A brief history of travel
Millions of Germans head off on vacation each year. But tourism as a mass phenomena emerged only just a few decades ago, although there were some early precursors. Travel was once largely the domain of the rich.
When the summer holiday season strikes in Germany, traffic backs up for miles, and the lines at airport counters grow even longer than usual. Even for 300 euros ($390), bargain-hunters can head off to faraway lands - such as a week-long stay on Gran Canaria island, flight and hotel included. But in Germany, as in a number of other wealthy countries, affordable travel has only been around for a few decades. And in earlier eras, only the rich or aristocracy took in the world as tourists. The majority of the population could hardly imagine ever undertaking anything remotely similar. The invention of tourism "The majority of researchers believe that tourism is an 18th century invention," explains Hasso Spode, who heads a historical archive on tourism at the Free University of Berlin. But is there a difference between a traveler and a tourist? "Tourism is travel without a real purpose," said the tourism researcher, adding that in earlier centuries, travelers were always on a mission. "The pilgrims, for example, wanted to find salvation; the conquistadors wanted to conquer." What changed in the 18th century, in Spode's view, is that people began to travel for fun.
Traveling by coach often meant a long and cumbersome journey At that time, going on vacation was a burdensome and, above all else, an expensive undertaking. People traveled by carriage and suffered greatly on poor roads, often made impassable by bad weather. Lodging and provisioning horses were a constant concern. At the time, Germany consisted of a number of smaller states, and customs duties had to be paid again and again at the borders. One of the country's first major tourist magnets emerged in 1793 at the coast of the Baltic Sea in what is today Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. That is where the seaside resort Heiligendamm opened its doors, attracting nearly everyone of distinction. They were met with no shortage of distractions, including gambling, horse races, dizzying fests and prostitutes. Many of the wellheeled guests never even made it into the water, and, as writer Ludwig Börne complained in 1825, "The princes and princesses here bother you like snails; you simply cannot avoid them." Thomas Cook starts a revolution "Tourism was initially limited to a very few people. Around one percent of the population could travel in 1800," said Hasso Spode of the make-up of German tourism at the time. That number soon changed, though. The inventive Englishman Thomas Cook began capitalizing on a market niche in 1841: package tourism. He got some help from an invention that revolutionized transport: the railroad. Using railways, Cook sent hoards of tourists off on adventures. The tour operator could book entire trains and hotels, meaning he could make his offers at unbeatable prices.
This Cook advertisement appeared in 1904 "Cook was not, in fact, the inventor of package tourism, but he was its most successful organizer," Spode explains. But Thomas Cook did not stop there, adding tour guides that took care of all of the details, so that tourists could devote themselves to relaxation. Cook's approach soon led to copycats in Germany, where train travel also helped spur on the concept of holiday-making. After all, trains could generally chug on regardless of the street conditions and weather, and passengers could peer out the window in comfort as scenes of nature rolled by. Travel in the Nazi era Nevertheless, many travel destinations remained the province of the upper classes until well into the 20th century. For laborers, vacationing was impossible, due to financial constraints. However, after the Nazis seized power in 1933, they tried to act as travel agents to drum up enthusiasm for the dictatorship among the working class. "In 1933, the Nazis established the recreational organization 'Kraft durch Freude' (KdF, Power through Joy), which suddenly became the largest trip operator in the world," Hasso Spode said. The KdF attempted to draw in potential travelers with a special offer: going on cruises, which were otherwise seen as the domain of the well-to-do.
In port is the ship Wilhelm Gustloff, part of the Nazi travel organization KdF "They built classless cruise ships in which they were able to send around 700,000 people out to sea," said Spode. The KdF's propaganda showed Germans relaxing luxuriously on deck chairs and enjoying having nothing to do. Once the war started, however, the KdF tours came to a halt. Private trip operators continued their activities, much to the chagrin of the National Socialists, who would have preferred to use the tourist trains for the war. "There you see how deep the populace's wish for travel experiences was. The Nazis couldn't allow themselves to do anything drastic against it for fear of making themselves unpopular," notes Spode. By 1943, however, German tourism had all but stopped, due to the course the war had taken. 'Cleaning Lady Island' After the war, Germany's economy rapidly picked up steam in the 1950s and Germans found themselves with both the money and desire to travel again. "Slowly, the Germans began to have the courage to take their Beetles or Vespas beyond the Alps," said Hasso Spode of post-war tourism. Automobiles made it possible for people to plan and execute their trips in a much more individual way. Soon thereafter, a further development made tourism even more accessible. In the 1970s, huge passenger planes began transporting people of various income groups well beyond their home countries. Popular destinations among Germans were soon given names ridiculing their new clientele. The Spanish island of Mallorca, for instance, was dubbed "Putzfraueninsel" (Cleaning Lady Island), while favored sunning spots around the Mediterranean were called "teutonic grills." Rising incomes and low travel costs made it possible: international travel for everyone.
The best weeks of the year
Mallorca is known as a hot spot for German sun-seekers There are exceptions, of course, when it comes to a passion for international travel. "Germany remains the most important destination country for Germans," said Jürgen Schmude, a tourism researcher and geographer at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Things are changing, as well, in terms of how Germans travel. After the German travel budget sank by international comparison in 2012, the country had to pass on its unofficial title of the world's biggest travelers to the Chinese. But that certainly doesn't mean vacationing is dying out among Germans. "There is a trend toward more trips per year, which are then shorter, but taken more often. Earlier, there was the more classic approach of vacationing in the summer," Schmude says. These days, it's hardly just in the hottest weeks of summer that German airports and highways fill up with people eager to get away from home for a while.
About Travel and Tourism Industry: The hospitality industry is part of a larger enterprise known as the travel and tourism industry. This industry is a vast group business with one goal in common: that is to provide necessary or desired products and services to travelers.Travel and tourism industry has now become the largest civilian industry in the world, according to statistics one out of every ten person worldwide is part of the Travel and tourism industry.Travel and Tourism industry are divided into five major parts as shown below . Lodging operations stands apart from other travel and tourism business as they offer overnight stay for the guests.
Lodging Operations: Under lodging operations comes Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Timeshare Hotels, Condominiums, Conference Centers, B&B, Casinos Etc. Lodging operations is the largest sector under Travel and Tourism Industry. Transportation Services: Ships, Airplanes, Autos, Buses, Railways, Metro's, Bikes, Limousines all comes under the Transportation Services in the Travel and tourism industry. Food and Beverage Operations: Restaurant, Lodging Properties Retail stores, Vending Machines, Catering, Snack Bars, Cruise Ships, Bars, Banquets, Out Door Catering all Comes under the F&B operations sector. Retail Stores: Gift Shops, Souvenir shops, Handicraft Shops, Art Shops, Markets etc. Activities: Recreation, Businesses, Entertainment, Amusement Parks, Study Trips, Sporting Events, Ethnic Festivals Etc.
Travel and Tourism Industry Lodging Transportation Operations Services
Hotel Motels Resorts Timeshare Hotels Condominiums Conference Centers Camps Parks Extended Stay Bed and Breakfast Cruise Budget Hotels Ships Airlines Autos Buses Trains
Food and Beverage Operations
Restaurants Lodging Properties Retail Stores Vending Catering Snacks Bar Sbanquet Contract Food Services
Retail Stores Activities
Gift Shops Souvenier Shops Arts /Crafts Shops Shopping Malls Markets Recreations Business Meetings Study Trips Sporting Events Seasonal Festivals Gaming
THE TOURISM INDUSTRY
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes, usually of a limited duration. Tourism is commonly associated with trans-national travel, but may also refer to travel to another location within the same country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".[1] Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Today, tourism is major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases it is of vital importance. Tourism suffered as a result of a strong economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus.[2][3] It then slowly recovered, with international tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone 1 billion tourists globally for first time in history in 2012.[4] International tourism receipts (the travel item of the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an
increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010.[5] In 2012, China became the largest spender in international tourism globally with US$102 billion, surpassing Germany and United States. China and emerging markets significantly increase their spending over the past decade, with Russia and Brazil as noteworthy examples.[6]
Etymology
The word tourist was used by 1772[7] and tourism by 1811.[8] William F.Theobald (1994) suggested that "etymologically, the word tour is derived from the Latin, 'tornare' and the Greek, 'tornos', meaning 'a lathe or circle; the movement around a central point or axis'. This meaning changed in modern English to represent 'one's turn'. The suffix –ism is defined as 'an action or process; typical behaviour or quality', while the suffix, –ist denotes 'one that performs a given action'. When the word tour and the suffixes –ism and –ist are combined, they suggest the action of movement around a circle. One can argue that a circle represents a starting point, which ultimately returns back to its beginning. Therefore, like a circle, a tour represents a journey in that it is a round-trip, i.e., the act of leaving and then returning to the original starting point, and therefore, one who takes such a journey can be called a tourist."[9] Today, three schools discuss on the roots of tourism. The French School, led by A. Houlot argued that the term tourism comes from the old Aramaic Tur, which was used for the trip, exploration and movement of people in the Bible. This word had been used, for the first time, when Moses begins his expedition to the lands of Canaán.[10] Nevertheless, another school of thought - the Onomastic School - considers the origin of the concept not from a linguistic perspective but rather links it to the last name of the French aristocracy Della Tour. According to this school, after Carlos V signs a treaty with England in 1516, in celebration of this event, the future king gives the Della Tour family exclusive rights to conduct commercial transport and related businesses.[11] Last but not least, a third school focuses on the Anglo-Saxon world, situating the Theobald´s development under the lens of scrutiny. Surmising that the roots of the word tourism comes from the Ancient Anglo-Saxon term Torn, these scholars found evidence to think the term was coined in XIIth century which by farmers to denote those travels with intentions to return. Over centuries, the meaning of the word has been shifted to be politically adopted. By the middle of the 18th century, the English noblemen used the term ?turn? to refer to the trips undertaken for education, search and culture exploration. In reality, the purpose of the noblemen‘s trip to the different parts of Kingdom was to acquire knowledge that was later useful for governing.[12] In support to Leiper´s account, M. Korstanje provided evidence that shows the Grand-tour was enrooted in the ancient Norse Mythology. Following the examination of legends and texts, this research focuses on the fact that Odin/Wotan represents the archetype of a travelling-god who explored the world to get experience and knowledge. Norse-related texts are indeed unique in this sense. Although the touristic-drive seems to be inherent to almost all cultures and times, Korstanje explains that only by the influence of Norse Mythology, the Grand-tour was accepted as a common-practice in England and Europe later.[13]
Significance of tourism
Strandkorb chairs on Usedom Island, Germany. Not only the service sector grows thanks to tourism, but also local manufacturers (like those producing the strandkorb), retailers, the real estate sector and the general image of a location can benefit a lot.
Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many countries. Its importance was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations."[1][14] Tourism brings in large amounts of income into a local economy in the form of payment for goods and services needed by tourists, accounting for 30% of the world's trade of services, and 6% of overall exports of goods and services.[5] It also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism.[15] The service industries which benefit from tourism include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships, and taxicabs; hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theatres. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, clothing and other supplies.
Definitions
In 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months.[9] In 1941, Hunziker and Krapf defined tourism as people who travel "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity."[16][17] In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes."[18] In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home.[19]
In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics:[20]
? ? ?
Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given country traveling only within this country. Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling in the given country. Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country.
The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited by tourists.
History
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with England and Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (March 2013)
Until relatively recently, travel outside a person's local area was confined to wealthy classes, who at times travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings, works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines. Long ago, at the time of the Roman Republic, places such as Baiae were popular coastal resorts for the rich.
Grand Tour See also: Grand Tour
Modern tourism can be traced to what was known as the Grand Tour, which was a traditional trip of Europe (especially Germany and Italy) undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, mainly from Western and Northern European countries. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18th century some South American, U.S., and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition was extended to include more of the middle class after rail and steamship travel made the journey less of a burden, and Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" a byword. The Grand Tour became a real status symbol for upper classes' students, in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, Johann Joachim Winckelmann's theories about supremacy of classic culture became very popular and appreciated in the European academic world. Artists, writers and travellers (such as Goethe) affirmed the supremacy of classic art whose Italy, France, Spain and Portugal are excellent examples. For these reasons, the Grand Tour's main destinations were to those centres, where upper class students could find rare examples of classic art and history. The New York Times recently described the Grand Tour in this way:
Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.
