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Name and Surname: Sanelisiwe Petronelia Nkambule Student number: 32277008 Course Code: HGETORJ Assignment no: 1 Lecture: Ms A de Jager Date: 24 May 2010 Table of Content Q1.1 Different approaches to geography 2 1.2 Importance of geography in tourism development 3-4 1.3 Identify any problem regarding tourism and suggest an appropriate approach 5 2.1 Demand, supply and impact of tourism in rural context with reference to examples from a rural area of your choice. 6-10 3 Learning experience based on the self activity 11 4 Reference list 12 Question 1 1.1 Distinguish five different approaches to Geography with reference to key concepts in each. Briefly indicate which aspects of tourism would typically be studied in each of the approaches you have identified. The following approaches were identifies in relation to geography and their relationship to the study of tourism and recreation. Spatial analysis approach According to Hall and Page (2006:18) this approach has deployed largely in positivism, locational analysis, maps, systems, networks, morphology as key concept. Moreover the development of a new focus around the spatial variable and the analysis of spatial systems in the 1960s and 1970s where spatial analytical techniques were developed and system theory was introduced Behavioural geography According to Hall and Page (2006:16) the development of behavioural geography as response to the science approaches, recognising that human behaviour cannot be easily explained by using positivist models. This approach also focuses on the processes which underlie human decision-making and spatial behaviour rather than the outcomes which are the focus of much conventional spatial analysis. Humanistic geography According to Hall and Page (2006:16) humanistic geography rise as an emphasis on the individual as a decision-maker. This approach tends to view people as responses to stimuli to reflect how individuals do not correspond to models built to predict possible human outcomes. Applied geography This is an approach which refers to the application of geographical knowledge and skills to the solution of economic and social problems (Hall and Page 2006:16). Radical approaches These approaches are often base on neo-Marxist broaden in the 1980s and 1990s to consider issues of gender, globalisation, locations, identity, post colonialism, post-modernism and the role of space in critical social theory (Hall and Page 2006:16). It is essential to note that all these approaches to geography have relevance to the study of tourism and recreation. Their application has been highly variable with the greatest degree of research being conducted in the areas of spatial analysis and applied geography has influences tourism research greatly based on the issue of performance, the body, gender, post colonialism and power. The shift of human geography has caused debates whether the radical geography can really be described as radical anymore (Hall and Page 2006:16). 1.2 Explain why Geography is important for tourism development. Title: The importance of geography as tourism development. Introduction Tourism is an intensely geographic phenomenon. It stimulates large-scale, global movement of people and forges distinctive relationships between people and the places they visit. It shapes processes of physical development and resource exploitation, whilst the presence of visitors exerts a range of economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts that often have important implications for local geographies (William 2009:3). According to Boniface and Cooper (1994: 4) geographical tourism consist of three major components which are the country of origin of tourists, tourist destinations and the routes travelled between those two sets of locations. The study of tourist flow through this system is fundamental to the geography of tourism and can be achieved by considering the push and pull factors which gives rise to these flows. This essay will be based on the understanding of tourism as a geographical phenomenon and the importance of geography as in tourism development Tourism as a geographical phenomenon William (2009: 230) is of the opinion that geography is an essentially interesting subject with a tradition in synthesis of alternative perspectives, and also better placed to make sense of patterns and practices of tourists, although the development of geographical perspectives on tourism has been characterised evenly. As a result tourism provides a valuable lens through which a number of contemporary themes in geography may be studied. Hence Hall and Page (2006:11) regard tourism and recreation geographers as society within society because the study of geography of tourism and recreation does not occur in isolation from wider trends in geography and academic discourse. Geographers have approached tourism studies using spatial-analytical methods that helped to identify historical connections to contemporary patterns. This approach enabled scholars to forecast possible changes to the physical and cultural landscapes of a particular place resulting from tourists’ flows and activities. The geographical scope and economic size of modern tourism encompasses a wide range of disciplines. Reasons