Notes on tourism

Notes on tourism

1. 1

NOTES ON TOURISM

1. Who are the tourists?

Persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for more than 24
hours but not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.


2. How do tourist destinations differ from one another?
 Places of scenic beauty
 Places with good facilities
 Places with rich culture
 Places of conflicts
 Space tourism


Places of scenic beauty:
 Mountain regions e.g Himalayas in South Asia
 Coastal resorts e.g Phuket in Thailand
 National parks. e.g. Grand Canyon, USA
 Honeypot tourism – tourism that attracts large number of tourists due to a site’s
scenic beauty e.g. Victoria Fall on Zambezi River at the boundary of Zimbabwe and
Zambia in Africa

Places with good facilities:

 MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) help to attract a substantial
number of tourists to an area. MICE locations have venues which can host large-
scale events such as meetings and conventions. There are also supporting
infrastructure and services such as hotels and retails shops. These attract organisers
who organize trade fairs and international conferences, which bring in more business
travelers. Singapore was the leading convention city in Asia-Pacific in from
2002 to 2012. Singapore drew 3.2 million business travelers which accounted for 24%
of all visitors to Singapore in 2012. Singapore hosted important meeting such as the
Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank Group in 2006, the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Key
factors that contribute to Singapore’s success are its reputation as a major aviation
hub, the availability of reliable telecommunication networks and a variety of shopping
and entertainment options nearby. The Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention
Centre was voted Asia’s best MICE Hotel in 2011 and 2012.


 Educational facilities – study tours e.g. Angkor Wat in Cambodia or intensive
overseas educational programmes with universities reputed for educational
excellence e.g. UK attracts almost one million people annually from overseas to
study.

 Medical and spa facilities –
o Medical tourism -to undergo medical procedure that would enhance or
restore health e.g. South Korea for cosmetic surgery
o Health tourism – to maintain, enhance or restore their minds and bodies
such as spa towns, thermal springs and mud pools. e.g. Dead Sea

2. 2



 Theme Parks – amusement park settings or attractions with central theme such as
o Films e.g. Walt Disney World in Florida, USA
o Famous landmarks e.g. Window of the World in Shenzhen, China
o Fantasy and adventure e.g. Everland Resort in Yongin, South Korea
o History and heritage e.g. Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario,
Canada
o Education eg. Ocean Park in Hong Kong, China
o Health e.g. Nagashima Spa Land in Kuwana, Japan

 Places with rich culture
o Heritage tourism to experience different cultures and history of the place
eg. Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
o Film-induced tourism to see locations featured in films. For example, Lotte
World, Seoul, South Korea from the film Stairway to Heaven, Zhangjiajie
National Forest Park in China as the film Avatar feature scenery inspired by
the park
o Gourmet food and shopping tourism e.g. Hong Kong
o Pilgrimage tourism for religious activity e.g. Mecca, Saudi Arabia for Muslims
or Jerusalem, Israel for Jews, Christians and Muslims, Vatican City for
Catholics.


 Places of conflicts – dark tourism where people travel to sites associated with
death and tragedy.
o Military campaign eg. Củ Chi tunnels and Vịnh Mốc, Vietnam
o Natural disasters e.g. Ruins of Pompeii, Italy
o Terrorist attack e.g. Ground Zero in New York, USA
o Human atrocity – Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing, China
o Genocide e.g. Tuoi Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia
o Prison or concentration camp e.g. Auschwitz Camp in Poland

 Space tourism such as short suborbital trips or longer trips to a space station e.g.
The Russian Space Agency organises trips to International Space Station

3. What factors affect the nature of tourism?

Natural – type of landscapes, climate and weather

Human – cost of travelling, effectiveness of marketing, infrastructure


4. What are the roles of different groups in promoting tourism ?

Different groups :
 Government
 Media
 International organisations
 Travel writers

