Gateway 2 of Global Tourism

Question 1

Elaborate on niche tourism and an example of it

Answer 1

Niche tourism is a tourism based on a particular interest or activity. Ecotourism is a form of niche tourism. It involves responsible travelling which minimises the impact on the environment and enables the tourist to have a deeper appreciation for biodiversity and the natural beauty of the Earth. The conservation of natural environments allows future generations to appreciate them.
e.g. Waitomo Caves in New Zealand, tours to the caves are run by both indigenous people and the New Zealand government. Strict regulations are imposed to ensure only a small amount of visitors enter the cave each time to reduce human impact on the natural environment. Tourism to these caves benefit the Maori people as they are provided with jobs as the cave staff and thus have a source of income. They also receive a portion of the entrance fees.

Question 2

Name the reasons for the growth of global tourism.

Answer 2

1. Development in technology
   ~Better and more affordable transport
   -greater improvements in safety, reduced travelling time and reduced travelling costs
   -budget airlines, cheaper due to smaller and more fuel-efficient aircraft, brings one to places not covered by major commercial airlines, usually fly to short-haul destinations
   e.g. Malaysia’s domestic airline, Firefly, travels to short-haul destinations such as Ipoh.

~Ease of access to information

• advancements in technology has made information more readily available, promoting global tourism
• now, purchase of air tickets can happen online without having to go through a travel agent, one can search up on details of travel destinations, read reviews from others on the travel destinations
  e. g. Trivago.com for booking hotels and Zuji.com for booking air tickets.

2. Demand factors
   ~disposable income
   -with increased economic growth, the amount of disposable income has increased globally. Thus people have more money to spend on travelling for leisure.
   e.g. India and China now have more people who are in middle income or high income groups.

~Leisure time

• People now have shorter working weeks, more paid annual leave and longer holidays. The increased leisure time gives them more time to travel.
  e. g. In Australia, most employees have the choice to exchange paid overtime work for leave. This allows them to have longer weekends for travelling.

~Changing lifestyle

• Pace of life has increased, travelling is a form of relaxation and break from work
• advancements in medical technology has led to people becoming more health conscious, thus they live longer. Retirees are more fit to travel. Hence, travelling has become a way for retirees to live the rest of their healthy lives productively.
  e. g. a group of retirees known as grey nomads in Australia spend most of their time travelling in mobile homes and exploring the remote parts of the country.

3. Destination factors
   ~attractions
   -with many unqiue attractions, tourists would be interested to visit such places. Government has to continuously invest in new attractions or intensely promote their existing attractions to attract tourists.
   e.g. Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River on the boundary of Zimbabwe and Zambia in Africa attracts 300 000 visitors annually. The sight of the rising mist and roar of the falling water is a sight to behold.

~investment in infrastructure and services
-with investments in infrastructure such as expansion and development of airports as well as services such as hotels, this would help in supporting the large number of tourists that visit the country, making it a pleasant trip for them.

e.g. the Changi Airport Budget Terminal was closed down to make way for a new Terminal 4 which would increase the airport’s total capacity to 85 million passengers per year.

~access to information
-when information is readily available within and outside a destination, tourists are more likely to visit it. Furthermore, if the information is in a language they can understand, tourists would feel more safe and comfortable. Presence of officers who can speak their language assures them that there are people they can communicate with for help. Local tour guides should be be knowledgeable of the country and answer any queries from the tourists to enhance the tourists’ experience.

Question 3

Why is tourism subjected to fluctuations?

Answer 3

1. Political situations
   - when there are political situations where there is political conflicts, this may lead to war. Tourists may want to avoid such countries for their own safety. Furthermore, many tourist facilities such as hotels may be disrupted. Destruction of infrastructure may also occur, discouraging the tourists from visiting such a place. Government authorities may also issue travel advisories to discourage their citizens from travelling to these countries.
   e. g. In 2011, many countries banned their citizens from travelling to Libya due to a civil war in the country. This situation of political unrest also caused many commercial airlines to stop or reduce their flights to the country. This resulted in very few or zero tourist arrivals in some months of the year.
2. Diseases
   - When outbreaks of diseases occur in a country, tourists numbers would decrease. People would be afraid of catching a contagious disease and thus avoid visiting the affected country. The government agencies may also advise travelers to avoid travelling to such countries.
   e. g. when there was the outbreak of SARS in 2003, it affected many countries, causing many major MICE events to be cancelled. Singapore, one of the affected countries, saw a drop in tourist arrivals by 70% in 2003 April.
3. Recessions
   - Recessions occur when there is a period of general slowdown in the economic activities of a country. This may lead to the loss of income and jobs. With less disposable income, less people would be inclined to travel in order to reduce their spending, leading to a decrease in the international tourists.
   e. g. 2008 Global Financial Crisis, occurred when some of the world’s largest financial firms went bankrupt after losing large amounts of money when the housing market in the US crashed. The crash of the housing market caused panic in many financial institutes worldwide. It affected many countries, causing their economies to shrink. The number of international tourists in France had fallen by nearly ⅓ in 2009. This shows the impact of recessions on global tourism.
4. Disasters
   - result in the destruction of properties and infrastructure as well as the loss of lives. Tourists may fear for their safety and thus avoid visiting such places. Essential tourists infrastructure such as hotels may also be disrupted. Citizens of affected countries may be less inclined to travel with more disposal income being spent on rebuilding of infrastructure, affecting tourist revenue in other countries.
   e. g. 2011 earthquake in Tohoku, Japan triggered a tsunami, resulting in a nuclear meltdown. This resulted in a decrease in the global tourists arrivals to the country by 28%. South Korea experienced a decrease in Japanese tourists by more than 10%.