Global Tourism Destination: Growth, Trends, and Challenges

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GLOBAL TOURISM DESTINATION
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Introduction
Tourism is the activities of people such as travelling to places and staying in those places for not
more than one year. The activities can be done to experience leisure, business, or for any other
purpose. The tourism industry is a very competitive industry as there is a constant need to adapt
according to the customers changing need and desire. The customer’s satisfaction, safety and
enjoyment are the main focus of the tourism industry (Theobald, 2012).
Nature and scale of the global tourism industry
Important data on Global Travel and Tourism
 Growth in International tourist arrival by 6% from the previous year. More than 1.4
billion people travelled throughout the world.
 UN World Tourism Organization has predicted in 2010 that the current data will not be
achieved before 2020. However remarkable growth in tourism in recent years has marked
it possible to reach the 1.4 billion mark in previous year itself.
 Economic growth around the world, more affordable air travel, technological changes
and adoption of a new business model by the travel industry has seen growth in the travel
industry.
 Many countries have started many travellers friendly policies such as the visa-free entry,
visa on arrival has attracted a number of tourists.
 The UNWTO forecasts that the international arrival will see a growth of around 3%-4%
in 2019.
 Zurab Pololikashvili, the secretary general of UNWTO has predicted a constant growth
of Global Travel and Tourism. Factors such as the process of digitalization, affordable
travel and societal changes will continue to shape the tourism industry. So to remain
competitive in today’s market scenario both destination and company need to adapt
according to the customer demand.
 The Middle East (up 10 %), Africa (7%), Asia, Pacific and Europe saw a growth of 6% in
2018.
 International arrival in Europe reached to 713 million in 2018.
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 Asia and Pacific recorded 313 million international tourist arrivals in 2018. Arrival in
South East Asia grew by 7% which was followed by North-East Asia with 6% growth
and South Asia saw overall growth of 5% during 2018.
 The Americas saw a growth of around 3%. It welcomed around 2017 million
international arrivals in 2018.
 The data from Africa points to a 7% increase. In total, Africa welcomed 67 million
travellers.
 The emergence of global trends such as the “travel to change and to show”, and the
pursuit of healthy activities such as walking, wellness and sports tourism will result in an
increase in global tourism (UW, 2019).
From the above data, it becomes very clear that the Global Travel and Tourism industry will see
higher growth in 2019.
Fig 1-Global Tourism growth number by region
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TOP 10 MOST VISITED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD IN 2018
Here is the list of top 10 most visited country in the world. The list is according to the World
Tourism Ranking (EW, 2019).
1. France - 86.9 million international tourist arrivals
France is a European country famous for diverse tourist destinations. With 86.9 million
international tourists visiting the country it has become the most desirable travel destination
among tourist. Paris, Strasbourg, Alsace and Lyon are the main cities that are attracting many
tourists. There are many attractions like the beaches, picturesque villages, national parks, forests,
adventure sports and many historical destinations. The country provides many options for
international tourist. The most famous monument is the Eiffel Tower. 9.7% of GDP comes from
the tourism industry
2. Spain - 81.8 million international tourist arrivals
Spain is the second most visited country in the world. The country attracted around 81.6 million
international tourists. Main attractions in Spain are the magnificent beaches on the Atlantic and
the Mediterranean sea. The country also has many historical sites, festivals and cardinals. The
most popular city are Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. The country has 44 World Heritage Sites.
3. United States - 76.9 million international tourist arrivals
The United States has diverse geography which provides best tourists destinations for the tourist.
Cities like the New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami are some of the most popular
destinations in the United States. The country has many natural attractions like the Grand
Canyon, Yellow Stone national park etc. The country received 14 million visitors. The country is
also famous for 58 national parks.
4. China - 60.7 million international tourist arrivals
China has many tourist destinations like the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, five sacred
mountains etc. The country is one of the best travel destinations because it is cheap and has
excellent public transport. The Great Wall of China is the most famous tourist attraction.
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5. Italy – 58.3 million international tourist arrivals
Italy has a very rich history. The country hosts 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Colosseum in
Rome is one of the best tourist destinations for tourist visiting the country.
6. Mexico – 39.3 million international tourist arrivals
Mexico has many beautiful landscapes such as deserts, mountains and jungle. The country has
450 beaches.
7. United Kingdom – 37.7 million international arrivals
The United Kingdom is favoured by tourist for historical sites, developed tourist facilities etc.
The city of London is the most popular city in the United Kingdom.
8. Turkey – 37.6 million international arrivals
Turkey has also emerged as the most favoured travel destination among the travellers. The
country’s close proximity to Europe and Asia, luxurious resorts on Aegean and Mediterranean
coasts are the main attractions in the country.
