Tourism Destinations.Definitions, Changes and Trends

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2013 in the subject Tourism, grade: 1, language: English, abstract: The World Tourism Organization (WTO) sees tourism as an activity by people who travel outside of their customary neighborhood either for leisure, business, or for medical purposes for a period not exceeding one year. Some tourism scholars see tourism as the temporary movement of individuals away from their normal surroundings, and the activities undertaken during their stay in the new destination, as well as the facilities made to cater for the tourists needs. Pundits estimate that about seventy percent of tourists visit the ten major tourism destinations while thirty percent share the other destinations. It is, therefore, evident that the bulk of the revenue generated in the global travel goes to the established destinations; therefore, the undeveloped destinations need to undertake some strategic planning in order to attract tourists in their destinations. Tourists are drawn to a certain tourism destination because of its attractiveness that reflects the feelings of the tourists regarding the destination perceived ability to meet their needs. Thus, the more a certain destination meets the tourist’s needs, the more it is seen to be attractive, and consequently its popularity grows. It is imperative that the sustainable tourism development concept be adopted in all tourism destinations in order to appropriately cater for the needs of the travellers and the host destinations while enhancing and protecting opportunities for the future.