3. 3


Government

 Influence the number of visitors and their length of stay
 Authorise air landings
 Allow building of facilities such as hotels
 Planning, funding and building infrastructure projects linked to
tourism e.g airports, roads and ports
 Ensuring safety and security of tourist sites
 Set up agencies to promote tourism e.g. Singapore Tourism Board
 Encourage development of new attractions such as River Safari
Media

 Media reports influence decisions of tourists.
 Positive reports such as interesting culture or attractive scenery encourage tourists to
visit but negative reports such as incidence of violence, disasters and outbreaks of
disease can deter visitors.
 Tourists more aware of destinations they have previously not considered
International organisation

 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) work with
governments, international organisations such as UNWTO and the International
Labour Organisation to promote tourism as a tool for national growth and job
creation
 World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) works primarily with private organisations
including tourism organisations and academic community, as well as the government
to promote sustainable tourism development. It encourages countries to use
tourism to reduce poverty and create job and business.
 WHO – leading authority for health is capable of influencing global behaviour –e.g.
situation updates and health advisories on avian influenza H5N1 from 2003 to 2013.
Discourage visitors to at-risk countries.
Travel writers

 Evaluate the destination on acommodation, transport and food for their readers
 Inspire readers to travel to destinations that reader may not have thought of before.

4. 4

5. In what ways is tourism changing?
 People can and want to travel farther to destinations that were once considered
unreachable
 Nature and purpose of tourist travel has evolved e.g. package for ecotourism and
medical tourism

International tourism
 More than half of all international tourists originate from developed countries in
Europe and North America.
 Increasing number of international tourists from rapidly developing countries in Asia
Pacific and South America e.g. China, India and Brazil.
 Europe received the highest number of international tourist arrivals in 2011
 Out of 10 top most popular tourist destinations, 6 are found in Europe.
 Asia Pacific region has increased in popularity as a tourist destination.

Domestic tourism
 83% of all tourist arrivals were domestic tourism and 69% of all overnight stays in
hotels are from domestic tourism worldwide in 2010
 Domestic tourism receipts of US$22.9 billion are higher than international tourism
receipts of US$3.2 billion in the Philippines, 2010. 53% travelled for vacation 36%
travelled to visit family or relatives

Evolution of mass tourism to niche tourism
 Mass tourism involves large numbers of tourists visiting a particular place
together.
 Package holidays involve a tour usually arranged by a travel agent, with
transportation, accommodation and most meals with the service of guides.
 Niche tourism refers to special-interest tourism based on a particular area,
interest or activity by independent travelers or combined with package tours. e.g.
whale watching in Hawaii or whitewater rafting and bunjee jumps in New Zealand.

Ecotourism

 A form of niche tourism
 Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and
improves the well-being of local people.
 Help travelers better appreciate natural beauty and biodiversity
 Provide funds for ecological conservation
 Enable tourism to benefit local communities involved in tourism directly
 Foster respect for different cultures and lifestyles
 Example- tour to Waitomo Caves in New Zealand managed by government with
local Maori to minimize human impact on its internal environment. Tour operations
are closely monitored and are halted if CO² level reach 2400 parts per million as CO²
become corrosive to the caves. The Maori benefited from the income from the
entrance fees as well employment as the cave staff.
Short-haul and long-haul destinations

 Short-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a short distance away from
the tourist’s home country reachable in less than 6 hours e.g. Hong Kong is a
short-haul destination from Singapore

5. 5

 Long-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a long distance away from
the tourist’s home country reachable by a flight in 6 hours or more e.g. Europe is a
long-haul destination from Singapore


5. What are the reasons for the growth of global tourism?

 Developments in technology
 Demand factors
 Destination factors
Developments in technology
 Better and affordable transport – shorter travel time and cheaper travelling cost e.g.
In the 1950s a commercial flight from Singapore to London would take 2 to 3 days
with many stopovers at different cities compared to the present 14 hours
 Increase in budget airlines helped to increase number of international travelers
o Enabled people to travel internationally and more frequently
o Opportunity to go on holidays further away from home
o Enabled travel to destinations not covered by major commercial airlines e.g.
Bhutan, the Pacific Islands, Northern Thailand

