Leisure: any freely chosen activity or experience that takes place in non-work time or compulsory activity
Sport: a physical activity involving a set of rules or customs, activity maybe competitive
Tourism: travel away from home for at least one night for the purpose of leisure
Sport: a physical activity involving a set of rules or customs, activity maybe competitive
Tourism: travel away from home for at least one night for the purpose of leisure
Changing Leisure Patterns
Global trends
: total 880 million global international tourists in 2009, rising steadily at an ever-faster rate. Europe is the dominant destination (top destination is France), with Asia and the pacific increasing in tourists.
Government promotion
The government promotes leisure as it boosts work efficiency, improves health and life satisfaction. tourism is a pretty profitable industry as it increases foreign investment spending and improves employment. tourism contributes to the total 10.4 % of global GDP
Global trends
: total 880 million global international tourists in 2009, rising steadily at an ever-faster rate. Europe is the dominant destination (top destination is France), with Asia and the pacific increasing in tourists.
- Increase in Asia as tourism destination: cheaper destination alternatives, newly developed infrastructure, more diversity (Asia, Latin America, Middle east… growing x2 speed compared to advanced destination)
- Growth of Western Europe: well-established primary/secondary tourist resources, climate zones (winter, summer attractions)
Government promotion
The government promotes leisure as it boosts work efficiency, improves health and life satisfaction. tourism is a pretty profitable industry as it increases foreign investment spending and improves employment. tourism contributes to the total 10.4 % of global GDP
Reason for global growth of tourism
Accessibility (ease of reach/engage/participate)
Changes in technology (online, medical advance designed to improve user performance)
Affluence (the abundance of wealth and disposable income)
ECONOMIC REASONS:
SOCIAL REASONS
TECHNOLOGY
Reason for possible decline in tourism
Accessibility (ease of reach/engage/participate)
Changes in technology (online, medical advance designed to improve user performance)
Affluence (the abundance of wealth and disposable income)
ECONOMIC REASONS:
- Growth of world economy: Many has been removed from poverty. Increase in disposable income and wage, paid holiday (min 28 days in EU) and increase in aged population, flexible working hours in HIC.
SOCIAL REASONS
- Smaller family size and replacement level fertility
- Improved life expectancy and retirement (+better pension)
- Less visa restriction (no visa when going from Philippine to Vietnam)
- Political stability (Myanmar Burma, increase of tourists by 3 million after releasee of Aung San)
- Major sporting events, more UNESCO sites, natural beauty (Sahara desert, Himalaya Mountains)
- Improving linguistic skills
- Increase in population
TECHNOLOGY
- Transport revolution (bigger, further, faster, cheaper). Car ownership increased, new trainworks, appearance of low-cost airlines
- Booking (apps like Trivago: comfortable and comparable)/ package system, and discount
- Better advertisement for destinations (billboards, magazines, TV, especially online)
- Convenience in payment through credit cards.
- Improved infrastructure (swimming pools, stadiums…)
- Increased funding in sport, host of major events.
- Impact of social media (tourism relies on favorable opinions. Over ½ of facebook users said that their vacation choice was influenced by friends’ holiday photos. Over 92% of customers said that social media is trustworthy compared to advertising.
Reason for possible decline in tourism
- Economic recession (Greece)
- Natural disaster, Rising sea levels (Maldives)
- Increase In cost (oil price increase)
- Terrorist attack (Bali bombings) (terrorists usually target tourists.)
- Conflict (when local people facing hardships are forced to co-exist with wealthy international tourists, conflict is often inevitable)
Types of Tourism
- Scale
- Sustainable tourism: preserves primary tourist resources and supports the livelihoods and culture of local people.
- Ecotourism: similar to sustainable tourism, but with focus on natural environment (
- Heritage tourism: tourism based on historic legacy as its main focus (natural landscape, historical buildings)
- Medical tourism: people travel to undergo medical procedures (plastic surgery, dentistry etc.) – because medical standards better or cheaper)
- Primary resources: pre-existing tourist attractions that often exist naturally (weather, wildlife, mountains etc.)
- Secondary resources: facilities that have been purposefully built for tourists (hotels, restaurants, golf courses and airports)
*honeypot: location that attracts a large number of tourists
*Economic leakage: money lost from tourist destination (often taken overseas by TNCs like Hilton Hotel)
*diaspora tourism: people come ‘back home’: don’t need the same facilities. Money not spent as much, but most likely go to local businesses. Less affected by economic recession, disadvantages like leakage.
