Box 1.4. Experience: Business or Pleasure? Traveling as a Tourism Geographer
As a geographer, and especially as a tourism geographer, every trip I take and every place I go is work. I was working when I took a vineyard tour in Napa Valley, California. I was working when I attended the lectures of leading experts at the UNWTO’s International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism held in scenic Davos, Switzerland. I was working when I wandered the streets of Paris. I was working when I conducted research at St. Vincent’s botanical gardens. I was working when I spent the night at a cottage perched on the edge of the Zambezi River Gorge in Zimbabwe. I was working when I traveled to rural Guizhou Province, China, to learn about the cultures of ethnic minorities. I was working when I got hopelessly lost hiking in Slovenia. I was working when I presented my research at the International Geographical Congress in Tunis, Tunisia. I was even working when I was in Barbados. (No, really.)
Geographers rarely need an excuse to travel. For us, the world is our classroom. If we are to understand the world, we must experience it, and travel gives us that opportunity. Through travel, we build our knowledge of places other than our own, which finds its way into the classes we teach and shapes the topics we research. As geographers first, we rely on this knowledge of place to provide an important framework for understanding tourism as a place-based activity. For tourism geographers, travel has the added benefit of allowing us to explore the circumstances of tourism in other places. Tourism exists in many forms at different scales and across different parts of the world. Through travel, we gain insight into the patterns of this often complex phenomenon. Thus, there is much to be learned from every trip we take, even our own vacations.
Work though it may be, I certainly have no room to complain. Beyond the professional benefits of travel, each trip has had tremendous personal value. I got to know an old family friend as she took me to her favorite vineyards in Napa Valley. I fell in love with the Alps in Switzerland and swore to go back as soon as I could. I checked Paris off of my “bucket list” and swore to never go back. I made a friend on St. Vincent who showed me parts of the island I never would have found on my own. I watched a full moon rise over the Zambezi River from my cottage at the top of the gorge. I successfully used my rudimentary Mandarin to order at a restaurant in a small town in Guizhou where no one spoke a word of English. I never did find the ruins of the twelfth-century castle in Slovenia, but I won’t soon forget the experience of looking for it. For hours. In the rain. I learned how to argue with a taxi driver in Tunis. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed lying on one of Barbados’s beautiful beaches once my work was done. Travel has given me the opportunity to meet amazing people and to have these incredible experiences that I never would have had at home. Moreover, it has given me new perspectives on my life, and I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process.
So is it business, or pleasure? It is, undoubtedly, both.
Conclusion
Geography has a long tradition based on the fundamental human desire to understand the world, and the modern discipline provides us with the tools and concepts to explain the patterns and phenomena that comprise the world. Although geography and tourism may not automatically be associated with one another, the relationship is undeniable. As such, geography is particularly well suited to provide the framework for exploring the massive worldwide phenomenon of tourism. In particular, we will use a topical approach in geography to break this complicated concept down into more manageable pieces.
This textbook is intended to be precisely what it says it is: an introduction. It is not, and cannot be, comprehensive. Any one of the topics discussed in the chapters of this text could very well merit an entire text of its own. In fact, there are many excellent examples available that discuss such specific topics in much greater depth than what has been done here. At the same time, there are many other topics that could have just as easily been included. The fact that they were not is more a function of a lack of space than a lack of importance. This text is but a beginning, a starting point.
This first chapter briefly discussed each geography and tourism for the purpose of introducing this idea of a “geography of tourism.” The remaining chapters in Part I continue to develop a basis in tourism that will allow us to subsequently examine key issues through the framework of geography. Specifically, chapter 2 (“Basic Concepts in Tourism”) introduces some of the terminology and ideas in tourism that will provide the foundation for discussions in the remaining chapters, while chapter 3 (“Overview of Tourism Products”) provides a brief overview of the types of tourism experiences (i.e., the “products” of the tourism industry) that are offered by destinations around the world.
Key Terms
accessibility
affect
critical regional geography
effect
geotourism
globalization
human geography
leisure time
physical geography
place
region
regional geography
relative location
scale
space
spatial distribution
topical geography
tourism
tourism demand
tourism supply
tourist-generating regions
tourist-receiving regions
Notes
1. Geoffrey J. Martin, All Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
2. David A. Lanegran and Salvatore J. Natoli, Guidelines for Geographic Education in the Elementary and Secondary Schools (Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers, 1984).
3. National Geographic Education Foundation, “Survey Results: U.S. Young Adults Are Lagging,” accessed August 22, 2011, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/highlights.html; John Roach, “Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests,” National Geographic News, May 2, 2006, accessed August 22, 2011, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_geography.html.
