concepts 323 Internet Exercises 323 Questions for Review and Discussion 323 Case Problems 324 Endnotes 324
CHAPTER 15 Tourism Policy: Structure, Content, and Process 325
Introduction 326 Tourism Policy: A Definition 326 The Focus of Tourism Policy: The Competitive/Sustainable Destination 328 The Major Parameters of Tourism Destination Management 329 Tourism Policy: Structure, Content, and Process 335 The Process of Tourism Policy Formulation 339 Translating Policy into Reality 343 Formulating Policy to Deal with Crises 343 Summary 345 Key Concepts 345 Internet Exercises 345 Questions for Review and Discussion 346 Case Problem 346 Endnotes 346
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CHAPTER 16 Tourism Planning, Development, and Social Considerations 348
Introduction 349 Planning for a Competitive/Sustainable Destination 349 The Nature of Tourism Planning 351 Relating Tourism Planning to Tourism Policy 352 Why Tourism Planning Is Necessary 355 The Planning Process 356 Goals of Tourism Development 358 Obstacles to Development of Supply 360 Political Aspects of Tourism Development 361 Development of Tourist Potential 364 Summary 368 Key Concepts 369 Internet Exercises 369 Questions for Review and Discussion 369 Case Problems 370
CHAPTER 17 Tourism and the Environment 371
Introduction 372 Does Tourism Threaten the Environment? The UNEP/UNWTO Position 372 Major Challenges Facing the Achievement of Sustainable Tourism 381 Ecotourism: Common Terms Used 386 Travel Organizations' Efforts 389 Summary 391 Key Concepts 391 Internet Exercises 391 Questions for Review and Discussion 392 Case Problems 392 Endnotes 393
PART 5 ESSENTIALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH AND MARKETING 395
CHAPTER 18 Travel and Tourism Research 396
Introduction 397 Types of Tourism Research 397 The Travel Research Process 400 Sources of Information 402 Exploratory Research 404 Basic Quantitative Research Methods 404 Who Does Travel Research? 409 The State of the Art 412 Travel and Tourism Research Association 413 Summary 414 Key Concepts 414 Internet Exercises 414 Questions for Review and Discussion 415
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Case Problem 415 Endnotes 415
CHAPTER 19 Tourism Marketing 416
Introduction 417 What Is Marketing? 417 Marketing Concept 417 The Marketing Mix 418 Market Segmentation 434 Marketing Planning: The Tourism Marketing Plan 439 Joint Marketing Efforts 440 Summary 440 Key Concepts 441 Internet Exercises 441 Questions for Review and Discussion 442 Case Problem 443 Endnotes 443
PART 6 TOURISM PROSPECTS 445
CHAPTER 20 Tourism's Future 446
Introduction 447 Tourism in the Third Millennium 447 World Tourism Forecasts for 2020 448 The Nature of Future Growth 448 Leisure, Tourism, and Society in the Third Millennium 450 New Realities—New Horizons: Global Forces Impacting the Future of Tourism 450 The Tourist of the Future 460 Managing the Future Effectively 466 Summary 466 Key Concepts 467 Internet Exercises 467 Questions for Review and Discussion 468 Case Problem 468 Endnotes 469
Selected References 471 Glossary 481 Index 487
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Preface E
S pace travel, only a few years ago the dream of a few space pioneers, is now a featured story in thetravel sections of leading newspapers. Billionaires write checks for a place in line to go into space while ordinary travelers note the emergence of the megaplane, the Airbus A380, with potential capacity of over 800. Meanwhile Boeing has responded with the smaller, lighter Boeing 787 Dreamliner about to enter commercial service. Most important, tourism planners recognize that technological change, peak oil prices, climate change, and other environmental issues necessitate adaptation if tourism is to thrive. And while tourism planners remain human, just over the horizon they foresee the imminent arrival of nonhuman robots who are about to change the future face of tourism—particularly as it pertains to the provision of routine services and the fulfillment of repetitive tasks required to keep the tourism product functional.
The industry must respond to these challenges and opportunities plus deal with options generated by the proliferation of travel blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Twitter, and MySpace, which change the stream of communication about travel and tourism. Furthermore, security continues to present challenges and added cost. These factors underscore why the globe's most dynamic industry demands constant reassessment.
Although basic tourism principles remain, applications must constantly be reevaluated in light of new developments and more challenging economic times. Nevertheless, the world's largest industry, tourism, continues to grow even more as millions of travelers from such booming economies as China, India, Brazil, and Russia seek culture, comfortable climates, and recreation in offshore destinations. At the same time, additional millions of retiring baby boomers from industrialized nations will take advantage of leisure time to enjoy increased travel. All are lured to pack their bags as increasing access to the Internet and television whet appetites to see the modern wonders of the world. The travel industry must respond. Accordingly, Tourism, Twelfth Edition is designed to examine changes and relate them to the basic concepts of tourism.
This book is intended to be used primarily as a textbook for college and university courses in tourism. However, the book also provides valuable information and guidance for national/state/ provincial/local tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, tourism planning and development organizations, tourism promoters, tourist accommodations, attractions and other businesses, transportation carriers, oil and automotive companies, and any other organiza- tion that is interested or involved in the movement of people from their homes or businesses to destinations.
NEW TO THIS EDITION The Twelfth Edition updates the Eleventh Edition of this leading comprehensive tourism text. Because the tourism industry changes so rapidly, the revision involves adding new developments, updating data, updating profiles, expanding some sectors, adding new Web sites, adding selected references, and expanding the glossary. B&Bs, timeshares, meetings and conventions, sustainable tourism, climate change, social media, and mobile marketing are some topics given expanded coverage.
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The Twelfth Edition has been revised and updated to explore new trends in travel and tourism and discusses changes to the industry since the publication of the previous edition. New elements in the Twelfth Edition include:
& Profiles of travel industry leaders such as J. R. Marriott Jr. of Marriott International and Roger Dow of the U.S. Travel Association. Their comments about the future are included. These industry leaders have introduced practices that have transformed the nature and quality of the vacation experience. We are also proud to acknowledge the outstanding ethical and moral leadership that Taleb Rifai, the secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has brought to tourism.
& Global Insights are short features that cover timely, interesting, and even whimsical topics that are intended to serve as a stimulus for discussion. Examples are Dark Tourism, Tourism Forecasts, Travel Advisories, The Power of Travel, Emerging Markets, and Travel Experiences. These Global Insights facilitate and strengthen the ability of the instructor to identify selected areas of emerging importance in tourism. In addition, they assist the instructor in exploring the significance of these areas, without requiring extensive background reading.
& Chapter 3 has new information on technology, convention centers, arenas, stadium and public facilities management jobs, and an updated internship section.
& Chapter 5 has new information on the airline industry, updated cruise industry information, and added train travel as a tourist attraction.
& Chapter 6 has a new section on culinary tourism.
& Chapter 7 has extensive treatment of the changing world of travel distribution, with new information about the future and mobile marketing.
& Chapter 11 has added information on seniors, as well as a new section on gay and lesbian tourism.
& Chapter 15 has information on passports, visas, ethics, and government policy impacts, with clarified differences between destination vision and mission statement.
& Chapter 17 has been substantially revised to update information on sustainable development and climate change.
& Chapters 18 and 19 discuss the use of the Internet in tourism research, marketing, and promotion.
& Chapter 19 also has new material on social media, blogs, and podcasting.
& Chapter 20 takes a new look at the future of travel by identifying new trends such as space tourism.
& There is additional coverage of crisis management in Chapter 15 and Chapter 20.
& Updated and additional Internet Exercises are included at the end of each chapter to keep information current.
& Selected references for each chapter have been gathered in an appendix.
& Updated Internet sites for each chapter can be found on the companion Web site for the book at www.wiley.com/college/goeldner.
ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT This book explores major concepts in tourism, what makes tourism possible, and how tourism can become an important factor in the wealth of any nation. It is written in broad, global terms, discussing the principles, practices, and philosophies of tourism that have been found to bring about success. In this Twelfth Edition of Tourism, even greater attention has been paid to the global impact of tourism, both economically and socially.
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For tourism to be successful, a great variety of components must work together seamlessly to create a positive travel experience. This book is divided into six parts, which examine the various components of tourism, their function, and their significance.
Part 1 provides a broad overview of tourism, with chapters devoted specifically to the global impact of tourism, a history of travel, and career opportunities.
Part 2 looks at the governmental and private-sector organizations that provide services, products, and destinations for travelers. Individual chapters discuss tourist organizations, passenger transportation, lodging and food service providers, travel agents and wholesalers, and tourism attractions.
Part 3 examines travel motivation, travel behavior, and the sociology of tourism.
Part 4 is devoted to tourism planning and a further examination of the components of tourism. A chapter on formulating tourism policy is included in this part. Other chapters cover topics such as tourism supply, forecasting demand, the economic impact of tourism, tourism planning, and environmental issues. In light of the growing importance of the environment, a particular effort has been made to explore fully the managerial issues at the tourism/environment interface—a point at which there is much potential for conflict.
Part 5 examines the important fields of tourism research and tourism marketing.
Part 6 looks at projections for tourism in 2020 and 2030, and suggests how today's industry can prepare itself to accommodate future growth and meet tomorrow's challenges.
FEATURES To help students better understand and process the information presented, a number of pedagogical features have been integrated into this textbook.
The Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter alert students to the important concepts that will be covered.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand what tourism is and its many definitions.
Learn the components of tourism and tourism management.
Examine the various approaches to studying tourism and determine which is of greatest interest to you.
Appreciate how important this industry is to the economy of the world and of many countries.
Know the benefits and costs of tourism.
The chapter Introduction sets the scene and provides some context for what students are about to read. When appropriate, boxes, tables, illustrations, photos, and Internet sites have been included to help illustrate important topics and ideas. The chapter discussion concludes with a written Summary to help students reinforce what they have read.
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The list of Key Concepts serves as a valuable checkpoint for understanding the chapter topics. These terms are boldfaced and green within the chapter to call them to the reader's attention.
An updated directory of Internet Sites lists Web sites referred to in the chapter as well as additional sites students can turn to for more information. This directory can be found on the companion Web site for the book at www.wiley.com/college/goeldner.
Three types of exercises have been provided to gauge student understanding of the subject matter. The Questions for Review and Discussion test student recall of important chapter concepts and include some critical thinking questions.
The Case Problems present hypothetical situations that require students to apply what they have learned. They can be used for written assignments or as the catalyst for class discussions.
Also included is a series of Internet Exercises, designed to increase students' familiarity with technology by having them visit important travel industry Web sites and answer questions based on their investigation. This section has been expanded in this edition.
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Features updated to this edition are Global Insights on timely subjects that can serve as a springboard for lively discussion and as the basis for encouraging deeper study into key issues of the day.
Also featured are Profiles of eight travel and tourism leaders and WATG, one of the top destination design firms in the world. Our goal in including these profiles is to acknowledge the very special contributions that these industry leaders have made to tourism.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES An Instructor's Manual (ISBN 978-1-118-15224-9) is available to professors who have adopted this textbook. The Instructor's Manual contains teaching suggestions, sample syllabi, and test questions and answers. An electronic version of the Instructor's Manual is available to qualified instructors on the companion Web site at www.wiley.com/college/goeldner. The Web site also includes PowerPoint slides and Internet resources.
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The Test Bank for this text has been specifically formatted for Respondus, an easy-to-use software for creating and managing exams that can be printed to paper or published directly to Blackboard, WebCT, Desire2Learn, eCollege, ANGEL, and other eLearning systems. Instructors who adopt Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies can download the Test Bank for free. Additional Wiley resources also can be uploaded into your LMS course at no charge. To view and access these resources and the Test Bank, visit www.wiley.com/college/goeldner, click on the ‘‘Visit the Companion Sites’’ link, then click on ‘‘Instructor Companion Site.’’
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As Tourism, Twelfth Edition goes to press, we celebrate the thousands of students who have already begun their education in travel and tourism with previous editions of this book. We acknowledge their participation through their letters to us and to our publisher.
We are grateful for the help of all of the educators who have contributed to this and previous editions through their constructive comments and feedback at conferences, via telephone, and written correspondence.
Many thanks go to the current and past reviewers of the manuscript for their helpful comments. They include:
Jim Clark, president and CEO, Fort Collins Convention & Visitors Bureau
Dogon Gursoy, Washington State University
Tammie J. Kaufman, University of Central Florida
Richard F. Patterson, Western Kentucky University
Wayne W. Smith, College of Charleston
Daniel M. Spencer, Black Hills State University
Victor Teye, Arizona State University
Dallen J. Timothy, Arizona State University
We cannot emphasize too much the extent to which their comments have provided guidance to us in our revision efforts and as we constantly seek to maintain the pioneering standard for quality set for us by the founder of this textbook, Dr. Robert W. McIntosh. We once again salute him.
We especially wish to thank Philip L. Pearce, Department of Tourism, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, for his contribution of Chapter 9, ‘‘Motivation for Pleasure Travel.’’ A special word of thanks must also go to Dr. Richard F. Patterson, Western Kentucky University, who developed a number of the Internet exercises for this textbook, and Cindy DiPersio, University of Colorado, who proofread the manuscript.
We also acknowledge the support of the staff at John Wiley & Sons, especially JoAnna Turtletaub, Mary Cassells, Julie Kerr, Jenni Lee, and Amy Weintraub. Special recognition must go to Deb Angus at the University of Calgary, who tirelessly prepared the manuscript, artwork, index, and Instructor's Manual.
Charles R. Goeldner University of Colorado
J. R. Brent Ritchie University of Calgary
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E P A R T 1 Tourism Overview Chapter 1 Tourism in Perspective Chapter 2 Tourism through the Ages Chapter 3 Career Opportunities
Florence, Italy, is a favorite destination in Europe for travelers around the world. Photo courtesy of Corbis Digital Stock.
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C H A P T E R 1 E Tourism in Perspective
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
& Understand what tourism is and its many definitions.
& Learn the components of tourism and tourism management.
& Examine the various approaches to studying tourism and determine which is of greatest interest to you.
& Appreciate how important this industry is to the economy of the world and of many countries.
& Know the benefits and costs of tourism.
Tourism is visiting the exquisite canaled city of Venice, Italy; exploring the waterways and walkways; riding in a gondola; taking the vaporetti (public ‘‘bus’’ ferries); admiring the bridges, museums, palaces, and churches. This magical city with its unique beauty provides tourists from all over the world enjoyment. Photo courtesy of PhotoDisc, Inc./Getty Images.
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INTRODUCTION
Bon Voyage! You are setting off on a voyage to learn about the subject of tourism. Assuming that the forecasters and futurists are correct, you are studying the world’s largest industry. Tourism is alive with dynamic growth, new activities, new destinations, new technology, new markets, and rapid changes. Record numbers of tourists are traveling the globe, attracted by an increased variety of tour packages, cruises, adventure experiences, and independent itineraries. All of these visitors and the activities they generate change local communities. They have an economic and social impact that cannot be ignored. In today’s society, attention must be paid to environmental issues, cultural issues, economic issues, the way landscapes are created to appeal to tourists, and how tourists behave.
The tourism industry is global. It is big business and will continue to grow. Meeting this growth with well-planned, environmentally sound development is a challenge for planning all over the world, whether it is Indonesia, Nepal, the United States, Australia, Thailand, or France. The goal of this chapter and the book is to raise issues, provide frameworks, and generate your thoughtful consideration of the issues and changes facing this complex field as it operates in an increasingly technological and global age.
