Читать книгу Global Experience Industries - Jens Christensen - Страница 53

Historically, and even today, most tourists travel from the temperate zone to the subtropical and tropical zones of the world. Each year, millions of people from Northern Europe spend their vacation in Southern Europe, just as North Americans seek to the Southern parts of the continent, the Caribbean and Hawaii, and to a lesser extent, people living in similarly temperate conditions elsewhere follow the same route from north to south. Most people travel during the summer months and the seaside and a warmer climate still holds first place when choosing a destination for vacation. For European tour operators, the sun-bound package products of airline seats and hotel rooms remain a vital part of their business, although they have become more adapted to individual travel patterns.¹¹² Mass tourism may be changing to a more individualized kind of tourism but the core of traditional mass tourism has succeeded since the 1960s and 1970s in adjusting to modern terms, based on huge investments in airlines, hotels, apartments and other tourism services at both the point of departure and arrival.

Tourists expect interesting experiences during their trips, while they also want the sunshine and comfort as well as other pleasantries of an organized trip to hotter destinations. Furthermore, tourist demands can be divided into several categories, moving from pure sun to pure culture or adventure. More and more destinations around the world compete to attract tourists. To meet this competition and to get hold of an increasing part of tourism spending, the tourism industry has been expanding their activities across a greater part of the consumer value chain. Airlines address most transportation and accommodation needs. Hotels build resorts for sports, wellness and shopping activities to make guests stay longer within their particular business field. On huge cruiser ships, travellers can stay for weeks to enjoy the sea, the pleasure of fine food, swimming pools, shopping, music, gaming and other kinds of entertainment. This trend to offer a system-like vacation can be seen in the expanding field of pleasure resorts throughout the world.