Geography

Updated 22 Feb 2014 for the new syllabus

• Places of scenic beauty
• Places with good facilities
• Places with rich culture
• Places of conflicts

• Mountain regions e.g Himalayas in South Asia
• Coastal resorts e.g Phuket in Thailand
• National parks. e.g. Grand Canyon, USA
• Honeypot tourism – tourism that attracts large number of tourists due to a site’s scenic beauty e.g. Victoria Fall on Zambezi River at the boundary of Zimbabwe and Zambia in Africa

Places with good facilities:

• MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events) help to attract a substantial number of tourists to an area. MICE locations have venues which can host large-scale events such as meetings and conventions. There are also supporting infrastructure and services such as hotels and retails shops. These attract organisers who organize trade fairs and international conferences, which bring in more business travelers. Singapore was the leading convention city in Asia-Pacific in from 2002 to 2012. Singapore drew 3.2 million business travelers which accounted for 24% of all visitors to Singapore in 2012. Singapore hosted important meeting such as the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in 2006, the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Key factors that contribute to Singapore’s success are its reputation as a major aviation hub, the availability of reliable telecommunication networks and a variety of shopping and entertainment options nearby. The Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre was voted Asia’s best MICE Hotel in 2011 and 2012. 

• Medical and spa facilities –
• Medical tourism -to undergo medical procedure that would enhance or restore health e.g. South Korea for cosmetic surgery
• Health tourism – to maintain, enhance or restore their minds and bodies such as spa towns, thermal springs and mud pools. e.g. Dead Sea

• Theme Parks – amusement park settings or attractions with central theme such as
• Films e.g. Walt Disney World in Florida, USA
• Famous landmarks e.g. Window of the World in Shenzhen, China
• Fantasy and adventure e.g. Everland Resort in Yongin, South Korea
• History and heritage e.g. Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada
• Education eg. Ocean Park in Hong Kong, China
• Health e.g. Nagashima Spa Land in Kuwana, Japan
• 
  
• Places with rich culture
• Heritage tourism to experience different cultures and history of the place eg. Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
• Film-induced tourism to see locations featured in films. For example, Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea from the film Stairway to Heaven, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China as the film Avatar feature scenery inspired by the park
• Gourmet food and shopping tourism e.g. Hong Kong
• Pilgrimage tourism for religious activity e.g. Mecca, Saudi Arabia for Muslims or Jerusalem, Israel for Jews, Christians and Muslims, Vatican City for Catholics.

• Places of conflicts – dark tourism where people travel to sites associated with death and tragedy.
• Military campaign eg. Củ Chi tunnels and Vịnh Mốc, Vietnam
• Natural disasters e.g. Ruins of Pompeii, Italy
• Terrorist attack e.g. Ground Zero in New York, USA
• Human atrocity – Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in Nanjing, China
• Genocide e.g. Tuoi Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia 

Different groups :

• Government
• Media (including Travel writers)
• International organisations

Government

• Influence the number of visitors and their length of stay
• Authorise air landings
• Allow building of facilities such as hotels
• Planning, funding and building infrastructure projects linked to tourism e.g airports, roads and ports
• Ensuring safety and security of tourist sites
• Set up agencies to promote tourism e.g. Singapore Tourism Board
• Encourage development of new attractions such as River Safari

Media

• Media reports influence decisions of tourists.
• Positive reports such as interesting culture or attractive scenery encourage tourists to visit but negative reports such as incidence of violence, disasters and outbreaks of disease can deter visitors.
• Tourists more aware of destinations they have previously not considered
• Travel writers evaluate the destination on accommodation, transport and food for their readers
• Inspire readers to travel to destinations that reader may not have thought of before.

