Tourism and Hospitality Studies - Module III

Manual on Module III
Destination Geography
By
Thomas Bauer, Ph.D.
School of Hotel and Tourism Management

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Copyright
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
All rights reserved.
The copyright of this manual belongs to the Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region. Commercial use is strictly prohibited. Offenders will be liable to
legal responsibility.
Schools need not apply for permission to copy this manual in whole or in part for nonprofit making educational or research purposes. All other uses should gain prior
permission in writing from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region. Requests should be directed to the:
Education Bureau
13/F, Room 1319, Wu Chung House
213 Queens Road East,
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the following organizations for giving us the
permission to reprint some of the pictures and /or providing us with information for
completing the curriculum support package:
The Association of National Tourist Office Representatives in Hong Kong, ANTOR (HK)
Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
ii
Introduction
A set of curriculum support package of tourism and hospitality learning and teaching
materials is being developed by the Personal, Social and Humanities Education Section
of Curriculum Development Institute, Education Bureau for the implementation of the
senior secondary Tourism and Hospitality Studies curriculum in schools. The curriculum
support package is comprised of eight manuals, and they are developed to broaden
students knowledge of the eight different units of the Tourism and Hospitality Studies
curriculum.
The content of this manual Destination Geography, should enhance students
understanding of the dynamic nature of the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition,
the manual includes activities to deepen students understanding and help them to apply
theories and concepts. Furthermore, students should be able to develop enquiry,
problem-solving and decision-making skills through these activities.
All comments and suggestions related to this curriculum support package may be sent
to:
Chief Curriculum Development Officer (PSHE)
Personal, Social and Humanities Education
Curriculum Development Institute
Education Bureau
13/F, Room 1319, Wu Chung House
213 Queens Road East,
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
April 2009
iii
Contents
Preface
vii
Topic 1: World Geography
(A) Basic concepts of world geography
Earth
Continents of the World
The Oceans
Climate
Climate Change
Time zones
Latitude and Longitude
(B) Tourist Attractions Physical and human resources for tourism

development
10
Why do people travel?
10
Classification of tourist attractions
11
Natural attractions
12
Cultural attractions
12
Man-made attractions
13
Other attractions and requirements for a successful tourism

destination
13
Distribution of Tourism Resources
14
Topic 2: Tourism Regions
16
Major tourism regions
17
Western Hemisphere
21
Eastern Hemisphere
26
Asia
31
Africa
39
Australia and Oceania
44
iv
Contents
The Islands of South Pacific
49
Antarctica
50
Human Resources in Tourism
53
Tourism Demand
55
The Role of Technology in Travel and Tourism Industry
57
vi
Preface
Dear Students,
Welcome to this manual on tourist destination geography. It will introduce you

to some of the concepts applied in geography and will provide you with some
insights on destinations that are visited by tourists. The manual is designed to
assist you in your learning about the phenomenon of tourism, which as you
already know, deals with the temporary movement of people away from their
homes and the associated business activities.
Please enjoy learning about this fascinating topic.
Dr Thomas Bauer
vii
Topic 1: World geography

A. Basic concepts of world geography
EARTH OUR HOME
Planet Earth, our home, is the third planet from the Sun in our solar system. There are
many solar systems in the universe and many planets orbiting many suns but as far as
we know Earth it is the only planet in our solar system that is able to host life as we
know it. We can only survive on our planet because we are protected by the thin layer
of the atmosphere that protects us from the uninhabitable conditions in space. This
gives us a strong incentive to protect our environment because if the atmosphere gets
damaged beyond repair all life on Earth will be in danger.
Here are some facts about Earth for you to consider:
Distance from the Sun:
149,597,890 km
Equatorial Radius:
6,378.14 km
Volume:
1,083,200,000,000 km3
Mass:
5,973,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
If you want to find out more about Earth or see pictures of what Earth looks like from
space and to find out many interesting facts about Earth and outer space, please visit
the very informative website of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration
(NASA) http://www.nasa.gov
Continents of the World
A long time ago all the landmasses on Earth were connected and when this landmass
broke up the continents formed. This phenomenon is known as plate tectonics and you
can find out more about this at http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics
Earth consists of seven continents.
By size they are:
Asia - (44,579,000 sq km)

Africa - (30,065,000 sq km)
North America - (24,256,000 sq km)
South America - (17,819,000 sq km)
Antarctica - (13,209,000 sq km)
Europe - (9,938,000 sq km)
Australia/Oceania - (7,687,000 sq km)
By population (2005 estimate) :
Asia - (3,879,000,000)
Africa - (877,500,000)
Europe - (727,000,000)
North America - (501,500,000)
South America - (379,500,000)
Australia/Oceania - (32,000,000)
Antarctica - (No permanent population)
By the number of countries (note that the number of countries is constantly changing):
Africa - (53)
Europe - (46)
Asia - (44)
North America - (23)
Oceania - (14)
South America - (12)
Source: http://www.worldatlas.com/geoquiz/thelist.htm
EXERCISE 1:
1. Locate the continents on a world map or globe.