WHAT IS TOURISM? 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 might spend their leisure time engaging in various sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides, touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment. If we consider the subject further, we may include in our definition of tourism people who are participating in a convention, a business conference, or some other kind of business or professional activity, as well as those who are taking a study tour under an expert guide or doing some kind of scientific research or study.
These visitors use all forms of transportation, from hiking in a wilderness park to flying in a jet to an exciting city. Transportation can include taking a chairlift up a Colorado mountainside or standing at the rail of a cruise ship looking across the blue Caribbean. Whether people travel by one of these means or by car, motorcoach, camper, train, taxi, motorbike, or bicycle, they are taking a trip and thus are engaging in tourism. That is what this book is all about—why people travel (and why some don’t) and the socioeconomic effects that their presence and expenditures have on a society.
Any attempt to define tourism and to describe its scope fully must consider the various groups that participate in and are affected by this industry. Their perspectives are vital to the development of a comprehensive definition. Four different perspectives of tourism can be identified:
1. The tourist. The tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and satisfactions. The nature of these will largely determine the destinations chosen and the activities enjoyed.
2. The businesses providing tourist goods and services. Businesspeople see tourism as an opportunity to make a profit by supplying the goods and services that the tourist market demands.
3. The government of the host community or area. Politicians view tourism as a wealth factor in the economy of their jurisdictions. Their perspective is related to the incomes their citizens can earn from this business. Politicians also consider the foreign exchange receipts from international tourism, as well as the tax receipts collected from tourist expenditures, either directly or indirectly. The host government can play an important role in tourism policy, development, promotion, and implementation (see Chapter 15).
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4. The host community. Local people usually see tourism as a cultural and employment factor. Of importance to the host community, for example, is the effect of the interaction between large numbers of international visitors and residents. This effect may be beneficial or harmful, or both.
Thus, tourism can be 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.)
Tourism is a composite of activities, services, and industries that deliver a travel experience: transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, shops, entertainment, activity facilities, and other hospitality services available for individuals or groups that are traveling away from home. It encompasses all providers of visitor and visitor-related services. Tourism is the entire world industry of travel, hotels, transportation, and all other components, including promotion, that serve the needs and wants of travelers. Finally, tourism is the sum total of tourist expenditures within the borders of a nation or a political subdivision or a transportation-centered economic area of contiguous states or nations. This economic concept also considers the income multiplier of these tourist expenditures (discussed in Chapter 14).
One has only to consider the multidimensional aspects of tourism and its interactions with other activities to understand why it is difficult to come up with a meaningful definition that will be universally accepted. Each of the many definitions that have arisen is aimed at fitting a special situation and solving an immediate problem, and the lack of uniform definitions has hampered the study of tourism as a discipline. Development of a field depends on: (1) uniform definitions, (2) description, (3) analysis, (4) prediction, and (5) control.
Modern tourism is a discipline that has only recently attracted the attention of scholars from many fields. The majority of studies have been conducted for special purposes and have used narrow
In the United States, the definition of a person-trip is one person traveling 50 miles (one way) or more away from home, or staying overnight regardless of distance. U.S. residents take over two billion person-trips a year—mostly by motor vehicle on the nation's highways. Photo courtesy of The Adirondack Regional Tourism Council.
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operational definitions to suit particular needs of researchers or government officials; these studies have not encompassed a systems approach. Consequently, many definitions of tourism and the tourist are based on distance traveled, the length of time spent, and the purpose of the trip. This makes it difficult to gather statistical information that scholars can use to develop a database, describe the tour- ism phenomenon, and do analyses.
The problem is not trivial. It has been tackled by a number of august bodies over the years, including the League of Nations, the United Nations, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Organi- zation for Economic Cooperation and De- velopment (OECD), the National Tourism Resources Review Commission, and the U.S. Senate’s National Tourism Policy Study.
The following review of various defini- tions illustrates the problems of arriving at a consensus. We examine the concept of the movement of people and the terminol- ogy and definitions applied by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and
those of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Later, a comprehensive classification of travelers is provided that endeavors to reflect a consensus of current thought and practice.
United Nations World Tourism Organization Definitions The International Conference on Travel and Tourism Statistics convened by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Ottawa, Canada, in 1991 reviewed, updated, and expanded on the work of earlier international groups. The Ottawa Conference made some fundamental recommenda- tions on definitions of tourism, travelers, and tourists. The United Nations Statistical Commission adopted the UNWTO’s recommendations on tourism statistics on March 4, 1993.
Tourism
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.
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 residents and nonresidents of the country of reference
Tourism is relaxing and enjoying a vacation with a stone massage at the Spa of the Rockies. A massage
allows a comfortable escape from the
complexities of the modern world and encourages a
stress-free vacation. Photo courtesy of the Spa of the Rockies at Glenwood Hot
Springs in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
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3. Domestic tourism: Visits by residents of a country to their own country
4. National tourism: Internal tourism plus outbound tourism (the resident tourism market for travel agents, airlines, and other suppliers)
Traveler Terminology for International Tourism
Underlying the foregoing conceptualization of tourism is the overall concept of traveler, defined as ‘‘any person on a trip between two or more countries or between two or more localities within his/her country of usual residence.’’ All types of travelers engaged in tourism are described as visitors, a term that constitutes the basic concept of the entire system of tourism statistics. International visitors are persons who travel for a period not exceeding 12 months to a country other than the one in which they generally reside and whose main purpose is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. Internal visitors are persons who travel to a destination within their own country, which is outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months.
All visitors are subdivided into two further categories:
1. Same-day visitors: Visitors who do not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited—for example, a cruise ship passenger spending four hours in a port or day- trippers visiting an attraction
2. Tourists: Visitors who stay in the country visited for at least one night—for example, a visitor on a two-week vacation
There are many purposes for a visit—notably pleasure, business, and other purposes, such as family reasons, health, and transit.
United States The Western Council for Travel Research in 1963 employed the term visitor and defined a visit as occurring every time a visitor entered an area under study. The definition of tourist used by the National Tourism Resources Review Commission in 1973 was: ‘‘A tourist is one who travels away from home for a distance of at least 50 miles (one way) for business, pleasure, personal affairs, or any other purpose except to commute to work, whether he stays overnight or returns the same day.’’
The United States Travel Association (USTA) research department defines a person-trip as one person traveling 50 miles (one way) or more away from home or staying overnight, regardless of distance. Trips are included regardless of purpose, excluding only crews, students, military personnel on active duty, and commuters.
Canada In a series of quarterly household sample surveys known as the Canadian Travel Survey that began in 1978, trips qualifying for inclusion are similar to those in the United States. The 50-mile figure was a compromise to satisfy concerns regarding the accuracy of recall for shorter trips and the possibility of the inclusion of trips completed entirely within the boundaries of a large metropolitan area such as Toronto.
The determination of which length of trip to include in surveys of domestic travel has varied according to the purpose of the survey methodology employed. Whereas there is general agreement that commuting journeys and one-way trips should be excluded, qualifying distances vary. The province of Ontario favors 25 miles.
In Canada’s international travel surveys, the primary groups of travelers identified are nonresident travelers, resident travelers, and other travelers. Both nonresident and resident travelers include both
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same-day and business travelers. Other travelers consist of immigrants, former residents, military personnel, and crews.
United Kingdom Visit Britain, Visit Scotland, Visit Wales, and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board jointly sponsor a continuous survey of internal tourism, the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS). It measures all trips away from home lasting one night or more. These include: (1) trips taken by residents for holidays, (2) visits to friends and relatives (nonholiday), or (3) trips taken for business, conferences, or any other purposes. Tourism is measured in terms of volume (trips taken, nights away) and value (expenditure on trips).
The International Passenger Survey collects information on both overseas visitors to the United Kingdom and travel abroad by U.K. residents. It distinguishes five different types of visits: holiday independent, holiday inclusive, business, visits to friends and relatives, and miscellaneous.
Australia The Australian Bureau of Industry Economics in 1979 placed length of stay and distance traveled constraints in its definition of tourist as follows: ‘‘A person visiting a location at least 40 kilometers from his usual place of residence, for a period of at least 24 hours and not exceeding 12 months.’’
