Notes t.geo

Travel Geography

UNIT 1:
TRAVEL GEOGRAPHY AND ITS ROLE IN TOURISM

Objectives:
• Define and identify the divisions of geography
• Understand the importance of travel geography
• Discuss the relationship between tourists and tourism system
• Identify and explore the major geographical and geological features

An Overview of Geography

The science of geography is likely the oldest of all sciences. Geography is the answer to the
question that the earliest humans asked, "What's over there?" Exploration and the discovery of new
places, new cultures, and new ideas have always been basic components of geography.

Thus, geography is often called the "mother of all sciences" as studying other people and other
places led to other scientific fields such as biology, anthropology, geology, mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry, among others. (See other Definitions of Geography)

Definitions of Geography

Many famous geographers and non-geographers have attempted to define the discipline in a few
short words. The concept of geography has also changed throughout the ages, making a definition
for such a dynamic and all-encompassing subject difficult.

"To provide accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of
the earth surface." - Richard Hartshorne, 1959

"Geography is fundamentally the regional or chorological science of the surface of the earth." -
Robert E. Dickinson, 1969

"Geography is the study of the patterns and processes of human (built) and environmental (natural)
landscapes, where landscapes comprise real (objective) and perceived (subjective) space." - Gregg
Wassmansdorf, 1995

Divisions of Geography

Today, geography is commonly divided into two major branches - 1) cultural geography (also
called human geography) and 2) physical geography.

The Basics of Cultural Geography

Cultural geography is the branch of geography dealing with human culture and its impact on the
earth. Cultural geographers study languages, religion, foods, building styles, urban areas,
agriculture, transportation systems, politics, economies, population and demographics, and more.
Cultural geography is the study of the many cultural aspects found throughout the world and how
they relate to the spaces and places where they originate and then travel as people continually move
across various areas.
©2012 World-Point Academy of Tourism Sdn. Bhd. All Rights Reserved.

Travel Geography

Some of the main cultural phenomena studied in cultural geography include language, religion,
different economic and governmental structures, art, music, and other cultural aspects that explain
how and/or why people function as they do in the areas in which they live. Globalization is also
becoming increasingly important to this field as it is allowing these specific aspects of culture to
easily travel across the globe.

Cultural landscapes are also important because they link culture to the physical environments in
which people live. This is vital because it can either limit or nurture the development of various
aspects of culture. For instance, people living in a rural area are often more culturally tied to the
natural environment around them than those living in a large metropolitan area.

Today, cultural geography is still practiced and more specialized fields within it such as feminist
geography, children's geography, tourism studies, urban geography, the geography of sexuality and
space, and political geography have developed to further aid in the study of cultural practices and
human activities as they relate spatially to the world.

The Basics of Physical Geography

Physical geography is the branch of geography dealing with the natural features of the earth, the
home of humans.

Physical geography looks at the water, air, animals, and land of the planet earth (i.e. everything that
is part of the four spheres - the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere.) Physical
geography is closely related to geography's sister science - geology - but physical geography
focuses more on the landscapes at the surface of the earth and not what is inside our planet.

Physical geography encompasses the geographic tradition known as the Earth Sciences Tradition.
Physical geographers look at the landscapes, surface processes, and climate of the earth - all of the
activity found in the four spheres (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere) of our
planet.

Physical geography consists of many diverse elements. These include: the study of the earth's
interaction with the sun, seasons, the composition of the atmosphere, atmospheric pressure and
wind, storms and climatic disturbances, climate zones, microclimates, hydrologic cycle, soils, rivers
and streams, flora and fauna, weathering, erosion, natural hazards, deserts, glaciers and ice sheets,
coastal terrain, ecosystems, and so very much more.

Knowing about the physical geography of the planet is important for every serious student of the
planet because the natural processes of the earth (which is what the study of physical geography
encompasses) affect the distribution of resources, the conditions of human settlement, and have
resulted in a plethora of varied impacts to human populations throughout the millennia. Since the
earth is the only home to humans, by studying our planet, we humans and residents of the planet
earth can be better informed to help take care of our only home.

Other key areas of geography include regional geography (which involves the in-depth study and
knowledge of a particular region and its cultural as well as its physical characteristics) and
geographic technologies like GIS (geographic information systems) and GPS (global positioning
system).


Travel Geography

Travel Geography

Tourism Geography is the study of travel and tourism, as an industry and as a social and cultural
activity. Tourism geography covers a wide range of interests including the environmental impact of
tourism, the geographies of tourism and leisure economies, answering tourism industry and
management concerns and the sociology of tourism and locations of tourism.

Tourism geography is that branch of science which deals with the study of travel and its impact on
places.

Importance of Travel Geography

Geography is fundamental to the study of tourism, because tourism is geographical in nature.
Tourism occurs in places, it involves movement and activities between places and it is an activity in
which both place characteristics and personal self-identities are formed, through the relationships
that are created among places, landscapes and people. Physical geography provides the essential
background, against which tourism places are created and environmental impacts and concerns are
major issues, that must be considered in managing the development of tourism places.

The approaches to study will differ according to the varying concerns. Much tourism management
literature remains quantitative in methodology and considers tourism as consisting of the places of
tourist origin (or tourist generating areas), tourist destinations (or places of tourism supply) and the
relationship (connections) between origin and destination places, which includes transportation
routes, business relationships and traveler motivations. Recent developments in Human geography
have resulted in approaches such as those from cultural geography, which take more theoretically
diverse approaches to tourism, including a sociology of tourism, which extends beyond tourism as
an isolated, exceptional activity and considering how travel fits into the everyday lives and how
tourism is not only a consumptive of places, but also produces the sense of place at a destination.

