Tourist Resources Management

1.1 Introduction to the Tourism Resources Management

Key Words:

Tourism, tourists, tourist phenomenon, tourism Industry, smokeless industry

Learning Objectives:

O1. The definition of tourism

O2. The phenomenon of mass tourism

O3. The importance of tourism

O1. The definition of tourism

Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited". Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity.

Tourism is vital for many countries, due to the income generated by the consumption of goods and services by tourists, the taxes levied on businesses in the tourism industry, and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation services such as cruise ships and taxis, accommodation such as hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, and other hospitality industry services such as spas and resorts.

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited".

Tourism can be defined as the science, art, and business of attracting and transporting visitors, accommodating them, and graciously catering to their needs and wants. All progressive countries throughout the world are interested in tourism. Political and industrial leaders almost universally have recognized the economic advantages of tourism. However, what these countries have done to make tourism a viable, growing segment of their economy diverges widely – from virtually nothing to creating superbly organized, highly productive tourism plans.

O2. The phenomenon of mass tourism

Tourism, both as a phenomenon and as an industry has made rapid advances. Tourism phenomenon includes all activities related to tourism industry. It familiarizes us with, history, evolution, nature, growth global and international aspects of tourism. Skills required for tourism career, opportunities, awareness and varied aspects of tourism are also included in tourism phenomenon.

Different authors have taken different approaches when proposing definitions, but one thing that most seem to agree on is the difficulty they attach to defining tourism. Further difficulties exist in defining precise forms of tourism. Holloway (1994) describes as problematic establishing clear lines between shoppers and tourists, for example.

There is no universally agreed definition of the tourism industry. Indeed, there is no agreement that tourism can be described as an industry. Mill and Morrison (1998), for example, argue that it is hard to describe tourism as an industry given that there is a great deal of complementarity as well as competition between tourism businesses. They place definitions of tourism in context by highlighting the link between travel, tourism, recreation and leisure. However, they go on to describe this link as ‘fuzzy’ and to make

the distinction that all tourism involves travel yet all travel is not tourism. Nevertheless, tourism is often described merely as an activity:

Tourism is an activity. It is an activity that takes place when, in international terms, people cross borders for leisure or business and stay at least 24 hours but less than one year. (Mill and Morrison, 1998)