Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for more than 24
hours but not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
Different groups :
Government
Media (including Travel writers)
International organisations
Government
Media
International organisation
International tourism
More than half of all international tourists originate from developed countries in
Europe and North America.
Increasing number of international tourists from rapidly developing countries in Asia
Pacific and South America e.g. China, India and Brazil.
Europe received the highest number of international tourist arrivals in 2011
Out of 10 top most popular tourist destinations, 6 are found in Europe.
Asia Pacific region has increased in popularity as a tourist destination.
Domestic tourism
83% of all tourist arrivals were domestic tourism and 69% of all overnight stays in
hotels are from domestic tourism worldwide in 2010
Domestic tourism receipts of US$22.9 billion are higher than international tourism
receipts of US$3.2 billion in the Philippines, 2010. 53% travelled for vacation 36%
travelled to visit family or relatives
Evolution of mass tourism to niche tourism
Mass tourism involves large numbers of tourists visiting a particular place
together.
Package holidays involve a tour usually arranged by a travel agent, with
transportation, accommodation and most meals with the service of guides.
Niche tourism refers to special-interest tourism based on a particular area,
interest or activity by independent travelers or combined with package tours. e.g.
whale watching in Hawaii or whitewater rafting and bunjee jumps in New Zealand.
Short-haul and long-haul destinations
Short-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a short distance away from
the tourists home country reachable in less than 6 hours e.g. Hong Kong is a
short-haul destination from Singapore
Long-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a long distance away from
the tourists home country reachable by a flight in 6 hours or more e.g. Europe is a
long-haul destination from Singapore
5. What are the reasons for the growth of global tourism?
Developments in technology
Demand factors
Destination factors
Developments in technology
Better and affordable transport shorter travel time and cheaper travelling cost
e.g. In the 1950s a commercial flight from Singapore to London would take 2 to 3
days with many stopovers at different cities compared to the present 14 hours
Increase in budget airlines helped to increase number of international travelers
o Enabled people to travel internationally and more frequently
o Opportunity to go on holidays further away from home
o Enabled travel to destinations not covered by major commercial airlines e.g.
Bhutan, the Pacific Islands, Northern Thailand
Disasters
Regional and global recessions
Unfavourable political situations
Outbreaks of diseases
Impact of disasters e.g. 2011 Japan Tohoku earthquake and tsunamis decreased tourist
arrivals by 28%, Japanese travelling to South Korea also fell by 12%
Regional and global recessions
Many people experience a loss of income or jobs in recession so they cut back on
spending and are less likely to travel overseas in a recession.
Regional recession such as the European Sovereign Debt Crisis caused by
Greece unable to pay its government debts in 2010.
Global recession such as the global financial crisis when some of the worlds
largest financial firms went bankrupt in 2007 and 2008 resulting in the crash of the
housing market in the USA. It affected many countries in different parts of the world,
causing their economies to slow down or shrink.
Domestic travel increased as people choose to go for holidays in their own country
rather than travel abroad during recession because they spend less on transport.
Economic impact
Socio-cultural
Environmental
Economic impacts
Advantages
Employment opportunities The growth of tourism led to increase in the number of
tourism-related jobs e.g. workers in hotels, transport vehicles, souvenir shops
and tour agencies. There are also jobs indirectly linked to the tourist industry when
tourists travel and consume goods e.g. taxi drivers and shop owners.
Growth in income for individuals and for a country. Fishermen on Pamilacan Island
in the Philippines are paid to bring tourists on their boats to look for and swim with
whale sharks and dolphins. The tour companies which hire the fishermen will
experience an increase in revenue. There will also be an increase in revenue for
the country through taxes collected from the fishermen and tour companies.
Increase in government revenues. Directly from taxes on tourists e.g. airport tax
and from income taxes on employees of tourism-related businesses. Indirectly from
taxes placed on goods and services which are supplied to tourists e.g.
manufactured goods such as petrol used in rented cars.
Development of infrastructure such as transport and communication networks,
electrical frameworks and systems for water and waste disposal as well as
facilities such as airports, roads, electricity and hotels help to develop tourism. Roads
that link airports, cities and tourist sites allow tourists access to local attractions. They
also allow local people better access to more markets, health care, education and
jobs. Thus, infrastructure built to enhance tourism also benefits the locals. E.g
Underground rail systems expanded to cater to increased numbers of visitors during
the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 and in Beijing 2008. Both rail systems continue
to serve local populations and tourist even after the Games. It also creates
employment for local such as workers in the construction process as well as
help to boast local industries which provided materials in the construction. The
increased spending in the local economy encourages economic growth.
Disadvantages
Leakage of tourism receipts to other countries, especially in LDCs. The revenue
earned from tourism is paid to other countries for the import of goods and
services needed to meet the needs of tourists. This includes payment to
international airline tickets, imported food, foreign-owned hotels or prepaid tours
booked internationally.