9. Germany – 37.5 million international arrivals
Germany is regarded as one of the safest countries in the world. The country generated around
38million from its tourism industry. The country hosts many cultural and historical sites. German
tourism industry employees around 2 million people.
10. Thailand – 35.4 million international arrivals
Presence of sandy beaches, sunny weather and Thai food make Thailand as one of the best
countries to travel. 20% of Thailand GDP comes from its tourism industry.
Impact of Emerging Economies on Global Tourism
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 According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, it is expected that travel to
emerging countries will increase twice the rate as compared to travel to developed
economies.
 By 2030 more than 1 billion people will arrive in emerging economies.
 The emerging countries host most of the new travel destination.
 The travellers from emerging markets are expected to spend around $1.3billion on
transportation.
 There is an increase in numbers of global travellers from emerging economies e.g. In
2014 more than half overseas travellers to the US were from emerging economies.
 On average the travellers from emerging economies spend more on purchase from retail
stores. The high end retails are the greatest beneficiary of travellers from emerging
economies.
 Emerging markets investment has resulted in the growth of air travel.
 The emerging economies are receiving investment for airports development as these
countries host the top fastest growing airports in the world.
 Leading hotels brand have started to invest in emerging economies.
 Improvement in internet and communication technology in emerging economies has
also provided unique opportunities for investment in these countries. For example the
use of mobile apps for hotel booking, keyless checks-in etc.
In conclusion, the growth of travellers from emerging economies will continue to shape the
tourism industry. To grab this emerging opportunity companies must invest in emerging
economies. In coming years the travel industry will be highly influenced by emerging
economies.
Growth and characteristics of key emerging markets and destination regions
FACTORS INFLUENCING TRAVEL
People travel for various reasons such as business purpose, meeting family and friends. There
many factors which influence travel (PT, 2019).
1. Global economy
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Travel is seen as a luxury activity when people are earning less they generally try to save money
and are not interested in travelling. If the income is good they people have disposable income
which they use in fun activities like travelling. Therefore the economic situation is an important
factor which can influence travel.
2. Internet and Social Media
The internet and social media have made instant access to reviews about travel destinations,
hotels, airlines. Many people use social media to ask for travel opinions and discounts. Through
sites like Facebook, Google travellers can search for their travel destination and can get
important information about the travel destination.
3. Personal Budget
The personal budget of a person can influence travel decisions. Now travellers can use many
sites which provide deals on transportation and accommodation. The low personal budget may
force the person to opt for low-end hotels while travelling. So the personal budget plays an
important factor in influencing the travel.
4. Political Factor
The political situation of a country can influences the travel decision of travellers. The country
which is struggling politically will not be able to attract tourist in their country. The tourist also
has to think about their safety during travelling in a politically unstable country.
5. Technology
Technology such as the use of the mobile app for booking hotels, cabs, bus service, looking for
discounts can highly influence travel. The use of technology has made travelling more enjoyable
and fun activity. Technology-Savvy travellers are more comfortable in using technology during
their travel.
Destination Life Cycle
The destination life cycle is the study of various stages through which a travel destination goes
from its discovery to the declining state. Here to analyze the destination life cycle a comparison
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is made with an emerging travel destination. The destination taken here is the London Eye
(Kozak and Martin, 2012).
Fig: Destination Life Cycle
1. Exploration
The exploration step of the destination life cycles the traveller basically starts to explore the
destination, initially the place is visited by small numbers of travellers, restricted by access and
only known by a small number of local people (ET, 2019).
The London Eye was made to celebrate the millennium. The idea of new creating a new
landmark was proposed by David Marks and Julia Barfield in 1993.
2. Development
As the travel destination becomes known to more people, the development activities at the travel
destination are carried out, the facilities at the destination are improved and the destination starts
to receive more tourist.
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The London Eye was developed and opened for the people on March 9, 2000. The destination
was developed so that it can accommodate more visitors and all the safety-related issues were
resolved.
3. Stagnation
Stagnation is the stage when the travel destination is not able to accommodate more travellers.
The stagnation of a travel destination can be due to social and environmental limits.
The London eye has 32 capsules which can easily accommodate a large number of people. Pre-
booking is to be done to visit the destination.
4. Rejuvenation (towards A, B)
The increase in technology and infrastructure facilities at the destination, the destination can
accommodate more travellers.
5. Decline (towards C, D)
When travel destination becomes congested and always remains full of travellers, then a smaller
number of travellers travel to that destination. With more people and fewer resources it becomes
difficult to manage the destination.
