Conflicts over tourism: issues and options

Tourism - the big picture

The photograph in Figure 1.1 evokes a popular ro­mantic image of tourism that is presented in adver­tisements and the media. The catchphrases set out in the collage in Figure 1.2 have been taken from typi­cal advertisements and from headlines for weekend-newspaper articles about travel. The words selected suggest glamorous, exciting, exotic and peaceful images of islands, the sea, coastal holidays, leisure and fun in places that most tourists would find very attractive. They suggest many issues about the nature of tourism and tourists. This book examines many of these issues as well as tourism's effect on the world.

Tourists cruising near Airlie Beach,

Figure 1.1 Tourists are cruising near Airline Beach,

Queensland

Tourism is the activity undertaken by tourists, whether or not it is organised by the tourist industry. Although this book pays much attention to the tour­ist industry, it also emphasises tourist pastimes that are often undertaken with little or no help from the tourist industry. The book also acknowledges that tourism may beneficially or detrimentally affect peo­ple other than tourists, economic activities other than tourism, and the environments in which tourism occurs

_C

Ports of call

Smuggler’s rest

Some enchanted islands

Island life

Treasure island

Cruising the Kimberley

A different Dunk

Whitsundays weave a magical spell

Find a deserted island

Whale watching in the Whitsundays

The last island in the world

Fun in the sun

Divers vote Lizard

Island a top spot

Magic under canvas

Whitsundays: Envy of the world

Feast of islands: 23 Queenisland escapes

ruisin'

Figure 1.2 Seventeen catchphrases to conjure up 'paradise' on and around the sea

Activity 1

a Collect articles about tourism and travel using weekend newspapers, journals and travel brochures.

b Choose from the articles the ones associ­ated with a particular type of tourist place: perhaps use the theme of the sea, as in Figure 1.2, or choose another theme such as mountain regions, adventure holidays, winter sports or festivals.

c Highlight the words and phrases that are used in order to make the places seem at­tractive.

TOURISM

Tourism worldwide

The tourist industry is one of the world's biggest and most rapidly growing industries, and many people hope it will be the economic saviour of countries and regions that are struggling to develop or that are seeking to restructure their economies. They may be trying to expand their economies from a narrow or vulnerable base, for example by relying on a cash-crop commodity such as sugar or on manufacture of consumer items such as refrigerators. Many others are concerned that a short-term gain may involve longer term threats to the tourism resource itself and to the ultimate needs of the people and place. This book promotes a balanced investigation of a wide range of tourism issues that have potentially good and bad impacts on our future and our world.

Tourism, by most criteria, has become the world's biggest industry, and its potential impact on societies and biophysical environments is enormous. World­wide the industry has the following characteristics.

• It contributes about 5.5 per cent of Gross Do­mestic Product (GDP).

• It employs about 6.7 per cent of the workforce.

• It accounts for more than 7 per cent of capital investment.

• It contributes more than 5 per cent of corporate tax.

Tourism in Australia

Tourism is one of Australia's fastest growing and most important industries. In 1994 a record 3-3 million people visited our shores, earning us export income of more than $8 billion. By the year 2000 it is ex­pected that the annual number of overseas visitors will be between 4.8 million and 6.8 million. Export earnings from this will be between $14 billion and $19 billion. To call these earnings 'export' earnings might seem slightly strange, until we compare them with the money that flows into a country from ex­ported manufactured goods. An advantage of export­ing tourism experiences, as opposed to commodities such as coal, is that the tourism resource, for exam­ple the Great Barrier Reef, never leaves the country.

Not all tourists are on package holidays. In 1992 more than 166,000 'backpackers' visited Australia, mostly from the United Kingdom, North America and Germany. They stayed an average seventy-eight days and spent $3267 per head.

Not all tourists come from overseas. Tourism within Australia, sometimes called domestic tourism, is also a major social and economic activity that in­volves most Australians in travelling to visit other parts of their country.

It is often claimed that tourism aids improvement of mutual understanding between nations - their cul­tures, biophysical environments and political systems. Although this might be true, tourism can also aid re­inforcement of stereotypes and prejudices we have about the world's peoples and places. Many of the issues connected with the rapidly growing industry of tourism require close scrutiny.

Issues

It is also claimed that tourism provides us with the opportunity to marvel at the wonders of the physical environment and at humanity's most significant achievements. Although this also might be true, we often, unfortunately, 'love them to death'. The increas­ing numbers of people visiting special places have perhaps resulted in loss of the places' appeal; their physical characteristics may also have been threat­ened, if not already damaged. We tread all over them, dropping litter, spoiling each other's view due to our crowding, forcing the building of intrusive facilities such as fences, carparks, signs, boom gates and ticket offices in order for the numbers of visitors to be controlled. As a consequence, the numbers of tour­ists who can see these wonderful natural human-made features are limited. Some examples of this poten­tially huge problem and its associated issues are set out in Table 1.1 on pages 3 and 4.

Issues arise when groups of people have con­flicting views about subjects. In order to understand the complexities involved in tourist issues and there­fore be able to make wise judgements, we must first understand tourism's basic concepts and models. We should consider how and why perceptions of tour­ism vary.,

Activity 2

Table 1.1 on pages 3 and 4 sets out some of the problems and issues that have arisen in a few of the world's most famous tourism localities. Complete a table similar to it for three tourist destinations mentioned in the articles you col­lected for Activity 1 on page 1.

What is a tourist?

