1. TRAVEL GEOGRAPHY BASICS
UNIT 1
Travel Destinations

2. What is Geography?
the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries

3. TRAVEL You don’t really sell travel You sell geography
The reason a person is traveling is to get to a place and place is geography
SELL: not simply to inform people about a destination but to motivate them to buy that destination

4. Concepts of Destination
1. Know Relevant Facts about a Destination
Climate
Transportation
Itinerary routings
Hotels
Key attractions

5. Climate

6. Concepts of Destination
2. Know What Kind of Traveler Favors a Destination

7. Kinds of Traveler
History Buff: wants to know about destination’s past

8. Kinds of Traveler
Culture-seekers: learning different ways of life, how other people live

9. Kinds of Traveler
Ethnic traveler: explore places of their ancestors

10. Kinds of Traveler
Religious pilgrims: experience tied to spiritual beliefs

11. Kinds of Traveler
Environmental travelers: wants to see scenery and the beauty of places-
Ecotourists: endangered areas
Campers: natural places (woods, lakes, rivers)

12. Kinds of Traveler
Recreational traveler: participate in sports-golf, tennis, skiing

13. Kinds of Traveler Adventure-seeker: hardy sports and activities,
white-water rafting, mountain biking, off the beaten path

14. Kinds of Traveler
Entertainment- seeker: activities such as dancing, partying, gambling, nightclub shows

15. Kinds of Traveler
Shoppers: buy things on a trip

16. Kinds of Traveler Sensual travelers: indulge senses
gourmet dining, sunbathing, staying at a spa

17. Kinds of Traveler Status-seeker: go to trendy places,
expensive destinations and bring back significant purchases

18. Kinds of Traveler Interpersonal traveler: travels to meet people
going to see family, singles cruises
Accounts for the largest number of personal trips

19. Concepts of Destination
3. Know the Individual Client
Name, possible destination, dates, budget
Business or pleasure
Their favorite vacation and why

20. Concepts of Destination
4. Be ready to answer misgivings or fears
Worried about language
Worried about danger
Worried about weather
Worried about costs

21. Concepts of Destination
5. Search for ways to better the sell
Upselling: improve quality of trip, start with the BEST product that is reasonable, then work down
Cross Selling: Offer extra products, air, hotel, rental car, train, attractions, all-inclusive package
Follow-up: How did the trip go, survey, remarks, lets you know about trip

22. Geography USA Today survey
1in 7 Americans can’t find the U.S. on a world map
1 in 5 can’t identify a single country on a map of Europe
1 in 4 can’t find the Pacific Ocean
There is no reason why a person in the US, in this century, shouldn’t know these facts.

23. TRIVIA 25% of business travelers add a leisure part to their trip
Americans are more likely to shop than visit a museum
The best destinations have scenic beauty, warm weather, lots to do and friendly people
American Airlines changes more than 70 airline tires a day
Fastest recorded wind speed: 231 mph

24. Maps: the blueprints of travel
KINDS OF MAPS
Maps: the blueprints of travel

25. MAPS
There are dozens of kinds of maps

26. MAPS Flat Map: Most familiar map
Mercator Projection: most common flat map

27. MAPS Somewhat distorted because you can’t flatten the earth
A straight line on a flat map may not be the shortest route because the earth is round

28. MAPS
Remember: Maps that can lie flat, lie.
(they are inaccurate)

29. Driving/Road Route Map
MAPS
Route Map: maps that show where an airline flies, also road routes that show driving times between cities
Airline Route Map
Driving/Road Route Map

30. MAPS
Globe: the most accurate map
Awkward to use and lack detail

31. MAPS
Locator Maps: usually represent a city, local area, using a locator grid of numbers and letters
Often found in travel industry reference books
Help find hotels and attractions

32. MAPS Mental Map: the way you picture geography in your mind
The farther away a place the more simple your mental map is….which makes more errors

33. MAPS
Physical map: shows only natural landforms, such as rivers and mountains

34. MAPS
Political map: shows man-made borders between cities, states and nations

35. MAP RELATED ITEMS Hemispheres: Northern-above the equator
January is in winter, July is in summer
Southern- below the equator
January is in summer, July is in the winter

36. MAP RELATED ITEMS Hemispheres: Western : North and South America
Eastern : Everything else

37. MAP RELATED ITEMS
Latitude: distance measured north and south of the equator
The farther away from the equator you get the greater the variation in seasonal temperature
The closer to the equator you get the less seasonal the temperature
Latitude

38. MAP RELATED ITEMS
Latitude: distance measured north and south of the equator
The northern and southern most latitudes are called polar latitude

39. MAP RELATED ITEMS
The latitudes near the equator are called tropical latitude

40. MAP RELATED ITEMS
The latitudes between the polar and the tropical are called the temperate latitudes. (Arkansas)

41. MAP RELATED ITEMS
Longitude: distance east and west of an arbitrary line called the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England (Old Royal Observatory)
Around the Earth

42. MAP RELATED ITEMS
To have universal time-the world is divided into 24 standard time zones of 15 degrees each.

43. Map Related Tools
Compass Rose: shows map orientation; north, south, east and west
Scale bar: used for measuring distance between points on map

44. Map Related Tools
Map legend: shows meanings of symbols and colors on map

45. What are Landforms?

46. What are landforms? the natural shapes or features of the earth
many different types

47. continents
Seven major landmasses on Earth- North America Asia (largest) Europe Australia (smallest) South America Africa Antarctica (southernmost)

48. island land that is completely surrounded by water. Hawaiian Islands
Caribbean Islands

49. cays Sandy coral islands that are low and small Also called keys
Cayman Islands
Florida Keys

