An Introduction to the Geography of Tourism Read online

  On the other hand, we can focus on the issues associated with specific topics in geography. For example, figure 1.1 provides a graphic illustration of the discipline of geography. This diagram demonstrates a hierarchy of just some of the topics studied in geography. Geography as a whole is broken down into two principal subdivisions. Human geography is the subdivision that studies the patterns of human occupation of the earth, while physical geography is the subdivision that studies the earth’s physical systems. These subdivisions are further broken down into the topical branches of geography. The subjects addressed by each of these topical branches, including everything from climate to culture, may be examined through the key concepts in geography.

  Figure 1.1. This graphic representation of geography illustrates the topical approach in which the discipline is broken down based on various topics in human and physical geography. Topical geography allows us to understand a particular aspect of the world.

  Thus, regional geography studies the varied geographic characteristics of a region, while topical geography studies a particular geographic topic in various place or regional contexts. Both provide a means of helping us work toward the goal of understanding the world. That an understanding of the world is important should need no explanation. Yet, the widely publicized abysmal results of American eighteen-to-twenty-four-year-olds on the National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy in both 2002 and 2006 indicate that a knowledge of the geographic context of the world is sorely lacking.3 This context is fundamental if we are to understand the varied and complex relationships between people and place in the ways that matter most. These may be the factors that affect our day-to-day lives or that shape the big topics of the world today, whether we are considering food security, international trade relations, the spread of AIDS, patterns of migration, global environmental change, or the massive human phenomenon we know as tourism.

  What Is Tourism?

  The classic United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) definition (now also recognized by the United Nations Statistical Commission) considers tourism to be “the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside of their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes.”4 This is a broad definition that includes movement from one place to another, accommodation at the place of destination, and any activities undertaken in the process. Moreover, it accounts for different purposes. Leisure activities are most commonly associated with tourism, but this definition allows for business to be the primary motivation for travel, as well as “other purposes,” which may include health, education, or visiting family and friends. While any of these may be the explicit reason for travel, there are also secondary reasons for both travel and any tourism activities undertaken at the destination.

  While providing an encompassing description, this definition has limitations. It indicates that only movement that takes people away from their home environment for at least a day—and lasting a variable amount of time up to one year—would be considered tourism. As such, local and day trip activities would be classified as part of normal recreation activities undertaken in our leisure time, or the free time that we have left over after we have done what is necessary—from work to household chores to sleep—and during which we can do what we choose. Nevertheless, these people are often participating in the same activities that would be considered “tourism” for someone coming from farther away. Depending on one’s starting location, day trips can even take place over international borders.

  In addition, this definition focuses more on tourists and their activities—essentially the demand side of tourism. The concept of supply and demand has, of course, been borrowed from the field of economics. Adapted for the purpose of tourism, demand is defined as “the total number of persons who travel, or wish to travel, to use tourist facilities and services at places away from their places of work and residence.”5 When we think about experiences of tourism, we are thinking about the demand side of tourism. This is a fundamental component of tourism; essentially tourism would not exist without tourists and the demand for tourism experiences. Supply is defined as “the aggregate of all businesses that directly provide goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure, and leisure activities away from the home environment.”6 When we think about tourism as an industry, we are thinking about the supply side of tourism. Just as demand is a fundamental component of tourism, so is supply. Tourism necessarily involves the production of services and experiences. Although we are generally familiar with this side of tourism from participating in tourism in one form or another, few of us ever consider tourism beyond our own interests and experiences. In fact, the very nature of tourism often means that we don’t want to have to think about all of the things that comprise the supply side of tourism and make our experiences possible.

  Depending on our perspective, we may focus more on tourism demand than tourism supply, or vice versa. However, both are fundamental components of tourism contingent upon and shaped by each other, and therefore both must be considered if we are to understand the whole of tourism.

  How Is Tourism Geographic?

  Tourism is inherently geographic. As we put together the components of tourism, we can begin to conceptualize tourism as a geographic activity. Tourism is fundamentally based on the temporary movements of people across space and interactions with place. Thus, basic concepts in geography can contribute to our understanding of tourism.

  Like place, discussed earlier, space is an essential geographic concept. Space may be defined as locations on the earth’s surface, and the related concept of spatial distribution refers to the organization of various phenomena on the earth’s surface. To break this down further, location is one of the geographic themes. Location can refer to one of two things. Absolute location is the exact position of a place based on some type of structure or grid, such as longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. For our purposes, however, relative location is more important. Relative location is the position of a place in relation to other places and how they are connected. This is related to movement, another geographic theme. Movement is, of course, a fairly self-explanatory concept that allows geographers to explore the ways in which places are connected. Thus, tourism involves clear spatial patterns, including not only where people are coming from and where they are going, but also how they are getting there.