2. By consulting an atlas determine which of the continents has the highest and
lowest population density per square kilometre?
The Oceans
About 70 per cent of the Earths surface is covered by oceans and if you look at a
photograph of Earth from outer space it become clear why it is called the blue planet.
The five oceans are:
Pacific Ocean
155,557,000 sq km
Atlantic Ocean
76,762,000 sq km
Indian Ocean
68,556,000 sq km
Southern Ocean
20,327,000 sq km
Arctic Ocean
14,056,000 sq km
Oceans are of great importance for our climate and in the tourism context they
provide opportunities for cruise holidays and beach vacations.
EXERCISE 2:
1. Locate the oceans on a map and find out their depth.

2. Oceans also have Seas. On the map identify the largest Seas in each Ocean
(South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean etc.)
Climate
Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, rainfall, atmospheric particle count

and numerous other meteorogical factors weather in a given region over long periods
of time. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, persistent ice or
snow cover, as well as nearby oceans and their currents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate
Many people travel to escape from unpleasant weather and climatic condition at the
places where they live and travel to somewhere more comfortable. This is especially
so in parts of the world that experience very cold and dark winters. North America
and Europe are good examples. People in the northern parts of the United States and
in Canada escape their winters by heading south to places such as Florida. Europeans
from countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Great Britain or Germany escape their
winter climates by flying to countries such as Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey or
even as far a the Canary Islands or the Maldives.
Driving in the snow can be dangerous and living in a harsh climate like this can be
difficult. No wonder that people prefer to fly to sunny destinations like the Maldives
in the Indian Ocean instead where the sun shines all year.
Sun lovers on Bandos Island, Maldives, Indian Ocean
EXERCISE 3
Establish the average monthly temperatures and hours of sunshine for Germany, Hong
Kong and the Maldives.
Useful references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate
Climate Change
Al Gores documentary An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006 and it stimulated

a great public debate about the impacts of human activity on climate change. Climate
change is any long-term significant change in weather patterns that local people
consider to be the normal weather for their specific region. If you are intersted in
learning more about issues of climate change and sustainable tourism please join the
Wiki of the Sustainable Tourism Advisory Committee of the Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA), the largest not-for-profit tourism organisation in the world URL
http://sustainable-tourism.wetpaint.com
Tourism will be impacted by a changing climate in many ways. Low altitude ski
resorts may have to close if there is insufficient snowfall. Low lying islands in the
South Pacific and Indian Ocean may be submerged if sea levels rise significantly.
This will lead to a displacement of local populatiosn and to the collapse of the tourism
industry. It is therefore very important that we all play our part in minimizing our
negative impacts on the environment.
Time zones
A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually
referred to as the local time. Most adjacent time zones are exactly one hour apart, and
by convention compute their local time as an offset from UTC (see also Greenwich
Mean Time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Timezones2008.png
Time zones need to be taken into account when people travel on long flights. Jet lag
is a term often used by air travellers when they feel tired after an east- west or west
east flight that crosses several time zones.
Latitude and longitude
The Equator separates the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The
latitude of the equator is zero degrees. The total length of the Equator is around
40,075.0 km. Latitude gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the
Equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown on a map or globe running
east-to-west. Broadly speaking the further you travel north or south from the tropical
climate around the equator the colder the climate becomes until you reach the
permanently snow and ice covered North and South Pole in 90 degrees North/South
respectively.
Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly used

in cartography and global navigation.
B. Tourist Attractions Physical and human resources for tourism development
As the word suggests, attractions attract people to visit but because all humans are
different what is an attraction for one person is not necessarily an attraction for the
next. You need to keep in mind that sometimes features of great local interest to local
residents may not be attractive to tourists. It is therefore useful for the local tourism
authorities to consult with tourism experts from outside their area.
Why do people travel?
Before we look at the diversity of tourist attractions we need to ask ourselves why
people travel for leisure. Tourism researchers have long tried to identify why people
travel for leisure purposes. What is it that drives some people to travel why others are
happy to stay at home? Why do some people visit historic sites while others just want
to sit by a beach?
Tourism researchers have developed various ideas as to why people become tourists.
One of the best know motivational ideas is that push and pull factors play a role
in getting people to participate in tourism. Push factors are those factors that can be
found within the mind of a person that make him or her want to travel. Pull factors are
those that are specific to a particular destination that appears attractive to the
individual. Back in 1977, Graham Dann, a tourism researcher described the factors
that push someone to travel in terms of socio-psychological forces and the pull
factors as external factors that determine where a person travels to.
Some reasons identified include the need of people for meeting other people which
they may not be able to do at home. Another motivator identified is that some people
travel because they think that after visiting a far away and exotic place they can
impress their friends and family and that this will improve their status.
10
In 1979 John Crompton developed some additional push factors for travel that were
based on Danns original concept. These include:
Escape from a boring home environment
Exploration
Evaluation of self who am I?
Relaxation
Prestige
Visiting friends and relatives
Meeting other people
He added two pull factors that attract people to a tourist destination:
Novelty experiencing something that is new and different
Education learn something at the destination visited
Classification of tourist attractions

