The Basics Of Tourism

" The Tourism "

Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure.

As such, tourism has implications on the economy, on the natural and built environment, on the local population at the destination and on the tourists themselves. Due to these multiple impacts, the wide range and variety of production factors required to produce those goods and services acquired by visitors, and the wide spectrum of stakeholders involved or affected by tourism, there is a need for a holistic approach to tourism development, management and monitoring. This approach is strongly recommended in order to formulate and implement national and local tourism policies as well as the necessary international agreements or other processes in respect of tourism.

Business visitor

A business visitor is a visitor whose main purpose for a tourism trip corresponds to the business and professional category.

Country of reference

The country of reference refers to the country for which the measurement is done.

As a general observation, it should be noted that in the International Recommendations 2008:

(a) The term “country” can be transposed to a different geographical level using the term “place” instead (either a region, municipality or other subnational geographic location);

(b) The term “long-term” is used as the equivalent of a year or more and “short-term” as less than a year.

Country of residence

The country of residence of a household is determined according to the centre of predominant economic interest of its members. If a person resides (or intends to reside) for more than one year in a given country and has there his/her centre of economic interest (for example, where the predominant amount of time is spent), he/she is considered as a resident of this country.

Destination (main destination) of a trip

The main destination of a tourism trip is defined as the place visited that is central to the decision to take the trip. See also purpose of a tourism trip.

Domestic tourism

Comprises the activities of a resident visitor within the country of reference, either as part of a domestic tourism trip or part of an outbound tourism trip.

Economic analysis

Tourism generates directly and indirectly an increase in economic activity in the places visited (and beyond), mainly due to demand for goods and services that need to be produced and provided.

In the economic analysis of tourism, one may distinguish between tourism’s ‘economic contribution’ which refers to the direct effect of tourism and is measurable by means of the TSA, and tourism’s ‘economic impact’ which is a much broader concept encapsulating the direct, indirect and induced effects of tourism and which must be estimated by applying models.

Economic impact studies aim to quantify economic benefits, that is, the net increase in the wealth of residents resulting from tourism, measured in monetary terms, over and above the levels that would prevail in its absence.

Employment in tourism industries

Employment in tourism industries may be measured as a count of the persons employed in tourism industries in any of their jobs, as a count of the persons employed in tourism industries in their main job, as a count of the jobs in tourism industries, or as full-time equivalent figures.

Excursionist (or same-day visitor)

A visitor (domestic, inbound or outbound) is classified as a same-day visitor (or excursionist) if his/her trip does not include an overnight stay.

Forms of tourism

There are three basic forms of tourism: domestic tourism, inbound tourism, and outbound tourism. These can be combined in various ways to derive the following additional forms of tourism: internal tourism, national tourism and international tourism.

Inbound tourism

Comprises the activities of a non-resident visitor within the country of reference on an inbound tourism trip.

Internal tourism

Internal tourism comprises domestic tourism plus inbound tourism, that is to say, the activities of resident and non-resident visitors within the country of reference as part of domestic or international tourism trips.

International tourism

International tourism comprises inbound tourism plus outbound tourism, that is to say, the activities of resident visitors outside the country of reference, either as part of domestic or outbound tourism trips and the activities of non-resident visitors within the country of reference on inbound tourism trips.

Meetings industry

To highlight purposes relevant to the meetings industry, if a trip’s main purpose is business/professional, it can be further subdivided into “attending meetings, conferences or congresses, trade fairs and exhibitions” and “other business and professional purposes”.

The term meetings industry is preferred by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Reed Travel over the acronym MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) which does not recognize the industrial nature of such activities.

MICE

See meetings industry.

National tourism

National tourism comprises domestic tourism plus outbound tourism, that is to say, the activities of resident visitors within and outside the country of reference, either as part of domestic or outbound tourism trips.

Outbound tourism

Comprises the activities of a resident visitor outside the country of reference, either as part of an outbound tourism trip or as part of a domestic tourism trip.

Place of usual residence

The place of usual residence is the geographical place where the enumerated person usually resides, and is defined by the location of his/her principal dwelling (Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses of the United Nations, ¶¶2.20 to 2.24).

Purpose of a tourism trip (main)

The main purpose of a tourism trip is defined as the purpose in the absence of which the trip would not have taken place. Classification of tourism trips according to the main purpose refers to nine categories: this typology allows the identification of different subsets of visitors (business visitors, transit visitors, etc).