4. World Tourism Organization, Collection of Tourism Expenditure Statistics, Technical Manual No. 2 (Madrid: World Tourism Organization, 1995), accessed January 22, 2011, http://pub.unwto.org/WebRoot/Store/Shops/Infoshop/Products/1034/1034-1.pdf, 9.
5. Alister Mathieson and Geoffrey Wall, Tourism: Economic, Physical, and Social Impacts (London: Longman, 1982), 1.
6. Stephen L. J. Smith, “Defining Tourism: A Supply Side View,” Annals of Tourism Research 15, no. 2 (1988): 183.
7. Jerome L. McElroy and Courtney E. Parry, “The Characteristics of Small Island Tourist Economies,” Tourism and Hospitality Research 10, no. 4 (2010): 319–20.
8. United Nations World Tourism Organization, “International Tourism 2010: Multi-Speed Recovery,” January 17, 2011, accessed January 27, 2011, http://85.62.13.114/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=7331&idioma=E.
9. United Nations World Tourism Organization, World Tourism Barometer 8, no. 1 (2010), accessed October 24, 2010, http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTO_Barom10_1_en.pdf, 3.
10. Caribbean Tourism Organization, “About Us,” accessed October 24, 2010, http://www.onecaribbean.org/aboutus/.
11. Chris Gibson, “Locating Geographies of Tourism,” Progress in Human Geography 32, no. 3 (2008).
Chapter 2
Basic Concepts in Tourism
The concept of tourism means something different to all of us because we have different perspectives and experiences. For example, people in significant tourist-generating regions may think of tourism as something that they have done in the past and that they would probably like to do again sometime in the future. This is a demand-side perspective. In contrast, people in significant tourist-receiving regions may associate tourism with all of the tourists who come and go during the course of a season. This is a supply-side perspective. Both are fundamental in understanding tourism.
In this chapter, we will discuss some of the k
ey terms and concepts from the perspective of both the demand side of tourism and the supply side. In particular, we will consider what tourism means from the demand side, who tourists are, and what geographic factors motivate them and affect their demand for travel and tourism. We will also examine what types of tourism are provided on the supply side, what characteristics of places create tourism attractions, and what constitutes the tourism industry.
Box 2.1. Terminology: Tourism
In chapter 1, we discussed the classic UNWTO definition of tourism. But because tourism can be approached from different perspectives, some additional terminology is useful. Inbound tourism is where tourists from somewhere else, typically another country, are traveling to that destination. Outbound tourism is where tourists are traveling from a place to a destination, again typically in another country. This marks a distinction between domestic tourism, which includes those tourists traveling within their own country, and international tourism, which includes those tourists traveling to another country. Additional distinctions may be made between short-haul tourism and long-haul tourism. This is based on either distance or travel time by a particular mode, or type, of transport. For example, a short-haul flight is generally considered to be less than three hours, while a long-haul flight is longer than six. However, there is no standardized measure for how these categories are actually defined.
Discussion topic: Do you think short-haul tourism can be international tourism and long-haul tourism domestic tourism? Why or why not?
The Demand Side
One approach to tourism is from the demand side, with a focus on tourists. This is, of course, a fundamental component of tourism: tourism would not exist without tourists and the demand for tourism experiences. Interestingly, however, the demand side has often been a less studied component in the geography of tourism. Instead, this approach has been seen as a topic more in the realm of psychology, sociology, or anthropology. Yet, the demand side nonetheless has distinct implications for our understanding of geographic patterns in tourism. The first half of this chapter introduces some of the theories and concepts that have been put forth to help us understand tourism from the demand side.
Tourism
In the last chapter, we began to consider the different ways we think of tourism. When we think about our experiences, we are thinking about the demand side of tourism. Therefore, one of the easiest ways for us to conceptualize tourism is as a process with a series of stages (figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1. This conceptualization approaches tourism from the demand side and takes into consideration the stages that contribute to the overall process of tourism. These stages do not necessarily occur in a linear fashion but may overlap and influence the others.
This process begins in the pre-trip stage, when we think about traveling and consider our options. We might evaluate different destinations in terms of the resources and attractions of each place, the tourism products (i.e., the type of experiences) offered there, and the level of infrastructure (e.g., accommodations or transport accessibility), and how they match up with our interests and expectations. Likewise, we will consider the overall cost of a trip to these places in relation to our budget. We have access to a tremendous amount of information to aid us in this evaluation and decision-making process. We rely on our previous experiences, input from family and friends, and the ideas and images of destinations that come from a range of media sources (e.g., news, movies, popular television shows, travel-related television shows, tourism guidebooks, travel magazines, and destination promotional literature). In particular, the Internet has become the most important source of tourism information in today’s society. This includes travel booking sites like Expedia or Travelocity, review sites like TripAdvisor, destination-specific websites, and a host of professional and personal travel blogs. In general, the Internet has made this stage easier—at least in the parts of the world with widespread Internet access—in that almost all aspects of pre-trip planning may be completed online.