—Gross, Matt., "Lessons From the Frugal Grand Tour." New York Times 5 September 2008.
The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, laid in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent.
Emergence of leisure travel Main article: Leisure travel This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(February 2013)
Englishman in the Campagna by Carl Spitzweg (c. 1845)
Leisure travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom – the first European country to promote leisure time to the increasing industrial population.[26] Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, the factory owners and the traders. These comprised the new middle class.[26] Cox & Kings was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758.[27] The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place names. In Nice, France, one of the first and best-established holiday resorts on the French Riviera, the long esplanade along the seafront is known to this day as the Promenade des Anglais; in many other historic resorts in continental Europe, old, well-established palace hotels have names like the Hotel Bristol, Hotel Carlton, or Hotel Majestic – reflecting the dominance of English customers.
Panels from the Thomas Cook Building in Leicester, displaying excursions offered by Thomas Cook
Leicester railway station - built in 1894 to replace, largely on the same site, Campbell Street station, the origin for many of Cook's early tours.
A pioneer of the travel agency, Thomas Cook's idea to offer excursions came to him while waiting for the stagecoach on the London Road at Kibworth. With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway, he arranged to take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street station to a rally in Loughborough, eleven miles away. On 5 July 1841, Thomas Cook arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling per person that included rail tickets and food for this train journey. Cook was paid a share of the fares actually charged to the passengers, as the railway tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have been issued at his own price. This was the first privately chartered excursion train to be advertised to the general public; Cook himself acknowledging that there had been previous, unadvertised, private excursion trains.[28] During the following three summers he planned and conducted outings for temperance societies and Sunday-school children. In 1844 the Midland Counties Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him provided he found the passengers. This success led him to start his own business running rail excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway tickets. Four years later, he planned his first excursion abroad, when he took a group from Leicester to Calais to coincide with the Paris Exhibition. The following year he started his 'grand circular tours' of Europe. During the 1860s he took parties to Switzerland, Italy, Egypt and the United States. Cook established 'inclusive independent travel', whereby the traveller went independently but his agency charged for travel, food and accommodation for a fixed period over any chosen
route. Such was his success that the Scottish railway companies withdrew their support between 1862 and 1863 to try the excursion business for themselves.
Cruise shipping
Prinzessin Victoria Luise, the first cruise ship of the world, launched in June 1900 in Hamburg (Germany)
Cruising is a niche form of tourism, a feature of which is that it typically touches more than one country but most of the time does not touch any country. It is a popular form of water tourism. Leisure cruise ships were introduced by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) in 1844,[29] sailing from Southampton to destinations such as Gibraltar, Malta and Athens.[30] In 1891, German businessman Albert Ballin sailed the ship Augusta Victoria from Hamburg into the Mediterranean Sea. In 1900, one of the first purpose-built cruise ship was Prinzessin Victoria Luise, built in Hamburg.
Modern Day Tourism
Many leisure-oriented tourists travel to the tropics, both in the summer and winter. Places of such nature often visited are: Bali in Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Grenada, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, the various Polynesian tropical islands, Queensland in Australia, Thailand, Saint-Tropez and Cannes in France, Florida, Hawaii in the United States, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St.Lucia, Sint Maarten, St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh, Saint Kitts and Nevis, The Bahamas, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Boracay Island in the Philippines and Bermuda.
Winter tourism See also: List of ski areas and resorts and Winter sport
St. Moritz, Switzerland became the cradle of the developing winter tourism in the 1860s; hotel manager Johannes Badrutt invited some summer guests from England to return in the winter to see the snowy landscape, thereby inaugurating a popular trend.[31][32] It was, however, only in the 1970s when winter tourism took over the lead from summer tourism in many of the Swiss ski
resorts. Even in winter, up to one third of all guests (depending on the location) consist of nonskiers.[33] Major ski resorts are located mostly in the various European countries (e.g. Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey), Canada, the United States (e.g. Colorado, California, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire) New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Chile, and Argentina.
Mass tourism
Reisepläne (Travel plans) by Adolph Menzel (1875)
Mass tourism developed with improvements in technology, which allowed the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time. In Continental Europe, early seaside resorts include: Heiligendamm, founded in 1793 at the Baltic Sea, being the first seaside resort; Ostend, popularised by the people of Brussels; Boulogne-sur-Mer and Deauville for the Parisians. In the United States, the first seaside resorts in the European style were at Atlantic City, New Jersey and Long Island, New York.
Types of Hotels or classifcation of hotel
Hotels are classified according to the hotel size, location, target markets, levels of service , facilities , number of rooms , ownership and affiliation etc. 1.Size - Or number of rooms Under 150 rooms 150 to 299 rooms 300 to 600 rooms More than 600 rooms These categories enable hotels of similar size to compare operating procedures and statistical results .
Difference Between Hotel and motel Definition of the term hotel A Hotel or Inn may be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facilities for the general public, and which furnishes one or more of the following services : Food and beverage service Room attendant ( House keeping ) service Concierge Laundry or dry cleaning service Use of furniture or fixtures Bell and Door attendant service Conference and Banqueting Business center etc.
According to the category of the hotel they provide different level of personalized service . Definition of the term motel The term motel is a contraction of motor hotel. It is a lodging facility that caters primarily to guests arriving by automobiles. Early motels often provide parking spaces near guestrooms, but that has changed in recent years as motel owners and franchisors have become more aware of guest security Motels may be located in any setting, but are usually found in suburban or roadside areas . They became especially successfull in the 1950's and 1960's with the development of the inter-state highway system in the US . Many motels are two-story or low-rise building located near major highways. Pool areas with shrubbery, trees, and children's playground etc. By the way the term Hotel is used as a general term for motels, hotels, inns suite hotels, conference centers and other lodging properties .
Classification of Guests
There are two (2) classifications of guests: Local Guests - those who reside within a 25-mile radius. Local guests are limited to six (6) persons unless approved by the President or Vice-President/Chair of By-Laws and Rules & Regulations. In addition, circumventing this rule by pooling passes to allow a large group to enter the pool is not permitted. This includes family nights. Passes for local guests cost $25.00 each for 10 visits - three (3) passes per year. Old passes must be turned in before a new one is purchased. Local guests are only permitted to attend the following special occasions as published in the Club's activity calendar:
? ? ?
Pre-Teen Nights Teen Nights Family Nights
subject to the $3.00 per local guest fee. (Unless otherwise posted for special events, or as guests of a member with a pool pass.) The local guest fees established above are the fees that these guests must pay, over and above the amount by the Club members for these functions. Out-of-Town Guests - those who reside outside the 25-mile radius, and who as long as they are visitors, are permitted daily use of the Club's facilities, once required fees have been paid. Out-of-town guest fees are $3.00 a day.
Understanding Guest Service
As the hospitality industry becomes more competitive, economic pressures increases and the industry continues to expand, there is an obvious need to retain clientele as well as increasing profitability. It is therefore unsurprising that hospitality management professionals strive to improve guest satisfaction, and short- and long-term revenues. The management professionals whom are striving for these results however often have limited understanding of research surrounding the paradigms of guest satisfaction, and the consequent effects it has on guest loyalty and financial performance. This article will discuss some of the driving theories of guest satisfaction. Existing Research Though over 15,000 trade and academic papers discussing guest satisfaction has been published since the 1960s (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 189), one can note by researching that limited attention has been paid to the value perception and expectations guests have towards product delivery, and the effects price guests pay for an experience has on satisfaction and future spending. Furthermore Voss et al. argues that the role of pricing in relation to guest satisfaction has been largely ignored within the little research that does exist (Cited in Mattila et al., 2003, p. 328), which makes existing research less applicable as the price paradigm is often excluded. Considering that guest‘s expectations has gone up in the past 30 years within the hospitality industry, and continue to do so, does not make it any easier for management to understand what guests expect. Loyalty Equals Better Performance The reason why loyal guests are so important is: 1) because it costs three to five times as much to attract new guests than to retain existing ones; 2) because previous guests strongly influence others by word of mouth recommendation (Conlon et al., 2004, p. 434). Most hospitality professionals do understand the undisputed research on guest service which proves that: 1) Companies that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty; 2) Companies with higher guest loyalty, perform better financially compared to their competition. Kristiansen et al. (1992), Zeithaml et al. (1996), McColl-Kennedy and Schneider (2000) all found in studies conducted that satisfied guests are key to long-term business success (Cited in Gilbert et al., 2006, 298). This long-term success is based on guest loyalty and retention which consequentially results in future revenue (Ibid). Another theoretical and empirical study on guest satisfaction and performance (including repeat purchase intentions) suggest that satisfaction levels can be directly linked to financial performance (Gupta et al., p. 284, 2007). This is a fairly easy concept to grasp, but understanding guest satisfaction is not as easy. Perception The hospitality industry must charge guests different rates depending on demand to stay profitable, thus effective yield management is within the industry extremely important. Due to this, guests are likely to experience fluctuations in their value perception. This supposition is based on research by Zeithaml that argue amongst other things that value is low price (Cited in Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Due to the complexity of the guest experience, guests are likely to search for evidence of value and satisfaction from three distinct sources: 1) people; 2) process; 3)
physical environment; or what has been dubbed as the servicescape (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). There are a number of theories surrounding the satisfaction and service paradigm of which five of them will be discussed in this article. These theories of interest are ones that relate to antecedents and decedents of satisfaction. Servicescape The ?servicescape‘ is a general and widely used term to describe the physical surroundings of a service environment (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786) such as a hotel or cruise ship. The service offered is to some extent intangible which makes it very difficult for guests to gauge what is good and not so good about the services offered. Therefore, guests are sometimes unconsciously trying to obtain as much information as possible through experiences to decrease information asymmetries (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786). This causes guests to look for quality signals or cues which would provide them with information about the service (Ibid), which leads us to ?cue utilization theory‘. Cue utilization theory Cue utilization theory argues that products or services consist of several arrays of cues that serve as surrogate indicators of product or service quality (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786). There are both intrinsic and extrinsic cues to help guests determine quality, where the intrinsic cues provide information on the physical attributes of the product or service, whereas extrinsic cues are product related and provide information such as brand and price (Ibid). Consequentially, due to the limited tangibility of services within a hospitality environment, guests are often left to accept the price of the experience and the physical appearance or environment of the hotel or cruise ship itself as quality indicators. Stimulus-organism-response theory One of the basic frameworks that help us understand how behavior is impacted by the physical environment is the stimulus-organism-response theory which in a hospitality environment states that the physical environment acts as a stimulus, guests are organisms that respond to stimulus, and the behavior directed towards the environment by guests is a direct response to the stimulus (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). It can be very difficult for guests to evaluate the service quality, as the experience as a whole can be somewhat overwhelming. To make the service-evaluation process simpler, guests turn to the physical environment, the hotel or cruise ship itself, to look for tangible evidence that indicate that either ‘yes‘ this is a great hotel or cruise ship or ?no‘ this is not up to expectations (Mattila, 1999, 42). It is therefore important to understand that the physical environment can have a profound effect on guest satisfaction. One study also found that the satisfaction levels lodging guests had were influenced by several dimensions such as room cleanliness, room to be in working order, staff friendliness and attentiveness (Mattila et al., 2003, p. 330). It was also found that guests had a very low tolerance for any of these dimension to be far from their expectations (Ibid). It has been found that not only the quality of above mentioned services correlate to overall satisfaction, but also the room design and the physical property impact satisfaction levels (Mattila et al., 2003, p. 330). Disconfirmation theory Moving along to theories on satisfaction, many researchers have argued what the definition of satisfaction really is, and many theories have been proposed. Amongst the most popular theories
