Compiled By:

TOURISM Ar. Sneha Ann Philip

S9, MASAP
TOURISM
The World Tourism Organization defines
tourism more generally, in terms which go
"beyond the common perception of tourism as
being limited to holiday activity only", as people
"traveling to and staying in places outside their
usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year for leisure, business and other
purposes".
IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM
Tourism has become an important, even vital, source of income
for many regions and even entire countries. The Manila
Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 recognized its importance
as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its
direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic
sectors of national societies and on their international
relations."

The service industries which benefit from tourism include

transportation services (such as airlines, cruise ships, trains and
taxicabs); hospitality services (such as accommodations,
including hotels and resorts); and entertainment venues (such
as amusement parks, restaurants, casinos, shopping malls,
music venues, and theatres). This is in addition to goods bought
by tourists, including souvenirs.
Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued
growth and deepening diversification to become one of the
fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Modern
tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses a
growing number of new destinations. These dynamics have
turned tourism into a key driver for socio-economic progress.

Today, the business volume of tourism equals or even

surpasses that of oil exports, food products or automobiles.
Tourism has become one of the major players
in international commerce, and represents at the same time
one of the main income sources for many developing
countries. This growth goes hand in hand with an increasing
diversification and competition among destinations.
 It is difficult to discuss tourism without
discussing architecture. Architecture is a
commodity of touristic consumption
and objectified cultural capital.
According to Maitland and Newman
(2008) visitors are not drawn by tourist
attractions but by “qualities of place and
culture –‘architecture’, ‘people’, ‘food’,
‘culture’ and ‘diversity’” (p. 232).

The physical form, as defined by

architecture, aestheticizes spaces with
recognisable markers that forge a
particular sense of place, ‘pulling’
visitors to precincts (Edwards, Griffin &
Hayllar, 2008), providing a focal point
for visitor attention and experience
(Krolikowski & Brown, 2008).
The past two centuries have witnessed an
increase in the commodification of tourist
sites across the world.
Everything from historical monuments to
exotic holiday destinations has been
redesigned and packaged for mass
consumption.

As a result, the histories of specific sites

have been re-conceptualized. Some have
been preserved and celebrated, while
others have been left to decay. In this
process, buildings, cities and entire
countries have been remapped by tourism
initiatives to serve political, cultural,
economic and scholarly goals.
TOURISM PRODUCTS
A tourism product can be defined as the sum of the physical
and psychological satisfaction it provides to tourists during
their travelling en route to the destination.

The tourist product focuses on facilities and services designed

to meet the needs of the tourist. It can be seen as a
composite product, as the sum total of a country’s tourist
attractions, transport, and accommodation and of
entertainment which result in customer satisfaction. Each of
the components of a tourist product is supplied by individual
providers of services like hotel companies, airlines, travel
agencies, etc.

The tourist product can be analysed in terms of its attraction,

accessibility and accommodation.
 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.
 Accessibility
• 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. 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.
 Characteristics
• Tourism products are mainly service products or services
which have several characteristics.

• For example in the business tourism, conference planning

and management is a service offered by large hotels and
convention centres.

• Fairs and festivals are events which are offered for

enjoyment only at a particular time of the year and these
are perishable and variable.

• In India, cultural attractions in the forms of dances and

music can be seen and enjoyed. Other products which
tourists consume like wildlife, and flora and fauna are
natural products.
1.Intangible
Unlike a tangible product, say, a motor car or refrigerator,
no transfer of ownership of goods is involved in tourism.
The product here cannot be seen or inspected before its
purchase. Instead, certain facilities, installations, items of
equipment are made available for a specified time and for
a specified use. For example, a seat in an aeroplane is
provided only for a specified time.

