Tourism 10.12.
By international tourism we mean incoming and outgoing tourism. A country’s foreign tourism depends on several factors. Foreign tourism is very advantageous for the receiving country, because it brings foreign currency into the country.
Domestic tourism involves the travels of the population of a given country inside the borders of that country. In this case the sending and the receiving place are in the same country. The bigger the country, the more inhabitants take place in domestic tourism. Also, the more income the population has, the more they tend to travel. There are some other factors that encourage national tourism: second homes, the expansion of people’s weekly leisure time and the increase of cars. Domestic tourism does not bring foreign currency to the country, but it lays down the foundations of foreign tourism.
People taking part in local tourism are local people, who stay temporarily in another part of there town or village.
Active tourism means incoming tourism. This realized as a kind of activity in the receiving country with tourists spending their money there, which results in extra consumption and income in the given country. Passive tourism means that the inhabitants of a given country visit a different place and spend their income there.
In the case of subsidized or social tourism, participation in tourism is supported by the state. Subsidized tourism primarily serves socio-political purposes and it requires special kind of accommodation such as health and spa resorts or sanatoriums. In order to boost social tourism, a holiday voucher system was introduced in Hungary in 1998. Holiday vouchers can be used as money substitute and are widely accepted. Holiday vouchers can be made use of throughout the year.
The conditions of a holiday can be arranged by a travel agent, a tour operator or by the holidaymakers themselves. The former one is called organized tour and the later one is a non-organized tour.
Organized tour means that the tourists are looked after during the whole journey and the participants pay for a package of services in advance. Organized tours can be classified as either individual or package tours. In the case of and individual tour, holidaymakers choose at least two services provided by the travel agency. Those taking part in a non-organized tourism travel individually, follow their own route and decide on the time of stay and the programs by themselves.
Organized individual tours without a fixed program are called forfait tours.
In case of a package tour, the whole holiday is arranged by a tour operator or travel agency. Package tours are very advantageous for the traveler: they are often cheaper than non-organized individual tours with the same route and programs. However, travelers are often disturbed by the many fixed programs and find it hard to adapt to the other passengers. To eliminate these problems there are optional programs.
The most important factors taken into consideration when choosing the means of transport include time, price, safety and certain personal factors.
Road transport is used for short distances and it includes travelling by car, coach, motorbike and bicycle, but walking tours also belong to this category. It provides independence and flexibility.
- The popularity of the car is growing both in domestic and foreign tourism.
- Camping and caravan holidays are special forms of road tourism.
- Coaches are widely used for group travel – package tours by coach are still very popular with people, who have low incomes, such as pensioners and students.
- Motorbike tours are preferred by the younger generations.
- The bicycle is mainly used in day-trip tourism.
Rail and air transport are chosen for medium distances. Rail transport is still considered an important way of travelling is Europe.
Air transport is used almost exclusively for long-distance travel. Travel by air reduces the time spent travelling. Getting the best price means booking up to three months in advance.
- Scheduled flights fly regular routes at fixed times.
- Charter flights/economy flights are also popular. Charter flights are non-scheduled flights and cheaper than scheduled flights. Charter flights are leased by a tour operator for a particular trip or period of time.
- Low-cost airlines operate on a scheduled basis and provide modest but reliable service.
- short-haul flight: the distance is under 1500 miles
- medium-haul flight: the distance is between 1500-3500 miles
- long-haul flight: the distance is above 3500 miles
Until the 1950s, the ship used to be the only vehicle used for travelling between continents. Today it is only used to cover shorter distances and for luxury cruises. Such cruises are mainly available for wealthy people. The usually 10-14 day holiday packages contain all inclusive service, hotel-level accommodation in cabins and several entertainment facilities.
Type of accommodation
- The spending of hotel guests is usually high.
- Holidaymakers who choose guesthouses can enjoy a family atmosphere and home-made meals. They generally spend longer in guesthouses than in hotels.
- Those staying at camping sites tend to choose self-service.
- Tourist hotel guests are interested in the nature and hiking.
- Participants in second-home tourism make use of their own holiday homes.
- Timeshare is a right to shared property use for a definite period of time (30-99 years). The holiday right is not transferable but saleable.
Time of travel
- Continuous tourism is when the tourist traffic of a given holiday resort or area remains stable. E.g. certain seaside resorts (French Riviera), world-famous health and spa resorts (Karlovy Vary, Hévíz) or big cities and capitals (New York, Paris).
- Seasonal tourism means regular tourist traffic in a given part of the year.
- One-season tourism is for example summer tourism (Lake Balaton).
- Two-season tourism is characteristic of resorts which are suitable for summer and winter tourism (Swiss Alps).
View of quality
- Luxury/exclusive tourism: tourists, who take part in this kind of tourism represent significant purchasing power.
- Ordinary tourism attracts middle-class people with a reasonable income.
- Mass tourism is characterized by low price level and low purchasing power.
Age of travelers
- Youth tourism is characterized by seasonality and the demand for low-standard accommodation.
- Middle-aged people have the necessary financial means at their disposal to take part in tourism, but their spare time is limited.
- Senior tourism. the number of elderly people is growing and they have a lot of free time, so tourism plays an important role in their lives – it provides them with facilities of entertainment, amusement and active relaxation. The satisfaction of their needs depends on their disposable income.
The effect of tourism on the environment is an important issue today.
- Quantity tourism: the primary aim f the tour organizer is to increase the number of participants. It always affects the environment of the receiving country.
- Soft tourism does not endanger the environment and the cultural values of the areas visited.





