THE BUSINESS OF TOURISM pdf

An imprint of
THE BUSINESS OF
Eighth edition
J Christopher Holloway
with Claire Humphreys
and Rob Davidson
TOURISM
Front cover image: © Getty Images
THE BUSINESS OF

TOURISM
Holloway
Eighth
edition
“There are not many books that cover the basics of tourism as
thoroughly as the Holloway textbook. It is written in an easy to
understand language and is illustrated with plenty of brief examples.”
Dr. Constantia Anastasiadou, School of Marketing and Tourism,
Napier University Business School
This eighth edition has been substantially revised and updated
on fi ve fronts:
1. New content on topics such as the volatility of oil prices,
environmental concerns and coverage of the future of the industry
within each chapter
2. New chapters on Business Tourism and Visitor Management
3. New case studies at the end of the book and more overseas
examples throughout
4. New design of the text in full colour
5. New online test bank of questions for lecturers to accompany
the current teaching notes and PowerPoint slides at

www.pearsoned.co.uk/holloway
The Business of Tourism is an invaluable foundation book for Tourism or
Tourism management students, offering historical context, background
theory and research, making it possible for students to see how the industry
has developed and to contextualise the current issues and challenges that
tourism is facing today. Holloway et al place emphasis on the practical
operational aspects of the tourism industry, making this book well-suited to
students who intend to one day work in tourism.
“Overall, the text provides a thorough coverage of the relevant
areas required by students to gain solid theoretical, conceptual and
applied knowledge bases in the area of the business of tourism.”
Ruth Taylor, School of Management, Curtin University of Technology
Chris Holloway is Former Professor of Tourism Management at Bristol
Business School, University of the West of England.
Claire Humphreys and Rob Davidson lecture at the University of
Westminster and both have had extensive experience working in tourism,
both in the public and private sectors. They have assisted signifi cantly
in the preparation of this substantially revised edition and are committed
to the long-term future of this text.
www.pearson-books.com
CVR_HOLL7102_08_SE_CVR.indd 1 20/2/09 14:14:28

THE BUSINESS OF
TOURISM
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THEB_A01.qxd 3/6/09 11:23 Page ii

Eighth edition
THE BUSINESS OF
TOURISM
J. Christopher Holloway
with Claire Humphreys
and Rob Davidson
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Pearson Education Limited
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow
Essex CM20 2JE
England
and Associated Companies throughout the world
Visit us on the World Wide Web at:
www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published 1983
Eighth edition 2009
© Pearson Education Limited 1983, 2002, 2006, 2009
The right of J. Christopher Holloway to be identified as author of this work has been

asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a
licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6—10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
ISBN: 978-0-273-71710-2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Holloway, J. Christopher.
The business of tourism / J. Christopher Holloway, with Claire Humphreys and
Rob Davidson. — 8th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-273-71710-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Tourism. 2. Tourism—Marketing.
I. Humphreys, Claire. II. Davidson, Rob. III. Title.
G155.A1H647 2009
910.68—dc22
2009000482
10987654321
13 12 11 10 09
Typeset in 9.5/12pt Giovanni Book by 35
Printed and bound by Rotolito Lombarda, Italy
The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
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Contents
Preface to the eighth edition xi
List of abbreviations xii

Acknowledgements xv
List of reviewers xvi
Part 1 Defining and analysing tourism and its impacts 3
1 An introduction to tourism 4
Why study tourism? 5
Defining tourism 6
The tourist product 10
The nature of tourism 11
The tourist destination 14
2 The development and growth of tourism up to the
mid-twentieth century
20
Introduction: the early years 21
Travel in the Middle Ages 23
Developments in road transport in the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries 24
The Grand Tour 25
Authorization to travel 26
Other political hindrances to travel 27
The development of the spas 28
The rise of the seaside resort 29
Conditions favouring the expansion of travel in the nineteenth century
31
The age of steam
32
Early tourism in North America
35
Other late nineteenth-century developments
37
The years 1900—1950 and the origins of mass tourism
38

3 The era of popular tourism: 1950 to the twenty-first century 44
Tourism since World War II
45
The growing importance of business travel
53
The all-inclusive holiday
54
Mass market tourism in its maturity
55
The influence of information technology
56
4 The demand for tourism 59
Introduction
60
The tourist’s needs and wants
60
General and specific motivation
62
Segmenting the tourism market
66
Consumer processes
70
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Making the decision 74
Fashion and taste 74
The motivations of business travellers 77
Motivators and facilitators 77
Factors influencing changes in tourist demand 78
The future pattern of tourist demand 79

