THE MEANING &

IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM
Learning Objectives:
 Define tourism
 Differentiate tourists from excursionists
 Understand the various elements of travel used as
criteria for defining travelers and/or tourists
 Explain the nature of a tour
 Elucidate the characteristics of a tourist product
and a tourist destination
 Compare tourism with other industries
 Appreciate the importance of tourism
 Definition of Tourism

 “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 are not
connected to any earning activity.” –Professors
Hunziker and Krapf of Berne University Switzerland
 This definition distinguishes tourism from migration.
 “Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of
people to destinations outside the places where they
normally live and work and their activities during
their stay at these destinations.” –Tourism Society in
Britain
 Definition of Tourism

 “Tourism may be defined in terms of particular

activities selected by choice and undertaken outside
the home environment.” –Tourism Society in Cardiff
 Burkart and Medlik cited five main characteristics of
tourism:
 Complex
 Has two elements: Dynamic and Static
 The journey and stay are to-and-fro
 Temporary and short-term movements
 Visiting purposes are not connected with paid work
 Definition of Tourism

 Tourism in the pure sense is essentially a pleasure

activity in which money earned in one’s abode is
spent in places visited.
 It represents particular form leisure and recreation,
but does not include all uses and forms of leisure and
recreation.
 Includes much travel, but not all forms of travel.
 Therefore, tourism is distinguished from the
concepts of leisure and recreation on one hand, and
from travel on the other hand.
 Meaning of Tourist

 “A tourist is a person who, visits a country other than

that in which he usually resides for a period of at
least 24 hours.” –League of Nations (1937)
 “A visitor is any person visiting a country other than
that earning money.” –United Nations Conference
on International Travel and Tourism (1963)
 This definition covers 2 classes of visitors:
1. Tourists- temporary visitors staying for at least 24 hours for
leisure, business, family, mission, and meeting.
2. Excursionists- temporary visitors staying less than 24 hours
and not making an overnight stay.
 Elements of Travel

 Distance
 Length of Stay at a Destination
 Residence of the Traveler
 Purpose of Travel
 The Nature of a Tour

 Domestic Tourism refers to travel taken exclusively

within the national boundaries of the traveler’s country.
 International Tourism involves the movement of people
across international boundaries.
 Package or inclusive tour is an arrangement in which
transport and accommodation is bought by the tourist at
an all-inclusive price. It can be an independent inclusive
tour or group inclusive tour.
 Independent tour is an arrangement in which the tourist
buys these facilities separately, either making
reservations in advance through a travel agent or en
route during his tour.
 The Tourist Product

 It consists of what the tourist buys.

 A combination of what the tourist does at the
destination and the services he uses during his stay.
 Characteristics of a tourist product:
 It is a service
 Largely psychological in its attraction
 Tends to vary in standard and quality over time
 Supply of the product is fixed
 The Tourist Destination

 It is a geographical unit where the tourist visits and stays.

 Three basic factors: attractions, amenities/facilities, and
accessibility.
 Attractions may be site attraction or event attraction,
and natural or man-made.
 Amenities or facilities include accommodation, food,
local transport, communications, and entertainment at
the site.
 Accessibility means having regular and convenience of
transport in terms of time/distance to the destination
from the originating country at a reasonable price.
 Tourist Services

 The principal tourist services are supplied by

passenger transport.
 Accommodation, food and beverage, and
entertainment constitute the second group of tourist
services.
 The third group of tourist services consists of those
provided by the travel agent and by tour operator.
 Other tourist services include currency,
documentation, information, sightseeing, and
shopping.
 Characteristics of Tourism

 In tourism, the product is not brought to the

consumer, rather the consumer has to travel and go
to the product to purchase it.
 The product of tourism are not used up.
 Labor-intensive industry.
 People-oriented.
 Multidimensional phenomenon.
 Seasonal.
 Dynamic.
 Importance of Tourism

 Contribution to the balance of payments

 Dispersion of development
 Effect on general economic development
 Employment opportunities
 Social benefits
 Cultural enrichment
 Educational significance
 A vital force for peace