2. Psychological
A large component of tourism product is the satisfaction
the consumer derives from its use. A tourist acquires
experiences while interacting with the new environment
and his experiences help to attract and motivate potential
customers.
3. Highly Perishable
A travel agent or tour operator who sells a tourism
product cannot store it. Production can only take place if
the customer is actually present. And once consumption
begins, it cannot be stopped, interrupted or modified. If
the product remains unused, the chances are lost i.e. if
tourists do not visit a particular place, the opportunity at
that time is lost. It is due to this reason that heavy
discount is offered by hotels and transport generating
organisations during off season
4. Composite Product
The tourist product cannot be provided by a single
enterprise unlike a manufactured product. The tourist
product covers the complete experience of a visit to a
particular place. And many providers contribute to this
experience. For instance, airline supplies seats, a hotel
provides rooms and restaurants, travel agents make
bookings for stay and sightseeing, etc.

5. Unstable Demand

Tourism demand is influenced by seasonal, economic

political and others such factors. There are certain times
of the year which see a greater demand than others. At
these times there is a greater strain on services like hotel
bookings, employment, the transport system, etc.
6. Fixed supply in the short run
The tourism product unlike a manufactured product
cannot be brought to the consumer; the consumer must
go to the product. This requires an in-depth study of
users’ behaviour, taste preferences, likes and dislikes so
that expectations and realities coincide for the maximum
satisfaction of the consumer. The supply of a tourism
product is fixed in the short run and can only be increased
in the long run following increased demand patterns.
7. Absence of ownership
When you buy a car, the ownership of the car is
transferred to you, but when you hire a taxi you buy the
right to be transported to a predetermined destination
at a predetermined price (fare). You neither own the
automobile nor the driver of the vehicle. Similarly, hotel
rooms, airline tickets, etc. can be used but not owned.
These services can be bought for consumption but
ownership remains with the provider of the service.
8. Heterogeneous
Tourism is not a homogeneous product since it tends to
vary in standard and quality over time, unlike a T.V set or
any other manufactured product. A package tour or even
a flight on an aircraft can’t be consistent at all times. The
reason is that this product is a service and services are
people based. Due to this, there is variability in this
product. All individuals vary and even the same individual
may not perform the same every time
7. Risky
The risk involved in the use of a tourism product is
heightened since it has to be purchased before its
consumption. An element of chance is always present in
its consumption. Like, a show might not be as
entertaining as it promises to be or a beach holiday
might be disappointing due to heavy rain.
10. Marketable
Tourism product is marketed at two levels. At the first
level, national and regional organisations engage in
persuading potential tourists to visit the country or a
certain region. These official tourist organisations first
create knowledge of its country in tourist –generating
markets and persuade visitors in these markets to visit the
country. At the second level, the various individual firms
providing tourist services, market their own components
of the total tourist product to persuade potential tourists
to visit that region.
Different Types of Tourism Products
• Natural tourism products
Beaches, islands, mountains, hills, desert, wildlife (flora
and fauna), caves, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, rivers.
Examples: palm fringed beaches of Goa, snow
capped mountains in Kashmir, the flora and fauna of
Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Dudhsagar fall in Goa,
Thar Desert in Jaisalmer etc
• Man made tourism products
The manmade tourism products are those which are built
by humans. There can be manmade tourism products
which are purposely built for tourists. They can be
museums, casinos, theme parks. There are manmade
attractions which are not originally designed to attract
tourists. They are forts, palaces, temples etc.
The manmade attractions also include customs and
traditions of a destination. Folk dance, classical dance,
music, handicrafts, fairs and festivals etc are other
manmade attractions.

Examples: Taj Mahal, Red Fort, India Gate, Lothal in

Gujarat is an important archaeological Indus Valley Site;
National Museum in New Delhi, Bhangra of Punjab,
Madhubani paintings of Bihar, Brass work of Muradabad
etc.
• Site based tourism products

When attraction is a place or site then it is site based

tourism product. Site of Taj Mahal, sunset at Kanyakumari
etc.
• Event based tourism products

Events attract tourists as spectator and also as participants

in the events, sometimes both. Kite flying in Ahmadabad
attracts tourist both as spectators and participants.
Tourists can be spectators for events like Olympics,
Khajuraho dance festival.