5 The economic impacts of tourism 85
Introduction 86
The international tourist market 86
The value of economic data 91
The economic impacts of tourism 93
Statistical measurement of tourism 104
Future issues 109
6 The sociocultural impacts of tourism 113
Introduction 114
Legislation and guidance protecting the tourist destination 115
The sociocultural effects of tourism 119
The hosts’ impacts on tourists 125
Cultural transgressions 128
The exploitation of indigenous populations 129
Managing the social impacts of tourism 129
Bringing economic benefits to locals 130
The impacts of travel on tourists’ health 132
Politicocultural impacts 133
7 The environmental impacts of tourism 136
Introduction 137
The environmental effects of tourism 138
Public-sector planning for control and conservation 153
The public/private-sector interface in the development of sustainable
tourism
157
Part 2 The travel and tourism product 163
8 The structure and organization of the travel and tourism industry 164
Introduction 165
The chain of distribution for tourism 166
Common interest organizations 170

Integration in the tourism industry 175
9 Tourist destinations 183
Introduction: what defines a destination? 184
Categorizing destinations 186
Coastal tourism 187
Urban tourism 197
Rural tourism 202
Island tourism 213
Spa tourism 214
The successful destination 215
Design of the built and natural environment 216
vi Contents
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The media and their influence on tourist destinations 224
Destinations of the future 226
10 Tourist attractions 230
Introduction: defining the attraction 231
Cultural tourism 259
Religious tourism 264
Shopping 265
Gastronomic tourism 269
Other attractions 271
Events 271
Sports tourism 275
The growth and promotion of dark tourism 277
11 Business tourism 285
Introduction 286
Meetings 286
The meetings industry 288

Incentive travel 294
Exhibitions and trade fairs 297
Individual business travel 301
Trends in business tourism 306
Conclusion 310
12 The hospitality sector: accommodation and catering services 312
Introduction 313
The structure of the accommodation sector 314
Classifying and grading accommodation 322
The nature of demand for accommodation facilities 326
The distribution of accommodation 338
Environmental issues 339
Catering 340
Future developments in the hospitality sector 345
13 Tourist transport by air 348
Introduction 349
The airline business 350
The organization of air transport 356
Air transport regulation 369
The deregulation of air transport 376
The economics of airline operation 381
Environmental concerns 389
The marketing of air services 391
What is the future like for air transport? 396
14 Tourist transport by water 401
Introduction 402
The ocean liners 403
Cruising 406
Ferry services 427
Coastal and inland waterways tourism 435

Seagoing pleasure craft 441
What does the future hold for passenger ships? 442
Contents vii
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15 Tourist transport on land 445
The role of the railways in tourism 446
Coach travel 460
The private car 469
Cycling and tourism 473
Tourists on foot 475
Future developments in land transport 477
Part 3 Intermediaries in the provision of travel and
tourism services 481
16 The management of visitors 482
Introduction 483
Controlling the impacts of visitors 483
Meeting the cost of visitor management 485
Operational approaches to visitor management 487
Technology that can assist in visitor management 502
Future issues 502
17 The structure and role of the public sector in tourism 505
Introduction 506
The nature of government involvement 506
Planning and facilitating tourism 510
Supervision and control of tourism 519
The organization of public-sector tourism 521
The role of the European Union (EU) 534
The future role of the public sector in tourism 535
18 Tour operating 537

Introduction 538
Tour operators — why a European perspective? 538
The role of the tour operator 539
The role of air brokers 547
Tour operating within the European Union 549
Economic forces in tour operating 555
The long-haul market 556
Seat only sales 557
Recent developments 557
Including more or less? 558
Consumer complaints 558
The nature of tour operating 559
The role of the resort representative 570
Pricing the package tour 572
The tour brochure 577
The reservations system 582
Operators selling direct 586
The IT revolution and its impact on tour operating 587
The future of tour operators 590
19 Selling and distributing travel and tourism 593
Introduction 594
Historical context 594
viii Contents
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The scale of the retail sector 595
The power of the travel agency chains 596
The profitability of travel agents 598
The role of travel agents 599
Distribution trends 600

