ELEC 4 – TOURGUIDING

Page 1 of 3

TOURISM OVERVIEW

LESSON PROPER
Definition of Tourism
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines Tourism is a social, cultural and economic
phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment
for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists
or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply
tourism expenditure (United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2008).

Definition of Tourist
Building on the definition of tourism, a commonly accepted description of a tourist is “someone who travels
away from his or her home for at least 24 hours, for business or leisure or other reasons”. The United Nations
World Tourism Organization (1995) helps us break down this definition further by stating tourists can be:
• Domestic (residents of a given country travelling only within that country)
• Inbound (non-residents travelling in a given country)
• Outbound (residents of one country travelling in another country)

Types of Tourists
Tourists are classified, according to their needs and their reasons for travelling, into four broad categories:
• Business and professional tourist
• Leisure and holiday tourists
• Tourists travelling to visit friends and relatives (vfar)
• Youth tourists, including backpackers and gap year travellers.
The tourism industry tries to meet the needs of all types of tourists by providing suitable facilities and services
for each category.

Tourists travelling for business and professional reasons

Business tourist: travel is related to business and the world of work. MESE which stands for meetings,
exhibitions and special events. These are all part of the business world. All major cities have
conference centres that cater for the needs of business tourists. An example of a business tourist
would be a salesman who travels to another city to attend a trade show and promote the products
he sells.
Education tourists: travel to attend a place of learning in another town, city, or country, in order to study for
or improve a qualification. They may also be people that attend workshops to learn new skills or
improve existing ones. A clinic nurse who travels to another province to attend a workshop about
infectious diseases is an example of an educational tourist.
Incentive tourists: are people who are rewarded in the form of a company paid holiday for their hard work, or
for achieving goals set by their company. This incentive to travel motivates employees to work
harder, improves work relationships, and builds team spirit. A salesman who receives a holiday
package for achieving the most sales in the company is an example of an incentive tourist.
Health or medical tourist: travel because they want to visit a holiday spa, needs medical special treatment
that is only available away from home, undergo procedures that are cheaper in another country, or
are recovering from an illness in a healthier climate. Many tourists come from oversees countries to
South Africa to have plastic surgery.

Tourist travelling for leisure and holiday reasons

Adventure tourist: want an unusual and exciting experience. They want to participate in activities that may be
dangerous, such as rock climbing, river rafting, skydiving, shark cave diving and bungee jumping.
Cultural tourist: want to experience different cultures, such as San rock art, or cultural related festivals such
as the National Art Festival in Grahams-town, or the International Jazz Festival in Cape Town. They

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
ELEC 4 – TOURGUIDING
Page 2 of 3

would also want to experience the World Heritage Sites in the country.
Eco-tourists: travel to experience nature such as traveling to Bonita Gardens in Bloemfontein South Africa
Leisure tourist: want to rest and relax and have a break from the usual routine Examples of this type of
tourism are a cruise on a cruise liner, a trip on a blue train, attending a special music special music
performance or relaxing on the beach.
Religious tourist: want to see and experience places of religious importance. There are many religious
destinations in the world such as the Hajj in Mecca, Jerusalem in Israel, Varanasi in India, and the
Vatican in Rome. During Easter the largest Christian pilgrimage to Zion City, Moria, Limpopo, takes
place. More than a million pilgrims travel to Moria to every Easter.
Shopping tourist: travel to shopping malls, shopping centres, factory shops, crafts market, festivals, and
touring shopping routes such as the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal. Their main purpose is to buy items.
Special interest tourist (SIT): have particular interest such as bird watching, food and wine, flowers, fishing
during the Sardine Run, or attending the Cape Town Book Fair.
Sport and recreation tourist: participate in or watch sporting events. Popular events include the Soccer World
Cup, Winblendon Tennis Championship, Comrades Marathon, and Fisher River Canoe Marathon.
Surfing, mountain climbing, cricket, swimming, golf and tennis are popular sports.

Tourist travelling to visit friends and relatives (VFAR)

Tourists visiting friends and relatives (VFAR) want to stay in contact with friends and relatives and travel
away from home to visit them. These tourists may travel to attend a wedding, funeral, or birthday
celebration of friends or relatives.

Youth travel: backpackers and gap year travellers

Backpacking or youth tourist: generally, have little luggage, are on a budget, want to experience adventure
and excitement, tend to travel independently, enjoy meeting other traveller, and have flexible travel
schedules. A group of young tourists on a weekend walking tour in the mountains, or a student
touring around the country by bus are examples of this group of tourists.
Gap year travellers: do not study further or enter job opportunity after school, instead they take break called
a gap year. They travel, work and earn money, learn new skills or do volunteer work in another
country. During this time, they gain skills and life experience before starting tertiary education. These
young people are also known as "gappers".

Travel Motivation
Tourist motivation as cited in Pearce, Morrison & Rutledge 1998 has been defined “as the global integrating
network of biological and cultural forces which gives value and direction to travel choices, behaviour
and experience.”
Maslow’s theory is based on a hierarchy of five basic
needs:

Basic Physiological Needs: The needs which are the

most basic constitute this category.
For example, hunger, sleep, thirst, etc.

This concept can also be applied to the

tourism industry. A tourist while
undertaking travel ensures the
availability of appropriate
accommodation, potable water, and
restaurants providing good quality
food.

Safety/Security Needs: These needs protect

individuals from physical and emotional harm.
For example, job security, the stability of income. etc.

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg
ELEC 4 – TOURGUIDING
Page 3 of 3

In the case of the tourism industry, destinations can attract tourists only if they provide sufficient
security and hassle-free vacation experience. Thus, in case of a tourist destination safety
and security could be ensured by providing assistance and ensuring repatriation of travellers
in case of any emergency (Natural calamity, etc.)

Affiliation/belonging needs: The third need relates to the desire of formulating and/or building relationships
with people to create a sense of belongingness. To tourists, this need is essential to become familiar
with communities and to ultimately immerse in the travel experience.

Esteem Needs: After the fulfilment of affiliation and belonging needs, the fourth need arises which is, esteem
needs. This includes self-respect, recognition, and attention. This phenomenon is very much evident
in the tourism industry as a large part of the tourists’ community, travel to boast among friends and
family, and to gain higher social status.

Self-actualization Needs: This is the final need in the pyramid. It includes growth and self-fulfillment. In the
context of tourism, travellers are seen to be traveling to improve a specific skill set like hiking, trekking
or even undertaking activities like scuba diving, caving, etc. which results in increased stamina,
improving their risk-taking abilities and many more.

Dann’s Theory of Push and Pull Factors

This theory through two different levels of sociopsychological motivation. Their 2 levels have been described
in detail as follows:

Push Factors:
As described above, push factors are intrinsic or internal desire or needs that urge people to travel. Push
factors are socio-psychological in nature as they arise from within the individuals and are associated with
factors like yearning for rest, leisure, recreation, spending time with family and friends or even a weekend
getaway are all examples of Push factors. Psychological and physiological imbalances in particular play an
important role in motivating people.

Pull factors:
Pull factors, on the other hand, are based on a destination’s attractiveness, specifically the facilities and
amenities it has to offer to the tourists, for example appropriate accommodation, restaurants, entertainment
facilities, etc. Despite the fact that pull factors are largely stimulated by external forces and are destination
specific, they can help set off the push factors.

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

— Ruth Bader Ginsburg