Tourist and Tourism

What is Tourism?

There is no single definition of tourism that is universally accepted. WTO, Madrid, Spain, is a
specialized agency of the United Nations. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism as

“Activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise
of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.”

Branches of tourism:

 Inbound international tourism: visits to a country by nonresidents of that country.
 Outbound international tourism: visits by the residents of a country to other countries.
 Domestic tourism: visits by residents within their own country.
 Internal tourism: domestic + inbound international
(Visits by residents and non-residents within a country.)
 National tourism: domestic + outbound international
(Visits by the residents of a country within their own country and to other countries.)

E.g.. China: Inbound-domestic-outbound

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How about tourism industry?

Many businesses and other types of tourism organizations offer complementary rather than
competing products and services. An airline, hotel, restaurant, travel agency, and attraction
do not compete with each other. They complement each other and combine to offer visitors
a satisfying vacation or business trip.

 The input and output can not be clearly identified.
 Besides there is no single industry code for tourism under the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS)
 Macroeconomists point out that the recognition of tourism as an industry can lead to
double counting because standard industry classifications fully account for all
elements of the economy without finding it necessary or appropriate to recognize
tourism.
 Unlike other industries that are defined by the products and services they produce
(the supply side), the tourism industry is defined from a demand side perspective.
 A tourism industry supplies products and services to tourists.
 The Tourism Industry is defined as individuals, businesses & organizations that are
working to provide product & services (including information) to tourists.
 They include those that work in transportation, lodging, entertainment and food &
beverage.

Tourist System

Visitor
1. Tourist
2. Excursionist

A visitor is defined as 'any person traveling to a place other than that of his/her usual environment
for less than twelve months and whose main purpose of trip is other than the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited'.

Tourist: temporary visitor staying at least 24 hours in the country visited and the purpose of whose
journey can be classified under one of the following headings.
• leisure (creation, holiday, health, study, religion, and sports)
• business, family, mission, meeting.

Excursionist: temporary visitor staying less than 24 hours in the country visited (including travelers
on cruises) - Also called Day Tourist or Day Excursionist.

Classification of Travelers

1. Tourists in international technical definitions.
2. Excursionists in international technical definitions.
3. Travelers whose trips are shorter than those that qualify for travel and tourism; e.g., under
50 miles (80 km) from home.
4. Students traveling between home and school only -- other travel of students is within scope
of travel and tourism.

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5. All persons moving to a new place of residence including all one-way travelers, such as
emigrants, immigrants, refugees, domestic migrants, and nomads.


Travel Geography

Relationship among tourism, tourism industry, and tourist

Tourism process developed by Chau (1977). He described the tourist as the demand, the travel
industry as the supply, and attractions as the tourist product and summarized the interrelate process
as the subject, means, and objective of tourism.

Gunn in his book, tourism planning (1979), referred to a “tourism fundamental system” involving
five components: tourist, transportation, attractions, services-facilities, and information-direction.

Leiper (1979) involved five basic elements in his system: tourists, generating regions, transit routes,
destination regions, and a tourist industry operating within physical, cultural, social, economic,
political, and technological environments.

The reasons for using a systems approach for study of tourism:

 To emphasize the interdependency in tourism; the tourism system is like a spider’s web –
touch one part are felt throughout the system. For a student beginning to study tourism, it is
important to get “the bigger picture” right away. The tourism system model framework
provides a more comprehensive view of tourism: it captures “the big picture”.
 The second reason is because of the open system nature of tourism. Tourism system is
dynamic and constantly changing. New concepts are always arriving in tourism, such as
ecotourism, TSA.
 The third reason is the complexity and variety in all aspect of tourism. For example, there
are thousands of specialized tours and packages available for travelers today.

Major Geographical and Geological Features

Going by the physical map of the world, the total land area on the surface of the world is around
148,647,000 square kilometers. The highest elevation point in the world is the Mount Everest peak
(8,850 meter) of the Himalayan Range and the lowest point is the Dead Sea (-411 meters). In a
physical world map, the following topographical features can be seen.

Mountains: Mountains are one of the most prominent of the earth's landforms. A mountain is a
large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area and usually in the form of
a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill.

Some of the world's greatest mountain ranges include the Rockies and the Appalachians in North
America, the Andes in South America, the Atlas Mountains and Drakensberge Mountain Range in
Africa, the Alps, the Carpathian Mountains in Europe, the Himalayas, the Urals, the Caucasus, the
Elburz, Altay, Kunlun and the Zagros mountain ranges in Asia, and the Great Dividing Range in
Australia. Some of the most prominent highlands that one can locate in world maps are Guiana
Highlands and the Brazilian Highlands in South America, the Ethiopian Highlands in Africa, and
the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats in India.

Mountain characteristics:
Tall mountains reach into the colder layers of the atmosphere. They are consequently subject to
glaciation, and erosion through frost action. Such processes produce the peak shape. Some
mountains have glacial lakes, created by melting glaciers; for example, there are an estimated 3,000


Travel Geography

glacial lakes in Bhutan. Mountains can be eroded and weathered, altering their characteristics over
time.

Mountains are generally colder than their surrounding lowlands due to the way that the sun heats
the surface of the Earth. Practically all the heat at the surface of the Earth comes from the sun, in the
form of solar energy. The sun's radiation is absorbed by land and sea, whence the heat is transferred
into the air.

Mountains are generally less preferable for human habitation than lowlands; the weather is often
harsher, and there is little level ground suitable for agriculture. The decreasing atmospheric pressure
means that less oxygen is available for breathing, and there is less protection against solar radiation
(UV).

