V ISITOR M ANAGEMENT, T OUR O PERATOR AND T RAVEL A GENTS Introduction to Tourism

T HE MANAGEMENT OF VISITORS Visitor management can help to ensure that the expectations of tourists are balanced aganist the demands of the host environment, community and tourist business. Thus, successful visitor management requires a clear understanding of the demands of these groups and the extent to which they are prepared to compromise their positions in order to achive a balanced outcome for all stakeholders.

C ARRYING CAPACITY "Tourism Carrying Capacity" is defined by the World Tourism Organisation as “The maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction”. Whereas Middleton and Hawkins Chamberlain (1997) define it as “the level of human activity an area can accommodate without the area deteriorating, the resident community being adversely affected or the quality of visitors experience declining” what both these definitions pick up on is carrying capacity is the point at which a destination or attraction starts experiencing adverse as a result of the number of visitors.

C ARRYING CAPACITY Physical The number of visitors which the site was designed for or has the ability to accommodate Economic The level of tourism business which can be operated before other industries are squeezed out by the competition for resources Perceptual The level of use which can be withstood before the psychological experience of visitors is negatively affected Social The number of visitors which can be tolerated by the host community Ecological The number of tourists which can use an area before damage is done to the natural or biological environment

T ECHNIQUES TO MANAGE VISITORS (1)

T ECHNIQUES TO MANAGE VISITORS (2) Hard techniques Closure of attraction or areas within an attraction Zoning Permits and licences Vehicle bans Entrance fees Soft techniques Marketing Directional signage Limited infrastructure development Codes of conduct

T OUR O PERATOR A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator’s product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price.

T OUR OPERATORS ’ POSITION IN THE CHAIN OF DISTRIBUTION

A DVANTAGES OF WORKING WITH A TOUR OPERATOR Help to sell additional quantities of their products to different markets Responsibility for marketing additional sales in hands of operators Risk of not selling products shifted to the tour operator

T YPES OF TOUR OPERATOR Domestic Operator that served the domestic market have formed just a small part of the travel and tourism industry, because it’s relatively simple for tourists to make their own arrangements within their own country. Incoming tour operators purchase tourism services in their own countries and package them into products that subsequently marketed abroad by partners. Outbound tour operators send travelers from the country they operate in to another country.

T RAVEL AGENTS The Commission of the European Union defined travel agents as retailers to leisure and business travellers, selling flights (charter or scheduled), accommodation, car hire, foreign currency, travel insurance and other travel services. They are generally paid a commission by the supplier of the service or in the case of a package holiday by the operator

P OSITION OF TRAVEL AGENT IN THE CHAIN OF DISTRIBUTION