 More air routes and agreements
o Open skies agreement made between governments remove restrictions on
commercial flights between their respective countries to allow commercial
airlines to decide the routes, capacity and price of their flights without
interference from the government. This helped the growth of aircraft routes
and flights as well as number of commercial airline companies and budget
airlines. The competition has helped reduce the prices of flights for
passengers.
o Deregulation allows fares to rise and fall according to market demand and
competition between various airline companies.
 Ease of access to information
o Online booking and research to find out more about their destinations.
o Surveillance, electronic checks and other safety control research which
makes tourists feel safer and more confident about travelling.

Demand factors
 Increase in disposable income due to economic growth has allowed people to
spend more on goods and services including travelling e.g. China
 Increased availability of leisure time due to shorter working weeks, more public
holidays and more paid annual leave has allowed more people to travel.
 Changing lifestyle –travelling becomes a way for people to relax and take a break
from their fast-paced lifestyles at work and at home. Due to advances in medical
technology and knowledge, people are now more health-conscious and lead
healthier lifestyles. People live longer and are more physically fit to travel frequently.
E.g. Grey nomads in Australia.

Destination factors
 Attractions
o Natural attractions such as place of scenic beauty
o Built attractions such as medical services, educational facilities and theme
parks. Dubai, United Arab Emirates in the middle East has a wide range of
retail and luxury outlets, world class MICE facilities, luxury hotels and large-
scale architectural and engineering projects

6. 6


 Investment in infrastructure and services
o Airport expansion and development e.g. Singapore’s Changi Airport’s
Budget Terminal closed in 2012 to make way for a new Terminal 4 which will
increase the airport’s total capacity for passengers
o Sufficient hotels to serve a range of tourist budgets, from five-star hotels to
backpacker hostels. e.g. HK will add another 49 hotels to its 189 operating
ones from 2012 to 2016
o Services for tourist sites such as food outlets, entertainment facilities
and telecommunication links such as free Wi-Fi in hotels.Trained
personnel for tourist sites such as hotel managers, restaurateurs, guides,
travel agents, drivers, porters and cleaners are also needed.
o Offer tertiary and diploma courses on tourism, hotel management and
catering to meet the demand for formal training for people in the tourism
industry.

 Access to information
o Tourists are more likely to visit a destination when travel-related
information such as transport routes, schedules, weather conditions,
accommodation is easily obtained.
o Signs at many tourist destinations displayed in different languages help
provide security and comfort to visitors.
o Local tour guides and travel agents trained to answer questions and meet
the needs of tourists.

6. Why is tourism subject to regional fluctuation?

Disasters

Regional and global recessions

Unfavourable political situations

Outbreaks of diseases
Impact of disasters e.g. 2011 Japan Tohoku earthquake and tsunamis decreased tourist
arrivals by 28%, Japanese travelling to South Korea also fell by 12%
Regional and global recessions
 Many people experience a loss of income or jobs in recession so they cut back on
spending and are less likely to travel overseas in a recession.
 Regional recession such as the European Sovereign Debt Crisis caused by
Greece unable to pay its government debts in 2010.
 Global recession such as the global financial crisis when some of the world’s
largest financial firms went bankrupt in 2007 and 2008 resulting in the crash of the
housing market in the USA. It affected many countries in different parts of the world,
causing their economies to slow down or shrink.
 Domestic travel increased as people choose to go for holidays in their own country
rather than travel abroad during recession because they spend less on transport.

Unfavourable political situation
 Political conflicts which may results in war pose dangers to tourists so they may
postpone or cancel their travel plans. Services are disrupted and infrastructure is
damaged in political conflicts.
 Government may also issue travel advisories to discourage citizens from travelling
to a particular region or country due to the dangers of conflicts.

7. 7

 In February 2011, the Arab Spring uprising took place in Egypt so international
tourist arrivals declined sharply.