Many mountains and mountain ranges throughout the world have been left in their natural state, and
are today primarily used for recreation, while others are used for logging, mining, grazing, or see
little use. Some mountains offer spectacular views from their summits, while others are densely
wooded. Summit accessibility is affected by height, steepness, latitude, terrain, weather. Roads, ski
lifts, or aerial tramways allow access. Hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing, ice
climbing, downhill skiing, and snowboarding are recreational activities enjoyed on mountains.
Mountains that support heavy recreational use (especially downhill skiing) are often the locations of
mountain resorts.

Mountains are made up of earth and rock materials. The outermost layer of the Earth or the Earth's
crust is composed of seven primary plates. When two plates move or collide with each other, vast
land areas are uplifted, forming mountains.

Plateaus: Plateaus are also prominent landforms and are generally flat land areas, but with an
altitude. Plateaus are normally bounded by an escarpment on all sides and some are also surrounded
by mountains. Some of the most famous plateaus of the world as depicted in the physical map of the
world are the Mexican Plateau, Tibetan Plateau, Central Siberian Plateau, and the Kimberley
Plateau in Australia.

Plateaus characteristics:
Plateau, extensive area of flat upland usually bounded by an escarpment on all sides but sometimes
enclosed by mountains. The essential criteria for plateaus are low relative relief and some altitude.
Plateaus are extensive, and together with enclosed basins they cover about 45 percent of the Earth’s
land surface. Although plateaus stand at higher elevation than surrounding terrain, they differ from
mountain ranges in that they are remarkably flat.

Plains: Plain lands form another important physical landform on the earth's surface. Physical Map
of World represents the different Plains and river valleys on the earth's surface including the Great
Plains and the Coastal Plain of North America, the Northern European Plains, the West Siberian
Plain, the Indus Valley, the Gangetic Plain and the Brahmaputra Valley in India, the North China
Plain, and the Nullarbor Plain in Australia.

Plain characteristics:
Plains have three main characteristics - they are found on land, they have rolling areas, and they are
low in elevation. They are areas of low relief. Plains do not have hills or mountains. An example of
a plain is the Great Plains of the Central United States of America.

Deserts: A desert is a vast land area that is extremely dry with little or no vegetation. Some
definitions of a desert also include areas that are too cold to support any vegetation such as frigid or

Travel Geography

polar areas. The World Physical Map shows the location of some of the world's largest deserts
including the Sahara, Kalahari and Namib deserts in Africa, the Arabian Desert, the Thar Desert,
the Gobi Desert and the Takla Makan Desert in Asia, the Sonoran Desert in North America, the
Atacama Desert in South America, and the Simpson Desert and the Great Sandy Desert in
Australia.

:Desert characteristics
Sand covers only about 20 percent of the Earth's deserts. Most of the sand is in sand sheets and sand
seas--vast regions of undulating dunes resembling ocean waves "frozen" in an instant of time.
Nearly 50 percent of desert surfaces are plains where eolian deflation--removal of fine-grained
material by the wind--has exposed loose gravels consisting predominantly of pebbles but with
occasional cobbles.

The remaining surfaces of arid lands are composed of exposed bedrock outcrops, desert soils, and
fluvial deposits including alluvial fans, playas, desert lakes, and oases. Bedrock outcrops commonly
occur as small mountains surrounded by extensive erosional plains. Oases are vegetated areas
moistened by springs, wells, or by irrigation. Many are artificial. Oases are often the only places in
deserts that support crops and permanent habitation.

Underground channels carry water from nearby mountains into the Turpan Depression of China. If
the channels were not covered, the water would evaporate quickly when it reached the hot, dry
desert land.

Oceans and Seas: The Physical Map of the World shows the earth's oceans and the adjacent seas,
gulfs and bays. Some of them include the Pacific Ocean encompassing the Bering Sea, the Sea of
Okhotsk, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, the Atlantic Ocean
encompassing the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Baffin Bay, the
Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea, and the Indian Ocean encompassing the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Gulf of Aden, the
Gulf of Oman, and the Great Australian Bight.

Ocean and Seas characteristics:
Around most continents are shallow seas that cover gently sloping areas called continental shelves.
These reach depths of about 650 feet (200 m). The continental shelves end at the steeper continental
slopes, which lead down to the deepest parts of the ocean.

Beyond the continental slope is the abyss. The abyss contains plains, long mountains ranges called
ocean ridges, isolated mountains called seamounts, and ocean trenches which are the deepest parts
of the oceans. In the centers of some ocean ridges are long rift valleys, where Earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions are common. Some volcanoes that rise from the ridges appear above the surface
as islands.

The sedimentary rocks that exist on the ocean bottom are much younger than any similar rocks
found on the continents. The cores of mud and rock brought back by deep-sea drilling ships vary
greatly in age, but no deposits from the ocean floor seem to be more than about 200 million years
old. This makes oceanic crust very young compared with the continents, which contain rocks up to
about 4 billion years old.

Rivers: The main accessible sources of fresh water on the earth's surface are the rivers and the
lakes. Some of the most important rivers of the world including the Mississippi and the Missouri in
North America, the Amazon and the Orinoco in South America, the Nile, the Niger, the Congo and

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the Zambezi in Africa, the Danube, the Dniester, the Dnieper and the Volga in Europe, the
Euphrates, the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Hwang Ho, the Yangtse Kiang, the Amur
and the Mekong in Asia, and the Murray and Darling rivers in Australia.
Rivers characteristics:
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or
another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before
reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including
stream, creek, brook, rivulet, tributary and rill. Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle. Water
within a river is generally collected from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff
and other sources such as groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural
ice and snowpacks (e.g., from glaciers).

