Components of tourism

Tourism is a combination of sectors to form an industry. Such sectors are:

a)      Attraction sector – these are nature provided or built resources used for tourism
product development. There are three main types of attractions:

i)        Natural attraction – are nature provided public utilities like oceans, lakes,

mountains, beaches, climate, wildlife, rivers etc.

ii)       Cultural attractions – are secondary elements of attractions comprising the

way of life of indigenous community in a particular area (natural setting) having
not been highly affected by modernization. The cultural elements include rural
village, remote setting, architecture, dress, art, handicraft, beliefs, religion,
language, local food etc.

iii)     Special attractions – are tertiary element of attraction consisting of built

environment by man e.g. museums, entertainment centers, aquariums, athletic
stadiums, theme parks, casinos and gambling centers, zoos and orphanages. They
add value to cultural and natural attractions. Hotels and camping sites can also be
categorized here.

b)      Transportation sector – forms dynamic element of tourism involving modes and

means of transport and travel infrastructure like ports and airports. It links TGR and TDR. It
is also a tourism product/service and determines the tourists’ experience on transit. It qualities
are:

i)        Reliability

ii)       Affordability

iii)     Convenience

iv)     Variety

v)      Comfort etc.

c)       Hospitality sector – comprise of accommodation organization, catering organization

and attitudes of community towards tourists and tourism business (whether hospitable or
hostile)

It is therefore subdivided into sub-sectors like lodging subsector (accommodation), food

service subsector (catering) and entertainment. As shown below:

Lodging comprises hotels, apartments, campsites, bandas, log cabins, lodges, villas, resorts,

inns and tree houses etc.
Food service subsector includes fast food operators, vending outlets, restaurants, functional
catering/institutional catering etc. Functional catering offer meals on premises and transport
them for consumptions during events like wedding, conferences, hospitals, schools etc.

Entertainment subsectors comprise organizations that offer live or recorded music,

discotheques, clubs, traditional entertainment music etc.

d)      Organization sector – comprise of all the operations within the tourism distribution
system who determine the movement of travel packages from manufacturers to tourists
through intermediaries and support services. They include tour operators and tour agencies
that are connected to principals and consumers and support networks as shown below.

Principals include hotels, insurance companies, airways, and airport companies who
manufacture travel elements which are packaged and priced by tour operators (wholesalers).
Tour operators also make itineraries (schedule), maps; disseminate travel information,
arranging travel requirements like booking and making reservations for travelers at a fee. The
package is delivered to tourists through travel agents (retailers) at a commission. Tour
operators can also use other support members like consolidators, air brokers and sales
representatives to sell their tickets.

e)      Tourism infrastructure – include built environment like statues, railways, theme

parks, monuments, supply system, telephone supply and sewage system and transport
facilities like roads etc. They collectively determine the state of visitors. They are tertiary
elements of attraction which can be considered special attractions because they facilitate
satisfaction from cultural and natural resources/attractions.

f)       Destination services – are service that tourists consume throughout destination life
cycle. They include travel information, insurance, entertainment, transport, catering,
accommodation, language translation, security, banking, tour guiding, authority etc.

Stages of tourism consumption are:

i)        Pre-visit

ii)       Transit

iii)     Stay at the destination

 iv)     Departure 

Approaches to develop forms of tourism

1)      Mass tourism approach – movement of tourists with an interest of wildlife base,

beaches and business purpose. They are accused of environmental degradation, disruption
of community’s social structure and privacy and marginalization of communities far from
wildlife and beaches. It creates revenue in the short run but not sustainable in future due
to its effect on environment, economy and society. It consumes a lot of natural resources
and involves a lot of irresponsible travelers who have no access to environmental
education.

2)      Alternative tourism approach – approach to develop tourism while utilizing fewer

resources with the aim of generating long term benefit and conserving environment
therefore it is non-consumptive and involves responsible travelers. The forms of tourism
here include cultural tourism, nature based tourism, eco-tourism, agricultural
tourism, special interest tourism etc.