International organisation

• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) work with governments, international organisations such as UNWTO and the International Labour Organisation to promote tourism as a tool for national growth and job creation
• World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) works primarily with private organisations including tourism organisations and academic community, as well as the government to promote sustainable tourism development. It encourages countries to use tourism to reduce poverty and create job and business.
• WHO – leading authority for health is capable of influencing global behaviour –e.g. situation updates and health advisories on avian influenza H5N1 from 2003 to 2013. Discourage visitors to at-risk countries.

• People can and want to travel farther to destinations that were once considered unreachable
• Nature and purpose of tourist travel has evolved e.g. package for ecotourism and medical tourism

• More than half of all international tourists originate from developed countries in Europe and North America.
• Increasing number of international tourists from rapidly developing countries in Asia Pacific and South America e.g. China, India and Brazil.
• Europe received the highest number of international tourist arrivals in 2011
• Out of 10 top most popular tourist destinations, 6 are found in Europe.
• Asia Pacific region has increased in popularity as a tourist destination.

• 83% of all tourist arrivals were domestic tourism and 69% of all overnight stays in hotels are from domestic tourism worldwide in 2010
• Domestic tourism receipts of US$22.9 billion are higher than international tourism receipts of US$3.2 billion in the Philippines, 2010. 53% travelled for vacation 36% travelled to visit family or relatives

• Mass tourism involves large numbers of tourists visiting a particular place together.
• Package holidays involve a tour usually arranged by a travel agent, with transportation, accommodation and most meals with the service of guides.
• Niche tourism refers to special-interest tourism based on a particular area, interest or activity by independent travelers or combined with package tours. e.g. whale watching in Hawaii or whitewater rafting and bunjee jumps in New Zealand.

Ecotourism     

• A form of niche tourism
• Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.
• Help travelers better appreciate natural beauty and biodiversity
• Provide funds for ecological conservation
• Enable tourism to benefit local communities involved in tourism directly
• Foster respect for different cultures and lifestyles
• Example- tour to Waitomo Caves in New Zealand managed by government with local Maori to minimize human impact on its internal environment. Tour operations are closely monitored and are halted if CO² level reach 2400 parts per million as CO² become corrosive to the caves. The Maori benefited from the income from the entrance fees as well employment as the cave staff.

 Short-haul and long-haul destinations

• Short-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a short distance away from the tourist’s home country reachable in less than 6 hours e.g. Hong Kong is a short-haul destination from Singapore
• Long-haul destinations refer to destinations that are a long distance away from the tourist’s home country reachable by a flight in 6 hours or more e.g. Europe is a long-haul destination from Singapore
 

• Developments in technology
• Demand factors
• Destination factors

• Better and affordable transport – shorter travel time and cheaper travelling cost e.g. In the 1950s a commercial flight from Singapore to London would take 2 to 3 days with many stopovers at different cities compared to the present 14 hours
• Increase in budget airlines helped to increase number of international travelers
• Enabled people to travel internationally and more frequently
• Opportunity to go on holidays further away from home
• Enabled travel to destinations not covered by major commercial airlines e.g. Bhutan, the Pacific Islands, Northern Thailand
 
• More air routes and agreements
• Open skies agreement made between governments remove restrictions on commercial flights between their respective countries to allow commercial airlines to decide the routes, capacity and price of their flights without interference from the government. This helped the growth of aircraft routes and flights as well as number of commercial airline companies and budget airlines. The competition has helped reduce the prices of flights for passengers.
• Deregulation allows fares to rise and fall according to market demand and competition between various airline companies.
• Ease of access to information
• Online booking and research to find out more about their destinations.
• Surveillance, electronic checks and other safety control research which makes tourists feel safer and more confident about travelling.

• Increase in disposable income due to economic growth has allowed people to spend more on goods and services including travelling e.g. China
• Increased availability of leisure time due to shorter working weeks, more public holidays and more paid annual leave has allowed more people to travel.
• Changing lifestyle –travelling becomes a way for people to relax and take a break from their fast-paced lifestyles at work and at home. Due to advances in medical technology and knowledge, people are now more health-conscious and lead healthier lifestyles. People live longer and are more physically fit to travel frequently. E.g. Grey nomads in Australia. 