why Geography is important for tourism development Geography is important mostly in showing direction of tourism and recreation studies. It is further mentioned that there is a clearly a conscious attempt to provide a stronger theoretical base to tourism and recreation geography which would both be informed by and contribute to contemporary social theory, particularly with respect to such issue as globalisation, localisation, commodification, restructuring and sustainability. Tourism and recreation geographers are seeking to promote their work more actively in academic and non-academic sphere. Furthermore geography is also integral in an attempt to illustrate the relationships between some of the foci of the geography of tourism and recreation, including the opportunity spectrum that exists in relation to home based leisure, recreation and tourism, and corresponding factors of demand and supply Hall and Page (200:29-30). According to William (2009:27-28) the socio-geographic development of tourism has been influenced by numerous elements and four where discussed in details. Firstly the importance of change through time in attitude and motivation because nowadays tourist travel is becoming a seemingly natural and incidental part of life and in most Western nations. Although in developing world most people harbour expectation of becoming tourists at least on an annual basis if not frequently. Secondly the social and economic emancipation of the urban classes and the proletariat also play an important role. It should also be noted that bringing tourism to ordinary people into their lifestyles, extensive and fundamental change is also required .The liberation of blocks of time that are free from work and which are sufficiently extended to permit tourism trips. Thirdly William (2009:27) made an interesting point that only mass forms of tourism become possible only with the development of efficient and affordable system of transportation of which railway is one of the oldest forms of tourism during second half of the ninetieth century. Finally modern tourism also requires organisational systems to provide the supporting infrastructure of facilities and also to promote tourism places to potential visitors. On the other hand Hudman and Jackson (1990:7) is of the opinion that the development of tourism at any specific geographic location depends on its site, which includes the character and attractiveness of a place, and its situation reflecting the ease with which a potential tourist can travel to that place and its relationship to other attractions for example more people visit Paris than Olso because Paris is more accessible and has a central location which facilitates visits to other European attractions such as London whiles Olso has peripheral location in Europe. Another element which motivate people to travel according to Hudman & Jackson (1990:7) is perception of the area for example New York in the past used to be perceived as an unsafe place to visit hence the slogan of “I love New York” was adopted to create positive attitude and perception. Conclusion Geography is fundamental to the study of tourism, because tourism is geographical in nature. Tourism occurs in places, it involves movement and activities between places and it is an activity in which both place characteristics and personal self-identities are formed, through the relationships that are created among places, landscapes and people. Physical geography provides the essential background, against which tourism places are created and environmental impacts and concerns are major issues that must be considered in managing the development of tourism places. 1.3 Identify any problem regarding tourism and suggest an appropriate approach to study it. Briefly explain why you have selected that approach According to Hall and Page (2006:5) tourism primarily relates to leisure and business travel activities which center around visitors to a particular destination. The approach to study tourism geography differs according to varying concerns. Much tourism management literature remains quantitative methodology and considers tourism as consisting of the place tourist origin, tourist destination and the relationship between origin and destination places, which includes transportation routes, business relationships and traveller motivations. There are numerous challenges encompasses tourism as study one of the most interesting one is the lack of a unified conceptual grounding from the study of tourism William (2009:9) is of the opinion that the study of tourism is under-theorised, eclectic and disparate. These criticism are essential, in the absence of theoretical underpinning, adopted methodologies which tend to regress towards a broadly empirical/descriptive approach and insight that can arise from more structured forms of analysis that a sound conceptual framework permits are harder to realise. William (2009:9) further mentions that this does not imply that there has been no conceptualisation within the study of tourism for the understanding of many aspects of tourism has benefited from varying degrees of theoretical thought within particular discipline As a result geography is better placed than many to provide the type of holistic perspective that a