Outbreak of diseases
 Drop in tourist arrivals as they do not want to risk getting infected with acontagious
disease such as SARS outbreak in 2003. By the end of 2003, the number of
international tourist arrivals in Singapore declined by 19%.
 Government may also advise travelers to avoid areas with disease outbreaks.

7. What are the impacts of tourism?

Economic impacts

Advantages
 Employment opportunities – The growth of tourism led to increase in the number of
tourism-related jobs e.g. workers in hotels, transport vehicles, souvenir shops
and tour agencies. There are also jobs indirectly linked to the tourist industry when
tourists travel and consume goods e.g. taxi drivers and shop owners.
 Growth in income for individuals and for a country. Fishermen on Pamilacan Island
in the Philippines are paid to bring tourists on their boats to look for and swim with
whale sharks and dolphins. The tour companies which hire the fishermen will
experience an increase in revenue. There will also be anincrease in revenue for the
country through taxes collected from the fishermen and tour companies.
 Increase in foreign exchange from the spending of international travelerson
goods and services in the country. The foreign exchange allows the receiving country
to purchase goods and services from elsewhere in the world. Countries which host
large numbers of tourists also receive tourism business investments from other
countries. For example, Singapore plays host to many international hotel chains
such as the InterContinental, Marriot and Shangri-la which invest in building and
furnishing hotels and resorts as well as training staff at tourist destinations. These
hotels had to exchange their own currency to purchase Singapore dollars in order to
make their investments. This increases the demand for Singapore dollars and
contributes to Singapore’s capital inflow.

 Increase in government revenues. Directly from taxes on tourists e.g. airport tax
and from income taxes on employees of tourism-related businesses.Indirectly from
taxes placed on goods and services which are supplied to tourists e.g.
manufactured goods such as petrol used in rented cars.
 Development of infrastructure such as transport and communication networks,
electrical frameworks and systems for water and waste disposal as well as
facilities such as airports, roads, electricity and hotels help to develop tourism. Roads
that link airports, cities and tourist sites allow tourists access to local attractions. They
also allow local people better access to more markets, health care, education and
jobs. Thus, infrastructure built to enhance tourism also benefits the locals. E.g
Underground rail systems expanded to cater to increased numbers of visitors during
the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 and in Beijing 2008. Both rail systems continue
to serve local populations and tourist even after the Games. It also creates
employment for local such as workers in the construction process as well as
help to boast local industries which provided materials in the construction. The
increased spending in the local economy encourages economic growth.
Disadvantages
 Leakage of tourism receipts to other countries, especially in LDCs. The revenue
earned from tourism is paid to other countries for the import of goods and
services needed to meet the needs of tourists. This includes payment to

8. 8

international airline tickets, imported food, foreign-owned hotels or prepaid tours
booked internationally.
 Seasonal unemployment – Some countries experiences seasonal unemployment
e.g. some tourist activities which depend on climatic conditions. Ski resorts in the
Alps experience a drop of tourists during summer as skiing is carried out in winter. As
a result, the people have to find other sources of income when employment in the
tourism industry is temporarily unavailable. Increase in summer visits in European
Union is due to the warm weather which allows swimming on the beach or hiking.
 Underuse of facilities e.g. facilities built specifically for certain events may be
underused when the event is over. The facilities can be costly to maintain and may
become neglected when there are few tourists. E.g. venues built for 2008 summer
Olympic Games in Beijing China had to be renovated to become more profitable e.g.
Beijing National Aquatics Centre renovated into a water park.
 Shortage of services eg. Water supplies or power is required by tourist
infrastructure and could lead to a shortage of service in non-tourist areas.

