The Nature and Scale of the Travel and Tourism Industry

Question 1

What are the definitions for Travel and Tourism?

Answer 1

I) The activities of a person travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment (WTO)

II) The temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work (UK Tourism Society)

Question 2

What are the main types of tourism?

Answer 2

Domestic- residence travelling within the country
Inbound- travelers arriving in a different country from their own
Outbound- travelers leaving their own country to go abroad

Question 3

What are the main purposes of tourism?

Answer 3

I) Visiting friends and relatives (VFR)- such as visiting grandparents for a day or staying over at a friend’s for a week, they spend money on food, entertainment and local transport
II) Leisure- most common type of tourism and leisure travelers are usually concerned about price- they usually go for destinations they consider are better value for money
III) Business- MICE, this will usually need convenience of frequent and regular transport, efficient service and good facilities

Question 4

Give some examples of each purpose of tourism

Answer 4

I) VFR- annual holidays, Christmas, Chinese New Year
II) Leisure- arts, adventure, entertainment, sports-related visits
III) Business- trade fairs, meeting conferences, incentive travel, corporate development

Question 5

What are the unique characteristics of the travel and tourism industry?

Answer 5

I) Seasonality- tourism demand regularly fluctuates over the course of a year
II) Intangibility- the product cannot be touched or felt
III) Perishability- cannot be stored up for sale or for future uses

Question 6

What are the effects caused by seasonality?

Answer 6

I) Number of tourists is only concentrated during peak seasons (e.g: June - Sept)
II) May experience difference in room bookings at weekends compared with weekdays

Question 7

How can we reduce the effects of seasonality?

Answer 7

Move the demand to the ‘trough’ months by: -
I) Providing all-year round facilities
II) Targeting those who have more leisure time (e.g: ‘gray market’)
III) Create special events (e.g: Valentine’s)
IV) Provide discounts on holiday packages, accommodation and attractions

Question 8

What are the effects caused by intangibility?

Answer 8

I) Holidays cannot be inspected before buying (e.g: package holiday)
II) Challenging as the product bought needs to meet the expectations of the customers’ dream

Question 9

How can we reduce the effects of intangibility?

Answer 9

Intricately plan the holiday and make sure that it will reach customers’ expectations

Question 10

What are the effects of perishability?

Answer 10

The products are only available for a period of time before it ‘expires’. (e.g: an airline seat unsold or a hotel room that has not been booked)

Question 11

How can we reduce the effects of perishability?

Answer 11

Smoothing out the demand by: -
I) Offering discounted prices to customers who turn up without booking in advance
II) Offering off-peak season prices to attract customers (e.g: theme parks offering off-peak prices)