The Nature Of Travel And Tourism Paper 1 The Nature Of Travel And Tourism

Features of the industry : The nature of travel and tourism The international travel and tourism industry consists of a wide variety of commercial and non – commercial organisations that work together to supply products and services to tourists. This in part contributes to it being referred to as “the world’s biggest industry”. The terms travel and tourism generally refer to persons travelling away from home for business or for leisure and the industry that supports this activity.

Another definition is that, tourism is the travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. It also refers to persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one year.

The Main Types of Tourism Domestic – residents visiting destinations within their own countries’ border or when people take holidays, short breaks and day trips in their own country. Inbound – This is also known as incoming tourism which means travellers arriving in different countries from their own.

Outbound – Residents of a country travelling as visitors to other countries.

Main Reasons for travel Leisure Business Visiting friends and Relatives

Characteristics of Travel and Tourism Industry The travel and tourism industry is unique based on the following characteristics of service and the nature of the industry itself: Seasonality – Generating demand when there is less demand is always the preoccupation for marketing managers, a consequence of the fact that demand fluctuates greatly between seasons of the year in most leisure markets.

In addition, seasonal closure in some leisure tourism business is common. Perishability – Products can be stored for future sale, services cannot. This has implications for revenue or income generation (for example loss of an airline ticket or sale of an hotel room) .

Intangibility – the essential difference between goods and services is that goods are produced but services are performed. This means that service takes place in real time and so is simultaneously experienced as it is performed. This has implications for customer satisfaction.

The development of the modern Travel and Tourism Industry Major contributing factors to the growth of travel and tourism

Changing socio – economic factors enable greater propensity for travel Changing socio – economic factors enable greater propensity for travel. Such factors include: change in car ownership increase in leisure Increase in disposable income

Technological developments – Developments in transport technology e. g Technological developments – Developments in transport technology e.g. travelling by air and developments in ICT such as CRS. Also, online travel guides and tour operators give travelers more independence to make travel plans. Additionally, changing consumer needs and expectations is often the end result of product development and innovation

in the sector, as many travel and tourism businesses offer many holiday products developed specifically for such needs e.g. spas and holiday camps.

External factors affecting the growth of Travel and Tourism fluctuations in the currency can affect inbound tourism e.g. exchange rate. climatic changes and national disaster have implications for issues of sustainability. war, civil unrest, terrorism and crime can influence the tourist’s perceptions of risk and therefore translate into travel decision. This may lead to cancellations and avoidance of unsafe destinations.

External factors affecting the growth of travel and tourism . Legislations such as the EU Directive Package on travel has enhanced the quality of package travel services by enhancing consumer protection at a reasonable cost while leaving businesses and consumers free to choose what they wish to sell and buy.

Role of local authorities and government in the growth Travel and Tourism creating a shared vision policy formulation planning strategic management monitoring

The Scale of the Travel and Tourism Industry Consumer spending on travel and tourism: the tourists’ dollar provides a source of foreign exchange for many developing countries with balance of payment challenges. On the other hand, consumer spending patterns in travel and tourism often reflect leakages.

Number of People Employed in the Industry The travel and tourism industry is labour intensive. It offers many employment opportunities for the local population through the supply of basic goods and services and persons are employed to this sector either directly or indirectly.

The number of Tourist arrivals in key destinations Most visited countries by International tourist arrivals (in millions)

Paper 1 resources Please see the accompanying reference list for additional information. http://www.bta.org.uk http://www.english-heritage.org.uk http://www.tourismconcern.co.uk http://www.unesco.org

Paper 1 resources http://www.vso.org.uk http://www.worldlife.org http://www.wttc.org