In order to help sell their product, travel agents often present a restricted and romantic view of tourism and the nature of being a tourist. The tendency today is to use many terms other than 'tourist', which is a term that often evokes mass sharing of similar experiences. Some of these terms are 'backpacker', 'adventurer',

2

TOURISM

Tourism worldwide

The tourist industry is one of the world's biggest and most rapidly growing industries, and many people hope it will be the economic saviour of countries and regions that are struggling to develop or that are seeking to restructure their economies. They may be trying to expand their economies from a narrow or vulnerable base, for example by relying on a cash-crop commodity such as sugar or on manufacture of consumer items such as refrigerators. Many others are concerned that a short-term gain may involve longer term threats to the tourism resource itself and to the ultimate needs of the people and place. This book promotes a balanced investigation of a wide range of tourism issues that have potentially good and bad impacts on our future and our world.

Tourism, by most criteria, has become the world's biggest industry, and its potential impact on societies and biophysical environments is enormous. World­wide the industry has the following characteristics.

• It contributes about 5.5 per cent of Gross Do­mestic Product (GDP).

• It employs about 6.7 per cent of the workforce.

• It accounts for more than 7 per cent of capital investment.

• It contributes more than 5 per cent of corporate tax.

Tourism in Australia

Tourism is one of Australia's fastest growing and most important industries. In 1994 a record 3-3 million people visited our shores, earning us export income of more than $8 billion. By the year 2000 it is ex­pected that the annual number of overseas visitors will be between 4.8 million and 6.8 million. Export earnings from this will be between $14 billion and $19 billion. To call these earnings 'export' earnings might seem slightly strange, until we compare them with the money that flows into a country from ex­ported manufactured goods. An advantage of export­ing tourism experiences, as opposed to commodities such as coal, is that the tourism resource, for exam­ple the Great Barrier Reef, never leaves the country.

Not all tourists are on package holidays. In 1992 more than 166,000 'backpackers' visited Australia, mostly from the United Kingdom, North America and Germany. They stayed an average seventy-eight days and spent $3267 per head.

Not all tourists come from overseas. Tourism within Australia, sometimes called domestic tourism, is also a major social and economic activity that in­volves most Australians in travelling to visit other parts of their country.

It is often claimed that tourism aids improvement of mutual understanding between nations - their cul­tures, biophysical environments and political systems. Although this might be true, tourism can also aid re­inforcement of stereotypes and prejudices we have about the world's peoples and places. Many of the issues connected with the rapidly growing industry of tourism require close scrutiny.

Issues

It is also claimed that tourism provides us with the opportunity to marvel at the wonders of the physical environment and at humanity's most significant achievements. Although this also might be true, we often, unfortunately, 'love them to death'. The increas­ing numbers of people visiting special places have perhaps resulted in loss of the places' appeal; their physical characteristics may also have been threat­ened, if not already damaged. We tread all over them, dropping litter, spoiling each other's view due to our crowding, forcing the building of intrusive facilities such as fences, carparks, signs, boom gates and ticket offices in order for the numbers of visitors to be controlled. As a consequence, the numbers of tour­ists who can see these wonderful natural human-made features are limited. Some examples of this poten­tially huge problem and its associated issues are set out in Table1.1 on pages 3 and 4.

Issues arise when groups of people have con­flicting views about subjects. In order to understand the complexities involved in tourist issues and there­fore be able to make wise judgements, we must first understand tourism's basic concepts and models. We should consider how and why perceptions of tour­ism vary.

Activity 2

Table 1.1 on pages 3 and 4 sets out some of the problems and issues that have arisen in a few of the world's most famous tourism localities.

Complete a table similar to it for three tourist destinations mentioned in the articles you col­lected for Activity 1 on page 1.

What is a tourist?

In order to help sell their product, travel agents often present a restricted and romantic view of tourism and the nature of being a tourist. The tendency today is to use many terms other than 'tourist', which is a term that often evokes mass sharing of similar experiences. Some of these terms are 'backpacker', 'adventurer',

2

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

Table 1.1 The global importance of world tourism

Continent

Country

Sites

North America The United States Yosemite Valley

North America The United States National parks

South America Ecuador

Europe France

Europe Italy

Australia Australia

Venice

Australia Australia

Asia Japan

Asia Nepal

Mount Fuji

Mount Everest

The Taj Mahal in Agra

Asia

India

Asia

Hainan Island

China

N umber of visitors Issues

Millions per year

60 million per year

I n summer the valley floor is more densely populated than parts of America's major cities.

Bookings for campsites and requests for permits for rafting and so on open months in advance and sell out in a few hours.

The Galapagos Islands 35,000 per year

Protection of unique species of plants and animals first identified by Charles Darwin is not possible unless ecotourist numbers are restricted to 3500 per year.

The Lascaux Caves 200,000 per year in the Dordogne region

The breath exhaled by visitors and the bacteria they bring with them is destroying the ancient cave paintings.

12 million per year

Venice is a very popular tourist destination. As a result of the increasing numbers, restrictions by way of an entrance fee may have to be imposed in the future.

The Great Barrier Reef More than 500,000 -see Figure 1.3 on per year page 4

Dealing with the huge numbers of tourists, coping with the expanded facilities, and coping with the demands on marine environments made by visitors' activities, are all significant problems.

Kakadu National Park 250,000 per year

One significant concern is the preservation of cave art that is part of the Aboriginal heritage. Graffiti marking, vandalism, souveniring, touching, dust accumulation and rapid changes in humidity and temperature are all problems.

Thousands per day, especially on weekends and special days

In 1992, tourist expeditions to the summit reached five in one day.