  A destination that has a good location relative to large tourist markets has a distinct advantage over one that is much farther away. However, accessibility can help equalize this factor. Accessibility is the relative ease with which one location may be reached from another. For example, a direct flight or a high-speed train increases the accessibility of a place. Yet, it is often the case that remote locations are harder to get to and from because of fewer transportation connections, longer travel times, and frequently higher transportation costs. As such, remote places are less likely to develop into large destinations in terms of the quantity of tourists received. Of course, that doesn’t mean these locations cannot develop tourism, just that they are likely to develop in a different way than one that is more accessible. Such destinations may receive smaller numbers of tourists who stay at the destination for longer periods of time and spend more money.

  Think, for example, of the difference between the Bahamas and the Seychelles. Both are small tropical island destinations with attractive beach resources, among others. Just off the coast of Florida, the Bahamas are strategically located relative to the large North American tourist market and well connected via transportation networks. As such, they have a well-developed tourism industry. With 1.6 million stay-over tourists and 3.4 million cruise ship passengers, the majority of whom are coming from the United States and Canada, the islands receive over US$2 billion in tourist spending annually. Yet, these tourists are spending, on average, less than five nights at the destination. In contrast the Seychelles, located nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of eastern Africa in the Indian
Ocean, is far from the principal tourist markets in North America, Europe, and even East Asia. Despite significant tourism resources, these islands receive only 129,000 stay-over tourists, 6,000 cruise passengers, and US$192 million in tourist spending annually. These tourists average at least seven nights.7

  Place refers to parts of the earth’s surface that have meaning based on the physical and human features of that location. Destinations are the places of tourism. The ideas and meanings attached to these places create a demand for experiences in these places. For example, we could reduce Paris to an absolute location at 48º50’N latitude and 2º20’E longitude, but it is, of course, far more than that. As a place, it is associated with the physical characteristics (e.g., the Seine, the many architectural sites) and the human characteristics of a well-known tourism destination (e.g., culture, history, an atmosphere for romance).

  Tourism occurs at different geographic scales. Scale generally refers to the size of the area studied. Increasingly, we think of tourism in global terms. The tourism industry has become increasingly globalized with things like global airline alliances and multinational hotel chains. As a result, tourism activities have also become more global. In 2010, international tourist arrivals numbered 935 million,8 a number that has been steadily increasing (with some temporary fluctuations) for more than half a century. Yet, this movement of people across space creates connections between places, and tourism involves distinctly local, place-based activities. These activities depend on the unique physical and/or human characteristics of that place. In fact, tourism is often used to highlight and promote unique local resources.

  There has been much debate about the effect on local places of globalization and the increasing interconnectedness of the world. One argument maintains that places are becoming more similar with the forces of globalization, such as the diffusion of popular culture through media and the standardization of products from large multinational corporations. Yet, another argument suggests that, in light of globalization, it is more important than ever to create or reinforce a sense of distinctiveness at the local or regional scale. Tourism has been recognized as an extraordinarily important component in creating and/or promoting a sense of distinctiveness to raise awareness about that place or enhance its reputation.

  Finally, tourism provides unique opportunities for interactions between tourists and the peoples and environments of the places they visit. Tourism may be considered one of the most significant ways in which people know places that are not their own. It creates connections between geographically distinct groups of people, people who otherwise might have little knowledge of or contact with one another. It also offers people the potential to explore new environments that are different from the ones with which they are familiar. At the same time, these interactions between tourists and places have specific effects for both the peoples and environments of those places. Therefore, tourism can actively play a role in shaping the world in which we live.

  For example, the densely populated—not to mention well-connected—urban areas of the Northern Hemisphere, such as the North American megalopolis (i.e., the large urbanized area along the Northeast coast stretching from Boston to Washington, D.C.), constitute a significant tourist market. Although there are always exceptions, cold-climate city dwellers have an interest in environments vastly different from their own, such as the tropical rain forest climate and biome in places like Hawaii, Costa Rica, or Thailand. Recognizing the attractiveness of such destinations, countries possessing these environments have a clear incentive to protect these forests as parks and preserves instead of developing them in more environmentally destructive ways. Yet, as more and more tourists come to visit the park, the overcrowding overwhelms the infrastructure, paths are degraded, natural features are vandalized, waste builds up, and so on.

  Box 1.1. Case Study: Geotourism as a Strategy for Tourism Development in Honduras

  The incredible growth of the global tourism industry has been accompanied by the development of increasingly specialized tourism products to meet demands for ever more specific tourism experiences. Geotourism is one such product based on the intersection of geography and tourism. As defined by the National Geographic Society (NGS), geotourism is “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”1 As such, geotourism should highlight and enhance the human and physical characteristics of a place that make it unique. Likewise, it should be economically profitable, to contribute to the conservation of those characteristics.