See also destination of a tourism trip

Tourism expenditure

Tourism expenditure refers to the amount paid for the acquisition of consumption goods and services, as well as valuables, for own use or to give away, for and during tourism trips.

Tourism industries

Tourism industries (also referred to as tourism activities) are the activities that typically produce tourism characteristic products.

Tourism In Mexico

" Maya World "

Mexico is one of the countries with the largest cultural tourism in the world. Our country’s cultural, geographical and historical wealth can only be appreciated through its tourist destinations, its cuisine, its architecture, its traditions and everything that constitutes the being of a people.  

Learn about the vast range of archaeological sites around the country. Marvel at Tulum, Chichen Itza, Palenque or Monte Alban, some of these sites have been named World Heritage Site by UNESCO. 

Enjoy the handicrafts produced in some of Mexico’s cities, where the creation processes have not changed for centuries, and are handed down from one generation to the next. Admire the black clay object made in Oaxaca, the musical instruments made in Paracho, Michoacan, the leather goods manufactured in Guanajuato and the colorful handicrafts made by indigenous people like the Huichol Indians.  

All throughout the country, you will find hundreds of squares with their church, their kiosk and their town hall. Admire their colonial architecture, their historical buildings and libraries, silent witnesses to how life developed in Mexico. 

You are not really acquainted with a place if you do not taste its food. Mexico has one of the richest cuisines in the world. Its proposals are different from one region to the next, and pre-Hispanic ingredients are blended with the European influence brought by the Spaniards after the Conquest. 

Tourism In England

" The Bridge Tower "

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK — worth approximately $127.9 billion. It employs more than 1.5 million people (7 percent of all employment) in hotels, restaurants, pubs, travel agencies, museums etc.

Mass tourism in England began in the second half of the nineteenth century, during the Victorian period. Seaside holidays were particularly popular.

About twenty-five million people now visit England every year. They come from all over the world. Nearly all of them start in London, and some never go out of that great city.

People visit England for many reasons. Some return to discover their family roots having originated from here. Others come to see the wide variety of historical buildings or to sample the heritage and traditions that we have so much of.

England has much to offer,wonderful and very different countryside from region to region and also a wide variety of culture.It is also often used as a stepping stone to the rest of Europe as we are so close and travel is easy.

 

There are the beautiful university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, the wonderful Dorset coast, and the Lake District, Stonehenge and Windsor Castle.

Tourism In Dubai

 " Sheikh Zayed Road "

Dubai welcomed more than 10 million tourists for the first time last year as the emirate experienced a surge in visitors.

Visitor numbers were boosted by increases from its largest source markets - such as a 30 per cent rise in tourists from Saudi Arabia and a 54 per cent increase in Russian visitors, both countries which feature in the city's top five markets.

Overall, the emirate recorded a 9.3 per cent rise in hotel guests and cruise passengers in 2012 to 10.16 million people.

"For the first time in our city's history we have crossed the 10 million threshold in visitor numbers," said Helal Almarri,the director general of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

"This growth is due to a number of factors including the city-wide destination management strategy, our world-class infrastructure, our location at the crossroads of East and West, and our unrelenting efforts to enhance our diverse and compelling tourism offer."

There were also increases in the number of nights people stayed in the emirate, their average length of stay and hotel revenues.

"The growth across each indicator is a welcome confirmation of Dubai's ever-increasing appeal and a testament to the aggressive marketing and promotional agenda of DTCM in positioning Dubai as the major tourist hub of the region and a global destination of choice," said Mr Almarri.

Hotel guests increased 9.5 per cent to 9.96 million, and the number of nights they stayed climbed 14 per cent.

"The increasing average length of stay and the rising number of hotel apartments is evidence of a growing trend in people and families visiting Dubai for longer periods; historically the city was seen by some markets as a stopover destination but in recent years it has become the destination," said Mr Almarri.

Hotel revenues rose as a result of the extra nights by almost 18 per cent to Dh18.82 billion (US$5.12bn).

And the number of hotels also climbed, to 599 properties from 575. Openings included Fairmont The Palm, JW Marriott Marquis and Jumeirah Creekside.

But the additional rooms did not force down room rates, which rose on average from Dh563 in 2011 to Dh588 last year.

Saudi Arabia was Dubai's largest source market with 1.13 million visitors, followed by India, the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia.

China was the 10th on the list of top visitors, but the number of visitors from the country climbed by 28 per cent last year alone.

