Intro Tourism Summary
The tourism system
The components of the system are irrelated, so they influence each other. They’re also
dynamic; constantly changing.
-> The system is influenced by the changing external environment, which is also influenced
by the system.
The components:
Demand
There are various types of tourism demand.
– Aggregate/effective/actual demand is the actual number of tourists in a given
location at a particular point in time. It is quantitative -> can be measured
– Suppressed demand is defined as potential or postponed demand. So, potential
demand can become actual demand in the future is the circumstances allow to. For
example, first generate a certain income before being able to visit a destination.
Postponed or deferred demand is not yet actual demand because the circumstances
at the supply side are not optimal to become actual demand.
– No demand: the proportion of the population that does not participate in tourism.
E.g. because of a lack of money, unwillingness or inability
Demand is influenced by various factors:
In the tourist-generating area!
Economic determinants:
– Personal incomes
The availability of necessary income to participate in tourism. Tourism is ‘demand
elastic’, if the prices rise the demand reduces.
– Distribution of incomes
A country with a skewed income distribution (few wealthy, many poor) has a limited
proportion of people who are able to participate in tourism. Countries with a more
equal income distribution have a high overall level of tourism demand.
– Currency/exchange rates
Influences the expenditure of destinations and is an important factor in business
tourism. Countries with a strong economy are more appealing than countries where
your currency is nothing worth if you exchange it with the currency of the visited
country
,Social determinants:
– Demographic variables
Various variables that influences the behavior of a traveler:
Age
Youngsters and young adults tend to visit more active destinations, parties
and backpacking. Experimenting and broadening their horizon. Older
travelers prefer a more relaxing holiday with perhaps a close facility with
medical services.
(Family) lifecycle
The presence of children in a household strongly affect the ability to go on
holiday. Influenced by school holidays, looking for accommodations with
children entertainment facilities.
-> different stages in a lifecycle are characterized by different interests,
activities and opinions,
Gender
Women have less leisure time than man, undertake fewer leisure activities
and tend to spend more time in and around their home and family. But there
is an empowerment in the rise of the alone travelling female tourist. Men
and women are viewed differently on this aspect.
Disability
The tourism industry offers improved products or services on disabled
costumer market, E.g. offering special chairs in airplanes for wheelchair users.
– Holiday entitlements
How much time is there to go on holiday? Influenced by school holiday periods that
create seasonal patterns.
Political determinants
-> Government tax policies and controls on tourist spending:
– Exchange control
– Taxation of tourists
– Visa regulations
Government fiscal and control policies can strongly change tourist flows and specific
destinations can gain or lose potential profitability.
In the destination area!
Factors influencing demand in the tourist destination area:
Economic
Prices are a very important factor in determining the tourist demand. High prices result in
lower demand and vice versa. However, a reduction in price may result in the perception of
a lower quality product. So, the influence of price is not straightforward.
Supply-related
Competition among suppliers will increase if the demand for products and services in the
destination rise.
Political
, Government controls at the destination
Regulation can directly influence the tourist flows to a destination, e.g. via visa restrictions,
or the restriction for charter flights to land as an attempt to promote the national airline. A
control in currency exchange can also influence tourism flows.
Other factors influencing demand are:
– Promotional efforts of the destination
– Health, safety and security issues
Diseases, terrorist attacks or natural disasters are factors that influence demand and
tourism flows.
– Time and cost considerations
Time and money is needed to visit destinations. The faster people can travel to a
destination, the more popular the destination will be.
– Seasonality
One peak seasonality (summer)
Two peak seasonality (summer and winter)
Non-peak seasonality (all-year-round)
There are two types of visitors according to Plogg’s typology:
Psychocentric
-> ‘Old tourism’, psychocentric tourists visit well-known destinations, visit traditional
activities (such as the beach, an all-inclusive hotel) and tend more to package holidays. The
psychocentric holidays are product-orientated: tourists are looking for sun, so they visit the
Spanish coasts. Mass tourism could be a result if a large proportion of incoming tourist are
psychocentric. (E.g.: Spanish coast)
Allocentric
-> ‘New tourism’, allocentric tourists visit exotic and unknown destinations. They are looking
for adventure and experience, and travel sometimes alone (backpackers). Allocentric
tourism is customer focused. (E.g. visiting Chernobyl)
There are three types of tourism:
– Inbound tourism
Not-inhabitants of a country coming into that country for tourism reasons (travelling
to a place away from home for more than 24 hours but not more than one year.
– Domestic tourism
Inhabitants of a country visiting a destination inside their country of origin.
– Outbound tourism
Inhabitants of a country going outside the borders of that country to visit a
destination.
These types can change if you look from another country’s perspective. If a Frenchman visits
the Netherlands, from a Dutch perspective that is inbound tourism. From a French
perspective this is outbound tourism and vice versa. Indicate on which side of the border
you are!
