Tsmgt - Lesson 01 - Tourism Management PDF

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Tourism Management...

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Introduction to Tourism: Themes, concepts and issues Introduction The late twentieth century and the new millennium have witnessed the continued growth of the leisure society where people have continued to value the significance of holidays, travel and the experience of going to see new societies and their cultures. This growth of the consumer society, with its emphasis on discretionary spending on leisure activities in the developed world since the 1950s, reflects the increased availability of disposable income to engage in leisure pursuits and holidays. Although this leisure society was traditionally the remit of the western developed world, during the 1990s trends emerged where there is a greater propensity for the world‟s population now to travel and engage in holidays in their new-found leisure time; this is now being reflected in new world regions such as Asia, China and the Indian sub continent. Tourism is part of global process of change and development (known as globalization) which is no longer confined to the developed countries that traditionally provided the demand for world travel. In this respect, understanding the pace of change in tourism is more complex as the processes of change are diverse and not homogenous. Increasingly, the development and change in tourism throughout the world are a function of complex factors that combine to generate a process of change that needs to be understood in its local context with a focus on the national and international processes affecting change. Therefore, understanding how these changes occur, what motivates people to travel, how their patterns of tourism affect the environments and the local societies they visit are persistent questions now facing those organizations, researchers and students of tourism. Increasingly, governments are also recognizing both the value of tourism to their national economies and the problems that tourism development may pose if this activity is pursued as a route to national economic development. This course assumes no prior knowledge of the subject area conveniently labelled „Tourism Studies‟, progressively developing the reader‟s understanding of the scope, complexity and range of issues which the tourism phenomenon poses for anyone who is serious about the study of the subject. It is easy to understand this subject by studying theme, concepts and issues in relevant to the tourism first. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of the estimates of tourism‟s significance as global activity leads many analysts such as the World Travel and Tourism Council to argue that it is the world‟s largest industry though finding evidence to substantiate this claim is difficult. Furthermore, there is BBA 336

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growing evidence that tourism is an unpredictable economic activity which can be subject to „shock waves‟ such as the Asian economic crisis in 1997-1998 (link no 01)which can rapidly change the economic fortunes of the tourism industry in different countries. (Link no 01) The impact of the Asian Economic crisis on tourist arrivals in South- East Asia Up until the onset of Asian financial crisis, South-East Asia was also developing as a major source of outbound tourism. Intraregional travel (i. g. travel within the South-east Asian region) remained significant, though the decline in region‟s economies has meant that regionally generated inbound tourism has deflated across region. Inbound tourism from outside the region has therefore become extremely valuable – and extremely competitive. The decline in the value of region‟s currencies in relation to major tourism generating regions of North America and Europe, and even Australia, Japan and New Zealand, has meant that, apart from external perceptions of instability in some cases, the region became an extremely attractive destination in term of exchange rates. Within the region, only Thailand, which has taken a very aggressive stance in attracting tourists and China have shown substantive tourist growth. Although, in the case of China, it should be noted that growth has occurred because of increased arrival from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macca, with arrivals outside these markets actually dropping by 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 1998. These dramatic fluctuations, and their wider significance beyond tourism, graphically illustrate the need for a contemporary assessment of tourism in what has been one of the most dynamic regions for the industry over the past two decades. Although, it is impossible to take full account of future events with tourism markets within the region being far from mature, unpredictable and in some cases unstable. As the discussion of visitor arrivals shows, it is vital that students of tourism are aware of the factors and issues which are shaping the regions future not only in tourism, but in its wider political, economic, social and environmental context. (Link o1 completed) Tourism as an area of academic field One of the immediate problems that students of tourism face is the fact that one is studying a subject that is associated with people‟s experiences of travel and their leisure experiences. Prior to the 1980s it was viewed with suspicion and reservation by many academics and analysts as superficial and not really worthy of academic respect in the same way that established disciplines such as history, economics and politics were held in esteem by seats of learning BBA 336

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(i.e. academic institutions) This reflects the relative recency with which tourism has been embraced as a subject of serious academic study although this situation has now changed with many schools, colleges and universities offering courses in Tourism Studies. Tourism Studies is now more than a practitioner subject taught at craft level: it is offered from certificate level through doctorate level and it is now maturing as a subject area in its own right. This can be understood by studying the staircase of tourism qualifications (link 02) But Tourism Studies as a subject area is fraught by a number of problems which any student and researcher needs to be aware of. Some of the principal problems are that: 1. Tourism is not easily recognized as subject because some analysts view it as an industry, while others view it as a subject or as a process. So there is no universal agreement on how to approach it. 2. Academics argue that tourism is a subject that is conceptually weak, which means that there are no universally agreed sets of laws or principles that all researchers adopt as the starting point for the discussion of the tourism. This is made more difficult because tourism is a multidisciplinary subject where different disciplines examine tourism from their own standpoint rather than from a universally agreed tourism perspective. In this respect, the different subject areas which examine tourism use their own concepts and modes of analysis that have been developed in their own disciplines. This means that as a multidisciplinary subject area, tourism lacks integration between the different disciplines studying it which severely limits the intellectual development of the area by the lack of cross – fertilization of ideas across disciplines. 3

