MODULE 1

Introduction to
Geography and
Tourism
Traveling has been one of the most sought-after
activities to escape from daily routine. For many,
it is the best way to relax, unwind and rejuvenate
before returning top their usual activities.
What is Geography?
Geography came from the Greek words "geo," meaning "earth" and "graphy" means to
"write".
In contemporary geography, it is a “science more than writing” (Rubenstein, et al.,
2013).
Literally, it means “description of the earth” (Hobbs, 2007).
According to the Royal Geographical Society, geography is defined as the “study of
earth's landscape people places and environment.”

Elements of Geography
The national geographic society identified six essential elements of geography (Hobbs, 2007)
proving that geography is broad and encompassing.

1. World in spatial terms - geography studies the relationships between people places
and environments by mapping information about them into a spatial context.
What is Geography?
2. Places and regions - the identities and lives of individuals and people i rooted in particular
places and in those human constructs called regions.

3. Physical systems - physical processes shaped earth's surface and interact with the plant
and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems.

4. Human systems - people are central to the geography human activities, settlements, and
structures help shape earth's surface, and humans compete for control of earth surface.

5. Environment and society - the physical environment is influenced by the ways in which
human societies value and use earth's physical features and processes.

6. Uses of geography - knowledge of geography in able people to develop an understanding

of the relationships between people, places, and environments overtime- that is of ate as it
was, is, and as it might be.
Rules of Geography in Tourism
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that "tourism comprises the
activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside the usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure businesses and other purposes." the definition
revealed that the graphical characteristics of tourism as it covers people and its activities, places,
destinations, and environment. This simply gives us an idea on the roles of geography in tourism,
such as the following:

Product of Tourism and Travel Motivator - attractions are the most important pillar of tourism,
which serves as a pull factor that brings tourist to the destination or it's a visit (Bonafice et al.,
2016). It also serves as the major travel motivator that drives theories to seek new destinations.
Understanding tourist motivations for traveling is essential to the business aspects of the
tourism industry. Mainly physical and cultural features of the place often catch the interest of
the travelers. The desire to travel is ignited with the idea of discovering the world's wonders.
Every country in the world boost its resources. This can be landforms, bodies of water, climate,
people, and culture.
Climate - refers to the existing weather condition in the region in the Philippines people only
experience wet or rainy and dry or summer seasons. In this sense the climate becomes an
attraction that pulls travelers to visit a certain country.

Bodies of water account for rivers waterfalls seas lakes lagoons and name a few.

Rivers - are made of fresh water running toward larger bodies of water like oceans or seas.
Cruise is one of the activities tourists enjoy and get excited about some of the most popular
rivers in the world are the Nile River in Africa, Amazon River in Brazil, etc.
Waterfalls - are cascades of water running down to a natural basin. This body of
water draw tourist due to its extraordinary beauty. Famous waterfalls are Niagara Falls,
Iguazu Falls, and Angel Falls which is the highest waterfall in the world.
Seas - are bodies of salt water. Apart from their charm various activities also draw tourists to
seas.
Lakes - are large inland bodies of water. Lagoons are shallow sea waters and divided by a
sandbar or coral reef.
Oceans - are innermost body of water. There are four major oceans in the world in these are
the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean
Landforms - are formations on the earth's surface. These are mountains valleys and
plateaus.

Mountains - are land formations attracting travelers with great interest in hiking and
climbing. Mt. Everest in Nepal, Mt. Andes in Peru and Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are some
of the popular mountains in the world that mostly get the mountaineers attention.

Valley - a lowland areas between wheels or mountains. Sometimes a river runs through
it. Its mystic scenery draw stories two places would rather picture is beauty such as the
Valley of Geysers, Napa Valley in California, Logar Valley in Slovenia and Haa Valley in
Bhutan.

Plateau or high plains - are remarkable formations where the top of highest point of
elevation is flat or plane. There are amazing plateau worth visiting like Kukenan Tepui in
Venezuela and Tibetan Plateau, also known as the "rooftop of the world," it is considered
as the highest plateau in the world.
Apart from the earth's physical features, travelers are also motivated by the cultural
attributes of the destination. People's way of life manifested in their food, politics, language,
religion, and economic activities play a significant role in encouraging tourist to visit a
specific place or country.

