Conceptual Framework of Tourism

- Aritro Dasgupta

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 Tourism Impacts- Conceptualization
 Dynamic: No. of people traveling to a destination
 Static: No. of people staying at a destination
 Consequential: A combination of dynamic & static where
economic, physical & social subsystems come directly or
indirectly in contact with the tourist

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 Flow of Impacts
 Impacts result from processes of change
 Not a point event but a continuous process
 Not necessarily immediate consequences but part of broader
process of change which are unexpected & difficult to predict
 Changes may also be due to external uncontrollable factors
like wars, natural disasters, political /economic causes etc.

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 Flow of Impacts
 Expenditure of time & money being discretionary, there are
variations depending on individuals’ choice
 Thus market gets fragmented

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 Dynamic Element

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 Components of Dynamic Element
 Demand: the actual requirement or willingness to embark
upon tourism activities
 Influencers of demand: factors which influence the
requirement & willingness

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 Tourism Demand
 Actual Demand: the present, existing list of travelers
 Potential Demand: motivated to do so but unable to
because of financial or other practical constraints
 Deferred Demand: will travel if motivated at a later date,
but presently lack of awareness or knowledge of
opportunities

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 Influencers of Tourism Demand
 Changes in disposable income
 Stress levels
 Mobility
 Level of Education
 Growing Intermediaries

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 Influencers of Tourism Demand
 Development of new tools
 Coordination within tourist industry
 Stimulation of demand by converting potential & deferred
demand to actual

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 Static Element

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 Components of Static Element
 Carrying Capacity
 Economic Capacity

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 Carrying Capacity
 It is the maximum number of people who can use a site
without an unacceptable alteration in the physical
environment
 No unacceptable decline in quality of experience for visitors
 Limit beyond whose threshold, any change induced by tourist
activity is primarily negative

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 Components of Carrying Capacity
 Physical: physical damage done to area beyond which
recovery is improbable
 Social: irrevocable damage done to society’s culture through
spread of social contamination like usage of drugs, alcoholism
etc.

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 Economic Capacity
 Space available for various tourism related infrastructure
development
 Total capital available on land in given area for economic
development

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 Influencers of Carrying Capacity
 Tourist Characteristics
 Destination Characteristics

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 Tourist Characteristics
 Socio-economic characteristics of visitors- age, gender,
income level, racial & ethnic background
 Visitor density- number of visitors in a given space, level of
use
 Length of stay
 Types of tourist activity
 Levels of tourist satisfaction

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 Destination Characteristics
 Natural environmental features & processes
 Economic structure, development & patterns of investment
 Social structure, demographic profile of the host population,
religious affiliations, attitudes & values towards tourist
 Political organization, political structure, host country &
destination
 Level of tourism development- nature, diversity & eating-out
facilities

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 Consequential Element

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 Components of Consequential Demand
 Economic Impacts: monetary costs and benefits which
result from the development and use of tourist facilities and
services
 Physical Impacts: alteration to environmental capital i.e.
soil, air, water etc.
 Social Impact: Changes in the lifestyle of local community
& trade-offs involved

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 Consequential Element- Carrying
Capacity
 Carrying capacity varies across all these three factors & gives
rise to conflicts. A tourist activity has positive economic and
negative physical and social impacts e.g. A new resort in a
backward area creates jobs. Less availability of water (shared
with resort) and changing lifestyles (employees working in
shifts) affecting social behavior

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 Tourist Buying Decision Characteristics
 No tangible return virtually on the investment. (except
business travel, where contracts are signed or opportunities
explored)
 Often substantial expenditure
 Not spontaneous purchase, usually planned in advance,
considerable financial implications.
 Customers visit websites & tourism marketing portals
 Tourists travel extra mile to see something exotic

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 Steps in Decision Making Process
 Felt need or travel desire
 Information collection and evaluation
 Travel agents advertising
 Friends and relatives
 Time and money available
 Cost of various alternatives

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 Steps in Decision Making Process
 Travel Decisions
 Destination
 Mode of travel
 Type of accommodation
 Activities
 Travel Preparation: bookings, funds organized, clothing
and equipment decided
 Travel satisfaction evaluation
 expectation versus actual experience
 influence subsequent travel decisions

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 Influencers of Tourism Decisions
 Tourist profile
 Travel awareness
 Trip features
 Destinations characteristics

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 Tourist Profile
 Socio- economic characteristics
 Behavioural characteristics

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 Socio Economic Characteristics
 Age, education, income and previous experiences influence
attitudes, perceptions and motivations and effect decisions.
 Higher disposable incomes travelers prefer expensive hotels
etc. & vice-versa for lower income groups
 Elderly people reluctant for mountain climbing & other
adventurous sports

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 Influencers of Behavioural
Characteristics
 Motivations
 Attitudes
 Needs

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 Motivations
 Physical
 Cultural
 Personal
 Prestige & status

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 Motivations
 Physical Motivations
 Refreshment of body and mind
 Pleasure, fun, romance, excitement
 Health purposes (Medical or voluntary)
 Cultural Motivations
 Curiosity about people and places
 Interest in art, music, architecture
 Interest in historical places
 Experience specific events (e.g Olympics)

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 Motivations
 Prestige & Status Motivations
 Pursuit of hobbies
 Continuation of education or learning
 Business contacts and professional goal

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 Personal Motivations
 Visiting friends and relatives
 Meeting new people, friendship
 Seek new and different experiences
 Desire for a change
 Personal excitement of traveling
 Spiritual reasons (pilgrimage)
 Travelling for travel’s sake

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 Travel Awareness
 Formal sources (Magazines, travel brochures )
 Informal sources (Relatives, friends or other travelers )
 Image of potential destination

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 Trip Features
 Distance
 Duration of stay in single/multiple
 Time constraints
 Trip cost
 Perceived risk and uncertainty

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 Destination Characteristics
 Types of attraction
 Availability and quality of services
 Environmental conditions
 Attributes of the host population
 Practical barriers (customs, immigration, security)
 Accessibility
 Host attitudes

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 Cohen’s Classification
 Organized Mass Tourist
 Individual Mass Tourist
 Explorer
 Drifter

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 Organized Mass Tourist
 Fixed itineraries
 Planned and guided stops
 Novelty minimum
 Familiarity is at a maximum
 Everything left to the organizer

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 Individual Mass Tourist
 Not entirely planned by others
 Some control over his / her itinerary
 Major arrangements made through travel intermediary
 Mixes little with members of the host community
 Familiarity is still dominant

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 Explorer
 Plan their own trips and try to avoid developed tourist
attractions as much as possible
 Novelty dominates but tourist does not become fully
integrated with the host society

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 Drifter
 Plan trips alone, visit tourist attractions and live with
members of the host society
 High involvement in the host culture, sharing its shelter, food
and habits
 Novelty dominant and familiarity disappears

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 Evaluation of Tourism
Conceptualization
 Impacts of tourism- outcome of complex array of
phenomena
 Comprises 2 sets of Frameworks

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 First Framework
 Impacts of tourism are the result of interaction between
tourists and the destination area and its population
 Economic, physical and social sub-systems of the destinations
area have carrying capacities
 Magnitude and direction of tourist impact is determined by
tolerance limits of each
 Positive impacts are present until limits are exceeded when
impacts become negative

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 Second Framework
 Impacts of tourism are the consequences of tourist decisions
 Impacts are dynamic, changing with corresponding changes
in destination features, trip characteristics and the personal
and behavioral attribute of tourists
 Subsequent modules focus on a detailed examination of the
consequences of tourist decisions on economic, physical and
social sub-systems in destination areas

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 Thank You

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