multi-dimensional phenomenon such as tourism evidently merits and this is very much central to the approach adopted. Question 2 Discuss demand, supply and impact of tourism in rural context with reference to examples from a rural area of your choice. Title: The demand, supply and impact of tourism in the rural context with reference to examples Introduction Tourism is widely recognized as the world’s largest and fastest growing industry, and there is no indication that its growth is likely to end. The rural environments have a long history of being used for tourism and recreational activities in both the developed and developing countries. Rural arrears have emerged as a new focus for recreation and tourism activities in the past-war period within most developed countries as their accessibility and attraction for domestic population (Hall and Page 2006:232). The focus of this assay will then be based on the demand, supply and impact of rural tourism. Definition Rural tourism is one of the difficult aspects of tourism to define. Page and Getz (197: 4) acknowledge that the different terms used for describing tourism activity in rural areas: agritourism, farm tourism, rural tourism, soft tourism, alternative tourism and many others which have different meanings from one country to another. Furthermore the terms rural tourism has been referred by European Community as the entire tourism activity in rural area There are many distinctive views from different geographers according Hall and Page (2006:320) it has been mentioned that it would be great “mistake or oversight to deny our common sense thoughts that rural areas can have consequences for social and economic interactions in the countryside. Historical background of rural tourism Academic interest in rural tourism may be traced back into the 50’s. Not surprisingly, one of the first articles dealt with tourism in mountainous areas and its importance for mountain farmers. Some of these farmers worked the least favourable land with corresponding low returns per unit or per work hour. Hence, tourism was considered as bringing additional income into the mountain valleys supporting the livelihood of the farmers and reducing out migration of the young generation by providing additional jobs in the service sector (Page and Getz 2006: 243). Demand of Rural tourism According to Hall and Page (2006:233) the demand of rural recreation is strongly affected by social class and participation rates consistently. The participation rate shows that upper class, most educated and also mobile people are visiting the countryside. Women are said to be lowest in visiting the countryside. Some authors as from mid 1960s have perceived leisure as the ‘fourth wave’ which compared the leisure phenomenon with three previous events in history that changed human activity and behaviour, the advent of industrialisation, the railway age, and urban sprawl, with leisure being forth wave. It has also been outlined by some geographers that the principal concern with demand for rural recreation in terms of research it has increase on participation among different socio-economic groups using rural areas for recreational activities coupled with the impact of car ownership, and the resulting development of , and impact on, destination. Research concerning the demand and/or supply of rural tourism services has been limited within the agricultural economics domain despite the significance attached to rural tourism by various rural development policy measures and initiatives. The demand for rural tourism services has direct, indirect, and derivative effects on an areas’ product, rural incomes, and rural employment . Tourists spend money on rural products and services and thereby generate an autonomous (external) demand for an area’s products and services. This in turn, has a direct impact on output, income, and employment. Due to multiplier effects, this direct demand for rural tourism products and services generates indirect and derivative (induced) effects in all sectors of the economic structure (Skuras et al 2006:184). Rural tourism developments have relied heavily on cultural re-valorization and re-localization in order to differentiate their tourism service and compete on the fringe of tourism services. Indeed, numerous studies suggest that tourism in rural areas is an extremely diverse sector leading to a wide range of visitors’ needs and expectations and high fragmentation for the most recent review of the relevant literature. As such, expectations of quality are different for different visitors or the same visitors to different activities/experiences (Skuras et al 2006:185). In South Africa the demand of rural tourism is rapid mostly in arrears such as community-based tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism, guest farms, backpacking, riding and agri-tourism. The developing tourism in rural areas increases participation of the poor and brings wider benefits, for instance, involving ownership and management. The economic potential of tourism as a key driver of growth and development in South Africa is based on the competitive advantages that the country has in its natural and cultural resources. South Africa’s fast-growing tourism industry also complements a worldwide trend towards