50. Peninsulas and Capes Projections of land into the water
Korea
Florida
Same as a peninsula but smaller
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Cape Canaveral, Florida

51. mountain
a place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it. Usually above 2000 feet.
Windward – more moist side
Leeward – more dry side

52. Other landforms
Panhandle
Reefs
Plateau
Valley
Canyon
Plain
Dessert

53. ocean the largest bodies of water on earth.
There are 4: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic Ocean

54. seas
Large bodies of water, usually salty sometimes fresh, can be a region of water within an ocean
Baltic Sea
Mediterranean Sea

55. lake water that is completely surrounded by land. Lake Superior
Lake Huron

56. river
a long flowing body of water
Mississippi River
Nile River

57. Gulfs
Large areas of ocean that penetrate into land
Gulf of Mexico

58. Other bodies of water
Waterfalls
Lagoons
Bayous
Deltas
Geysers
Springs

59. Winds and their effect on travel

60. Westerlies
play an important role in carrying the warm, equatorial waters and winds to the western coasts of continents, especially in the southern hemisphere because of its vast oceanic expanse.

61. Jet stream
High-altitude, high- velocity core of the westerlies

62. Trade winds Humid breezes that tend to flow from east to west
Most pronounced in the tropical bands (25o N and 25o S)

63. Types of storms Hurricane (cyclone) Monsoons Cloudbursts Blizzard Hail
Ice
Torrential Rains
Tornado
Sand

64. Other climate conditions
Altitude
The higher a destination is, the cooler it will be.
Winds
The windier it is, the colder it will feel.

65. Temperature Rainfall US – Fahrenheit Most other countries – Celsius
Amount
Season
32o F = 0o C

66. Tourism Patterns People want to go to places because of: Climate
Vacation time
School holidays

67. Peak season
Most expensive season
When tourism is buzzing in a place

68. Off season When tourists are fewest
Real vacation bargains can also be had.

69. Shoulder season Times in between
In most places, fall and spring are shoulder seasons

70. Special events
In most countries, people don’t like to take regular vacations during family holidays, such as Christmas or Passover.
Travel for events such as the Olympics or a World’s fair

72. Summary
Seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are the _________________ of those in the Northern Hemisphere.

73. Seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are the _ OPPOSITE ____ of those in the Northern Hemisphere.

74. Ocean water on the east side of a continent tends to be ______________ than ocean water at the same latitude on the west side.

75. Ocean water on the east side of a continent tends to be _ COOLER __ than ocean water at the same latitude on the west side.

76. Hurricane (cyclone) season in most places peaks in ________________, ___________________, and __________________.

77. Hurricane (cyclone) season in most places peaks in ___ AUGUST ___, ___ SEPTEMBER __, and __ OCTOBER ___.

78. Areas with ____________________ conditions usually get rain during their summer season.

79. Areas with ____ TROPICAL ____ conditions usually get rain during their summer season.

80. The ______________ (in altitude) a destination is, the cooler it will be.

81. The ___ HIGHER ___ (in altitude) a destination is, the cooler it will be.

82. When crossing the International Date Line from east to west, it becomes the _____ day; from west to east, it becomes the ________ day.

83. When crossing the International Date Line from east to west, it becomes the ___ NEXT ___ day; from west to east, it becomes the ____ PRECEDING ____ day.

84. Winds called the ___________________ flow west to east in most temperate parts of the globe, affecting weather and jet travel time.

85. Winds called the ___ WESTERLIES ___ flow west to east in most temperate parts of the globe, affecting weather and jet travel time.

86. The ____________ ____________ flow more or less from east to west in the tropics.

87. The __ TRADE ___ ___ WINDS __ flow more or less from east to west in the tropics.

88. Mountainous tropical islands are usually drier on the western, ________________ coast.

89. Mountainous tropical islands are usually drier on the western, ___ LEEWARD ___ coast.

91. Land Forms of North America
Water
Mountains
Climate

92. Water Atlantic Ocean: lines the eastern shores
Pacific Ocean: lines the westerns shores
Gulf of Mexico: touching south eastern borders

93. Water
In the northeastern part of the United States, the GREAT LAKES separate the U.S. from Canada
Superior
Michigan
Huron
Erie
Ontario

94. Water Lakes of Canada Great Bear Lake Great Slave Lake Lake Winnipeg
Hudson Bay

95. Water Rivers St. Lawrence Columbia Yukon Mississippi Missouri Ohio
Colorado
Rio Grand

96. Mountains 3 Major Mountain Ranges
Appalachian Mountains weathered mountain range of the U.S. noted for camping and hiking, from Pennsylvania to Georgia

97. Mountains Rocky Mountains:
The chief mountain system in North America. It extends from the US– Mexico border to the Yukon Territory of northern Canada. It separates the Great Plains from the Pacific coast and forms the Continental Divide

98. Mountains Sierra Nevada and Cascades Range:
ranges from California, through Oregon, Washington to British Columbia
Cascade Range: best known for its tall volcanoes and deep evergreen forests and becomes the Alaska Range.
Sierra Nevada: perhaps the most beautiful single range in the contiguous United States, as well as the highest and longest. Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the 48 states.

99. Climate
Southern Canada and Northern U.S. have warm or hot summers but cold snowy winters with tourism mostly during the summer
Southern regions of the U.S. have mild to hot climate year round and tend to be year-round destinations

100. Climate
Alaska and Northern Canada: cold and harsh climate in winter, however, may be mild during the late spring and summer

101. Kinds of Traveler
Business Traveler: a person that travels for business and who has their expenses paid for by a business

102. Kinds of Traveler
Leisure Traveler: person that travels for fun and relaxation, travel not related to business