UNITS 6, 7 and 8.

- THE
TERTIARY SECTOR
• Services, communication and innovation
• Transport and tourism
• Trade and the exchange of goods

Colegio Medalla Milagrosa

Social Science – Geography, 3º ESO

 1.- WHAT IS THE TERTIARY SECTOR?
• In the tertiary sector, we are going to produce and provide SERVICES
(inmaterial). Fot this, we are going to need the PRODUCTS made in the
secondary sector and PEOPLE.
• Tertiary sector and industry have become INTERDEPENDENT.

• The tertiay sector includes a variety of activities such as

HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, TRANSPORT, TRADE, CULTURE,
COMMUNICATION…
TERTIARY SECTOR CHARACTERISTICS
Bigger percentage of
people working in the
Tertiary Sector, bigger
development in the
country.

The number of people

working in the tertiary
sector, tend to increase
each year. The weath tends
to increase as weññ

We are involvedin a
process of tertiarization or
tertiary revolution, what
means a shift from primary
and secondary sector to
tertiary sector.
2.- CLASSIFICATION OF THE TERTIARY SECTOR
PUBLIC AND SOCIAL SERVICES:
• Public administration.
• Health and educational services.
• Dependency and geriatric services.
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES:
• Transport and communications.
• Wholesale trade.
• Telecommunications and information transmission.
BUSINESS/COMPANY SERVICES:
• Financial and insurance services.
• Consultancies (lawyers, advertisers, consultants, etc.).
• Investigation.
CONSUMER SERVICES:
• Cultural, sports and leisure activities.
• Hospitality, Tourism and Retail.
• Repairs, facilities and individual services (hairdresser, domestic
service, etc.)
3.- SOCIAL AND PUBLIC SERVICES
• Public services that include activities such as education and healthcare. Many of
these services are financed by money from taxes, and they are decentralized, so that
everyone has access to them. There are also private companies that provide similar
services.
• Private services that are provided by private companies who offer services, but
obtain a profit as well. For example health, education…
In order to analyze this subsector, we
must start with the concepts of :

SOCIAL WELFARE - We refer to the

quality of life of a person. It is the fact that
their existence possesses the elements
that give rise to tranquility, security and
human satisfaction.
To achieve this, in developed countries
there are a number of services that have
the range of rights, such as education,
health care, public safety, access to
culture, etc.
Mostly, these are services provided
directly by the state through own means
and means, which implies large economic
costs that must be sustained through
taxes.

This situation is called THE WELFARE

STATE.
INSIDE THE PUBLIC SERVICES OD THE WELFARE STATE, WE NEED
TO STAND OUT THE NEXT ONES…

1.- EDUCATION, which is closely linked to the degree of development of a

country. Less developed countries can not afford the costs of providing an
education, and their population has very low literacy rates.

2.- HEALTH is a right contained in the UN's "Declaration of Human Rights"

but only in developed countries has acceptable levels and implementation.

3.- PENSIONS, subsidies, support for the unemployed, Geriatric services,

etc. Have great importance in the field of welfare state and are supported
by public funds.

4.- ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES in general also form part of this category

and are present from the local level (eg. the construction of a park), to the
regional (eg. the monitoring of a protected natural space) or the national
(eg. the main roads, the armed forces, etc.)
3.- TRADE (Book page 150)
What is trade?
Trade is the buying and selling of goods to meet the needs of a
population. The trading of goods is an ancient activity that established
links between different cultures a longtime ago.

Trade was first carried out through a system of bartering (exchanging

certain goods for others). Once money appeared, goods were given a
more exact value, trading opportunities grew and people started to do
business with communities that lived further and further away.
TYPES OF TRADE
Trade can take place within the same country or between different
countries:

Domestic trade: Domestic trade takes place within the same country. There
are two types:
– Wholesale. Wholesalers buy large quantities of goods and sell them to
other companies. Individual consumers do not have access to the
markets where wholesalers buy their goods.
– Retail. Retail outlets sell small quantities of goods directly to
consumers. Examples include supermarkets, shoe shops, bakeries and
the shops in shopping centres.

Foreing trade: International trade takes place between countries. It includes

the sale of products made domestically (exports) and the purchase of
products made in a different country (imports).
• The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of the
exports and the imports of a country. It can be positive (the value of exports
is higher than the value of imports) and negative (the value of imports is
higher than the value of exports)
4.- INTERNATIONAL TRADE TODAY
(Book page 152)
Characteristics of foreing trade
• It involves moving large quantities of diverse goods to densely
populated areas in different parts of the world. It requires
different types of transport to carry large loads efficiently and at
reasonable prices.

• It creates an international network of trading partners. Even a

very active domestic trade sector cannot provide the extensive
network of contacts that international trade can.

• It provides work for the active population. International trade and

transport are the two áreas of the tertiary sector that employ the
most people.

• It is carried out by an increasingly limited number of companies.