Socio-cultural impacts

Advantages
 Preservation of culture and local customs. Historical and cultural sites are
preserved and restored to make the place more attractive to tourists.This
benefits the local population by enhancing their sense of history and by building
a sense of belong to their community. Revenues generated from tourism can also
fund the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Entry fees to the Great
Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia can
be used directly to help fund conservation efforts.
Disadvantages
 Dilution of local customs and heritage- Commercial activities that cater mainly to
tourists such as food outlets, travel agencies, souvenir shops and hotels, can
become the major commercial activities of an area. This can force the locals to
relocate their original activities to other places. As a result, the identity of a place may
be lost. To meet the demands and expectations of tourists, local cultural
festivals and religious rituals are sometimes modified. For example rituals may
be shortened to fit into the itinerary of the tourists. So the authenticity and
significance of these cultural events may be reduced when they become
commercialized.
 Increased crime – high crime levels may occur at popular tourist sites. Some
tourists carry valuable goods as watches, cameras and clothes and may be
vulnerable to muggings. In addition, tourists are prone to being cheated or
scammed in tourist areas where goods or services are sold at greatly inflated
prices.
Environmental impacts

Advantages

 Conservation – revenue from entrance fees to national parks and diving sites, or
even levies on nearby accommodations can be used to fund conservation of coral
reefs, rainforests and mountainous areas. For example the Sepilok Orang-Utan
Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia help to rehabilitate orang-utans that have
been orphaned or injured by using the visitor entry fees to partly pay its staff. In
Kenya, the money raised from wildlife tourism becomes a way to continue to
preserve the animals and their habitats.

9. 9

Disadvantages
 Increased congestion - large number of tourists can cause overcrowding in areas
close to popular attractions. Tourist shops and accommodations cluster nearby
making it even more congested. This results in vehicular and pedestrian traffic to
become congested. The huge inflow of cars and buses can contribute to air pollution.
 Vandalism – cultural, historical or natural sites may be vandalized by individuals or
developers, e.g the stones and bricks of the Great Wall of China are covered with
graffiti.
 Pollution and littering – the waste left behind by tourists can lead to environmental
degradation e.g. Harbours, marinas and oceans are polluted by tourists throwing
plastic bottles, food packaging and old batteries overboard from cruise ships.
 Destruction of habitat – when too many tourists visit a destination, they may
destroy habitats and wildlife. Careless tourists may trample on plants while others
may collect eggs and features of birds as souvenirs. Tourists may also make too
much noise which can disturb and frighten off animals. E.g. the habitat of coral reefs
and exotic fish at the Egypt’s Red Sea coast are damaged by tourists collecting
shells or corals as souvenirs as well as the dumping of waste and sewage into the
sea by hotels and restaurants nearby.
 Increased carbon footprint – greenhouse gas emissions by activities that involve
the use of fossil fuels such as when tourists travel by planes, tour buses and
electricity consumption by hotels.
8. How are the impacts of tourism managed?

Conservation and sustainable tourism
 Conservation is the careful management and use of resources such that these
resources would not be destroyed. Fragile environments which are environments
that are easily affected by change include mangroves and coral reefs.
 Sustainable tourism is a form of tourism organized in a way that allows it to
continue without causing damage to the environment or without leaving
negative impacts on the surrounding society and culture.
 Sustainable tourism also involves minimizing leakages from tourist
revenues using the following strategies:
o Training locals to perform skilled tourism jobs, such as management and
marketing
o Developing homestay accommodation where visitors can pay local people
directly for their accommodation
o Promoting local food and drink in restaurants to provide a market for local
food producers and distributors.
 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) provides
funding to threatened sites to conserve them – e.g. Angkor Wat, Borobudur Temple

Tensions in managing the impacts of tourism
 Between tourists and locals
o Tourists who wear skimpy clothing may cause locals in a conservative
country to feel uncomfortable
o Congestions at tourist sites makes it difficult for locals to conduct their daily
business
o Large number of hotels, resorts, convention centres and other facilities
potentially deprive locals of their water supply.
o Locals expect tourists to respect local customs and values, which tourists
sometimes fail to do so e.g. tourists display affection in public
 Between tourists and the environments
o Tourist inflow may contribute to the damage of the attraction

10. 10

o Erosion of the Inca trail as well as littering along the trail by tourists
o Use of helicopters disturbs the area’s indigenous animal and plant species.
o Damage of land and artefacts at Machu Picchu historical site.