Attractions can be classified into a few categories: Natural, Cultural and Man-made or
created.
Physical resources of a place include:
1. Natural vegetation such as forests

2. Often remote wilderness areas that are untouched by humans and that are only
accessible to self sufficient travelers who can rely on their own survival skills to
make a visit to such a region enjoyable
3. Different climatic regions. As you know climate changes with altitude (the higher
you go the colder it gets) and latitude the closer to the equator the warm it gets
4. Landforms include deserts, mountain ranges, and valleys all of which can either
form barriers to tourism or they can be seen as physical attractions for tourists.
11
Attractions are at the forefront they provide the basis for all tourism activities.
Without attractions people would not be motivated to leave home and to travel to
other places.
Natural attractions are based on features of the natural environment of a place. They
include:
Climate
Scenic beauty
Beaches and marine areas
Flora and fauna
Special environmental features
Mountains
Caves
Geysers
Hot springs
Protected areas such as national or country parks
Mineral springs
Cultural attractions are based on human activities. They include:
Archaeological, historical and cultural sites such as monuments; historic

buildings, districts and towns; religious buildings; and places of historic events
Museums and other cultural facilities such as cultural centres, art galleries and
antique shops
Cultural festivals
War battlegrounds and war memorials
Religious pilgrimages such as those to Mecca in Saudi Arabia or Lourdes in
France
Friendliness and honesty of local people towards tourists
12
Man-made attractions are specifically created to attract paying customers, both

tourists and locals.
Theme parks and amusement parks

Shopping centres
Meetings, conferences and exhibition facilities designed for business tourism
Major special events such as carnivals, World Cups, Formula One car racing
Casinos
Entertainment centres
Sports and recreation facilities such as golf courses
Some hotels and resorts can also become attractions in their own right
Some forms of transportation such as train journeys, ocean or river cruises,
horse trekking or sea kayaking can become attractions rather than only modes
of transport
The local cuisine (food and beverages) of a region have led to the development
of such attractions as wine tourism in countries such as Australia, Chile,
Argentina and France.
Other attractions and requirements for a successful tourism destination:
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) is one of the most important noncommercial attractions.
Peace at the destination
Public health
Safety ( terrorism, crime, prostitution, drugs)
Destination travel costs
Ease of access
Availability of tourist facilities and services
13
Distribution of Tourism Resources
Tourist attractions are so diverse that they can be found in almost all parts of the
world and in many different environments. All climatic zones from the tundra in the
North to the tropical zone around the equator, and the far South of the planet in the
sub-Antarctic and Antarctic can provide the settings for tourist attractions.
The high mountain ranges of the European, Australian and New Zealand Alps, the
Rocky Mountains of North America, Andes of South America and the Himalayas of
Asia all provide fantastic settings for tourism. Activities there can range from
admiring the scenery to hiking, climbing or skiing.
Many cities around the world (you can think of London, Paris, Rome, New York, San
Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, Tokyo, Cairo, Cape Town, or Rio
de Janeiro), provide their own excitement for tourists and each one has different
tourism resources that attract tourists. The major oceans and seas (Atlantic, Pacific,
and Indian Oceans as well as the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas) and major rivers
(Nile, Amazon, Mississippi, Danube, Rhine, and Yangtze) provide opportunities for
cruises.
It can be argued that the most important tourist resources can be found at the 878 sites
that have been recognized by UNESCO as sites of World Heritage. The map below
gives you an idea where 851 of these sites are located. World heritage sites are
awarded on cultural or natural values but some sites such as Kakadu National Park in
Northern Australia are so special that they are recognized for both of these attributes.
If you visit the web site http://whc.unesco.org/en/ list you can look at all of the places
that are enshrined on the World Heritage list.
14
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_whmap_2007_en.pdf
EXERCISE 4
Think back on the last time you and your family traveled outside Hong Kong and
reflect on what the attractions were that you visited at the place you went to.
EXERCISE 5
Using the list of types of attractions establish the top 10 natural, cultural and created
attractions of Hong Kong.
15
Topic 2: Tourism Regions

Before we start to travel around the world to discover tourism regions on the seven
continents let us define what we mean by tourism. The term means many different
things depending on who we ask but for our study purposes we can use the definition
provided by the authors McIntosh and Goeldner that states that: Tourism is the sum
of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business
suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and
hosting these tourists and other visitors.
This beach resort near Danang in Vietnam provides the setting for leisure tourists who
can enjoy swimming in an artificially created freshwater swimming pool or in the
warm waters of the ocean. The beach provides another opportunity for a leisurely
walk or some beach sports. The little huts called cabanas provide shady resting places
where tourists can escape the full force of the sun.
16
Major tourism regions
Many tourism destinations around the world can be reached by a variety of modes of
transport. They include walking, cycling, traveling by car or bus, by train or ship and
for destinations that are far away from the homes of travelers to fly. New widebodied aircraft like the Airbus A380 in the photograph below make flights more
comfortable.
While physical access to a destination is important it must not be overlooked that

