Tourism
Wealthy people have always travelled to distant
parts of the world, to see great buildings, works of art, learn new
languages, experience new cultures, and to taste different cuisines.
Long ago, at the time of the Roman
Republic, places such as Baiae were popular coastal resorts for the rich. The word tourist
was used by 1772[16]
and tourism by 1811.[17]
The origins of modern tourism can be traced back
to what was known as the Grand Tour which was a traditional trip of Europe
undertaken by mainly upper-class European
young men of means, mainly from England. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the
advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated
with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of
passage. Though primarily associated with the British
nobility and wealthy landed gentry,
similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant
Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18th
century some South American, U.S., and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition
was extended to include more of the middle class
after rail and steamship travel made the journey less of a burden, and Thomas Cook
made the "Cook's Tour" a byword.
The New York Times recently described the Grand Tour in this way:
Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen
began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art,
culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited
funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their
language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.
—Gross, Matt., "Lessons From
the Frugal Grand Tour." New York Times 5 September 2008.
The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was
believed, laid in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance,
and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent.
Emergence of Leisure travel
Main article: Leisure
travel
This section needs
additional citations for verification. Please help improve
this article by adding citations to reliable
sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2013)
|
Englishman in the Campagna by Carl Spitzweg
(c. 1845)
Leisure travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United
Kingdom – the first European country to promote leisure time
to the increasing industrial population.[18]
Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the
economic oligarchy, the factory owners and the traders. These comprised the new
middle class.[18] Cox &
Kings was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758.[19]
The British origin of this new industry is
reflected in many place names. In Nice, France, one of the first and best-established holiday resorts
on the French Riviera, the long esplanade along the
seafront is known to this day as the Promenade des Anglais; in many
other historic resorts in continental Europe, old, well-established
palace hotels have names like the Hotel Bristol, Hotel Carlton,
or Hotel Majestic – reflecting the dominance of English
customers.
Panels from the Thomas Cook Building in Leicester,
displaying excursions offered by Thomas Cook
A pioneer of the travel agency, Thomas Cook's
idea to offer excursions came to him while waiting for the stagecoach on the
London Road at Kibworth.
With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway, he arranged to
take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street station to
a rally in Loughborough, eleven miles away. On 5 July
1841, Thomas Cook arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling
per person that included rail tickets and food for this train journey. Cook was
paid a share of the fares actually charged to the passengers, as the railway
tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have
been issued at his own price. This was the first privately chartered excursion
train to be advertised to the general public; Cook himself acknowledging that
there had been previous, unadvertised, private excursion trains.[20]
During the following three summers he planned and conducted outings for
temperance societies and Sunday-school children. In 1844 the Midland Counties
Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him provided he
found the passengers. This success led him to start his own business running
rail excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway tickets.
Leicester railway station - this was built
between 1892 and 1894 to replace, largely on the same site, Campbell Street station,
the origin for many of Cook's early tours.
Four years later, he planned his first excursion
abroad, when he took a group from Leicester to Calais to
coincide with the Paris
Exhibition. The following year he started his 'grand circular tours' of Europe.
During the 1860s he took parties to Switzerland, Italy, Egypt and United
States. Cook established 'inclusive independent travel', whereby the traveller
went independently but his agency charged for travel, food and accommodation
for a fixed period over any chosen route. Such was his success that the
Scottish railway companies withdrew their support between 1862 and 1863 to try
the excursion business for themselves.
Modern Day Tourism
Many leisure-oriented tourists travel to the
tropics, both in the summer and winter. Places of such nature often visited
are: Bali
in Indonesia,
Colombia,
Brazil,
Cuba, Grenada,
the Dominican Republic, Malaysia,
Mexico
the various Polynesian
tropical islands, Queensland in Australia,
Thailand,
Saint-Tropez
and Cannes
in France,
Florida,
Hawaii
and Puerto Rico,
in the United States, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Barbados,
Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica,
St.Lucia
Saint Maarten, St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh,
Saint Kitts and Nevis, The Bahamas,
Anguilla,
Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Bermuda.