Supply
The tourism system
The components of the system are irrelated, so they influence each other. They’re also
dynamic; constantly changing.
-> The system is influenced by the changing external environment, which is also influenced
by the system.
The components:
Demand
There are various types of tourism demand.
– Aggregate/effective/actual demand is the actual number of tourists in a given
location at a particular point in time. It is quantitative -> can be measured
– Suppressed demand is defined as potential or postponed demand. So, potential
demand can become actual demand in the future is the circumstances allow to. For
example, first generate a certain income before being able to visit a destination.
Postponed or deferred demand is not yet actual demand because the circumstances
at the supply side are not optimal to become actual demand.
– No demand: the proportion of the population that does not participate in tourism.
E.g. because of a lack of money, unwillingness or inability
Demand is influenced by various factors:
In the tourist-generating area!
Economic determinants:
– Personal incomes
The availability of necessary income to participate in tourism. Tourism is ‘demand
elastic’, if the prices rise the demand reduces.
– Distribution of incomes
A country with a skewed income distribution (few wealthy, many poor) has a limited
proportion of people who are able to participate in tourism. Countries with a more
equal income distribution have a high overall level of tourism demand.
– Currency/exchange rates
Influences the expenditure of destinations and is an important factor in business
tourism. Countries with a strong economy are more appealing than countries where
your currency is nothing worth if you exchange it with the currency of the visited
country
,Social determinants:
– Demographic variables
Various variables that influences the behavior of a traveler:
Age
Youngsters and young adults tend to visit more active destinations, parties
and backpacking. Experimenting and broadening their horizon. Older
travelers prefer a more relaxing holiday with perhaps a close facility with
medical services.
(Family) lifecycle
The presence of children in a household strongly affect the ability to go on
holiday. Influenced by school holidays, looking for accommodations with
children entertainment facilities.
-> different stages in a lifecycle are characterized by different interests,
activities and opinions,
Gender
Women have less leisure time than man, undertake fewer leisure activities
and tend to spend more time in and around their home and family. But there
is an empowerment in the rise of the alone travelling female tourist. Men
and women are viewed differently on this aspect.
Disability
The tourism industry offers improved products or services on disabled
costumer market, E.g. offering special chairs in airplanes for wheelchair users.
– Holiday entitlements
How much time is there to go on holiday? Influenced by school holiday periods that
create seasonal patterns.
Political determinants
-> Government tax policies and controls on tourist spending:
– Exchange control
– Taxation of tourists
– Visa regulations
Government fiscal and control policies can strongly change tourist flows and specific
destinations can gain or lose potential profitability.
In the destination area!
Factors influencing demand in the tourist destination area:
Economic
Prices are a very important factor in determining the tourist demand. High prices result in
lower demand and vice versa. However, a reduction in price may result in the perception of
a lower quality product. So, the influence of price is not straightforward.
Supply-related
Competition among suppliers will increase if the demand for products and services in the
destination rise.
Political
, Government controls at the destination
Regulation can directly influence the tourist flows to a destination, e.g. via visa restrictions,
or the restriction for charter flights to land as an attempt to promote the national airline. A
control in currency exchange can also influence tourism flows.
Other factors influencing demand are:
– Promotional efforts of the destination
– Health, safety and security issues
Diseases, terrorist attacks or natural disasters are factors that influence demand and
tourism flows.
– Time and cost considerations
Time and money is needed to visit destinations. The faster people can travel to a
destination, the more popular the destination will be.
– Seasonality
One peak seasonality (summer)
Two peak seasonality (summer and winter)
Non-peak seasonality (all-year-round)
There are two types of visitors according to Plogg’s typology:
Psychocentric
-> ‘Old tourism’, psychocentric tourists visit well-known destinations, visit traditional
activities (such as the beach, an all-inclusive hotel) and tend more to package holidays. The
psychocentric holidays are product-orientated: tourists are looking for sun, so they visit the
Spanish coasts. Mass tourism could be a result if a large proportion of incoming tourist are
psychocentric. (E.g.: Spanish coast)
Allocentric
-> ‘New tourism’, allocentric tourists visit exotic and unknown destinations. They are looking
for adventure and experience, and travel sometimes alone (backpackers). Allocentric
tourism is customer focused. (E.g. visiting Chernobyl)
There are three types of tourism:
– Inbound tourism
Not-inhabitants of a country coming into that country for tourism reasons (travelling
to a place away from home for more than 24 hours but not more than one year.
– Domestic tourism
Inhabitants of a country visiting a destination inside their country of origin.
– Outbound tourism
Inhabitants of a country going outside the borders of that country to visit a
destination.
These types can change if you look from another country’s perspective. If a Frenchman visits
the Netherlands, from a Dutch perspective that is inbound tourism. From a French
perspective this is outbound tourism and vice versa. Indicate on which side of the border
you are!
Supply