The water in a river is usually confined to a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In
larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by flood-waters over-topping the channel. Flood
plains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel. This distinction between river
channel and floodplain can be blurred especially in urban areas where the floodplain of a river
channel can become greatly developed by housing and industry.

The term upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the
direction of flow. Likewise, the term downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of the
river, in which the current flows

Lakes: The prominent lakes and inland seas include the Great Lakes of America including, Lake
Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, Lake Titicaca in South
America, Lake Chad, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi in Africa, the Black Sea in
Europe, the Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal in Asia and Lake Eyre in Australia.

Lakes characteristics:
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that
is surrounded by land apart from a river, stream, or other form of moving water that serves to feed
or drain the lake. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons,
and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are
usually flowing. However most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.

Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing
glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some
parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last
Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with
sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for industrial or agricultural use, for hydro-electric
power generation or domestic water supply, or for aesthetic or recreational purposes.


Travel Geography

UNIT 2:
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
Objectives:
• Explain the concept of destination
• Outline the major destinations and attractions in the world
• Identify the countries of the world and their general tourism profiles including climate,
capital cities, bordering countries, and etc.
• Understand the roles of UNESCO

What is Destinations?

Destination is a place to which a person is travelling or a thing is sent. Tourist destination is a
city, town, or other area that is dependant to a significant extent on the revenues
accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some
“tourist traps”.

Tourist attractions

A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited
cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities. Some
examples include historical places, monuments, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries, botanical
gardens, buildings and structures (e.g., castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers, bridges),
national parks and forests, theme parks and carnivals, living history museums, ethnic enclave
communities, historic trains and cultural events. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks.

Tourist attractions are also created to capitalise on legends such as a supposed UFO crash site near
Roswell, New Mexico and the alleged Loch Ness monster sightings in Scotland. Ghost sightings
also make tourist attractions.

Ethnic communities may become tourist attractions, such as Chinatowns in the United States and
the black British neighborhood of Brixton in London, England.

In the US, owners and marketers of attractions advertise tourist attractions on billboards along the
side of highways and roadways, especially in remote areas. Tourist attractions often provide free
promotional brochures and flyers in information centres, fast food restaurants, hotel and motel
rooms or lobbies, and rest areas.

While some tourist attractions provide visitors a memorable experience for a reasonable admission
charge or even for free, others can have a tendency to be of low quality and to overprice their goods
and services (such as admission, food, and souvenirs) in order to profit from tourists excessively.
Such places are commonly known as tourist traps.

Novelty attraction


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Novelty attractions are oddities such as the "biggest ball of twine" in Cawker City, Kansas, the Corn
Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, or Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska where old cars serve in the
place of stones in a replica of Stonehenge. Novelty attractions are not limited to the American
Midwest, but are part of Midwestern culture.

Tourist traps

A tourist trap is an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created with the aim of
attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide services, entertainment,
souvenirs and other products for tourists to purchase.

While the term may have negative connotations for some, such establishments may be viewed by
tourists as fun and interesting diversions.

Major Destination in the World

Top Ten Country of Destination by Regions in 2011

International tourist arrivals by country of destination 2011

Rank Country International tourist arrivals
1 France 76.80 million
2 United States 60.88 million
3 China 55.67 million
4 Spain 52.68 million
5 Italy 43.63 million
6 United Kingdom 28.13 million
7 Turkey 27.00 million
8 Germany 26.88 million
9 Malaysia 24.58 million
10 Mexico 22.40 million

Africa

1 Morocco 9.29 million
2 South Africa 8.07 million
3 Tunisia 6.95 million
4 Zimbabwe 2.24 million
5 Mozambique 2.22 million (2009)
6 Algeria 1.91 million (2009)
7 Botswana 1.55 million (2009)
8 Nigeria 1.41 million (2009)
9 Kenya 1.39 million (2009)
10 Namibia 0.98 million (2009)

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Middle East

1 Egypt 14.05 million
2 Saudi Arabia 10.85 million
3 Syria 8.55 million
4 United Arab Emirates 7.43 million
5 Bahrain 4.94 million (2007)
6 Jordan 4.00 million
7 Israel [note 2]
3.5 million
8 Lebanon 2.17 million
9 Qatar 1.66 million (2009)
10 Oman 1.52 million (2009)
Notes
1. Africa and the Middle East are classified together as one region by the UNWTO.
2. Israel is classified under the "Southern/Mediter. Eu." subregion by the UNWTO.

The Americas

1 United States 59.75 million
2 Mexico 22.40 million
3 Canada 16.10 million
4 Argentina 5.29 million
5 Brazil 5.16 million
6 Dominican Republic 4.13 million
7 Puerto Rico 3.68 million
8 Chile 2.77 million
9 Cuba 2.51 million
10 Colombia 2.39 million

Asia and the Pacific

1 China 55.67 million
2 Malaysia 24.58 million
3 Hong Kong 20.09 million
4 Thailand 15.84 million
5 Macau 11.93 million
6 Singapore 9.16 million
7 South Korea 8.80 million
8 Japan 8.61 million
9 Indonesia 7.00 million

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10 Australia 5.89 million

Europe

1 France 76.80 million
2 Spain 52.68 million
3 Italy 43.63 million
4 United Kingdom 28.13 million
[note 1]
5 Turkey 27.00 million
6 Germany 26.88 million
7 Austria 22.00 million
8 Ukraine 21.20 million
9 Russia 20.27 million
10 Greece 15.01 million
Notes
1. Turkey is classified under the "Southern/Mediter. Eu." subregion by the UNWTO.

