Geography:Tourism
In Middle School and need help on Tourism?
Tourism, Tourism,
Tourism…We often hear our teachers ramble about it in school but never really
realized the significance of it. Well, me give a short explanation about it. It
accounts for more than a whopping 6 trillion USD in global spending and which
is 10% of the world’s GDP. Surprised ?, you shouldn’t be. In 2015, 1.2 billion
people travelled overseas. It’s no wonder it generates so much. In fact, 1 in
every 11 adults have a job related to or benefited by tourism. Even some wine
farmers benefit from tourism by selling wine to hotels which in turn sells them
to tourists. It also generates 7% of world exports and 30% service exports. It
also serves as a strong catalyst for broader economic growth for Less
Economically Developed Countries as many tourists will be attracted to travel
to LEDC’s as items there are normally cheaper due to a weaker currency. What’s
more, tourism is growing by a few percent every year and thus will contribute
more to the global GDP every year. Well, I hope you realize the importance of
Tourism
The
Importance of Tourism
Types
of Tourism
Domestic
Tourism- People travelling within their own country for leisure. An example
could be a couple from Texas attending their local team’s away game in Colorado
or a family reunion in a different state.
Inbound/Outbound
Tourism- Some people struggle with this concept so let me explain. Okay, so it
all depends on your perspective. Let’s say you’re a Belgium national and
someone from Austria visits your country. This is described as Inbound tourism,
when tourists enter in question from their home country. Outbound tourism
however, is when you are travelling away from your home country. So, if you’re
a Belgium national, and your visiting say… Estonia, it is considered outbound
tourism.
Health/Medical
Tourism- These are tourists who visit another country specifically for special
health treatment that may not be available in their home country at an
affordable price. Normally, many medical tourists come from less economically
developed countries(LEDC) and travel to developed cities such as Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia), Bangkok(Thailand) or Johannesburg (South Africa). An
example would be those hordes of tourists that swarm South Korea for plastic
surgery or the Arabs who visit Singapore for exclusive medical treatment.
Business
Tourism- Anyone travelling with any relation to Business is considered a
business tourist (Lol, Duh). An example would be a salesman who travelled to
different places to attend trade shows and to promote his products too.
Educational
Tourism-These are tourists who travel in another town, city or country to
improve his educational qualifications or to upgrade their skills by attending
a workshop. An example, would be a nurse travelling to another state to attend
a particular workshop.
Adventurous
Tourism-Adventurous tourists are those who want a unusual experience. They want
dangerous activities such as rock climbing or shark cage diving.
Cultural
Tourism- These are people who want to experience different culture and art such
as san rock art or the National art festival in Grahams.
Eco
Tourism-These are people who travel specifically to view the flora and fauna in
a country such as the Bonita gardens, South Africa. They travel to places that
are not disturbed much by man. One example, would be Maldives which is a
relatively unharmed country.
Leisure
Tourism- Literally what it says lol
Religious
Tourism-There are plenty of religious sites around the world such as mecca, Jerusalem
,Varanasi and plenty more I’m sure.
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What
are the factors that contribute to the number of tourists visiting a country?
The
factors contributing to the number of tourists visiting a country are, accessibility,
cheap travel, amenities, media and political stability. Countries with more and
bigger airports are bound to have more people visiting as they can cater to
more airlines and different types of aircraft. Advances in all areas of
transport has made the world more accessible and connected and as it now takes
lesser time for people to travel, it is more appealing to the mass as they
prefer to spend less time traveling. An example of a country with good
accessibility would be Singapore with her 3 big terminals that allow her to
dock different aircrafts from different airlines.
Cheap
travel also attracts tourists to visit. With the birth of budget airlines, more
people are able to travel as it is more affordable for the mass. With the
addition of cheaper accommodation facilities due to rising competition amongst
tour packages and the rise of budget hotels.
Amenities
also play a crucial part in foreign and domestic tourism. A good example would
be Gardens by The Bay, Singapore. With regards to Singapore, its variety of
retail entertainment, food outlets and hotels will surely strengthen it’s
attractiveness as a choice for a holiday destination.
Media
plays a part as it influences people to think that way about a country it
portrays. For example, with slogans such as “ Uniquely Singapore”, it will
attract tourists to visit as it is catchy and makes the audience want to visit
the country. Documentaries also count as media. For example, if a document was
aired about the war history in Malaysia, it may attract people to visit as they
may be interested to view firsthand the war sites. Unique icons native to a
country such as the country’s tallest building or their local food are aired on
tv, magazines and the internet. Furthermore, the internet has all the
information about tourists destinations.
Political
stability
Political
stability probably plays the biggest role in all the 5 factors. Generally, all
the East Asian countries have a relatively stable government except for totalitarian
dictatorship government of North Korea. Tourists will not be attracted to visit
countries which are unsafe and dangerous and most will only travel to countries
classified as ‘safe’ and “stable”.
Recap
-Accessibility
-Transport and Communication networks
-Short Travel time
-Cheap
Travel
-Budget Airlines
-Cheap accommodation facilities (etc. Budget hotels)
-Amenities
-Tourist attractions (Name your local attraction)
-Media
-Any form (Radio, Television, documentaries etc)
-Political
Stability
-Stable government, stable economy and safety
Page will be uploaded constantly until I am done with this topic in school. It is for my benefit and yours. Plagiarism is allowed :)