In supporting the use of the UNWTO definitions, the Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that the term ‘‘usual environment is somewhat vague.’’ It states that ‘‘visits to tourist attractions by local residents should not be included’’ and that visits to second homes should be included only ‘‘where they are clearly for temporary recreational purposes.’’
Comprehensive Classification of Travelers The main types of travelers are indicated in Figure 1.1. Shown is the fundamental distinction between residents and visitors and the interest of travel and tourism practitioners in the characteristics of nontravelers as well as travelers. The figure also reflects the apparent consensus that business and same-day travel both fall within the scope of travel and tourism.
Placed to one side are some other types of travelers generally regarded as being outside the area of interest, although included in some travel surveys. Foremost among these exclusions are commuters, who seem to fall outside the area of interest to all in the travel and tourism community. Other travelers generally excluded from studies on travel and tourism are those who undertake trips within the community, which for convenience are described arbitrarily as trips involving less than a specific one-way distance, such as 50 miles. These ‘‘other travelers’’ have been focused on in the Nationwide Personal Transportation Surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The broad class of travelers categorized as migrants, both international and domestic, is also commonly excluded from tourism or travel research, on the grounds that their movement is not temporary, although they use the same facilities as other travelers, albeit in one direction, and frequently require temporary accommodation on reaching their destination. The real significance of migration to travel and tourism, however, is not in the one-way trip in itself, but in the long-term implications of a transplanted demand for travel and the creation of a new travel destination for separated friends and relatives.
Other groups of travelers are commonly excluded from travel and tourism studies because their travel is not affected by travel promotion, although they tend to compete for the same types of facilities and services. Students and temporary workers traveling purely for reasons of education or temporary employment are two leading examples. Another frequently excluded group consists of crews, although they can be regarded as special subsets of tourists.
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Of those travelers directly within the scope of travel and tourism, basic distinctions are made among those whose trips are completed within one day. The same-day visitors are also called day- trippers and excursionists because they stay less than 24 hours. Although they are important travelers, their economic significance pales in comparison to travelers who stay one or more nights. An additional meaningful division can also be made between those international travelers whose travel is between continents and those whose international travel is confined to countries within the same continent. In the case of the United States, the distinction is between (1) trips to or from the neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico or elsewhere in the Americas and (2) trips made to or from countries in Europe or on other continents.
The purposes of travel identified in Figure 1.1 go beyond those traditionally accepted because of the growing evidence that ‘‘visits to friends and relatives’’ (VFR) is a basic travel motivation and a distinctive factor in marketing, accounting for a major proportion of travel. In any event, ‘‘primary
Residents Visitors
Travelers
Other travelers
Nontravelers
Within scope of travel and tourism
DomesticInternational
Continental InterregionalIntercontinental
Staying one or more nights (1)
Regional
Same-day (2)
Primary purposes of travel
Business Visiting friends or
relatives (VFR) Other personal
business Pleasure
Commuters
Other local travelers (3)
Crews
Students (4)
Migrants (5)
Temporary workers
Primary activities:
• Consultations • Conventions • Inspections
Secondary activities:
• Dining out • Recreation • Shopping • Sightseeing • VFR
Primary activities:
• Socializing • Dining in • Home entertainment
Secondary activities:
• Dining out • Physical recreation • Shopping • Sightseeing • Urban entertainment
Primary activities:
• Recreation • Sightseeing • Dining out
Secondary activities:
• VFR • Convention • Business • Shopping
Primary activities:
• Shopping • Visiting lawyer • Medical appointment
Secondary activities:
• Dining out • VFR
(1) Tourists in international technical definitions. (2) Excursionists in international technical definitions. (3) Travelers whose trips are shorter than those that qualify for travel and tourism: e.g., under 50 miles (80 km)
from home. (4) Students traveling between home and school only—other travel of students is within scope of travel and
tourism. (5) All persons moving to a new place of residence, including all one-way travelers, such as emigrants, immigrants,
refugees, domestic migrants, and nomads.
Figure 1.1 Classification of travelers.
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purpose’’ is an arbitrary concept because many journeys are undertaken for a combination of reasons, such as ‘‘business and vacation.’’
COMPONENTS OF TOURISM AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT Tourism is a complex phenomenon, one that is extremely difficult to describe succinctly. Any model of tourism must ‘‘capture’’ the composition—or components—of the tourism system, as well as the key processes and outcomes that occur within tourism. These processes and outcomes include the very essence of tourism, the travel experience, and the supporting means by which tourism is made possible. Figure 1.2 attempts to describe the complexity of the relationships among the many components of the tourism phenomenon.
The Tourist The very heart of the tourism phenomenon model is unequivocally the tourists and the travel experiences that they seek when visiting a tourism destination. In order for a destination to provide stimulating, high-quality experiences, it is critical that both policy makers and managers be able to understand tourists’ motivation for pleasure travel, as well as the multiple factors that influence their selection of a destination, their mode of travel, and their ultimate choice among the myriad activities that may fulfill their travel needs. It is only when we understand the tourist as fully as possible that we can proceed to develop the facilities, events, activities, and programs that will distinguish a given destination, thus making it uniquely attractive to the tourist.
Natural Resources and Environment A fundamental dimension of the model—indeed, the very basis of much tourism—is the natural resources and environment component. Any given destination is primarily and unchangeably characterized by its physiography (the nature and appearance of its landscape) and its climate (the kind of weather it has over a period of years; i.e., the conditions of heat and cold, moisture and
Tourism is engaging in wonderful, fun, family experiences while on vacation. Visiting an
interactive zoological park such as Jungle Island and enjoying an encounter with lorikeets is a memorable
experience. Photo courtesy of Jungle Island.
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dryness, and wind). Finally, the third component of the natural environment is people. In the case of people, we must distinguish between two very important categories of individuals: (1) those who ‘‘belong’’ to the destination (its residents), and (2) those who are current or potential visitors to the destination (the tourism market).
The Built Environment Another dimension of the tourism phenomenon is the built environment that has been created by humans. This built environment first includes the culture of the residents of the host region. As discussed in Chapter 10, the culture of a people reflects many dimensions of its past development and its current way of life. Culture is a very permanent characteristic of a destination, and one that cannot (and should not) be changed simply to enhance tourism development.
The infrastructure of a tourism destination is yet another dimension that has not been put in place mainly to serve tourism. Such basic things as roads, sewage systems, communication networks, and many commercial facilities (supermarkets and retail stores) have been put in place to meet the needs of local residents. Although these components of the infrastructure can also be important to visitors, their primary functions are related to the ongoing daily needs of residents. In contrast, a destination’s tourism superstructure includes those facilities that have been developed especially to respond to the
Figure 1.2 The tourism phenomenon: components of
tourism and tourism management.
Local & Regional Tourism Associations/ Convention & Visitor
Bureaus
World & National Travel Industry Associations
State and Provincial Government
Tourism Offices
Local & City Government
Tourism Departments
World & National Government
Tourism Offices
State and Provincial Travel Industry Associations
THE TOURIST
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demands of visitors. The most obvious examples include hotels, restaurants, conference centers, car rental locations, and major attractions. Because of their special tourism orientation, the characteristics of components of the superstructure are essentially determined by visitors’ wishes rather than residents’ desires, even though residents often desire many benefits from certain elements of the tourism superstructure.
Technology is one of the most recent, and still increasingly influential, dimensions of the built environment that is shaping the nature of both tourism products/services and travel experiences. In many ways, technology can be viewed as one of the most distinctive and most powerful characteristics of the built environment since the dawn of modern tourism following World War II. The advent of jet aircraft and the massive invasion of telecommunications technology, linked closely with computer technology, have had a dramatic impact on the very essence of the tourism phenomenon. Indeed, these aspects of technology have become so pervasive and so important that they, in fact, represent very specialized elements of both the tourism infrastructure and super- structure. However, because of their unique identification with the modern era of the built environment, each aspect—transportation, telecommunications, and computer technology—merits specific identification. See Chapters 5, 7, 18, and 19.
