Delivery Plan Unit 2: Practical Engineering and Communication Skills s1

Chapter 14: A tourist’s world

Growth of the tourist industry

Recall: There has been growth in both domestic and international tourism. The growth has been caused by a variety of social, economic and political factors. Holiday attractions can be physical or human and they provide the basis for a widening variety of holiday types.

Explain: You should be able to define the following terms: leisure; tourism; package holiday; mass tourism; alternative tourism; eco-tourism. You should be able to explain why there has been an increase in the holiday branch of tourism. You should be able to identify some physical and human tourist attractions and give named place examples. You should be able to explain the appeal of package holidays and the role of multinational companies in mass tourism.

Apply: Make a copy of Figure 4 and for each factor add additional detail from the chapter. Draw a table that compares mass tourism and alternative tourism under the headings: ‘Number of tourists’; ‘Type of destination’; ‘Impacts on destination’.

Resort development (the Butler model)

Recall: Holiday resorts go through a sequence of changes as they develop. These changes may occur at different rates in different resorts and may bring both benefits and problems.

Explain: You should be able to explain the Butler model and the characteristics of its six stages. You should understand that it is a model and that some resorts may not follow its exact pathway. You should be able to explain that there are optional strategies to help those resorts facing decline.

Apply: Draw the shape of the Butler model and mark on the six stages. Annotate the model with comments on: tourist numbers, type of tourism and facilities. Make a list of possible strategies for those resorts that have reached Stage 6 in the model.

Resort development (case study)

Recall: The changes experienced by your chosen case- study resort, from its origins to the present day. These changes may pose challenges, both today and in the foreseeable future, that will need resolution by planners and local government.

Explain: You should be able to explain, using dates and statistics, how your chosen resort has changed over time. You should identify the reasons for it becoming a resort and also for its subsequent growth. You should be able to identify any threats to its continuing prosperity and possible ways of reducing those threats.

Apply: Draw an annotated timeline to illustrate the growth of your resort, from its origins to the present day. Identify when the different stages of the Butler model occurred on your timeline. Add detailed information about the changes in visitor numbers, activities and possible effects on the environment.

Effects of tourist industry growth

Recall: The growth of tourism can have significant positive and negative impacts. These impacts can be social, economic and environmental.

Explain: You should be able to explain the following terms: multiplier effect, profit leakage, labour intensive and seasonality. You should be able to explain the economic benefits of tourism and its possible impacts on the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors and to describe the resulting multiplier effect. You should be able to explain why LICs do not always benefit economically from having a tourist industry. You should know that tourism can have considerable environmental impacts, some of which are irreparable.

Apply: For chosen tourist areas in a LIC and an HIC, create a large table summarising the effects of tourism under the headings: Socio-cultural effects; Economic effects; Environmental effects. Create a cost-benefit table of the effects of trekking in the Khumbu region of Nepal (p.251) to illustrate that tourism can be both a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ activity.

Eco-tourism

Recall: There are several important features of eco-tourism which relate to its social, economic and environmental impacts on the local area and community. Eco-tourism, by nature, can only involve small numbers of visitors if it is to remain a truly sustainable activity.

Explain: You should be able to list the main features of a successful eco-tourist project. You should be able to explain why eco-tourism has many positive aspects compared with mass tourism. You should be able to identify ways by which tourism might become more ‘green’

Apply: For your chosen case study of an eco-tourism project, summarise the main attractions of the area for eco- tourists. Assess the success of the project, considering each of the following aspects of sustainability: social fairness; ‘greenness’; local community participation; futurity. Suggest three possible threats to the ‘futurity’ of your eco-tourism project.

Now revisit the KnowZone section on page 256-257.