Elements of tourism products include (according to Smith):

  Tangible products

  Service

  Hospitality

  Price

  Freedom of choice

CONCEPT OF TOURISM DESTINATION

Destinations provide tourism supply inform of attractions, facilities, infrastructure and

organization which satisfy tourists’ demands.

Tourism product is an assembly of attractions, goods and services, ideas, organizations,

machines, equipment and experiences into an inclusive intangible service to satisfy tourists’
needs.

The needs of tourists include novelty, adventure, freedom, change, spirituality etc.

Elements of tourism products include (according to Smith):

  Tangible products
  Service

  Hospitality

  Price

  Freedom of choice

Kotler (2004) says that these products are developed in three levels which are:

a)      Actual products - are the tourism packages that tourists purchase e.g. cultural products.

b)      Core product – is the satisfaction expected from the actual consumed i.e. the ability of
cultural tourism product to satisfy the search for novelty.

c)       Augmented products – are the extra services or additional benefits which are expected
to add value to the actual products and core products e.g. a free guided tour to a cultural
homestead, free language interpretation.

Destinations vary depending on available products, development and forms of tourism

promoted e.g. Kenya can be a historic, adventure or recreational destination.

Characteristics of destination

a)      Accessibility – it has to provide various means and modes of transport and transport
infrastructure in order to link TGR and TDR.

b)      Diversity of attractions – must provide diverse natural attractions e.g. landscapes,

wildlife, flora and fauna, museums, villa parks, amusement centers, entertainment centers,
cultural and ethnic attractions and built environment.

c)       Proximity (nearness) to other nearby destinations – must be interlinked by being close

to other destinations to complement the wholesome tourism experience. This facilitates
communications, joint marketing, easy planning, and enhancement of tourists’ satisfaction
and development of tourism circuit.

d)      Presence of conservation efforts for future sustainability – must have authority to plan
and conserve natural resources and create protected areas like national parks and reserves in
order to facilitate their use and future use and benefiting community.

e)      Presence of product development strategies for consumption – it must have developed

product to be consumed by tourists and must satisfy their needs.

f)       Differentiation – they must be unique in physical characteristics i.e. wildlife,

community attraction and built attractions. They must be distinct in image and different in
comparison with other destinations.

Types of destinations

Smith (1997) categorizes destinations into six types:

1.       Ethnic destinations – places which promote ethnic and lifestyle of an indigenous
community e.g. dances, religion, ceremonies etc.

2.       Cultural destinations – places which promote vanishing lifestyle e.g. local settings,
remote villages, and rural areas with activities like consuming local means, undertaking
costume festivals, folklore dances performances, art and craft demonstration in old style
fashion.

3.       Historical destinations – areas which promote historical elements wit attractions like
old towns, churches, monuments, archaeological sites and museums and sound and light
performances done in the ancient way.

4.       Environmental destinations – areas which promote natural and environmental

attractions e.g. national parks, mountain climbing, canoeing and camping etc.

5.       Recreational destinations – are centers of sports like golf courses, tennis, ski-slopes,
pump-fringe beaches which promote games and social contacts in relaxed environmental.
Forms of tourism here are sports and beach tourism.

6.       Business destinations – areas which promote trading, transactions and meeting,

conferences with other activities like recreation and leisure.

IMPACTS OF TOURISM AT THE DESTINATION

1)      Physical impacts – explains effects of tourism on non-living components of

environment like air, water, rocks and soil.

Benefits

a)      Promotes afforestation program as a need to beautify environment therefore leading to

air purification.

b)      Retention of water shed and water catchment areas which promote retention of water
table.

c)       Contributes to research through training which could provide guidelines for

conservation of air, water, soil and rocks.

d)      Floriculture, afforestation and planting of grass in tourism destinations prevent soil

erosion from surface run off. This leads to retention of soil profile, fertility and soil catena.

e)      Protection of landscape from human destruction such as rock weathering, soil

denudation etc. results into conservation of caves, archaeological sites, rift valley cliffs,
historical monuments etc.