A recent addition to the built environment of a destination is information. Increasingly, the success of a destination is determined by its ability to assemble, interpret, and utilize information in an effective manner. Information is of several types: information concerning the potential tourism market, which is essential for destination design and development; information on the level of satisfaction of current visitors regarding the quality, or enjoyment, of their visitation experience; information regarding competitors and their activities; information concerning the functioning or performance of the destination in its efforts to profitably provide attractive experiences to visitors; and information concerning the extent to which residents of the host region understand and support tourism as a long-term component of the socioeconomic system.
Finally, a dimension of tourism that often receives inadequate attention is the overall system of governance within which the tourism system functions. This topic is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 15. For present purposes, it should be noted that the system of governance surrounding tourism (the legal, political, and fiscal systems regulating its functioning) has a profound impact on the ability of a destination to compete in the international marketplace and subsequently plays a major
Tourism is visiting the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area near Denver, Colorado, and marveling at all that nature has to offer. Outdoor recreationists recognize their responsibility to maintain the environmental integrity of the areas they explore. Photo by Richard Grant, courtesy of Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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role in determining the profitability of individual firms. Although the system of governance of a country or region may be viewed as an evolutionary dimension of overall culture, it is subject to influence and change within an observable time frame. Sometimes these changes can be quite dramatic and can occur in a relatively short period of time in cultural terms. Recent high-profile examples include the worldwide phenomenon of deregulation and privatization and the more focused process of economic (and eventually social) integration brought about by the formation of regional trade blocs such as the European Union (EU) and the countries of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Parallel initiatives in Asia are Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). Even more recently, the events of September 11, 2001, have incited many governments to introduce new regulations concerning airline travel and entry to countries that impact both domestic and international travel.
Operating Sectors of the Tourism Industry The operating sectors of the tourism industry represent what many of the general public perceive as ‘‘tourism.’’ First and foremost, the transportation sector (see Figure 1.2), comprising airlines, bus companies, and so on, tends to typify the movement of people and travel (see Chapter 5). The accommodation sector, which includes many well-known brands such as Hilton, Marriott, Howard Johnson, Best Western, and so on, is highly visible to the public. Similarly, the food services sector also contains a broad spectrum of brands and logos that have become part of everyday life in many communities. Examples include world-famous fast-food chains (McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC) and internationally known gourmet restaurants such as Maxim’s in Paris and Alfredo’s in Rome. The accommodations and food service sectors are covered in Chapter 6.
The attractions sector also contains many well-known icons in the tourism industry. The undisputed leader of the attraction world is Disneyland/Walt Disney World. Other world-famous attractions include the upscale Louvre museum in Paris, France; the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia; Marineland and Knott’s Berry Farm in the United States; the pyramids in Egypt; Stonehenge in the United Kingdom; the Acropolis in Athens, Greece; and Niagara Falls, Canada. Attractions are the primary focus of Chapter 8.
Closely related to attractions is the events sector. Its icons include the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany; the Calgary Stampede in Canada; the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Boston Marathon; and the Super Bowl in the United States, as well as such transient events as World Cup Soccer and the International Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The adventure and outdoor recreation sector is one of the most rapidly growing components of modern tourism. Changes in demographics, values, and lifestyles are creating increasing demand for activities such as golfing, skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting, parasailing, hang gliding, mountain biking, and mountaineering. Most of these activities are characterized by both an element of thrill seeking and an element of being outdoors. An allied, related desire for closeness to nature has given rise to the phenomenon of ecotourism, an ill-defined and often abused term for any type of travel activity in a natural setting (see Chapters 8 and 17).
At the other end of the ‘‘natural-manufactured’’ spectrum is the equally fast-growing component of entertainment. Certain destinations, most notably Las Vegas, Nashville, and Branson, Missouri, have grown up on a heavy diet of world-famous entertainers. More traditionally, New York/Broadway and Los Angeles/Hollywood have used various aspects of the entertainment industry to consolidate their worldwide reputations as ‘‘must see’’ destinations.
Less glamorous, but still essential to the success and well-being of the tourism industry, are the travel trade sector and tourism services (see Chapter 7). Travel trade is composed of the retail travel agent and the wholesale tour operator. Both of these entities are critical to linking ‘‘experience suppliers’’ and the tourist. The multifaceted travel industry services sector provides yet another type of critical support for successful tourism. Computer support services, retail services, financial services, specialized consulting services, and tourism educators all make an important and usually unique
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contribution to the effective and efficient functioning of the complex tourism system. While the public (and even many firms themselves) do not identify themselves as part of the tourism juggernaut, the fact remains that, as soon as any one of these services becomes deficient, tourism suffers.
Spirit of Hospitality As already discussed, the operating sectors of tourism are responsible for delivering high-quality memorable experiences. Care must be taken, however, to wrap these experiences in a warm spirit of hospitality. Quite simply, it is not enough to deliver all the attributes of an experience in a cold or detached manner. Each individual visitor must feel that he or she is more than a source of cold cash revenue for the business or destination. Rather, visitors have a natural human desire for warm acceptance as they seek to enjoy the range of experiences the destination has to offer. Thus, the challenge facing destinations is to deliver their experiences in a way that enables the visitors to believe they are welcome, that they truly are guests.
While tourists naturally recognize that they are transient visitors, destinations must first train industry personnel to treat the tourist with fairness, respect, and a level of politeness. Second, the destination must encourage its permanent residents to behave as friendly hosts to visitors who are in unfamiliar surroundings. They should convey a friendly attitude and, when required, offer basic information and a helpful hand. These small but important gestures will do much to foster a destination spirit of hospitality that will, in turn, greatly enhance the perceived value of all the other aspects of the visitation experience.
Planning, Development, Promotion, and Catalyst Organizations It is widely acknowledged that the success of tourism ultimately depends on the competence and ability of all of the operating sectors discussed above (i.e., the front line of tourism) to deliver a high- quality experience to each tourist—one person at a time. There is another hidden component of tourism that is equally important in determining the success of a tourism destination. It is known by the unwieldy name of planning, development, promotion, and catalyst organizations (PDPCO). It is the visionaries, policy makers, strategic planners, and individuals and groups who ‘‘make the right things happen’’ that are increasingly a determinant of successful tourism. In effect, in tourism it is as critical that we ‘‘do the right things’’ as that we ‘‘do things right.’’ This means simply that policy makers need to ensure that their destination offers the kinds of travel experiences that are most appropriate to the visitor, always keeping in mind any limitations imposed by the resources of the destination.
Once the appropriate experiences have been identified through effective planning, it is essential to ensure that plans are translated into the facilities, events, and programs that are necessary to provide the visitor with the given experience ‘‘on the ground.’’
The organization responsible for providing the insight and leadership necessary to envisage and bring policies and plans into reality is increasingly referred to as the destination management organization (DMO). The specific identity of this organization depends on the ‘‘level’’ of the destination. In most countries, policy and planning involve two very important categories of stake- holders, namely, the public sector (governments) and the private sector (see Figure 1.2). At the national level, governments are usually represented by a national tourism office (such as a department of tourism or a national tourism corporation). A national travel/tourism industry association typically represents the private sector.
At the state/provincial level, the public/private sector organizations are usually known respectively as the state/provincial government tourism office and the state/provincial travel industry association. The parallel equivalent at the city/municipal or regional level are local and city government tourism
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departments and local and city tourism associations or, more commonly, a convention and visitor bureau (CVB) (see Chapter 4).