And Dubai hopes to grow the number of tourists from China, the world's second-largest economy, who spend about Dh202bn a year worldwide, still further through additional marketing initiatives.

Mr Almarri said the rise in visitors was partly linked to increasing cross-border trade and investment ties with countries such as China. "As these links continue to develop, visitors from these nations will continue to rise," he said.

"It's encouraging to see that visitor numbers from all of the markets in which DTCM has a representative office continue to swell, demonstrating the role that our overseas offices play in helping to drive growth in both intra-regional traffic and in arrivals from other key source markets such as India, the UK, the US, Russia, Germany and China," he added

Tourism In Egypt

" Sphinx "

Egypt was known throughout its history as a destination for tourists and travelers since it was visited by "Herodotus" during the ancient time, when he got surprised because of the vast difference between Egypt and his homeland. Egypt maintained this image throughout the middle and modern history. However, the discovery of the Pharaonic antiquities long time ago has added a special charm to Egypt, besides its unique religious and cultural monuments. On the other hand, Egypt enjoys a geographical location, and a moderate climate all the year-round, along with its smooth vast coastlines, and beaches with its unique treasures of coral reefs, providing Egypt with advantages of a competitive edge.

Diversity of the Egyptian tourism modes

Egypt enjoys various fields of tourism attraction, the most important are archeological or cultural tourism as one of the oldest types of tourism in Egypt, where the landmarks of the ancient civilizations are visible to the naked eye, an incarnation of the nations that constructed these civilizations since the dawn of history. Despite the multiple types of tourism, and Egypt's cultural tourism remains the unrepeated, unique and non-competitive component of tourism as Egypt possesses one third of the world's known monuments.

Besides cultural and archaeological tourism, many tourism attraction types have come into existence and addressed broader segments of tourists across the world, including recreational tourism, beaches tourism, religious tourism, therapeutic tourism, eco-tourism, sports tourism, golf tourism, safari tourism, desert tourism, yacht tourism, and maritime tourism in addition to festivals tourism, and cultural events and finally conferences and exhibitions tourism.

In addition to these types of tourism, "Diving Centers Tourism" represents a tourist activity that attracts large numbers of tourists. Sharm el-Sheikh city is one of the largest diving centers in the world because of its potential environment and unique diversified nature which leads Sharm el-sheikh to be one of the major centers for attracting domestic and international tourism, in addition to being a resort for armatures fishing, tourism and diving. There you will find the biggest diving centers equipped with the latest devices, because of which, World Travel Awards awarded Sharm el-Sheikh the best global destination for diving in 2007.

In order to achieve further flourishing and tourist attractions, "Time-sharing Tourism", which was developed by Egypt, has revived. This new type of tourism grant non-Egyptians the right of ownership and usage of small units of accommodation in some new urban areas as well as in tourist areas in each of the distinguished cities such as Sidy Abdul Rahman, Hurghada, Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh.

Moreover, conference tourism in Egypt has steadily increased over the past six years where the total events held in Cairo International Conference Center amounted to 665 events, including 132 international and local conferences and 235 exhibitions and 298 cermonies and occasions. In 2008, Egypt witnessed a significant recovery for conference tourism, where many world conferences have been held on its territory such as Davos economic forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, The National Conference on Population and the African Summit.

Festival tourism is also one of the most important and latest types of tourist attractions, either sport, recreational, or artistic festivals. Egypt solely holds many popular festivals such as Cairo International Song Festival, International Film Festival, and Tourism and Shopping Festival, the annual fishing festival for amateurs and Alexandria International Festival for Mediterranean Song and the Sharm el-Sheikh International Championship for Bowling.

In September 2007, Al-Alsharkeya governorate organized the XVI International Festival for Arab Horses, which is one of the most important tourism festivals in Egypt.

The festival has organized several shows including the musical horse taming and horseback gymnastics and other show of various musical trots with horses, in addition to, the skill of brandishing weapons while riding a horse.

In 2007, Egypt won the second rank among the best 5 tourist destinations in the Middle East for setting up conferences and festivals on the sidelines of Egypt's participation in the Gulf Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition.

Significance of tourism in National Economy

Tourism is currently representing 11.3% of Egypt's GDP, 40% of the total Egypt's non-commodity exports and 19.3% of Egypt's foreign currency revenues.

Egypt's plan to develop tourism sector

Because of the significant role of tourism in the national economy, the Ministry of Tourism has developed a plan to increase the capacity of the Egyptian tourism to become globally competitive, increase its share in pushing forward the national economy and attract more tourists to the Egyptian market. The ministry also diversified the tourist destinations to attract tourists from non-traditional markets as well as increasing the number of hotel rooms.