Major Attractions in the World

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The historian Herodotus (484 – ca. 425 BCE), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca. 305 –
240 BCE) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of seven wonders but their writings have
not survived, except as references. The seven wonders included:
• Great Pyramid of Giza
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
• Colossus of Rhodes
• Lighthouse of Alexandria
The list known today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no
longer in existence. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of
Giza.

New Seven Wonders of the World


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Wonder Date of construction Location
Great Wall of China Since 7th century BC China
Petra c.100 BCE Jordan
Christ the Redeemer Opened October 12, 1931 Brazil
Machu Picchu c.1450 CE Peru
Chichen Itza c.600 CE Mexico
Colosseum Completed 80 CE Italy
Taj Mahal Completed c.1648 CE India
Great Pyramid of Giza (Honorary Candidate) Completed c.2560 BCE Egypt

Seven Wonders of the Modern World

Wonder Date started Date finished Location
December 1, Strait of Dover, between the
Channel Tunnel May 6, 1994
1987 United Kingdom and France
February 6, June 26, 1976, tallest freestanding
CN Tower Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1973 structure in the world 1976–2007.
May 1, 1931, Tallest structure in the
Empire State January 22,
world 1931–1967. First building with New York, NY, U.S.
Building 1930
100+ stories.
Golden Gate Strait, north of
Golden Gate January 5,
May 27, 1937 San Francisco, California,
Bridge 1933
U.S.
Paraná River, between Brazil
Itaipu Dam January 1970 May 5, 1984
and Paraguay
Delta Works/
1920 May 10, 1997 Netherlands
Zuiderzee Works
January 1,
Panama Canal January 7, 1914 Isthmus of Panama
1880

Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the
world, and there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many existing lists
was compiled by CNN:
• Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
• Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
• Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Mount Everest, Himalaya, International Border Nepal-China
• Aurora (a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and
Antarctic) regions)
• Parícutin volcano, Mexico
• Victoria Falls, Southern Africa, between Zambia and Zimbabwe
World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument,
building, complex, or city) that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical
significance. The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by

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the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 states parties which are elected by their
General Assembly.

The program catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to
the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the
World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the
Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference
of UNESCO on November 16, 1972. Since then, 189 states parties have ratified the convention.

As of 2011, 936 sites are listed: 725 cultural, 183 natural, and 28 mixed properties, in 153 States
Parties. Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites to date with 47 sites inscribed
on the list. UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with an identification number; but new
inscriptions often include previous sites now listed as part of larger descriptions. As a result, the
identification numbers exceed 1200 even though there are fewer on the list.

While each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is
located, UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists:

The Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage are established by UNESCO aiming to ensure the better
protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their
significance. Through a compendium of the different oral and intangible treasures of humankind
worldwide, the program aims to draw attention to the importance of safeguarding intangible
heritage, which has been identified by UNESCO as an essential component and a repository of
cultural diversity and creative expression.

The programme currently compiles two lists. The longer Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity comprises cultural "practices and expressions [that] help
demonstrate the diversity of this heritage and raise awareness about its importance." The shorter
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding is composed of those cultural
elements that concerned communities and countries consider require urgent measures to keep them
alive.

Note: Please refer Internet for the full list of World Heritage Site

Activity:
Have a look at the world map, identify the continents of the world and determine which countries
include in which continents. After that, explore each of the countries’ general tourism profiles
including their climates, capital cities, currencies, bordering countries, international airports, as well
as their landmarks and major attractions.
(Refer to Appendix A)

UNIT 3:
RESOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM
Objectives:
• Explain the landform landscape and identify the different types of landform
• Explore the environmental Academy of Tourism Sdn. Bhd.coastal development
©2012 World-Point importance and impact of All Rights Reserved.
• Discuss the main resources in tourism including wildlife resources, nature resources and
man-made resources
• Understand about protected landscape and the role of WCPA

Travel Geography

Landform Landscape

Landform

A landform in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and
is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and
as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform is the any recognizable naturally
formed surface feature of the earth. Landforms have a characteristic shape and can include
such large features as plains, plateaus,mountains,valleys as well as small features such as
hills, canyons and eskers. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody
interface features such as bays, peninsulas, seas and so forth, including sub-aqueous terrain
features such as submersed mountain ranges, volcanoes, and the great ocean basins.

Physical characteristics

Landforms are categorised by characteristic physical attributes such as elevation, slope, orientation,
stratification, rock exposure, and soil type.

Gross physical features or landforms include intuitive elements such as berms, mounds, hills,
ridges, cliffs, valleys, rivers, peninsulas and numerous other structural and size-scaled (i.e. ponds
vs. lakes, hills vs. mountains) elements including various kinds of inland and oceanic waterbodies
and sub-surface features.

Hierarchy of classes

Oceans and continents exemplify the highest-order landforms. Landform elements are parts of a
high-order landforms that can be further identified and systematically given a cohesive definition
such as hill-tops, shoulders, saddles, foreslopes and backslopes.

Some generic landform elements including: pits, peaks, channels, ridges, passes, pools and plains,
may be extracted from a digital elevation model using some automated techniques where the data
has been gathered by modern satellites and stereoscopic aerial surveillance cameras.
Terrain (or relief) is the third or vertical dimension of land surface. Topography is the study of
terrain, although the word is often used as a synonym for relief itself. When relief is described
underwater, the term bathymetry is used. In cartography, many different techniques are used to
describe relief, including contour lines and TIN (Triangulated irregular network).*

Landforms do not include man-made features, such as canals, ports and many harbors; and
geographic features, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, and impact craters.
Terrain

Terrain is used as a general term in physical geography, referring to the lie of the land. This is
usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientation of terrain features. Terrain affects
surface water flow and distribution. Over a large area, it can affect weather and climate patterns.

