Definitions of Tourism
In 1941, Hunziker and Krapf defined tourism as “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of nonresidents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity.”
In 1976, the Tourism Society of England’s definition was “Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes.”
In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism as “traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
Travel agents
“A Travel Agency is a middleman – a business or person selling the travel industry’s individual parts or combination of the parts to the consumer”.
Travel agents help travelers through vast amounts of information to help them make the best possible travel arrangements. They offer advice on destinations and make arrangements for transportation, hotel accommodations, car rentals, and tours for their clients. They are also the primary source of bookings for most of the major cruise lines. In addition, resorts and specialty travel groups use travel agents to promote travel packages to their clients.
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook is the father of Tourism. In 1841, Thomas Cook began running a special excursion train from Leicester to Loughborough in England, a trip of 12 miles. On July 5th Cook’s train carried 570 passengers at a round trip price of 1 shilling per passenger. This is believed to be the first publicly advertised excursion train. Thus Cook can rightfully be recognized as the first rail excursion agent; his pioneering efforts were eventually copied widely in all parts of the world.
Computer reservation system (CRS)
Computer reservation system (CRS) is probably the most widely used technological tool in the tourism industry. It is basically an electronic system used to promote sales and provide fast and accurate information about availability, price, and bookings of products and services. It was originally designed and employed by airlines for flight ticket reservation, but nowadays CRS is used to store and distribute information about tourism products and services to the public either directly or through intermediaries, which also allows reservations to be made (Beaver 2005). The distribution of such information among customers and intermediaries has resulted in a series of alliances, mergers, and acquisitions among service providers, and this booking system has since evolved into what is widely known as the global distribution system, also referred to as eMediaries. The leading global distribution companies are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan.
Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI)
Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) was incorporated during 1951, 4 years after Indian Independence. It continues most effectively with quality growth and ability to support industry growth. TAAI is India’s premier, nodal, largest and oldest Travel & Tourism Association.
TAAI’smembership of about 2,500+ leading Indian companies involved actively with Tourism brings to its members constant guidance from our 20 Regional Units, which is unique to TAAI and its development of Leadership. Each unit has an elected Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer to effectively administer. Member agencies get to meet regularly. We support road shows; presentations; interaction on industry updates, most effectively.
TAAI is actively associated with the Airlines & IATA. As members of IATA”s APJC (Agency Program Joint Council)we debate on matters on Airline practices. TAAI’s active Airlines Council connects TAAI with Domestic & International Airlines.
TAAI works closely with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. We actively participate in the Tourism Meetings convenedby the Government. We are actively associated with State Tourism Boards of India.
Eco Tourism:
Eco-tourism means travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objectives of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery, wild plants and animals along with existing cultural manifestation of the locality. Eco-tourism being the answer or the alternative to mass tourism gets termed as Nature tourism, Green tourism, Responsible tourism, Appropriate tourism and Alternative tourism depending upon the degree of focus on the aspect of conservation of nature.
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveller, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavour by environmentalists,
Medical Tourism
Medical tourism is defined as the movement of public for cost – worthy medical services from highly developed nations to other areas of the world for medical care. Medical tourism is different from the traditional model of international medical travel where patients generally journey from less developed nations to major medical centers in highly developed countries for medical treatment that is unavailable in their own communities. While the general definition of the Medical tourism above covers most of the aspects of the phenomenon, there is no international consensus yet on the name of the phenomenon. Medical tourism is often related to globalisation and neo-liberal healthcare policies which in this case considered to undermine the quality and quantity of the services available to middle class in home countries.
MICE Tourism
Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions. MICE is used to refer to a particular type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together for some particular purpose.
Recently, there has been an industry trend towards using the term meetings industry to avoid confusion from the acronym. Other industry educators are recommending the use of “Events Industry” to be an umbrella term for the vast scope of the meeting and events profession. Most components of MICE are well understood, perhaps with the exception of incentives. Incentive tourism is usually undertaken as a type of employee reward by a company or institution for targets met or exceeded, or a job well done. Unlike the other types of MICE tourism, incentive tourism is usually conducted purely for entertainment, rather than professional or educational purposes.
MICE in tourism industry generally includes a well-organized program centered on a particular theme. These themes may include a profession, a hobby, or an educational matter. With its own trade shows and practices, such tourism has a specialized area. MICE events follow a process of marketing and bidding. Usually bid on by expertise convention department set in particular nations, this procedure is often performed several months or even years ahead of the actual event.
Famous MICE Destination – Using off-site workdays to motivate staff and improve their productivity is gaining popularity in the corporate world. Companies are also realizing the benefits to their business when regional dealer conferences, incentive trips and focused business meetings are organized in exotic locations which include sightseeing, recreation and shopping. MICE is used to refer to a particular type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together for some particular purpose.
In 1898, the management of the firm passed on to John’s three sons. At the time of his death, the Cook’s business included three major aspects of travel
– selling tours, banking and shipping. The Cook’s tour became sophisticated and more and more easy for travelers. The travelers were met on arrival by car. Cooks agents assisted the travelers through all formalities and to arrange their sightseeing tours. Most of the tours were group tours. The era of all-inclusive tours had started. After the World War II, the British Government acquired
principal interest in Thomas Cook & Sons. The British Government determined the policy of this company. In 1977, the British Government sold Thomas Cook & Sons to Midland Bank Consortium for £ 858.8 million. The company today has over 1,000 offices around the world in 145 countries. The largest of its kind, Thomas Cook & Sons have now business interest in several fields.