• Attractions
• Natural attractions such as place of scenic beauty
• Built attractions such as medical services, educational facilities and theme parks. Dubai, United Arab Emirates in the middle East has a wide range of retail and luxury outlets, world class MICE facilities, luxury hotels and large-scale architectural and engineering projects
 
• Investment in infrastructure and services
• Airport expansion and development e.g. Singapore’s Changi Airport’s Budget Terminal closed in 2012 to make way for a new Terminal 4 which will increase the airport’s total capacity for passengers
• Sufficient hotels to serve a range of tourist budgets, from five-star hotels to backpacker hostels. e.g. HK will add another 49 hotels to its 189 operating ones from 2012 to 2016
• Services for tourist sites such as food outlets, entertainment facilities and telecommunication links such as free Wi-Fi in hotels. Trained personnel for tourist sites such as hotel managers, restaurateurs, guides, travel agents, drivers, porters and cleaners are also needed.
• Offer tertiary and diploma courses on tourism, hotel management and catering to meet the demand for formal training for people in the tourism industry.
• Access to information
• Tourists are more likely to visit a destination when travel-related information such as transport routes, schedules, weather conditions, accommodation is easily obtained.
• Signs at many tourist destinations displayed in different languages help provide security and comfort to visitors.
• Local tour guides and travel agents trained to answer questions and meet the needs of tourists.

6.  What are the events which hinder the growth of tourism?

• Many people experience a loss of income or jobs in recession so they cut back on spending and are less likely to travel overseas in a recession.
• Regional recession such as the European Sovereign Debt Crisis caused by Greece unable to pay its government debts in 2010.
• Global recession such as the global financial crisis when some of the world’s largest financial firms went bankrupt in 2007 and 2008 resulting in the crash of the housing market in the USA. It affected many countries in different parts of the world, causing their economies to slow down or shrink.
• Domestic travel increased as people choose to go for holidays in their own country rather than travel abroad during recession because they spend less on transport.
 

• Political conflicts which may results in war pose dangers to tourists so they may postpone or cancel their travel plans. Services are disrupted and infrastructure is damaged in political conflicts.
• Government may also issue travel advisories to discourage citizens from travelling to a particular region or country due to the dangers of conflicts.
• In February 2011, the Arab Spring uprising took place in Egypt so international tourist arrivals declined sharply.

• Drop in tourist arrivals as they do not want to risk getting infected with a contagious disease such as SARS outbreak in 2003. By the end of 2003, the number of international tourist arrivals in Singapore declined by 19%.
• Government may also advise travelers to avoid areas with disease outbreaks.

7. What are the impacts of tourism?

• Economic impact
• Socio-cultural
• Environmental

• Employment opportunities – The growth of tourism led to increase in the number of tourism-related jobs e.g. workers in hotels, transport vehicles, souvenir shops and tour agencies. There are also jobs indirectly linked to the tourist industry when tourists travel and consume goods e.g. taxi drivers and shop owners.
• Growth in income for individuals and for a country. Fishermen on Pamilacan Island in the Philippines are paid to bring tourists on their boats to look for and swim with whale sharks and dolphins. The tour companies which hire the fishermen will experience an increase in revenue. There will also be an increase in revenue for the country through taxes collected from the fishermen and tour companies. 
• Increase in government revenues. Directly from taxes on tourists e.g. airport tax and from income taxes on employees of tourism-related businesses. Indirectly from taxes placed on goods and services which are supplied to tourists e.g. manufactured goods such as petrol used in rented cars.
• Development of infrastructure such as transport and communication networks, electrical frameworks and systems for water and waste disposal as well as facilities such as airports, roads, electricity and hotels help to develop tourism. Roads that link airports, cities and tourist sites allow tourists access to local attractions. They also allow local people better access to more markets, health care, education and jobs. Thus, infrastructure built to enhance tourism also benefits the locals. E.g Underground rail systems expanded to cater to increased numbers of visitors during the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 and in Beijing 2008. Both rail systems continue to serve local populations and tourist even after the Games. It also creates employment for local such as workers in the construction process as well as help to boast local industries which provided materials in the construction. The increased spending in the local economy encourages economic growth.