Seasonal unemployment Some countries experiences seasonal unemployment
e.g. some tourist activities which depend on climatic conditions. Ski resorts in the
Alps experience a drop of tourists during summer as skiing is carried out in winter. As
a result, the people have to find other sources of income when employment in the
tourism industry is temporarily unavailable. Increase in summer visits in European
Union is due to the warm weather which allows swimming on the beach or hiking.
Underuse of facilities e.g. facilities built specifically for certain events may be
underused when the event is over. The facilities can be costly to maintain and may
become neglected when there are few tourists. E.g. venues built for 2008 summer
Olympic Games in Beijing China had to be renovated to become more profitable e.g.
Beijing National Aquatics Centre renovated into a water park.
Shortage of services eg. Water supplies or power is required by tourist
infrastructure and could lead to a shortage of service in non-tourist areas.
Socio-cultural impacts
Advantages
Preservation of culture and local customs. Historical and cultural sites are
preserved and restored to make the place more attractive to tourists. This
benefits the local population by enhancing their sense of history and by building
a sense of belong to their community. Revenues generated from tourism can also
fund the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Entry fees to the Great
Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia can
be used directly to help fund conservation efforts.
Disadvantages
Dilution of local customs and heritage- Commercial activities that cater mainly to
tourists such as food outlets, travel agencies, souvenir shops and hotels, can
become the major commercial activities of an area. This can force the locals to
relocate their original activities to other places. As a result, the identity of a place may
be lost. To meet the demands and expectations of tourists, local cultural
festivals and religious rituals are sometimes modified. For example rituals may
be shortened to fit into the itinerary of the tourists. So the authenticity and
significance of these cultural events may be reduced when they become
commercialized.
Increased crime high crime levels may occur at popular tourist sites. Some
tourists carry valuable goods as watches, cameras and clothes and may be
vulnerable to muggings. In addition, tourists are prone to being cheated or
scammed in tourist areas where goods or services are sold at greatly inflated
prices.
Environmental impacts
Advantages
Conservation revenue from entrance fees to national parks and diving sites, or
even levies on nearby accommodations can be used to fund conservation of coral
reefs, rainforests and mountainous areas. For example the Sepilok Orang-Utan
Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia help to rehabilitate orang-utans that have
been orphaned or injured by using the visitor entry fees to partly pay its staff. In
Kenya, the money raised from wildlife tourism becomes a way to continue to
preserve the animals and their habitats.
Disadvantages
Tour operators may belong to associations that are concerned with conserving and
protecting environments visited by tourists. For example Phuket Alternative Tours
(PAT) commits its member tour operators to operate in an environmentally
sustainable way to enhance the natural environment and to create awareness
about environmental conservation for visitors to Phuket.
o Strength valuable feedback from tour guides used by local communities
and planning authorities to plan tourism management strategies as well as
help to regulate tourist behavior.
o Limitation the need to generate profits can sometimes led to tour operators
into conflict with other stakeholders and may also override concerns to
preserve the environment when the concerns would reduce their profits.
Non-governmental organizations such as the International Eco-tourism Society
developed guidelines, conducted training courses, provided technical assistance and
published research papers related to tourism and the environment.
o Strengths facilitate communication between various stakeholders such
as between local communities and tour operators or between tour operators
and planning authorities. NGOs also encourage local communities to
actively participate in the managing the impact of tourism. They also
support the various stakeholders in the form of additional manpower,
expertise or marketing campaigns.
o Limitation as NGO are non-profit organisations which rely on donation,
they may have difficulty in obtaining external funding.
Tourism also helps to increase foreign exchange and generate tax revenue. Other than
economic benefits, countries can also use tourism to promote their local cultures and
customs.
International tourism receipts increased 3% from 2011 to 2012, reaching US19.5 billion in
2012. It contributed to more than 4% of Singapores economy in 2011. The tourism receipts
came from shopping, accommodation, sightseeing, food and even health care.
9% increase in international tourist arrivals from 2011 to 14.4 million in 2012. This increase
in Singapore hotel revenue which grew 28% in 2011.
Increased tourism can bring about negative impacts such as seasonal unemployment,
increased congestion, pollution, littering as well as a shortage of services.
Tourism is a key industry that has helped to drive Singapores economy. However, its
capacity to grow is restricted by the countrys limited land and resources.
Therefore, the government has placed more emphasis on quality tourism that focus on greater
tourism receipts than greater tourist arrivals.
It seeks to raise productivity for tourism growth by enhancing innovation among different
sectors and industries involved in tourism as well as investing in software that will help
existing infrastructure provide more value. This can be done through reinvention and
rejuvenation of tourist attractions.