Lesson 1.

1: The Basics of Tourism and

Hospitality: Definition, Forms and Their
Relationship

Lesson Summary
Lesson 1 presents various definitions of tourism as described by several individuals and
institutions. It also introduces the basic forms of tourism and its difference to other forms of
travel.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to:
1. Explain what tourism is.
2. Differentiate tourism from travel.
3. Discuss the basic forms of tourism.
4. Describe the hospitality industry.
5. Discuss the relationship between tourism to hospitality.

Motivation Question
A new and fancy themed restaurant has just opened in your locality. You went there together
with your friends. Do you consider your activity as part of tourism? Why?

Discussion

What is Tourism?

What word can you associate with tourism? Probably you would have thought of travel,
adventure, beautiful places and sceneries, attractions, meeting new people, luxurious hotels,
delicious food and drinks, fancy restaurant, and an extravagant vacation. These are all aspects
of tourism, but these are just superficial of the tourism business's entirety. Let us start with
some of the tourism definitions as described by different individuals and institutions.
Tourism was first defined in 1905 by Guyer-Feuler. He described it as: “a phenomenon
unique to modern time, which is dependent on the people's increasing need for a change and
relaxation. The wish of recognizing the beauties of nature and art and the belief that it gives
happiness to human beings and helps nations and communities' approaching each other thanks
to the developments in commerce and industry and the communication and transportation
tools' becoming excellent”. He described tourism as a purely recreational activity.
In 1959, Professors Walter Hunziker and Kurt Kraft of Berne University, Switzerland,
defined tourism as “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and
stay of non-residents, in so far as they do not lead to permanent residence and not connected to
any earning activity”. They distinguished tourism from migration.
Britain's Tourism Society described tourism as "a temporary short-term movement of
people to destinations outside the places where they live and work and their activities during
their stay at these destinations". But it was revised as "tourism may be defined in terms of
particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment” by the
Tourism Society in Cardiff.

For A.J. Burkart and S. Medlik cited the following features of tourism:
 It arises from the movement of people to and from their stay in different destinations.
 It has two fundamental elements; the journey to the destination and the stay including
the activities conducted in the destination.
 The journey and the stay are to and from destinations outside the place of residence and
work.
 The movement to destinations is temporary and short term to return within a few days,
weeks, or months.
 Destinations are visited for purposes other than taking up permanent residence or
employment remunerated from the place visited.
Burkart and Medlik implied that tourism in its pure sense is a pleasure activity in which
the money gained is spent in places visited. It represents a special form of leisure and
recreation but not all recreation and leisure are included. It includes much travel but not all
kinds of travel. They have differentiated tourism from the concept of recreation and leisure, and
migration.
Goeldner (2009) encouraged any person who attempts to define tourism to consider the
following groups that are involved and are affected by it.
1. Visitors/tourists seek a variety of physical and psychological experiences, enjoyment,
and satisfaction. The nature of their needs greatly affects their choice of destinations
and the activities enjoyed.
2. Businesspeople view tourism as a source of profit by providing the goods and
services that the tourist market demands.
3. The government of the host community view tourism as a wealth factor in the
economy of their jurisdictions. Their point of view is related to the incomes their citizens
can earn from this business. Politicians also consider the foreign exchange receipts
from international tourism as well as the tax receipts collected from tourist
expenditures, either directly or indirectly. The government can play an important role in
tourism policy, development, promotion, and implementation.
4. The host community. They usually see tourism as a cultural and employment factor.
 According to Goeldner (2009), if the four groups are considered, tourism may be defined
as the processes, activities, and outcomes resulting from the relationships and the interactions
among tourists, tourism products and services suppliers, host governments, host communities,
and surrounding environments that are involved in attracting and hosting visitors.
You see, the definition of tourism evolves, and it varies from person to person and from
one institution to another. As there is no consensus among institutions regarding the meaning
of tourism and to avoid conflicts on tourism definition, the United Nations World Tourism
Organization boarded on a project and formulated a glossary of tourism terms. UNWTO defined
tourism as:
“Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other
purposes.

Travel and Tourism

Travel and tourism are two words often used interchangeably. However, they are not the
same. Travel comprises all journeys of any person, for whatever purpose and any duration
irrespective of the transportation used. It includes all trips made by people who enter a country
for leisure, work, education, or just pass through a country without stopping. Tourism is a
subset of travel, but not all travels are within the scope of tourism.
From UNWTO’s tourism definition, we can identify three criteria that are concurrently
used to characterize travel belonging to tourism.
a. The place of travel. The destination visited must be outside the usual environment.
The term "usual environment" is intended to exclude trips within the usual residence
area, frequent and regular trips between the domicile and the workplace, and other
community trips of a routine nature like buying goods in the market.

b. The length of travel: Only the maximum time of one consecutive year was
mentioned, not a minimum. It means that tourism can happen even without an
overnight stay, different from migration.

c. The purpose of travel: the destinations are visited for leisure, business, and any other
purposes different from being remunerated from within the place visited.