The physical presence of people climbing the 'sacred' mountain, and the litter generated by these large numbers, are both problems.

The cost to the Nepalese government for removal of rubbish and other items, including oxygen cylinders, food containers, mountain-climbing equipment, abandoned helicopters and corpses, is significant. Climbers are now charged an increased fee.

Thousands per day - India's most popular tourist site

The potential exists to attract huge numbers comparable with those in Benidorm on Spain's Costa Blanca - 4 . million per year.

The white marble is yellowing. In an attempt to halt the process, the area's domestic cooking fires and factory pollution are being controlled.

In order to attract British package tourists on charter flights, a 7 kilometre crescent of beach is being concreted and restaurants introduced.

3

Table 1.1 continues.

TOURISM

T able 1.1 (continued)

Continent Country

Sites

Number of visitors Issues

Victoria Falls

Africa

Africa

Zimbabwe

Egypt

Thousands per day during the high season

The Great Pyramids Thousands per day

The Falls' popularity has attracted many other tourist facilities and recreational opportunities, for example many wildlife farms, white-water rafting, canoeing, air safaris and souvenir outlets. These have attracted even more visitors and have spoilt some of the atmosphere.

The views and atmosphere are spoilt by the thousands of other people viewing at the same time and the many cars, buses and souvenir sellers. Tourist 'hype' exists about their being one of the 'seven ancient wonders of the world'.

Figure 1.3 A tourist-operator pontoon near Hardy Reef in the Great Barrier Reef

'world traveller', 'globetrotter', 'expeditionist', 'imagi­ native traveller', 'visitor', 'escapee', 'trekker', 'tripper' and 'thrill-seeker'. The terms suggest an individualis­ tic and exciting image of the person interested in being a tourist. They have a lot to do with how we like to see ourselves rather than what we actually do as tourists.

Tourism may be broadly defined as all travel with the exception of commuting, which is short-distance travel, especially to and from work. Tourists could therefore be defined as all travellers except commut­ers. All people do not necessarily agree on this defi­nition, however, and this points to one of the problems in discussing what a tourist is: the definition depends on the purpose of the person using the term. Tourists can have varying motivations, attitudes and impacts. The emphases placed on these three factors by peo­ple interested in various aspects of tourism will de­termine how the term is defined.

One useful way to define tourism is 'travel for a particular leisure or recreational purpose and for having a personal experience of a different place'. In defining tourism, some people put considerable

emphasis on the voluntary element, whereby people are tourists only when they voluntarily seek a variety of travel destinations and experiences. Others allow distant travel for work to be included within a defi­nition of tourism, because even if people are work­ing the whole time they are travelling, they are still experiencing different places and cultures. It is nbt possible to have a definition that covers every case. For example, people who tour for their jobs usually have the opportunity to undertake leisure activities, say, on weekends or outside normal working hours, which may involve sightseeing as well as recreation such as sport. By definition, work and leisure are always separate, but they both may occur while we are on tour.

A tourist is therefore a person who travels for leisure or recreation and in order to experience dif­ferent places and environments, even if this occurs while he/she is working away from home. This broad definition can include people who travel for an ex­tended period of time as well as people who spend only a few hours away from home.

Types of tourist

Types of tourist can be classified in many ways. Some experts have suggested there are four types of mod­ern tourist, listed as follows.

• The organised mass tourist: one who moves in large groups whereby every aspect is organised for the travellers by an agency

• The individual mass tourist: one who follows the popular 'mass' tour route and tour sites as an individual and who usually uses a tourist agency - see Figure 1.4 on page 5

• The explorer, one who plans and organises his/ her own experiences with very little help from a tourist agency

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: AND OPTIONS

ISSUES

• The drifter, one who travels from place to place according to information gleaned along the way, often from other travellers, and who is sometimes motivated by whim

Another classification, used by Tourism Australia, a tourism-research organisation working for the Aus­tralian tourism industry, uses six 'labels' that summa­rise target markets for the industry. These labels are naturally influenced by the fact that the tourism in­dustry is concerned with identifying various parts of its potential market. The six types of tourist are sum­marised as follows.

●Big spenders: very status conscious and go for the big brand name; demand luxury with their comfort and convenience; generally older; avid shoppers and collectors; visibility important

●Stay-at-homes: prefer safety of package holidays or visiting friends and relatives; not big spenders; not confident travellers

●Discerning tourists-, dislike tourist 'tags' and places; want to be first to visit places; seek new, unique and authentic experiences; active; affluent but not often seeking luxury; like to learn; very environ­mentally conscious

Dedicated Aussies: people who have financial or family commitments; seek active recreation; seek budget-holiday options; not affluent; ideal holi­day is caravanning, fishing and boating; mobile; some pioneering spirit; most interested in Aus­tralian touring

New enthusiasts-, not affluent but will save for the big occasion; young and out for a good time, fun and excitement; little experience of other places New indulgers-. viewed as being environmentally conscious and interested in heritage; seek new experiences but reasonably passive ones; inter­ested in good food and wine; look for comfort and convenience; thrifty but occasionally indul­gent; interested in ideas and creativity; unim­pressed by mass experiences

Activity 3

In the January holidays a group of young Aus­ tralian tourists travelled interstate for the first time by car from Melbourne to Cape Tribulation, Queensland, camping in tents at surf beaches along the eastern coast.

a State how the tourism industry would clas­sify this group, and explain your choice.

b In pairs, describe another group of tourists and classify it.

i With another pair, exchange your de­scription but not your classification.

ii Classify each other's: description.

iii As a group, discuss whether these tour­ists could have been categorised differ­ently.

