13.3 Global Interdependence: The development of international tourism

1. CAMBRIDGE A2
GEOGRAPHY REVISION
GLOBAL INTERDEPENDENCE
13.3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM

2. KEYTERMSANDDEFINITIONS
Tourism is travel away from the home environment a for leisure, recreation and
holidays, b to visit friends and relatives and c for business and professional
reasons.
International tourist arrivals are tourists travelling to a country, which is not
their place of residence, for more than one day but no longer than a year.
International tourism receipts is the money spent by visitors from abroad in a
destination country.
Package holiday (tour) is the most popular form of foreign holiday where travel,
accommodation and meals may all be included in the price and booked in
advance, usually through a travel agent. Optional extras such as car hire and
special visits may also be booked at the same time.
Travel motivators are the reasons that people travel.

4. KEYTERMSANDDEFINITIONS
External shock is an economic, political or other trend or event in a major
market that significantly reduces the demand for tourism at a particular
destination or a range of destinations.
Carrying capacity of a destination is the number of tourists a destination can
take without placing too much pressure on local resources and infrastructure.
Travel and tourism satellite accounting is a comprehensive system of
accounting that includes not only direct expenditure and receipts but also all
the indirect knock-on effects.
Economic leakages are the part of the money a tourist pays for a foreign
holiday that does not benefit the destination country because it goes
elsewhere. Leakages include payments to foreign owners of hotels and
payment for goods and services imported for the tourist industry.

7. KEYTERMSANDDEFINITIONS
The multiplier effect is a new or expanding economic activity in a region that
creates new employment and increases the amount of money circulating in the
region. In turn, this attracts further economic development, creating more
employment, services and wealth.
Niche tourism is tourism that deals in a specialised product.
Destination footprint is the environmental impact caused by an individual tourist
on holiday in a particular destination.
Sustainable tourism is tourism organised in such a way that its level can be
sustained in the future without creating irreparable environmental, social and
economic damage to the receiving area.
Ecotourism is a specialised form of tourism where people experience relatively
untouched natural environments such as coral reefs, tropical forests and remote
mountain areas, and ensure that their presence does no damage to environments.

8. TOPICSUMMARY
Over the past 50 years tourism has developed into a major global industry,
which is still expanding rapidly.
A range of factors has been responsible for the growth of global tourism. These
can be subdivided into economic, social and political.
By far the greatest developments have occurred since the end of the Second
World War, arising from the substantial growth in leisure time, affluence and
mobility enjoyed in developed countries.
Many developing countries have become more open to foreign direct
investment in tourism compared to two or three decades ago.

9. TOPICSUMMARY
Unfortunately, more than many other industries, tourism is vulnerable to
‘external shocks’.
Periods of economic recession characterised by high unemployment, modest
wage rises, and high interest rates, affect the demand for tourism in most parts
of the world.
Many communities in the developing world have suffered considerable adverse
cultural changes, some of them through the imposition of the worst of western
values.
The attitudes to tourism of host countries and destination communities in
particular can change over time.
Communities that were once very close socially and economically may be
weakened considerably due to a major outside influence such as tourism.

10. TOPICSUMMARY
Tourism undoubtedly brings valuable foreign currency to developing countries
and a range of other obvious benefits but critics argue that its value is often
overrated because of economic leakages.
Butler’s model of the evolution of tourist areas attempts to illustrate how
tourism develops and changes over time.
Tourism benefits other sectors of the economy, providing jobs and income
through the supply chain. This is called the multiplier effect because jobs and
money multiply as a result of tourism development.
Tourism that does not destroy what it sets out to explore has come to be known
as ‘sustainable’.

12. TOPICSUMMARY
Education about the environment visited is clearly the key.
The environmental impact of tourism is not always negative.
Landscaping and sensitive improvements to the built environment have
significantly improved the overall quality of some areas.
In the past 20 years more specialised types of tourism have become increasingly
popular. An important factor seems to be a general re-assessment of the work–
life balance.
Virtually every aspect of the industry now recognises that tourism must become
more sustainable. Ecotourism is at the leading edge of sustainable tourism.

13. ADDITIONALWORKS
• Are there any countries that you would not visit as a matter of principle?
Give reasons for your answer.
• Research the expected benefits to London of the 2012 Olympic Games.
• For the country in which you live find out which are the most popular
tourism locations and explain the reasons for their popularity.
• Suggest how you could minimise the economic leakage of a foreign
holiday by careful planning.

14. SUGGESTEDWEBSITES
www.wttc.travel – World Travel and Tourism Council
www.world-tourism.org – The World Tourism Authority
www.wto.org – World Tourism Organisation
www.gct.org – Galapagos Conservation Trust
www.whc.unesco.org
www.tourismconcern.org.uk