“All tourism rests upon a bed of natural resources”—unknown
author
Tourism History
Babylonia—Gardens & rest houses were built to accommodate
the upper-class traveler.
Roman Empire—The Romans traveled to see the famous temples
of Greece and Egyptian pyramids. They made regular visits to seaside resorts
and areas with medicinal baths.
Medieval Times—One of the first tour guides was issued
which described the regions through which the Crusaders & others would
travel and also detailed the types of inns to be found along these roads.
Famous wanderers such as Marco Polo provided entertaining accounts of
their widespread journeys which served to increase interest in travel.
18th Century—In England, seaside resorts
for sea-bathing and spas built around natural springs for medicinal cures
were popular. In North America, botanists and others traveled extensively
in order to catalog & describe the natural resources of that continent.
Their accounts became some of the first that focused on nature for itself.
19th Century—One of the first travel agents
arranged private scenic tours of Norway for the upper class. Another arranged
scenic rail tours across Great Britain and later the world, while yet
another began advertising for steamboat excursions in England’s coastal
and inland waters. Great explorers such as Stanley & Livingston, Darwin,
& others captured the world’s attention with their reports which lead
to wealthy European aristocrats participating in safaris on many continents.
In America the federal government sponsored numerous explorations of newly-acquired
territory that included the use of narrative journals, the collection
of specimens, and paintings. The U.S. would also establish the world’s
first national parks.
20th Century—The invention of the airplane,
bus, & car and the development of major interstate highways in America
led to increased pleasure travel by large numbers of people while computers
and the internet led to improved travel-planning. The proliferation of
new parks & refuges, the rise of conservation organizations, the ecology
movement, television nature documentaries, and the wide-spread publication
of field guides, nature stories & nature magazines resulted in greater
interest in nature-based tourism. Increasingly crowded cities and hectic
work schedules made rural, seaside, and wilderness areas more attractive
as a vacation destination.
Current—Areas virtually unexplored decades ago are today
successful tourist destinations. Tourism is viewed as an economic and
social force of major proportions. A wide assortment of guide books is
available for specialty travel. Highly popular is travel for the purpose
of experiencing adventures in exotic places & participating in challenging
outdoor activities. The elderhostel programs that combine classroom lectures
& field trips in famous natural, historical, & cultural sites
continue their appeal to older individuals. Special-interest group travel
is an important segment of the industry (i.e., farm-tours, bird-watching,
fall foliage, nature study, photography, safaris, skin-diving)
Tourism Components & Definitions
Basic Tourism Groups—There are 4 types that participate
in and are affected by the tourism industry:
- the tourist
- the business providing tourist goods and services
- the government of the host community/area
- the host community.
Tourism Categories—ethnic; cultural, historical, environmental,
recreational, & business
Environmental Category—This can be called eco-tourism
or nature-based tourism. It includes experiencing nature on various levels:
simple adventures, learning about & appreciating man-nature-land relationships,
and “getting back to nature”. This is geographic in nature with draws
to remote areas. Although the emphasis is on natural & environmental
attractions, it is often connected with the other tourism categories.
At its best it is a low-impact form of tourism that provides unique regional
experiences. This can take place by the use of outdoor activities, museums,
and classroom lectures & shows.
Natural Resources in Tourism Supply & Demand
Natural areas, particularly those with unique features, have always drawn
visitors. However, certain combinations of Natural Resource Factors create
an environment that is likely to increase tourism.
- The nature of the natural resources—The overall
landscape, natural vegetative cover, & the extent of beach areas
are critical elements in attracting people. Fortunately, there is no
universal tourist and so every location has something to offer that
would be appealing. It is the varying natural areas that make each place
unique.
- The level of scenic beauty—The general rule
is that the closer any type of site (cultural, recreational, etc.) is
to a metropolitan area, then the more likely it is that it will be visited
just because it is close to an individual. However, an area of superb
natural beauty & quality that is somewhat distant can overcome that
rule, and draw large numbers of people if access is not overly difficult.
People are more likely to expend an effort to experience a great natural
area than any other category of interest.
- The quality of the natural resources—The entire
area must be carefully protected during planning, construction, &
maintenance of a developed site in order to sustain tourism demand and
for continued satisfaction of the visitor. This is particularly true
for those sites that are largely “wild areas” and depend on this unspoiled
image for their attractiveness.