There is a wide range of jargon used (e.g. ecotourism, alternative, responsible and sustainability) which refers to many facets of the same issue which makes it perplexing for students and researchers because of the semantic complexity (i .e. the lack of universally agreed definitions or phenomena being studied).

4 The data sources available to tourism researchers are weak compared to other subjects. 5

The different approaches used by researchers from different disciplines and industry back grounds have led to what is called reductionism –that means that tourism is reduced to a series of activities or economic transactions rather than a wider series or concepts and overarching analytical frameworks in which to understand and interpret tourism such the sociologists focus on postmodernism.

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In academic environments, there is suspicion about the intellectual rigour with which tourism researchers approach their subject, made more difficult by the tendency for non- specialists to dabble in this area of research as it is perceived as easy to understand and associate with travel and leisure.

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To date no theoretical constructs or theory which explains the development and internal dynamics as a process of global economic and social change have been developed. Most academics argue that a subject will not advance learning and understanding until theories are developed, which can be tested, modified and rejected or redeveloped. Thus tourism remains theoretically devoid as a subject area. In other words, much of the research in tourism has tended to be descriptive and lacking in contributions to the development of tourism knowledge, using established techniques and methodologies. Although there is evidence that this situation is changing slowly , the absence of theoretically derived research remains a major weakness for students and researches which is why more insightful studies. The tourist looks with its attendant focus on postmodernism and sociological analysis of modern day tourism are the exception rather than the rule in tourism.

As consequence of these problems, we are forced to look around for a conceptual or organizing framework which helps the students of tourism to understand the holistic nature of tourism and how the main components of tourism can be integrated together which is why the „integrated together approach‟ which is why the integrated system(link 03) approach is now examined. Tourism as an integrated system (link 02 start) One methodology used by researchers to understand the nature of tourism phenomena is a systems approach. The main purpose of such an approach is to rationalize and simplify the real word complexity of tourism into a number of constructs and components which highlight the inter-related nature of tourism. Tourism studies is a multidisciplinary area of study, systems approach can accommodate a variety of different perspectives because it does not assume a predetermined view of tourism. Instead, it enables one to understand the broader issues and factors which affect tourism, together with the interrelationships between different components in the system. According to Leiper (1990), a system can be defined as a set of elements or parts that are connected to each other by at least one distinguishing principle. In this case, tourism is the distinguishing principle which connects the different components BBA 336

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in the system around a common theme. Laws developed this idea a stage further by providing a systems model of the tourism industry in which the key components were: the inputs, outputs and external factors conditioning the system (e.g.the external business environment, consumer preferences, political factors and economic issues). As external factors are important influences upon tourism systems, the system can be termed „open‟ which means that it can easily be influenced by factors aside from the main „inputs‟. The links within the system can be examined in terms of „flows‟ between components and these flows may highlight the existence of certain types of relationships between different components (link 03 completed). The staircase of tourism qualifications (link 02 start) Qualification (typical full-time duration in brackets)

Certificate (1-2 years)

Diploma (1-3 years)

Undergraduate degree (e.g. BA (Hons) Tourism Management) (3-4 years)

Taught postgraduate degree (e.g. Masters in Tourism) (1-2 years) Post graduate diploma (1 year full time)

Research degree (e.g. PhD by thesis or Publications) (3 years)

1 An undergraduate qualification in tourism can also be combined with other course option in universities and non-university institution, though it is most commonly found as a business /management focused programme. 2 The duration of taught postgraduate programmes at masters level vary in time from one year full-time to two years full time. 3 Traditionally, the PhD (also known as a doctorate ) has been an original contribution to knowledge, written as a thesis based on three years of fulltime research. This is normally accompanied by viva examination (an oral examination) where the candidate defends their thesis. In recent years, some universities have allowed the sub mission of a series of refereed journal articles with a short introduction and conclusion as an alternative from of scholarship to be judged as an original contribution to knowledge for the PhD. For example:

