Motivators For Tourist Trips To Different Destinations - Essay Example

MOTIVATORS FOR TOURIST TRIPS TO DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS MOTIVATORS FOR TOURIST TRIPS TO DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS Introduction Basically, tourism is the activity of individuals travelling to various places and staying in destinations outside their common surroundings for purposes of leisure, business or other reasons for a period less than one consecutive year. It is a vibrant and modest industry that requires the capacity to constantly adapt to customer’s ever changing needs and wants. The reason is that the main focus of tourism is customer satisfaction, enjoyment and safety. Tourism comprises of various dimensions; outbound tourism that involves people travelling from their country, territories or provinces of origin to other countries, territories and provinces. For example, going to South America is considered outbound tourism. Inbound tourism involves other people or tourists coming to your country or province. A country implements various marketing campaigns with the main aim of attracting travellers from other parts of the world. On the other hand, domestic tourism is people travelling from one part of their country to another. People travel within their country for businesses and leisure purposes. There are various factors that influence the destinations which tourists chose to settle or visit either for business or leisure purposes. The travel and tourism industry has been a major contributor to the economy for a long period. Both outbound and inbound tourism have had a stable growth in tourists. The type and state of weather and climate is a major influence of tourist destinations. The state of the atmosphere in a given place at a particular time describes weather while climate is the prevailing condition of the atmosphere determined after a long period of surveillance (Avraham & Ketter, 2008). Climate is one of the elements of geography that constitute geographical space, contributing to the environmental conditions that encourage or hinder tourism. People seek to settle in areas that offer the highest comfort and chances of existence in terms of climate. Following this fact, climate is considered to delimit optimal zones for tourism both at a regional and global scale. For instance, the warm temperate zones are considered optimal for beach and sun tourism. Where tourism uses geographical space, it is because there are specific components which depending on how they are appreciated socially, can be exploited and subsequently assimilated into tourism as a good or service. In this manner, the components of geographical space become resources, and thus form the basis of any tourism growth activity (Avraham & Ketter, 2008). Accessibility is a major factor that influences the destinations chosen and preferred by different tourists. Accessibility is simply how tourists or people get to the different destinations and how easily they can access them. Travellers can access various destinations using various means of travel such as rail, air, sea, road and personal transportation like cars (Lickorish & Jenkins, 1997). However, the most popular means of travel among most tourists (mostly those undertaking outbound tourism) is air travel. This refers to travelling via plane and is the most popular means for accessing other nations such as the United Kingdom. The country has international airports that have facilities to accommodate international flights and regional flights. These include airports such as London Heathrow and Gatwick airport. In October 2011, the United Kingdom experienced a 2.6% rise in the quantity of visitors using the United Kingdom airports. Gatwick and Heathrow airports led to an increase tourist inflows into the United Kingdom from 45.9% to 46.9%. Cultural distance affects tourism in various ways. Tourists tend to travel to countries that prophesy their religion mostly during major religious events in the year. This enables them to unite with other pilgrims in places of worship and praise God together. The influx of tourists during this time of the year contributes huge amount of revenue that is useful in developing the economy. The country which experiences the influx also promotes its image and reputation internationally (Vanhove, 2005). The different religions involved in attracting different persons also acquire an international mention and popularity. For example, the Saint Peter’s Basilica located in Vatican City draws thousands of Roman Catholic worshipers each year. The festival aims at congregating as many Catholics as possible to celebrate various catholic events that fall at different times of the year such as Christmas and Easter celebrations. Cost is a major factor that travellers consider before choosing their preferred destinations. Cost is an important component in the general tourism competitiveness of a destination. There is a generally accepted notion that prices are one of the most vital factors taken into consideration when deciding on where to travel to (Smith & Puczkó, 2009). The travel cost is determined using various cost components such as taxes on tickets, the purchasing power parity of a nation, the level of fuel prices and the hotel price index. These indicators may fluctuate substantially. Various indicators give information on different degrees of competitiveness (European Commission, 1999). Most tourists as a matter of fact prefer