there is also a need to consider what can be termed administrative access. Because
countries have sovereignty over their territories, they have the right to allow or reject
people to visit.
Many countries have introduced a control system that requires potential visitors to
obtain a permit to enter the country. Such permits are called visas. The political
systems (democracy, communist government, kingdom etc.) of countries can
influence how strict visa requirements are. Some countries place heavy restrictions on
who can visit but also restrict travel abroad for their own citizens. Sometimes this is
done for political reasons while at other times it is done for economic reasons, in
particular to keep money in the country rather than allowing tourist to spend it
overseas.
17
This photograph shows a passport with many entry and exit stamps as well as a visa
for the country of Laos.
Health
Tourists do not want to travel to a country if their health is threatened by the

experience of visiting there. It is therefore very important for a destination that it
maintains a high level of cleanliness, hygiene and health awareness. If countries
become known for poor health conditions, tourists will not visit. Tourism is only a
short-term activity and all travelers want to return home at least as healthy as when
they left.
18
During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 tourism in
Hong Kong came almost to a complete standstill. To detect whether visitors had
raised body temperatures, hotels and airports installed infrared thermometers.
Even Colonel Sanders at KFC had to wear a mask during the SARS outbreak in 2003.
Foreign Currency
As students who live in Hong Kong you are used to handling the local currency, the
Hong Kong dollar. If you travel to other parts of the world you will need to change
your Hong Kong dollars into the local currency and to do this you will require the
services of a money changer or a bank. The rate at which your Hong Kong dollars can
be changed into a foreign currency will vary from day to day and depending on what
the exchange rate is your dollars will get you more or less local currency. For example,
if you had bought 1 Australian dollar in July 2008 you would have had to pay around
7.1 Hong Kong dollars but by late November 2008 one Australian dollar would have
only cost you 5.0 HK$. This would make a holiday in Australia much cheaper for
people who have Hong Kong dollars.
19
Sometimes currencies disappear. In the photo below the currency abbreviation DEM
appears. This used to represent the Deutsche Mark (German Mark) but since this
currency was integrated into the Euro on the 1st of January 2002 it no longer exists
and hence cant be bought and sold as the sign would indicate.
20
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere refers to the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime
Meridian (which crosses Greenwich in London, England, United Kingdom), the other
half being the eastern hemisphere. This hemisphere includes in particular the
Americas.
NORTH AMERICA
North America consists of Canada, the United States of America (USA) and
Mexico.The region accounts for 10.8 % of global tourist arrivals and for 15.3% of all
receipts. The United States is home to a wide diversity of tourist attractions. They
range from the exciting attractions in cities like New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Las Vegas to the natural beauty of the many national parks such as the
Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone. Apart from city attractions in Toronto,
Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa, Canada features thousands of square kilometers of
wilderness and natural areas where camping, river rafting, fishing and hunting are the
major attractions.
Mexico forms the continental bridge to Central America and its attractions are mainly
based on the heritage of cultures such as the Aztec and Maya Indians ( Indians are of
course at home in India but Christopher Columbus who discovered America in
1492 mistakenly believed that he had reached India and hence named the locals
Indians).The country is also well known for its beach resorts in places such as
Cozumel, Acapulco and Cancun and for its capital, Mexico City which is located
2240 metres above sea level. Inter North-American tourism is the most important type
of tourism with Canadians driving across the border into the United States and US
citizens driving north into Canada. The border between the United States and Mexico
is, however, very well protected because many Mexicans attempt to cross it illegally
to seek employment in the United States.
21
The Statue of Liberty symbolises the freedom spirit of the United States. It was a
gift of friendship from the French people and was erected on Ellis Island, New
York in 1886. For millions of immigrants who arrived by ship this was the first
sight of their new country. (Photo: FreeFoto.com)
22
Visitors admire one of the deepest canyons on earth, the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
(Photo FreeDigitalPhotos.net) They have the choice of looking at it from above or
hiking to its bottom. Some people also travel through the canyon by rafting on the
Colorado River that has created this mighty canyon.
EXERCISE 6
Look at a map of North America and locate ten cities or natural attractions that you
find interesting. Go on-line and find out the 5 most interesting tourism attractions in
each of the locations. Compare your findings with those of your classmates.
23
SOUTH AMERICA
South America is a vast continent connected to Central America by a narrow