The Importance of Integrated/Collaborative Planning and Development One dimension of Figure 1.2 that is essential to note is the ‘‘wavy line’’ that forms the interface between the public and private sectors at all levels. This line is intended to convey the importance of integrated or collaborative planning and development efforts. Because both the public and private sectors each control (and often operate) an important percentage of tourism facilities, events, and programs, it is critical that policy, planning, and development efforts be continuously carried out within a joint, cooperative, collaborative organizational framework. Failure to acknowledge the importance of this reality leads only to antagonism, strife, and disjointed strategic planning and development. Therefore, each destination must strive to create DMOs where collaboration is built into the design. The actual name of the organization (be it a tourism authority, a tourism council, or a tourism partnership) matters little. What is important is the quality of the collaboration that occurs.
The Processes, Activities, and Outcomes of Tourism Another dimension of Figure 1.2 that needs to be understood is the nature of the processes and activities that both surround and occur within the tourism system and that in the end create the outcomes that are the essence of the phenomenon we call tourism.
We have previously addressed the issue of organizing the components of tourism so that they work together effectively. As indicated, a common result of these organizational efforts is the creation of a DMO. For successful tourism, the DMO, in collaboration with all stakeholders, must define the tourism philosophy of the destination and formulate a supportive policy, vision, and strategy (see Chapter 15). These, in turn, provide direction and guidance for the detailed planning and development initiatives that will ultimately determine the nature and quality of the experiences the destination is capable of offering (see Chapter 16).
The availability of these ‘‘experience offerings’’ must be made known to potential visitors through effective marketing, defined in the broadest sense (see Chapter 19). Such marketing includes highly visible promotional efforts as well as the less glamorous dimensions of pricing and distribution of the travel products/experiences.
Successful marketing will attract a broad range of visitors whose behaviors provide them with enjoyment and the memorable experiences associated with these behaviors. These behaviors can give rise to both positive and negative impacts. The positive impacts pertain largely to the economic benefits (income and employment) that tourism provides. The negative impacts largely concern the ecological, social, cultural, and commemorative integrity of the destination.
The success of the policy, development, and marketing programs is measured by the levels of visitation achieved, the type of visitors attracted, the appropriateness of their behavior—and especially by the quality of visitor experiences. Each of these impacts must be rigorously monitored in order that a systematic evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the above programs can be made. Finally, a comprehensive program of stewardship is required to ensure that the success of tourism does not destroy the natural resources on which tourism depends so heavily (see Chapter 17).
The final activity that is essential to long-term success of tourism is an ongoing process of evaluation. Evaluation is simply an attempt to carefully assess the appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, and overall performance of all components and processes in the tourism system. The results of the evaluation provide a critical source of information for the next ongoing stages of policy formulation, visioning, and strategic planning and development.
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Careers in Tourism All of the foregoing segments, sectors, and organizations require people to make the various processes work and to make the broad range of activities and experiences available to travelers. It is these ‘‘experiences’’ that are the tourism product, the intended outcome of the tourism phenomenon. The people in the tourism industry who provide these experiences, as in any industry, must perform a vast number of organizational functions. These functions range from relatively simple jobs to highly sophisticated and demanding tasks (see Chapter 3). All are important in providing a truly memorable vacation experience or efficient business travel.
The tourism industry is often characterized by the large number of front-line service jobs that must be performed for tourism to function effectively. For example, the accommodation sector requires bell staff, front desk staff, and room maintenance staff. The food services sector requires cooks, waitstaff, bartenders, and kitchen maintenance staff. The attractions sector requires facilitation and equipment operators, as do the entertainment, event, and transportation sectors. The adventure and outdoor recreation sector needs guides and group leaders. The travel trade and tourism services sectors must have the personnel to assist travelers as they plan their trips and then to meet their many needs for information and assistance throughout their travel experiences. As can be surmised, the performance of the many tasks identified requires many thousands of individuals who are trained to perform each specialized task in an effective and friendly manner.
But this is only the ‘‘face of tourism’’ that encompasses the many service jobs for which tourism is sometimes criticized, and even ridiculed. Behind this face (which, incidentally, provides many essential part-time and first-time jobs for students and less-skilled members of our society) are an extremely large number of highly attractive career positions that require sophisticated technical skills and/or managerial training. These career positions are attractive in two very different ways. First, they provide challenges equal to those in virtually any other industry. Second, the nature of tourism means that many of these careers are pursued in very attractive physical settings and among people who generally like to see others enjoy life. The career path of the manager of a large vacation resort, while just as challenging as the path of those in many other sectors, offers both an attractive income and a lifestyle that is simply not available in many other sectors or professions.
BASIC APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF TOURISM The study of tourism is commonly approached through a variety of methods. However, there is little or no agreement on how it should be undertaken. The following are several methods that have been used.
Institutional Approach The institutional approach to the study of tourism considers the various intermediaries and institutions that perform tourism activities. It emphasizes institutions such as the travel agency. This approach requires an investigation of the organization, operating methods, problems, costs, and economic place of travel agents who act on behalf of the customer, purchasing services from airlines, rental car companies, hotels, and so on. An advantage of this approach is that the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a survey every five years on selected services that includes travel agents and lodging places, thus providing a database for further study.
Product Approach The product approach involves the study of various tourism products and how they are produced, marketed, and consumed. For example, one might study an airline seat—how it is created, the
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people who are engaged in buying and selling it, how it is financed, how it is advertised, and so on. Repeating this procedure for rental cars, hotel rooms, meals, and other tourist services gives a full picture of the field. Unfortunately, the product approach tends to be too time-consuming; it does not allow the student to grasp the fundamentals of tourism quickly. However, it is an excellent source of examples.
Historical Approach The historical approach is not widely used. It involves an analysis of tourism activities and institutions from an evolutionary angle. It searches for the cause of innovations, their growth or decline, and shifts in interest. Even though tourism has been practiced for centuries, real growth did not start until after World War II. In the 1960s and 1970s, places such as Mallorca and Southern Spain were destinations that realized a massive influx of tourists arriving on package tours. Thus, mass tourism was born, creating the need to study the effects that large numbers of people have on a destination. Because mass tourism is a fairly recent phenomenon, this approach has limited usefulness.
Managerial Approach The managerial approach is firm-oriented (microeconomic), focusing on the management activities necessary to operate a tourist enterprise, such as planning, research, pricing, marketing, control, and the like. It is a popular approach, using insights gleaned from other approaches and disciplines. Although a major focus of this book is managerial, readers will recognize that other perspectives are also being used. Regardless of which approach is used to study tourism, it is important to know the managerial approach. Products change, institutions change, and society changes; this means that managerial objectives and procedures must be geared to change to meet shifts in the tourism environment. The Journal of Travel Research and Tourism Management, leading journals in the field, both feature this approach.
Economic Approach Because of its importance to both domestic and world economies, tourism has been examined closely by economists, who focus on supply, demand, balance of payments, foreign exchange, employment, expenditures, development, multipliers, and other economic factors. This approach is useful in providing a framework for analyzing tourism and its contributions to a country’s economy. The disadvantage of the economic approach is that, whereas tourism is an important economic phenomenon, it has noneconomic impacts as well. The economic approach does not usually pay adequate attention to the environmental, cultural, psychological, sociological, and anthropological approaches. Tourism Economics is a journal utilizing the economic approach.
Sociological Approach Tourism tends to be a social activity. Consequently, it has attracted the attention of sociologists, who have studied the tourism behavior of individuals and groups of people and the impact of tourism on society. This approach examines social classes, habits, and customs of both hosts and guests. The sociology of leisure is a relatively undeveloped field, but it shows promise of progressing rapidly and becoming more widely used. As tourism continues to make a massive impact on society, it will be studied more and more from a sociological perspective.