is the ?disconfirmation theory‘ which argues that ?satisfaction is related to the size and direction of the disconfirmation experience that occurs as a result of comparing service performance against expectations? (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 190). Szymanski and Henard found in their metaanalysis that the disconfirmation paradigm is the best predictor of customer satisfaction (Cited in Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Though many models exist such as the disconfirmation theory and other theories such as the performance-only approach, the technical and functional dichotomy approaches, the service quality versus service satisfaction approach and the attribute performance approach, it is agreed amongst all theories that satisfaction is a post-consumption evaluation by the guest (Gilbert et al., 2006, p. 299). Fulfillment response Oliver offers an updated definition on the disconfirmation theory which states ?Satisfaction is the guest‘s fulfillment response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or over-fulfillment? (Cited in Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 190). Based on this definition it can be assumed that the fulfillment response is a positive feeling experienced by guests as pain reduction occurs when a problem is solved or alleviated (Ibid). Oliver however also argues that positive feelings can occur not only by the unexpected effects of overfulfillment, but also by under-fulfillment which can occur when the damage or pain a problem causes is less than expected (Ibid). These definitions are very interesting as they point towards two ideas: ?Firstly, satisfaction is the result of direct experiences with products or services; and secondly, it occurs by comparing this experience against a standard (e.g. expectations)? (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 191). The major shortcoming of the disconfirmation theory should however be noted, which is that the model indicates that if one‘s expectations are decreased, satisfaction must inevitably increase (Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Repurchase intentions Past research indicates that satisfaction is an excellent predictor of repurchase intentions (Petrick, 2004, p. 397). Anderson et al. (1994), Fornell (1992) and Yeung et al. (2000) also found through several empirical studies that satisfaction, and also quality, are key drivers in a company‘s financial performance (Cited in Matzler et al., 2006, p. 180). These findings point towards the importance for hospitality companies to fully understand and recognize what drives guest satisfaction and focus on the areas which are performing poorly and consequentially have a negative effect on guest satisfaction. Evaluations When discussing satisfaction, it is important to understand that guest‘s evaluation of service comprise of two basic distinct dimensions: service delivery and service outcome (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). Research indicates that how the service was delivered (perceived functional quality) is more important than the outcome of the service process (technical quality) (Ibid). This research clearly indicates that effort by staff have a strong effect on guest‘s satisfaction judgments. Dissatisfaction Having thoroughly discussed satisfaction, it is important to also discuss dissatisfaction and why it occurs. Dissatisfaction towards the service often simply occurs when guest‘s perceptions do not meet their expectations. There are several specifics to why dissatisfaction would occur within
a hospitality environment, such as: 1) the company not understanding what guests wants, and can therefore not deliver; 2) false or incorrect advertising which causes guests to have unrealistic expectations; 3) staff not able or willing to deliver adequate service. On a more theoretical level, dissatisfaction can be explained by Parasuraman‘s gap model which proposes that ten dimensions determine service quality: ?reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the guests, and tangibles? (Cited in Haksik et al., 2000, p. 218). Above essentially propose that the differences between expected performance and perceived performance on each of the above dimensions will determine the overall received service quality (Ibid). Dissatisfaction could therefore arise if the perceived performance falls short on any or all of the expected performance dimensions; this is based on the disconfirmation theory. Conclusion In conclusion, though there is a great deal of research on guest satisfaction within a hospitality environment, the role of pricing in relation to guest satisfaction has been largely ignored. Undisputed research on guest service proves that companies that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty, and perform better financially compared to their competition. Guests are likely to experience fluctuations in their value perception as value can include low price in the minds of guests, and as the service offered is to some extent intangible. Guests are also sometimes unconsciously trying to obtain as much information as possible through experiences to decrease information asymmetries, and guests are therefore often left to accept the price of the experience and the physical appearance of the hotel or cruise ship itself as quality indicators. Amongst the most popular satisfaction theories is the disconfirmation theory which argues that satisfaction is related to the size and direction of the disconfirmation experience that occurs as a result of comparing service performance against expectations. Basically, satisfaction is the result of direct experiences with products or services, and it occurs by comparing perceptions against a standard (e.g. expectations). Research also indicates that how the service was delivered is more important than the outcome of the service process, and dissatisfaction towards the service often simply occurs when guest‘s perceptions do not meet their expectations.
The Importance of Tourism
One of the more notable aspects of the current economic recovery has been the strength of tourism and related industries. In 2012, New York played host to a record 52 million tourists—11 million from abroad and 41 million from the U.S.—so we had approximately 1 million people visiting the city every week. In 2002, New York saw 35.3 million visitors, meaning that tourist visits have increased nearly 50 percent in the past decade. Tourism has grown into one of the most important industries in New York City. Since employment began to recover in November 2009, the city has added roughly 285,000 jobs, and 68,500 of those jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, accounting for almost a quarter of all the new jobs in the city over the past four years—this from an industry that accounts for less than 10 percent of total employment.
Add in the 40,000 retail jobs that have been added since the recovery began, at least part of which is tourism driven, and this industry has been one of the key contributors to the economic recovery. In fact, without the boost from tourism, the recovery would have been far less vibrant. While tourism may not directly impact the commercial office market, it plays an important role in the city and has secondary effects. Companies that cater to the tourist trade do occupy office space. Many of our signature buildings from the Empire State Building to 30 Rockefeller Center to the about-to-be completed 1 World Trade Center are major tourist attractions. And tourists remain fascinated with the architecture and size of New York City office buildings. Who hasn‘t seen a tourist take out a camera to snap a photo of the towers along Park Avenue or Avenue of the Americas? In his book Modern New York: The Life and Economics of A City, Greg David points out that tourism has replaced manufacturing in the city‘s economy over the past 40 or so years. ?It generates middle-class jobs. It employs immigrants and unskilled workers and speeds them up the economic and social ladder far better than factory work. … Its importance is too little appreciated by most New Yorkers.?
When you hear the word ?tourism?, what comes to mind? Exotic, far away lands? Think again. In 2012, more than 12.5 million visits were made to and within Saskatchewan. Tourism is a significant economic driver. Travel expenditures in Saskatchewan exceeded 2.1 billion in 2012. Tourism links communities throughout our vast province, and defines our image – how we see ourselves and how others see us. Saskatchewan‘s tourism sector comprises five industries – accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, transportation, and travel services. From bed and breakfasts and restaurants to parks and museums, tourism touches every corner. Virtually all areas of business are influenced by tourism. The sector employs a diverse range of Saskatchewan citizens, including service station attendants to golf resort owners. Residents in every community, large and small, rural and urban, are engaged in tourism activities. More than 57,000 people of all ages, ethnicities, and skill sets derive their livelihood from tourism. Our vision: A vibrant entrepreneurial tourism industry offering year-round compelling and memorable Saskatchewan experiences. Our mission: Connect people with quality Saskatchewan experiences and advance the development of successful tourism operations. The tourism industry is primarily service and people oriented; it is made up of businesses and organisations belonging to various other industries and sectors. It is an interplay among these businesses and organisations/persons which offer ?travel experience? to tourists. The tourism industry comprises hospitality (related to accommodation and dining), travel (transportation services through different modes), and various other businesses which offer services and products to tourists. The components of the tourism industry are shown in Exhibit 1.1.
Industries related to tourism
Most of the players in the tourism industry are SMEs. The unorganised sector dominates the industry in India. Hotels, airline companies, and tour operators form the organised sector. Specialist travel service providers assist tourists with travel arrangements. These providers include travel agencies who are involved in retailing of travel products directly to the tourists (individuals or groups). They provide information on different travel destinations and advise customers on travel plans. They also sell associated products such as insurance, car hire, and currency exchange. Business travel agencies specialise in making travel and accommodation arrangements for business travelers and promoting conference trades. The tour operators provide packages for individuals while the principals provide basic travel and tourism related services. Tour operators offer holiday packages which comprise travel (road, rail, sea, air as well as to and from the destination airport, car hire, excursions, etc) and accommodation (hotels, guesthouses, apartments, etc) services. Transport service providers could be airlines, cruise lines, car rentals, and rail companies. A tourist‘s choice of transport would depend on the travel budget, destination, time, purpose of the tour, and convenience to the point of destination. Accommodation could be hotels and motels, apartments, camps, guest houses, lodge, bed and breakfast establishments, house boats, resorts, cabins, and hostels. In addition, tourists also require catering facilities, which a variety of outlets for food and refreshments offer. These include hotels, local restaurants, roadside joints, cafeterias, and retail outlets serving food and beverages.
Another major component of the travel and tourism industry is ?attractions‘ such as theme parks and natural attractions including scenic locations, cultural and educational attractions, monuments, events, and medical, social or professional causes. The tourist information and guidance providers include a number of service providers such as those offering insurance, recreational, communication, and banking services; government agencies; tour guides; industry associations; packaging agents; ticketing agents; and holiday sellers. Types of tourists Tourists can also be classified based on their purpose of visit: Business tourists This segment typically comprises those travelling for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE); however, this definition is not conclusive and includes any tourist on a visit to India for business purposes. Business tourism is viewed as an important market in the country and one of the high-yielding sectors of the tourism industry. Leisure tourists Leisure tourism comprises trips for pleasure. It includes holidays within the country or abroad. Visiting friends and relatives and travel for a variety of reasons such as health and fitness, sports, education, and culture also come under the purview of leisure trips. In the past few years, opportunities in India for leisure tourism have emerged strongly owing to the following factors: changing consumption pattern of Indian customers, burgeoning Indian middle class population, and geographical diversity. Tourists can also be classified into domestic and foreign tourists based on their nationality. Furthermore, depending on the duration, tourism can be classified into picnic, excursion, holidays, weekend getaways, etc. Different forms of tourism There are different types of tourism. The recent trend is moving toward niche segments of tourism: • Medical/healthcare tourism • Adventure tourism • Heritage tourism • Ecotourism • Rural tourism • Pilgrimage tourism Medical tourism Medical tourism also known as health tourism has emerged as one of the important segments of the tourism industry. The term has been coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to for healthcare.
Travelers typically seek services such as elective procedures as well as complex specialised surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac, dental, and cosmetic surgeries. Psychiatry, alternative treatments, and convalescent care are also available.
Introduction to Tourism What is tourism?
To tour is to venture. To tour is a verb that describes an individual‘s movement from place to place. However, if you add the suffix ?ism? to this simple verb, you create a noun of action. It creates the term ?tourism,? which is more than just an act. As a powerful noun, the word tourism embodies the wide world of people, places and things that come with this function of the English language. With the addition of that small suffix, to tour becomes more than just the act of movement. From a dictionary definition, it becomes ?the activity or practice of touring, especially for pleasure? or ?the promotion of tourist travel, especially for commercial purposes.? In this manual, we will focus on the business or industry of providing information, accommodations, transportation, and other services to tourists and what it means to plan, create and sustain tourism, and the impact tourism can have on your rural community.
Who are tourists?
Tourism can be a part of your community in a variety of ways through an array of people. Tourists are not simply travelers of the open road. They are people who are seeking physical rest or recreation, culture, companionship, social atmospheres, hobbies, personal development, education and more. Tourists are visitors or guests to a community and are the most important element of the tourism industry. To identify tourists, we must step outside typical stereotypes. Most picture a tourist as a gawky sightseer from far, far away. However, a great deal of tourism is generated from tourists from our own state! In all actuality, a tourist is any person who stays at least one night at a business or private accommodation in the country or area
visited. Tourists may be one of the following types: Domestic: residents of the given country traveling within their own country. Inbound: nonresidents traveling in the given country. Outbound : residents traveling in another country. Internal: domestic tourism plus inbound tourism. National: domestic tourism plus outbound tourism. International: inbound tourism plus outbound tourism. Visitor: A person traveling to and staying in places outside his or her usual environment for not more than
In this Chapter What is Tourism? • Who are Tourists? • Tourism and your community • Tourism Basics • Benefits and cost of tourism •
Introduction to Tourism Introduction to the Tourism Industry
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6 one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes. Same-day visitor: A visitor who does not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited. Domestic visitor: A person residing in a country who travels to a place within the country, outside his or her usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit if other than the
exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. Includes tourists plus same-day visitors, but not ?business travelers.? International visitors: persons who travels to a county other than that in which they have their usual residence but outside their usual environment for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited. Includes tourists plus same-day visitors. It is important to be able to identify what types of tourists are attracted to your community. Doing this allows you to create marketing and promotional plans that will target the tourists who are most likely to actually visit your community.
