The Changing Pattern of Tourism

The World Tourism Organisation defines tourism as:

‘The activities of persons travelling to,

and staying in, places outside theirusual environment for leisure,

businessand other purposes.’

What is Tourism?

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is an excellent source of up to date information – www.unwto.org

Package

Holidays

Travel, accommodation and meals

may all be included in the price.

Booked in advance, usually

through a travel agent

Optional extras e.g. car hire

may also be booked at the same

time.

Most popular form of foreign holiday

Rapid growth in tourism International tourists have increased from 25 million in

1950 to 1133 million in 2014. Europe is still the most popular destination but the largest

percentage increases in tourist numbers have been in the Americas followed by Asia and the Pacific.

International tourism accounted for US$1,245 billion in trade in 2014.

For some 90 countries , receipts from international tourism were over US$1 billion in 2012 – illustrating the importance of tourism in terms of creating opportunities for employment and development.

Europe is the largest source region (just over 50%) followed by Asia and the Pacific (24%).

The large majority of tourism takes place within traveller’s own regions.

…..and the picture for tourism in the future?????

In the 18th and 19th Century rich young men took ‘A Grand tour of Europe’ going to Italy and other cultural centres.

For rich families it was fashionable to go to spa towns and enjoy a season of balls and parties (as in Jane Austen novels)

Also the Lake District and Derbyshire became destinations for the artistic souls looking to enjoy the picturesque views.

How tourism has developed over time – 18th Century

In the 1700s doctors began recommending the sea air as therapeutic and the seaside was born. By the late 19th century an annual holiday away from work meant a week at seaside resorts like Scarborough, Rhyl and Blackpool.

The first package tour was developed by Thomas Cook in 1841 and took travellers from Leicester to Loughbrough for a meeting on not drinking (temperance).

The growth of the middle classes meant that people had time and money to holiday. The growth of the railways meant that people could easily reach seaside resorts in Britain.

Tourism in the 19th- 20th Century

The growth of cheaper air travel has made travel abroad affordable for many people in the UK.

From the 1970s package holidays took Brits to Spain and the Mediterranean in high numbers, replacing the traditional holiday camps like Butlins and Pontins in British seaside resorts

Also transatlantic flights have become more affordable. Now longer haul destinations are becoming more popular e.g. New

Zealand Budget airlines have helped to popularise the long weekend

destinations to cities e.g. Prague Multi centre holidays are also popular e.g. island hopping in Greece Niche holidays concentrate on target groups e.g. eco-tourism in

Ecuador Activity holidays like skiing and cycling are increasingly popular Many British people own properties abroad or have timeshares in a

property

20th Century post war

Tourism in the World: Key Figures

9%

1 in 11

1.5 trillion US$

6%

25 million (1950) 1,133 million (2014)

5 6 billion

1.8 billion

INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS INCREASEDJOBS

EXPORTSDOMESTIC TOURISTS INCREASED

INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS FORECAST FOR 2030GDP

……..OF THE WORLD’S EXPORTS

OF GDP

JOBS

IN EXPORTS

INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS

INCREASEDDOMESTIC TOURISTS

INCREASED INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS FORECAST FOR

2030

OF THE WORLD’S EXPORTS

Which statistic matches which?

Travel motivators are the reasons why people travel

Three main reasons: Leisure – holiday, sport, cultural event, education trip,

pilgrimage Business – conference, meeting Visiting friends/ relatives – stay with family or meet friends

Destination Preferences: Climate Attractions Festivals and events Accommodation, restaurants and bars Transport to the destination and within it

Other influencing factors: Destination security Exchange rate

Travel Motivators

• Good links to airport

• Good road links

• Entertainment• Heritage and

cultural sites – beautiful/spectacular

• Snow guaranteed – for skiing

• Sun/dry guaranteed

• Safe place to visit

Reputation and

destination

language

Climate

Transport and

exchange rate

Attractions

Tourist Destination Factors

1950 2014

1 USA France

2 Canada USA

3 Italy Spain

4 France China

5 Switzerland Italy

6 Ireland Turkey

7 Austria Germany

8 Spain UK

9 Germany Russian Federation

10 UK Mexico

Top Ten Tourist DestinationsInternational tourist arrivals

Global Tourism: Tourist Arrivals and Receipts by region in 2014

For destination countries, receipts for international tourism count as EXPORTS.

Use the information on the UNWTO website and the summary document on Moodle to complete the worksheet that has been shared with you. This will give you an up to date picture on patterns of global tourism.

The text book is good for terms and definitions but the data is from 2005 and so is too out of date.

Remember to first make a copy of the worksheet (click on file) and rename it…otherwise you will be adding information to my master copy!

Identifying Changing Tourist Patterns

Reasons for the growth of global tourism

Globalisation has meant that the world has become interconnected economically, culturally, socially and politically.

Reasons for

changing trends in tourism

Social

Economic

Political

Natural disasters – earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes (Japan/New Zealand significant earthquakes)

Natural processes – coastal erosion and rising sea level (Venice at risk)

Terrorism – attacks or the fear of them e.g. Tunisia (2015) Health Scares – e.g. Bird Flu, Mexico (2009) Exchange rate fluctuations – when the pound

becomes stronger against the euro or dollar more Brits travel to these regions and vice versa

Political Uncertainties – governments advise tourists not to travel to certain countries if there is a tense political situation e.g. advised not to travel within 10km of the Syrian border in Turkey

International Image- if a country gets a bad image or appears to be dangerous, people won’t go e.g. Myanmar (pressure groups ask tourists not to go due to human rights abuses)

Increasing Competition –as new more exciting destinations increase their market share, more traditional destinations may see visitor numbers fall

External Shocks Events that can significantly impact on tourism

Theme parks and holiday village enclaves – Disney (biggest world tourist draw), Centre Parks

Music tourism – travelling abroad to music festivals etc Cruises – fastest growing type of holiday Heritage and urban tourism – city mini breaks Wilderness and eco tourism Medical and therapy travel – e.g. going to India for major dental

surgery (price) or for spa breaks Conflict tourism – visiting battle fields or places of conflict e.g.

Auschwitz Religious tourism – pilgrimages and shrines e.g. Mecca, Lourdes, Rome Working holidays – young people backpacking and working around the

world Sports tourism – e.g. going to London for the Olympics or Russia for

the World Cup…or travelling abroad to take part in events e.g. New York Marathon

Recent development of niche markets – holidays with a specialist product, helped by the internet and the loss of control of travel agents on booking holidays

New types of tourismIn 2014 the UK festival scene and music

industry helped generate £3.1bn in music tourism revenue

Grey market – older people travelling (fit and retired)

More interest in environmental issues – eco tourism

Growing availability of special interest holidays e.g. writing, drawing, cooking, walking

Changing work life balance – (people with less free time put more focus on high quality leisure time)

New markets

Butler’s Model of Tourism Development