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Geographical Approach Geography is a wide-ranging discipline, so it is natural that geographers should be interested in tourism and the spatial aspects of travel. The geographer specializes in the study of location, environment, climate, landscape, and their economic aspects. The geographer’s approach to tourism sheds light on the location of tourist areas, the movements of people created by tourism locales, the changes that tourism brings to the landscape in the form of tourism facilities, dispersion of tourism development, physical planning, and economic, social, and cultural problems. Because tourism touches geography at so many points, geographers have investigated the area more thoroughly than have scholars in many other disciplines. Because the geographers’ approach is so encompassing— dealing with land use, economic aspects, demographic impacts, and cultural problems—a study of their contributions is highly recommended. Recreational geography is a common course title used by geographers studying this specialty. Because tourism, leisure, and recreation are so closely related, it is necessary to search for literature under all these titles to discover the contributions of various fields. Geographers were instrumental in starting both the Journal of Leisure Research and Leisure Sciences. Another journal, Tourism Geographies, was launched in February 1999 with the aim of providing a forum for the presentation and discussion of geographic perspectives on tourism and tourism-related areas of recreation and leisure studies.
Interdisciplinary Approaches Tourism embraces virtually all aspects of our society. We have cultural and heritage tourism, which calls for an anthropological approach. Because people behave in different ways and travel for different reasons, it is necessary to use a psychological approach to determine the best way to promote and market tourism products. Because tourists cross borders and require passports and visas from government offices, and because most countries have government-operated tourism development departments, we find that political institutions are involved, thus calling for a political science approach. Any industry that becomes an economic giant affecting the lives of many people attracts the attention of legislative bodies (along with that of the sociologists, geographers, economists, and anthropologists), which create the laws, regulations, and legal environment in which the tourist industry must operate; so we also have a legal approach. The great importance of transportation suggests passenger transportation as another approach. The fact simply is that tourism is so vast, so complex, and so multifaceted that it is necessary to take a number of approaches to studying the field, each geared to a somewhat different task or objective. Figure 1.3 illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of tourism studies and their reciprocity and mutuality. The Annals of Tourism Research, an inter- disciplinary social sciences journal, is another publication that should be on the serious tourism student’s reading list.
The Systems Approach What is really needed to study tourism is a systems approach. A system is a set of interrelated components coordinated to form a unified whole and organized to accomplish a set of goals. It integrates all approaches into a comprehensive method dealing with both micro and macro-issues. It examines the tourist firm’s competitive environment, its market, its results, its linkages with other institutions, the consumer, and the interaction of the firm with the consumer. In addition, a systems approach takes a macro-viewpoint and examines the entire tourism system of a country, state, or area and how it operates within and relates to other systems, such as legal, political, economic, and social systems.
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ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has been measuring the economic impact of travel and tourism for the world, regions, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries since 1991. In 1992, the WTTC released its first estimates indicating that travel and tourism (T&T) is one of the world’s largest industries and a generator of quality jobs. The WTTC continues its measurement efforts; Table 1.1 shows its most recent world estimates for 2010 and forecasts for 2020. In 2010, the global travel and tourism industry was expected to generate $5.75 trillion of economic activity and more than 235.8 million jobs (direct and indirect). Travel and tourism is projected to grow to $11.15 trillion of economic activity and over 303.0 million jobs by 2020.
Globally in 2010, the travel and tourism economy (direct and indirect) employment is estimated at 235,758,000 jobs, 8.1 percent of total employment, or 1 in every 12.3 jobs. By 2020, this should total 303,019,000 jobs, 9.2 percent of total employment, or 1 in every 10.9 jobs. The world travel and tourism economy’s contribution to gross domestic product is expected to total 9.2 percent ($5.75 trillion) in 2010 and rise to 9.6 percent ($11.2 trillion) in 2020.
The economic figures cited show that tourism has grown to be an activity of worldwide importance and significance. For a number of countries, tourism is the largest commodity in international trade. In
Figure 1.3 Disciplinary inputs to the tourism field.
Adapted from Jafar Jafari, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Study of
Tourism: Choices of Discipline and Approach.
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many others, it ranks among the top three industries. Tourism has grown rapidly to become a major social and economic force in the world.
The 2010 WTTC estimates for the world is the tenth set of Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) that Oxford Economics has prepared for WTTC. The first, commissioned in 2001, reengineered the models previously developed during the 1990s. The second, prepared in 2002, served an important role in helping to quantify the effects of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, on tourism. The third, in 2003, significantly upgraded and enhanced the quality, sophistication, and precision of the TSA research and presented a second (worst-case) scenario for the Iraq war. The 2004 research increased the world coverage by adding 13 countries not previously included in the TSA research, bringing the total number of countries included to 174. The 2007 research is now firmly anchored in the international standard for tourism satellite accounting that was developed by UNWTO, OECD, and Eurostat, and approved by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2000 (see Chapter 14 for further discussion of tourism satellite accounting). Visit the WTTC Web site (www.wttc.org) for the latest estimates and forecasts for 181 countries.
As tourism has grown, it has moved from being the province of the rich to being accessible to the masses, involving millions of people. The UNWTO attempts to document tourism’s growth in its annual publications titled Tourism Highlights and Compendium of Tourism Statistics. Table 1.2 shows UNWTO international tourist arrival data up to 2010 and the strong rates of growth for the last several decades, marred only by no growth in 2001, a downturn in 2003, and a decline in 2009, when
TABLE 1.1 World Economic Impact: Estimates and Forecasts
2010 2020
World US$ Billion % of Total Growth US$ Billion % of Total Growth
Personal T&T* 3,111 8.4 1.6 5,793 8.8 4.1
Business Travel 819 1.3 �1.8 1,589 1.4 4.3 Government Expenditures 436 3.8 2.6 744 4.0 3.1
Capital Investment 1,241 9.2 �1.7 2,757 9.4 5.3 Visitor Exports 1,086 6.1 0.9 2,160 5.2 5.2
Other Exports 850 4.8 5.9 1,908 4.5 6.5
T&T Demand 7,543 9.4 1.1 14,950 9.5 4.7
T&T Industry GDP 1,986 3.2 0.7 3,650 3.2 4.0
T&T Economy GDP 5,751 9.2 0.5 11,151 9.6 4.4
T&T Industry Employment (000) 81,913 2.8 �0.1 104,740 3.2 2.5 T&T Economy Employment (000) 235,758 8.1 �0.3 303,019 9.2 2.5
� Travel and tourism
Source: World Travel and Tourism Council.
STATISTICAL DATA AVAILABILITY
One of the problems in collecting and reporting statistical data for a book is the data lag. As this bookwas being revised, 2009 data were just becoming available. Unfortunately, data lags are increasing rather than decreasing. This disturbing reality is especially upsetting when one considers that travel is a dynamic and changing industry. The data in this book provide a perspective on the size and importance of the industry and its sectors. Users are encouraged to access the sources provided to update the information and determine if trends are continuing or changing. One of the best ways to do that is to get on the Internet. Web site addresses are provided in many cases to enable you to locate the latest information available.
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tourism (and other sectors) were hit hard by the credit and housing market collapses experienced in many countries, as households cut back on leisure travel and corporations cut travel expenditures. However, UNWTO states that tourism is the world’s largest growth industry with long-term signs being very positive. Their study, Tourism 2020 Vision, forecasts that international arrivals will exceed 1 billion by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020. Whether the projections are made by UNWTO or WTTC, growth appears to be in the future forecasts.
UNWTO’s 2003 estimate of 684 million tourist arrivals was a result of an exceptionally difficult year in which negative factors came together (the Iraq war, terrorism fears, the severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS], and a persistently weak world economy), causing a 1.3 percent decline in arrivals compared to 2002.
Thus, this growth of tourism has been irregular this past decade. Rapid growth, medium growth, and even declines have marked tourism’s performance the last decade. Long term, it is believed that underlying factors will keep travel on a growth pattern. Travel is resilient and history has shown us that travel bounces back from problems and crises. However, travel will always be vulnerable to economic downturns, terrorism, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic ash, and oil concerns.
Preliminary arrival data from UNWTO for 2010 shows international tourism arrivals recovered strongly in 2010. Worldwide, the number of international tourist arrivals reached 935 million, up 58 million, almost 7 percent from 2009. Following the year of global recovery in 2010, tourism is expected to grow in 2011 at a 4 to 5 percent rate, slightly above the long-term average.
