13.3 The development of international tourism Flashcards
define tourism
travel away from home for at least one night for the purpose of leisure
define a tourist
a person who travels to and stays in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes
growth of tourism
- world’s most important and fastest growing industry
- international tourists arrivals grew from 940 million in 2010, to 1138 million in 2014
- international tourist income grew from US$919 billion in 2010 to US$1.4 trillion in 2013
- 2000-2015 grown at a rate between 4 to 5 percent per year
- tourisms contribution to worldwide GDP 10%
- makes up 8 to 9 per cent of employment
reasons for rapid growth in international tourism
- rise in income - more disposable money to spend on leisure activities
- increased leisure time caused by shorter working week, flexitime, paid annual holidays, earlier retirement with pension
- increased mobility: private car ownership, improved roads, decreased cost of air travel and expansion of budget airlines (ryanair)
- number of flights increased from 27.8 in 2010 to 38.9 million in 2019
- number of airline passengers increased from 307 million in 1970 to 2.8 billion in 2011
- increased promotion through media coverage by TV, internet on different destinations/types of holiday
- gov used major sporting events e.g Olympics to advertise tourist opportunities
- increased international migration: more people visiting relatives/friends abroad
- greater political freedom to travel since break up of USSR and changing Chinese travel policies
Economic impacts of tourism on local and national economies
Advantages:
- both national/local level provide extra finance for new developments in infrastructure etc
- national level:
- increase in tax revenue for gov as more workers
- increase in foreign currency help to pay for goods/services imported
local level:
- increased employment in jobs directly/indirectly
- reduction in rural to urban migration, due to employment in local places - cafes etc
Disadvantages:
- seasonal unemployment (beach holidays/ski resorts) also extreme weather discourage tourists
- leakages: TNCs mean 60-75% of tourist income leaves/never comes to LIC
- all-inclusive hotels, means some tourists may not spend in local economy
- many jobs in LICs low paid and low skilled, higher skilled/paid taken by foreigners
- over dependent on tourism: e.g COVID-19 had severe impact on places such as Jamaica
social/cultural impacts of tourism
Advantages:
- increased understanding of culture
- increased cultural links with other countries
- increased foreign language skills both visitors/locals
- increased social/recreational facilities for locals
- preservation of traditional heritage sites
Disadvantages:
- demonstration effect: local people copy actions of some tourists in terms of dress, diet, habits and possibly drugs/alcohol, traditional values may be abandoned
- young people may drop out of school to work in informal tourist industry (earn money as unofficial guides/souvenir selling)
- people leave family farms to work in tourism industry, struggle for farms to operate
- displacement of people for tourist development
- local landowners sell large areas of land to foreign buyers who restrict/deny access to locals
- water shortages - hotels/golf courses use large amounts - up to 500 litres per tourist per day: local farms may not have enough
- increase in prostitution and development of sex tourism
Environmental impacts of tourism
Advantages:
- protection/conservation of wildlife (Blue John crow national park)
- use of revenue for management
- environmental education
- conservation of heritage
- land reclamation
Disadvantages:
- water shortage
- pollution from transport
- industrialisation of land
- destruction of habitats
Life cycle of tourism (Butler model)
1980:
1. Initial exploration stage:
- small number of tourists find/attracted by new location
- minimal impact on local community
- no services/facilities specifically for tourists
- Involvement stage:
- local people involved in providing limited facilities for tourists e.g simple accom, eating place, taxis
- tourist season may then emerge - Development stage:
- inward investment into area and tourism becomes a discrete, important business activity
- companies/individuals start to take control, manage, organise industry creating package holidays
- loss of local involvement - Consolidation stage:
- former agricultural land take over for hotel/developments
- beaches may be reserved for tourist use only
- local resentment may increase/growth rate decelerate - Stagnation stage:
- further resentment at development/problems its creating
- drop in tourist number - Decline:
- may follow
- location becomes rundown, damaged or no longer fashionable - Rejuvenation:
- may occur if place rebranded or circumstances change to make place popular again
- usually involves investment
How useful is butler model?
Useful:
- many destinations placed into its cycle/loose time frame
- used as predictive tool of consequences of under-managed/unrestricted growth
- applying best to mass tourism
- destinations like Costa del Sol
Limitations:
- smooth shape given reality of short-term fluctuations such as impact of attacks in bali or tsunami of 2004 or COVID
- also applies less well to some forms of tourism, e.g ecotourism where tourist number are restricted/carefully managed
- some destinations do not fit:
Antarctica:
- never moved past involvement stage
- Niagara Falls:
- so dependent on tourism will never allow it to fade away
Butler model applied to Costa del Sol, Spain
Fits:
1. Exploration:
- 1950s
- only really used for fishing/farming
- very little guest accom, environment unspoiled
- Involvement:
- still little tourism
- landscape still good condition, but more amenities for guests
- gov encouraged growth of tourism within spain, new hotels/swimming pools built in costa del sol - Development:
- large hotels built from concrete, many new accom blocks built for tourists
- lota of jobs created in tourism/construction, more locally-inclined jobs like fishing started to decline
- amenities started to build on farmland and roads improved - Consolidation:
- more hotels built
- up to 70% employed in tourism due to multiplier - Stagnation:
- more resources used for tourists, original attractive features start to deteriorate - litter in sea - Decline/rejuvenation:
- world recession in early 1990s - limited money for tourism
- meant prices in costa del sol too high
- cheaper locations elsewhere
- older hotels start to run down/low quality
- gov trying to encourage continuation of tourism: VAT reduced to 6% in luxury hotels to try maintain cheap holiday
- stricter controls to improve environments - cleaner beaches/reduced sea pollution
Blackpool applied to butler model
- Exploration:
- sea bathing to cure diseases becoming fashionable among wealthy - trek to blackpool - Involvement:
- central pier opened 1868
- 1970s workers given annual holidays
- tower opened 1894 - Development:
- pleasure beach 1905
- 1846 railway built: cheaper so working class come - Consolidation:
- interwar years: leading coastal resort in europe helped by new law giving workers holiday with pay - Stagnation:
- after second world war, 1960 onwards stagnate/decline due to package holidays, cheap air transport and better climate elsewhere - Decline:
- run down areas and mainly popular with hen parties - rejuvenation:
- £3000 million project launched in 2000
carrying capacity
maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors’ satisfaction
External factors influencing carrying capacity
- Tourist characteristics:
- mass tourism cause capacity exceeded much faster than explorer/adventurer types - Type of tourist activity:
- determine nature of tourists
- provision of casinos can offend locals lifestyles so social capacity may be reached because of fears of gambling etc - Opinion of tourists:
- Planning, management and technology:
- quality impact effectiveness of keeping within carrying capacity
Internal factors affecting carrying capacity
- Social structure:
- e.g tribal longhouse much lower CC than multi-cultural urban area - Culture:
- unique culture lower CC, vulnerable to commercialisation - Environment:
- natural far less resilient than built (coral reefs) - Economic structure:
- more developed, less vulnerable to mass tourism
- over-rapid expansion in LIC leads to leakages - Resources/Infrastructure:
- e.g water supplies
4 types of carrying capacity
Physical:
- max number that can fit onsite (e.g hotel beds)
(developments)
Economic:
- increased revenue overtake by inflation caused by tourism
(have local prices)
Social:
- reduced local tolerance and increased crime
(crime control/education)
Biophysical: (environmental)
- damage exceeds habitats ability to regenerate
(use different paths/routes)