Tourism and your community
In beginning to understand the tourism industry, it is important we understand it is not separate from your community. It is a part of it. Tourism affects all aspects of a community, including businesses, government services, the natural environment, cultural amenities and residents. In order to create a thriving, successful tourism industry, it must work hand-in-hand with the entire local community towards common goals with common values in mind. The tourism industry must be viewed as a cohesive part of the community that expresses that community‘s natural and cultural environments. Tourists are not foreign invaders of your territory; they are a temporary part of your community. There are five elements that must meld between a community and its tourism industry to make it successful and sustainable. Community values: It is very important to be able to identify the values of your community. Values are the principles, standards or quality regarded as worthwhile or desirable to your community. These values must be taken into consideration when developing a tourism program. Furthermore, the community must focus on maintaining its values as tourism develops. Attractions: The community must be able to identify what the drawing forces of your tourism industry will be. Activities, cultural resources, art resources, historic resources, natural resources and other developments will be the attractions that will attract tourists. The community must be able to identify, develop and manage these attractions.
Services: When tourists are drawn to the attractions of your community, it is important to be able to provide the services necessary for them to enjoy it. The community should develop and expand small businesses to provide visitors with the products and services they need. A diverse economy is necessary to create new jobs and revenue, as well as keeping visitors happy. Marketing and promotion: While cultivating a tourism industry in your community, it is essential to market your product. In marketing, the community must identify their target audience, what that audience needs, how to fulfill those needs, and more importantly, how to communicate with them. Tourism organization: In order to meet the above mentioned goals, your community must be able to appoint existing local resource groups and/or individuals to organize tourism efforts. This may be your local chamber of commerce or lodging tax board. Furthermore, this group should search for stable funding for tourism development.
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Introduction to Tourism
7 It is important to the sustainability of your community‘s efforts to incorporate these five items into the development of a tourism industry. Your tourism industry should be a reflection of your community‘s values and heritage. In return, your tourism industry should serve to strengthen these values. Furthermore, the values identified and promoted by the tourism industry become a standard for businesses and organizations in the community. These components combine to create a foundation of a strong tourism industry. In the rest of this section, we will discuss the basics of tourism. In the following sections, we will discuss how to plan, assess, market and manage your tourism industry using the previously discussed five fundamentals.
Tourism Basics
As tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming, it is crucial that we understand the basics of this industry and how it impacts our state. In just the past ten years, spending, earnings and employment in the tourism industry in Wyoming has nearly doubled. In 2007, 30,350 Wyomingites held jobs in the tourism industry. That‘s about 20 percent of our state‘s population! That year, $2.68 billion was generated in direct expenditures. Being such a large and growing industry, there is not a
reason small Wyoming communities can‘t get a slice of this lucrative tourism pie. In a time when many rural economies are struggling, tourism has the potential to increase income and jobs where it is needed most. But first, we must understand what components make up this industry, how tourism works, and the benefits and costs of it. The tourism industry is made up of three important components. These components include the community, industry and the tourist market. The community is the central pivot of tourism. It supplies all the necessities that allow the industry to go ?round: location, leadership, organization, labor force, public services and hospitality. Industry follows the community. It consists of the attractions and events that draw tourists to the community, the businesses that provide the needed services and the groups and individuals who do the promotion, planning and market research for the industry. Finally, the tourism market is made up by the visitors who pay for the products and services they want. These visitors pour money into transportation, food, lodging, services and entertainment. They create markets based on different characteristics and behaviors which determine where their money goes. These three components combine to create a cohesive tourism system. As we look at how these entities work together to create tourism, it becomes clear that tourism is not a selfsufficient industry. Rather, it is an elaborate collaboration of many related industries. Industries from the private, public and non-profit sectors should work in balance to culminate a successful tourism industry
The Impact of Travel on Wyoming‘s Economy
Domestic and international travelers • spent $2.68 billion in Wyoming in 2007. The tourism industry generated $108 • million in taxes for state and local gov ernments. Every household in Wyoming would • pay an additional $527 in taxes if not for the tourism industry. Travel expenditures increased 7.2% •
over 2006. Teton County has the state‘s larget • tourism industry in the state, bringing in $571 million in travel spending. Travel-generated employment ac • counted for 7.8% of Wyoming‘s total employment in 2007. The Wyoming travel and tourism indus • try supported 30,350 jobs in 2007. To see the complete 2007 Economic Impact Report, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org/tourism
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Benefits and cost of tourism
While the purpose of this manual is to help your community promote tourism as a positive aspect of your community, it is also important that you are able to see the pitfalls of this industry so they may be avoided or at least mitigated. In the tourism planning process, it is important to lay both the positive and the negative aspects on the table and identify what would be most beneficial to the community at large. Tourism can positively and negatively affect economic, social and environmental factors of your community.
Economic impacts
When a community begins to look at tourism development, this is usually the area they want to focus on enhancing. They are looking for the income and jobs that come with a thriving tourism industry. Business owners look forward to increased sales to front-line tourism sales. However, these front-line direct suppliers are not the only businesses to benefit from a tourism economy. Many businesses do not directly deal with tourist. However, these wholesale businesses sell products and services to the front-line businesses. Despite these sought-after benefits, tourism can have negative impacts on a community‘s economy. It can be a very costly industry to operate and maintain. A
great deal of money must be invested in maintaining the community‘s infrastructure to keep it up to par for tourists. Furthermore, tourism development can inflate the housing market and living conditions in your community. This makes it difficult for long-time community members who are not a part of the industry to remain in the community. Also, as a tourism industry evolves, the likelihood of more outside owners and investors threatens to take revenue away from the community.
Social impacts
Just as an unexpected house guest can overstay his welcome, communities can begin to feel the negative social effects of tourism over time if the host is not properly prepared. Nonetheless, tourism has very positive social impacts on a community. It allows locals and tourists to interact in business exchanges, shared facilities and community events. In promoting and showcasing what the community has to offer to tourists, locals are likely to experience renewed interest in their community and increased pride in their community. They also benefit from upgraded services and facilities and experience cultural learning opportunities. If not properly planned, however, large amounts and long-term tourism can begin to rub the community like the un-welcomed house guest. If economic and environmental factors begin to weigh too heavily upon a community, local residents are more likely to become less tolerant and even resentful of the visitors. The intensity and speed at which tourism in a community develops has a huge impact on these negative aspects. However, by integrating community values, proper planning and good management, these problems can be avoided.
Environmental impacts
Tourism heavily interacts with the environment of the community. The natural, physical environment, facilities and infrastructure all experience high traffic with tourism. Communities with tourism often have a greater
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Introduction to Tourism
9 appreciation for conserving natural and historic areas. Tourism also encourages communities to place more emphasis on trash clean-up and beautification programs. In an effort to please tourists, communities often work to improve local infrastructure that works to reduce pollution and other efforts to improve the environment.
Just like economic and social impacts, when tourism development lacks proper planning, it can have negative environmental impacts. Development and infrastructure that is built without fitting into the natural environment can cause aesthetic architectural pollution and irreversible environmental destruction. As a community expands with its tourism business, it often outgrows its original boundaries, infrastructure and resources. Particularly in rural areas, the threat of urban sprawl‘s encroachment on agricultural land or wildlife habitat is a constant concern. Furthermore, increased human traffic can leave additional pollution, litter and cause congested traffic. While it is important to be able to identify the possible negative impacts of tourism, it is even more important to be able to plan around those effects. With the proper planning and processes, these negative effects can be minimized. You cannot ignore or dismiss the negative impacts of tourism, but you can work to mitigate them. The following table outlines the benefits, costs and possible techniques to avoid problems involved with economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism.
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The Benefits and Impacts of Tourism
Social Impact
Supports dvelopment of community facilities and other local improvements May enhance communities ?sense of place? through culture/historic celebration Encourages civic involvement and community pride May help maintain cultural idenity of minority populations that are dying out May facilitate renewed interest in traditional lifestyles amoung younger residents Provides cultural exchange between hosts and guests. Promotes peace and understanding
Economic Impact
Brings new money into the community Helps diversify and stabilize the local economy Attracts new businesses and services to support tourism industry May be a catalyst for other industries and bring capital investment to the area Creates local jobs and new business opportunities Increases expansion and retention of existing businesses Contributes to the state and local tax base Helps supports local businesses that might not survive on resident income alone
Enviornmental Impact
Fosters conservation and preservation of natural, cultural and historical resources. Increases local enviornmental awareness
May encourage community beautification, revialization and enviornmental quality May improve local urban/rural landscapes through facilities development May stimulate improvements in infrastructure (airports, roads, water, waste, sewage) May be cleaner than other industries
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Introduction to Tourism
11 In examining the benefits and costs of tourism, it is also important a community recognize the extreme challenges of even cultivating a tourism industry in a rural area. Small communities often lack the population base, financial resources or diversified economy needed to easily create a tourism industry. Despite these challenges, communities can utilize certain strategies to help them overcome the challenges they might face. Use the following table to identify some of the challenges your community might face when trying to develop a tourism industry.
Obstacles to tourism development
Obstacle Description
Reliance on natural resource-based economy Industrial sector work forces are seldom prepared for the service orientation and customer contact needs of the tourism industry. Small population base The community may lack the organizational and professional skills required for developing strong visitor attractions; local leaders and volunteers may be overworked. Limited financial resources Smaller communities often lack access to financial resources needed to develop tourism facilities, services and staff. Transportation isolation Many small communities lack access to major airports, highways and public transportation. Therefore, visitors find it difficult and expensive to travel to. Underdeveloped resources Many communities have natural and cultural resources to draw tourists, but limited funding and lack of knowledge about tourist needs prevent adequate development. Industry misperceptions Residents believe they have no control over tourism development and fear that increased visitors will change the local character and reduce quality of life.
Neighboring competition Small communities often have a history competing with their neighbors and don‘t realize that tourism is more successful if larger geographic areas work together. Inadequate leadership Local leaders are often overworked and overstressed due to high out-migration, limited resources and economic struggles. Tourism development requires dedicated leaders and followers. Sustainability issues Many communities struggle to balance the public‘s concern for environmental protection with development. Divergent viewpoints cause polarization and impede progress. Strategic planning Small communities often have not initiated planning for community development. Lack of comprehensive growth plans and tourism planning increases failure due to poor product development and delivery. Failure to work together Local firms that do business with travelers often do not understand that they are a part of the tourism industry. Failure to work together as an industry reduces the effectiveness of a community tourism effort. Lack of information Many small communities lack information on local tourism impacts, visitors or local businesses, making it difficult to plan for tourism or develop appropriate communication strategies.
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Strategies for success
Success Strategy Description
Tourism organization Don‘t try to ?dabble? at tourism or expect the industry to ?just happen.? Adopt a serious, consistent, systematic approach with a community tourism organization and dedicated paid or volunteer staff. Product development Tourism is a dynamic industry. Constantly change to provide more interesting and extensive attractions and services to meet or exceed travelers‘ expectations. Target marketing Use specialized marketing strategies targeted to specific groups of travelers. Profile customers accurately to maximize your marketing budget. Customer service perspective Customer service is paramount to successful tourism programs. Use hospitality training programs to improve front-line services and stress service quality in local businesses.
?Big Picture? perspective Recognize that neighboring towns are allies, not competitors. Small destinations compete with national and international attractions for tourists, so regional products are more competitive. Selling ?experiences? Many tourism businesses sell their physical features when crafting marketing messages. You will be more successful if you focus on marketing the ?experience? of travel. Collaboration Join forces with other communities through effective collaboration to maximize your marketing potential and improve your ability to provide the attraction and service base needed to draw visitors. Maintaining competitiveness Staying abreast of change and understanding the impacts and opportunities that will results can help you distinguish yourself by capitalizing on new travel trends. Public-private partnerships As the industry becomes better understood, it has become clear that governments must play a much greater role in tourism development. Create and participate in effective public-private partnerships that define roles and responsibilities. Growth management If you define local carrying capacity limit, you will be better able to manage tourism growth and balance visitor needs with maintaining quality of life.
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Millions of Germans head off on vacation each year. But tourism as a mass phenomena emerged only just a few decades ago, although there were some early precursors. Travel was once largely the domain of the rich.
