1.1
Tangible and intangible elements in tourism
Summary
The tangible elements include:
- transportation systems - air, rail, road, water and now also space;
- hospitality services - accommodation, food and beverages, tours, souvenirs;
- and related services such as banking, insurance and safety & security.
The intangible elements include: motivation for travel, rest and relaxation, meeting new people and learning about their culture (also known as cross-cultural communication), new and different experiences, and sometimes even adventure.
1.1.1
Travellers? Visitors? Tourists? Excursionists?
Definition
As the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) specifies travel as „the activity of a traveller“ while tourism is referred to as „the activity of a visitor.“ Based on this, we define a traveller as one who moves between different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration.
A visitor, as a subset of the definition of travellers, takes trips to a main destination outside his/her usual environment, for less than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose).
Visitors cannot be employed in the country or the place visited. Overnight visitors are seen as tourists, enjoying a temporary stay at least fifty miles from their home.
One-day visitors are excursionists, travelling to a place less than fifty miles from their home.
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Fig. 1. Travellers (graf)
Active exercise 1
Active exercise 2