• Leakage of tourism receipts to other countries, especially in LDCs. The revenue earned from tourism is paid to other countries for the import of goods and services needed to meet the needs of tourists. This includes payment to international airline tickets, imported food, foreign-owned hotels or prepaid tours booked internationally.
• Seasonal unemployment – Some countries experiences seasonal unemployment e.g. some tourist activities which depend on climatic conditions. Ski resorts in the Alps experience a drop of tourists during summer as skiing is carried out in winter. As a result, the people have to find other sources of income when employment in the tourism industry is temporarily unavailable. Increase in summer visits in European Union is due to the warm weather which allows swimming on the beach or hiking.
• Underuse of facilities e.g. facilities built specifically for certain events may be underused when the event is over. The facilities can be costly to maintain and may become neglected when there are few tourists. E.g. venues built for 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing China had to be renovated to become more profitable e.g. Beijing National Aquatics Centre renovated into a water park. 
• Shortage of services eg. Water supplies or power is required by tourist infrastructure and could lead to a shortage of service in non-tourist areas.
 

• Preservation of culture and local customs. Historical and cultural sites are preserved and restored to make the place more attractive to tourists. This benefits the local population by enhancing their sense of history and by building a sense of belong to their community. Revenues generated from tourism can also fund the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Entry fees to the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the Angkor Wat complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia can be used directly to help fund conservation efforts.

• Dilution of local customs and heritage- Commercial activities that cater mainly to tourists such as food outlets, travel agencies, souvenir shops and hotels, can become the major commercial activities of an area. This can force the locals to relocate their original activities to other places. As a result, the identity of a place may be lost. To meet the demands and expectations of tourists, local cultural festivals and religious rituals are sometimes modified. For example rituals may be shortened to fit into the itinerary of the tourists. So the authenticity and significance of these cultural events may be reduced when they become commercialized.
• Increased crime – high crime levels may occur at popular tourist sites. Some tourists carry valuable goods as watches, cameras and clothes and may be vulnerable to muggings. In addition, tourists are prone to being cheated or scammed in tourist areas where goods or services are sold at greatly inflated prices.

Environmental impacts 

Advantages

• Conservation – revenue from entrance fees to national parks and diving sites, or even levies on nearby accommodations can be used to fund conservation of coral reefs, rainforests and mountainous areas. For example the Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah, Malaysia help to rehabilitate orang-utans that have been orphaned or injured by using the visitor entry fees to partly pay its staff. In Kenya, the money raised from wildlife tourism becomes a way to continue to preserve the animals and their habitats.

• Increased congestion - large number of tourists can cause overcrowding in areas close to popular attractions. Tourist shops and accommodations cluster nearby making it even more congested. This results in vehicular and pedestrian traffic to become congested. The huge inflow of cars and buses can contribute to air pollution.
• Vandalism – cultural, historical or natural sites may be vandalized by individuals or developers, e.g the stones and bricks of the Great Wall of China are covered with graffiti.
• Pollution and littering – the waste left behind by tourists can lead to environmental degradation e.g. Harbours, marinas and oceans are polluted by tourists throwing plastic bottles, food packaging and old batteries overboard from cruise ships.
•  Destruction of habitat – when too many tourists visit a destination, they may destroy habitats and wildlife. Careless tourists may trample on plants while others may collect eggs and features of birds as souvenirs. Tourists may also make too much noise which can disturb and frighten off animals. E.g. the habitat of coral reefs and exotic fish at the Egypt’s Red Sea coast are damaged by tourists collecting shells or corals as souvenirs as well as the dumping of waste and sewage into the sea by hotels and restaurants nearby.
• Increased carbon footprint – greenhouse gas emissions by activities that involve the use of fossil fuels such as when tourists travel by planes, tour buses and electricity consumption by hotels.