Figure 1.4 Masses of tourists at Sacre Coeur Cathedral, Paris

5

T

Non-tourist recreation

OURISM

What is the difference between tourism, recreation and leisure?

It is often difficult to appreciate the differences be­tween these three concepts. Recreation and tourism are part of the broader leisure phenomenon - see Figure 1.5. Although concise definitions sometimes vary, the following information will be useful in our examination of tourism issues.

People do not spend all their time on the neces­sary and usually serious activities of working, study­ing, eating, bathing and sleeping - we have some spare time that is often called free time. Our use of this time is discretionary: we are able to freely choose how we wish to use it. This is commonly called lei­sure time. Leisure is time free of the demands of work or duty. Leisure time usually involves recreational activities spent in or near the home rather than those involving distant travel and staying away from home - see Table 1.2.

Most leisure time is used for recreation. Recrea­tion pastimes are pastimes we follow in order to relax

Table 1.2 The top non-tourism leisure activities undertaken over one week by Australians fourteen and more years of age

A ctivity

Percentage of the population that participated in them

Women %		Men %	Total %
Watching TV at home	94	94	94
Listening to the radio	75	77	76
Reading	76	65	70
Visiting friends/relatives	70	63	67
Listening to music	67	63	65
Relaxing/doing nothing	58	58	58
Talking to friends on the telephone
tor more than 15 minutes	61	36	49
Gardening for pleasure	44	39	41
Entertaining at home	39	33	36
Dining/eating out	34	34	34
Shopping for pleasure	38	24	31
Playing outdoors with children	32	26	29
Walking for pleasure	31	25	28 .
Swimming in own/friend's pool	23	24	23
Art/craft/hobbies at home	27	16	21
Playing indoor recreational games	18	17	18
Walking the dog	17	14	15
Picnics/barbecues away from home	15	15	15

(Source: Department of the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and the Territories, in the Advertiser, Adelaide, 8 May 1993)

Recreatin while touring

Lesure while touring fo work

Lesure while touring

Figure 1.5 Relationships between leisure, recreation and tourism

and refresh ourselves after periods of work and duty. Activity may include agreeable types of exercise such as hiking and tennis but also embraces more passive pastimes such as reading and watching movies. From this definition we can note that recreation is a subset of leisure, and this is shown in Figure 1.5. Some narrower definitions of recreation emphasise its open-air aspects as well as activities that require special facilities and that are often undertaken on weekends or public holidays.

By studying Figure 1.5 and the earlier discussion about the nature of tourism we can note how tour­ism overlaps leisure and recreation. Figure 1.5 also shows the relationships between the three factors and their connection to the work part of life. A diagram featuring overlapping sets of information is only one way of representing these relationships; the associa­tions could be described in a different way.

The diagram shows that all recreation is a subset of leisure, and the overlap areas indicate shared fea­tures. It is possible, for example, to be involved in recreation but not be a tourist. For the recreation that does occur while people are touring, some tourists choose straightforward leisure activities rather than recreational ones. People who tour for their work occasionally stop working and engage in leisure pursuits that may involve a recreational aspect. In the diagram in Figure 1.5, work and leisure are clearly separated. Their separation occurred relatively recently - during Europe's Industrial Revolution - and is not as readily identifiable in more traditional cultures. Outside the modern sectors of Asian or South Pacific

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: AND OPTIONS

ISSUES

nations⁷ economies, for example, work and play are frequently intertwined.

As well as considering the personally beneficial aspects of leisure, recreation or tourism, we have to consider the industries that often help to provide and support them. Issues are raised throughout this book that prompt us to analyse the relationships between particular aspects of the tourism industry, tourists' needs and the potential impacts on the people and environments associated with these.

Activity 4

In your own words, explain the four terms within the circles in Figure 1.5 on page 6.

What are the types of tourism?

The types of tourism can be classified according to criteria such as the following.

• The predominant environment, for example coastal, alpine or heritage

• The main tourist attraction, for example snow or a cultural event

• The type of accommodation, for example a youth hostel, a five-star hotel and/or a specialist resort

• The tourists' interests, for example walking, art, fishing, sport and/or history

• The tourists' wealth

• The tourists' length of stay

Figure 1.6 Signs indicating some types of tourist activities undertaken on Whitehorn Mountain, overlooking Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

7

• The tourists' origin, for example domestic or 'ex­port' tourists

• The tourists' personality type, for example tour­ists who prefer to undertake familiar activities in familiar places, compared with those who seek novel experiences in varied destinations

• The economic potential of various approaches to tourism

• The tourist activity's impact on the social, eco­nomic and/or biophysical environment

A few types of tourism for one place only are displayed on the signs in the photograph in Figure 1.6.

Activity 5

Refer to Figure 1.6, which shows a summer scene on Whitehorn Mountain in Canada. Describe some of the activities available there during winter and other seasons.

Sometimes two or more of the criteria listed on this page and other criteria are used jointly in order to describe a type of tourism - see the diagrams in figures 1.7 and 1.8 on page 8. Although the labels used for identifying common types of tourism also vary and change from time to time, the readily recog­nisable ones are those such as ecotourism, cultural tourism, alpine trekking and coastal resorts. Even these labels may mean something different to differ­ent people, however. For some people, for example, ecotourism means camping under the stars and un­dertaking strenuous iking and climbing in areas such as Western Australia's Hamersley gorges. For others, ecotourism means floating down a tropical river such as the Sepik in Papua New Guinea, on a luxury cruise ship, observing the jungle life from the safety of the upper deck.