Benefits of Tourism
Personal Value
* Millions of people regard their travel-days as some of the most important
days in their lives. These are the special days they have saved for and
dreamed about.
* The pleasure trip becomes a form of reducing tension and is therefore
vital during times of personal stress and national crisis.
* Visiting natural areas provides opportunities for private contemplation
(“getting centered”) and multiple unique experiences that are unattainable
elsewhere.
Increased Knowledge & Concern
* Improved knowledge of other people, areas, and natural resources will
always lead to a greater understanding of and concern for these people,
areas, and natural resources.
* Travel is a means of raising the level of human experience and achievements
in areas such as education, research, and artistic activity.
Economic Benefits
* Every country now views tourism as an important factor in national
prosperity.
* It has been said that each dollar invested in the tourism industry
creates more jobs than each dollar invested in an automobile factory.
*Reports show that the tourism dollar is shared by over seventy distinguishable
types of enterprises in just two rounds of spending.
* Tourism is characterized by the existence of a large number of very
small businesses that support & are supplementary to the industry.
As tourism flourishes so do they. Plus, not only does the tourist contribute
financially to a specific area through direct expenses, but there is a
multiplier effect as those tourist dollars are spent on other indirect
expenses related to the trip. The dollars from tourism quickly filter
down to a broad cross-section of the population so that the entire community
shares the benefits of tourism.
Promotion & Protection of Natural & Cultural Areas
* The creation & preservation of wildlife sanctuaries and parks as
well as national monuments and other cultural resources are often encouraged
when tourism begins to be a force in the society.
* Nature-based tourism provides unique, regional experiences that create
an awareness of the special value of the natural areas visited.
* When properly managed, nature-based tourism is a way of offering low-impact
experiences that bring unending benefits to tourist & ultimately to
the resource itself through efforts to preserve its quality.
Tourism Codes & Quotes
Natural Resources
“Tourism is one of the world’s greatest and most significant social and
economic forces. It is much more than the earning of foreign exchange—Governmental
and business policymakers and leaders who have ignored the loftier benefits
that tourism can bring and only thought of the immediate profits, may
now be looking at the degradation of their human and natural resources.”
Robert McIntosh & Shashikant Gupta, authors “Tourism Principles,
Practices, Philosophies”
“Tourism is very sensitive to the quality of recreational use of natural
resources, and unless high standards are maintained, a depreciation of
demand will invariably result. Thus, ecological and environmental considerations
are vital.” Robert McIntosh & Shashikant Gupta, authors “Tourism Principles,
Practices, Philosophies”
“Another basic concept is that there must be harmonious relationships
between the various elements of the travel plan, the local environment,
and infrastructure.” Robert McIntosh & Shashikant Gupta, authors
“Tourism Principles, Practices, Philosophies”
“Tourism development must be guided by carefully planned policy, international
in concept and interdisciplinary in its creation. A sound development
policy can have the happy result of a growing tourist business and
the preservation of the natural and cultural resources which attracted
the visitors in the first place.” Robert McIntosh & Shashikant Gupta,
authors “Tourism Principles, Practices, Philosophies”
“The truthful representation of an area is fundamental—it becomes important
that the image should not be tailored, recast, or altered to suit what
is deemed to be the tastes of the travelers or their alleged preferences.”
Alan Field, past member Canadian Government Office of Tourism
Social Goals
“We must endeavor to maintain tourism at the highest cultural and spiritual
levels. We must organize tourism so that it is not only a good business,
but an opportunity to create a more cultivated and peaceful world.” Arthur
Haulot, Past President of World Trade Organization
“We must, then, deserve this confidence they (travelers) place in us
by allowing us to arrange these special days for them, with the greatest
respect for the tourist values of our world, and that much respect for
the traveler himself.” Arthur Haulot, Past President of World Trade Organization
Cooperative Foundations
“The cooperation of all elements of the broad tourism destinations can
increase the likelihood of receiving more tourist business” Robert McIntosh
& Shashikant Gupta, authors “Tourism Principles, Practices, Philosophies”
“Tourism is a vast and complicated industry. Every phase and every area
of a country are directly concerned with this business and should be involved
with its successful development.” Robert McIntosh & Shashikant Gupta,
authors “Tourism Principles, Practices, Philosophies” |
