TOPIC: TYPES OF TOURIST AND TOURIST PROFILES

GRADE: 10

TYPES OF TOURIST BY: Mr Samukelo Innocent Luyanda

Nkonyeni UJ B Ed 3rd year student

Learning objectives: in this topic the learners are going to learn about :

Definition of what a tourist and an excursionist is

15 Different types of tourist

How to draw tourist profiles

TOURIST DEFINED AND TYPES OF TOURISTS

What is a Tourist?• , Is a person who travels away from home for leisure business

. . 24 or other purposes for longer than a day e g hours but less . than a year An excursionist is a person who arrives at the

.destination and departs on the same day

Tourists are classified, according to their needs and their reasons for travelling, into four broad categories:

business and professional tourist leisure and holiday tourists tourists travelling to visit friends and relatives (VFR) Youth tourists, including backpackers and gap year travellers. The tourism industry tries to meet the needs of all types of

tourists by providing suitable facilities and services for each category.

1.1 Tourists travelling for business and professional reasons

 

• Business tourist: travel is related to business and the world of work. MESE which stands for meetings, exhibitions and special

events. These are all part of the business world. All major cities have conference centres that cater for the needs of business

tourists. An example of a business tourist would be a salesman who travels to another city to attend a trade show and promote

the products he sells.

 

• Education tourists: travel to attend a place of learning in another town, city, or country, in order to study for or improve a

qualification. They may also be people that attend workshops to learn new skills or improve existing ones. A clinic nurse who

travels to another province to attend a workshop about infectious diseases is an example of an educational tourist.

 

• Incentive tourists: are people who are rewarded in the form of a company paid holiday for their hard work, or for achieving

goals set by their company. This incentive to travel motivates employees to work harder, improves work relationships, and builds

team spirit. A salesman who receives a holiday package for achieving the most sales in the company is an example of an

incentive tourist.

 

• Health or medical tourist: travel because they want to visit a holiday spa, needs medical special treatment that is only

available away from home, undergo procedures that are cheaper in another country, or are recovering from an illness in a

healthier climate. Many tourist come from oversees countries to South Africa to have plastic surgery.

 

Tourist travelling for leisure and

holiday reasons

Adventure tourist: want an unusual and exciting experience. They want to

participate in activities that may be dangerous, such as rock climbing, river rafting,

skydiving, shark cave diving and bungee jumping.

Cultural tourist: want to experience different cultures, such as San rock art, or

cultural related festivals such as the National Art Festival in Grahams-town, or the

International Jazz Festival in Cape Town. They would also want to experience the World

Heritage Sites in the country.

Eco-tourists: travel to experience nature such as traveling to Bonita Gardens in

Bloemfontein South Africa

Leisure tourist: want to rest and relax and have a break from the usual routine

Examples of this type of tourism are a cruise on a cruise liner, a trip on a Blue train,

attending a special music special music performance or relaxing on the beach.

 

Tourist travelling for leisure and holiday reasons continue……..

Religious tourist: want to see and experience places of religious importance.

There are many religious destinations in the world such as the Hajj in Mecca,

Jerusalem in Israel, Varanasi in India, and the Vatican in Rome. During Easter the

largest Christian pilgrimage to Zion City, Moria, Limpopo, takes place. More than a

million pilgrims travel to Moria to every Easter.

Shopping tourist: travel to shopping malls, shopping centres, factory shops,

crafts market, festivals, and touring shopping routes such as the Midlands in

KwaZulu-Natal. Their main purpose is to buy items.

Special interest tourist (STI): have particular interest such as bird watching,

food and wine, flowers, fishing during the Sardine Run, or attending the Cape Town

Book Fair.

Sport and recreation tourist: participate in or watch sporting events. Popular

events include the Soccer World Cup, Winblendon Tennis Championship, Comrades

Marathon, and Fisher River Canoe Marathon. Surfing, mountain climbing, cricket,

swimming, golf and tennis are popular sports.

1.3 Tourist travelling to visit friends and relatives (VFR)

Tourist visiting friends and relatives (VFR) want to stay in contact with friends and relatives and travel away from home to visit them. These tourist may travel to attend a wedding, funeral, or birthday celebration of friends or relatives.

1.4 Youth travel: backpackers and gap year travellers 

Backpacking or youth tourist: generally have little luggage, are on a budget, want to experience adventure and excitement, tend to travel independently, enjoy meeting other traveller, and have flexible travel schedules. A group of young tourists on a weekend walking tour in the mountains, or a student touring around the country by bus are examples of this group of tourist.