Aside from the abovementioned criteria, it is also important to note the distance covered
for the travel. Short trips under 50 miles or 80 kilometers are also excluded from tourism.
Commuting to and from work and change in residence is outside the scope of tourism.

Basic Forms of Tourism

UNWTO also provided three primary forms of tourism; domestic tourism, inbound
tourism, and outbound tourism. These forms of tourism are based on "country of
reference," which refers to the country where the measurement or activity is done.
 1. Domestic Tourism comprises the activities of a resident visitor within the country of
reference. To better understand what domestic tourism is, let us consider the situation
below:

Situation: A newlywed couple from Cebu City is in Coron, Palawan, for their honeymoon.

The newlywed couple is both residents of Cebu City but is visitors in Coron, Palawan.
The residence (Cebu city) and the place visited (Coron, Palawan) are in the same
country.

2. Inbound Tourism comprises the activities of a non-resident visitor within the country of
reference.

3. Outbound Tourism comprises the activities of a resident visitor outside the country of
reference.

To illustrate the difference between inbound and outbound tourism, let us look at Figure 1
and consider the example below.

Tourist Generating Country Tourist Receiving Country

Country X Country Y
Outbound Tourism Inbound Tourism

Figure 1. Outbound and Inbound Tourism

Situation: A celebrity couple, together with their children from the Philippines
(Country X) visited Singapore (Country Y) for a short family vacation.
The family are residents of the Philippines and visitors of Singapore. Again it is important to
note the "country of reference."
For the Philippines (generating country), the family's activity outside the country is
considered an outbound tourism. While on the point of view of Singapore (receiving
country), the family's activities within their country are considered inbound tourism.

UNWTO has also provided additional forms of tourism, derived from combining domestic,
inbound, and outbound tourism. The other types are:
1. National Tourism comprises domestic tourism and outbound tourism, that is, the
activities of resident visitors within and outside the country of reference.
Example: President Rodrigo R. Duterte went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, for a
short vacation then went to Malaysia to attend the ASEAN Summit. Overall, the
nature of his travel belongs to National Tourism.
 2. Internal Tourism comprises domestic tourism and inbound tourism that is, the activities
of resident and non-resident visitors within the country of reference.
For example: Ms. Juana Dela Cruz, a Filipina, together with her fiancé, Mr. John
Smith, a US citizen, explored the beautiful islands of the Philippines. The nature
of their travel belongs to internal tourism.

3. International Tourism comprises inbound tourism and outbound tourism that is the
activities of a resident-visitor, outside the country of reference.
Example: A Chinese couple in their two weeks honeymoon in Singapore and
Malaysia. In Singapore the couple is considered as inbound and outbound
tourists. When they arrived in Singapore, they were considered as inbound tourist,
when they left Singapore, they are considered as an outbound tourist. Thus, the
nature of their travel belongs to International Tourism.

What is Hospitality Industry?

Talking about tourism, it is also vital to consider the hospitality industry. Let us first
discuss its meaning. Hospitality refers to the friendly reception provided to the visitors.
Relatively, the Hospitality industry includes diverse businesses and services of helping people to
make them feel welcomed and relaxed.” The industry is a combination of accommodation and
food and beverage businesses that provides more than just the basic needs of the travellers
such as bed, food and drinks. Hospitality industry focuses on the ideas of elegance, delight,
enjoyment, and experiences, which is far different from catering for necessities and essentials.

The relationship between tourism and hospitality

The hospitality and the tourism industries are closely linked together but have some
subtle differences. On a basic level, the tourism industry is concerned with services provided to
people traveling away from their usual place of residence for a short time. In contrast, the
hospitality industry is involved with services connected to leisure and customer satisfaction.
Thus, it may mean offering services to tourists. Still, it can also include providing services to
people who are not tourists, such as people coming to an area for reasons other than tourism o
locals enjoying their free time.
As mentioned earlier, the Hospitality industry is a combination of the accommodation
and food and beverage business, when combined it forms the largest operating sector of the
tourism industry. The hospitality industry supplies the accommodation, food and beverage, and
entertainment needs of the travelers at the destination.