Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
These basic issues have spatial implications in terms of the patterns of tourism, where
tourism impacts will occur and the nature of management challenges for destinations
which may attract a 'mass market' or be seeking to develop tourism from a low base. In
other words, an understanding of tourism demand is a starting point for the analysis of
why tourism develops, who patronises specific destinations and what appeals to the client
market. As de Botton (2003:9) argues in his treatise,
The Art of Travel,
'we are inundated
with advice on
where
to travel to; we hear little of
why
and
how
we should go'. However,
geographers are at a comparative disadvantage in answering some of the principal
questions associated with tourism demand since 'geographers have not been at the
forefront of this research which has been led by psychologists, sociologists, marketers
and economists. Some of these researchers have touched on such issues as the potential
significance of variations in motivation on destination choice' (D.G.Pearce 1995a:18).
However, tourist behaviour and the analysis of motivation has not traditionally been the
logical positivist and empirical approach of traditional forms of spatial analysis on
tourism with some exceptions (e.g. Walmesley and Jenkins 1992). The area of tourist
behaviour has a more developed literature within the field of social psychology than
geography, and the emphasis in this section is on the way such approaches assist in
understanding how tourist behaviour may result in the spatial implications for tourism.
WHAT IS TOURISM DEMAND?
The precise approach one adopts to the analysis of tourism demand is largely dependent
upon the disciplinary perspective of the researcher (see G.Crouch 1994). Geographers
view demand in a uniquely spatial manner as 'the total number of persons who travel, or
wish to travel, to use tourist facilities and services at places away from their places of
work and residence' (Mathieson and Wall 1982:1), whereas in this context demand 'is
seen in terms of the relationship between individuals' motivation [to travel] and their
ability to do so' (D.G.Pearce 1995a: 18) with an attendant emphasis on the implications
for the spatial impact on the development of domestic and international tourism. In
comparison, the economist emphasises 'the schedule of the amount of any product or
service which people are willing and able to buy at each specific price in a set of possible
prices during a specified period of time. Psychologists view demand from the perspective
of motivation and behaviour' (Cooper et al. 1993:15), while Uysal (1998) reviewed the
wider context of tourism demand.
In conceptual terms, there are three principal elements to tourism demand:
•
Effective or actual demand
comprises the number of people participating in tourism,
usually expressed as the number of travellers. This is most commonly measured by
tourism statistics which means that most official sources of data are measures of
effective demand.
•
Suppressed demand
is the population who are unable to travel because of circumstances
(e.g. lack of purchasing power or limited holiday entitlement) which is called potential
demand. Potential demand can be converted to effective demand if the circumstances
change. There is also deferred demand where constraints (e.g. lack of tourism supply
such as a shortage of bedspaces) can also be converted to effective demand if a
destination or locality can accommodate the demand.