6. Decline (towards E)
At this stage, the destination is devastated either by the natural or man-made disaster.
London eye has been developed by using the latest engineering techniques. The structure is
disaster resistant.
The roles of key organisations in the development of global tourism
There are several international organisations which give their contribution to the development of
the global tourism industry. These organisations contribute to and influence the smooth running
of the tourism industry. Promotion and development of the tourism industry are largely
depending upon these organisations.
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Some of the key international organisations are as follows:
UNWTO (united nation’s world tourism organisation)
It is the most recognized organisation with a specialized agency in UK and headquarters in
Madrid, Spain. WTO takes responsibility of defining policies, practices; promotion and
development of tourism industry in all over the world.it play a central role in sustainable and
universally accessible tourism (UNWTO, 2014). This organisation is giving a big contribution to
economic development and international understanding of the tourism business.
Roles of WTO
 It is responsible to conduct research on the tourism market
 It organizes seminar, conferences and other programs to highlight the planning,
marketing or infrastructure related issues of the various countries.
 It gathers, analyses and distributes the information on various aspects of tourism
 Responsible to prepare the draft for international agreements on tourism (UNWTO, 2014)
 Promoting the development, peace prosperity, and international understanding of tourism
IATA (the international air transport association)
It is an association of airlines and the world's first international scheduled services and it defines
regulations and policies for development growth of the airlines. Airlines are also a part of the
travel and tourism industry (Pearce, 2012). Formally it was known as international air traffic
association founded in Havana, Cuba.
Roles of IATA
 It allows airlines to operate safely, efficiently and economically under predefined rules.
 It is an intermediary between airlines and the passengers as well as cargo agents
 It helps in to keep cost down to simplify the travel and shipping process
UFTAA (united federation of travel agent association)
It is founded in Rome in the year of 1966 and formally known as universal federation of travel
agent association. It is a merger of two large world organisations IFTA and UOTAA. It gives its
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members all the necessary assistance, professional and technical advice to take an appropriate
place in the economy of the world (Ghimire, 2013).
Roles of UFTAA
 It combines and unites the federation of the travel agent's national association for
enhancing and promoting the interest of the members
 It has various educational committees to assist its members
 Acts as an investigation and information tool
PATA (Pacific Asia travel association)
It is a non-profit travel industry association with the headquarters in PATA Bangkok.it was
founded in 1951 it creates awareness of travel trade and attention towards travel opportunity in
the member countries of Asia. The vision of this organisation is to promote, develop, and
facilitate travel services within the Pacific areas and South East Asian region.
Roles of PATA
 Encourages tourism development
 It assists upcoming tourism organisations to develop their infrastructure
 It helps to member countries in the tourism marketing
 Organizes an annual travel mart
 It is a Central source of tourism information and guideline.
ASTA (American Society of travel agents)
It is the world’s largest professional travel trade association established in New York in 1931.
Formally it was known as American steamship and tourism agent’s association (ASTAA) the
main aim of the organisation is to promote and advancing the interest of travel industry as well
as customers and promotes ethical practice in the tourism sector.
Roles of ASTA
 Establishes sponsorship of conference on tourism-related matters
 Provide assistance to all travel agencies in travel-oriented matters
 It helps in to cooperate with state, government and agencies regarding tourism matters
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 Collaboration with airlines to construct travel destination and fair pricing
Other international organisations which work for tourism sector include the international civil
aviation organisation (ICAO) is an agency of united nations and concerned with the development
of the international civil aviation and the international governmental maritime consultative
organisation (IMCO) is an inter-governmental organisation concerned with sea transport
services.
Appraise threats, issues, and challenges to the future development of global
tourism
The global tourism sector is growing very fast and it has brought many changes in economic
structure. This industry is also facing some threats, issues and challenges and that threat has a
great impact on the global economy. The occurrence of these challenges and threats might create
a problem in the future development of global tourism.
Continue globalization of supply and demand
Globalization can create conflict with environmental efforts. Tourism industries want to attract
more consumers and at the same time connecting the objective with environmental awareness
and preservation. For some countries like Australia globalization, it is a serious problem and to
overcome this problem the organisation must be able to find out its foreign travellers and their
demand (Scott and Becken, 2010)
Political stability
Political stability is the main concern in the development of the tourism industry because when
politics are unstable people are less likely to spend money on luxury services. it has become a
major concern in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. These areas are open to terrorism
and Latin America still suffering from drug trafficking and crime.
Lack of trained personnel
With the rapid expansion of the tourism sector, there are many areas where there is a dearth of
skilled workforce. Tourism sector needs people with higher skills and qualification. This lack of
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