Tourism Destinations.Definitions, Changes and Trends

Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Definition of Tourism Destinations

Attractiveness and Competitiveness

Tourism Destinations Trends

Tourism Generators

Cultural, Social, and Physical Features

Comparison of Developing and Developed Tourist Destinations

The Impact of Climate Change and Sustainability of Tourism Destination

Impact on Sustainable Tourist Destinations

Conclusion

References

Abstract

The World Tourism Organization (WTO), sees tourism as an activity by people who travel outside of their customary neighborhood either for leisure, business, or for medical purposes for a period not exceeding one year. Some tourism scholars see tourism as the temporary movement of individuals away from their normal surroundings, and the activities undertaken during their stay in the new destination, as well as the facilities made to cater for the tourists needs. Pundits estimate that about seventy percent of tourists visit the ten major tourism destinations while thirty percent share the other destinations. It is, therefore, evident that the bulk of the revenue generated in the global travel goes to the established destinations; therefore, the undeveloped destinations need to undertake some strategic planning in order to attract tourists in their destinations. Tourists are drawn to a certain tourism destination because of its attractiveness that reflects the feelings of the tourists regarding the destination perceived ability to meet their needs. Thus, the more a certain destination meets the tourist’s needs, the more it is seen to be attractive, and consequently its popularity grows. It is imperative that the sustainable tourism development concept be adopted in all tourism destinations in order to appropriately cater for the needs of the travellers and the host destinations while enhancing and protecting opportunities for the future.

Introduction

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) sees tourism as an activity by people who travel outside of their customary neighborhood for leisure, business, or for medical purposes for a period not exceeding one year. Some other scholars see tourism as the temporary movement of individuals away from their normal surroundings, and the activities undertaken during their stay in the new destination, as well as the facilities made to cater for the tourists needs. Whereas WTO includes business travelers in the definition, the other definition excludes workplace as part of the definition, which excludes business travelers. However, trying to get specific data on business travel is problematic. It should be noted that only two-third of world travelers are estimated to travel for leisure only. There are several types of tourism that WTO has identified, such as, coastal and beaches as well as other water related recreations, wildlife, mountain climbing, city tourism, and nature tourism. It is the aim of this paper to discuss the tourism industry in light of most visited destinations and the social, cultural and geographical features that attracts people to visit those destinations.

Definition of Tourism Destinations

Some scholars have introduced the tourist destinations as a concept complete with a definition, which is, destinations are places that have constructed an amalgam of tourist products and services whose consumption is under the brand name of the destination. The destinations are well defined geographically and understood by the tourists as unique entities and exhibit several core provisions (Zygmunt 2013). These provisions are accessibility, attractions, package activities, and auxiliary services. According to WTO, a destination is a unique place where a visitor spends at least one night and exhibit tourism products such as attractions, support services, and tourism resources complete with defined management, physical and administrative boundaries, and a well known image.

It is estimated that seventy percent of tourists visit the ten major tourist destinations while thirty percent share the other destinations. It is, therefore, indicative of the intensity of competition for the less known destinations (Biganoa et al. 2004). WTO differentiates the tourist destinations into several world blocks; the Americas, Europe, the Pacific, East Asia, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. However, it is possible to differentiate the American region into North America and South America because the two blocks have very distinct but different ecological, socio-cultural, and economic orientation (Vengesayi 2003). For instance, South America is recognized for its biodiversity whereas North America is not.

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Table 1: Top ten tourist destinations (UNWTO 2012)

Attractiveness and Competitiveness

Tourism development occupies an irreplaceable position in the formulation of policy in all countries because of its benefits for the local people in respect to the social, economic and environmental concerns. Tourist destinations compete for tourists at tourism market leading to a sharp competitive struggle (Zygmunt 2013). The main objective of regional and governments and the tourism industry stakeholders is to succeed by enhancing the competitiveness of their destination. The tourism industry is, in most countries, the largest player in the economic sectors, therefore, it is an important factor in the development of any region, and more so, in Europe. By its nature, it contributes to the stability of both regional and local economies because of its multiplier effect which helps create business opportunities in the activities that go into making the tourist comfortable as well as influencing the creation of employment in the region (Vengesayi 2003).

Tourists are drawn to a certain tourism destination because of its attractiveness that reflects the feelings of the tourists regarding the destination perceived ability to meet their needs. Thus, the more a certain destination meets the tourist’s needs, the more it is seen to be attractive, and consequently its popularity grows. The ability to meet the tourist needs include the attributes of the destination or the components that make the given destination (Biganoa et al. 2004). Therefore, the people evaluate the attractiveness of a destination and make their choices accordingly. Thus, the attractiveness of a destination is the main factor in getting the tourist to visit and spend time at a given destination. Consequently, the value of a destination is the pulling it has on visitors. If a destination does not have the attractiveness value it cannot attract tourist, and, therefore, there is no need for putting up tourist facilities and services.

To be profitable in the tourism industry both in the short and long term, the development and management should be guided by competitiveness as a new paradigm. It is accepted that competitiveness is now a critical factor in determining the success of industries, organizations, and even countries. A destination is competitive if it has a growing market share when measured by the numbers of visitors and the financial returns (Vengesayi 2003). Thus, competitiveness is associated with high visitor’s numbers and increasing revenue. However, it is important to look at the tourism sector through the multifaceted nature of the industry since there are diverse players in industry who are involved in making the destination attractive and competitive.

Tourism Destinations Trends

According to UNWTO, the total earning from international tourism in 2013 was one trillion and a half. The tourism industry globally earned by expenditure from international tourists one thousand, one hundred and fifty-nine billion on food, accommodation, drinks, entertainment and other related services in 2013 (UNWTO 2014) The growth of the industry exceeded the previous trend in real term, considering inflation and exchange rate fluctuations. The growth in revenue matched the international tourists’ arrival, which also grew by five percent. International tourism accounts for an estimated twenty-nine percent of the world exports of services and a six percent of all exports both of goods and services (UNWTO 2014).

The UNWTO 2014 report indicated that Asia and the Pacific are the fastest growing tourist destinations while Europe claims the largest share. In 2013, Europe accounted for forty-two percent of international tourism globally, while Asia and the Pacific accounted for thirty-one percent (UNWTO 2014). The Americas had twenty percent receipts. In the top ranking of the most visited destinations, the United States of America came first followed by Spain.

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Figure 1: International Tourists Arrivals % change in 2013 (UNTWO)

The BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, and China produced the fastest growing outbound markets in the last few years. In 2013, the BRIC countries spent forty billion compared to the total increase of eighty-one billion in tourism expenditure (UNWTO 2014). China has led in the last two years in growth and expenditure. Among the ten most visited tourist destinations, Asia destination the state of Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macao saw some significant growth averaging eighteen percent, while Britain and the United States of America, at eleven percent recorded double-digit growth. Spain, china, France, Italy and Germany posted a growth of between one and five percent (UNWTO 2014).

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Figure 2: Absolute figures 2013 (UNWTO)

Europe continues to register the highest growth in terms of revenue generated from the tourism receipts. However, the Asia and Pacific destinations registered significant growth, both in numbers of arrivals as well as receipts (UNWTO 2014). The Africa destination has not registered much development and continues to lag behind despite its massive natural resources in forests, beaches, game parks and reserves. The continents cultural diversity remains an unexploited resource.

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