landbridge. There is no road that connects Panama in Central America to Columbia in
South America. This means that access to South America usually requires tourists to
use air transport or to approach aboard a cruise vessel. With the exception of Brazil,
the language most spoken on the continent is Spanish.
Tourism in South America takes place in a variety of locations including the cities of
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago de Chile (Chile) and
Lima (Peru). The natural attractions include the fantastic waterwalls of Iguazu on the
border of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil; the Atacama desert in Chile where rainfall
is hardly ever recorded; the Amazon basin where the worlds largest tropical
rainforest can still be found (but it is under threat from extensive logging); the high
mountain ranges of the Andes which themselves are a continuation of the North
American Rocky Mountains and the mainly volcanic mountains that run down the
west coast of Central America.
The jewel in the crown of tourist attractions in South America are the Galapagos
Islands, a thousand kilometres from the coast of Ecuador which owns the islands.
These World heritage listed islands were made famous by the writings of Charles
Darwin who, after visiting them and observing their unique wildlife, developed the
theory of evolution which is based on the notion of adaptation and the survival of the
fittest. Other highlights in South America include the great ruins of Machu Piccu, the
last strongold of the Inca civilization and the highest navigable lake in the world, Lake
Titicaca.
24
Sugarloaf mountain in Rio de Janiero, Brasil is one of the most popular tourist
attractions in South America. You can reach the peak by travelling on a cable car
(Photo: www.bigfoto.com)
The vibrant port of Buenos Aires, La Boca (the mouth) was once a poor migrant
neighbourhood. Today it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the
capital city of Argentina. This is a good example of how tourism attractions can
evolve.
25
Eastern hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of
the Prime Meridian which crosses Greenwich ( England, United Kingdom) and west
of 180 longitude. Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia are all located in this
hemisphere.
EUROPE
Because of its high concentration of people, relative wealth and the relatively short
distances between countries, over fifty percent of global tourism happens within
Europe. The automobile is the most important tourism leisure vehicle. The continent
offers a great variety of tourist attractions and they are too numerous to list here. Each
country has its own major and minor natural and created attractions but broadly
speaking Northern Europe (countries such as Norwar, Sweden, Finland and Denmark)
are attractice because of their natural beauty. Because they are located in the high
latitudes (closer to the Arctic) they have to content with severe winters and hence
tourism takes place mainly during the warmer summer months of June to September.
Central Europe offers the traveller interesting cities such as Paris, Berlin, Brussels,
and Amsterdam with all their associated culture and entertainment.
26
The Eiffel Tower in the French capital Paris is one of the most recognized landmarks
in the world (Source FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Accommodation in Europe is plentiful and ranges from camp grounds to some of the
finest 5 Star hotels in the world. Heritage hotels like the Hotel Hornburg (above) in
Rothenburg o.d.T, Germany provide accommodation with a historic flair.
The medieval walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber has been a favourite tourist
destination for many years. Recently Mainland Chinese tourists have also discovered
its charms, even during the cold and snowy German winter.
27
The Alpine regions of France, Switzerland, Austria, Northern Italy and Bavaria
provide the setting for some of the best mountain scenery in the world: the European
Alps, a mountain range that stretches for over 1,100 kilometres. There the traveller
can find world class ski resorts where winter sports activities such as downhill and
cross country skiing as well as snowboarding are carried out. During the summer
months, the Alps are popular as a hiking destination.
The early travellers saw the The European Alps as a barrier that slowed down their
travels from Central to Southern Europe. Today the Alps provide the setting for
summer tourism (hiking) as well as winter tourism (skiing) and aircrafts can cross
them in less than one hour. Climate change and the predicted increase in air
temperature will lead to the retreating of glaciers and a rise in the altitude where snow
falls.
The United Kingdom (UK) consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The attractions include its cities (in particular London), its culture and history and its
natural beauty. Many stately homes and castles can be found across the UK.
28
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom. The Tower Bridge across the river
Thames is a well recognised landmark. (Source FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Balmoral castle in Scotland is the private residence of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The
entrance fees paid by tourists and their spending on food, beverages and souvenir
items help to pay for the high cost of maintaining the castle and its extensive grounds.
Southern Europe has a more pleasant climate and destinations in Italy, Spain, Portugal,
Greece and the countries along the eastern shoreline of the Adriatic Sea are popular
summer destinations for tourists from the colder more northern countries of Europe.
29
Apart from beaches these countries are also rich in historical attractions Venice,
Florence, Siena, Athens and Olympia are just a few examples.
Since the fall of the Iron Curtian the line that divided the western capitalist
countries from those that followed communism in the East, the countries of Eastern
Europe have gained popularity as tourism destinations. Cities such as Prague (Czech
Republic), Budapest (Hungary) as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia have
become popular destinations.
EXERCISE 7
Locate the following places on a map of Europe: Oslo, Mykonos, Malaga, Athens,
Munich, Vienna, Prague, Nice, Budapest, Edinburgh. Why do you think these plaes
are popular tourist destinations?
30
ASIA
The vast Asian continent stretches from Turkey in the West to Japan in the Far East
and from the tundra of Sibiria in the North to the islands of the Indonesian archipelago
in the South. It is inhabited by a great variety of people and their cultures as well as
the amazing diversity of landscapes provide the most important tourist attractions.
The following images and captions provide you with an insight into the diversity of
tourist attractions offered in Asia.
Mt Everest (8850m) is the highest point on Earth. It is located on the border between
Nepal and China and was first climbed in 1953. Climbing this peak is an exciting
adventure that is open only to a very limited number of very fit people. Ordinary
tourists prefer to take a one hour mountain flight to experience the scenic beauty of
the Mt. Everest region. In the above photograph, Mt. Everest is the pyramid shaped
peak on the left hand side of the picture.
31
The Forbidden City in Beijing is one of the most important tourism assets of the
capital of the Peoples Republic of China .
Mega sports events like the Olympic Games provide destinations like Beijing with the
opportunity to show their tourism attractiveness to the world. The most important
benefits of Olympic Games is the opportunity for local leaders to improve the quality
of life of residents by improving their living environment. This can include improved
air quality, a better public transport system, improved housing and more parks and
recreation spaces for locals to enjoy. Future tourists also benefit from such
improvements.
32
The ancient Khmer monuments of Angkor located near Siem Reap in the North West
of Cambodia provide the country with its main tourist attraction. Managing and
maintaining such sites is costly and entrance fees paid by tourists provide revenue to
help maintain the site.
The Tibetan Autonomous Regions capital city Lhasa provides many attractions but a
visit to the Potala Palace is a must for all tourists. The recent opening of the QinghaiLhasa railway has brought many additional Chinese and overseas tourists into Lhasa
and visitor management at the palace has become an issue. As in other situations
when demand for a product (a visit to the palace) exceeds supply (ability for the
33
resource to accommodate the increased number of visitors) a balance has to be found.

