Case Study Assignment Element of International Tourism

ELEMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISMByProfessorCourseInstitutionDate
Elements of International Tourism
The growth in tourism across the globe has increased immensely in the 21st century, creating many jobs and contributing to exchange of culture. Future projections by industry experts indicate that tourism shall surpass most traditional sources of revenue due to economic growth and subsequently increase in middle class. This study explores the emerging trends in tourism, the future of tourism, and the best practices managers of tourist destinations ought to make to keep up with the demands of future tourism.
Contemporary Trends in Tourism
Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world and has potential to grow exponentially in almost every country in the world. In the United States, tourism, and travel is the third largest industry coming only after automobile and food industries, contributing up to $110 billion in revenues and over $770 billion in expenditure annually (Delener 2010). The surge in tourism has seen hotel rooms’ demand in India rise exponentially, with the government placing a shortfall of rooms to 10,000, despite the industry raking home $9.44 billion in 2014 (Rao 2014). This is due to increasing demands in tourism destination places across the world.
The biggest demand evident in the tourism industry is the rebranding of the previous unpopular tourism destination places. This is a reaction to increasing desire from tourists to visit undiscovered and previously unfamiliar places and create unforgettable memories (Fuggie 2015). With the advancement in technology and the booming Smartphone industry, more tourists are sourcing for companies with social media presence and dedicated websites. For example, Chinese citizens prefer companies such as Weibo, Kaixin00, and QZone, which have the largest social media presence in the country (Fuggie 2015). These aids a lot in tour planning due to the increasing tight schedules people have in their jobs.
The busy schedule also contributes to tourism trends. According to Delener (2010), American working class work 9 weeks more than workers from other regions do. Coupling this with the busy city life, travelers are demanding for quieter places, free from digital distractions and noise (Fuggie 2015). This has seen establishment of remote hotels free from Wi-Fi and other sources of internet access to allow tourist to enjoy ‘digital detoxification’ (Fuggie 2015). Another trend observed is the emergence of ‘silver hair’ tourists. The aging Baby Boomer and Generations Y and Z will require quieter places to spend their sunset days. This is due to the wealthy status of these individuals who reportedly control 50% of the world’s wealth (Rao 2014). The older generations have more time to spend, are becoming more tech-savvy, and require specific tourist experience and consumption (Stephens 2014). This group shall also need medical care, therefore requiring the hospitality industry to provide these services. The growth of wellness tourism that encompasses education in healthy living shall highly compliment these activities (Csirmaz & Karoly 2015).
Adventure tourism has been a fast growing niche of the tourism industry due to the demand fo...