Travel Geography

* Differences between topography and cartography:
Topography Cartography
Topography is a field of planetary science Cartography is the study and practice of
comprising the study of surface shape and making maps. Combining science, aesthetics,
features of the Earth and other observable and technique, cartography builds on the
astronomical objects including planets, moons, premise that reality can be modeled in ways that
and asteroids. It is also the description of such communicate spatial information effectively.
surface shapes and features (especially their
depiction in maps). Modern cartography is closely integrated with
geographic information science (GIScience) and
The topography of an area can also mean the constitutes many theoretical and practical
surface shape and features themselves. foundations of geographic information systems.
In a broader sense, topography is concerned with
local detail in general, including not only relief
but also vegetative and artificial features, and
even local history and culture.

* List of landforms:
Type of landforms Characteristics
Aeolian landforms are features of the Earth's
Aeolian landforms surface produced by either the erosive or
constructive action of the wind.
Coastal and oceanic landforms See: Ocean and sea (Unit 1)
Landforms produced by erosion and weathering
usually occur in coastal or fluvial environments.
Erosion is the process by which soil and rock
Erosion landforms
are removed from the Earth's surface by natural
processes such as wind or water flow, and then
transported and deposited in other locations.
Fluvial is a term used in geography and Earth
science to refer to the processes associated with
rivers and streams and the deposits and
Fluvial landforms landforms created by them. When the stream or
rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or
ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluvioglacial
is used.
Lacustrine landforms See: Lake (Unit 1)
Glacial landforms are those created by the
action of glaciers. Most of today's glacial
landforms were created by the movement of
large ice sheets during the Quaternary
Mountain and glacial landforms
glaciations. Some areas, like Fennoscandia and
the southern Andes, have extensive occurrences
of glacial landforms; other areas, such as the
Sahara, display very old fossil glacial landforms.
Slope landforms See: Plateau and plain (Unit 1)
A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's
surface or crust, which allows hot magma,
Volcanic landforms
volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the
surface.


Travel Geography

Coastal

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be
called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone"
can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs.
Both the terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region; for
example, New Zealand's West Coast, or the East and West Coasts of the United States.

A pelagic coast refers to a coast which fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast
in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of the land which adjoin any large
body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). Similarly, the somewhat related
term "bank" refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river (riverbank) or to a body of water
smaller than a lake. "Bank" is also used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of
earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond. In other places this may be called a levee.

Environmental importance

The coast and its adjacent areas on and off shore is an important part of a local ecosystem as the
mixture of fresh water and salt water in estuaries provides many nutrients for marine life. Salt
marshes and beaches also support a diversity of plants, animals, and insects crucial to the food
chain.
The high level of biodiversity creates a high level of biological activity, which has attracted human
activity for thousands of years.

Human impacts

Human uses of coasts

An increasing part the global population inhabits coastal regions. Many of the world's major cities
have been built on or near good harbors and have port facilities. Jurisdictions that are landlocked
have achieved port status by such measures such as building canals.

The coast is a crucial frontier that nations typically defended against military invaders, smugglers
and illegal migrants. Fixed Coastal defenses have long been erected in many nations and coastal
countries typically have a navy and some form of coast guard.

Coasts, especially those with beaches and warm water are an important draw for tourists. In many
island nations such as those of the Mediterranean, South Pacific and Caribbean, tourism is central to
the economy. Coasts are popular destinations because of recreational activities such as swimming,
fishing, surfing, boating, and sunbathing. Growth management can be a challenge for coastal local
authorities who often struggle to provide the infrastructure required by new residents.

Threats to a coast

Coasts also face many environmental challenges relating to human-induced impacts. The human
influence on climate change is thought to be a contributing factor of an accelerated trend in sea
level rise which threatens coastal habitat.
Pollution can occur from a number of sources: garbage and industrial debris, the transportation of
petroleum in tankers, increasing the probability of large oil spills, small oil spills created by large
and small vessels, which flush bilge water into the ocean.


Travel Geography

Fishing has diminished due to habitat degradation, overfishing, trawling, bycatch and climate
change. Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has gone
from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries. The scraping of the ocean floor in
bottom dragging is devastating to coral, sponges and other long-lived species that do not recover
quickly. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species
composition and biodiversity. Bycatch, the capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is
typically returned the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents approximately
¼ of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture, the bycatch is five times larger than the shrimp
caught.

Also, the melting arctic ice will cause sea rise which will flood costal areas.

Coastal management

In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively,
defense against flooding and erosion. The term coastal defence is the more traditional term, but
coastal management has become more popular as the field has expanded to include techniques that
allow erosion to claim land.

Current challenges in coastal management

The coastal zone is a dynamic area of natural change and of increasing human use. They occupy
less than 15% of the Earth's land surface; yet accommodate more than 50% of the world population
(it is estimated that 3.1 billion people live within 200 kilometres from the sea). With three-quarters
of the world population expected to reside in the coastal zone by 2025, human activities originating
from this small land area will impose an inordinate amount of pressures on the global system.
Coastal zones contain rich resources to produce goods and services and are home to most
commercial and industrial activities. Shore protection consists up to the 50's of interposing a static
structure between the sea and the land to prevent erosion and or flooding, and it has a long history.

From that period new technical or friendly policies have been developed to preserve the
environment when possible. Is already important where there are extensive low-lying areas that
require protection. For instance: Venice, New Orleans, Nagara river in Japan, Holland, Caspian Sea
Protection against the sea level rise in the 21st century will be especially important, as sea level rise
is currently accelerating. This will be a challenge to coastal management, since seawalls and
breakwaters are generally expensive to construct, and the costs to build protection in the face of sea-
level rise would be enormous.