alternative tourism, signalling a break away from the perception of sun, sea and sand as representative of the ideal holiday (HSRC Review 2007). Rural tourism supply The supply side changes include an increasing interest in rural tourism among a better-off clientele, and also among some holidaymakers a growing environmental awareness and a desire to be integrated with the residents in the areas they visit. Some geographers they promote forms of rural tourism supply which build on the inherent character of rural areas, notably their attractive natural environments, original local culture and traditional systems of land use and farming. They also feel that rural areas should look inward to their own resources when developing rural tourism, although the common rural weaknesses of a lack of local entrepreneurs and of local capital and expertise may mean that at times it is sensible to seek external or exogenous capital (Bramwell 1994:3). According to Page and Getz (2006:242) rural tourism supplies various attractive rural tourism businesses amongst others wilderness and ecotourism lodges; small-scale resorts; horse tracking nature studies and others. Impact of rural tourism The impact of tourism according to Hall and Page (2006:144-145) can be categories in numerous ways amongst others it can be divided into economic, social and physical which is based mostly on environment. Although some of the geographers categories the impact in terms of their positive and negative for a destination community. It further mentioned that whether some thing is seen positive or negative will depend on the goals, ideology and value position of an individual with respect to different types of tourism development. On the other hand according to William (2009:1) the tourism impacts are felt across the range of economic, social, cultural and environmental context. An estimate of 200 million derives direct employment from the tourist business from travel and transportation, accommodation, promotion, entertainment, visitor attractions and tourist retailing. As result it will be essential to discuss the economic and environmental impact in details. The economic impact Economic impact in rural tourism has been perceived by geographers as a fruitful area of research although some have explored the study of farm tourism. Some researchers have identify the principal concerns in rural economic research and the role of tourism in development in relation to income leakage, multipliers, labour issues, the limited number of entrepreneurs in rural areas and propositions that tourism should be a supplement rather than the mainstay of rural economics. Although on the other hand Page and Getz (1997: 12) mention that some authors are of the opinion that tourism in rural areas in not necessarily the magic solution to rural development regardless of income leakages, volatility, declining multiplier, imported labour and the conservatism of investors. In most cases the economic studies of rural tourism may be based to the persistence of farm tourism (Hall and Page 2006: 242-243). Farm tourism According to Page and Getz (2006:243) some researchers on the socio-cultural impact of tourism in the Austrian Alps illustrated the relationship of the economy, society and landscape in rural environment. In this study they also noted that in the latter stages of the diffusion of tourism to rural areas income from tourism was more easily obtained than agriculture diversification .On the other hand Hall and Page (2006:243) farm tourism may offer one way of facilitating agricultural diversification and research on farm tourism can be divided into two categories. First is the expansion of literature concerned with differing types of farm diversification as a major option adapted by farm families to aid business restructuring, necessitated by falling farm incomes. Second is one devoted specifically to farm tourism and though these studies remain the most detailed, they are becoming increasingly dated Environmental effects of rural tourism According to Hall and Page (2006:244) the environmental impact of tourism has been extensively reviewed in the tourism literature and rural tourism has emerged as a prominent element, with the usual caveat that tourism is destructive in different degrees of the actual qualities which attract tourists. The growing pressure emerging from the development-intensive nature of tourism, and the expansion of mass tourism, has invited new pressures as “new tourism” discovers the qualities of rural environments. The construction of theme parks in the rural environments, second homes, timeshare, holiday villages and designation of environments as special places to visit (e.g national parks) all contributed to the insatiable tourism appetite for rural environments Some authors also examined the extent to which rural tourism policy in Britain has been integrated with concept of sustainability, outlining the role of Tourism Board and Countryside policy formulation process. This commission point to the need for improving the public’s understanding and care of the rural environment as outlined in its consultation paper (Page and Getz 1997:14). Examples on Rural tourism According to Briedenhann and Wickens (2004: 191) in South Africa the concept of rural