Models for classifying tourist activities

So many types of tourism are evident in the adver­tisements and articles about it published in newspa­pers and specialist journals that it is useful to have some models to help us analyse various tourist ac­tivities, to enable us to better classify and understand them. The tourism industry seeks to cater for all types of tourist, and the result of this is a huge variety of tourism facilities ranging from campsites or youth hostels to five-star resorts, as well as tourist activities ranging from highly organised mass activities such as coach tours to completely random individual

TOURISM

backpacker itineraries: An example of this variety is the wide range of the accommodation - from unpowered tent sites to luxury hotels - provided near Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory.

Figure 1.7 helps us to classify tourism by the cost range and the level of external control and organisa­tion of tourist activity. Only a few examples are sug­gested, to show how this model could be used for classifying the many tourist destinations and/or ac­tivities advertised.

Activity 6

Make lists of tourist places that

a are attractive or scenic environments

b are for wealthy people

с have a range of accommodation types or

specialise in only one type d people stay at for long periods of time e have features familiar to tourists.

Figure 1.7 Classification of tourist activities, by level of cost and level of control

Figure 1.8 Classification of tourist activities, by level of cost and type of tourism environment preferred

8

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

Activity and location are both very important.

Neither the activity nor the location dominate the decision.

Activity 7

a Suggest tourist activities and locations that satisfy the conditions of freedom and costs indicated for A and B on Figure 1.7.

b Explain why the levels of cost and control would place the activites and locations there.

Activity 8

Figure 1.8 shows a range of tourist environments from urban to natural wilderness, instead of levels of tourist freedom as shown in Figure 1.7. In small groups, suggest examples of activities for A, B, C, D, E, F and G on Figure 1.8.

Activity 9

a Using Figure 1.8, describe where you would locate tourist activities a and b on the chart.

b State why you would locate the activities there.

Tourist activities

a A school tour for two weeks of the holi­days, involving coach travel, tenting and visits to various places of natural beauty, Aboriginal heritage sites, environmental sig­nificance and beaches

b A small group of family or friends flying interstate to a major sporting event, such as the Olympic Games, a national netball final or a World Cup cricket match

Table 1.3 Activity and location as factors influencing tourists' decision making

Factors

Examples

A ctivity is of great importance. Going on a snow-skiing holiday Location is of limited importance, at any one of the many ski

slopes in Australia's alpine areas, New Zealand or elsewhere

Location is of great importance. Climbing Uliiru (Ayers Rock) -Activity is of limited importance, although climbing rocks and

mountains is not unique, this

monolith is

Wading in the shallows among the dolphins at Monkey Mia in Western Australia

Going on a swimming holiday at a beach - this can occur at hundreds of locations around the world

A naheim, for example, is a tourist destination only because it is Disneyland's location, and Las Vegas attracts people almost entirely because of its casinos and nightclubs. Because these places may lose cus­tomers to competing locations, they often try to di­versify. Las Vegas, for example, has introduced theme-park attractions such as a huge pyramid that focuses on 'Ancient Egypt'. This encourages families to visit so that the adults will still visit in order to gamble in the casinos.

People become tourists by seeking new destina­tions and/or activities for leisure or recreational pur­poses. Sometimes the activity dominates the choice, sometimes the destination, but one or the other is often a major factor in making the choice. A tourist may decide to have a golfing holiday but not care where he/she goes. A golfer, on the other hand, may choose a famous golfing destination, such as St An­drews in Scotland or Pebble Beach in the United States, in order to have a golfing holiday. Some people visit St Andrews simply because it is an interesting old city that has lovely beaches and historical buildings and institutions such as the university and medical school. Table 1.3 is a simple model that helps to show these factors.

Some places are tourist destinations only because of their major activity. The Los Angeles suburb of

Activity 10

a Choose and discuss two other examples to place in Table 1.3.

b State which of the four factors listed best describes the examples' approach to tour­ism, and explain why.

Age

Age is often a factor in determining choice of tourist activities, and it is often linked with other tourist characteristics such as wealth or amount of physical activity involved - see the photograph in Figure 1.9 on page 10. Tourist destinations or activities can be classified on a three-axes graph such as that in Figure 1.10, also on page 10.

9

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

Activity 7

a Suggest tourist activities and locations that satisfy the conditions of freedom and costs indicated for A and B on Figure 1.7.

b Explain why the levels of cost and control would place the activites and locations there.

Activity 8

Figure 1.8 shows a range of tourist environments from urban to natural wilderness, instead of levels of tourist freedom as shown in Figure 1.7. In small groups, suggest examples of activities for A, B, C, D, E, F and G on Figure 1.8.

Activity 9

a Using Figure 1.8, describe where you would locate tourist activities a and b on the chart.

b State why you would locate the activities there.

Tourist activities

a A school tour for two weeks of the holi­days, involving coach travel, tenting and visits to various places of natural beauty, Aboriginal heritage sites, environmental sig­nificance and beaches

b A small group of family or friends flying interstate to a major sporting event, such as the Olympic Games, a national netball final or a World Cup cricket match

Table 1.3 Activity and location as factors influencing tourists' decision making

Factors

Examples

Activity is of great importance. Going on a snow-skiing holiday Location is of limited importance, at any one of the many ski

slopes in Australia's alpine areas, New Zealand or elsewhere

Location is of great importance. Climbing Uliiru (Ayers Rock) Activity is of limited importance, although climbing rocks and

mountains is not unique, this

monolith is

Activity and location are both very important.

