travel and tourism

 Define Tourism Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. [World Tourism Organisation] All types of visitors to a destination can be classified in to two:  Tourists: Is a temporary visitor staying for a period of at least 24 hours at the visited destination.  Excursionists/Day trippers: Excursionist—is a temporary visitor staying for a period of less than 24hours in the country visited. Based on the various definitions of a Tourist here are some of the characteristics of a Tourist

He takes up his journey of his own free will.
He takes up the journey primarily in search of enjoyment.
The money spent on the visit is the money derived from home, not money earned in the places of visit.
He finally returns to his original starting point. As per WTO definition, Tourism can be classified into the following forms  Inbound tourism: Visits to a country by non-resident of that country - for example, when A American citizen, Mr. Sam comes to India to see the Taj Mahal, he is an inbound tourist for India.  Outbound tourism: Visits by the residents of a country to another country - ,for example when a Maldivian citizen, Mr. Aiham goes to America to see Hollywood , he is an outbound tourist for Maldives.  Domestic tourism: It involves travelling by the residents of the given country within their own country -, for example, when Mr. Anil a resident of Delhi goes to see the Taj Mahal in Agra he is a domestic Indian Tourist.  Internal tourism: It comprises of domestic tourism and inbound tourism.  International tourism: It comprises of inbound tourism and outbound tourism

Major Reasons for Travel/Purpose of visit Tourists can be classified into three based on their common reasons for travel:  Leisure tourists: Leisure is a broad concept generally considered to be the time remaining after work. These are people who are visiting somewhere for pleasure rather than business related reasons, in other words they are on holiday, recreation, enjoyment and fun.  Business tourists: Business travel is one of the most important element of international tourism. Business tourists are high spending and make extensive use of premium fares on trains and airlines as well as on staying in quality hotels. MICE is the main forms Business Tourism;  Meetings: are defined as a single day event designed to bring people together for the purpose of exchanging information.  Incentives: are the reward given by an organisation to motivate an employee’s effort.  Conference/Convention: are defined as multi-day events having at least 100 delegates attending the event for the purpose of exchanging information. If 40% of the delegates originate from outside of the host country, then it is termed to bean international conference.  Exhibitions: involve the brining together of people of the purposes of viewing products and services.  Visiting Friends and Relatives(VFR): Vising friends and relatives maybe for the purpose of leisure, recreation and holidays. There are also other factors, however, to do with the family occasion (births, wedding, funerals) which are not traditional vacation or holidays. ‘Other category’ reasons for travel Medical Tourism: is where people who live in one country travel to another country to receive medical, dental and surgical care while at the same time receiving equal to or greater care than they would have in their own country, and are traveling for medical care because of affordability, better access to care or a higher level of quality of care. Religious/pilgrimage tourism: also known as faith tourism, where people travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary and visiting various religious centers. Educational tourism: also called as edu-tourism is a sub type of the travel and tourism sector. Educational tourism could be referred to as an approach for pursuing education, carrying out

research activities and knowledge acquisition. This sector is acquiring popularity these days and is a fast growing sub-sector in the travel and tourism industry. Sports tourism: refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event while staying apart from the tourists' usual environment. Components of Travel and Tourism Industry The following are the six components of Travel and Tourism industry; Attractions Accessibility/Transport Accommodation and catering Travel agencies Tour operators Tourist information and guiding services Basic components of Travel and Tourism (3A’s)  Attractions Of the three basic components of a tourist product, attractions are very important. Unless there is an attraction, the tourist will not be motivated to go to a particular place. Attractions are those elements in a product which determine the choice made by particular tourist to visit one particular destination rather than another. The attractions could be cultural, like sites and areas of archaeological interest, historical buildings and monuments, flora and fauna, beach resorts, mountains, national parks or events like trade fairs, exhibitions, arts and music festivals, games, etc. Inventory of Tourist Attractions Cultural: Sites and areas of archaeological interest, Historical buildings and Monuments, Places of historical significance, Museums, Modern Culture, Political and Educational institutions, Religious Institutions Traditions: National Festivals, Arts and Handicrafts, Music, Folklore, Native life and Customs Scenic: National Parks, Wildlife, Flora and Fauna, Beach Resorts, Mountain Resorts. Entertainment: Participation and Viewing sports, Amusement and Recreation Parks Zones and Oceanariums, Cinemas and Theatres, Night Life and Cuisine.

 Accessibility/Transport It is a means by which a tourist can reach the area where attractions are located. Tourist attractions of whatever type would be of little importance if their locations are inaccessible by the normal means of transport. A Tourist in order to get to his destination needs some mode of transport. This mode may be a motor car, a coach, an aeroplane, a ship or a train which enables him to reach his predetermined destination. If tourist destinations are located at places where no transport can reach or where there are inadequate transport facilities, they become of little value. The tourist attractions, which are located near the tourist-generating markets and are linked by a network of efficient means of transport, receive the maximum number of tourists.  Accommodation The accommodation and other facilities complement the attractions. Accommodation plays a central role and is very basic to tourist destinations. World Tourism Organization in its definition of a tourist has stated that he must spend at least one night in the destination visited, to qualify as a tourist. This presupposes availability of some kind of accommodation. The demand for accommodation away from one’s home is met by a variety of facilities. Amenities Facilities are a necessary aid to the tourist centre. For a sea-side resort, facilities like swimming, boating, yachting, surf-riding, and other facilities like dancing, recreation and other amusements are important for every tourist centre. Amenities can be of two types; natural, eg. beaches, sea- bathing, possibilities of fishing, opportunities for climbing, trekking, viewing, etc. and man- made, eg. various types of entertainment and facilities which cater to the special needs of the tourists. Excellent sandy beaches, sheltered from sunshine with palm and coconut trees and offering good bathing conditions form very good tourist attractions. Certain other natural amenities such as spacious waters for the purpose of sailing, or the opportunities for fishing and hunting are also very important.