Setting up and running a travel agency 605
Travel agency skills and competences 611
Travel agency appointments 618
The impact of computer technology 621
The future of travel retailing 624
20 Ancillary tourism services 628
Introduction 629
Services to the tourist 629
Services to the supplier 637
Marketing services 640
Technical services 642
The future of ancillary services 642
Part 4 Case studies 645
1 The activities of a travel management company — HRG 646
2 Brunel’s ss Great Britain: conservation and interpretation — a potential conflict? 650
3 Marketing Belgrade as a conference destination 659
4 Eurostar’s move to St Pancras station and its impact on cross-Channel traffic 667
5 The pressure of visitors to Cambridge 679
6 Business tourism in Tanzania 689
7 Women managers in UK travel and tourism — a case of a ‘glass ceiling’? 697
8 Sustainable tourism in the townships of South Africa 707
9 Bournemouth’s artificial surfing reef 712
10 A new Russian window to the West: the Province of Kaliningrad 717
Further reading 732
Index 750
Contents ix
Supporting resources
Visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/holloway to find valuable online resources
For instructors
l Testbank of question material

l A full updated Instructors Manual, including sample answers, useful Websites
and discussion
l PowerPoint slides which are downloadable and available to use for teaching.
For more information please contact your local Pearson Education sales
representative or visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/holloway
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Preface to the eighth edition
It is with great pleasure that I introduce, with this edition, two new co-authors who have
assisted significantly in the preparation of this substantially revised text. Claire Humphreys
and Rob Davidson lecture at the University of Westminster and both have had extensive
experience working in tourism, both in the public and private sectors. They are committed
to the long-term future of this text, the longest running in the UK and now in its 26
th
year.
Over its lifetime, apart from the regularly updated English version, it has also appeared in
numerous foreign languages, notably including Russian, Chinese and Spanish. In recogni-
tion of its widespread influence, the new edition also moves for the first time to full-colour
presentation.
The contents represent a substantial rewrite of the previous edition. Although the
tried and tested structure of previous editions has largely been retained with only minor
adjustments, some new features have been introduced. Discussion questions have been
expanded on and task rather than assignment questions set, to allow teachers to use these
ideas as a basis for drawing up assignments or examination questions at a variety of
different ability levels. A new visitor management chapter is an expanded version of the
previous section devoted to design and management, while for the first time this edition
also carries a chapter devoted exclusively to business tourism. In addition, the proportion
of case studies and examples drawn from countries outside of the UK has increased to

reflect a greater internationalization of this edition. Material from the previous edition
devoted to the future of the industry is now integrated within each chapter, offering specific
expectations and predictions relating to future prospects for each travel and tourism
sector in the coming years. The increasingly global nature of the industry and the critical
importance of the part played by information technology in moulding and changing the
character of the industry is given full coverage throughout the text, which is rounded off
with a set of new case studies of international relevance, relating to material appearing in
the body of the text.
While the contents of the previous edition were formed by the impact of terrorism, the
present edition is overshadowed by two new factors: the increased volatility of oil prices
and growing concern about climate change, both of which pose a threat to the long-term
health of the industry far exceeding that of terrorism. As we go to press, no one could fore-
cast what the price of oil is likely to be in the coming years, whether or not new forms
of energy will emerge that will allow leisure travel to remain a choice for the masses and
if the remarkable and renowned resilience of the industry can adapt and cope, even with
a crisis of this magnitude. Certainly, the industry will change and most sectors will learn
to adapt to a very different world of travel from that with which we have become familiar
since the origins of mass tourism in the 1950s/1960s.
Chris Holloway
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List of abbreviations
AA Automobile Association
AAA American Automobile Association
ABTA Association of British Travel Agents
ABTAC Association of British Travel Agents’
Certificate
ACD Automatic Call Distribution
ACE Association of Conference Executives
ACTE Association of Corporate Travel Executives