Changes on sea level have a direct adaptative response from beaches and coastal systems, as we can
see in the succession of a lowering sea level. When the sea level rises, coastal sediments are in part
pushed up by wave and tide energy, so sea-level rise processes have a component of sediment
transport landwards. This results in a dynamic model of rise effects with a continuous sediment
displacement that is not compatible with static models where coastline change is only based on
topographic data.


Travel Geography

Planning approaches

There are five generic strategies for coastal defense:
• Inaction leading to eventual abandonment , involving no protection, is cheap and expedient.
The coast takes care of itself and coastal facilities are abandoned to coastal erosion, with
either gradual landward retreat or evacuation and resettlement elsewhere.
• Managed retreat or realignment, which plans for retreat and adopts engineering solutions
that recognize natural processes of adjustment, and identifies a new line of defense where to
construct new defenses
• Hold the line, shoreline protection, whereby seawalls are constructed around the coastlines
• Move seawards, this happens by constructing new defenses seaward the original ones
• Limited intervention, accommodation, by which adjustments are made to be able to cope
with inundation, raising coastal land and buildings vertically


Travel Geography

Wildlife Resources

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild
plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a
major impact on the environment, both positive and negative.

Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, forests, rain forests, plains, grasslands, and other
areas including the most developed urban sites, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in
popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree
that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities.

Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways
including the legal, social, and moral sense. This has been a reason for debate throughout recorded
history. Religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for
the natural environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human
benefit or entertainment.

Major threats to wildlife can be categorized as below:
• Habitat loss: Fewer natural wildlife habitat areas remain each year. Moreover, the habitat
that remains has often been degraded to bear little resemblance to the wild areas which
existed in the past.
• Climate change: Because many types of plants and animals have specific habitat
requirements, climate change could cause disastrous loss of wildlife species. A slight insect
are harmed and disturbed. Plants and wildlife are sensitive to moisture change so, they will
be harmed by any change in moisture level.
• Pesticides and toxic chemical: Widely used, making the environment toxic to certain plants,
insects, and rodents.
• Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching causes a major threat
to wildlife. Along with this, mismanagement of forest department and forest guards triggers
this problem.
• Natural phenomena: Floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, lightning, forest fires.
• Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of
organisms.
• Over-exploitation of resources: Exploitation of wild populations for food has resulted in
population crashes (over-fishing, for example).
• Accidental deaths: Car collisions, air collisions (birds), collisions with ships (whales), etc.

* Based on the degree of threat rating on them, they could be classified as:
Classification Characteristics
Their numbers have been reduced to a critical
level pushing them to near extinction. They may
Endangered species
become extinct very shortly. Example; snow
leopard, red panda and Asian elephant.
Their population is still abundant but their
habitat is adversely affected. They may become
Vurnerable species
endangered if their habitat continues to be
affected. Example; leopand and golden langur.
They are such species – whose population is
very thinly populated on a wide geographical
Rare species
area – affecting their natural reproduction.
Example; Indian desert cat and wild yak.


Travel Geography

Wildlife management

Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the
best available science. Wildlife conservation aims to halt the loss in the earths biodiversity by
taking into consideration ecological principles such as carrying capacity, disturbance and succession
and environmental conditions such as physical geography, pedology and hydrology with the aim of
balancing the needs of wildlife with the needs of people. Most wildlife biologists are concerned
with the preservation and improvement of habitats although reinstatement is increasingly being
used. Techniques can include reforestation, pest control, nitrification and denitrification, irrigation,
coppicing and hedge laying.

Types of wildlife management

There are two general types of wildlife management:
• Manipulative management acts on a population, either changing its numbers by direct means
or influencing numbers by the indirect means of altering food supply, habitat, density of
predators, or prevalence of disease.
• Custodial management is preventive or protective. The aim is to minimize external
influences on the population and its habitat. It is appropriate in a national park where one of
the stated goals is to protect ecological processes. It is also appropriate for conservation of a
threatened species where the threat is of external origin rather than being intrinsic to the
system.

Wildlife conservation

Wildlife conservation is a practice in which people attempt to protect endangered plant and animal
species, along with their habitats. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure that nature will be
around for future generations to enjoy, and to recognize the importance of wildlife and wilderness
lands to humans. Many nations have government agencies dedicated to wildlife conservation which
help to implement policies designed to protect wildlife, and numerous independent nonprofit
organizations also promote various wildlife conservation causes.

Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of
human activity on wildlife. The science of conservation biology plays a part in wildlife
conservation. The ethic of conservation and lobbying by conservationists has made it an important
environmental issue.

Types of conservation:
1. Ex-situ conservation means literally, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting
an endangered species of plant or animal outside of its natural habitat; for example, by
removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location,
which may be a wild area or within the care of humans.
2. In-situ conservation is on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in
natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural
populations of tree species. It is the process of protecting an endangered plant or animal
species in its natural habitat, either by protecting or cleaning up the habitat itself, or by
defending the species from predators.


Travel Geography

Man-made Resources versus Nature Resources

A man-made resource is a resource that has been created through the acts of humans. For example,
bleach is a man-made resource. It does not exist in nature (in any significant quantity), and is
produced and consumed by humans.

A natural resource is a resource that exists naturally. It might also be defined as a resource which
man did not create (i.e. not man-made). For example, coal is a natural resource. It only exists in
nature, and it is consumed by humans.