  Gap year travellers: do not study further or enter job

opportunity after school, instead they take break called a gap year. They travel, work and earn money, learn new skills or do volunteer work in another country. During this time they gain skills and life experience before starting tertiary education. These young people are also known as “gappers”.

2 Drawing up a tourist profile

To make sure that the needs of all types of

tourist are met it is important for travel agents

to draw up tourist profile. This is a summary

of facts about what tourists want and expect

form the travel experience.

A basic tourist profile contains the following information about

the tourist: name nationality age contact details such as address and telephone number occupation need and preferences, for, example, adventure, sport, one

education specific requirement such as accommodation, transport, or

food and the length of the trip, and arrival and departure date.  Travel agents prepare tourist profiles of their clients and use

the information when arranging trips for them. This will ensure that the specific needs of the tourist are met.

Learners Activity: Types of tourists

1 Explain the following acronyms used in tourism

SIT MESE VFR

2 Match the type of tourist with tourism experience:

Tourist interest Tourism experience

(1) Loves wildlife (A) A wetland sanctuary

(2) Enjoys nature (B) Run the Comrades

(3) Keen on sports (c) Shark cage diving

(4) Keen on adventure (D) The White Lions of Timbavati

Learner activity cont….

3 Describe each of the following by giving an example:

Cultural tourist Eco-tourist Incentive tourist Gap year traveller

4 Using the illustration and the information below draw up a tourist profile for John. You may need to make up some

details to complete the profile:

John Brown, from Sydney, is visiting South Africa for ten days to celebrate his 24th birthday. He wants to experience as many adventure attractions as he can before he returns home on

Christmas day. He is a sports science consultant, does not eat meat, and wants to taste some South African food. He wants to take photographs of wildlife and the new friends in the hostels

in which he will stay. His back contains all his clothes and sleeping bag. He does not have enough money for fancy

restaurant or expensive gifts. He forgot his international driver’s license at home.

John Brown, from Sydney, is visiting South Africa for ten days to celebrate his 24th birthday. He wants to experience as many adventure attractions as he can before he returns home on

Christmas day. He is a sports science consultant, does not eat meat, and wants to taste some South African food. He wants to take photographs of wildlife and the new friends in the hostels

in which he will stay. His back contains all his clothes and sleeping bag. He does not have enough money for fancy

restaurant or expensive gifts. He forgot his international driver’s license at home.

Memorandum or Answers for Activity

1. SIT: Special Interest

Tourist MESE: meetings,

exhibitions and special events

VFR: Visiting Friends and Relatives

2 D A B C

3 A) Cultural Tourist: want to experience different

cultures, such as San rock art, or cultural related festivals such as the National Art Festival in Graham-stown, or the International Jazz Festival in Cape Town. They would also want to experience the World Heritage Sites in the country.

B) Eco-tourist: want to travel to experience the natural environment and experience different cultures. The sustainable of resources is important to these tourists. An example of this type of this tourism would be visiting the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

C) Incentive tourists: are people who are rewarded in the form of a company paid holiday for their hard work, or for achieving goals set by their company. This incentive to travel motivates employees to work harder, improves work relationships, and builds team spirit. A salesman who receives a holiday package for achieving the most sales in the company is an example of an incentive tourist.

D) Gap year travellers: do not study further or enter job opportunity after school, instead they take break called a gap year. They travel, work and earn money, learn new skills or do volunteer work in another country. During this time they gain skills and life experience before starting tertiary education. These young people are also known as “gappers”.

4. Tourist ProfileName Mr. John Brown

Nationality Australian

Age 24

Contact details 2 Boundary Road, Bondi Beach Sydney (Learners may supply made up contact detail)

Occupation Sports Science Consultant

Needs and preferences • Accommodation – hostel• Sport – watch local rugby• Photography – trip to a game

reserve• Food – visit to township

restaurant. Mr Brown is a vegetarian so make sure vegetarian food is available

Specific requirements • Transport- bus, for journeys between cities, minibus taxi in and around towns, air for the long flight

• Dietary

Budget Low to middle

Duration of visit 15 – 25 December

References

Brown, D. Holomisa, T. Kota, l, et al (2011). Via Afrika Tourism Grade10 teachers Guide. Types of tourist and tourist profile (pp.7-9). Heerengracht: Cape Town