This may require the introduction of a booking system where visitors have to prebook their visit some time in advance.
The preservation of significant heritage buildings and sites for future generations has
become a major issue across Asia. The Ssanggyesa Temple in the Republic of Korea
is an excellent example of how buildings can be preserved and still be enjoyed by
visitors.
The cave system at Viengxay in Huaphan Province in Laos PDR provided shelter for
over 20,000 people during the many years of American bombardment during the
34
Vietnam War era. Today the caves are open for tourists and visitors will soon be able
to tour them using an audio-tour a pre-recorded story about the history of the caves
and its human inhabitants. These caves are an interesting example of how sites of war
activities can be turned into tourism attractions that can help to generate income for
local people and to reduce poverty.
Many Asian countries offer settings for holidays in the sun such as at a hotel
swimming pool in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo (left) and at Kuta Beach on the
island of Bali, Indonesia (right).
35
The integrated resort of Nusa Dua on the island of Bali, Indonesia was established
following the development of a tourism master plan. Many up-market hotels are
located along the beach and locals have found employment in a variety of positions in
these hotels.
The recently opened Venitian Macao provides high class accommodation, conference
and exhibition facilities, luxury shopping and gambling on the Cotai Strip.
36
Hotels are a very important component of the tourism infrastructure in any city.
Sometimes they can also be tourist attractions in their own right.
Hong Kong is one of the most popular tourist destination in the world. In 2008 the
city expects to welcome nearly 30 million tourists.
37
The one-horned rhino is one of the many endangered species of wildlife across Asia.
It is unique to the North East of India where it still exists in national parks but this one
was photographed in the zoo in Guwahati, Assam.
The central Asian Republics are among the least visited tourism regions of Asia.
The above photo shows traditional yurt housing near Almaty in Kazakhstan. These
dwellings are only put up during the summer months and in this case serve for the
staging of wedding parties.
38
AFRICA
Only a very limited number of countries in Africa have a vibrant tourism industry.
The continent only receives 4.9% of world tourist arrivals and only 3.3% of tourism
receipts. The main tourist receiving countries in Africa are:
Egypt
Morocco
Tunisia
The Gambia
Kenya
Tanzania
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Most attractions of the above countries are based on the local culture and heritage,
natural features and wildlife.. The following photographs serve as examples.
39
The nomadic Masai of Kenya have a long and proud tradition. Their colourful
clothing distinquishes them from other local tribes.This young man has just started a
fire without using matches he used a stick to create friction which created heat and
allowed him to set some dried grass alight.
Masai dancers perform for tourists
40
Elephants and other large mammals such as giraffes and lions provide the backbone of
the tourism industry in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Namibia.
Conflicts between wildlife and local people frequently arise when animals such as
elephants destroy the crops of people. Moving people away from their normal places
of residence and establishing sanctuaries for wildlife there and subsequently allowing
paying tourists to view the wildlife generates money that can be used to compensate
local people for their loss of income from farming.
Ancient monuments such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Temple of Hatshepsut are
the major attractions of Egypt. Often ancient monuments alone are not enough to
41
attract repeat tourists and hence Egypt has developed beach resorts along the shores of
the Red Sea where tourists can swim, dive and snorkel in the warm waters.
Tourism can provide the opportunity to improve the living conditions and incomes of
poor people. The above photograph was taken from a hot air balloon as it was
traveling over houses near the Valley of the Kings near Luxor in Egypt.
Many cruise ships operate on the section of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor.
The scenery along the river banks looks like it has not changed in thousands of years.
42
A bull is used to draw water from a well so that the farmer can water his crops. This is
a very old method of pumping water from underground.
Sunset on the river Nile provides a perfect ending to an interesting day of sailing on
the worlds longest river.
43
AUSTRALIA and OCEANIA
The island continent of Australia is located entirely in the Southern hemisphere. Much
of the continents interior is desert where very few people live. Early tourism to the
country was heavily restricted by the need for long sea voyages. Tourism changed
substantially after the introduction of long range aircraft. Even in todays age of fast
intercontinental wide bodied jet aircraft, flights from Europe to Australia take almost
24 hours and as a result visitor arrivals have only recently exceeded the 5 million
mark. During 2007 a total of 5.64 million tourist arrivals were recorded.
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world and is
the most popular tourist site in the city.
44
The Great Barrier Reef stretches for two thousand kilometres along the East coast of
Australia. Snorkelling and diving are very popular activities. Several Barrier Reef
Islands also have comfortable resorts. The reefs are threatened by the impacts of
Global Warming.
Surfers Paradise on Queenslands Gold Coast has developed into one of the most
popular tourist destinations in Australia. It is a year-round playground for tourists.
The slogan of Queensland is Beautiful One Day Perfect the Next indicating that
the state can be visited at any time of the year. While this is true for places like
45
Surfers Paradise other parts of the state such as Far North Queensland are more
seasonal. Under the influence of the summer monsoon the tropical North of
Queensland and other parts of northern Australia receive heavy rainfall. They are also
exposed to tropical cyclones (the equivalent of Hong Kong typhoons) during the wet
season from December to April.
Australia is a land of contrasts. Fan palms only grow in the tropical rainforest region
of Far North Queensland and tropical rainforests that once dominated the landscape
today only cover 1 percent of Australia.
46
Australias Outback is a dry but fascinating place. Huge termite mounds (above) and
unsealed roads (below) provide a great contrast to the lush coastal regions only 3
hours to the east in Far North Queensland. Travellers who venture into the outback
must come well prepared because there are only a few people and if a car breaks
down it can be a long time before help arrives. The outback teaches travellers to be
self sufficient.
47
Sometimes the strangest things can become tourist attractions. Australia has many
Big attractions such as the Big Pineapple, Big Banana or the Big Shrimp but the Big
Phantom Skull Cave, located on a private property called Dundee Park in Far North
Queensland is perhaps the most unusual one.
Beaches like this one in Mission Beach, Far North Queensland provide major tourist
attractions along the eastern coastline of Australia.
EXERCISE 8
Using your atlas or earth.google.com/ locate the Australian state of Queensland. Look
at the topography and landscape features to get an idea of why tourism happens
mainly in the South East and Far North of the State.
48
The Islands of the South Pacific
The islands of the south Pacific stretch over a vast area of ocean. The major countries
and territories are New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands,
Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tahiti. With the exception
of New Zealand (the country has some larger cities) the slow pace of island life, the
friendliness of the local population and the scenic beauty, especially the beaches are
the main attractions of the South Pacific.
The serenity of a calm morning on the coast of Fijis main island of Viti Levu
symbolizes one of the main attractions of the South Pacific.
EXERCISE 9
Look at a world map and locate as many islands in the South Pacific as you can find.
Imagine that you are traveling on a cruise ship in this region. The ship can travel at an
average speed of 20 knots (1 knot = 1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometres ). Measure the
distance between two islands of your choice and calculate how long the ship would
take to cover the distance from one port to the next.
49
ANTARCTICA
The Antarctic continent is located at the southernmost reaches of the Earth. Ninety
eight percent of the 14 million square kilometer continent is covered by ice.
Antarctica is extremely remote and difficult to reach for travelers. Virtually all
tourism that takes place there is ship based tourism and most ships leave from the
southern most city in the world, Ushuaia in Argentina.
EXERCISE 10
Locate Antarctica on a map and study its geography including glaciers, ice shelves
and mountain ranges. Investigate from which ports on other continents ship could
leave if they wanted to travel to Antarctica.
EXERCISE 11
Make a list of what things come to mind when you think of Antarctica and discuss
why you think that an increasing number of passengers are traveling there.
A small cruise ship approaches the Antarctic Peninsula at Neko Harbour. Travel to the
continent is restricted to the warmer southern summer months of November to March.
50
Penguins like these Adelies are marine animals. There home is the ocean but they
come ashore to mate and to raise their young. As you can see in the picture they also
dont mind to get a free ride on a floating iceberg.
Icebergs are made of fresh water and some 85 percent of the bergs are below water
which can make them dangerous for ships.
51
Sometimes ships can be completely surrounded by ice and unless they are an
icebreaker they cannot free themselves.
52
Human Resources in Tourism
Tourism is people business. It depends on tourists as consumers and employees in the