When the summer holiday season strikes in Germany, traffic backs up for miles, and the lines at airport counters grow even longer than usual. Even for 300 euros ($390), bargain-hunters can head off to faraway lands - such as a week-long stay on Gran Canaria island, flight and hotel included. But in Germany, as in a number of other wealthy countries, affordable travel has only been around for a few decades. And in earlier eras, only the rich or aristocracy took in the world as tourists. The majority of the population could hardly imagine ever undertaking anything remotely similar. The invention of tourism "The majority of researchers believe that tourism is an 18th century invention," explains Hasso Spode, who heads a historical archive on tourism at the Free University of Berlin. But is there a difference between a traveler and a tourist? "Tourism is travel without a real purpose," said the tourism researcher, adding that in earlier centuries, travelers were always on a mission. "The pilgrims, for example, wanted to find salvation; the conquistadors wanted to conquer." What changed in the 18th century, in Spode's view, is that people began to travel for fun.
Traveling by coach often meant a long and cumbersome journey At that time, going on vacation was a burdensome and, above all else, an expensive undertaking. People traveled by carriage and suffered greatly on poor roads, often made impassable by bad weather. Lodging and provisioning horses were a constant concern. At the time, Germany consisted of a number of smaller states, and customs duties had to be paid again and again at the borders. One of the country's first major tourist magnets emerged in 1793 at the coast of the Baltic Sea in what is today Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. That is where the seaside resort Heiligendamm opened its doors, attracting nearly everyone of distinction. They were met with no shortage of distractions, including gambling, horse races, dizzying fests and prostitutes. Many of the wellheeled guests never even made it into the water, and, as writer Ludwig Börne complained in 1825, "The princes and princesses here bother you like snails; you simply cannot avoid them." Thomas Cook starts a revolution "Tourism was initially limited to a very few people. Around one percent of the population could travel in 1800," said Hasso Spode of the make-up of German tourism at the time. That number soon changed, though. The inventive Englishman Thomas Cook began capitalizing on a market niche in 1841: package tourism. He got some help from an invention that revolutionized transport: the railroad. Using railways, Cook sent hoards of tourists off on adventures. The tour operator could book entire trains and hotels, meaning he could make his offers at unbeatable prices.
This Cook advertisement appeared in 1904 "Cook was not, in fact, the inventor of package tourism, but he was its most successful organizer," Spode explains. But Thomas Cook did not stop there, adding tour guides that took care of all of the details, so that tourists could devote themselves to relaxation. Cook's approach soon led to copycats in Germany, where train travel also helped spur on the concept of holiday-making. After all, trains could generally chug on regardless of the street conditions and weather, and passengers could peer out the window in comfort as scenes of nature rolled by. Travel in the Nazi era Nevertheless, many travel destinations remained the province of the upper classes until well into the 20th century. For laborers, vacationing was impossible, due to financial constraints. However, after the Nazis seized power in 1933, they tried to act as travel agents to drum up enthusiasm for the dictatorship among the working class. "In 1933, the Nazis established the recreational organization 'Kraft durch Freude' (KdF, Power through Joy), which suddenly became the largest trip operator in the world," Hasso Spode said. The KdF attempted to draw in potential travelers with a special offer: going on cruises, which were otherwise seen as the domain of the well-to-do.
In port is the ship Wilhelm Gustloff, part of the Nazi travel organization KdF "They built classless cruise ships in which they were able to send around 700,000 people out to sea," said Spode. The KdF's propaganda showed Germans relaxing luxuriously on deck chairs and enjoying having nothing to do. Once the war started, however, the KdF tours came to a halt. Private trip operators continued their activities, much to the chagrin of the National Socialists, who would have preferred to use the tourist trains for the war. "There you see how deep the populace's wish for travel experiences was. The Nazis couldn't allow themselves to do anything drastic against it for fear of making themselves unpopular," notes Spode. By 1943, however, German tourism had all but stopped, due to the course the war had taken. 'Cleaning Lady Island' After the war, Germany's economy rapidly picked up steam in the 1950s and Germans found themselves with both the money and desire to travel again. "Slowly, the Germans began to have the courage to take their Beetles or Vespas beyond the Alps," said Hasso Spode of post-war tourism. Automobiles made it possible for people to plan and execute their trips in a much more individual way. Soon thereafter, a further development made tourism even more accessible. In the 1970s, huge passenger planes began transporting people of various income groups well beyond their home countries. Popular destinations among Germans were soon given names ridiculing their new clientele. The Spanish island of Mallorca, for instance, was dubbed "Putzfraueninsel" (Cleaning Lady Island), while favored sunning spots around the Mediterranean were called "teutonic grills." Rising incomes and low travel costs made it possible: international travel for everyone.
The best weeks of the year
Mallorca is known as a hot spot for German sun-seekers There are exceptions, of course, when it comes to a passion for international travel. "Germany remains the most important destination country for Germans," said Jürgen Schmude, a tourism researcher and geographer at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Things are changing, as well, in terms of how Germans travel. After the German travel budget sank by international comparison in 2012, the country had to pass on its unofficial title of the world's biggest travelers to the Chinese. But that certainly doesn't mean vacationing is dying out among Germans. "There is a trend toward more trips per year, which are then shorter, but taken more often. Earlier, there was the more classic approach of vacationing in the summer," Schmude says. These days, it's hardly just in the hottest weeks of summer that German airports and highways fill up with people eager to get away from home for a while.
About Travel and Tourism Industry: The hospitality industry is part of a larger enterprise known as the travel and tourism industry. This industry is a vast group business with one goal in common: that is to provide necessary or desired products and services to travelers.Travel and tourism industry has now become the largest civilian industry in the world, according to statistics one out of every ten person worldwide is part of the Travel and tourism industry.Travel and Tourism industry are divided into five major parts as shown below . Lodging operations stands apart from other travel and tourism business as they offer overnight stay for the guests.
Lodging Operations: Under lodging operations comes Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Timeshare Hotels, Condominiums, Conference Centers, B&B, Casinos Etc. Lodging operations is the largest sector under Travel and Tourism Industry. Transportation Services: Ships, Airplanes, Autos, Buses, Railways, Metro's, Bikes, Limousines all comes under the Transportation Services in the Travel and tourism industry. Food and Beverage Operations: Restaurant, Lodging Properties Retail stores, Vending Machines, Catering, Snack Bars, Cruise Ships, Bars, Banquets, Out Door Catering all Comes under the F&B operations sector. Retail Stores: Gift Shops, Souvenir shops, Handicraft Shops, Art Shops, Markets etc. Activities: Recreation, Businesses, Entertainment, Amusement Parks, Study Trips, Sporting Events, Ethnic Festivals Etc.
Travel and Tourism Industry Lodging Transportation Operations Services
Hotel Motels Resorts Timeshare Hotels Condominiums Conference Centers Camps Parks Extended Stay Bed and Breakfast Cruise Budget Hotels Ships Airlines Autos Buses Trains
Food and Beverage Operations
Restaurants Lodging Properties Retail Stores Vending Catering Snacks Bar Sbanquet Contract Food Services
Retail Stores Activities
Gift Shops Souvenier Shops Arts /Crafts Shops Shopping Malls Markets Recreations Business Meetings Study Trips Sporting Events Seasonal Festivals Gaming
THE TOURISM INDUSTRY
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes, usually of a limited duration. Tourism is commonly associated with trans-national travel, but may also refer to travel to another location within the same country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".[1] Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Today, tourism is major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases it is of vital importance. Tourism suffered as a result of a strong economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus.[2][3] It then slowly recovered, with international tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone 1 billion tourists globally for first time in history in 2012.[4] International tourism receipts (the travel item of the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an
increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010.[5] In 2012, China became the largest spender in international tourism globally with US$102 billion, surpassing Germany and United States. China and emerging markets significantly increase their spending over the past decade, with Russia and Brazil as noteworthy examples.[6]
Etymology
The word tourist was used by 1772[7] and tourism by 1811.[8] William F.Theobald (1994) suggested that "etymologically, the word tour is derived from the Latin, 'tornare' and the Greek, 'tornos', meaning 'a lathe or circle; the movement around a central point or axis'. This meaning changed in modern English to represent 'one's turn'. The suffix –ism is defined as 'an action or process; typical behaviour or quality', while the suffix, –ist denotes 'one that performs a given action'. When the word tour and the suffixes –ism and –ist are combined, they suggest the action of movement around a circle. One can argue that a circle represents a starting point, which ultimately returns back to its beginning. Therefore, like a circle, a tour represents a journey in that it is a round-trip, i.e., the act of leaving and then returning to the original starting point, and therefore, one who takes such a journey can be called a tourist."[9] Today, three schools discuss on the roots of tourism. The French School, led by A. Houlot argued that the term tourism comes from the old Aramaic Tur, which was used for the trip, exploration and movement of people in the Bible. This word had been used, for the first time, when Moses begins his expedition to the lands of Canaán.[10] Nevertheless, another school of thought - the Onomastic School - considers the origin of the concept not from a linguistic perspective but rather links it to the last name of the French aristocracy Della Tour. According to this school, after Carlos V signs a treaty with England in 1516, in celebration of this event, the future king gives the Della Tour family exclusive rights to conduct commercial transport and related businesses.[11] Last but not least, a third school focuses on the Anglo-Saxon world, situating the Theobald´s development under the lens of scrutiny. Surmising that the roots of the word tourism comes from the Ancient Anglo-Saxon term Torn, these scholars found evidence to think the term was coined in XIIth century which by farmers to denote those travels with intentions to return. Over centuries, the meaning of the word has been shifted to be politically adopted. By the middle of the 18th century, the English noblemen used the term ?turn? to refer to the trips undertaken for education, search and culture exploration. In reality, the purpose of the noblemen‘s trip to the different parts of Kingdom was to acquire knowledge that was later useful for governing.[12] In support to Leiper´s account, M. Korstanje provided evidence that shows the Grand-tour was enrooted in the ancient Norse Mythology. Following the examination of legends and texts, this research focuses on the fact that Odin/Wotan represents the archetype of a travelling-god who explored the world to get experience and knowledge. Norse-related texts are indeed unique in this sense. Although the touristic-drive seems to be inherent to almost all cultures and times, Korstanje explains that only by the influence of Norse Mythology, the Grand-tour was accepted as a common-practice in England and Europe later.[13]
Significance of tourism
Strandkorb chairs on Usedom Island, Germany. Not only the service sector grows thanks to tourism, but also local manufacturers (like those producing the strandkorb), retailers, the real estate sector and the general image of a location can benefit a lot.
Tourism is an important, even vital, source of income for many countries. Its importance was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations."[1][14] Tourism brings in large amounts of income into a local economy in the form of payment for goods and services needed by tourists, accounting for 30% of the world's trade of services, and 6% of overall exports of goods and services.[5] It also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy associated with tourism.[15] The service industries which benefit from tourism include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships, and taxicabs; hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theatres. This is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs, clothing and other supplies.
Definitions
In 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months.[9] In 1941, Hunziker and Krapf defined tourism as people who travel "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity."[16][17] In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes."[18] In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home.[19]
In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics:[20]
? ? ?
Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given country traveling only within this country. Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling in the given country. Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country.
The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited by tourists.
History
The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with England and Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (March 2013)
Until relatively recently, travel outside a person's local area was confined to wealthy classes, who at times travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings, works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines. Long ago, at the time of the Roman Republic, places such as Baiae were popular coastal resorts for the rich.
Grand Tour See also: Grand Tour
Modern tourism can be traced to what was known as the Grand Tour, which was a traditional trip of Europe (especially Germany and Italy) undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, mainly from Western and Northern European countries. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18th century some South American, U.S., and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition was extended to include more of the middle class after rail and steamship travel made the journey less of a burden, and Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" a byword. The Grand Tour became a real status symbol for upper classes' students, in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, Johann Joachim Winckelmann's theories about supremacy of classic culture became very popular and appreciated in the European academic world. Artists, writers and travellers (such as Goethe) affirmed the supremacy of classic art whose Italy, France, Spain and Portugal are excellent examples. For these reasons, the Grand Tour's main destinations were to those centres, where upper class students could find rare examples of classic art and history. The New York Times recently described the Grand Tour in this way:
Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.