ADS Approved Destination Status
AIC Airbus Integrated Company
AIEST Alliance Internationale d’Experts
Scientifiques de Tourisme
AIT Air inclusive tour
AITO Association of Independent Tour
Operators
ALVA Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
APEX Advance purchase excursion fare
APT Advanced Passenger Train
ARTAC Association of Retail Travel Agents’
Consortia
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations
ASTA American Society of Travel Agents
ATB Automated Ticketing and Boarding Pass
ATC air traffic control
ATOC Association of Train Operating
Companies
ATOL Air Travel Organizer’s Licence
ATTF Air Travel Trust Fund
ATTT Association of Tourism Teachers and
Trainers (formerly Association of Teachers
of Tourism, ATT)
AUC Air Transport Users’ Council
AVE Alta Velocidad Espagnola (Spanish high-
speed train)
B2B business to business
B2C business to consumer
BA British Airways
BAA British Airports Authority (organization

that operates airports, now privatized,
formerly publicly owned)
BABA book a bed ahead
B&B bed-and-breakfast accommodation
BACD British Association of Conference
Destinations (formerly British Association
of Conference Towns, BACT)
BCG Boston Consulting Group
BEA British European Airways (later merged
with BOAC to form British Airways)
BHA British Hospitality Association
BH&HPA British Holiday and Home Parks
Association
BHTS British Home Tourism Survey
BITOA British Incoming Tour Operators’
Association (now renamed UKInbound)
BITS Bureau International de Tourisme Sociale
BNTS British National Travel Survey
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation,
later merged with BEA to form British
Airways
BRA British Resorts Association
BTA British Tourist Authority (now
VisitBritain)
BTI Business Travel International
BW British Waterways
CAA Civil Aviation Authority
CAB Civil Aeronautics Board (USA)
CBI Confederation of British Industry
CECTA Central European Countries Travel

Association
CGLI City and Guilds of London Institute
CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing
CIMTIG Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel
Industry Group
CIT Chartered Institute of Transport
CLIA Cruise Lines International Association
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List of abbreviations xiii
COTAC Certificate of Travel Agency Competence
COTAM Certificate of Travel Agency Management
COTICC Certificate of Tourist Information Centre
Competence
COTOP Certificate of Tour Operating Practice
CPT Confederation of Passenger Transport
CRN Countryside Recreation Network
CRS computer reservations system
CTC certified travel counsellor
CTT Council for Travel and Tourism
DCMS Department for Culture, Media and Sport
DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs
DMO Destination Management Organization
DTI Department of Trade and Industry
EADS European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Company
EC European Commission
EIA environmental impact assessment
ETB English Tourist Board (later, the English

Tourism Council)
ETC (1) English Tourism Council (now
integrated with VisitBritain)
(2) European Travel Commission
EU European Union
FFP frequent flyer programme
FIT fully inclusive tour
FTO Federation of Tour Operators
GBTA Guild of Business Travel Agents
GDP gross domestic product
GDS global distribution system
GISC General Insurance Standards Council
GIT group inclusive tour-basing fare
GNE global new entrant
GNP gross national product
HCIMA Hotel and Catering International
Management Association (now Institute
of Hospitality)
Htf Hospitality Training Foundation
IAE International Aero Engines
IATA International Air Transport Association
IBTA International Business Travel Association
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
IFAPA International Foundation of Airline
Passenger Associations
IFTO International Federation of Tour Operators
II Interval International
IIT independent inclusive tour
ILG International Leisure Group
IPS International Passenger Survey

ISIC International Standard Industrial
Classification
ISP Internet service provider (a company
providing Internet access for commercial
payment)
IT (1) inclusive tour
(2) information technology
ITM Institute of Travel Management
ITS International Tourist Services
ITT Institute of Travel and Tourism
ITX inclusive tour-basing excursion fare
IUOTO International Union of Official Tourist
Organizations (now United Nations
World Tourism Organization, UNWTO)
IVR interactive voice response
LAI Local Area Initiative (formerly Tourism
Development Action Plan, TDAP)
LCLF low cost low fare
LDC lesser-developed countries
LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen
MIA Meetings Industry Association
MICE meetings incentives conferences and
events
MMC Monopolies and Mergers Commission
(now Competition Commission)
MOMA Museum of Modern Art, New York
MTAA Multiple Travel Agents’ Association
MTOW maximum take-off weight
NAITA National Association of Independent
Travel Agents (later Advantage, now part

of Triton)
NBC National Bus Company
NCVQ National Council for Vocational
Qualifications
NGO non-governmental organization
NITB Northern Ireland Tourist Board
NPTA National Passenger Traffic Association
NTB (1) National Tourist Board
(2) former National Training Board of
ABTA
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xiv List of abbreviations
NTO National Tourist Organization
NUR Neckermann und Reisen
NVQ National Vocational Qualifications
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development
ONS Office for National Statistics
PATA Pacific Area Travel Association
P&O Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company
PNR passenger name record
PSA Passenger Shipping Association
RAC Royal Automobile Club
RCI Resort Condominiums International
RDAs Regional Development Agencies
RFF Reseau Ferré de France (French equivalent
of Britain’s Network Rail, responsible for
operating the national rail track)