Some resources are both. For example, forests can be both natural and man-made resources. Forests
that were planted by humans are man-made resources, while forests that were not planted by
humans are natural resources. Baking soda is another example of a man-made or natural resource.
Most baking soda is made by humans from other materials, but baking soda can also be mined from
the ground in certain locations.

Natural Resources

Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by
mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and
geodiversity existent in various ecosystems. Natural resources are derived from the environment.
Some of them are essential for our survival while most are used for satisfying our wants. Natural
resources may be further classified in different ways.

Natural resources are materials and components (something that can be used) that can be found
within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its
fundamental level). A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water, and air, as
well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate form which must be
processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, oil, and most forms of energy.

There are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible (will not run out in foreseeable
future) – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, and air (though access to clean air may not
be). The vast majority of resources are however exhaustible, which means they have a finite
quantity, and can be depleted if managed improperly. The natural resources are materials, which
living organisms can take from nature for sustaining their life or any components of the natural
environment that can be utilized by man to promote his welfare is considered as natural resources.

Management

Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water,
soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for
both present and future generations (stewardship).

Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and natural landscapes
interact. It brings together land use planning, water management, biodiversity conservation, and the
future sustainability of industries like agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry. It
recognises that people and their livelihoods rely on the health and productivity of our landscapes,
and their actions as stewards of the land play a critical role in maintaining this health and
productivity. Natural resource management is also congruent with the concept of sustainable
development, a scientific principle that forms a basis for sustainable global land management and
environmental governance to conserve and preserve natural resources.


Travel Geography

Protected landscape/seascape

A protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of
distinct character with significant, ecological, biological, cultural and scenic value – and where
safeguarding the integrity of this interaction is vital to protect and sustain the area and its associated
nature conservation and other values.

Thinking on protected areas is undergoing a fundamental shift. Whereas protected areas were once
planned against people, now it is recognized that they need to be planned with local people, and
often for and by them as well. Where once the emphasis was on setting places aside, we now look
to develop linkages between strictly protected core areas and the areas around; economic links
which benefit local people, and physical links, via ecological corridors, to provide more space for
species and natural processes.

The use of the protected landscape approach has many benefits. By including working landscapes
taht are rich in biodiversity, and demonstrate sustainable use of natural resources, the protected
areas estate can be extended. Protected landscapes can also reinforce more strictly protected areas
by surrounding them and linking them with landscape managed for conservation and sustainable
use. They can help to conserve both wild and agricultural biodiversity, and to conserve human
history alongside nature. They can support and reward stewardship of natural resources, sustain
rural economies, and help communities resist pressures from outside which could undermine their
way of life.

World Commission on Protected Areas

The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected
area expertise. It is administered by IUCN's Programme on Protected Areas and has over 1,400
members, spanning 140 countries.

WCPA works by helping governments and others plan protected areas and integrate them into all
sectors; by providing strategic advice to policy makers; by strengthening capacity and investment in
protected areas; and by convening the diverse constituency of protected area stakeholders to address
challenging issues.

WCPA's Mission
Promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of
terrestrial and marine protected areas as an integral contribution to IUCN's mission.

WCPA's Objectives
• help governments and others plan protected areas and integrate them into all sectors, through
provision of strategic advice to policy makers;
• strengthen capacity and effectiveness of protected areas managers, through provision of
guidance, tools and information and a vehicle for networking;
• increase investment in protected areas, by persuading public and corporate donors of their
value; and
• Enhance WCPA's capacity to implement its programmed, including through co-operation
with IUCN members and partners.

Travel Geography

UNIT 4:
THE APPEAL OF TOURISM DESTINATIONS
Objectives:
• Understand the primary factors that establish destinations
• Explore the historical and cultural factors in tourism
• Identify and discuss the different types of tourists
• State and explain the different types of tourism
• Discuss about sporting and urban facilities

The Factors that Establish Destinations

The success of a tourism destination in its approach to destination management can be influenced
by a wide range of factors. As a dynamic and complex industry, destination managers need to
be continually monitoring, reviewing and evaluating tourism performance and management
strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of tourism in the destination. The strategic
planning and ongoing management for a destination will contribute to the continuous
improvement and success of a tourism destination.

• Destinations are dynamic places characterised by complex sets of relations between
community members, business interests and government. In this context, no two destinations
are the same. Any number of conditions, such as destination size/scale, geography, climate,
local economic conditions, social and cultural values, political orientations, tourist
perceptions and movements combine to produce different issues and outcomes. Destinations
can therefore exist at multiple scales from local to international. They can be defined as
geographical locations; clusters of attractions, services, activities and infrastructure;
politicaladministrative units; or social, cultural, economic or spatial constructs, or any
combination of these perspectives.

• Destinations are also characterised by different combinations of natural, built and human
resources, receive different levels of support from governments, and have different
capacities to innovate, compete and differentiate. It is therefore difficult to draw lessons
about good or best practice from the literature because practice also requires local
knowledge and an understanding of political sensitivities which are often embedded within
specific destination contexts. It is therefore important that destination researchers and
destination planning and management practitioners have a well formed appreciation for the
complexity of destinations, how they are imagined and perceived, and how they are defined
by different stakeholders and markets.

• Successful destinations are also founded on effective and sustainable planning and
management. Good destination planning and management must adopt an approach whereby
sustainable destination management, development and marketing practices are regarded as
being inter-related and equally valued. More recently, with increasing realization of the
vulnerability of many destinations to environmental crises, market downturns and increased
international competition, there has been a strengthening commitment to a balanced
approach to destination planning and management. Good tourism destination planning and
management should therefore be underpinned by sustainable tourism development, good
governance and good marketing. Furthermore assigning a ‘one size fits all’ strategy for
effective planning and management of tourism destinations is not appropriate.

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