Types of Travelers in Tourism

Tourism is traveling for pleasure, business, or vacation; the all-encompassing concept and process of bringing, accommodating, entertaining, and introducing tourists to a place. The industry is an ever-changing field that accommodates the needs of travelers of all kinds – from groups of family and friends coming together for a week-long getaway, to corporate event attendees traveling to a country for the first time. Because tourism has become such a popular industry, there are many different types of travel packages and sources of information available on the Internet and through other outlets. In addition to finding local hotels and bed and breakfasts, many companies offer discounts on airfare and accommodations while booking your vacation.

With so many reasons to book an outbound tourism trip, what exactly should you consider when making your selection? While a travel package may include accommodations, meals, tickets, and related activities, this is not always the case when considering a residence and purchase of souvenirs. If you plan on purchasing items for personal use, such as photo albums or personalized T-shirts, you may want to consider purchasing these items at a residence before hand, in order to ensure you have them when you arrive in order to avoid any last minute worries regarding whether or not you will have what you need when you leave.

While most people automatically think of international tourism when discussing inbound tourism, domestic tourism encompasses trips to the United States as well. Domestic tourism includes traveling within the 50 states of the U.S., traveling to Canada, traveling between the U.S. and abroad, traveling between various U.S. states and traveling internationally. Many inbound tourists from the United Kingdom travel to the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, and California in order to take advantage of the warm weather, scenery, and culture found within these areas. This influx of domestic tourism does not, however, negate the importance of international tourism.

International tourism comprises a much larger portion of the foreign exchange revenue of the country of reference, either as a percentage of total revenue or as a direct revenue source. The country of reference, whether it be a state, county or the entire nation, is important because it provides a base upon which revenue can be generated. For example, tourism sales in Las Vegas are based upon the amount of people that visit the city on a yearly basis. However, it should be noted that international tourism comprises a much larger portion of tourism revenue in the country of reference due to the fact that there is a much greater variety and quality of tourism that can be experienced. Many international visitors choose to spend time outside of the country of reference, especially if they are traveling on a budget or if they are interested in experiencing a different culture and lifestyle.

Beyond the country of reference, there are two different types of tourists: residents and non-residents. In the United States, it is the residents that contribute most to the economy, while in other countries, it is the tourists that contribute the most to the economy. In Canada, it is the immigrants from Eastern Europe, South America, China, as well as other places outside their usual environment for tourism. While Canadian tourism includes many elements of tourism from outside the country of reference, it also consists primarily of elements from within Canada. Therefore, while tourists from Eastern Europe may visit Toronto, they will not be spending money at Ybor City or at Vancouver as they will be spending money travelling between those cities.

The last type of tourist is the non-resident. Non-resident tourists generally spend one consecutive year in the host country, but will visit a different country each subsequent year. Examples of these are Chinese tourists who travel to Hong Kong, as well as British tourists who may choose to travel between Canada and England, as well as between New Zealand and Australia. As an organization that has the responsibility of implementing a system to track the flow of tourists and the amount of expenditure associated with tourism, it is vital that a system be developed that can track the activities of tourists outside the scope of tourism and that can provide data on tourism receipts. Such information would allow the development of marketing campaigns directed at the particular sector of the tourism business that benefits from increases in tourism receipts.