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Definition of Tourism
There are a number of ways tourism can be defined, and for this reason, the United
Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) embarked on a project from 2005 to
2007 to create a common glossary of terms for tourism. It defines tourism as follows:
Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of
people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or
business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either
tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their
activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure (United Nations World Tourism
Organization, 2008).
Using this definition, we can see that tourism is the movement of people for a number
of purposes (whether business or pleasure).
Definition of Tourist
Building on the definition of tourism, a commonly accepted description of a tourist is
“someone who travels at least 80 km from his or her home for at least 24 hours, for
business or leisure or other reasons” (LinkBC, 2008, p.8). The United Nations World
Tourism Organization (1995) helps us break down this definition further by stating
tourists can be:
Given the sheer size of the tourism industry, it can be helpful to break it down into
broad industry groups using a common classification system. The North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) was jointly created by the Canadian, US, and
Mexican governments to ensure common analysis across all three countries (British
Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, 2013a). The tourism-
related groupings created using NAICS are (in alphabetical order):
1. Accommodation
2. Food and beverage services (commonly known as “F & B”)
3. Recreation and entertainment
4. Transportation
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5. Travel services
These industry groups are based on the similarity of the “labour processes and inputs”
used for each (Government of Canada, 2013). For instance, the types of employees and
resources required to run an accommodation business — whether it be a hotel, motel,
or even a campground — are quite similar. All these businesses need staff to check
in guests, provide housekeeping, employ maintenance workers, and provide a place for
people to sleep. As such, they can be grouped together under the heading of
accommodation. The same is true of the other four groupings, and the rest of this text
explores these industry groups, and other aspects of tourism, in more detail.
When looking at tourism it’s important to consider the term hospitality. Some define
hospitality as “the business of helping people to feel welcome and relaxed and to enjoy
themselves” (Discover Hospitality, 2015, ¶ 3). Simply put, the hospitality industry is
the combination of the accommodation and food and beverage groupings, collectively
making up the largest segment of the industry. You’ll learn more about
accommodations and F & B in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, respectively.
plan in order to achieve the best results and satisfy all stakeholders. Tourism planning
is key to maintaining sustainable tourism and whilst some destinations do this very
well, others (often developing countries), fail the recognise the importance of effective
In this post I will explain why tourism planning is so important and recommend some
entrepreneurs, Government bodies and tourism workers. It is also useful for those
studying travel and tourism as well as those who have a general interest in the
subject. For an introduction to the concept of tourism policy and planning visit this
Tourism development refers to the growth and maintenance of the tourism industry in
Tourism development consists of many elements including, but not limited to:
‘The aim of modern planning is to seek optimal solutions to perceived problems and
And Getz (1987) cited in Pearce (1989) defines tourism planning as;
“A process, based on research and evaluation, which seeks to optimise the potential
Tourism development planning is no simple task and there are many variables to
destinations can learn lessons from other areas which have been successful or
post- Why Unpaid Business is Better than No Business: The Case of the Egyptian
On a basic level, the main stages in tourism development planning include: the
for example:
It increases income and jobs from tourist spending
It helps preserve cultural and natural heritage for tourists
It increases understanding of other cultures
It builds new facilities such as sewage for whole communities or new roads
You might also be interested in my post- ‘Best Universities In The UK To Study Travel
and Tourism‘
The costs of tourism development
There are also some costs which must be considered and planned for, which include:
Costs of implementing tourist facilities can be costly
The environment can be destructed to make room for hotels etc. to be built
Social standards may be undermined e.g. topless women in Dubai
The natural environment may be polluted
Formulating an approach to tourism policy and planning
There are six ‘golden rules’ that should be applied when formulating an approach to
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1.
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Goal
oriented
Clear recognition of tourism’s role in achieving broad national and community goals
1. Integrative
Incorporating tourism policy and planning into the mainstream of planning for the
marketplace
1. Resource driven
protecting and enhancing the attributes and experiences of current tourism assets
1. Consultative
Incorporating the wider community attitudes, needs and wants to determine what is
Tourism planning really can make or break a destination. If done well, it can ensure
the longevity of the tourism industry in the area, take good care of the environment,
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What are the consequences of having a lack of tourism planning or poor tourism
planning? • The consequences of having a lack of tourism planning or poor tourism
planning is that the tourism industry is unorganized, the tourist does not take the
opportunity to travel, the numbers of tourists decrease. and profits decrease.
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