• Conservation is the careful management and use of resources such that these resources would not be destroyed. Fragile environments which are environments that are easily affected by change include mangroves and coral reefs.
• Sustainable tourism is a form of tourism organized in a way that allows it to continue without causing damage to the environment or without leaving negative impacts on the surrounding society and culture.
• Sustainable tourism also involves minimizing leakages from tourist revenues using the following strategies:
• Training locals to perform skilled tourism jobs, such as management and marketing
• Developing homestay accommodation where visitors can pay local people directly for their accommodation
• Promoting local food and drink in restaurants to provide a market for local food producers and distributors.
• United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) provides funding to threatened sites to conserve them – e.g. Angkor Wat, Borobudur Temple

• Between tourists and locals
• Tourists who wear skimpy clothing may cause locals in a conservative country to feel uncomfortable
• Congestions at tourist sites makes it difficult for locals to conduct their daily business
• Large number of hotels, resorts, convention centres and other facilities potentially deprive locals of their water supply.
• Locals expect tourists to respect local customs and values, which tourists sometimes fail to do so e.g. tourists display affection in public
• Between tourists and the environments
• Tourist inflow may contribute to the damage of the attraction
• Erosion of the Inca trail as well as littering along the trail by tourists
• Use of helicopters disturbs the area’s indigenous animal and plant species.
• Damage of land and artefacts at Machu Picchu historical site.
• Measures for managing the tension
• Limiting the number of visitors at a site to minimize congestion and degradation.
• With-hold tourism-related projects that could harm the environment, including landscape and the flora and fauna
• Employ staff to maintain and repair a site and prevent tourists from tampering with it.
• Hold discussions with locals regarding their needs and concerns
• Restrict tourists from some areas which only locals can enter.

• Local communities can help to conserve and protect tourist areas as well as benefit economically from tourism.
• Community-based tourism e.g. Candirejo Village near Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia. With support from the government, the villagers set up a cooperative in 2003 to manage and implement the community’s tourism-related programmes. These include homestay accommodations, developing organics farms, organizing local transport, training of villagers to produce handicrafts, to provide catering and to work as tour guides. 
• Strengths– Involve locals in decision making with regards to tourism management strategies to be carried out and increase in tourism related employment and business for the local e.g. for Candirejo the village had 22 homestays, 22 andongs (horse-drawn carts) and six local restaurants by 2004 and this created 63 new jobs, five new businesses and 12.5% increase in average income per villager from 2001 to 2003.
• Limitations – difficulty in obtaining external funding in setting up business or investing in vehicles to facilitate tourism in their area. There may not have enough skilled labour such as managers or consultants.
• Visitors need to respect the environment and local population of the place they are visiting.
• Tourists selecting holiday destinations based on the conservation efforts of the place. They want to minimize their carbon footprint by considering the amount of water used and the amount of waste recycled at these destination
• Strengths – visitors’ spending can provide funds to help conserve environment, preserve culture or maintain a tourist attractions. Their spending can also provide locals with income from employment and business. They can also raise awareness about the destination at home by sharing their experience.
• Limitations – visitors may damage a tourist attraction e.g. by vandalism and littering. They might also cause local culture and customs to be diluted.