In 1936, the League of
Nations defined foreign tourist as "someone traveling
abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United
Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum
stay of six months.[7]
Winter tourism
See also: List of ski areas and resorts and Winter sport
Although it is acknowledged that the Swiss were
not the inventors of skiing, it is well documented that St. Moritz,
Graubünden
became the cradle of the developing winter tourism; since that year of 1865 in
St. Moritz,[21]
when many daring hotel managers choose to risk opening their hotels in winter.
It was, however, only in the 1970s when winter tourism took over the lead from
summer tourism in many of the Swiss ski resorts. Even in winter, portions of up
to one third of all guests (depending on the location) consist of non-skiers.[22]
Major ski resorts
are located mostly in the various European countries (e.g. Andorra,
Austria,
Bulgaria,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech
Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Spain,
Switzerland,
Turkey),
Canada,
the United States
(e.g. Colorado, California, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New York, New Jersey,
Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire) New Zealand,
Japan,
South Korea,
Chile,
and Argentina.
Mass tourism
Reisepläne (Travel plans) by Adolph Menzel
(1875)
Mass tourism could only have developed with the
improvements in technology, allowing the transport
of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure
interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits
of leisure time.
In the United States,
the first seaside resorts in the European style were at Atlantic City, New Jersey
and Long Island,
New York.
In Continental Europe, early resorts included: Ostend,
popularised by the people of Brussels; Boulogne-sur-Mer
(Pas-de-Calais)
and Deauville
(Calvados)
for the Parisians;
and Heiligendamm,
founded in 1793, as the first seaside resort on the Baltic Sea.
Adjectival tourism
For a more comprehensive list, see List of adjectival tourisms.
Adjectival tourism refers to the numerous niche or
specialty travel forms of tourism that have emerged over the years, each with
its own adjective. Many of these have come into common use by the tourism
industry and academics.[23]
Others are emerging concepts that may or may not gain popular usage. Examples
of the more common niche tourism markets include:
Recent developments
There has been an up-trend in tourism over the
last few decades, especially in Europe, where international travel for short
breaks is common. Tourists have a wide range of budgets and tastes, and a wide
variety of resorts and hotels have developed to cater for them. For example,
some people prefer simple beach vacations, while others want more specialised
holidays, quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays or niche market-targeted destination
hotels.
The developments in technology and transport
infrastructure, such as jumbo jets, low-cost
airlines and more accessible airports have made many types of tourism more affordable. On
28 April 2009 The Guardian noted that "the WHO estimates that up to
500,000 people are on planes at any time."[24]
There have also been changes in lifestyle, for example some retirement-age
people sustain year round tourism. This is facilitated by internet sales of tourist services. Some sites
have now started to offer dynamic
packaging, in which an inclusive price is quoted for a tailor-made
package requested by the customer upon impulse.
There have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as
the September 11 attacks and terrorist
threats to tourist destinations, such as in Bali and several European
cities. Also, on 26 December 2004, a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, hit the Asian
countries on the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives.
Thousands of lives were lost including many tourists. This, together with the
vast clean-up
operations, stopped or severely hampered tourism in the area for a time.
The terms tourism and travel are
sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar
definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism
and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest
in the cultures or locations visited by tourists.
Sustainable tourism
Main article: Sustainable tourism
"Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading
to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and
aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity,
essential ecological processes, biological
diversity and life support systems." (World Tourism Organization)[25]
Sustainable development implies
"meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs." (World Commission on Environment and Development,
1987)[26]
Sustainable tourism can be seen as having regard
to ecological and socio-cultural carrying capacities and includes involving the
community of the destination in tourism development planning. It also involves
integrating tourism to match current economic and growth policies so as to mitigate
some of the negative economic and social impacts of 'mass tourism'. Murphy
(1985) advocates the use of an 'ecological approach', to consider both 'plants'
and 'people' when implementing the sustainable tourism development process.
This is in contrast to the 'boosterism' and 'economic'
approaches to tourism planning, neither of which consider the detrimental ecological
or sociological impacts of tourism development to a destination.