Effects 
a)      Emission of CO2 from vehicles can cause accumulation of the gas in ozone layer
leading to greenhouse effect and global warming.

b)      Discharge of effluents containing traces of heavy metals like lead, sulphure, mercury,
aluminium etc. from tourist hotels could deposited to nearby rivers causing water pollution
and soil acidity.

c)       Oil spillage by cruise ships in oceans is likely to cause oxygen reduction in the sea
surface causing death of phytoplankton like algae then death of zooplankton like bacteria
then death of nekton like fish due to lack of food.

d)      Construction of tourist hotels and facilities like airport involves destruction of soil
profile, rock matter which disarranges the soil and rock arrangement.

2)      Environmental impacts - these are the effects of tourism to organisms like plants
and animals (flora and fauna)

Benefits

a)      It contributes to conservation of biodiversity through creation of national parks and

reserves and conservation of endangered and surrogate species.

b)      Afforestation results into retention of indigenous forests which are wildlife habitats.
Revenue generated from tourism can be used for afforestation and creation of protected areas.

Effects

a)      It leads to clearance of vegetation in order to develop airports and other facilities which
could lead to loss of wildlife habitat.

b)      Tourism activities like hunting, fishing and poaching results to rarity and extinction of
some species of wildlife.

c)       Introduction of exotic plants species like flowers leads to reduction of indigenous

species.

d)      Off-road driving causes loss of grass and soil erosion

e)      Driving, hooting and campfires in national parks, landing and taking off of airplanes
and hot air balloons scare wildlife from their natural behaviors such as feeding and breeding.
They become frail and die hence losing strong genetic compositions.

3)      Economic benefits 

Benefits

a)      Contributes to direct income to a country when people sell products directly to tourists.

b)      Development of infrastructure
c)       It causes trickledown effect (amount of time that a dollar spent by a tourist takes to
circulate within the local system) and multiplier effect (ability of tourism to trigger the
development of other businesses in tourism promotion zones.

4)      Socio-cultural effects

Benefits

a)      It contributes to social welfare, common nationality, national peace and regional
understanding while minimizing ethnicity.

b)      It results to social cohesion when various ethnic groups from upcountry travel to other
places to practice business.

c)       International understanding. Results when countries develop bilateral trade

arrangements thus promoting peace.

d)      Promotes preservation of cultural elements

e)      Modernization of communities through technology.

f)       Cultural exchange between host communities and tourists.

Effects  

a)      Ethnicity – resulting from conflict of interests among communities which compete for
resources and space and emergence of social stratification e.g. rich class and poor class.

b)      Terrorism – it can cause terrorism and social crimes, human trafficking, drug trafficking
etc.

c)       Congestion at tourism amenities due to increase in number of visitors which can cause
vandalism of facilities and spread of diseases.

d)      Commoditization of culture – increased marketing of culture to attract more tourists

until the culture becomes a commodity and loses its intended meaning e.g. sing of sacred
songs meant for  to tourists in order to get money

e)      Demonstration effect – the act of demonstrating and practicing other people’s culture
instead of one’s own.  E.g. youths consider western culture to be superior and abandon their
cultures e.g. dress and language.

f)       Contributes to cultural change. It causes distortion or complete disappearance of

element of a culture such as language. The host community culture exposure causes
transformation through:

i)        Assimilation of culture – complete absorption of one or more elements of

the weaker culture by the superior culture.  
 ii)       Acculturation of cultures. Loss of one or few elements of culture during
cultural exchange between superior and inferior cultures. Cultural elements could
be regained through the process of revitalization.

iii)     Trivialization of culture – slight change in culture where one element such as

language could be more pronounced or over emphasized than others although they are not
completely lost.