TABLE 1.2 International Tourist Arrivals: 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980, 1990, 1995–2010
Year Arrivals (millions) Percent of Growth
1950 25 —
1960 69 176
1970 166 141
1980 288 73
1990 456 58
1995 528 16
1996 561 6
1997 586 4
1998 602 3
1999 626 4
2000 675 8
2001 675 0
2002 695 3
2003 684 �1 2004 755 10
2005 795 5
2006 839 6
2007 894 6
2008 913 2
2009 877 �4 2010 935a 7
a Estimated
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
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Top Ten The world’s top ten tourism destinations are shown in Table 1.3. France ranks number one in tourism arrivals, with 74.2 million, followed by the United States, Spain, China, and Italy. These five leading destinations account for 31.3 percent of the world volume of tourism flows. The top ten countries account for about 45.3 percent of the flows. Although this represents a heavy geographical concentration, the trend is toward a gradual diversification with the emergence of new destinations in the Asia–Pacific regions. China has moved to fourth place and Malaysia to ninth. Turkey has moved to seventh place.
A similar concentration pattern emerges if countries are classified according to their tourism receipts. Table 1.4 shows the rank of countries by international tourism receipts, with the United States leading, followed by Spain, France, Italy, China, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, and Austria. In terms of receipts, the United States benefits from attracting a greater share of higher- spending, longer-staying, long-haul tourists than its European competitors, which rely more on short- haul tourism. For world tourism statistics, a visit to the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Web site is a must: unwto.org/en.
Be alert to the fact that most tourism data go through a series of changes; first, preliminary data are released allowing an early look at trends, then additional data become available improving the database, and revisions are made. Revision is a typical process for improving and reporting data. Make it a rule to always go to the source to get the latest data for tourism planning purposes.
Canada
Canada was the world’s fifteenth most popular tourism destination in 2009, with 15.8 million international visitors according to the UNWTO. In receipts, Canada ranked sixteenth with $13.6 billion.
Results from Canada National Tourism Indicators (NTI) show that tourism spending in Canada decreased 2.0 percent in real terms in 2009, as spending by international visitors fell to its lowest level in 15 years. As a result, the domestic share of tourism spending increased for a fifth consecutive year to 80 percent from 70 percent in 2004.
TABLE 1.3 World’s Top Ten Tourism Destinations by Arrivals, 2009
INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS
(MILLION) % Change
Rank Country 2009 2008a 09/08
1 France 74.2 79.2 �6.3 2 United States 54.9 57.9 �5.3 3 Spain 52.2 57.2 �8.7 4 China 50.9 53.0 �4.1 5 Italy 43.2 42.7 1.2
6 United Kingdom 28.0 30.1 �7.0 7 Turkey 25.5 25.0 2.0
8 Germany 24.2 24.9 �2.7 9 Malaysia 23.6 22.1 7.2
10 Mexico 21.5 22.6 �5.2 a Data as collected in UNWTO database April 2010.
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
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The decline in international tourism spending in Canada mirrored a worldwide trend that saw a decrease in international tourism receipts (constant prices) in the first three quarters of 2009. According to UNWTO, international tourism has shown some resiliency toward the global economic crisis, falling at about half the pace of estimated exports worldwide.
In Canada, spending by international visitors decreased 8.7 percent in real terms to its lowest level since 1994. In comparison, Canada’s exports of goods and services declined 14.0 percent. Overnight travel from the United States and overseas fell 6.4 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively. This was the first decline in travel from overseas since 2003, when the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak occurred.
Canadians love to travel; consequently, Canada’s international travel account deficit was at $12.6 billion in 2008, the highest level ever. Over the past 20 years, Canadian spending overseas has decreased only twice, in 1994 and 2002.
United States
In the United States, tourism is ranked as the third largest retail industry behind automobile and food sales. In employment, it is second to health services. Although tourism is often thought of as leisure travel, it also encompasses business and convention travel, meetings, seminars, recreation, student travel (if less than a year), transportation services, and accommodations. According to the United States Travel Association (USTA) research department, travel and tourism generated $731.3 billion in spending in 2009. This total includes expenditures by foreign travelers, domestic travelers, and international passenger fares.
These travel expenditures, in turn, generated 7.4 million jobs for Americans, with $186.3 billion in payroll income as well as $113.0 billion tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments. International visitors spent $121.1 billion traveling in the United States in 2009, including international passenger fares, while U.S. resident travelers spent $99.1 billion traveling in foreign countries. As a result, a travel trade surplus of $22.0 billion was generated.
Traveler spending in the United States is projected to total $738.5 billion in 2010, $805.7 billion in 2011, $858.70 billion in 2012, and $895.5 in 2013 according to USTA’s forecasts. Readers are
TABLE 1.4 World’s Top Ten Tourism Earners, 2009
International Tourist Receipts
(US$ billion) % Change
Rank Country 2009 2008a 09/08
1 United States 93.9 110.0 �14.4 2 Spain 53.2 61.6 �9.0 3 France 49.4 56.6 �7.6 4 Italy 40.2 45.7 �7.2 5 China 39.7 40.8 �2.9 6 Germany 34.7 40.0 �8.5 7 United Kingdom 30.1 36.0 �1.6 8 Australia 25.6 24.8 11.2
9 Turkey 21.3 22.0 �3.2 10 Austria 19.4 21.6 �5.2
a Data as collected in UNWTO database June 2010.
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
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encouraged to examine the USTA Travel Forecast, which is based on USTA’s Travel Forecast Model. It also includes inbound travel data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration. It is the opinion of the authors that USTA is the most authoritative source of information on the U.S. travel industry, and you should visit its extensive Web site (www.ustravel.org).
Directly or indirectly, tourism is part of the fabric of most of the world’s industries, including transportation, retailing, advertising, sports, sporting goods and equipment, clothing, the food industry, and health care. Tourism also plays a part in most communication media, particularly in the travel sections of newspapers and on the Web. There are many print and visual media of direct interest to tourism. Media are also important to those engaged in marketing tourism, such as airlines, cruise lines, motorcoach and rail lines, tour companies, travel agencies, auto rental companies, accommodations, attractions, and tourism educational organizations.
Politicians at all levels are typically very concerned with tourism. They look increasingly at tourism as a tool for economic development. In development, they have enacted laws requiring land-use plans with subsequent zoning and building codes to control location, number, and manner of construction of tourist facilities. Parks and recreation programs are enjoyed by tourists as well as local residents. Many governments impose taxes, all or part of which are paid directly or indirectly by tourists and their suppliers. The power of tourism politically is sometimes manifested in unusual ways. An example was the threat of a travel boycott of Alaska by environmental groups protesting the state’s planned aerial shooting of 300 wolves. The plan was canceled.
Many industry analysts project a doubling of tourism by the year 2020, with constructive government policies. We believe that such policies will indeed be forthcoming if tourism leaders convey their message effectively. It is in all our interests to achieve this growth, provided that it is accomplished in an intelligent, planned, and thoughtful manner by developers and the public alike. There is an unequivocal responsibility to review the social and environmental factors vigilantly in order to preserve and enhance those qualities that give any destination its special appeal and character. These include its culture, natural resources, host population, and the spirit of the place. We hope that you will strive to assist in the achievement of these ultimate worthy goals.
Tourism is a family taking a vacation and enjoying a beautiful beach. The sea offers a fun place to enjoy the sun, sand, water, and other resort amenities. Photo courtesy of Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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BENEFITS AND COSTS OF TOURISM Tourism brings both economic and noneconomic benefits and costs to host communities. Some of the considerable economic impacts and benefits were described in the preceding section. There are additional areas of benefit that have not received much research attention. These relate to the benefits of tourism to the traveler, such as the contribution of pleasure travel to rest and relaxation, the educational benefit, the understanding of other people and cultures, and the physical and mental well being of the traveler.