Neither the activity nor the location dominate the decision.

Wading in the shallows among the dolphins at Monkey Mia in Western Australia

Going on a swimming holiday at a beach - this can occur at hundreds of locations around the world

Anaheim, for example, is a tourist destination only because it is Disneyland's location, and Las Vegas attracts people almost entirely because of its casinos and nightclubs. Because these places may lose cus­tomers to competing locations, they often try to di­versify. Las Vegas, for example, has introduced theme-park attractions such as a huge pyramid that focuses on 'Ancient Egypt'. This encourages families to visit so that the adults will still visit in order to gamble in the casinos.

People become tourists by seeking new destina­tions and/or activities for leisure or recreational pur­poses. Sometimes the activity dominates the choice, sometimes the destination, but one or the other is often a major factor in making the choice. A tourist may decide to have a golfing holiday but not care where he/she goes. A golfer, on the other hand, may choose a famous golfing destination, such as St An­drews in Scotland or Pebble Beach in the United States, in order to have a golfing holiday. Some people visit St Andrews simply because it is an interesting old city that has lovely beaches and historical buildings and institutions such as the university and medical school. Table 1.3 is a simple model that helps to show these factors.

Some places are tourist destinations only because of their major activity. The Los Angeles suburb of

Activity 10

a Choose and discuss two other examples to place in Table 1.3-

b State which of the four factors listed best describes the examples' approach to tour­ism, and explain why.

Age

Age is often a factor in determining choice of tourist activities, and it is often linked with other tourist characteristics such as wealth or amount of physical activity involved - see the photograph in Figure 1.9 on page 10. Tourist destinations or activities can be classified on a three-axes graph such as that in Figure 1.10, also on page 10.

9

TOURISM

Cheap Expensive

Cost to tourist

Figure 1.9 An inexpensive tourism activity for energetic people, in Deep Creek Conservation Park, South Australia

Figure 1.10 Classification of tourism, by age, cost and activity level

Table 1.4 Tourist personality types

Using the two criteria cited, tourists are people who use the tourist amenities provided.

Many tourists, on the other hand, are more inter­ested in the resource that motivates them to tour and that attracts them to a specific location. These tourists may be recognised and counted within the official definition if they satisfy the formal criteria. If, how­ever, they stay with relatives in a tourist location and do not use many of the facilities especially created for tourists, such as restaurants and theme parks, they are no less tourists but may not be officially identi­fied as tourists.

Although many people live and work in tourist locations, this does not make them tourists. There

Activity 11

On the graph in Figure 1.10, locate the tourist activity shown in Figure 1.9.

Personality characteristics

It is also possible to consider some personality characteristics that tourists exhibit and to relate them to various activities and destinations. Tourists are viewed as ranging between two contrasting types: from those who are timid, less confident and involved in fewer activities to those who are adventurous, self-confident and very active. Some of the characteristics of each type are set out in Table 1.4.

In real life, naturally, tourists range between these two extremes and may display a mix of traits from each type. The people who supply tourist amenities have to be aware of their market's need and will therefore analyse tourists in this way. Tourism occa­sionally 'gets a bad name' because of some tourists' behaviour. Most tourists are convinced they are defi­nitely not like the gauche and 'ugly' 'tourist herd' and happily go and behave exactly like most tourists.

Who tours? Who does not tour?

Finding the answers to these questions depends on the definitions the inquirer is applying, which in turn reflects his/her standpoint. People who work in the tourism industry will use criteria they are familiar with, such as nights spent away from home and the serv­ices provided for tourists; they therefore recognise and count the people who satisfy these criteria.

The retiring type

Seeks familiar places

(often returns).

Has a low activity level.

Seeks familiar food and

atmosphere.

Seeks fully organised tour

packages.

Prefers places he/she can

drive to.

Prefers the much advertised

'fun and sun' destinations.

Engages in commonplace

activities at the destinations.

Feels more comfortable in places full of other tourists.

The adventurous type

Seeks new experiences

(rarely returns).

Has a high activity level.

Enjoys the food, atmosphere

and people of different cultures.

Wants maximum freedom and

flexibility.

Happy to fly to destinations.

Prefers 'different', 'non-touristy'

places.

Has a sense of discovery. Likes

being the 'first' to visit a place

or try a new activity.

Seeks to avoid 'tourist'

destinations and other tourists.

10

CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

are. for example, many Australian localities, such as Uluru in the Northern Territory - see the photograph in Figure 1.11 - or Airlie Beach in Queensland, in which many people see the tourist attractions every day, but because the people have not travelled spe­cifically to them, they are not tourists.

Figure 1.11 People who work at the Yulara resort can see Uluru every day.

Activity 12

a The scene in Figure 1.11 is one example of an Australian tourist location. If you had to work in an Australian tourist location, which would you prefer, and why?

b If you had to work in a tourist location any­where in the world other than Australia, which would you choose, and why? {Hint: The materials you gathered for Ac­tivity 1 on page 1 may help you.)

'Being a tourist' implies a deliberate intention to travel a short or long distance in order to visit and experience different places and environments. Al­though tourists are usually described as people trav­elling long distances and for extended periods of time, studies of tourism should not ignore short-distance and short-time travellers such as Melbourne residents who go skiing at Victoria's Mount Hotham for a weekend.

Difficulties are entailed in refining these descrip­tions of who tours. There is, for example, no real difference between people who spend a day on Vic­toria's Phillip Island in order to see the Fairy Pen­guins and those who stay overnight in a locality away from home with the same intention. The former are often called 'day-trippers' but they may enjoy the tourist experience just as much as the 'overnighter' in the same locality.