- Scale
- Mass tourism or package holiday (large scale tourism when flights, accommodation, tours and transfers are booked together and often part of a group)
- Day trips (visits to place of interest, without staying overnight)
- Domestic tourism (tourism within the country of residency)
- International tourism (tourism outside the country of residency)
- Sustainable tourism: preserves primary tourist resources and supports the livelihoods and culture of local people.
- Ecotourism: similar to sustainable tourism, but with focus on natural environment (
- both attempts to minimize impact on environment, locals, educate tourists. But ecotourism on smaller scale, doesn’t focus much on economic needs. Ecotourism involves physical activity. Usually remote areas of natural beauty.
- it could be done by: Using resources sustainably, maintaining biodiversity, supporting local economies and communities, training staff, undertaking research…sometimes ecotourism is described as ‘egotourism’, because of backpackers who contribute less to the economy but dive deeper into the environment by going off the track.
- Heritage tourism: tourism based on historic legacy as its main focus (natural landscape, historical buildings)
- Medical tourism: people travel to undergo medical procedures (plastic surgery, dentistry etc.) – because medical standards better or cheaper)
- Primary resources: pre-existing tourist attractions that often exist naturally (weather, wildlife, mountains etc.)
- Secondary resources: facilities that have been purposefully built for tourists (hotels, restaurants, golf courses and airports)
*honeypot: location that attracts a large number of tourists
*Economic leakage: money lost from tourist destination (often taken overseas by TNCs like Hilton Hotel)
*diaspora tourism: people come ‘back home’: don’t need the same facilities. Money not spent as much, but most likely go to local businesses. Less affected by economic recession, disadvantages like leakage.
Link between economic development and participation in leisure activities
There is a strong correlation between income and leisure activity.
HIC
LIC
BRICS
There is a strong correlation between income and leisure activity.
HIC
- More disposable income (can afford expensive equipment etc.) , more time to enjoy the activity
- Diversity (resorts, spas, theaters, concert halls, exhibitions, cruises)
- Leisure activity for elderly (25% of population over 65)
LIC
- Less opportunity in engaging in leisure pursuits.
- Sudan herding boys play chicken game to spend the working times more enjoyably
- Storytelling, music, making dolls with rocks
- Usually big gender gap (women has housing and parenting responsibility)
BRICS
- Acceleration of leisure industry
- Huge development in cinema, large demand for health resorts, spas, theaters, concert halls, exhibitions and cruises.
Case Study: changes in leisure participation for societies at contrasting stages of development
China and UK comparison
Levels of leisure comparison
CHINA
- 2018 update: two full week holiday and five three-day holiday
*facility
- Beijing 2022 winter Olympics
- visits to ski regions (from 5.5m to 15.1 m from 2009 to 2016)
*policy
- encourage fitness, health, outdoor activity
- limits in youth’s gaming
UK
*increase in use of gym: increased focus in wealth/wellbeing appearance
*competitive socializing (indoor golfing, pingpong, karaoke)
*cinema (box office total 1.7b euros, high compared to other EU countries)
*wider offerings (popup restaurants and pub)
*house hobbies like live entertainment or sofa Netflix
*technology (digital gambling)
China and UK comparison
Levels of leisure comparison
- Spending on recreation is significantly lower in china (in 2013, 9.2% was in China when 14.5% was in the UK.)
- It is cheap, local, less technological equipment or facilities, less time.
CHINA
- Disposable income has increased, but still only 2% of workers earn enough to pay income tax
- 2018 update: two full week holiday and five three-day holiday
*facility
- Beijing 2022 winter Olympics
- visits to ski regions (from 5.5m to 15.1 m from 2009 to 2016)
*policy
- encourage fitness, health, outdoor activity
- limits in youth’s gaming
UK
- increasing leisure: 17% increase in spending in 2016 (129b pounds), compared to 2011
*increase in use of gym: increased focus in wealth/wellbeing appearance
*competitive socializing (indoor golfing, pingpong, karaoke)
*cinema (box office total 1.7b euros, high compared to other EU countries)
*wider offerings (popup restaurants and pub)
*house hobbies like live entertainment or sofa Netflix
*technology (digital gambling)
Factors affecting personal participation in sports and tourism
Barriers: sports is male dominated. For Muslim women, there are more restrictions. (can’t participate in gender-mixed sports, lack of role models, doesn’t link with the religious requirement)
- demographic/ socio economic factor
- affluence
- gender (men has more leisure time, more physical activity)
Barriers: sports is male dominated. For Muslim women, there are more restrictions. (can’t participate in gender-mixed sports, lack of role models, doesn’t link with the religious requirement)
- personality
- place of residence (urban, rural/ temperature)
- stage in family life cycle
Urban tourism hotspot: Venice
*primary tourist resource
Problem
Problem could be solved by…
solutions implemented
- The historic center of Venice comprises 700 ha with buildings protected from alterations by government legislation.