The next three stages comprise the trip itself. For many trips, these stages will occur one after the other. In the movement stage, we use some form of transportation to reach the place of destination. At the destination, the experience stage is the main component in the process, in which we participate in a variety of activities. Then we repeat the movement stage as we return home again. For example, the Midwestern family taking a trip to Disneyworld may fly from their nearest airport to Orlando, Florida (movement), spend a few days at the resort and/or theme parks (experience), and then fly home (movement). In this case, movement is simply a means to an end to get to the destination and the experience stage. However, these stages are not always distinct, and the act of traveling can be an integral part of the experience stage. For example, the Midwestern family on a road trip may take a scenic route and visit any number of attractions over the course of the trip. In this case, the movement stage lasts the duration of the trip, from the time they leave home to the time they return. The experience stage takes place concurrently with the movement stage.
The final stage is the post-trip stage, which occurs after we return from our trip. We relive our trip through memories and conversations about the trip, as well as through tangible products of the trip, like pictures and souvenirs. These memories can be positive or negative, depending on what happened during the three principal stages of the trip. This stage is typically most intense in the period immediately following the trip, and although it diminishes over time, memories can be triggered by many things for a long time afterward. The tourism process then becomes circular, when we tap into these memories and past experiences to help us make decisions when we start planning our next trip (i.e., the pre-trip stage).
One of the principal advantages of this demand side conceptualization of tourism is that it is readily understood and doesn’t complicate something that should be relatively straightforward. In addition, it takes into consideration the role of pre-trip planning and the decision-making process, which are neglected in typical definitions of tourism that focus only on travel to a destination and activities undertaken there.
Tourists
Based on the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) definition of tourism quoted in chapter 1, a tourist could be defined as a person who travels to and stays in a place outside of his or her usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, or other purposes. While this official-sounding definition is often used to identify tourists for the purpose of record keeping and statistics, it holds relatively little practical meaning to help us conceptualize who tourists are, as it is broad enough to encompass anything from children on vacation with their parents to adults traveling for work, and from week-long spring break partiers to students spending a semester studying abroad. Instead, it is popular ideas and stereotypes that have long been more influential in shaping our ideas about tourists.
The term tourist came into widespread use in the nineteenth century, and even then there were clear—and not always flattering—connotations. Up to this time, explorers were recognized to be individuals who traveled to places that had not previously been extensively visited or documented by others from their society. Likewise, travelers were considered to be those who traveled for a specific purpose, such as business enterprises or official government functions. The new category of “tourists,” however, was different from either of these. Unlike travelers, tourists were regarded as individuals who did not travel for any purpose other than the experience of travel itself and the pleasure they derived from that experience. Unlike explorers, tourists were often criticized for traveling to the same places and having the same experiences as all of the explorers, travelers, and even other tourists who came before them.
From this time, highly satirized representations of tourists began to appear in various media, from newspapers to novels. Today, these ideas are more widespread—and more exaggerated—than ever. Take, for example, the opening scene of the 2010 family-friendly anima
ted comedy Despicable Me, in which the unruly child of the loud, overweight, brightly dressed, camera-wielding American tourists accidentally exposes the villainous theft of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is this well-known concept of tourists as a category of people that provokes the sort of reaction expressed in the hilarious Uncyclopedia entry titled “Tourist—The Stereotype”: “Tourists. We all have ’em. They infest every corner of the globe. Korea, with admirable common sense, arrests all tourists at the border and nukes ’em. . . . Most other nations on Earth, sadly, tolerate them.”1
Although it has long been easy to make fun of tourists based on stereotypes, it is far more difficult to make generalizations about tourists in reality. Of course, there are always tourists who continue to fuel the stereotypes. Yet, there are also those who may be closer in spirit to the early explorers or have motivations in common with travelers (as even the official UNWTO definition explicitly includes business as well as other purposes). To accommodate the differences that exist between tourists, scholars have developed tourist typologies to identify categories (or types) of tourists. Typologies have used many different variables to categorize tourists, such as motivations and behavior as well as demographic characteristics, lifestyle, personality, and more. This type of framework is typically conceptualized as a spectrum or continuum of tourists, in which several important categories are identified and defined. These categories merely identify some of the characteristics of tourists at certain points on the continuum. Not all tourists can be grouped into these defined categories but instead will fall at various points along the continuum between categories.
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