Reasons why people tour

Tourists list many and varied reasons for travelling, a few of which are listed as follows.

• To have relaxation and recreation

• To escape from a perceived boring everyday environment

• To have a change of environment or social set­ting - to see new places and/or new faces

• To have the prestige of boasting about the trip afterwards

• To have the opportunity of behaving in a less restrained way

• To see how other people live

• To seek adventure and excitement

• To seek their own cultural heritage

• To seek new food and wine or a variety of these Currently, because of the emphasis placed on

tourism as an industry, people who tour might be viewed as being consumers of tourist services and goods. This view, however, excludes a large number of people who are less wealthy and do not fit the official tourist-industry models but who nevertheless meet the broad criteria of being tourists.

Reasons why people do not tour

Not all people travel to experience different places and environments, however. The many reasons why people do not tour include the following.

●High costs of travel and accommodation

●Lack of information about things to see in other

places

●Lack of confidence to travel

●Lack of desire to see other places

●Lack of knowledge about potentially attractive

tourist destinations

●Lack of social or cultural motivation to travel

●Poor health

●Family ties - to, for example, young children

●Lack of free time - due to, for example, work or

study

Studies undertaken in Spain, France and Japan during the 1960s and 1970s revealed that whereas in Spain and France, 'lack of money' was the main impediment to holiday taking, in Japan it was only the fourth reason, after 'lack of free time', 'health' and 'couldn't leave home'.

The costs involved in international travel, and often even in national tourism, are too high for most Australians, let alone the world's huge numbers of poor people. Although there are apparently huge and growing numbers of tourists who are counted in the official statistics, they represent only a very small percentage of the world's people. These international tourists usually travel overseas more than once,

11

TOURISM

sometimes every year. -Nineteen-eighties statistics for international travel, including tourism, by Australian residents, revealed a gross propensity to travel -number of departures per total population of only about 8 per cent; however, because each overseas traveller made an average of about two trips per year, it is clear that only about 4 per cent of Australians travelled abroad each year. This does not mean that each Australian travelled overseas every twenty-five years - in fact, maintenance of the annual figure of 4 per cent was due to a small minority of people who travelled overseas relatively frequently.

Statistics for British residents taking holidays during the 1980s indicated that about 20 per cent took no holiday away from home. The British study showed that socioeconomic class or age significantly affected the types of holidays in which people were involved. For example, sixteen- to twenty-four-year-olds, who represented 17 per cent of the population, accounted for only 13 per cent of British holidays but for 20 per cent of holidays abroad. The opposite is true for the sixty-five-plus group, which represented 18 per cent of the population and accounted for 18 per cent of British holidays but for only 9 per cent of holidays abroad. Together, Britain's top two (out of six) social classes account for only 15 per cent of its population, but their members took 20 per cent of the local holi­days and 31 per cent of holidays abroad. Although similar patterns exist in most countries, we would have to examine studies or undertake research in order to establish the figures for a particular place.

Activity 13

a Suggest other reasons why people are en­couraged to tour and reasons why they are discouraged.

b Conduct a survey in order to test your sug­gestions.

What are the main tourism

concepts?

In order to properly investigate issues related to tour­ism, we have to grasp a range of important ideas (concepts) that are fundamental to our understand­ing it. Some of the more important of these are listed in Table 1.5 on page 13, but many others will be raised as necessary throughout the book.

The concepts can be classified in various ways and will be encountered in several ways as we study tourism. It is probably more useful to classify types of tourism and to tackle the concepts as they arise.

The tourism industry

Studying the tourism industry has to be a significant part of the study of tourism. However, the industry is not the whole of tourism - although the popular media and many courses and textbooks often treat it as though it is. As indicated elsewhere in the book, tourism is possible without having any special indus­trial provisions to support it - for example the tour­ing that occurs while we are visiting and staying with friends interstate. It is because tourist developments are viewed as being potentially very lucrative con­tributors to a country's economy that they command a lot of attention. Our book adopts a much broader view of tourism and encourages you to investigate the associated wide-ranging issues, many of which involve people and places not directly involved in the industry. The book naturally recognises the tour­ism industry as being the dominant aspect in study­ing tourism.

The student or researcher has to learn to distin­guish between the real nature of tourism and the product that the tourist industry creates and sells. Economists analyse, and managers run tourist enter­prises, according to the principles that govern other industries. Naturally, considerable differences exist between industries, but the overall categories are simi­lar, for example capital, product, marketing and la­bour. It is helpful to consider the tourism industry in the same way as we consider the manufacturing in­dustry: like manufacturing enterprises, tourist enter­prises make and seek to sell products at the greatest profit. Both the similarities and the differences are instructive. The following elements, among others, are common to both types of industry, and although it is possible to include additional economic and spatial characteristics, they cover most of the fundamental features.

• A basic resource, or raw material, is required in order to make the desired product.

• Products are created for sale.

• The spatial characteristics of location and site must be favourable.

• Enough capital investment is necessary in order to enable the industry to function effectively.

• Enough labour with the appropriate skills is required.

• Research and planning are essential for the de­velopment of industrial units and complexes.

• A suitable market has to exist.

• The product has to be advertised and marketed appropriately.

• Relevant infrastructure is imperative in order to support the industry's specific needs.

• Governments' roles in encouragement and sup­port are essential.

