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that is available and the typical amount of the product that consumers want to buy (Besanko
and Braeutigam, 2010). Lower supply and higher demand will result in higher prices, while
lower prices refl ect higher supply and lower demand. In tourism, the manipulation of supply
and demand is critical to the economic success of a destination and involves considerable
marketing efforts. This chapter is organised following
Figure 23.1
.
Product supply
The product or supply side of tourism refers to the tourism products and related resources that
are available at a destination. Historically, the origin of geography is in place location and site
description, and much of geographic analysis today continues to be grounded in supply-side
inventories and their analysis (Harvey, 1969; Thrall, 2002). As such, geographers should excel
in their ability to describe the characteristics and dynamics of tourism destinations, both in
their generalities and idiosyncrasies. This is the
place
tradition in geography. By contrast, the
relationship between places is at the core of the
space
approach in geography. Geographic
space is a huge part of tourism, which is typically defi ned by the movement of people from
one distinct place to another (Hall and Lew, 2009: 9; Leiper, 1990). More than that, however,
tourism includes many other relationships between places, including the movement of goods,
money, labour and information, which infl uences the marketability and marketing efforts of
destinations.
Marketing also has a supply-side approach to product development, which is centred on
the concept of
product differentiation
(Perloff and Salop, 1985). Traditional marketing approaches
to product differentiation occur through variations in distribution and quantity (which may
correlate to the space approach in geography) and through the creation of different product
features and packaging (which is analogous to the geographic place approach).
Consumer demand
The consumer or demand side of tourism refers to characteristics of the tourist as a consumer.
Traditional marketing research uses consumer demographics to identify homogenous groups
with similar demand interests (Allenby
et al.
, 1998). In this sense, demand is the perceived
benefi t associated with a product, which can be based on intrinsic requirements for survival,
but is more likely created through
product positioning
(Hooley
et al.
, 2008). Positioning involves
creating an identity for a product based on either its functional or its experiential value.
From a social science perspective, geographic space and place offer a framework for two
major areas of tourism demand research: tourist decision-making and tourist experience
(
Figure 23.1)
. Tourist decision-making occurs across the tourism system, from the point of
origin, through the transit, and at the destination. The decision to travel is the main research
issue at the point of origin, while tourist expenditures have been the main focus of behav-
ioural studies at the destination. Such decision-making is associated with the geographic
concept of space because it is based on movements from one point to another, with each
decision driving the spatial behaviour of the tourist (Lew and McKercher, 2006).
Separate from tourist behaviour is research on tourist experiences, which is more of an
after-effect of the tourist's decisions and behavioural patterns. Market research on tourist
experiences typically consists of surveys in which tourists evaluate attractions and services.
Geographers, however, along with other social scientists, are more interested in the deeper
relationships between tourists and a place and its people. This is framed in terms such as
exis-
tential authenticity
(Steiner and Reisinger, 2006),
sense of place
(Oakes, 1997; Walsh
et al.
, 2001)