RTB Regional Tourist Board
RV recreational vehicle
SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome
SAS Scandinavian Airlines System
SIC Standard Industrial Classification
SME small- to medium-sized enterprise
SNAT Societé Nouvelle d’Armement
Transmanche
SNCF Societé National de Chemins de Fer
SOLAS Safety of Life at Sea, International
Convention for the
SPR size to passenger ratio
SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest
STB Scottish Tourist Board (now VisitScotland)
STOL short take-off and landing
TAC Travel Agents’ Council
TDAP Tourism Development Action Plan
TGV Train à Grande Vitesse
TIC Tourist Information Centre
TIM Tourism Income Multiplier
TIP Tourist Information Point
TIQ Tourism Intelligence Quarterly
TOC Tour Operators’ Council
TOMS Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme
TOP Thomson Open-line Programme
(Thomson Holidays’ computer
reservations system)
TOSG Tour Operators’ Study Group (now
Federation of Tour Operators, FTO)
TRIPS Tourism Resource Information Processing

System
TSA Tourism Satellite Account
TTC Travel Training Company
TTENTO Travel, Tourism and Events National
Training Organization
TUI Touristik Union International
UATP Universal Air Travel Plan
UBR uniform business rate
UKTS United Kingdom Tourism Survey
UN United Nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
UNWTO United Nations World Tourism
Organization
VAT value added tax
VFR visiting friends and relatives
VTOL vertical take-off and landing
WISE wing-in-surface effect
WPC wave-piercing catamaran
WTB Wales Tourist Board
WTO World Tourism Organization (now
UNWTO)
WTTC World Travel and Tourism Council
WWW World Wide Web
YHA Youth Hostels Association
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Acknowledgements
The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce
their photographs:

41 Alamy Images: Barry Lewis (Figure 2.3). 350 Alamy Images: Iain Masterton (Figure
13.1). 404 Alamy Images: Craig Ellenwood (Figure 14.1a). 450 Alamy Images: Peter
Titmuss (Figure 15.1). 452 Alamy Images: Directphoto.org (Figure 15.2)
We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material:
Figures
Figure 14.5 from Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc consolidated Form 10-Q for the
quarterly period ended May 31, 2006, Carnival Cruise Lines, ,
Figure 14.5 Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc consolidated financial results at May
31, 2006
Tables
Table 4.2 from CACI, 2002, , CACI Limited; Table 5.6 from WTTC,
2008, World key facts at a glance World Travel & Tourism
Council, Source: World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC); Table 9.1 adapted from Top
150 City Destinations: London leads the way, />City_Destinations_London_Leads_the_Way, Source: Euromonitor International; Table 18.1
from UNWTO, Tourism Highlights, 2007, World Tourism
Organization, Copyright UNWTO, 9284400209; Table 19.3 adapted from Annual Report,
2006, , Travel Compensation Fund
Tex t
Example on page 240 from The de la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea C20, Journal of the
Twentieth Century Society, Winter (2007/8), C20, Magazine of the Twentieth Century
Society, Winter 2005/6; Example on page 621 adapted from Annual Report and Travel
Compensation Fund, 2008, 2007, , Travel Compensation Fund
The Financial Times
Example on page 305 from Business travel agents, Financial Times 4 September 2006 (Bray, R.)
In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we
would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.
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List of reviewers
l Dr Gang Li, School of Management, University of Surrey

l Richard Bentley, Southampton Business School, Southampton Solent University
l Brandon Grimes, Head of Tourism,
l Rod Gilbert, Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies
l Dr Constantia Anastasiadou, School of Marketing and Tourism, Napier University
Business School
l Ruth Taylor, School of Management, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
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Defining and analysing tourism and
its impacts
Part 1
CHAPTER 1
An introduction to tourism
4
CHAPTER 2
The development and growth of tourism up to the
mid-twentieth century
20
CHAPTER 3
The era of popular tourism: 1950 to the twenty-first century 44
CHAPTER 4
The demand for tourism 59
CHAPTER 5
The economic impacts of tourism 85
CHAPTER 6
The sociocultural impacts of tourism 113