Travel or itinerary planning - tourism practitioners and tourist find geography significant
in tourism in terms of traveling or tinerary planning. In this sense, geography is seen as a
tool in locating places & identifying distance, common notion of some about geography.
However, tourism and travel trade professionals view geography beyond location and
distance. It goes beyond the purchasing of flight tickets, obtaining tour packages and
booking hotel rooms.
Types of Maps
A map is a flat representation of the world. It contains pertinent information about a
particular area. In tourism, maps are often used to locate a destination and ascertain
distance from origin to destination.

There are various types of maps you can use.

Road map - shows main roads and access to points of interest such as city
landmarks and parks
Political map - focuses on the boundary of a certain nation.
Physical map - generally shows mountains and bodies of water in a certain place.
Climate map - sent information pertaining to the climate a particular area.
Economic map - is a type of map showing the economic resources available in the
area tobacco and iron.
Mental map - is our personal geographic location of information and facts about a
certain place of location (Hobbs, 2007).
The commonly use map by tourist in exploring tourist destinations and attractions is the
tourist map, a type of map used to show the different points of interest and attractions
of a particular city or town. It can be acquired in the airport, tourist information
counters, and places of accommodation. Although not all are gifted in reading maps,
what make this easy-to-understand are the symbols and the legends.
World’s Continents
The world is full of attractions scattered all over the seven continent
located in 197 countries. The seven continents are:

a. North America
b. South America
c. Europe
d. Africa
e. Asia
f. Australia
g. Antarctica
Half of earth's sphere is called a hemisphere the northern and southern
hemispheres are separated by the equator, an imaginary horizontal line at 0
degrees latitude. The eastern and western hemispheres are separated by
the prime meridian, a vertical imaginary line at 0 degree longitude, and it is also
the reference of time in the world. Longitude has a great role in the time
calculation wherein a 360 degrees longitude is equivalent to 24 hours. The
imaginary line toward west of prime meridian indicates a time behind; every 15
degrees is equivalent to 1 hour. Earth's eastward rotation from the prime meridian
is ahead in time. Time zones of the east hemisphere show a plus sign (+) prior to
each number.
International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary longitudinal line that lies at above
180° of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is the line that divides western and
eastern hemisphere. This longitude 0° line runs thru Greenwich, England; that is
why it is also called as Greenwich Meridian. It serves as a point of reference to
measure the distance any place on earth from east to west
 International Tourism
The UNWTO defines, "Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and
staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one
consecutive year four leisure, business and other purposes." The person in this
definition is referred to as a visitor and can be classified as:
Excursionist - or same day visitor or day tripper is a person who stays the
destination less than a day or more than 24 hours.
Tourist - stays at the destination for at least 24 hours or overnight, but the
stay does not exceed a one year.

Tourist engage in international tourism are residents visiting places outside their
home country. This type of travel required documents such as a passport and a
visa before leaving the country and permitted entry into the foreign country.
 International Tourism
Passport is a major requirement in traveling outside one's country. It is an
official and legal document issued by the government to its citizens. There
are different types of passports in the Philippines issued by the Department of
Foreign Affairs.

1. Regular passport issued to Filipinos traveling internationally.

2. Diplomatic passports are provided to diplomatic officials of the country and
3. Official passport issued for official business to the employees of the Philippine
Government.
Regular (Maroon)
issued to any citizen of the Philippines for a Philippine Passport
most common type of passport issued and used for all travel by Philippine
citizen and non-official government.

Official (Red)
issued to members of the Philippine Government for use on official businesses.
issued to Philippine diplomatic post abroad who are not members of the
diplomatic service.
it is the second of two passports issued to the President and the Presidential
family.
Government officials are prohibited from using official passport for non-official
businesses.
Diplomatic (Blue)
most common type of passport issued and used for all travel by
Philippine citizen and non-official government.
this passport has a dark blue cover and extends the privilege of
diplomatic immunity to the bearer.
In securing a Philippine passport, one is required to:
1. Appear personally at the department of foreign affairs or any of their satellite
offices. You cannot just visit their office anytime you want
2. Have a confirmed appointment made before the appearance to the department.
You can set an appointment through their website (http://www.dfa.gov.ph)
3. Accomplish a printed application form that can be downloaded from the
DFA appointment system. The necessary documents required include a birth
certificate issued by the Philippine statistic office, valid id pictures, and other
supporting documents to prove your identity.

Documents needed in travelling abroad are not limited to passports. Entry in other
countries needs an endorsement issued by the consular office of the country to be
visited, which allows the bearer an entry, otherwise known as a visa. Visa
requirements vary per country, not all nations require a visa from their visitors