Factors contributing
to the growth in tourism
The tourism industry has been growing since the World War II ended
in 1945. Back then, international travellers amounted at 25
million. In 1999, the figure rose to 530 million people. The global
receipts from domestic and international tourism was US$433
billion.
Tourism, like other economic activities, is subject to the market
forces of demand and supply. Hence, the factors contributing to the
growth in tourism would be the demand and supply factors.
The demand for, in this case tourism, is the amount of it that
consumers are willing and able to pay for at a given price. Factors
affecting the demand for tourism include the disposable income and
taste of consumers, the age of tourists, prices of tours from firm
to firm and advertising. All these, if lead to a rise in demand for
tourism, will lead to tourism growth.
The higher the disposable income of a consumer, the higher his
ability to pay for a tour. With more disposable income, a tourist
can choose from a wider variety of destinations, from the
less-affluent ones like Thailand, to the more-affluent ones such as
Paris. The amount of disposable income of consumers of tourism
generally has been on the rise, especially after the Industrial
Revolution in the 1960s. With the rise in disposable income,
tourism has been growing.
The tastes of tourists also determine the demand for tourism in
some countries. For instance, if some tourists prefer places with
cool climates, it is likely that the demand for tourism in places
such as Genting Highlands will rise.
The choice destination also depends on the age of the traveller.
The elderly might want to opt for places where it is less
activity-based, such as New Zealand for its scenery, whereas the
young might opt for adventurous tours such as hiking in Nepal. If
the world population starts to age for instance, then the demand
for tourism in places that involve less activity will rise.
With the presence of several firms in the tourism industry, there
is competition, which leads to lower prices through competitive
pricing. The competition may also encourage tours to extend to
places that once were not common tourist locations. Hence, the
competition between agencies lead to more choices and variety for
consumers, as well as lower prices that encourage tourism.
Advertising has an effect on the demand of tourism such that it may
attract consumers to visit the places advertised or encourage
tourism in consumers who would otherwise not think of travelling
anywhere. It may also affect trends in tourism. For example, a
successful advertising campaign may eventually attract alot of
tourists to Korea, making it a hot spot for tourism in a period of
time.
The supply of tourism depends alot on the development of a
structured and accessible travel industry. Travel agents bring
about the development of package tours, which greatly increase the
ease of travelling for consumers by having tours pre-planned
already. The increasingly wide provision of travel agencies also
help to keep prices down. In this case, the supply of the travel
agencies promote the demand for tourism, hence leading to a growth
in tourism. Transit operators help to increase the ease of
travelling as well, by providing transport throughout the journey
and creating seamless travel. The convenience of travelling hence
created encourages tourism.
The rise in number of players in tourism also encourages tourism
growth. With more hoteliers entering the business, the variety and
availability of accomodation for tourists rise, stimulating demand
for tourism in the area. With more tour operators setting up
tourist attractions such as theme parks and resorts, the supply of
attractions rise and attract tourists to the area as well.
Hence, as we can see, the growth of tourism can largely be
attributed to the demand and supply forces in the market. Along
with market forces, facilitating factors work along to promote
tourism growth. An example would be the changes in transport and
communications. Deregulation in air transport over the years has
brought down protectionism and hence allowed more players in the
market. Improvements such as the increased passenger capacity and
extended range of air transportation tools have also helped to cut
travelling costs and journey times. The Computer Reservation System
[CRS] increases the efficiency at which consumers can search for
information on hotel accomodation and airline seat bookings and
also allows for 'last-minute booking' and bargains to fill spare
seats.
[/quote]
Rather unbalanced piece of work... ending abruptly... I finish the
others first.