The Ministry of Tourism is aiming at achieving several goals by 2010 , including attracting 14 million tourists, attaining 140 million tourist nights , equipping 24,0000 hotel rooms and accruing 12 billion dollar as a tourism revenues and providing 1.2 million jobs.

There are several plans to fulfill these strategic objectives including:

1- Plans to attract more tourists with a view to:-

• Maintaining the current growth rates and Egypt's competitive status on the major traditional markets like Britain, Russia, Italy, Germany and France.

• Achieving high growth rates in the number of tourists, who come from the emerging markets in a way that can be harmonized with the tangible speed in the growth of these markets like Ukraine, Poland and the Czech Republic.

• Upgrading Egypt's competitive status on the new markets and identifying the Egyptian tourism modes in a comprehensive and effective way - India and China.

• Improving the image of the Egyptian tourism types at the international level and achieving the highest quality of services received by tourists and to be careful on how far these services and prices of flights are harmonized

• Developing plans to promote and diversify the tourism modes on a sustained basis in a way that meets the needs and requirements of the overseas markets.

• Launching a promotion campaign via mass media of the major exporters of tourists and expanding this campaign via satellite channels.

To achieve these goals, the plans should include the following:

- Implementing a partnership programme with leading tour operators to support direct sales

- Implementing a programme to support charter flight in some destinations according to market needs so as to attract more influx of tourists.

- Implementing an international public relations campaign through outside travel offices

- Establishing and developing a website as a promotion to Egypt that has been launched in 13 languages (Arabic will be added to the website in 2008)

- Launching a promotion campaign on the Arab market under the title "welcome to Egypt" and expanding this campaign by tourism groups covering major Arab countries.

- Providing excellent tourist services with outstanding quality and delivering these services to visiting categories with high spending and special interests.

- Addressing new segments and launching new tourism modes, such as desert tourism, golf tourism, therapeutic tourism as well as accommodation, conferences and shopping tourism.

2- Plans to provide different tourism modes, including the following:

- Developing the coastal and desert areas outside the city cordons.

- Planning and supervising tourism development projects

- Determining the body concerned that will manage the land earmarked for tourism investment.

- Maximizing the private sector's role in the development process and limiting the role of the state for planning, supervising and monitoring operations.

- Diversifying the tourism product (hotel, Ecolodge, environmental hotel, Safari tourism, yacht tourism, golf courts and accommodation units..).

- Undertaking infrastructure projects in the tourism development centres (implemented by the private sector, where the total investments stand at LE 3.3 billion in roads, electricity, water, sanitation and airports).

• Applying control systems, upgrading the quality and developing the ships' anchorage as well as reducing road accidents and training to raise the quality of services in Egypt.

Tourism Development Authority's plan until 2017

The plan of the Tourism Development Authority is aiming at boosting tourism and increasing the hotel rooms, tourism revenues and jobs until 2017, as well as attracting more tourists to reach 16 million tourists and increase the number of tourist nights to 130 million nights.

The main axes of tourism development strategy are as follows: -

• Changing the role of the public sector so as to become organized, encouraging and simplified as well as expanding the role of the private sector.

• Developing the legal and institutional framework.

• Supplying the areas of development with the necessary infrastructure.

• Preserving environment.

• Identifying the priorities for overall development.

Egypt's efforts to promote Tourism sector

Egypt's nature is gorgeous. The River Nile is one of the most wonderful attractions as well as

Egypt's Red Sea coast and northern coast. Egypt is the genius of the place, it is famous for its history either pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Arab or Islamic. It is the source of Arabic, human cultural products in literature, politics, art, journalism and architecture.

In conjunction with this natural environment, there is a developed and modern infrastructure of facilities and various affluent services tourism from a wide range of the most luxurious hotels to a global network of air, land and maritime transportation as well as communications facilities and tourist guidance centers which make visiting Egypt, whatever the purpose of the visit, full of fun, excitement and interest.

In the 1990s, a new development policy had been established with the issuance of the Presidential Decree No. 425 for the year 1992 to establish the General Authority for Development of Tourism which contributes to the development of integrated tourism with the assistance of distinctive international and national expertise. The establishment of the General Authority is a leap that provided all the necessary guarantees and incentives to attract investors to set up resorts, airports, new roads in the depth of the desert and on the beaches.