CHAPTER 7
The environmental impacts of tourism 136
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Learning outcomes
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
l
recognize why tourism is an important area of study
l
define what is meant by tourism — both conceptually and technically — and
distinguish it from travel, leisure and recreation
l
identify the composition and major characteristics of tourism products
l
outline the various forms of tourist destination and their appeal
l
explain why destinations are subject to changing fortunes.
An introduction to tourism
Chapter 1
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Why study tourism?
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
St Augustine of Hippo, philosopher and theologian (
AD 354—430)
This book will introduce you to a fascinating industry, tourism. Through its various chapters,
you will learn about the factors that have led up to making this the world’s fastest-growing
business and then examine what that business entails. You will look at the nature of tourism,
its appeal, its phenomenal growth over the past half century, the resulting impact on both
developed and developing societies and, above all, its steady process of institutionalization

– that is to say, the manner in which tourism has become commercialized and organized
since its inception, but more especially over the past half-century. It will also be about
travel, but only those forms of travel specifically undertaken within the framework of a
defined tourism journey.
The tourism business deals with the organization of journeys away from home and the
way in which tourists are welcomed and catered for in the destination countries. Those
who plan to work in this industry will be responsible for ensuring that the outcome of such
journeys, whether domestic or international in scope, is the maximizing of satisfaction in
the tourist experience.
Formal study of tourism is a relatively recent development, the result of which has been
that the tourism business has sometimes lacked the degree of professionalism we have
come to expect of other industries. Indeed, in many destination countries it remains the
case that much of the industry is in the hands of amateurs – sometimes inspired amateurs
whose warmth and enthusiasm is enough to ensure that their visitors are adequately
satisfied, but amateurs nonetheless. However, a warm climate, friendly natives and a few
iconic attractions are no longer enough in themselves to guarantee a successful tourism
industry – least of all within the principal destination countries of the developed world,
which now find themselves in an increasingly competitive environment in the battle to
attract global tourists.
In itself, this unwillingness to develop a more professional approach to delivering the
tourism product and building careers in the industry is a surprise, given that, for many
developing nations, tourism was, even in the early twentieth century, if not the key industry,
then certainly among the leading industries in their economies. This attitude is still more
surprising in the developed world, given the early importance of international and domestic
tourism in countries such as the USA, Spain, France, Switzerland and Great Britain.
It was the expansion of tourism in the 1960s and 1970s that finally led to the recogni-
tion that the study of tourism was something to be taken seriously. Up to that point, the
educational focus had been on training for what were perceived to be low-level craft skills
that could be learned principally by working alongside experienced employees, to watch
how they did the job and emulate them. This would be typical of the way in which hotel

and catering workers, travel agents, tour operator resort representatives, visitor attractions
employees and airline ground handling staff would be expected to learn their jobs. Not
surprisingly, in many cases this merely helped to perpetuate outdated modes of work, not
to say errors in practice. In due course, those who performed best in these skills would be
promoted to management roles – once again with no formal training – and expected to
pick up their management skills as they went along. Gradually, it became recognized that
this was not the ideal way to amass all knowledge and skills and a more formal process of
learning, based on a theoretical body of knowledge and its practical application, would lead
to improved professionalism in the industry. From basic-level craft skills, courses emerged
in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s at diploma, degree and, ultimately, postgraduate levels to
train and educate the workers and managers of the future, as well as equip them with the
necessary knowledge and skills to cope at all levels with the rapid changes that were to
occur in the tourism industry in the closing years of the last century.
Why study tourism? 5
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Recognition of the need for formal training is one thing. Determining the body of
knowledge that should be appropriate for someone planning to spend a lifetime career in
the industry is something else. Tourism is a complex, multidisciplinary subject, requiring
knowledge of not only business and management but also such diverse disciplines as law,
town and country planning, geography, sociology and anthropology. There is as yet no
common agreement among academics, or between academics and practitioners, as to
what should form the core curriculum of a tourism programme and, in many countries,
practitioners still make clear their preference for courses delivering practical skills over
more academic content. The difficulty the tourism industry faces is that trainers will deliver
only the knowledge required by employees who will be taking up work in a specific
tourism sector, while a career in that industry today is likely to require frequent transfers
between the different sectors – and, initially, an overview of how each of these operates.
Any formal programme of tourism education must take these needs into account and
prepare students for a life in the industry as a whole. Due to the multidisciplinary nature

