CHAPTER 1: TOURISM IN PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION

You are setting off on a voyage to learn about the subject of tourism. Assuming that the
forecasters and futurists are correct, you are studying the world’s largest industry. Tourism is
alive with dynamic growth, new activities, new destinations, new technology, new markets, and
rapid changes. Record numbers of tourists are traveling the globe, attracted by an increased
variety of tour packages, cruises, adventure experiences, and independent itineraries. All of
these visitors and the activities they generate change local communities. They have an economic
and social impact that cannot be ignored. In today’s society, attention must be paid to
environmental issues, cultural issues, economic issues, the way landscapes are created to appeal
to tourists, and how tourists behave.
The tourism industry is global. It is big business and will continue to grow. Meeting this growth
with well-planned, environmentally sound development is a challenge for planning all over the
world, whether it is Indonesia, Nepal, the United States, Australia, Vietnam, or France. The goal
of this chapter and the book is to raise issues, provide frameworks, and generate your thoughtful
consideration of the issues and changes facing this complex field as it operates in an increasingly
technological and global age.

WHAT IS TOURISM?
When we think of tourism, we think primarily of people who are visiting a particular place for
sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, taking a vacation, and having a good time. They may
spend their leisure time engaging in various sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides,
touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment. If we consider the subject further, we may
include in our definition of tourism people who are participating in a convention, a business
conference, or some other kind of business or professional activity, as well as those who are
taking a study tour under an expert guide or doing some kind of scientific research or study.
These visitors use all forms of transportation, from hiking in a wilderness park to flying in a jet
to an exciting city. Transportation can include taking a chairlift up a Colorado mountainside or
standing at the rail of a cruise ship looking across the blue Caribbean. Whether people travel by
one of these means or by car, motorcoach, camper, train, taxi, motorbike, or bicycle, they are
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taking a trip and thus are engaging in tourism. That is what this book is all about — why people
travel (and why some don’t) and the socioeconomic effects that their presence and expenditures
have on a society.
Any attempt to define tourism and to describe its scope fully must consider the various groups
that participate in and are affected by this industry. Their perspectives are vital to the
development of a comprehensive definition. Four different perspectives of tourism can be
identified as followed.
1. The tourist. The tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and
satisfactions. The nature of these will largely determine the destinations chosen
and the activities enjoyed.
2. The businesses providing tourist goods and services. Businesspeople see tourism
as an opportunity to make a profit by supplying the goods and services that the
tourist market demands.
3. The government of the host community or area. Politicians view tourism as a
wealth factor in the economy of their jurisdictions. Their perspective is related to
the incomes their citizens can earn from this business. Politicians also consider
the foreign exchange receipts from international tourism as well as the tax
receipts collected from tourist expenditures, either directly or indirectly. The
government can play an important role in tourism policy, development,
promotion, and implementation.
4. The host community. Local people usually see tourism as a cultural and
employment factor. Of importance to this group, for example, is the effect of the
interaction between large numbers of international visitors and residents. This
effect may be beneficial or harmful, or both.
Thus, tourism may be defined as the processes, activities, and outcomes a rising from the
relationships and the interactions among tourists, tourism suppliers, host governments, host
communities, and surrounding environments that are involved in the attracting and hosting
of visitors.
Tourism is a composite of activities, services, and industries that deliver a travel experience:
transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, shops, entertainment,
activity facilities, and other hospitality services available for individuals or groups that are
traveling away from home. It encompasses all providers of visitor and visitor-related services.
Tourism is the entire world industry of travel, hotels, transportation, and all other components
that, including promotion, serve the needs and wants of travelers. Finally, tourism is the sum
total of tourist expenditures within the borders of a nation or a political subdivision or a
transportation-centered economic area of contiguous states or nations. This economic concept
also considers the income multiplier of these tourist expenditures.
One has only to consider the multidimensional aspects of tourism and its interactions with other
activities to understand why it is difficult to come up with a meaningful definition that will be
universally accepted. Each of the many definitions that have arisen is aimed at fitting a special
situation and solving an immediate problem, and the lack of uniform definitions has hampered
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the study of tourism as a discipline. Development of a field depends on: (1) uniform definitions,
(2) description, (3) analysis, (4) prediction, and (5) control.

Tourism is relaxing and enjoying a beautiful beach. The tranquility of St. Martin
offers a quiet escape from the complexities of the modern world.
Photo courtesy of the Le Meridian Le Domaine, St. Martin.

