Key Concepts Underpinning Special Interest Tourism - Term Paper Example

Special Interest Tourism Introduction Special interest tourism developed in the 21st century and is aimed at people with special interests like camping, trekking, wild life etc. Various places have developed around the world keeping in mind the tastes and preferences of these people. The places have been popular tourist destinations and much of the economic inflow of those regions depends on the interest tourism that has been developed. One of such example is the “Rip curl Boardmasters Event” in UK. This is an annual event featuring sports activities like skateboarding and skating. Besides the sporting activities there are facilities for entertainment. Large number of tourists flocks there every year and the place attracts a large number of sponsors and media. (Rip Curl Boardmasters Event - Could You Manage This, n.d.). It is understood that the special interest tourism will draw a particular sector of the tourists and a whole new industry has developed dealing with this type of tourism. The paper deals in every aspect of special interest tourism and the industry. Special interest tourism (SIT) SIT has developed as a leisure driven activity by a specific group of people. They look to engage in a specific service or product and are undertaken for a reason. SIT has developed keeping this concept in mind. The individuals like to engage in different form of activities in holidays. Some group of tourists has special interests and they like to share the experience in groups. In some cases they do it individually. With the development of the economy people have less leisure time and sufficient amount of money. Therefore, they demand satisfaction in the times of leisure and the places world over have responded to this need. (Douglas, 2001; Pp 3-8). The wildlife parks of African countries like Zambia have developed gaming reserves for the tourists to explore. The tourists interested in the wildlife activities like photographing and camping visits these places. The countries like Zambia depend on the tourism industry for a large proportion of their earnings. (Tourism in Zambia, n.d.) In addition to the wildlife tourism, the special attractions of various countries try to attract tourists by promoting their distinct culture. Singapore is developed in the sector of consumer items and the country is dotted with several shopping malls and shops. Therefore, the country organizes a shopping festival every year, which draws in a large number of foreign tourists. The festival offers discounts to the shoppers up to a large amount and the country has all the major brands of the world setting up shops. (The great Singapore sale,n.d.). Therefore, SIT has developed into a separate industry and trends show that more and more people are joining the practice of interest tourism. SIT in the countryside From the above paragraphs, it can be understood that the SIT industry is aimed at a niche group of people. The interests of the persons may range within a various activities. It is also true that the world over, people have different interests. Therefore, different types of SIT have developed like the geo tourism, dark tourism, youth tourism etc. One of the most important types of SIT, which has developed in the recent years, is the urban tourism. The countryside tourism deals with coming in contact with the people of the region and visiting villages of that area. This type of tourism may also involve coming in contact with the local tribes. The tourists actually look to visit these places to get the essence of the culture and heritage of the region. They want to experience the way of life of the region, which may not be proportionately developed in accordance with the modern world. An example in this context is the Chalkidiki region. The region lies in the Northern Greece and the place boasts of beautiful beaches. However, there has been a recent trend, which shows that the tourists are less interested in the beauty of the place. Instead, they are developing an attraction to visit the villages of the area and monuments. They are more interested in knowing the cultural heritage of the region and thus are engaged in “footslogging” in the streets of the region. (Novelli, 2008, pp. 99-111). The countryside means vast open places untouched by the urban population. This creates an essence of the old world. The countryside generally consists of greenery, wildlife and heritage structures. The Governments of various countries in Africa and other parts of the world has developed national parks and gaming reserves for the facility of the wildlife tourism. The tourists going to the countryside visit the places of interests by walking. 35% of the countryside visits in the UK involves walking activities. The countryside visits have been increasing all over the world and has become one of the important constituents of the SIT. (Tourism in the countryside, 2007) The Government has played a major role in the development of the countryside as a tourist destination. The development process of the tourist destinations involves hardware and software based approaches. The hardware approach involves the development of the infrastructure of the place and the software approaches involves the increase of the value of the experiences of the tourists. Both these approaches are combined to form a holistic approach, which dwells in increasing the creativity of the environment. Creativity deals in the development of the facilities so that the tourists see the old issues in a new way. Much of the countryside tourism has developed based on this principle. The development of a specific industry inherent to the place may also increase the influx of tourists in the countryside. This is one of the examples of creativity and the Government can relate to this to increase the volume of tourists in the countryside. There are many examples where the Government has promoted the industries particular to a specific region that has increased the tourists. For example, the Champagne region in France has a rich heritage of the world famous wine made of grapes of the region. The tourists are even allowed to make their own preferences known to the champagne makers and make their individual wine. As champagne needs many years to ferment, this ensures a continuous inflow of tourists in the region. The tourism department of France has even organized bicycle tours for the tourists to get the essence of the region. This way the region has been successful in drawing a large number of tourists. (Richards, 2007; pp. 255-268; Champagne regional info, n.d.) Suppliers of SIT The growth of the tourism industry in the global context has been tremendous and more and more people are going out to travel to different places in the world. A high majority of the travelers are business travelers. The leisure travelers are important in the context of the paper and out of the leisure travelers; there has been an increasing trend for the special interest tourism. The suppliers in this sector are almost the same as that of ordinary tourism. They are the travel and tour operators, tourism councils, Government, Transport agents etc. In addition to the traditional constituents in the supply chain of the tourism industry, the SIT consists of other parts like the organizers of events. The sponsors of the events are also a vital constituent of SIT. Most of the SIT is based on the events and festivals and the constituents of these events form a vital part of the supply industry in SIT. If we take the example of the music festivals in Australia, we can see that the sponsors and business activities concerning the events boost the economy of the region. The Government also plays a key role in the development of SIT. In Albania, the Government has promoted SIT combining the essence of adventure tourism and eco tourism. Thus, the supply chain of SIT is big and consists of all the vital parts, which help, in the development of the SIT. (The 2010 global travel, tourism & hospitality exhibition, 1st March, 2010; Moscardo, McCarthy, Murphy & Pearce, 2009; Tourism, n.d.). Products of SIT The world of SIT is varied and the SIT sphere consists of various products. The SIT has developed to a large extent in the recent years with the growth of the economy and dedicated services towards SIT. The products can be underlined as follows: Sport tourism: This kind of tourism is promoted in relation to sporting activities or sporting events. For example, South Africa in 2010 will host the World Cup Football and the country will experience a large number of tourists. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Adventure tourism: This is one of the most developed products of the SIT. This may involve developing centers where the facilities for adventure like rafting, mountaineering, trekking etc. are present. For example, Nepal is one of the favorite destinations for the worldwide tourists for trekking and mountaineering. The facilities like the provision of Sherpa or the carriers and guides are there and the Government has constructed log huts for the trekkers for nigh stays. (Trekking in Nepal, n.d.) Business tourism: One of the growing trends in the modern business world is to arrange meetings and seminars in the foreign countries. This provides the employees with the leisure activities and the business also get its work done. Australia has been one of the leaders in the area of business tourism. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Event tourism: This is one of the most followed SIT mechanisms and events like music fests in Australia and the USA draws in millions of tourists. In Germany, the Oktoberfest is a major event drawing huge crowds. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Study tourism: In the modern age, many students go abroad to study. This has developed a new branch called study tourism. The students are inclined to stay for a longer time and spend much lesser than the average tourists. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Health tourism: Various parts of the world have developed as health hubs. Patients from various countries come to these places and treat themselves. This has developed a subsidiary chain of economic activities around the health industry. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Marine Tourism: This type of tourism develops in the coastal areas and provides recreational functions like fishing, angling etc. There was a development of this kind of tourism in the recent years. (Special interest tourism, n.d.) Cultural tourism: This type of tourism depends on the culture and heritage of the place. People are interested in the history of a certain place and they flock to those regions to feel the essence of the region. The places of culture and heritage generally lie outside the cities and the influx of tourism has led to the development of the regions outside the cities. (Carmichael, 2002; cultural tourism, n.d.). Wildlife tourism: This kind of tourism deals in visiting the forests, national parks, game reserves etc. One of the most significant examples of this kind of tourism is in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park. The gorillas are tracked here and this draws large number of tourists. The country earns a lot of revenue from the influx of tourists in the park. (Petra, January, 2005) These are the products offered by the SIT in the modern world. From the above paragraph, it can be inferred that the world of SIT has developed into a wide and varied world and has huge potential for growth. Factors supporting demand The world of tourism has grown to a considerable extent in the last few years. The trend in the last few years shows the rise in the demand for SIT. This has to do a lot with the general economic trends and the human nature of the modern generation. The main factors in the rise in demand for the SIT are as follows: Increase in short breaks. Pressure and busy lifestyle Urge to experience special feelings of adventure, joy etc. Development of ancillary activities related to travel. Rise of the SIT packages. Increase in the need for health services and education facilities. Growth of business all over the world Mixing up of the business and the leisure activities These are some of the factors for the rise in demand for the SIT. These factors have helped in setting the trends for the public to experience SIT. (Market trends, n.d.) Analysis The analysis is based on the demand and the supply of the SIT in confluence with the media. The media here are the channels through which the tourists get knowledge of the SIT mechanism. In most cases, the travel agencies publicize the events and happenings of the SIT. In addition to this, the tourists also come to know about the SIT through different sources like the internet, magazines etc. With the development of the technology, gathering information has been lot easier. The tourist agents facilitate the process of SIT through the utilization of these channels similar to the internet. (Trauer, 2006) With the base of the SIT on firm ground, the future is bright for the industry. If we take the example of the Gold coast in Australia, the city hosted several training camps which attracted a huge number of sportspersons in the city. This added $15 million to the local economy. The business travelers added a huge chunk in the economy. Thus, SIT developed the economic conditions there. (Special Interest Tourism can only increase in the 21st Century, 16th September, 2009). Conclusion The SIT has increased in popularity in the recent years. With the development of economy and the increase in work pressure, people today get very less time for leisure activities. Therefore, they have to be offered something different to lure out of their homes during holidays. The “something” should make the people feel more energetic and rejuvenated. For this reason, SIT has come into picture and has grown in popularity. The tastes of different people are different and SIT has products at its disposal, which can suffice to the needs of all. People may choose adventure, may go to forests, may go to cultural place-SIT provides everything. With the support structure firmly in place and the Government supporting the mechanism, SIT is on a growing spree. Looking at the trend, it can be said that the popularity of SIT will only grow in the future. References: 1. Douglas, N. (2001). Special Interest Tourism: Context and Cases. Wiley & Sons. Pp 3-8. 2. Rip Curl Boardmasters Event - Could You Manage This. (n.d.). Bized. Available at: http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/tourism/attractions/surfing/index.htm (Accessed on 15th March, 2010) 3. Tourism in Zambia. (n.d.). Bized. Available at: http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/dc/wildlife/living/issue1.htm (Accessed on 15th March, 2010) 4. The great Singapore sale. (n.d.). Available at: http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg/2009/eng-tourist/home.html (Accessed on 15th March, 2010) 5. Novelli, M. (2008). Niche tourism: contemporary issues, trends and cases. Butterworth-Heninemann. Pp 99-111. 6. 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