TRAVEL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 1

Background for Tourism Planning

Early Travel and Tourism

• Prehistoric Times– People traveled for essential reasons of:

• seeking food• escaping from enemies • obtaining relief from the pressures of over

population• achieving territorial expansion• Engaging in bartering type of trade• Or curiosity about unknown lands

• The Middle Ages– Religious pilgrimages

• The Renaissance to World War II– Trade– Educational – Experiential purpose– Grand Tour developed

Early Travel and Tourism

Grand Tour• The word tour gained acceptance in the 18th

century, when the Grand Tour of Europe became part of the upbringing of the educated and wealthy British nobleman or cultured gentleman.

• Grand tours were particular interesting for young people to "complete" their education.

• They travelled all over Europe, but notably to places of cultural and aesthetic interest, such as Rome, Tuscany and the Alps.

• The British aristocracy were keen on the Grand Tour, using the occasion to gather art treasures from Europe to add to their collections.

• Tourism in those days, aimed essentially at the very top of the social ladder( the rich people) and at the well educated.

• The Industrial Revolution– Modern tourism development– Spas and seaside resorts– Large city hotels– Automobile– Roads and railways– Lake and river boats– Air travel

Early Travel and Tourism

Mass Tourism• Mass travel could not really begin to develop

until two things occurred.a) improvements in technology allowed the transport

of large numbers of people in a short space of time

to places of leisure interest, and

b) greater numbers of people began to enjoy the

benefits of leisure time. A major development was

the invention of the railways, which brought many

of Britain's seaside towns within easy distance of

Britain's urban centres.

• The father of modern mass tourism was Thomas Cook who, on 5 July 1841, organized the first package tour in history, by chartering a train to take a group of temperance campaigners from Leicester to a rally in Loughborough, some twenty miles away.

• Cook immediately saw the potential for business development in the sector, and became the world's first tour operator.

BEFORE MASS TOURISM

AFTER MASS TOURISM

HOW Ship, horse, foot Train, plane, cruise ship

WHY Education, culture Sightseeing, sun/sea

WHEN Months or years Seasonal-weeks

WHO Aristocracy anyone

WHERE Europe (grand tour) Anywhere in the world

• Greater disposable income available for travel• Less working hours and a large number of

employees who receive paid holidays and annual vacations

• Higher education levels and greater awareness of other areas of the world

• Rapid and dispersed economic development • Major improvements in transportation including

in air travel services and highway networks

Recent Development of Tourism

Contemporary Tourism Trends

• Actively engage in recreational and sporting activities

• Learn about and participate in local culture

• Seek new destinations

• Develop special interests through traveling

• Meeting, conference and convention tourism

The Importance of Tourism

• To generate economic benefits of foreign exchange earning

• Income• Employment• Government revenues• To serve as a catalyst for development of other

economic sectors • Applying measures for environmental and cultural

heritage conservation• Provides recreational, cultural and commercial facilities

The Tourist

• Definition– Tourists- temporary visitor staying at least

24 hours in the country visited and the purposed of whose journey can be classified as:

a) Leisure (recreation, holiday, health, religion or sport)

b) Business

c) Family

d) Mission and

e) Meeting

• Excursionists- temporary visitors staying less than 24 hours in the destination visited and not making an overnight stay (including travelers on cruises)

"Tourists leave home to escape the world, while travelers

leave home to experience the world. Tourists ... are

merely doing the hokey-pokey: putting their right foot in

and taking their right foot out; calling themselves world

travelers but experiencing very little."

The Tourist