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C ONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS

Table 1.5 Some important concepts related to tourism

Concepts

R elationship to tourism

Amenity

T his is the quality of the tourist location's immediate environment that may satisfy the visitor.

Attraction

This is the aspect of a place that draws people to it. The attraction is often promoted and enhanced by the tourism industry in order to capture extra customers.

Consumer market trends

As tourist demands change, the tourism industry responds to meet them; sometimes the industry itself sets the fashions.

Destination life cycle

A tourist destination's life cycle rises and falls with the place's perceived attractiveness.

Domestic tourism

Domestic tourism involves travel and expenditure by residents and does not involve income from outside the country. Domestic tourists may travel from a nearby home or from the other side of a nation.

Economic imperatives

Ecotourism

Environmental impacts

Equity Ethics

Ethics

These are the financial considerations that drive and often dominate decision making related to tourism ventures. They should be balanced by social and ecological imperatives.

This is ecologically and socially responsible nature-based tourism.

These are the impacts of tourist activities that affect the environment - biophysical and/or built.

Equity implies a concern that all people be treated equally when tourism decisions are made for a particular place.

Ethics are sets of values that lead tourists, or the tourism industry, to act in ways that will sustain rather than damage host communities and environments.

Export tourism

This type of tourism sells tourist experiences to foreigners and therefore earns money - export income - from overseas.

Concepts

H allmark events

Heritage

Landscape

Movement

Perceptions

Place

Recreation

Social or cultural impact

Space

Tourism

Utility

Relationship to tourism

These are events organised or used in order to promote particular tourist venues, for example for Melbourne the Melbourne Cup or the Moomba Festival, for Adelaide the Festival of Arts, and for Sydney the 2000 Olympics.

This refers to natural or built features that we cherish and conserve because of their importance in our history.

Tourists are attracted by the shapes found in broad views; the shapes can be natural or built or both.

There is the obvious aspect of travel, but there are also other aspects that have to be considered, such as motivation to travel, modes of travel, and destination facilities.

These are the impressions or images that tourists have of places, environments and people.

This entails descriptions relative to tourism and the perceptions of the variety of 'actors' involved. It is basically concerned with the tourist activity's site.

Recreation consists of activities we do simply for pleasure in order to 're-create' or refresh ourselves after periods of work or duty.

These are tourism's impacts that may be advantageous or disadvantageous to groups of people.

The spatial elements of significance include the tourist site's relative position - location, ease of access, friction of distance, time measures of distance, and space measures of distance.

This is all travel, with the exception of commuting: travel for a particular leisure or recreational purpose and to have a personal experience of a place.

Utility is reckoned as the amount of personal enjoyment experienced by the tourist.

13

T O U R I S M

• These industries are complex - composed of many separate but integrated service industries.

The basic tourism resource

The resource that the whole industry is marketing is much more significant than individual tourism items such as travel, accommodation or souvenirs, and it varies considerably from place to place. It might be something dramatic and tangible, such as the chang­ing colours of Uluru in the Northern Territory - see the two photographs in Figure 1.12. The tourism product usually has both tangible and abstract ele­ments that are created in the mind of the consumer. A Pacific Ocean cruise, for example, has the ship­board experience and occasional landings in inter­esting nations; a major attraction, however, is the romantic aura of the cruise, as portrayed in many films and television shows such as 'The Love Boat'. The cruise company whose advertisement has been adapted for Figure 1.13 on page 15 also invites tour­ists to 'enjoy a packed entertainment program on board, including Russian dancing and Australian en­tertainers and shipboard activities . . . Other facilities: five bars, casino, swimming pool and disco . . . Cruis­ing is the ultimate package holiday . . . We look for­ward to welcoming you on board.'

The consumer's expectations are raised by ad­vertising and are a substantial part of the tourism product that has been created and 'packaged' for sale. A good example of this is the way that Los Angeles has used its association with the Hollywood movie­making industry as a basis for a very successful tour­ism industry. The suburb of Anaheim would probably attract very few visitors if Disneyland did not exist. The movie industry caters for people's imagination and fantasies by taking fascinating stories to them in their own homes, via television or video, or in a nearby cinema. The tourism industry has 'turned this around' by attracting people, as tourists, to the home of the fantasy weavers; they can visit Mickey Mouse at

Disneyland, the Warner Bros studios in Burbank. and the film stars' homes in Beverly Hills. In these cases, the tourism product has largely been created from the potential customers' imagination.

Activity 14

A Photographs a and b in Figure 1.12 show a basic tourism resource, and the three components of Figure 1.13 on page 15 illustrate how the tourism industry pro­motes another tourism resource - a cruise ship. Using Figure 1.13 and the aforemen­tioned text quoted from another advertise­ment published by the same company, state which of the tourist resource's aspects-are used in order to attract customers.

b Using map a and table b in Figure 1.13 and an atlas, list in table form

i the ports of call

ii the ports' countries visited by the Mikhail Sholokhov.

c Cruise ships usually spend about ten to twelve hours in each port, and this is often timed to match the tides. On a Pacific-Asia cruise such as the one advertised in Figure 1.13, what will the tourists see and do dur­ing their time away from home? Refer to daily plan c, and in your answer include both onshore and onboard activities.

The tourism product

It is clear that individual businesses that function within the tourism industry supply products; two obvious examples are those that provide accommodation and sell souvenirs. All these products contribute to a place's larger tourism product in much the same way as many smaller industries contribute to the car-manufacturing industry.

Figure 1.12 The changing colours of Uluru attract tourists from all over the world: a before sunset; b during sunset.

14