The big exporters tend to be the big producers who are associated
with financial institutions that work in international business.
5.- TRADE FLOWS AND TRADE BLOCS
(Book page 154)

• TRADE FLOWS
What are trade flows?
• Raw materials
• Manufactured products

• CAPITAL FLOWS

• INFORMATION FLOWS
TRADE BLOCS
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRADE BLOCS
The globalisation of trade has led many countries to join together to
form trade blocs. All trade blocs share these characteristics:
• Geographical proximity. Countries that are near to each other can
exchange goods and integrate into the group more easily.
• Customs union. Customs are eliminated among member states and
goods can circulate freely.
• Industrial redistribution. Industry is distributed amongst the
member states, a big advantage of belonging to a trade bloc.
• Negotiating power. The bigger the market share a trade bloc has,
the more negotiating power it has with other blocs.
• Cooperation and complementary activities. All member states
have the same objective, which means they all have the same
competitive advantages, regardless of what they produce.
TRANSPORT

LAND TRANSPORT

Transport moves goods and people from one place to another. There are
three main types of transport: air, land and maritime. Roads, railway
networks, ports and airports are part of the infrastructure that the
different means of transport (lorries, trains, boats, planes, etc.) need in
order to function. Transport:…

• Allows the population to move from place to place on a daily basis. Every
day routes from home to work and to and from leisure activities cause
heavy traffic, which is constantly increasing.
• Facilitates global travel. Tourism has become a worldwide activity thanks
to certain forms of transport and more accessible prices, such as the low-
cost airlines.
• Distributes goods and services. Efficient and accessible transport systems
encourage economic activity. However, increases in economic activity can
put a lot of pressure on a transport system and require improvements to
be made to its transport networks.
TRANSPORT TODAY has led to the following changes:

• Increased cargos or loads. Especially in boats, lorries and

aeroplanes.
• Intermodal freight transport. This type of transport uses
special containers that can travel by air, land and sea.
• Increased speed. Trains and aeroplanes have become
notably faster, reducing travel time.
• Improvements in infrastructure (roads, motorways and
dual carriageways). These improvements have decreased
travel time for land transport.
• Increased safety. This lowers the risk of accidents.
• Reduced transport prices. Bigger cargos and larger
numbers of passengers travelling have reduced costs.
LAND TRANSPORT
Land transport is the most common type of transport. It has an infrastructure that
is made up of dense and complex networks. Even though this type of transport can
be found all over the world, it is not homogeneous.

Road transport
Roads are the most commonly-used type of infrastructure. Motor vehicles have
been the preferred means of transport for the movement of people and goods for
many years now. In general, road networks are the most complex of all the land
transport networks.

Rail transport
• Trains are the best means of transport for carrying people and goods over medium
to long distances. Trains are fast, safe and economical. They can carry large
quantities of big, heavy products. As railway lines are fixed, the journey is often
continued by road to reach the final destination.
• High-speed rail is an efficient method of travel for medium-distance journeys.
Other types of fast trains have the added advantage of being able to use existing
infrastructures. They have low maintenance costs and energy consumption.
AIR TRANSPORT

Air transport is the most suitable form of long-distance travel. It is

good for the transport of people and is a fast and safe means of
transport.

However, air travel is very expensive, as aeroplanes consume a lot

of fuel and need regular maintenance. It also has a significant
environmental impact in the form of noise and air pollution. Until
recently, state-owned airlines had a monopoly on air transport.
Today, private airlines have reduced costs and increased the
number of air passengers and cargo.

Air transport needs big, open spaces to build airports. From the
mid 20th century onwards, industrial and tertiary sector activities
started to locate their businesses in the areas surrounding the
airports.
MARITIME TRANSPORT

Maritime transport is used for the long-distance transport of large

quantities of goods (oil, cereals, minerals, etc.). It is a low-cost
travel option. It can be used together with river transport.

The biggest problem with maritime transport is that it is very slow.

It also requires big ports to manage the large quantities of goods
that the boats carry. The cargos that boats carry are sometimes
dangerous and pose a threat to marine ecosystems. In recent years
oil spills have had catastrophic effects on the environment. In 2002,
an oil tanker called the Prestige polluted the coasts of Galicia. Ships
can also leak fuel, killing marine flora and fauna.

Maritime transport is hardly used for passenger transport, although

today, travel on cruise ships is a popular tourist activity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qCK7Zb8P1c
TOURISM

Tourism is one of the activities ¡n the tertiary sector that has

experienced the most growth. Until the middle of the 20th century,
only very rich people travelled regularly. In the 1950s, there was a
big boom in tourism as it started to become more accessible to
everyone. This was due to several factors: the establishment of the
five-day working week, paid holidays, pensions, increased leisure
time and improved transport networks.
Today, tourism is crucial in economy. It creates businesses, jobs
and services. It also provides the destination country with an
income, as tourists spend money there. The tourist sector is
controlled by large tour operators and international transport
companies. This means that the profits go to the countries
where the tour operators are based.

The main tourist destinations in the world are Europe, North

America and Japan. The cruise industry is based in the
Mediterranean and the Caribbean. East Asia and the Asia
Pacific regions are considered to be more exotic tourist
destinations.
THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM

Tourism can have a significant impact on the receiving country. The extent
of this impact depends on the country's level of development. The effects
of tourism are:

• Positive effects of tourism. Tourism can provide the country with a high
level of income, help the economy and create new jobs. It also stimulates
activities in other sectors (construction, transport, commerce, etc.).

• Negative effects of tourism. These include raised prices, land speculation,

and profits that are limited to big companies. Tourism may create poorly-
paid, temporary, unskilled jobs that often last only during the tourist
season.
The demand for tourism can vary greatly depending on factors such as the
economy, wars and terrorism.
Environmental problems also emerge when huge hotel complexes or
recreational ports are built along the coast, which lead to excessive water
consumption and noise and water pollution.