of tourism, however, courses offered in this subject in colleges and universities around
the world differ substantially in content – some choosing to deliver what is essentially a
business and management programme tuned to the specific needs of the industry, others
focusing on issues such as sustainable tourism or public-sector planning for tourism,
where the input may be built around urban and regional planning programmes. Still
others may choose to deliver courses where the focus is on understanding tourists, draw-
ing on the disciplines of psychology, sociology and anthropology. A well-rounded student
of tourism is going to require some knowledge of all of these disciplines and it is to be
hoped that, given time, common agreement can be reached globally between academics
and across the industry on what best mix of these disciplines would form the ideal
curriculum for a career in tourism.
Defining tourism
A good starting point for any textbook that sets out to examine the tourism business is to
try to define what is meant by the terms ‘tourist’ and ‘tourism’ before going on to look at
the many different forms that tourism can take. While an understanding of the term’s
meaning is essential, in fact, the task of defining it is very difficult. It is relatively easy to
agree on technical definitions of particular categories of ‘tourism’ or ‘tourist’, but the wider
concept is ill defined.
First, it is important to recognize that tourism is just one form of activity undertaken
during a period of leisure. Leisure is defined as ‘free time’ or ‘time at one’s disposal’
1
and
therefore can be taken to embrace any activity apart from work and obligatory duties.
Leisure can entail active engagement in play or recreation or else more passive pastimes
such as watching television or even sleeping. Sports activities, games, hobbies, pastimes –
and tourism – are all forms of recreation and discretionary uses of our leisure time.
We can go on to say that, self-evidently, the tourist is one who engages in tourism.
Tourism, as one element of leisure, involves the movement of a person or persons away
from their normal place of residence: a process that usually incurs some expenditure,
although this is not necessarily the case. Someone cycling or hiking in the countryside on

a camping weekend in which they carry their own food may make no economic contribu-
tion to the area in which they travel, but can nonetheless be counted as a tourist. Many
other examples could be cited in which expenditure by the tourist is minimal. We can say,
then, that tourism is one aspect of leisure that usually, but not invariably, incurs some
expenditure of income and that, further, money spent has been earned within the area of
normal residency, rather than at the destination.
The term ‘tourism’ is further refined as the movement of people away from their normal
place of residence. Here we find our first problem. Should shoppers travelling short
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distances of several kilometres be considered tourists? Is it the purpose or the distance
that is the determining factor? Just how far must people travel before they can be counted
as tourists for the purpose of official records? What about that growing band of people
travelling regularly between their first and second homes, sometimes spending equal time
at each?
Clearly, any definition must be specific. In the United States, in 1973, the National
Resources Review Commission established that a domestic tourist would be ‘one who
travels at least 50 miles (one way)’. That was confirmed by the US Census Bureau, which
defined tourism 11 years later as a round trip of at least 100 miles. However, the Canadian
government defines it as a journey of at least 25 miles from the boundaries of the tourist’s
home community, while the English Tourism Council proposed a measure of not less than
20 miles and 3 hours’ journey time away from home for a visit to constitute a leisure trip,
so consistency has by no means yet been achieved.
Early attempts at defining tourism
One of the first attempts at defining tourism was that of Professors Hunziker and Krapf
of Berne University in 1942. They held that tourism should be defined as ‘the sum of the
phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, in so far
as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected to any earning activity’.
This definition helps to distinguish tourism from migration, but it makes the assumption