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 What effect does an increase in the cost of travel have on the demand for travel?  How does this have repercussions for other components in the system?  Will it reduce the number of tourists traveling? (Link 03 completed) Advantages A systems approach has the advantage of allowing the researcher to consider the effect of such changes to the tourism system to assess the likely impact on other components. Leiper (1990) identified the following elements of a tourism system: a tourist; a traveler generating region; tourism destination regions; transit routes for tourists travelling between generating destination area and the travel and tourism industry (e.g. accommodation, transport, the firms and organizations supplying services and products to tourists). In this analysis, transport forms an integral pat of the tourism system, connecting the tourist generating and destination region which is represented in terms of the volume of travel. Thus, a „tourism system‟ is a framework which embodies the entire tourist experience of travelling. The analytical value of such an approach is that it enables one to understand the overall process of tourist travel from both the supplier and purchaser‟s perspective (known respectively as supply and demand) while identifying the organizations which influence and regulate tourism. This highlights the importance of:    

the tourist the integral relationships in the overall tourist experience the effect of transportation problems on traveler perception The tourists‟ requirement for safe, reliable and efficient modes of transport and service provision in the destination.

Figure 1.2 Leiper’s tourism system Departing travellers Tourist generating region mp

Transit route

Tourist destination region

Returning travellers

Defining tourism he terms „travel‟ and „tourism‟ are often interchanged within the published literature on tourism, though they are normally meant to encompass‟ the field BBA 336

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of research on human and business activities associated with one or more aspects of the temporary movement of persons away from their immediate home communities and daily work environments for business, pleasure and personal reasons‟. These two terms tend to be used in differing contexts to mean similar things, although there is a tendency for the United States to continue to use the term „travel‟ when in fact they mean tourism. Despite this inherent problem that may be little more than exercise in semantics (i.e. how to define things), it is widely acknowledged that the two terms are used in isolation or in unison to „describe‟ three concepts: the movement of people a sector of the economy or an industry a broad system of interacting relationships of people, their needs [sic] to travel outside their communities and services that attempt to respond to these needs by supplying products

  

From this initial starting point, we can begin to explore some of the complex issues in arriving at a working definition of the terms „tourism‟ and „tourist‟. As we are aware, in a historical context, it has been identified the historical development of the term „tourism‟, noting the distinction between the endeavours of researchers to differentiate between the concept and technical definitions of tourism. The concept of tourism (Link 04) refers to the „broad notional framework, which identifies the essential characteristics, and which identifies the essential characteristics, and which distinguishes tourism from the similar, often related, but different phenomena‟. In contrast, technical definitions have evolved through time as researchers modify and develop appropriate measures for statistical, legislative and operational reasons implying that there may be various technical definitions to meet particular purposes. However, the concept of tourism and its identification for research purposes is an important consideration in this instance for tourism statistics so that users are familiar with the context of their derivation.

(link 04 started) Conceptualizing tourism Tourism arises from the moment of people to, and there stay in, various destinations. There are two elements in all tourism: the journey to the destination and the stay including activities at the destination. BBA 336

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The journey and the stay take place outside the normal place of residence and work, so that tourism gives rise to activities which are distinct from those of the resident and working populations of the places, through which tourists travel and in which the stay. The movement to destination is of a temporary, short-term character, with intention to return within a few days, weeks or months. Destinations are visited for purposes other than taking up permanent residence or employment remunerated from within the places visited.(LINK 04 COMPLETED)

Technical definitions of tourism Even though we are in a position to define tourism generally, it‟s not always enough to understand tourism in deep. Since then we are to know technical definitions of tourism are commonly used by organizations seeking to define the population to be measured and there are three principal features which normally have to define as follows. Among the most recent attempts to recommend appropriate definitions of tourism was the World Tourism Organization (hereafter WTO) International Conference of Travel and Tourism in Ottawa in1991 which reviewed, expanded and developed technical definitions where tourism comprises: „the activities of a person travelling outside his or her usual environment for less than a specified period of time and whose main purpose of travel is other than exercise of an activity remunerated from the place visited, where “usual environment” is intended to exclude trips within the areas of usual residence and also frequent and regular trips between the domicile and the workplace and other community trips of a routine character where “less than a specified period of time” is intended to exclude long-term migration, and “exercise of an activity remunerated from the place visited” is intended to exclude only migration for temporary work‟. More (link 05 ) Tourism can be defined technically as follows. “a visitor who travels to a country other than that in which he/she has his/her usual residence for at least one night but not more than one year, and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the country visited.”

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(link 05 started) Definitions of tourism developed by the WTO International Tourism: Consists of inbound tourism. a. Visits to a country by non-residents and outbound tourism residents of a country visiting another country. b. Internal Tourism: Residents of a country traveling in their own country. c. Domestic Tourism: Internal tourism plus inbound tourism (the tourism market to accommodation facilities and attraction within in a country). d. Nat...