cheaper and more affordable destinations. These are destinations that are in line with their budgets and do not constrain them. When transportation is considered from a tourism setting, it refers to the ferrying of tourists from their place of residence to the place where the touristic items are located (Jones, Openshaw & Robinson, 1998). The development and growth of transportation, transportation automobiles, various infrastructure and use of new and improved technologies in this sector plays a major role in speeding up tourists travels to different destinations. Tourists prefer fast and secure modes of transportation that enables them to reach their preferred destinations within the shortest time possible. The types of packages that come up with holiday packages play a major role in influencing tourist destinations in various parts of the world. Holiday packages come in a variety of ways and are geared towards attracting as many tourists as possible. These holiday packages constitute accommodation and transport. These expenses are discounted at a given rate in different holiday destination and different hotels. Other services which might be offered include cars on rent, activities and excursions during the trip period. These packages are a form of product selling aimed at increasing the rate of consumption and overall revenues and profitability. Most tourists travel during seasons when quantifiable travel packages are offered in different holiday destinations (Timothy, 2005). Cheap package tours which include flight, transfers and lodging are often the most attractive to tourists globally. The political state of a country is a major factor in determining the number of tourists that will tour a given country because of safety purposes. Safety for individuals and the whole family involved is vital as political states in different nations have been of concern in the recent past. Various groups that threaten the state of security of different countries have evolved overtime. This has forced many people willing and planning to travel for holidays to consider the political state of different countries as a major factor determining their place of destination (Avraham & Ketter, 2008). Some countries that face frequent political instabilities attract few tourist compared to those that are politically stable during most parts of the year. The opportunity to travel by is a significant factor that influences tourism. Various persons have varying degrees and times of travel according to their schedules of daily activities. Those persons that have greater chances and opportunities to travel do it more oftenly compared to those that have tight schedules and fewer opportunities to travel (Smith & Puczkó, 2009). These opportunities may be offered by the employer or by the employees themselves through taking leave days as guaranteed by the labor laws. The opportunity to travel is greater with entrepreneurs as they have a flexible working schedule while employed persons have fewer opportunities to travel due to controlled working schedules. In addition, students have greater opportunity to travel during their holidays as compared to during their school time. The current trade and evolution in technology is another major factor that has affected and influenced the tourism industry and travel in various parts of the world. The evolution, development and growth in technology have greatly and positively impacted the tourism industry. Technology has availed new avenues such as booking via the internet, call centres to book for holidays, teletext and the subsequent growth and expansion in local airports (Smith & Puczkó, 2009). The greater flexibility in all these mentioned areas above are transforming the lives of people on a daily basis and any travel company must ponder on how to improve their own mobile and flexible offerings so as to adapt holiday packages to the different types of tourist families. Reservations over the internet and via call centres make it easier for a person to do or book at his/her own time. Social amenities available in the destination of tourists have a greater influence on the influx of tourist in the specified area. Individuals prefer easier and faster access to different social facilities. This enables them to spend less time while undertaking various activities such a shopping, hair dressing activities, shopping routines, schools for children and access to medical facilities. Easier access to social amenities means cheaper expenditures on various needs including means of transport to connect to work places and other preferred destinations by the tourist while in the country of visit (Timothy, 2005). Hotels and other places of residence located close to all the mentioned social amenities attract a larger number of travellers compared to those without or located far from them. Conclusion Various factors motivate tourists to travel to different parts of the world. Some of these factors are social amenities, technology, the political stability of the tourist desitnation, the modes of transport available, travel opportunities, the types of travel packages offered, cost, cultural distance, accessibility of the destination, and the destination’s climate. References Al S. (2011). Evaluation of accessibility to tourist attractions. Avraham, E., & Ketter, E. (2008). 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The economics of tourism destinations. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More