—Gross, Matt., "Lessons From the Frugal Grand Tour." New York Times 5 September 2008.
The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, laid in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent.
Emergence of leisure travel Main article: Leisure travel This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(February 2013)
Englishman in the Campagna by Carl Spitzweg (c. 1845)
Leisure travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom – the first European country to promote leisure time to the increasing industrial population.[26] Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, the factory owners and the traders. These comprised the new middle class.[26] Cox & Kings was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758.[27] The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place names. In Nice, France, one of the first and best-established holiday resorts on the French Riviera, the long esplanade along the seafront is known to this day as the Promenade des Anglais; in many other historic resorts in continental Europe, old, well-established palace hotels have names like the Hotel Bristol, Hotel Carlton, or Hotel Majestic – reflecting the dominance of English customers.
Panels from the Thomas Cook Building in Leicester, displaying excursions offered by Thomas Cook
Leicester railway station - built in 1894 to replace, largely on the same site, Campbell Street station, the origin for many of Cook's early tours.
A pioneer of the travel agency, Thomas Cook's idea to offer excursions came to him while waiting for the stagecoach on the London Road at Kibworth. With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway, he arranged to take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street station to a rally in Loughborough, eleven miles away. On 5 July 1841, Thomas Cook arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling per person that included rail tickets and food for this train journey. Cook was paid a share of the fares actually charged to the passengers, as the railway tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have been issued at his own price. This was the first privately chartered excursion train to be advertised to the general public; Cook himself acknowledging that there had been previous, unadvertised, private excursion trains.[28] During the following three summers he planned and conducted outings for temperance societies and Sunday-school children. In 1844 the Midland Counties Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him provided he found the passengers. This success led him to start his own business running rail excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway tickets. Four years later, he planned his first excursion abroad, when he took a group from Leicester to Calais to coincide with the Paris Exhibition. The following year he started his 'grand circular tours' of Europe. During the 1860s he took parties to Switzerland, Italy, Egypt and the United States. Cook established 'inclusive independent travel', whereby the traveller went independently but his agency charged for travel, food and accommodation for a fixed period over any chosen
route. Such was his success that the Scottish railway companies withdrew their support between 1862 and 1863 to try the excursion business for themselves.
Cruise shipping
Prinzessin Victoria Luise, the first cruise ship of the world, launched in June 1900 in Hamburg (Germany)
Cruising is a niche form of tourism, a feature of which is that it typically touches more than one country but most of the time does not touch any country. It is a popular form of water tourism. Leisure cruise ships were introduced by the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) in 1844,[29] sailing from Southampton to destinations such as Gibraltar, Malta and Athens.[30] In 1891, German businessman Albert Ballin sailed the ship Augusta Victoria from Hamburg into the Mediterranean Sea. In 1900, one of the first purpose-built cruise ship was Prinzessin Victoria Luise, built in Hamburg.
Modern Day Tourism
Many leisure-oriented tourists travel to the tropics, both in the summer and winter. Places of such nature often visited are: Bali in Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Grenada, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, the various Polynesian tropical islands, Queensland in Australia, Thailand, Saint-Tropez and Cannes in France, Florida, Hawaii in the United States, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St.Lucia, Sint Maarten, St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh, Saint Kitts and Nevis, The Bahamas, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Boracay Island in the Philippines and Bermuda.
Winter tourism See also: List of ski areas and resorts and Winter sport
St. Moritz, Switzerland became the cradle of the developing winter tourism in the 1860s; hotel manager Johannes Badrutt invited some summer guests from England to return in the winter to see the snowy landscape, thereby inaugurating a popular trend.[31][32] It was, however, only in the 1970s when winter tourism took over the lead from summer tourism in many of the Swiss ski
resorts. Even in winter, up to one third of all guests (depending on the location) consist of nonskiers.[33] Major ski resorts are located mostly in the various European countries (e.g. Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey), Canada, the United States (e.g. Colorado, California, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire) New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Chile, and Argentina.
Mass tourism
Reisepläne (Travel plans) by Adolph Menzel (1875)
Mass tourism developed with improvements in technology, which allowed the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time. In Continental Europe, early seaside resorts include: Heiligendamm, founded in 1793 at the Baltic Sea, being the first seaside resort; Ostend, popularised by the people of Brussels; Boulogne-sur-Mer and Deauville for the Parisians. In the United States, the first seaside resorts in the European style were at Atlantic City, New Jersey and Long Island, New York.
Types of Hotels or classifcation of hotel
Hotels are classified according to the hotel size, location, target markets, levels of service , facilities , number of rooms , ownership and affiliation etc. 1.Size - Or number of rooms Under 150 rooms 150 to 299 rooms 300 to 600 rooms More than 600 rooms These categories enable hotels of similar size to compare operating procedures and statistical results .
Difference Between Hotel and motel Definition of the term hotel A Hotel or Inn may be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facilities for the general public, and which furnishes one or more of the following services : Food and beverage service Room attendant ( House keeping ) service Concierge Laundry or dry cleaning service Use of furniture or fixtures Bell and Door attendant service Conference and Banqueting Business center etc.
According to the category of the hotel they provide different level of personalized service . Definition of the term motel The term motel is a contraction of motor hotel. It is a lodging facility that caters primarily to guests arriving by automobiles. Early motels often provide parking spaces near guestrooms, but that has changed in recent years as motel owners and franchisors have become more aware of guest security Motels may be located in any setting, but are usually found in suburban or roadside areas . They became especially successfull in the 1950's and 1960's with the development of the inter-state highway system in the US . Many motels are two-story or low-rise building located near major highways. Pool areas with shrubbery, trees, and children's playground etc. By the way the term Hotel is used as a general term for motels, hotels, inns suite hotels, conference centers and other lodging properties .
Classification of Guests
There are two (2) classifications of guests: Local Guests - those who reside within a 25-mile radius. Local guests are limited to six (6) persons unless approved by the President or Vice-President/Chair of By-Laws and Rules & Regulations. In addition, circumventing this rule by pooling passes to allow a large group to enter the pool is not permitted. This includes family nights. Passes for local guests cost $25.00 each for 10 visits - three (3) passes per year. Old passes must be turned in before a new one is purchased. Local guests are only permitted to attend the following special occasions as published in the Club's activity calendar:
? ? ?
Pre-Teen Nights Teen Nights Family Nights
subject to the $3.00 per local guest fee. (Unless otherwise posted for special events, or as guests of a member with a pool pass.) The local guest fees established above are the fees that these guests must pay, over and above the amount by the Club members for these functions. Out-of-Town Guests - those who reside outside the 25-mile radius, and who as long as they are visitors, are permitted daily use of the Club's facilities, once required fees have been paid. Out-of-town guest fees are $3.00 a day.
Understanding Guest Service
As the hospitality industry becomes more competitive, economic pressures increases and the industry continues to expand, there is an obvious need to retain clientele as well as increasing profitability. It is therefore unsurprising that hospitality management professionals strive to improve guest satisfaction, and short- and long-term revenues. The management professionals whom are striving for these results however often have limited understanding of research surrounding the paradigms of guest satisfaction, and the consequent effects it has on guest loyalty and financial performance. This article will discuss some of the driving theories of guest satisfaction. Existing Research Though over 15,000 trade and academic papers discussing guest satisfaction has been published since the 1960s (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 189), one can note by researching that limited attention has been paid to the value perception and expectations guests have towards product delivery, and the effects price guests pay for an experience has on satisfaction and future spending. Furthermore Voss et al. argues that the role of pricing in relation to guest satisfaction has been largely ignored within the little research that does exist (Cited in Mattila et al., 2003, p. 328), which makes existing research less applicable as the price paradigm is often excluded. Considering that guest‘s expectations has gone up in the past 30 years within the hospitality industry, and continue to do so, does not make it any easier for management to understand what guests expect. Loyalty Equals Better Performance The reason why loyal guests are so important is: 1) because it costs three to five times as much to attract new guests than to retain existing ones; 2) because previous guests strongly influence others by word of mouth recommendation (Conlon et al., 2004, p. 434). Most hospitality professionals do understand the undisputed research on guest service which proves that: 1) Companies that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty; 2) Companies with higher guest loyalty, perform better financially compared to their competition. Kristiansen et al. (1992), Zeithaml et al. (1996), McColl-Kennedy and Schneider (2000) all found in studies conducted that satisfied guests are key to long-term business success (Cited in Gilbert et al., 2006, 298). This long-term success is based on guest loyalty and retention which consequentially results in future revenue (Ibid). Another theoretical and empirical study on guest satisfaction and performance (including repeat purchase intentions) suggest that satisfaction levels can be directly linked to financial performance (Gupta et al., p. 284, 2007). This is a fairly easy concept to grasp, but understanding guest satisfaction is not as easy. Perception The hospitality industry must charge guests different rates depending on demand to stay profitable, thus effective yield management is within the industry extremely important. Due to this, guests are likely to experience fluctuations in their value perception. This supposition is based on research by Zeithaml that argue amongst other things that value is low price (Cited in Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Due to the complexity of the guest experience, guests are likely to search for evidence of value and satisfaction from three distinct sources: 1) people; 2) process; 3)
physical environment; or what has been dubbed as the servicescape (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). There are a number of theories surrounding the satisfaction and service paradigm of which five of them will be discussed in this article. These theories of interest are ones that relate to antecedents and decedents of satisfaction. Servicescape The ?servicescape‘ is a general and widely used term to describe the physical surroundings of a service environment (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786) such as a hotel or cruise ship. The service offered is to some extent intangible which makes it very difficult for guests to gauge what is good and not so good about the services offered. Therefore, guests are sometimes unconsciously trying to obtain as much information as possible through experiences to decrease information asymmetries (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786). This causes guests to look for quality signals or cues which would provide them with information about the service (Ibid), which leads us to ?cue utilization theory‘. Cue utilization theory Cue utilization theory argues that products or services consist of several arrays of cues that serve as surrogate indicators of product or service quality (Reimer et al., 2005, p. 786). There are both intrinsic and extrinsic cues to help guests determine quality, where the intrinsic cues provide information on the physical attributes of the product or service, whereas extrinsic cues are product related and provide information such as brand and price (Ibid). Consequentially, due to the limited tangibility of services within a hospitality environment, guests are often left to accept the price of the experience and the physical appearance or environment of the hotel or cruise ship itself as quality indicators. Stimulus-organism-response theory One of the basic frameworks that help us understand how behavior is impacted by the physical environment is the stimulus-organism-response theory which in a hospitality environment states that the physical environment acts as a stimulus, guests are organisms that respond to stimulus, and the behavior directed towards the environment by guests is a direct response to the stimulus (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). It can be very difficult for guests to evaluate the service quality, as the experience as a whole can be somewhat overwhelming. To make the service-evaluation process simpler, guests turn to the physical environment, the hotel or cruise ship itself, to look for tangible evidence that indicate that either ‘yes‘ this is a great hotel or cruise ship or ?no‘ this is not up to expectations (Mattila, 1999, 42). It is therefore important to understand that the physical environment can have a profound effect on guest satisfaction. One study also found that the satisfaction levels lodging guests had were influenced by several dimensions such as room cleanliness, room to be in working order, staff friendliness and attentiveness (Mattila et al., 2003, p. 330). It was also found that guests had a very low tolerance for any of these dimension to be far from their expectations (Ibid). It has been found that not only the quality of above mentioned services correlate to overall satisfaction, but also the room design and the physical property impact satisfaction levels (Mattila et al., 2003, p. 330). Disconfirmation theory Moving along to theories on satisfaction, many researchers have argued what the definition of satisfaction really is, and many theories have been proposed. Amongst the most popular theories
