4. Mass Tourism

Definitions - Leisure, Tourism and Recreation Traffic

In this chapter everything is about tourism, travel and vacation. But what is meant by it? How can you (as a geographer) differentiate between the terms leisure, tourism and local recreation?

The French words "tourisme" and "touriste" were used as official terms for the first time by the Société des Nations, to describe travellers, who spend more than 24 hours abroad. The term "tourism" is listed in the 1811 Merriam Webster dictionary but was first included in general linguistic usage at the end of the 19th century. (Merriam Webster)

Because of the many disciplines that deal with tourism and leisure, there are no homogeneous and universal definitions of both terms. Geography understands leisure as a comprehensive term that includes tourism. Leisure is spare time that is free from any kind of obligations outside work. Sleep, eating, body care etc. are not counted as obligation time. Tourism is defined as "the total of relations and emergences that arise as a result of change of place and residence of people for whom the whereabouts is neither domicile nor place of work." (Kaspar 1991).

Tourism can be subdivided into three types: interior tourism, local recreation traffic and transnational (long-distance) tourism. Furthermore, holiday trips are classified according to their length into three categories. Longer holiday trips are trips from more than five days up to a year. Shorter trips have a duration of two to four days. The third category is called local recreation traffic and includes short trips without an overnight stay.

Additional information: What is meant by the intensity of holiday trips?

 

Questions:
1. Which holiday destination could this be?
2. Think of reasons why people spend their holidays there?
3. Which target group is addressed in particular?
4. Do you know of similiar holiday destinations?

Help: This touristic offer frames a rapidly growing segment on the worldwide tourist market. Origin of the development was Anaheim in California.