However, Butler questions the exposition of the
term 'sustainable' in the context of tourism, citing its ambiguity and stating
that "the emerging sustainable development philosophy of the 1990s can be
viewed as an extension of the broader realization that a preoccupation with
economic growth without regard to its social and environmental consequences is
self-defeating in the long term." Thus 'sustainable tourism development'
is seldom considered as an autonomous function of economic regeneration as
separate from general economic growth.
Ecotourism
Main article: Ecotourism
Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is
responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that
strives to be low impact and (often) small scale. It helps educate the
traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic
development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect
for different cultures and for human rights.
Pro-poor tourism
Main article: Pro-poor tourism
Pro-poor tourism, which seeks to help the poorest
people in developing countries, has been receiving increasing attention by
those involved in development; the issue has been addressed through small-scale
projects in local communities and through attempts by Ministries of Tourism to
attract large numbers of tourists. Research by the Overseas Development Institute
suggests that neither is the best way to encourage tourists' money to reach the
poorest as only 25% or less (far less in some cases) ever reaches the poor;
successful examples of money reaching the poor include mountain-climbing in Tanzania
and cultural tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos.[27]
Recession tourism
Main article: Recession tourism
Recession tourism is a travel trend, which evolved
by way of the world economic crisis. Identified by American entrepreneur Matt Landau (2007),
recession tourism is defined by low-cost, high-value experiences taking place
of once-popular generic retreats. Various recession tourism hotspots have seen
business boom during the recession thanks to comparatively low costs of living
and a slow world job market suggesting travelers are elongating trips where
their money travels further.
Medical tourism
Main article: Medical
tourism
When there is a significant price difference
between countries for a given medical procedure, particularly in Southeast
Asia, India,
Eastern
Europe and where there are different regulatory regimes, in relation
to particular medical procedures (e.g. dentistry),
traveling to take advantage of the price or regulatory differences is often
referred to as "medical tourism".
Educational tourism
Main article: Educational tourism
Educational tourism developed, because of the
growing popularity of teaching and learning of knowledge and the enhancing of
technical competency outside of the classroom environment.[citation needed] In educational
tourism, the main focus of the tour or leisure activity includes visiting
another country to learn about the culture, such as in Student Exchange Programs and Study Tours,
or to work and apply skills learned inside the classroom in a different
environment, such as in the International Practicum Training Program.
Creative tourism
Friendship Force visitors
from Indonesia meet their hosts in Hartwell,
Georgia, USA.
Creative tourism has existed as a form of cultural
tourism, since the early beginnings of tourism itself. Its European
roots date back to the time of the Grand Tour,
which saw the sons of aristocratic families traveling for the purpose of mostly
interactive, educational experiences. More recently, creative tourism has been
given its own name by Crispin Raymond and Greg Richards,[28]
who as members of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS),
have directed a number of projects for the European Commission, including cultural and
crafts tourism, known as sustainable tourism. They have defined
"creative tourism" as tourism related to the active participation of travelers
in the culture
of the host community, through interactive workshops and informal learning
experiences.[28]
Meanwhile, the concept of creative tourism has
been picked up by high-profile organizations such as UNESCO, who
through the Creative Cities Network, have endorsed
creative tourism as an engaged, authentic experience that promotes an
active understanding of the specific cultural features of a place.[citation needed]
More recently, creative tourism has gained
popularity as a form of cultural tourism, drawing on active participation by
travelers in the culture of the host communities they visit. Several countries
offer examples of this type of tourism development, including the United Kingdom,
Austria, France, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and New Zealand.
Dark tourism
Main article: Dark tourism
One emerging area of special interest has been
identified by Lennon and Foley (2000)[29][30]
as "dark"
tourism. This type of tourism involves visits to "dark"
sites, such as battlegrounds, scenes of horrific crimes or acts of genocide,
for example: concentration camps. Dark tourism remains a small niche market,
driven by varied motivations, such as mourning, remembrance, education, macabre
curiosity or even entertainment. Its early origins are rooted in fairgrounds
and medieval fairs.[31]
Doom tourism
Amalia
Glacier, South Patagonia, Chile
Also known as "Tourism of Doom," or
"Last Chance Tourism" this emerging trend involves traveling to
places that are environmentally or otherwise threatened (the ice caps of Mount
Kilimanjaro, the melting glaciers of Patagonia,
The coral of the Great Barrier Reef) before it is too late.