many tourism related establishments that can provide friendly and efficient service to
their guests.
This trainee in a hotel in Hue in Vietnam is learning about the hotel business through
on the job training.
None of these children on the sand dunes of Mui Ne in Vietnam are going to school.
By renting out these sheets of plastic to tourist so that they can slide down the dunes
53
they generate income for their families. This is a good example of locals providing
services to tourists and at the same time reducing poverty at the destination.
Tourism can provide employment and self-employment for people of all ages. This
woman in Hoi An in Vietnam is selling snacks on the beach.
54
TOURISM DEMAND
The demand for tourism depends largely on two factors: Time and disposable income.
Disposable income is the amount of money people have left in their pockets after they
have paid for all of lifes necessities such as rent, food, education, transport, energy,
water, etc. Without sufficient money people are not able to participate in tourism.
Likewise if they have money but no free time they are unlikely to become tourists
who travel abroad.
The number of tourist arrivals in Hong Kong is expected to reach nearly 30 million
during 2008.
55
Many tourists, in particular from Mainland China, return back to the mainland on the
same day. They do not require accommodation and hence the hotel sector of the
tourism industry does not benefit from their visits. Other sectors such as retail
shopping do, however, benefit.
Many tourist destinations around the world are now targeting the mainland Chinese
tourists
56
The Role of Technology in the Travel and Tourism Industry
Technology has greatly influenced the way travel is carried out, sold and distributed
from producers to consumers. It will continue to change and all participants in tourism
will have to constantly adjust to new and often very different forms of technology.
Transportation
All tourists have to get to and from their holiday destinations by one form of transport
or the other. In the 21st century means of transport have become faster, more reliable
and more comfortable. Examples include:
Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dream liner aircrafts
Mega Ships
Fast Trains
Private cars
Tourist Attractions
From the management of natural attractions to sophisticated, computer run

