Fundamentals of Travel and Tourism: A Comprehensive Study

Fundamentals of Travel and Tourism
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
LO1: A summary of the key historical and current developments in tourism, identifying the different
types of tourism (Mass and Special Interest tourism) and explaining their characteristics, providing
examples where appropriate........................................................................................................................4
LO2: A discussion of the reasons why tourists visit a particular destination, with reference to relevant and
extensive literature, particularly in relation to: tourism demand, tourist behaviour, and tourist motivations.
.................................................................................................................................................................... 6
LO3: An examination of the elements that should be considered when developing a new destination,
extensively investigating the 6A’s of a tourist destination...........................................................................9
LO4: Identification and an outline of the key organisations involved in the ‘Tourism Supply Chain’ in the
private, public and voluntary sector of the U.K. travel and tourism industry.............................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
This study contains the current and historical developments in the tourism sector and an analysis
of the various types of tourists along with their characteristics. The types of demand in the
tourism industry and different types of motivators have also been discussed along with push and
pull factors. The tourist typology proposed by Plog, Cohen, and Gray has also been included in
this study and the factors that influence the tourist motivation have also been evaluated. The
detailed explanation regarding the 4 A’s of tourist destination has been discussed and the tourism
supply chain management in a public, voluntary, and private organisation has also been
explained.
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LO1: A summary of the key historical and current developments in tourism, identifying
the different types of tourism (Mass and Special Interest tourism) and explaining their
characteristics, providing examples where appropriate.
Tourism can be defined as the activities performed by the individuals by travelling and staying at
a pre-decided location for leisure, business or other purposes. Tourism comprises of two
elements, namely, the journey concluded to reach the destination and staying at the chosen
destination including leisure activities performed by the tourists. The movement to the various
destinations are temporary, that is, they are planned for a very short period of time and a return
journey is usually planned. Hence, the activities are planned according to the period of stay in the
destination (Yu, et. al., 2012).
The history of the tourism dates back to the ancient Egyptian civilization where the people used
to travel for business purposes around 3000 B.C. and the purpose of the tourism gradually shifted
from business to religious and leisure from 1500 B.C. and this was carried forward till middle
ages where the people travelled for very long distances for pilgrimage. The advent of modern
tourism can be attributed to the introduction of Bank Holidays in 1871 and hence, people had
more leisure time and they were able to travel to sea coasts such as Bournemouth to spend their
holidays.
The main categories of tourism are special interest tourism and mass tourism. In a mass tourism,
a group of people journey to the particular destination at the same time and it is the most popular
type of tourism since it is the economical way to travel and enjoy the leisure period. Usually, the
destination is planned by the way of package tours where all the facilities are provided to the
tourists such as accommodation, food, and other activities. There are different types of mass
tourism activities such as visiting a theme park, skiing, taking a cruise and sunbathing on a
beach. For instance, Benidorm is one of the preferable tourist destinations and has excellent
beaches, and tourists can also enjoy a wide range of recreational activities. Hence, tourists from
all over Spain and Northern Europe reach Benidorm in huge numbers and as per the estimates,
more than 4 million people visit Benidorm every year (Sezgin and Yolal, 2014).
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