Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Canterbury, Venice, St Paul's Cathedral, London and the Tower of London), this can
have a negative effect on visitors who have a low tolerance threshold for overcrowding at
major to
urist sites. Yet conversely, other visitors may be less affected
• Weather conditions at the time of visit
• Standard and quality of accommodation available
• The cleanliness and upkeep of the city
• The city's aesthetic value (i.e. its setting and beauty)
• Tourists' personal safety from crime
• Accessibility of attractions and points of interest in the city
• Extent to which local people welcome visitors in a warm manner
• Ability of tourism employees to speak foreign languages
• Range of cultural and artistic amenities
• Ambience of the city environment as a place to walk around
• Level of crowding and congestion
• Range of night-life and entertainment available
• Range of restaurants and eating establishments in the city
• Pleasurability of leisure shopping Price levels of goods and services in the city
• Level of helpfulness among local people
• Adequacy of emergency medical care
Figure 5.7:
Factors to consider in
evaluating the urban tourism
experience
Source:
modified from Hay wood and Muller (1988)
by use levels thereby illustrating the problem within tourism motivation research—
predicting tourists' behaviour and their responses to particular situations. In fact Graefe
and Vaske (1987:394) argue that 'the effects of increasing use levels on the
recreation/tourist experience can be explained only partially…as a function of use level'.
Therefore, the individual tourist's ability to tolerate the behaviour of other people, level
of use, the social situation and the context of the activity are all important determinants of
the actual outcome. Thus, evaluating the quality of the tourist experience is a complex
process which may require careful consideration of the factors motivating a visit (i.e. how
tourists' perception of urban areas makes them predisposed to visit particular places),
their actual patterns of activity and the extent to which their expectations associated with
their perceptions are matched in reality (Page 1995a:25). For this reason, attention now
turns to some of the experiential aspects of urban tourists' visits and the significance of
behavioural issues influencing visitor satisfaction. In view of the diversity of tourists
visiting urban areas, it is useful to define the market for urban tourism.
INSIGHT: Tourism in capital cities
Capital cities represent a special case of urban tourism. As Canada's National Capital
Commission (NCC) (2000b: 9) observed, The combination of political, cultural, symbolic
and administrative functions is unique to national capitals' The capital functions as 'the
