2. Objectives
After reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Describe the evolution of tourism
Define the scope and importance of tourism, both for the U.S. economy and internationally
Explain why tourism is described by Gunn and Leiper as a system

3. Objectives (cont’d.)
Suggest why so many governments promote tourism and why tourist revenue is so highly valued
Describe the types and characteristics of tourism

4. Introduction We can approach tourism from multiple viewpoints
Areas are interrelated
Industry experts recommend a systems approach
If something happens in one area, it will likely cause an effect in another

5. Introduction (cont’d.)
Figure 1–1 • International Tourist Arrivals, 1950–2020
Source: World Tourism Organization, Tourism 2020 Vision, Volume 1: Africa. Madrid, Spain: World Tourism Organization, (accessed May 24, 2009). © UNWTO,

6. Definition of Tourism
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) definition:
Activities of persons traveling to, and staying in places outside their usual environment
Not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes

7. Definition of Tourism (cont’d.)
Important terms:
Demand side
Tourists’ motivations
Supply side
Sectors that satisfy tourist needs
Infrastructure
Components that an area’s residents rely on
Superstructure
Facilities built to accommodate tourist needs

8. A Systems Approach Ludwig von Bertalanffy: Clare Gunn:
General systems theory
Defined a system as “a set of elements standing in interrelation among themselves and with the environments”4
Clare Gunn:
Functioning tourism system
Consists of supply side of attractions, services, promotion, information, and transportation

9. A Systems Approach (cont’d.)
Neil Leiper:
Holistic approach
The tourist
People who plan and prepare a visit to another place
Geographical regions
Traveler-generating region
Transit route
Tourist destination region
Industry element
Distribution of travel

10. A Systems Approach (cont’d.)
Figure 1–2 • A Tourism System Model Showing the Interdependencies among the Various Elements

11. A Systems Approach (cont’d.)
Wall and Mathieson elements
Dynamic element
Travelers’ decisions to travel to a selected destinations
Social, economic, and institutional factors that affect these decisions
A stay in the destination
Including interaction with the economic, environmental, and social systems of the destination
Consequential element
Results from preceding elements

12. A Systems Approach (cont’d.)
Figure 1–3 • A Conceptual Framework of Tourism
Source: Wall and Mathieson, Tourism: Change, Impacts and Opportunities, p. 20. Pearson/Prentice Hall. Harlow, Essex, U.K Permission kindly granted.

13. Perspectives of Tourism
We can study tourism from several perspectives
Holistic interdisciplinary approach
Includes all elements of Figure 1–2
Also includes several other elements (e.g., geography, motivation, marketing, economics, policy, agriculture, etc.)

14. The Tourism Product Narrow sense Wider sense
Consists of what the tourist buys
Wider sense
Combination of what the tourist does at the destination and services used

15. The Tourism Product (cont’d.)
Characteristics of a tourism product:
Service, which is intangible (e.g., cannot be inspected physically)
Psychological in attraction
Varies in quality and standards
Supply side is fixed (e.g., more hotel rooms cannot be instantly created to meet demand)

16. Characteristics of Tourism
Major types:
Internal tourism
Residents of a country visiting other parts of their own country
Domestic tourism
Inbound tourism plus internal tourism

17. Characteristics (cont’d.)
International tourism
Inbound tourism, which are visits to a country or region by nonresident
Outbound tourism
Visits by residents of a country or region to another country or region

18. Characteristics (cont’d.)
Combination of phenomena and relationships
Dynamic elements (the journey) and static elements (the stay)
Movement to destinations is temporary
Not connected with paid work
Tourist goes to the product

19. Characteristics (cont’d.)
Tourism products are not used up
Labor-intensive
People-oriented
Multidimensional
Seasonal
Dynamic

20. Tourism Industry Sectors
Several interacting industries make up the tourism system, including:
Transportation
Lodging
Attractions
Foodservice

21. Industry Sectors (cont’d.)
Figure 1–4 • The Interrelated Nature of the Tourism System
Source: Walker, John R., Introduction to Hospitality Management, 3rd., © Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

22. Tourism Past Preindustrial age Cruises on the Nile
Wealthy Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans
Olympics
The wheel and roads
Trade
The Grand Tour

23. Tourism Past (cont’d.) Trains Steam power gave birth to rail travel
Causes of increased growth:
Need to move goods
Politics, immigrants, and labor
Travel and tourism
Causes of decline:
New modes of transportation (e.g., bus, car, and airplanes)
Great Depression

24. Tourism Past (cont’d.) Cruising
Until 1830, travel by ship was primitive
Mostly used for discovery, trading, or migration
The Peninsula and Orient (P&O) company
First to offer cruises between Britain, Spain, and Portugal

25. Tourism Past (cont’d.) Automobile travel
Internal combustion engine automobile
Emerged from steam engines
Henry Ford
Automobile assembly line
Model-T Ford
Increased leisure travel

26. Tourism Past (cont’d.) Air travel Wright brothers
1935 commercial flights became feasible
World War II
Pressed planes into military service
1950 commercial jet airplanes
Boeing 700 series

27. Tourism Present Main elements: Vital force for peace Social importance
Economic importance
Cultural enrichment
Employment opportunities
Educational significance

28. Tourism Present (cont’d.)
Jafar Jafari’s platforms:
Advocacy platform
Many were advocating for tourism development
Cautionary platform
Studies that argued tourism is not all benefits
Adaptancy platform
Favoring one alternative over another
Knowledge based platform
Combined the platforms

29. Tourism Present (cont’d.)
Scope of travel and tourism
Mass travel and tourism
After World War II superhighways, commercial jets, and disposable income made it possible
Travel flows change continuously
Depend on economic conditions
Includes exchange rates, political factors, and business conditions
Business power of Japan, China, and India

30. Tourism Present (cont’d.)
Figure 1–5 • International Tourist Arrivals, Most Visited Countries
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization, “International Tourist Arrivals by Country of Destination,” UNWTO World Tourism Barometer 6, no. 2 (June 2008), (accessed August 1, 2008). © UNWTO,

31. Tourism Present (cont’d.)
Figure 1–6 • International Tourism Receipts, Top Tourism Earning Countries
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization, “International Tourism Receipts,” UNWTO World Tourism Barometer 6, no. 2 (June 2008), (accessed August 2, 2008). © UNWTO,

32. Tourism Present (cont’d.)
Business travel
Meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, and training sessions
Incentive travel
Normal business travel
May be a combination of first two
Research and teaching travel

33. Domestic Travel and Tourism
Domestic leisure travel
Large and growing sector
Includes travel for recreation, visiting friends and relatives, history and culture, attractions, entertainment, cruising, and sightseeing
Domestic business travel
Includes all forms that are work related
MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions)

34. Interrelated Business
Travel and tourism industry involves a complex set of interrelated businesses
Hospitality, travel, and tourism businesses
Retailers
Transportation sector
Recreation or gaming facilities
Hotels and restaurants

35. Where Do Americans Travel?
Many possible destinations
Some are more popular than others
Most Americans tend to think of vacation spots as beaches, mountains, and forests
Many vacations take place in major cities
Main purpose of a vacation is sightseeing, recreation, and visiting friends and relatives
Followed by trips for business or conventions

36. Tourism and You World Travel and Tourism Council
Tourism industry is expected to grow 50 percent faster than other sectors
Excellent career option
Already the largest of all sectors of world employment