Modern tourism is a discipline that has only recently attracted the attention of scholars from
many fields. The majority of studies have been conducted for special purposes and have used
narrow operational definitions to suit particular needs of researchers or government officials;
these studies have not encompassed a systems approach. Consequently, many definitions of
tourism and the tourist are based on distance traveled, the length of time spent, and the purpose
of the trip. This makes it difficult to gather statistical information that scholars can use to develop
a database, describe the tourism phenomenon, and do analyses.
The problem is not trivial. It has been tackled by a number of august bodies over the years,
including the League of Nations, the United Nations, the United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
the National Tourism Resources Review Commission, and the U.S. Senate’s National Tourism
Policy Study.
The following review of various definitions illustrates the problems of arriving at a consensus.
We examine the concept of the movement of people and the terminology and definitions
applied by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and those of the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Later, a comprehensive classification of travelers is
provided that endeavors to reflect a consensus of current thought and practice.

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 United Nations World Tourism Organization Definitions

The International Conference on Travel and Tourism Statistics convened by the United Nations
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Ottawa, Canada, in 1991 reviewed, updated, and
expanded on the work of earlier international groups. The Ottawa Conference made some
fundamental recommendations on definitions of tourism, travelers, and tourists. The United
Nations Statistical Commission adopted the UNWTO’s recommendations on tourism statistics
on March 4, 1993.

TOURISM
The UNWTO has taken the concept of tourism beyond a stereotypical image of “holiday
making.” The officially accepted definition is: “Tourism comprises the activities of persons
traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes.” The term usual environment is
intended to exclude trips within the area of usual residence, frequent and regular trips between
the domicile and the workplace, and other community trips of a routine character.
1. International tourism

a. Inbound tourism: Visits to a country by nonresidents

b. Outbound tourism: Visits by residents of a country to another country

2. Internal tourism: Visits by residents and nonresidents of the country of reference

3. Domestic tourism: Visits by residents of a country to their own country

4. National tourism: Internal tourism plus outbound tourism (the resident tourism
market for travel agents, airlines, and other suppliers)

TRAVELER TERMINOLOGY FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISM

Underlying the foregoing conceptualization of tourism is the overall concept of traveler, defined
as “any person on a trip between two or more countries or between two or more localities
within his/her country of usual residence.” All types of travelers engaged in tourism are
described as visitors, a term that constitutes the basic concept of the entire system of tourism
statistics. International visitors are persons who travel for a period not exceeding twelve months
to a country other than the one in which they generally reside and whose main purpose is other
than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. Internal visitors are
persons who travel to a destination within their own country, that is outside their usual
environment, for a period not exceeding twelve months.
All visitors are subdivided into two further categories:
1. Same-day visitors: Visitors who do not spend the night in a collective or private
accommodation in the country visited—for example, a cruise ship passenger
spending four hours in a port or day-trippers visiting an attraction

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 2. Tourists: Visitors who stay in the country visited for at least one night—for
example, a visitor on a two-week vacation
There are many purposes for a visit—notably pleasure, business, and other purposes, such as
family reasons, health, and transit.

United States

The Western Council for Travel Research in 1963 employed the term visitor and defined a visit
as occurring every time a visitor entered an area under study. The definition of tourist used by
the National Tourism Resources Review Commission in 1973 was: “A tourist is one who travels
away from home for a distance of at least 50 miles (one way) for business, pleasure, personal
affairs, or any other purpose except to commute to work, whether he stays overnight or returns
the same day.”
The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) research department defines a person-trip as
one person traveling 50 miles (one way) or more away from home or staying overnight,
regardless of distance. Trips are included regardless of purpose, excluding only crews, students,
military personnel on active duty, and commuters.

Canada

In a series of quarterly household sample surveys known as the Canadian Travel Survey that
began in 1978, trips qualifying for inclusion are similar to those in the United States. The 50-mile
figure was a compromise to satisfy concerns regarding the accuracy of recall for shorter trips
and the possibility of the inclusion of trips completed entirely within the boundaries of a large
metropolitan area such as Toronto.
The determination of which length of trip to include in surveys of domestic travel has varied
according to the purpose of the survey methodology employed. Whereas there is general
agreement that commuting journeys and one-way trips should be excluded, qualifying distances
vary. The province of Ontario favors 25 miles.
In Canada’s international travel surveys, the primary groups of travelers identified are
nonresident travelers, resident travelers, and other travelers. Both nonresident and resident
travelers include both same-day and business travelers. Other travelers consist of immigrants,
former residents, military personnel, and crews.