that both travel and stay are necessary for tourism, thus precluding day tours. It would also
appear to exclude business travel, which is connected with earnings, even if that income is
not earned in the destination country. Moreover, distinguishing between business and
leisure tourism is, in many cases, extremely difficult as most business trips will combine
elements of leisure activity.
Earlier still, in 1937, the League of Nations had recommended adopting the definition
of a ‘tourist’ as one who travels for a period of at least 24 hours in a country other than
that in which he or she usually resides. This was held to include persons travelling for plea-
sure, domestic reasons or health, those travelling to meetings or otherwise on business and
those visiting a country on a cruise vessel (even if for less than 24 hours). The principal
weakness in this definition is that it ignores the movements of domestic tourists.
Later, the United Nations’ Conference on International Travel and Tourism, held in
1963, considered recommendations put forward by the International Union of Official
Travel Organizations (later the United Nations World Tourism Organization) and agreed
to use the term ‘visitor’ to describe ‘any person visiting a country other than that in which
he has his usual place of residence, for any reason other than following an occupation
remunerated from within the country visited’. This definition was to cover two classes of
visitor:
1. tourists, who were classified as temporary visitors staying at least 24 hours, whose
purpose could be categorized as leisure (whether for recreation, health, sport, holiday,
study or religion) or business, family, mission or meeting
2. excursionists, who were classed as temporary visitors staying less than 24 hours, includ-
ing cruise travellers but excluding travellers in transit.
Towards an agreed definition
Once again, these definitions fail to take into account the domestic tourist. The inclusion
of the word ‘study’ above is an interesting one as it is often excluded in later definitions,
as are longer courses of education.
A working party for the proposed Institute of Tourism in Britain (which later became
the Tourism Society) attempted to clarify the issue and reported, in 1976:
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Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the
places where they normally live and work, and activities during their stay at these des-
tinations; it includes movement for all purposes, as well as day visits or excursions.
This broader definition was reformulated slightly, without losing any of its simplicity, at
the International Conference on Leisure-Recreation-Tourism, organized by the AIEST and
the Tourism Society in Cardiff, Wales, in 1981:
Tourism may be defined in terms of particular activities selected by choice and under-
taken outside the home environment. Tourism may or may not involve overnight stay
away from home.
Finally, the following definition devised by the then WTO was endorsed by the UN’s,
Statistical Commission in 1993 following an International Government Conference held
in Ottawa, Canada, in 1991:
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or
other purposes.
These definitions have been quoted here at length because they reveal how broadly the
concept of tourism must be defined in order to embrace all forms of the phenomenon
and how exceptions can be found for even the most narrowly focused definitions.
Indeed, the final definition could be criticized on the grounds that, unless the activities
are more clearly specified, it could be applied equally to someone involved in burglary!
With this definition, we are offered guidance on neither the activities undertaken nor
distance to be travelled. In fact, with the growth of timeshare and second home owners,
who, in some cases, spend considerable periods of time away from their main homes, it
could be argued that a tourist is no longer necessarily ‘outside the home environment’.
It is also increasingly recognized that defining tourists in terms of the distances they have
travelled from their homes is unhelpful as locals can be viewed as ‘tourists’ within their
own territory if they are engaged in tourist-type activities and, certainly, their economic
contribution to the tourism industry in the area is as important as that of the more tradi-

tionally defined tourist.
Figure 1.1 illustrates the guidelines produced by the UNWTO (then, the WTO) to classify
travellers for statistical purposes. Some loopholes in the definitions remain, however. Even
attempts to classify tourists as those travelling for purposes unconnected with employment
can be misleading if one looks at the social consequences of tourism. Ruth Pape
2
has
drawn attention to the case of nurses in the United States who, after qualifying, gravitate
to California for their first jobs as employment is easy to find and they can thus enjoy
the benefits of the sunshine and leisure pursuits for which the state is famous. They may
spend a year or more in this job before moving on, but the point is that they have been
motivated to come to that area not because of the work itself, but because of the area’s
tourist attractions. Frequently, too, students of tourism, after completing their course, return
to work in the areas in which they undertook work placements during their studies, having
found the location (and, often, the job) sufficiently attractive to merit spending more
time there. People increasingly buy homes in areas where they can enjoy walking, skiing
or other leisure activities, so that tourism is literally on their doorsteps, yet this growing
group of ‘resident tourists’ is not taken into consideration for statistical purposes. Indeed,
the division between work and leisure is further blurred today by the development of
e-mail and websites that offer immediate access from wherever a worker happens to be
spending time. This has led many to buy second homes in the countryside, where work
may be engaged in between bouts of leisure and relaxation. Internet cafés and laptop com-
puters allow workers to keep in touch with their business while away from home, further
blurring the distinction between travel for work and travel for leisure. Many examples
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