The tourism industry breadth
Figure 1.
The tourism industry is a large multi-million dollar export industry made up of vast range of different aspects and features. This industry is vital in generating economic income along with a wide range of other community benefits, however, because it is not a specific industry the tourism industry has no clear and unambiguous definition (Shi & Smyth, 2012).
Because any definition of the tourism industry is quite complex, it is important to remember that the industry encompasses a broad range of features. This includes more than those factors responsible for providing the three core components, that is, the sectors that enable travel to and from a destination, the human component required to operate the experiences as well as the sectors that actually form part of the destination (the product) (Hall, 2007). Generally, these components form part of the primary tourism industry, that is, they are directly related to providing the tourist experience and would cease to exist if the tourism industry did not operate (Smith, 1988). Examples of these include hotels, airlines and theme parks.
In addition to the primary tourism industry, there is also a secondary tourism component that includes organisations who are indirectly linked to the tourism industry. These organisations benefit from the tourism industries, but would still exist if tourism did not exist, that is, while they benefit from tourism, they would remain even if tourism ceased to exist, but most likely at on a smaller scale (Smith, 1988). This industry addresses secondary tourist demands such as the additional local public transport required in tourist destination.
Figure 1. illustrates how the tourism industry is divided into a primary and secondary industry and how the three core components of tourism interact.
Because any definition of the tourism industry is quite complex, it is important to remember that the industry encompasses a broad range of features. This includes more than those factors responsible for providing the three core components, that is, the sectors that enable travel to and from a destination, the human component required to operate the experiences as well as the sectors that actually form part of the destination (the product) (Hall, 2007). Generally, these components form part of the primary tourism industry, that is, they are directly related to providing the tourist experience and would cease to exist if the tourism industry did not operate (Smith, 1988). Examples of these include hotels, airlines and theme parks.
In addition to the primary tourism industry, there is also a secondary tourism component that includes organisations who are indirectly linked to the tourism industry. These organisations benefit from the tourism industries, but would still exist if tourism did not exist, that is, while they benefit from tourism, they would remain even if tourism ceased to exist, but most likely at on a smaller scale (Smith, 1988). This industry addresses secondary tourist demands such as the additional local public transport required in tourist destination.
Figure 1. illustrates how the tourism industry is divided into a primary and secondary industry and how the three core components of tourism interact.
Example
On a visit to the Gold Coast earlier this year, I used a lot of local public transport to travel around the Gold Coast. This is an example of how tourism benefits more than use tourism related businesses because the majority of the bus services I used would still exist for locals even without tourist, however their existence would be on a much smaller scale.