Identified by travel trade magazine Travel Age West[32]
editor-in-chief Kenneth Shapiro in 2007 and later explored in The New York Times,[33]
this type of tourism is believed to be on the rise. Some see the trend as
related to sustainable tourism or ecotourism
due to the fact that a number of these tourist destinations are considered
threatened by environmental factors such as global warming, over population or
climate change. Others worry that travel to many of these threatened locations
increases an individual’s carbon
footprint and only hastens problems threatened locations are already
facing.
Growth
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average
annual rate of 4%.[34]
With the advent of e-commerce, tourism products have become one of
the most traded items on the internet.[citation needed] Tourism
products and services have been made available through intermediaries, although
tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.) can sell their services directly.
This has put pressure on intermediaries from both on-line and traditional
shops.
It has been suggested there is a strong
correlation between tourism expenditure per capita and the degree to which
countries play in the global context.[35]
Not only as a result of the important economic contribution of the tourism
industry, but also as an indicator of the degree of confidence with which
global citizens leverage the resources of the globe for the benefit of their local economies. This is why any
projections of growth in tourism may serve as an indication of the relative
influence that each country will exercise in the future.
Space tourism
is expected to "take off" in the first quarter of the 21st century,
although compared with traditional destinations the number of tourists in orbit
will remain low until technologies such as a space elevator
make space travel cheap.[citation needed]
Technological improvement is likely to make
possible air-ship hotels, based either on solar-powered
airplanes or large dirigibles.[citation needed] Underwater
hotels, such as Hydropolis, expected to open in Dubai in 2009, will be
built. On the ocean, tourists will be welcomed by ever larger cruise ships and
perhaps floating
cities.[citation needed]
Sports tourism
Main article: Sports
tourism
Since the late 1980s, sports
tourism has become increasingly popular. Events such as rugby,
Olympics, Commonwealth games, Asian Games and football World Cups have enabled
specialist travel companies to gain official ticket allocation and then sell
them in packages that include flights, hotels and excursions.
The focus on sport and spreading knowledge on the
subject, especially more so recently, lead to the increase in the sport
tourism. Most notably, the international event such as the Olympics caused a
shift in focus in the audience who now realize the variety of sports that exist
in the world. In the United States, one of the most popular sports that usually
are focused on was Football. This popularity was increased through major events
like the World Cups. In Asian countries, the numerous football events also
increased the popularity of football. But, it was the Olympics that brought
together the different sports that lead to the increase in sport tourism. The
drastic interest increase in sports in general and not just one sport caught
the attention of travel companies, who then began to sell flights in packages.
Due to the low number of people who actually purchase these packages than predicted,
the cost of these packages plummeted initially. As the number start to rise
slightly the packages increased to regain the lost profits. With the certain
economic state, the number of purchases decreased once again. The fluctuation
in the number of packages sold was solely dependent on the economic situation,
therefore, most travel companies were forced to set aside the plan to execute
the marketing of any new package features.
Latest trends
As a result of the late-2000s recession, international
arrivals suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to
2008 was only 3.7% during the first eight months of 2008. This slowdown on
international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry,
with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic
through September. The hotel industry also reported a slowdown, with room
occupancy declining. In 2009 worldwide tourism arrivals decreased by 3.8%.[36]
By the first quarter of 2009, real travel demand in the United States had
fallen 6% over six quarters. While this is considerably milder than what
occurred after the 9/11 attacks, the decline was at twice the
rate as real GDP has fallen.[37][38]
However, evidence suggests that tourism as a
global phenomena shows no signs of substantially abating in the long term. Much
literature, especially that following the Mobilities
paradigm, suggests that travel is necessary in order to maintain relationships,
as social life is increasingly networked and conducted at a distance.[39]
For many vacations and travel are increasingly being viewed as a necessity
rather than a luxury, and this is reflected in tourist numbers recovering some
6.6% globally over 2009, with growth up to 8% in emerging economies.[36]
No comments:
Post a Comment