Domestic Tourism Essay

Whether it is to rest, discover new things, meet new(prenominal)wises or to have a unique experience, every championness has a right to touristry in short, there are not, there should not be, and there keisternot be dickens categories of human organisms, those who can be tourists and those who can only receive them. These cardinal activities are, in fact, but two sides of the homogeneous human activity two of them are noble and respectable and everyone is entitled to them. Domestic tourism (DT), historic eachy speaking, is in fact the first form of tourism that was practised and nowadays it continues to account for the most part of this activity by far it is estimated that tabu of the 4.8 billion tourist arrivals per year (2008 figure), 4 billion, or 83%, play to internal help tourism. Likewise, the UNWTOs economists estimate that at the global level domestic tourism represents* 73% of total overnights* 74% of arrivals and 69% of overnights at hotels* 89% of arrivals and 75% of overnights in other (non-hotel) alterations In light of these impressive figures, one is prompted to ask three questions1. What are the characteristics of domestic tourism?1. AS FOR ITS CHARACTERISTICS, in particular when compared to planetary tourism, it is possible to start with three fundamental observations * 11. In argumentation to international tourists, domestic tourists know the computer address, its language, its customs, its laws, its climate, its cultural context. This has at least two consequences * 111. As a general rule, domestic tourists are much demanding, especially when it comes to the quality of products, and also with regard to their consumer-protection rights* 112. Out of the four main motivations of tourists (discovery, encountering others, experiencing something unique, resting) the end two are certainly more prominent among domestic tourists * 1121. They look to a very wide diversity of types of destinations and tourism activities, in other words, the range of product offerings should be as broad as possible. * 1122. At the same time, domestic tourism is practiced more in a sedentary (staying in the same place) than a nomadic manner, the latter being more suited for more distant destinations.* 12. Second characteristic domestic destinations are nearer * 121. Visits are more frequent and there are more repeat stays, notably with family and especially in the country-style division of provenance of many urban residents * 122. Land ravish is predominantly apply 88% compared to 51% for international tourism* 13. Third characteristic as the destination is nearer and land shift is used more, the cost of trips is demean * 131.Given that the barrier represented by trip cost is brought down, domestic travellers hear the best price-quality ratio, or often the lowest possible price, in all segments of the tourism value chain accommodation, food services, tourism activities, shopping, etc * 132. they therefore sample alte rnative, non-hotel accommodations because, among other things, they are going to return several times to the destination and, while there, they prepare subsequent stays by informing themselves round the local accommodation offerings * 133. last, but not least importantly, they stay for lifelong periods* 14. The combination of these three basic characteristics (knowledge and proximity of the destination, lower cost of transport) brings approximately an entire series of other consequences five of them can be mentioned * 141. The affectionate composition is broader, and domestic tourism involves all social strata, from the richest to persons with down(p) (but stable) incomes * 142. genuine social categories are much more highly represented in domestic tourism than in international tourism* families* children and teenagers* seniors* disabled persons* househ one-time(a)s with modest but stable incomes* 143. This social diversity gives rise to a humongous diversity in the demand, i n terms of accommodation and tourism products as well as activities and destinations. * 144. DT is less(prenominal) geographically concentrated and is relatively go bad distributed throughout the national territory, with a potent presence in the region of provenance of families. * 145. Unit expenditure is markedly lower than in international tourism, especially interregional tourism, but the overall volume of expenditure is markedly higher. 2. What is its meeting on the social life of a country or a region? Five types of main impacts can be mentioned* 21. DT is much less sensitive to crises, whether economic (e.g., 2009 substitution effect), natural, health or political (e.g., 2005 cultivated unrest in France). It is therefore an excellent crisis shock-absorber, especially in the strip of economic crises. * 22. Due to its income redistribution effect (from tourists to local populations) and its various multiplier effectuate all throughout the value chain, it is an excellent to ol for territorial development, for employment for * zones under redevelopment e.g., northern China, southern Poland, eastern Germany, northern France, Wales * zones of rural exodus* mountain regions (in France, extremely poor regions in the Alps at the start of the 20th century) * 23. It is an excellent instrument for easing social tensions * by ceaseing social categories of modest income to gain access to vacations and rest * by preventing situations where the same people (from the same countries) are always the tourists and with the same people receiving them * 24. It can serve to launch a destination (e.g., some of the oldest resorts of European tourism the very new resort of Mazagan, Morocco, launched in October 2009 for the domestic market) * 25. From the macroeconomic crown of view, it makes it possible to amortize national spending on international tourism * physical investments transport, accommodation, development and protection of public spaces (examples of Languedoc, Costa del Sol, Chinese slide resorts) * intangible investments, mainly training and quality3. How can we develop strong domestic tourism?One caveat There is no witching(prenominal) formula and much depends on the national and regional context. A insurgent caveat The development of domestic tourism should not be regarded as antagonistic or alternative to international tourism these two forms of tourism are different to be sure, but they complement each other closely and one should not be neglected in privilege of the other. It is nevertheless possible to identify some broad guidelines 31. Diversifying and developing* 311. transport* low-cost air transport the comparative advantage of low-cost airlines vis--vis handed-down airlines has to do with reductions in ground cost (headquarters, booking, stops) and turnaround rate consequently, the shorter the flight, the more competitive low-cost airlines are it is thus a means of transport that is particularly well-suited to domestic tou rism * coachway network and especially fast rail* road and highway network (e.g., French and Austrian Alps, US) * 312. accommodation* hotels developing family-run hotels and voluntary chains of independent hotels (pooled marketing, publicity, sales and quality standards)* residences (self-catering by families)* seasonal rentals notably by developing quality standards and encouraging the brass of voluntary chains for sales and promotion* camping sites, by go upmarket (e.g., Morocco)* rural inns notably through incentives (tax or subsidy) for the renovation of old buildings (a lot of examples worldwide) * bed & breakfasts, by providing them with a legal framework that all the way distinguishes them from hotels (taxation, definition of products, quality standards) * youth hostels* categories for nature, sea and snow (avoiding the serious errors of France on the subject of safety and security regulations)* 32. Adapting accommodations to local demand the matter of family composition , e.g., China, Europe, Arab countries. As a general rule, accommodations adapted to families are* larger* lower one or two storeys* allow greater autonomy kitchens, washing machines* allow long stays (sedentary tourism)* 33. It needs consequently to address the matters of* land costs and development* very long-term public and semi-public financing* tax indemnity* 34. Expanding the demand this is the role of tourism for all, namely policies that consist in * 341. fashioning the demand more solvent, that is, boosting the purchasing power of families with modest incomes through * holiday vouchers (Italy, France, China)* specific subsidies to low-income families (France, Russia), to young people and to seniors (Spain) * preferential rates on rail transport for families, young people, seniors * 342. Subsidizing accommodations meant for social purposes works councils, associations, local groups or governments (e.g., in Belgium, Mexico, Brazil) * 343. Developing accessibility for disable d persons.* 35. Developing structures for activity organization and promotion at the regional/provincial level and at the local level (tourism offices)This document is an adaptation of a lecture delivered during the Rencontre internationale sur le dveloppement du tourisme domestique Algiers, 9 Dec. 2010