 Measures for managing the tension
o Limiting the number of visitors at a site to minimize congestion and
degradation.
o With-hold tourism-related projects that could harm the environment,
including landscape and the flora and fauna
o Employ staff to maintain and repair a site and prevent tourists from
tampering with it.
o Hold discussions with locals regarding their needs and concerns
o Restrict tourists from some areas which only locals can enter.

Responsibilities of various groups in conserving and protecting tourist areas

 Local communities can help to conserve and protect tourist areas as well as benefit
economically from tourism.
o Community-based tourism e.g. Candirejo Village near Borobudur in
Central Java, Indonesia. With support from the government, the villagers set
up a cooperative in 2003 to manage and implement the community’s tourism-
related programmes. These include homestay accommodations, developing
organics farms, organizing local transport, training of villagers to produce
handicrafts, to provide catering and to work as tour guides.
o Strengths– Involve locals in decision making with regards to tourism
management strategies to be carried out and increase in tourism related
employment and business for the local e.g. for Candirejo the village had 22
homestays, 22 andongs (horse-drawn carts) and six local restaurants by 2004
and this created 63 new jobs, five new businesses and 12.5% increase in
average income per villager from 2001 to 2003.
o Limitations – difficulty in obtaining external funding in setting up business or
investing in vehicles to facilitate tourism in their area. There may not have
enough skilled labour such as managers or consultants.

 Visitors need to respect the environment and local population of the place they are
visiting.
o Tourists selecting holiday destinations based on the conservation efforts of
the place. They want to minimize their carbon footprint by considering the
amount of water used and the amount of waste recycled at these destination
o Strengths – visitors’ spending can provide funds to help conserve
environment, preserve culture or maintain a tourist attractions. Their spending
can also provide locals with income from employment and business. They
can also raise awareness about the destination at home by sharing their
experience.
o Limitations – visitors may damage a tourist attraction e.g. by vandalism and
littering. They might also cause local culture and customs to be diluted.

 Tour operators may belong to associations that are concerned with conserving and
protecting environments visited by tourists. For example Phuket Alternative Tours
(PAT) commits its member tour operators to operate in an environmentally
sustainable way to enhance the natural environment and to create awareness
about environmental conservation for visitors to Phuket.
o Strength – valuable feedback from tour guides used by local communities
and planning authorities to plan tourism management strategies as well as
help to regulate tourist behavior.

11. 11

o Limitation – the need to generate profits can sometimes led to tour operators
into conflict with other stakeholders and may also override concerns to
preserve the environment when the concerns would reduce their profits.

 Non-governmental organizations such as the International Eco-tourism Society
developed guidelines, conducted training courses, provided technical assistance and
published research papers related to tourism and the environment.
o Strengths – facilitate communication between various stakeholderssuch
as between local communities and tour operators or between tour operators
and planning authorities. NGOs also encourage local communities to
actively participate in the managing the impact of tourism. They also
support the various stakeholders in the form of additional manpower,
expertise or marketing campaigns.
o Limitation – as NGO are non-profit organisations which rely on donation,
they may have difficulty in obtaining external funding.

 Planning authorities can influence the future quality of environments by determining
how many visitors a site can cope with and allocating space for infrastructure such as
roads and hotels e.g. Singapore Tourism Board enhance the cultural zones of
Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India so that visitors and locals will have
a greater appreciation of Singapore’s rich heritage.
o Strengths – able to successfully develop, approve, fund and maintain
infrastructure that help manage the impact of tourism in an area. Planning
authorities can also draft laws and policies that improve the quality of a tourist
site as well as work with other government agencies and utilize a range of
government resources
o Limitations – difficult to plan for unseen factors such as extreme weather,
natural disasters or lack of interest from the public. Stakeholders may oppose
management strategies of planning authorities as it might affect their
livelihood or change their way of life or when they think a different approach is
needed to solve the problem. Tourism management strategies have limited
impact without cooperation from stakeholders.