tourism has a long history prior 1995 wildlife and its related activities were regarded as pivot of rural tourism in the country. During those days casinos with illicit gambling which was less famous and used to be situated in most deprived rural areas and drew considerable criticism for the paucity of benefits, other than low level employment, and the dearth of opportunity they brought to surrounding rural communities. Wildlife tourism remains an important sector of the industry until recent. Significant changes have taken place in the management of South Africa’s National Parks which, in 2000, embarked on a commercialisation process. Dramatic changes have also taken place over the last decade in the management approach to the activities permitted within the parks. As an example, in the Kruger National Park, where activities were previously restricted to travelling in closed vehicles on demarcated roads, there are now a variety of outdoor adventure activities offering a ‘bush’ experience. Opportunities include participation in ranger accompanied nature walks; day, ‘sundowners’ and night game drives; three-day wilderness trails; and 4 x 4 overland drives, which include overnight camping. Oversees tourists are enjoying these tourism facilities hence there is always a high demand for these services (Briedenhann and Wickens 2004: 191-193) In a study conducted in England, it was found that rural tourism businesses have an important role in diversifying the income of the farm and thus strengthening and stabilizing the rural economic base, especially where occupation in agriculture is declining (Fleischer and Pizam: 1997:367). Rural tourism in Israel is based on the natural amenities and the rural way of life. The accommodation consists of B&B operations in kibbutzim, moshavim, and other private types of rural settlements. Local restaurants offer a range of cuisine from vegetarian food to ethnic home-style cooking popular activities in rural vacations include water activities, nature walks, visiting national parks and touring rural settlements (Fleischer and Pizam: 1997:368 ). Conclusion Rural tourism has been considered as a means of achieving economic and social development and regeneration. More specifically, it has been widely promoted as an effective source of income and employment, particularly in peripheral rural areas where traditional agrarian industries have decline. Most of the countries developed and developing have adopted this form of tourism or has been relied upon as a means of addressing the social and economic challenges facing the peripheral rural areas. The demand, supply and impact of rural tourism discussed above have shown the significant of rural tourism. Question 3 Write a paragraph in which you reflect on your learning experience of the self assessment activities and assignment. Which self-test activity did you enjoy doing' Have you identified any gaps in your knowledge' Did you use the assessment criteria when answering the assignment' The self assessment was very informative and it enables one to be able to work through the learning materials such as journals, articles and prescribed books moreover how to integrate study materials. Activity 7and 8was one of the most enjoyable at the same time a bit challenging as for when one had to summarise the White Paper and also the insight of research. I immediately realised that one has to work on her summarising skills and research analysis. I also leant more about integrating of the study materials and mostly the referencing part. The activities where all informative and they give the insight of the whole module and how to best prepare yourself for the exam. Moreover the activities helped a lot in the preparation of assignment and better understanding of the tourism module. Reference list Boniface, B. & Cooper, C. 2005. Worldwide destination: the geography of travel and tourism. 4th edition. Italy. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann. Boniface,B.G. & Cooper, C. 1994.The geography of travel and tourism 2nd edition.Oxford. Butterworth-Heinemann Bramwell, B.2004. Rural tourism and sustainable rural tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2(1&2): 1-6 Briedenhann, J. and Wickens, E. Rural Tourism — Meeting the Challenges of the New South Africa. International Journal of Tourism Research, (6):189-203 Fleischer, A. Pizam, A. 1997. Rural tourism in Israel. Tourism Management, 18 (6):367-372 George, E.W. Mair H. & Reid, D.G. 2009, Rural Tourism Development: Localism and Cultural Change. London. Channel view publications. Hudman, L.E. & Jackson, R.H. 1990. Geography of travel and tourism. London. Delmar Pulishers Inc. Page, S.J & Getz, D. 1997. The business of rural tourism: International Perspectives. Oxford. International Thomson Business Press. Schmelzkopf, K.2002. Interdisciplinary, Participatory Learning and the Geography of Tourism. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26 (2): 181-185 Skuras, D.Petrou, A. & Clark, G. 2006.Demand for rural tourism: the effects of quality and information. Agricultural Economics, (35):183-192 Theobald, F.W. 2005. Global Tourism 3rd ed.Oxford. British library cataloguing in publication data. Williams, S. 2009. Tourism Geography: A new synthesis.2nd edition. London. Routledge.