- 20 million visitors per year, compared to 54500 residents
- Total touristic income of 250 million euros. Directly impacts 5000 jobs.
*primary tourist resource
- historic sites around St. Marco Square, canal (Doge palace, bridge of sigh)
- souvenirs, train and bus link, 5-star hotel, ship cruise, gondola ride
- wild distribution of accommodation near the primary tourist resource (easily accessible by transport system. They show a distance decay of intensity with distance from these places)
- cheaper rental facilities are further from main attraction
Problem
- prevalence of grab and go tourism (exceed carrying capacity, doesn’t leave high income in the region): out of all tourists, only 2m visit the cultural attractions such as galleries and museums.
- rubbish and pollution
- congestion (as visitors exceed the carrying capacity for 2/3 of the year, especially in the August: clear seasonal variations.)
- wave erosion by large ships
- local complaints (e.g. tourists sleeping on bridges, stealing gondolas at night, covering churches with graffiti…)
Problem could be solved by…
- one-way walking streets
solutions implemented
- building gates around the city and charging visitors to enter
- denying access to the city by unauthorized tour coaches via the main coach terminal.
Rural tourism hotspot: Peru
*human, physical attraction
Benefits: (similar benefits of tourism) +conservation of natural and cultural resources that would have become derelict otherwise.
- the lost city of the Incas
- 700% increase in tourists from 1980 to 2013. Tourists pay $50 for Inca trail Machu Pichu. Generate $40 million per year for the government.
*human, physical attraction
- Exotic plants and animal life
- Variety of orchids, miniature deer
- Peaks of Andes
- Royal highway that lead to pilgrims and Holy city.
- Hot springs, wide range of restaurants.
Benefits: (similar benefits of tourism) +conservation of natural and cultural resources that would have become derelict otherwise.
Leisure Theories
Leisure Hierarchy (population, range and number of service, sphere of influence)
Threshold population: the minimum population required for a service to be offered
Sphere of influence: the area that people travel from to use a service.
Intra- urban: within an urban area (settlement of over 10000)
Rural-urban fringe: the boundary between the urban area and the rural area.
Tourist, recreational business district
Leisure Hierarchy (population, range and number of service, sphere of influence)
Threshold population: the minimum population required for a service to be offered
Sphere of influence: the area that people travel from to use a service.
Intra- urban: within an urban area (settlement of over 10000)
Rural-urban fringe: the boundary between the urban area and the rural area.
Tourist, recreational business district
The burgess model
|
+ example of burgess model : *New Zealand Christchurch
roads all aimed towards the center, nothing that connects the road.
*the land developed along the road that stretch to the port. |
The Butler model
Bid Rent Theory
Change in facilities depending on settlement.
Hamlet: public house, bar, river (basic leisure activities)
Large town: accommodation, pools, libraries, colleges, shopping high street
Capital city: theme park, sports stadium, theaters, a range of accommodation, art galleries.
(as going down, there is more variety of facility, larger number of tourists, global restaurants and brands, traffic, higher land price, well-maintained environment.)
Reason for change in recreational provision
- CBD is expensive, mostly retail or activities needing large threshold (museum, art gallery)
- Rural urban fringe (leisure requiring major space)
Change in facilities depending on settlement.
Hamlet: public house, bar, river (basic leisure activities)
Large town: accommodation, pools, libraries, colleges, shopping high street
Capital city: theme park, sports stadium, theaters, a range of accommodation, art galleries.
(as going down, there is more variety of facility, larger number of tourists, global restaurants and brands, traffic, higher land price, well-maintained environment.)
Reason for change in recreational provision
- Space (cannot have golf in the center of town as it is hard to find enough place)
- Historical location (Cathedral, at the center of town as city has been developed that way)
- Land value, use in the surrounding area (demographic consideration, cultural influence)
- Accessibility (large shopping centers should be in location easily accessible and large population)
- Advertising and recognition
- Socioeconomic status (richer area, able to afford better facilities)
- Government policy (high focus on health and recreation? Maintaining huge central park)
- Population density
Case Study: USA NBA
Case Study: Glastonbury festival
- Systematically organized: Made up of first division east, west coast (3 divisions, 5 within each). Many other smaller divisions.
- Population density (bigger the city, bigger the support)
- Linked to the historic growth of USA. (proximity of states: South and North Carolina share the top team)
- Large Midwest farming plains
- Success linked to support based and investment (higher the wealth of area, more sponsors, more governmental support)
- The sphere of influence
- Wider international supporter
- Internet, TV coverage, sponsor marketing, payment to play for the teams
- Migration of local supporters
- But still continues home state support for many.