  In 2004, the government of Honduras announced that it would become the first nation in the world to sign the National Geographic Geotourism Charter and make geotourism its official tourism strategy. Honduras is a Central American nation that has struggled with crime and corruption, chronic unemployment, endemic poverty, high rates of emigration, and devastating natural hazards. Consequently, it has remained one of the least developed countries in the region. Based on the successful examples of other countries in the region such as Costa Rica and Belize, Honduras sought to develop tourism to create jobs, increase foreign exchange, diversify its economy, and alleviate poverty. Yet, Honduras had been unable to pinpoint a strategy to effectively and appropriately develop its tourism potential, until the discovery of geotourism.

  Honduran Minister of Tourism Thierry de Pierrefeu stated that the country was “ideal” for the implementation of the then newly developed geotourism concept. Honduras has a diverse set of resources for tourism, including white sand beaches and coral reefs, mountain topography, tropical rain forest vegetation, national parks and biosphere reserves, pre-Columbian architectural ruins, Spanish colonial history, and indigenous cultures, among others. Moreover, like other countries with similar circumstances, Honduras would like to maintain these resources, raise awareness about the authenticity of such place-based characteristics among international audiences, and strengthen national identity and pride among its own citizens.

  Despite the National Geographic framework, geotourism development in Honduras has been slow. One of the first steps in developing and implementing this strategy included creating a geotourism map guide to the country’s primary tourist region along the Caribbean coast to highlight and protect key tourism resources. At the same time, NGS and the Honduras Institute of Tourism looked to establish a center to attract tourists who would be interested in the experience Honduras has to offer and support the tenets of geotourism. Yet, problems with political instability and social unrest continue to be key barriers to the development of tourism. In particular, many countries imposed travel alerts for Honduras after a governmental coup took place in 2009. Although these alerts have since been lifted, perceptions of insecurity can linger for years.

  Honduras was only the first destination to take the initiative in developing geotourism. Since 2004, other destinations such as Guatemala, Norway, Romania, and the U.S. states of Arizona and Rhode Island have signed on to become geotourism destinations and emphasize the character of place.

  Discussion topic: If geotourism is intended to highlight the unique geographic character of a place, do you think all tourism might be considered geotourism? Why or why not?

  Tourism on the web: Honduras Institute of Tourism, “Honduras: The Central America you know—the country you’ll love,” at http://www.letsgohonduras.com

  Note

  1. National Geographic Society, “The Geotourism Charter,” accessed February 1, 2011, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/pdf/geotourism_charter_template.pdf, 1.

  Source

  Burnford, Angela. “Honduras, National Geographic Announce ‘Geotourism’ Partnership.” National Geographic News, October 24, 2004. Accessed February 1, 2011. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1025_041025_travelwatch.html.

  What Is the Place of “the Geography of Tourism” in Geography?

  As we recognize that travel has long been a part of geography and that
tourism is an inherently geographic activity, “the geography of tourism” should seem less and less improbable. In recent years, the field has seen considerable growth. Major academic geographic associations now have special groups or commissions devoted to the topic, including the Recreation, Tourism and Sport specialty group of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Geography of Leisure and Tourism research group of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), and the Commission on the Geography of Tourism, Leisure, and Global Change of the International Geographical Union (IGU). Research on topics in the field is published in journals across both geography and tourism studies, including the dedicated journal Tourism Geographies. Yet, the place of the geography of tourism within the field of geography is still not widely understood and could use some further discussion. In particular, if we return to our introduction of geography, we see that we can approach the subject regionally or topically.

  Tourism and Regional Geography

  The concept of regions has long been considered an effective means of organizing and communicating spatial information, especially to nongeographers. As such, regions are applied in the context of tourism in a number of ways, not the least of which is the study of tourism generally and the geography of tourism specifically. Many tourism geography textbooks use a regional approach to examine circumstances of tourism in different parts of the world.

  Taken a step farther, the concept of regions may be used to explain patterns or trends in tourism. For example, tourist-generating regions are source areas for tourists, or where the largest numbers of tourists are coming from. We can identify characteristics of these regions that stimulate demand for tourism, such as an unfavorable climate or a high level of economic development. Likewise, we can identify characteristics of regions that would facilitate demand, such as a good relative location and a high level of accessibility. Tourist-generating regions are important in helping us understand why certain people may be more likely to travel and where. Theoretically, this information may be used to create new opportunities for people to travel. Specifically, if we understand the barriers to travel for a particular region, we can begin to develop strategies to overcome these barriers. In practical terms, tourism marketers use this information. If a destination identifies its largest potential tourist market, then it will be able to develop a promotional campaign targeted at that audience.