United Kingdom

The National Tourist Boards of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland sponsor a continuous
survey of internal tourism, the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS). It measures all trips away
from home lasting one night or more; these include: (1) trips taken by residents for holidays, (2)
visits to friends and relatives (nonholiday), or (3) trips taken for business, conferences, and most

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other purposes. In its findings, the UKTS distinguishes between holiday trips of short (one to
three nights) and long (four-plus nights) duration.
The International Passenger Survey collects information on both overseas visitors to the United
Kingdom and travel abroad by U.K. residents. It distinguishes five different types of visits: holiday
independent, holiday inclusive, business, visits to friends and relatives, and miscellaneous.
Australia
Australia

The Australian Bureau of Industry Economics in 1979 placed length of stay and distance traveled
constraints in its definition of tourist as follows: “A person visiting a location at least 40
kilometers from his usual place of residence, for a period of at least 24 hours and not exceeding
12 months.”
In supporting the use of the UNWTO definitions, the Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that
the term “usual environment is somewhat vague.” It states that “visits to tourist attractions by
local residents should not be included” and that visits to second homes should be included only
“where they are clearly for temporary recreational purposes.”

COMPREHENSIVE CLASSIFICATION OF TRAVELLERS?

The main types of travelers are indicated in Figure 1.1. Shown is the fundamental distinction
between residents and visitors and the interest of travel and tourism practitioners in the
characteristics of nontravelers as well as travelers. The figure also reflects the apparent
consensus that business and same-day travel both fall within the scope of travel and tourism.
Placed to one side are some other types of travelers generally regarded as being outside the
area of interest, although included in some travel surveys. Foremost among these exclusions are
commuters, who seem to fall outside the area of interest to all in the travel and tourism
community. Other travelers generally excluded from studies on travel and tourism are those
who undertake trips within the community, which for convenience are described arbitrarily as
trips involving less than a specific one-way distance, such as 50 miles. These “other travelers”
have been focused on in the Nationwide Personal Transportation Surveys conducted by the U.S.
Department of Transportation. The broad class of travelers categorized as migrants, both
international and domestic, is also commonly excluded from tourism or travel research, on the
grounds that their movement is not temporary, although they use the same facilities as other
travelers, albeit in one direction, and frequently require temporary accommodation on reaching
their destination. The real significance of migration to travel and tourism, however, is not in the
one-way trip in itself, but in the long-run implications of a transplanted demand for travel and
the creation of a new travel destination for separated friends and relatives.
Other groups of travelers are commonly excluded from travel and tourism studies because their
travel is not affected by travel promotion, although they tend to compete for the same types of
facilities and services. Students and temporary workers traveling purely for reasons of education

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or temporary employment are two leading examples. Another frequently excluded group
consists of crews, although they can be regarded as special subsets of tourists.
Of those travelers directly within the scope of travel and tourism, basic distinctions are made
among those whose trips are completed within one day. The same day visitors are also called
day-trippers and excursionists because they stay less than twenty-four hours. While they are
important travelers, their economic significance pales in comparison to travelers who stay one
or more nights. An additional meaningful division may also be made between those international
travelers whose travel is between continents and those whose international travel is confined to
countries within the same continent. In the case of the United States, the distinction is between
(1) trips to or from the neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico or elsewhere in the Americas
and (2) trips made to or from countries in Europe or on other continents.
The purposes of travel identified in Figure 1.1 go beyond those traditionally accepted because of
the growing evidence that “visits to friends and relatives” (VFR) is a basic travel motivation and a
distinctive factor in marketing, accounting for a major proportion of travel. In any event, “primary
purpose” is an arbitrary concept because many journeys are undertaken for a combination of
reasons, such as “business and vacation.”

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 (1) Tourists in international technical definitions.
(2) Excursionists in international technical definitions.
(3) Travelers whose trips are shorter than those that qualify for travel and tourism: e.g., under 50 miles (80 km)
from home.
(4) Students traveling between home and school only—other travel of students is within scope of travel and
tourism.
(5) All persons moving to a new place of residence, including all one-way travelers,
such as emigrants, immigrants, refugees, domestic migrants, and nomads.

Figure 1.1. Classification of travelers

SUMMARY
In this chapter we have examined the subject of tourism. The rapid growth in the movement of
people, both domestically and internationally, has brought about an industry of vast proportions
and diversity. Also, the industry is universal—found in all countries of the world, but in greatly
varied qualities and proportions.

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KEY CONCEPTS

Accommodation food services

tourist
adventure and outdoor host
tourist industry
recreation community transportation travel
attractions inbound tourism travel trade traveler trip
culture internal tourism usual environment visit
domestic tourism international tourism visitor
entertainment national resources
events national tourism
excursionist outbound tourism
expenditures same-day visitors