is the ?disconfirmation theory‘ which argues that ?satisfaction is related to the size and direction of the disconfirmation experience that occurs as a result of comparing service performance against expectations? (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 190). Szymanski and Henard found in their metaanalysis that the disconfirmation paradigm is the best predictor of customer satisfaction (Cited in Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Though many models exist such as the disconfirmation theory and other theories such as the performance-only approach, the technical and functional dichotomy approaches, the service quality versus service satisfaction approach and the attribute performance approach, it is agreed amongst all theories that satisfaction is a post-consumption evaluation by the guest (Gilbert et al., 2006, p. 299). Fulfillment response Oliver offers an updated definition on the disconfirmation theory which states ?Satisfaction is the guest‘s fulfillment response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or over-fulfillment? (Cited in Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 190). Based on this definition it can be assumed that the fulfillment response is a positive feeling experienced by guests as pain reduction occurs when a problem is solved or alleviated (Ibid). Oliver however also argues that positive feelings can occur not only by the unexpected effects of overfulfillment, but also by under-fulfillment which can occur when the damage or pain a problem causes is less than expected (Ibid). These definitions are very interesting as they point towards two ideas: ?Firstly, satisfaction is the result of direct experiences with products or services; and secondly, it occurs by comparing this experience against a standard (e.g. expectations)? (Ekinci et al., 2004, p. 191). The major shortcoming of the disconfirmation theory should however be noted, which is that the model indicates that if one‘s expectations are decreased, satisfaction must inevitably increase (Petrick, 2004, p. 398). Repurchase intentions Past research indicates that satisfaction is an excellent predictor of repurchase intentions (Petrick, 2004, p. 397). Anderson et al. (1994), Fornell (1992) and Yeung et al. (2000) also found through several empirical studies that satisfaction, and also quality, are key drivers in a company‘s financial performance (Cited in Matzler et al., 2006, p. 180). These findings point towards the importance for hospitality companies to fully understand and recognize what drives guest satisfaction and focus on the areas which are performing poorly and consequentially have a negative effect on guest satisfaction. Evaluations When discussing satisfaction, it is important to understand that guest‘s evaluation of service comprise of two basic distinct dimensions: service delivery and service outcome (Mattila, 1999, p. 42). Research indicates that how the service was delivered (perceived functional quality) is more important than the outcome of the service process (technical quality) (Ibid). This research clearly indicates that effort by staff have a strong effect on guest‘s satisfaction judgments. Dissatisfaction Having thoroughly discussed satisfaction, it is important to also discuss dissatisfaction and why it occurs. Dissatisfaction towards the service often simply occurs when guest‘s perceptions do not meet their expectations. There are several specifics to why dissatisfaction would occur within
a hospitality environment, such as: 1) the company not understanding what guests wants, and can therefore not deliver; 2) false or incorrect advertising which causes guests to have unrealistic expectations; 3) staff not able or willing to deliver adequate service. On a more theoretical level, dissatisfaction can be explained by Parasuraman‘s gap model which proposes that ten dimensions determine service quality: ?reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding/knowing the guests, and tangibles? (Cited in Haksik et al., 2000, p. 218). Above essentially propose that the differences between expected performance and perceived performance on each of the above dimensions will determine the overall received service quality (Ibid). Dissatisfaction could therefore arise if the perceived performance falls short on any or all of the expected performance dimensions; this is based on the disconfirmation theory. Conclusion In conclusion, though there is a great deal of research on guest satisfaction within a hospitality environment, the role of pricing in relation to guest satisfaction has been largely ignored. Undisputed research on guest service proves that companies that have more satisfied guests experience higher guest loyalty, and perform better financially compared to their competition. Guests are likely to experience fluctuations in their value perception as value can include low price in the minds of guests, and as the service offered is to some extent intangible. Guests are also sometimes unconsciously trying to obtain as much information as possible through experiences to decrease information asymmetries, and guests are therefore often left to accept the price of the experience and the physical appearance of the hotel or cruise ship itself as quality indicators. Amongst the most popular satisfaction theories is the disconfirmation theory which argues that satisfaction is related to the size and direction of the disconfirmation experience that occurs as a result of comparing service performance against expectations. Basically, satisfaction is the result of direct experiences with products or services, and it occurs by comparing perceptions against a standard (e.g. expectations). Research also indicates that how the service was delivered is more important than the outcome of the service process, and dissatisfaction towards the service often simply occurs when guest‘s perceptions do not meet their expectations.
The Importance of Tourism
One of the more notable aspects of the current economic recovery has been the strength of tourism and related industries. In 2012, New York played host to a record 52 million tourists—11 million from abroad and 41 million from the U.S.—so we had approximately 1 million people visiting the city every week. In 2002, New York saw 35.3 million visitors, meaning that tourist visits have increased nearly 50 percent in the past decade. Tourism has grown into one of the most important industries in New York City. Since employment began to recover in November 2009, the city has added roughly 285,000 jobs, and 68,500 of those jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, accounting for almost a quarter of all the new jobs in the city over the past four years—this from an industry that accounts for less than 10 percent of total employment.
Add in the 40,000 retail jobs that have been added since the recovery began, at least part of which is tourism driven, and this industry has been one of the key contributors to the economic recovery. In fact, without the boost from tourism, the recovery would have been far less vibrant. While tourism may not directly impact the commercial office market, it plays an important role in the city and has secondary effects. Companies that cater to the tourist trade do occupy office space. Many of our signature buildings from the Empire State Building to 30 Rockefeller Center to the about-to-be completed 1 World Trade Center are major tourist attractions. And tourists remain fascinated with the architecture and size of New York City office buildings. Who hasn‘t seen a tourist take out a camera to snap a photo of the towers along Park Avenue or Avenue of the Americas? In his book Modern New York: The Life and Economics of A City, Greg David points out that tourism has replaced manufacturing in the city‘s economy over the past 40 or so years. ?It generates middle-class jobs. It employs immigrants and unskilled workers and speeds them up the economic and social ladder far better than factory work. … Its importance is too little appreciated by most New Yorkers.?
When you hear the word ?tourism?, what comes to mind? Exotic, far away lands? Think again. In 2012, more than 12.5 million visits were made to and within Saskatchewan. Tourism is a significant economic driver. Travel expenditures in Saskatchewan exceeded 2.1 billion in 2012. Tourism links communities throughout our vast province, and defines our image – how we see ourselves and how others see us. Saskatchewan‘s tourism sector comprises five industries – accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, transportation, and travel services. From bed and breakfasts and restaurants to parks and museums, tourism touches every corner. Virtually all areas of business are influenced by tourism. The sector employs a diverse range of Saskatchewan citizens, including service station attendants to golf resort owners. Residents in every community, large and small, rural and urban, are engaged in tourism activities. More than 57,000 people of all ages, ethnicities, and skill sets derive their livelihood from tourism. Our vision: A vibrant entrepreneurial tourism industry offering year-round compelling and memorable Saskatchewan experiences. Our mission: Connect people with quality Saskatchewan experiences and advance the development of successful tourism operations. The tourism industry is primarily service and people oriented; it is made up of businesses and organisations belonging to various other industries and sectors. It is an interplay among these businesses and organisations/persons which offer ?travel experience? to tourists. The tourism industry comprises hospitality (related to accommodation and dining), travel (transportation services through different modes), and various other businesses which offer services and products to tourists. The components of the tourism industry are shown in Exhibit 1.1.
Industries related to tourism
Most of the players in the tourism industry are SMEs. The unorganised sector dominates the industry in India. Hotels, airline companies, and tour operators form the organised sector. Specialist travel service providers assist tourists with travel arrangements. These providers include travel agencies who are involved in retailing of travel products directly to the tourists (individuals or groups). They provide information on different travel destinations and advise customers on travel plans. They also sell associated products such as insurance, car hire, and currency exchange. Business travel agencies specialise in making travel and accommodation arrangements for business travelers and promoting conference trades. The tour operators provide packages for individuals while the principals provide basic travel and tourism related services. Tour operators offer holiday packages which comprise travel (road, rail, sea, air as well as to and from the destination airport, car hire, excursions, etc) and accommodation (hotels, guesthouses, apartments, etc) services. Transport service providers could be airlines, cruise lines, car rentals, and rail companies. A tourist‘s choice of transport would depend on the travel budget, destination, time, purpose of the tour, and convenience to the point of destination. Accommodation could be hotels and motels, apartments, camps, guest houses, lodge, bed and breakfast establishments, house boats, resorts, cabins, and hostels. In addition, tourists also require catering facilities, which a variety of outlets for food and refreshments offer. These include hotels, local restaurants, roadside joints, cafeterias, and retail outlets serving food and beverages.
Another major component of the travel and tourism industry is ?attractions‘ such as theme parks and natural attractions including scenic locations, cultural and educational attractions, monuments, events, and medical, social or professional causes. The tourist information and guidance providers include a number of service providers such as those offering insurance, recreational, communication, and banking services; government agencies; tour guides; industry associations; packaging agents; ticketing agents; and holiday sellers. Types of tourists Tourists can also be classified based on their purpose of visit: Business tourists This segment typically comprises those travelling for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE); however, this definition is not conclusive and includes any tourist on a visit to India for business purposes. Business tourism is viewed as an important market in the country and one of the high-yielding sectors of the tourism industry. Leisure tourists Leisure tourism comprises trips for pleasure. It includes holidays within the country or abroad. Visiting friends and relatives and travel for a variety of reasons such as health and fitness, sports, education, and culture also come under the purview of leisure trips. In the past few years, opportunities in India for leisure tourism have emerged strongly owing to the following factors: changing consumption pattern of Indian customers, burgeoning Indian middle class population, and geographical diversity. Tourists can also be classified into domestic and foreign tourists based on their nationality. Furthermore, depending on the duration, tourism can be classified into picnic, excursion, holidays, weekend getaways, etc. Different forms of tourism There are different types of tourism. The recent trend is moving toward niche segments of tourism: • Medical/healthcare tourism • Adventure tourism • Heritage tourism • Ecotourism • Rural tourism • Pilgrimage tourism Medical tourism Medical tourism also known as health tourism has emerged as one of the important segments of the tourism industry. The term has been coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to for healthcare.
Travelers typically seek services such as elective procedures as well as complex specialised surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac, dental, and cosmetic surgeries. Psychiatry, alternative treatments, and convalescent care are also available.
Introduction to Tourism What is tourism?
To tour is to venture. To tour is a verb that describes an individual‘s movement from place to place. However, if you add the suffix ?ism? to this simple verb, you create a noun of action. It creates the term ?tourism,? which is more than just an act. As a powerful noun, the word tourism embodies the wide world of people, places and things that come with this function of the English language. With the addition of that small suffix, to tour becomes more than just the act of movement. From a dictionary definition, it becomes ?the activity or practice of touring, especially for pleasure? or ?the promotion of tourist travel, especially for commercial purposes.? In this manual, we will focus on the business or industry of providing information, accommodations, transportation, and other services to tourists and what it means to plan, create and sustain tourism, and the impact tourism can have on your rural community.
Who are tourists?
Tourism can be a part of your community in a variety of ways through an array of people. Tourists are not simply travelers of the open road. They are people who are seeking physical rest or recreation, culture, companionship, social atmospheres, hobbies, personal development, education and more. Tourists are visitors or guests to a community and are the most important element of the tourism industry. To identify tourists, we must step outside typical stereotypes. Most picture a tourist as a gawky sightseer from far, far away. However, a great deal of tourism is generated from tourists from our own state! In all actuality, a tourist is any person who stays at least one night at a business or private accommodation in the country or area
visited. Tourists may be one of the following types: Domestic: residents of the given country traveling within their own country. Inbound: nonresidents traveling in the given country. Outbound : residents traveling in another country. Internal: domestic tourism plus inbound tourism. National: domestic tourism plus outbound tourism. International: inbound tourism plus outbound tourism. Visitor: A person traveling to and staying in places outside his or her usual environment for not more than
In this Chapter What is Tourism? • Who are Tourists? • Tourism and your community • Tourism Basics • Benefits and cost of tourism •
Introduction to Tourism Introduction to the Tourism Industry
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6 one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes. Same-day visitor: A visitor who does not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the country visited. Domestic visitor: A person residing in a country who travels to a place within the country, outside his or her usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit if other than the
exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. Includes tourists plus same-day visitors, but not ?business travelers.? International visitors: persons who travels to a county other than that in which they have their usual residence but outside their usual environment for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited. Includes tourists plus same-day visitors. It is important to be able to identify what types of tourists are attracted to your community. Doing this allows you to create marketing and promotional plans that will target the tourists who are most likely to actually visit your community.
