A guide to sustainable tourism in developing countries
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1274933
Tourism IS A SYSTEM Tourism is somewhat different from other industries; in fact, many governments do not consider it an industry at all, but rather an economic sector. This is because tourism draws on the goods and services of other industries, and a business that caters mainly for tourists can be classified elsewhere. For instance, you can see that tourism is part of many industries listed in the Standard Industrial Classification for Australia and New Zealand. This highlights an important consideration for tourism planning, development and management: for a tourism business to be successful, it relies on multiple other businesses. This necessitates tourism businesses working collaboratively with others in the same business, the same industry area and almost all other industries. This interrelationship and dependency forms what has been called the tourism system, and understanding this is vital for sustainable tourism businesses and destination planning and development. Tourism BUSINESSES ARE DIFFERENT • They rarely own, control or manage their principal asset. • Their success can mean their principal business asset is degraded. • Their clients (often) purchase products without 'seeing' them, or through someone else. • Clients buy tourism products to get something else (experiences). • A sale lost is forever. • Client satisfaction depends (in part) on with whom they are 'shopping' and other 'shoppers'. • Their success depends (in part) on what happens to clients before and after they use the product. • They rely on others for success. A classification of 'industries' Australian and New Zealand jointly developed a Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) to make it easier to compare industry statistics between the two countries and with the rest of the world. 'Industries' recognised are: • Agriculture, forestry and fishing • Mining • Manufacturing • Electricity, gas, water and waste services • Construction • Wholesale trade • Retail trade • Accommodation and food services • Transport, postal and warehousing • Information media and telecommunications • Financial and insurance services • Rental, hiring and real estate services • Professional, scientific and technical services 18