Case Study: Glastonbury festival
- Glastonbury: town in Southwest England.
- Largest greenfield festival in the World (around 175000 people has attended: an exponential increase). Leading pop, rock artists.
Tourism in an international scale
Vocabs
b) ecological capacity: level of use that environment can sustain before environmental damage
c) perceptual capacity: the level of crowding that a tourist will tolerate before deciding the location is too full.
- max tourists before destruction. If exceeded, it may lead to consequences like:
Vocabs
- Carrying capacity
b) ecological capacity: level of use that environment can sustain before environmental damage
c) perceptual capacity: the level of crowding that a tourist will tolerate before deciding the location is too full.
- max tourists before destruction. If exceeded, it may lead to consequences like:
- Inflation
- Congestion, air pollution, water pollution/shortage.
- Reduction of number of visitors.
The above: multiplier effect
→ not only create jobs in tertiary sector, but also encourages growth in primary and secondary sector of industry (food from local farmers, fertilizers or clothes)
→ tourism can be further promoted by: relaxed immigration controls, improve tourist facilities and transport routes, language skills
Niche National Tourism
Transnational Corporations
→ not only create jobs in tertiary sector, but also encourages growth in primary and secondary sector of industry (food from local farmers, fertilizers or clothes)
→ tourism can be further promoted by: relaxed immigration controls, improve tourist facilities and transport routes, language skills
Niche National Tourism
- Special interest tourism for small number of tourists.
- Adventure (remote, risky area like Mount Everest)
- Movie
- Heritage (Machu Pichu: travel to experience the place, artifacts and historic sites)
Transnational Corporations
- For NIC (often insufficient infrastructure at first: rely on TNC for organization/market. Airlines, hotels, cruise lines…
- Advantage: greater range of tourist employment, higher wage
Case study of Morocco
Niche tourism in movie
Ecotourism ‘green economy’
→aims to develop ecological project. Natural resource, manage waste.
- Proximity to spain, Mediterranean hot summer, exotic/green mountains/desert/beaches, high safety, heritage
- Process of development: 2013, 10m tourists arrived, indirectly employing 5m, $7.5m receipts.
- GDP US$3018 per person. 4m people living below the poverty line. 30% unemployment.
Niche tourism in movie
- Appeared in ‘Mission Impossible,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ : Atlas Mountain Studio
- Total two movie studios + UNESCO heritage site
- High Chinese market (many choose Morocco as destination to taste the country’s unique Arabian flavor.
Ecotourism ‘green economy’
→aims to develop ecological project. Natural resource, manage waste.
- Drip irrigation system
- Organic vegetable garden in Berber Farm Hotel (fair compensation to local partner. Priority to local service provider)
- Green key ranking for hotels
- Wastewater used for maintenance of 12 golf courses
- Environmental aspect partnership and investment is high.
- Vision 2020 tourism strategy focuses on green economy. Try to mobilize stakeholders, build innovative public-private partnership.
- Ouzond waterfall/ Ait Ben Huddon day trip/ Essaica Seal town trip.
Case Study: Cost and benefits of major sporting event: London Olympics 2012.
Citations:
Nagle, Garrett, and Briony Cooke. Geography for the IB Diploma. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Kelly, Beth. “Water into Salt: Salt Water Intrusion in South Florida.” UncommonThought, 18 Sept. 2015, www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2015/09/18/water-into-salt-salt-water-intrusion-in-south-florida.php.
Tiffanyyannn. “Groundwater.” IB Geography, 9 Oct. 2015, tiffanychenggg.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/groundwater/.
Pearce, Fred . “On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water.” Yale Environment 360, 12 Mar. 2015, e360.yale.edu/features/on_the_river_nile_a_move_to_avert_a_conflict_over_water.
Nagle, Garrett, and Briony Cooke. Geography for the IB Diploma. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Kelly, Beth. “Water into Salt: Salt Water Intrusion in South Florida.” UncommonThought, 18 Sept. 2015, www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2015/09/18/water-into-salt-salt-water-intrusion-in-south-florida.php.
Tiffanyyannn. “Groundwater.” IB Geography, 9 Oct. 2015, tiffanychenggg.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/groundwater/.
Pearce, Fred . “On the River Nile, a Move to Avert a Conflict Over Water.” Yale Environment 360, 12 Mar. 2015, e360.yale.edu/features/on_the_river_nile_a_move_to_avert_a_conflict_over_water.