Tourism Trends in the Latter Half of the 20th Century - Coursework Example

TOURISM TRENDS IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY In the latter half of the 20th century, tourism has undergone a noticeable trend in the changes, which are influential to not only on this sector, but also on the economic growth in the respective countries. The travelling mannerism across the globe is facilitated by various significant factors. These changes are directly determined by the changes in technology that has been eminent in 20th century. It is worth to recognize the rapid infrastructural development, technological discoveries and the advanced means of transport. All these establishments facilitate online booking, travelling and proper planning of any tourism venture ahead of time. In the past, rich and high-class people dominated the industry. The industry considered no room for mass consumers and alternative products. The emerging trends give an opportunity for further investments not only on travelling sector but also on other operating companies in the same industry. Travelling industry acts as a booster to the economic developments in various regions and countries around the globe, which acts as the destinations for the tourists. In this regard, the tourism development is based on the strategic introduction and rapid changes (Duval, 2007). A major trend in the contemporary tourism industry is the gradual development in the tourists’ destinations, which encourages the reintroduction of new opportunities for further development of the tourism sector. In the contemporary world, tourism is a popular sector, which has an ever-increasing manner. New trends and forms stimulates both mass and niche form of tourism to coexist and persist in both national and international markets. In deep scrutiny of 20th-century trends, there is an easy time to distinguish between social, cultural changes and technological changes. The change of modern transportation system in the world is rapid. In early 20th century, trains were regarded as the most advanced means of transport (Williams, 2010). The system of railroad was well-structured in North America and Europe, which are regarded as the most developed nations. Poor transportation development was still a consistent matter of concern world wide. The development of these anticipated railroads, roads and other infrastructure later had a great impact in the tourism sector since improved transportation directly affected the rate of travels. The avid development in the aviation sector in mid-20th century encouraged air travelling to a great number of people. This gives an avid reason for the tourism industry boom in the mid-20th century till the greater accomplishment noticed from late 20th century up to date (Travis, 2011). There is also other technological advancement in the late 20th century. These entail the growth in information and telecommunication technology. New information and telecommunication technologies have had a consistent change in the tourism sector. In the past, the tourism industry was exotic due to poor communication and lack of information concerning destinations that underwent incubation into mass industry. In early 20th century, tourists used to stay in isolation far away from their motherland with no communication link whenever they travelled. The development of modern means of communications that comprises of the internet, cell phones amongst other telecommunication devices eliminated the communication barrier hence promoting tourism. In this regard, tourists can easily enquire about their destination and keep in touch with the other family members while in the tourist destinations (Sharpley and Telfer, 2002). Social, cultural levels have also undergone vast development in the latter half of 20th century. In the first half of 20th century, each country had its unique and diverse culture for tourist attraction. At the eve of mid 20th century, there was a bipolar split of the world through the impact of USSR and USA superpowers split. This division limited the travelling opportunities worldwide. The latter 20th century marked the end of the cold war whereby the travelling barriers were eliminated culminating fast economical globalization growth hence promoting the tourism industry (Ozturk, n.d.). The right and convenient means of transport and ease to the reach the required destination have facilitated the trend of mass tourism. A reliable technology is also a factor worth considering when comparing the past niche form of tourism to mass tourism. On the same line of thought, mass tourism growth directly implicates local economy infrastructural development in case the concerned tourism industry encourages foreign tourists (Ranade, 2009). In addition, there is also some increase in business logistics when mass tourism increases. This places mass tourism as a stimulant for local economic growth. Furthermore, this trend of tourism facilitates the establishment of the companies related to the tourism industry to accommodate the growing number of tourists. Profitability increases and local industry also increases such as resort, restaurant, hotels and entertainment industries (Scranton and Davidson, 2007). These are the industries, which have direct linkage to tourist consumables. The trend of mass tourism evident in late 20th century carries along some risks. Consequently, there is a problem in satisfying the needs of large numbers of tourists. The main solution to this challenge can be found if all the influential factors are constant as the retaining of constant and stable flow of tourists which is a difficult task. Some environmental and human catastrophes have a great impact to the tourism industry hence low chances of unwelcome crisis. The modern world faces other forms of threats, which can easily affect the trends in the tourism industry as evident in latter 20th century. For instance, terrorism threats are some of the imperative factors for consideration. The result is a substantial decrease in the number of tourists and a substantial decline in the tourism sector (Raj, Griffin and Morpeth, 2013). Another characteristic trend is the presence of flexible and convenient niche form of tourism. This mode of tourism is independent of the large flow of tourists hence dedicated to certain customers of a specific area. For example, ecotourism is a form of niche tourism experienced at this specific time that presents no objective reasons to encourage mass tourism. In this form of tourism, some activities are in use to facilitate the tourists’ attraction, for example, Olympic Games (Hinch and Higham, 2004). Promotional campaigns are part of this tourism industry, and a diverse activity is created after a major event to sustain the involved companies. Creation of other activities, which attract people, is also an alternative solution. In conclusion, it is possible to outline vivid trends in the tourism sector in late 20th century as a subject to both technological and social-cultural Revolution. The transportation system development, informational technologies and telecommunication growth have also had a great impact to the growth of the economy. Cultural improvement between nations and the spread of western culture across the globe is also a factor worth considering. The outstanding emergence of western culture has had a direct impact to the changes eminent in the tourism industry. In the latter stage of the 20th century, tourism shifted from elite orientation to the recent mass customer oriented industry. These changes directly influenced the target destination since many people were allowed to travel not only to their regional boundaries but also to other parts of the world. The rate of transportation cost and other limiting factors have been overpowered by the technological discoveries and improved infrastructure in late 20th century compared to the situation in early 20th century. Because of these trends in today’s situation exotic countries like Eastern Asia, Africa and other developing countries have become major tourist’s destination points. The source of these tourists includes Europe, United States of America, Japan, and Canada amongst other developed countries. There is a probability of green tourism inclination in the future for tourists from developed countries. Educational tourism could also be eminent in developing countries. In the current economic globalization, forecasting of the future business development is impossible due to unexpected fluctuation in the tourism inflow in a given nation. References Duval, D. (2007). Tourism and transport. 1st ed. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Hinch, T. and Higham, J. (2004). Sport tourism development. 1st ed. Clevedon [England]: Channel Veiw Publications. Ozturk, G. (n.d.). Handbook of research on the impact of culture and society on the entertainment industry. 1st ed. Raj, R., Griffin, K. and Morpeth, N. (2013). Cultural tourism. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: CAB International. Ranade, P. (2009). Infrastructure development and its environmental impact. 1st ed. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. Scranton, P. and Davidson, J. (2007). The business of tourism. 1st ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Sharpley, R. and Telfer, D. (2002). Tourism and development. 1st ed. Clevendon: Channel View Publications. Travis, A. (2011). Planning for tourism, leisure and sustainability. 1st ed. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: CABI. Williams, S. (2004). Tourism, development and sustainability. 1st ed. London [u.a.]: Routledge. Williams, S. (2010). Tourism. 1st ed. Abingdon: Routledge. Read More