• Tour operators may belong to associations that are concerned with conserving and protecting environments visited by tourists. For example Phuket Alternative Tours (PAT) commits its member tour operators to operate in an environmentally sustainable way to enhance the natural environment and to create awareness about environmental conservation for visitors to Phuket.
• Strength – valuable feedback from tour guides used by local communities and planning authorities to plan tourism management strategies as well as help to regulate tourist behavior.
• Limitation – the need to generate profits can sometimes led to tour operators into conflict with other stakeholders and may also override concerns to preserve the environment when the concerns would reduce their profits.
• Non-governmental organizations such as the International Eco-tourism Society developed guidelines, conducted training courses, provided technical assistance and published research papers related to tourism and the environment.
• Strengths – facilitate communication between various stakeholders such as between local communities and tour operators or between tour operators and planning authorities. NGOs also encourage local communities to actively participate in the managing the impact of tourism. They also support the various stakeholders in the form of additional manpower, expertise or marketing campaigns. 
• Limitation – as NGO are non-profit organisations which rely on donation, they may have difficulty in obtaining external funding.

• Planning authorities can influence the future quality of environments by determining how many visitors a site can cope with and allocating space for infrastructure such as roads and hotels  e.g. Singapore Tourism Board enhance the cultural zones of Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India so that visitors and locals will have a greater appreciation of Singapore’s rich heritage. 
• Strengths – able to successfully develop, approve, fund and maintain infrastructure that help manage the impact of tourism in an area. Planning authorities can also draft laws and policies that improve the quality of a tourist site as well as work with other government agencies and utilize a range of government resources
• Limitations – difficult to plan for unseen factors such as extreme weather, natural disasters or lack of interest from the public. Stakeholders may oppose management strategies of planning authorities as it might affect their livelihood or change their way of life or when they think a different approach is needed to solve the problem. Tourism management strategies have limited impact without cooperation from stakeholders.

• Chinatown, a place with rich culture and heritage. The heritage centre is a museum with wax figures and replicas of items that are found in the shop houses in the 1950s.Tourists can shop along the Chinatown Street market and souvenir shops, feast at the food street on Smith Street or patronize the pubs and restaurants in the area.

• Integrated resorts such as Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa offers a mix of MICE facilities, entertainment and performance venues, hotels, dining outlets, spas, shops and casinos. RWS even operates a maritime museum, a water park as well as Universal Studios Singapore.

Erosion of the original heritage of Chinatown as many of the activities are focused on tourist souvenirs and accommodation. However, there are also some businesses that promote the heritage of the areas such as restaurants that claim to serve authentic Chinese dishes.



However, there are also negative social impact such as rising gambling addictions which requires more counselling and environmental impacts such as the disturbance of Sentosa’s land and maritime ecosystems and habitats. During the constructions of RWS, the coral reefs at the northern part of the island were in danger of being destroyed if they are not relocated.



To retain Chinatown’s cultural heritage, 33 heritage markers were installed by the STB throughout Chinatown as part of the Chinatown Experience Guide plan with the help of the National Heritage Board. The plan also resulted in the creation of the Chinatown Heritage Centre.

An entrance fee of S$100 for Singaporeans and PRs are imposed to manage the negative social impact of casinos on locals.



Tourism helps to boost a country’s economy as it generates employment and business opportunities for the people. It also provides incentives for the country to improve their infrastructure which can also be used by the locals other than the tourists.

Tourism also helps to increase foreign exchange and generate tax revenue. Other than economic benefits, countries can also use tourism to promote their local cultures and customs.

International tourism receipts increased 3% from 2011 to 2012, reaching US19.5 billion in 2012. It contributed to more than 4% of Singapore’s economy in 2011. The tourism receipts came from shopping, accommodation, sightseeing, food and even health care.


Increased tourism can bring about negative impacts such as seasonal unemployment, increased congestion, pollution, littering as well as a shortage of services.

Tourism is a key industry that has helped to drive Singapore’s economy. However, its capacity to grow is restricted by the country’s limited land and resources.


It seeks to raise productivity for tourism growth by enhancing innovation among different sectors and industries involved in tourism as well as investing in software that will help existing infrastructure provide more value. This can be done through reinvention and rejuvenation of tourist attractions.