Tourism and your community
In beginning to understand the tourism industry, it is important we understand it is not separate from your community. It is a part of it. Tourism affects all aspects of a community, including businesses, government services, the natural environment, cultural amenities and residents. In order to create a thriving, successful tourism industry, it must work hand-in-hand with the entire local community towards common goals with common values in mind. The tourism industry must be viewed as a cohesive part of the community that expresses that community‘s natural and cultural environments. Tourists are not foreign invaders of your territory; they are a temporary part of your community. There are five elements that must meld between a community and its tourism industry to make it successful and sustainable. Community values: It is very important to be able to identify the values of your community. Values are the principles, standards or quality regarded as worthwhile or desirable to your community. These values must be taken into consideration when developing a tourism program. Furthermore, the community must focus on maintaining its values as tourism develops. Attractions: The community must be able to identify what the drawing forces of your tourism industry will be. Activities, cultural resources, art resources, historic resources, natural resources and other developments will be the attractions that will attract tourists. The community must be able to identify, develop and manage these attractions.
Services: When tourists are drawn to the attractions of your community, it is important to be able to provide the services necessary for them to enjoy it. The community should develop and expand small businesses to provide visitors with the products and services they need. A diverse economy is necessary to create new jobs and revenue, as well as keeping visitors happy. Marketing and promotion: While cultivating a tourism industry in your community, it is essential to market your product. In marketing, the community must identify their target audience, what that audience needs, how to fulfill those needs, and more importantly, how to communicate with them. Tourism organization: In order to meet the above mentioned goals, your community must be able to appoint existing local resource groups and/or individuals to organize tourism efforts. This may be your local chamber of commerce or lodging tax board. Furthermore, this group should search for stable funding for tourism development.
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Introduction to Tourism
7 It is important to the sustainability of your community‘s efforts to incorporate these five items into the development of a tourism industry. Your tourism industry should be a reflection of your community‘s values and heritage. In return, your tourism industry should serve to strengthen these values. Furthermore, the values identified and promoted by the tourism industry become a standard for businesses and organizations in the community. These components combine to create a foundation of a strong tourism industry. In the rest of this section, we will discuss the basics of tourism. In the following sections, we will discuss how to plan, assess, market and manage your tourism industry using the previously discussed five fundamentals.
Tourism Basics
As tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming, it is crucial that we understand the basics of this industry and how it impacts our state. In just the past ten years, spending, earnings and employment in the tourism industry in Wyoming has nearly doubled. In 2007, 30,350 Wyomingites held jobs in the tourism industry. That‘s about 20 percent of our state‘s population! That year, $2.68 billion was generated in direct expenditures. Being such a large and growing industry, there is not a
reason small Wyoming communities can‘t get a slice of this lucrative tourism pie. In a time when many rural economies are struggling, tourism has the potential to increase income and jobs where it is needed most. But first, we must understand what components make up this industry, how tourism works, and the benefits and costs of it. The tourism industry is made up of three important components. These components include the community, industry and the tourist market. The community is the central pivot of tourism. It supplies all the necessities that allow the industry to go ?round: location, leadership, organization, labor force, public services and hospitality. Industry follows the community. It consists of the attractions and events that draw tourists to the community, the businesses that provide the needed services and the groups and individuals who do the promotion, planning and market research for the industry. Finally, the tourism market is made up by the visitors who pay for the products and services they want. These visitors pour money into transportation, food, lodging, services and entertainment. They create markets based on different characteristics and behaviors which determine where their money goes. These three components combine to create a cohesive tourism system. As we look at how these entities work together to create tourism, it becomes clear that tourism is not a selfsufficient industry. Rather, it is an elaborate collaboration of many related industries. Industries from the private, public and non-profit sectors should work in balance to culminate a successful tourism industry
The Impact of Travel on Wyoming‘s Economy
Domestic and international travelers • spent $2.68 billion in Wyoming in 2007. The tourism industry generated $108 • million in taxes for state and local gov ernments. Every household in Wyoming would • pay an additional $527 in taxes if not for the tourism industry. Travel expenditures increased 7.2% •
over 2006. Teton County has the state‘s larget • tourism industry in the state, bringing in $571 million in travel spending. Travel-generated employment ac • counted for 7.8% of Wyoming‘s total employment in 2007. The Wyoming travel and tourism indus • try supported 30,350 jobs in 2007. To see the complete 2007 Economic Impact Report, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org/tourism
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Benefits and cost of tourism
While the purpose of this manual is to help your community promote tourism as a positive aspect of your community, it is also important that you are able to see the pitfalls of this industry so they may be avoided or at least mitigated. In the tourism planning process, it is important to lay both the positive and the negative aspects on the table and identify what would be most beneficial to the community at large. Tourism can positively and negatively affect economic, social and environmental factors of your community.
Economic impacts
When a community begins to look at tourism development, this is usually the area they want to focus on enhancing. They are looking for the income and jobs that come with a thriving tourism industry. Business owners look forward to increased sales to front-line tourism sales. However, these front-line direct suppliers are not the only businesses to benefit from a tourism economy. Many businesses do not directly deal with tourist. However, these wholesale businesses sell products and services to the front-line businesses. Despite these sought-after benefits, tourism can have negative impacts on a community‘s economy. It can be a very costly industry to operate and maintain. A
great deal of money must be invested in maintaining the community‘s infrastructure to keep it up to par for tourists. Furthermore, tourism development can inflate the housing market and living conditions in your community. This makes it difficult for long-time community members who are not a part of the industry to remain in the community. Also, as a tourism industry evolves, the likelihood of more outside owners and investors threatens to take revenue away from the community.
Social impacts
Just as an unexpected house guest can overstay his welcome, communities can begin to feel the negative social effects of tourism over time if the host is not properly prepared. Nonetheless, tourism has very positive social impacts on a community. It allows locals and tourists to interact in business exchanges, shared facilities and community events. In promoting and showcasing what the community has to offer to tourists, locals are likely to experience renewed interest in their community and increased pride in their community. They also benefit from upgraded services and facilities and experience cultural learning opportunities. If not properly planned, however, large amounts and long-term tourism can begin to rub the community like the un-welcomed house guest. If economic and environmental factors begin to weigh too heavily upon a community, local residents are more likely to become less tolerant and even resentful of the visitors. The intensity and speed at which tourism in a community develops has a huge impact on these negative aspects. However, by integrating community values, proper planning and good management, these problems can be avoided.
Environmental impacts
Tourism heavily interacts with the environment of the community. The natural, physical environment, facilities and infrastructure all experience high traffic with tourism. Communities with tourism often have a greater
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Introduction to Tourism
9 appreciation for conserving natural and historic areas. Tourism also encourages communities to place more emphasis on trash clean-up and beautification programs. In an effort to please tourists, communities often work to improve local infrastructure that works to reduce pollution and other efforts to improve the environment.
Just like economic and social impacts, when tourism development lacks proper planning, it can have negative environmental impacts. Development and infrastructure that is built without fitting into the natural environment can cause aesthetic architectural pollution and irreversible environmental destruction. As a community expands with its tourism business, it often outgrows its original boundaries, infrastructure and resources. Particularly in rural areas, the threat of urban sprawl‘s encroachment on agricultural land or wildlife habitat is a constant concern. Furthermore, increased human traffic can leave additional pollution, litter and cause congested traffic. While it is important to be able to identify the possible negative impacts of tourism, it is even more important to be able to plan around those effects. With the proper planning and processes, these negative effects can be minimized. You cannot ignore or dismiss the negative impacts of tourism, but you can work to mitigate them. The following table outlines the benefits, costs and possible techniques to avoid problems involved with economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism.
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The Benefits and Impacts of Tourism
Social Impact
Supports dvelopment of community facilities and other local improvements May enhance communities ?sense of place? through culture/historic celebration Encourages civic involvement and community pride May help maintain cultural idenity of minority populations that are dying out May facilitate renewed interest in traditional lifestyles amoung younger residents Provides cultural exchange between hosts and guests. Promotes peace and understanding
Economic Impact
Brings new money into the community Helps diversify and stabilize the local economy Attracts new businesses and services to support tourism industry May be a catalyst for other industries and bring capital investment to the area Creates local jobs and new business opportunities Increases expansion and retention of existing businesses Contributes to the state and local tax base Helps supports local businesses that might not survive on resident income alone
Enviornmental Impact
Fosters conservation and preservation of natural, cultural and historical resources. Increases local enviornmental awareness
May encourage community beautification, revialization and enviornmental quality May improve local urban/rural landscapes through facilities development May stimulate improvements in infrastructure (airports, roads, water, waste, sewage) May be cleaner than other industries
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Introduction to Tourism
11 In examining the benefits and costs of tourism, it is also important a community recognize the extreme challenges of even cultivating a tourism industry in a rural area. Small communities often lack the population base, financial resources or diversified economy needed to easily create a tourism industry. Despite these challenges, communities can utilize certain strategies to help them overcome the challenges they might face. Use the following table to identify some of the challenges your community might face when trying to develop a tourism industry.
Obstacles to tourism development
Obstacle Description
Reliance on natural resource-based economy Industrial sector work forces are seldom prepared for the service orientation and customer contact needs of the tourism industry. Small population base The community may lack the organizational and professional skills required for developing strong visitor attractions; local leaders and volunteers may be overworked. Limited financial resources Smaller communities often lack access to financial resources needed to develop tourism facilities, services and staff. Transportation isolation Many small communities lack access to major airports, highways and public transportation. Therefore, visitors find it difficult and expensive to travel to. Underdeveloped resources Many communities have natural and cultural resources to draw tourists, but limited funding and lack of knowledge about tourist needs prevent adequate development. Industry misperceptions Residents believe they have no control over tourism development and fear that increased visitors will change the local character and reduce quality of life.
Neighboring competition Small communities often have a history competing with their neighbors and don‘t realize that tourism is more successful if larger geographic areas work together. Inadequate leadership Local leaders are often overworked and overstressed due to high out-migration, limited resources and economic struggles. Tourism development requires dedicated leaders and followers. Sustainability issues Many communities struggle to balance the public‘s concern for environmental protection with development. Divergent viewpoints cause polarization and impede progress. Strategic planning Small communities often have not initiated planning for community development. Lack of comprehensive growth plans and tourism planning increases failure due to poor product development and delivery. Failure to work together Local firms that do business with travelers often do not understand that they are a part of the tourism industry. Failure to work together as an industry reduces the effectiveness of a community tourism effort. Lack of information Many small communities lack information on local tourism impacts, visitors or local businesses, making it difficult to plan for tourism or develop appropriate communication strategies.
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Strategies for success
Success Strategy Description
Tourism organization Don‘t try to ?dabble? at tourism or expect the industry to ?just happen.? Adopt a serious, consistent, systematic approach with a community tourism organization and dedicated paid or volunteer staff. Product development Tourism is a dynamic industry. Constantly change to provide more interesting and extensive attractions and services to meet or exceed travelers‘ expectations. Target marketing Use specialized marketing strategies targeted to specific groups of travelers. Profile customers accurately to maximize your marketing budget. Customer service perspective Customer service is paramount to successful tourism programs. Use hospitality training programs to improve front-line services and stress service quality in local businesses.
?Big Picture? perspective Recognize that neighboring towns are allies, not competitors. Small destinations compete with national and international attractions for tourists, so regional products are more competitive. Selling ?experiences? Many tourism businesses sell their physical features when crafting marketing messages. You will be more successful if you focus on marketing the ?experience? of travel. Collaboration Join forces with other communities through effective collaboration to maximize your marketing potential and improve your ability to provide the attraction and service base needed to draw visitors. Maintaining competitiveness Staying abreast of change and understanding the impacts and opportunities that will results can help you distinguish yourself by capitalizing on new travel trends. Public-private partnerships As the industry becomes better understood, it has become clear that governments must play a much greater role in tourism development. Create and participate in effective public-private partnerships that define roles and responsibilities. Growth management If you define local carrying capacity limit, you will be better able to manage tourism growth and balance visitor needs with maintaining quality of life.
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