theme park rides and IMAX cinemas technology has greatly impacted the
attractions industry. Think about your last visit to a theme park such as Hong
Kong Disneyland or Ocean Park.
Communications Technology
Traditional:
Messengers
Mail
Telex
Telegram
Fixed line telephone
Fax
57
21st century
E-mail
Skype
Internet
SMS
Mobile Phone
Satellite phone (Iridium)
Blackberry
58
Distribution of Travel Products
The vast majority of travel products are services and as such they are different from
physical products in several ways.
Consumers must travel to consume the product
Intangibility (cant be touched from the distance) of product means that pretesting of tourism products is not possible
Perishable hotel rooms, airline seats or events tickets cant be stored
Simultaneous production and consumption
Traditional Travel Product Distribution
Airlines, hotels, cruise companies, restaurants, attraction etc. manufacture

the product or service.
Tour Wholesaler or consolidators package the various products and offer them
as packages to the market.
Travel agents acting as agents of the producers of the services or agents of the
tour wholesalers sell the products and services for a commission.
The consumer buys the travel product from the travel agent
21st Century Travel Product Distribution
Supplier/Manufacturer direct to consumer via the Internet no need for

middlemen like travel agents
Advantages for both parties cost effective and quick
Example ZUJI http://www.zuji.com
59
Fast, efficient and reliable communications are at the fore-front of modern tourism.
The days when most bookings were made through travel agents are well and truly
over and the internet now plays a major role in the provision of travel information and
in the booking of trips.
Photo credits: All photographs by Dr Thomas Bauer except where stated

otherwise.
60
61

Tourism and Hospitality Studies - Module III

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tourism and Hospitality Studies - Module III

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Manual on Module III

School of Hotel and Tourism Management

Topic 1: World Geography

(A) Basic concepts of world geography

Continents of the World

Latitude and Longitude

(B) Tourist Attractions Physical and human resources for tourism

Why do people travel?

Classification of tourist attractions

Other attractions and requirements for a successful tourism

Distribution of Tourism Resources

Topic 2: Tourism Regions

Major tourism regions

Australia and Oceania

Human Resources in Tourism

The Role of Technology in Travel and Tourism Industry

Welcome to this manual on tourist destination geography. It will introduce you

Please enjoy learning about this fascinating topic.

Topic 1: World geography

EARTH OUR HOME

Here are some facts about Earth for you to consider:

Distance from the Sun:

Continents of the World

Earth consists of seven continents.

By size they are:

Asia - (44,579,000 sq km)

By population (2005 estimate) :

1. Locate the continents on a world map or globe.

1. Locate the oceans on a map and find out their depth.

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, rainfall, atmospheric particle count

Sun lovers on Bandos Island, Maldives, Indian Ocean

Al Gores documentary An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006 and it stimulated

Latitude and longitude

Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly used

B. Tourist Attractions Physical and human resources for tourism development

Why do people travel?

Escape from a boring home environment

Evaluation of self who am I?

Visiting friends and relatives

Meeting other people

He added two pull factors that attract people to a tourist destination:

Novelty experiencing something that is new and different

Education learn something at the destination visited

Classification of tourist attractions

Physical resources of a place include:

1. Natural vegetation such as forests

Cultural attractions are based on human activities. They include:

Archaeological, historical and cultural sites such as monuments; historic

Man-made attractions are specifically created to attract paying customers, both

Theme parks and amusement parks

Other attractions and requirements for a successful tourism destination:

Distribution of Tourism Resources

Topic 2: Tourism Regions

Major tourism regions

While physical access to a destination is important it must not be overlooked that

Tourists do not want to travel to a country if their health is threatened by the

South America is a vast continent connected to Central America by a narrow

resource to accommodate the increased number of visitors) a balance has to be found.

Masai dancers perform for tourists

AUSTRALIA and OCEANIA

The Islands of the South Pacific

Human Resources in Tourism

Tourism is people business. It depends on tourists as consumers and employees in the

The Role of Technology in the Travel and Tourism Industry