Category: Free Essays

1. Sri Lanka is an island country and god has given to Sri Lanka blessings of nature blue seas, green hills, sandy beaches, abundant wildlife, cascading waterfalls, a riot of flowers and fruits, coconut groves, tea estates, spice gardens. Here ones day can be gloriously lazy by a palm cool lagoon or full of joy, swimming, snorkeling, and fishing or sailing like a brilliant jewel in the sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is located in a strategically considered naval spot on the world map. This significant situation creates a path for a major sea route. In addition it creates a strategic naval link between West Asia, Africa and East Asia. Sri Lanka entered the international tourism arena in the 1960s. Since then, government involvement has been the key factor in tourism development in Sri Lanka. The Ceylon Tourist Board (CTB) was established in 1966 in order to provide direction and leadership to this promising sector of the developing economy. The country is famous for healthy and cultural heritage. Hospitality, tropical forests, natural and fascinating beaches, archeological sites and the tropical climate are the more attractive features. These factors make Sri Lanka a wonderful tourist destination. Over the years tourism in Sri Lanka has developed significantly. Today tourism has become the sixth Foreign Exchange Earner (FEE) in Sri Lankan economy.

2. Tourism can make a great impact on development of the Sri Lankan economy. Tourism is a fast growing industry which has been identified presently. Employment opportunities and regional development are playing significant role with regard to the tourism industry development. It can be considered as the most important industry in the country as a whole. The government’s vision is to make the tourism sector as Sri Lanka’s most innovative and profitable income generating source.

3. During past three decades Sri Lanka’s tourism industry had few draw backs. This was mainly due to the security situation which prevailed in the country. Further the tourism industry was also affected due to the Tsunami catastrophe which occurred in 2004. Approximately 2/3rd of the coastal area including tourist infrastructure facilities was destroyed. The immediate post war period gave rise to a dramatic increase of tourist arrival from end May 2009.

4. In order to support the efforts and to develop the tourism sector in Sri Lanka there should be hotels with exclusive facilities which are in par with the international standards to accommodate a large number of visitors. In the year 2010 approximately one million tourists visited Sri Lanka. Unlike in the past, the inflow of tourists is increasing day by day as a result of the end of the 30 year civil war which destroys the whole country. Following graph indicates how tourism increased from 1966 to 2011 in Sri Lanka. The government is expected to receive 2.5 million tourists in 2016. To cater for this increase tourist hotels in Sri Lanka must be developed. Similarly other facilities should also be increased to meet the desired economic goals.

AIM

5. The aim of this paper is to analyze the development of Sri Lanka tourism -challenges and opportunities

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF SRI LANKA

6. Sir Lanka has a various terrain but it mainly consists of flat lands but south-central portion of the country’s step sided river, canyons interior features and mountain. The compliment regions are the areas where most of Sri Lanka’s agriculture takes place, aside from coconut farms along the coast. Sri Lanka’s climate is tropical and the southwestern side of the island is the wet test. . The northeastern side of Sri Lanka is drier and most of its rain falls from December to February. Most of the rain in the southwest falls from April to June and October to November Sri Lanka’s average yearly temperature is 86°F to 91°F. An important geographic note about Sri Lanka is its position in the Indian Ocean, which made it vulnerable to one of the world’s largest natural disasters. On December, 26, 2004, it was struck by large tsunami that hit 12 Asian countries. Around 38,000 people in Sri Lanka were killed during this incident and much of Sri Lanka’s coast was destroyed.

7. Sri Lanka is situated in strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes. It has a total area of 65,610 km?, with 64,740 km? of land and 870 km? of water. Its coastline is 1,340 km long. Sri Lanka’s climate includes tropical monsoons: the southwest monsoon (June to October) and the northeast monsoon (December to March), its terrain is mostly low, flat to undulating plain, with mountains in the south-central interior. The highest point is Pidurutalagala at 2,524.13 m. Resource include limestone, mineral sands, gems, graphite, phosphates, clay, and hydropower.

8. Adam’s Bridge, a land connection to the Indian mainland, is now mostly underwater with only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above sea level. According to temple records, this natural causeway was previously complete, but was breached by a violent storm (probably a cyclone) in 1480.

SRI LANKA’S COMMITMENT TO TOURISM

9. Tourism is a vital area in the policy structure has been identified as capable of efficiently driving the country’s socio economic development. The programme’s vision for the tourism sector is to make Sri Lanka foremost freedom destination in the South Asian Region. The programme believes the human resources and natural and cultural endowments values and nation will be essential in transforming Sri Lanka into a centre of excellence and offer tourists the highest values of real experiences in its unique setting.

10 The One Stop Unit – Unit for National Investment in Tourism is a Centralized promotion and facilitation center Established Thurs assist potential tourism investors interested in investing in Sri Lanka Tourism Industry. Specialist staff from various government agencies helps investors Identify possible projects, Obtain information possible, Regarding Investments, submit applications, and Provide support in obtaining investment promotion privileges, trade licenses and other approvals Requested for project clearance. OSU Prevents the need for investors Thurs spend time in search of answers and ensures all queries are handled by its specialist staff.

11. Serious civil disturbances starting in July 1983 and the subsequent violence badly affected tourism. Total arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, down 43 percent from 1982. To ease the dilemma of the industry, the government provided various concessions to hotels, such as the rescheduling of loans and the reduction of the turnover tax from 10 percent to 5 percent. The Ceylon Tourist Board also undertook a crash promotion program in an attempt to restore the island’s image in world tourist markets. Tourist arrivals in the first six months of 1987, however, showed a decline of 23 percent compared with the same period the previous year. In early 1988, the outlook was for further contraction.

12. In 1988 it remained unclear whether the policies of economic liberalization Sri Lanka has pursued since 1977 would succeed in their principal goals of employment, wealth creation, and economic diversification. Although increased rice production, the growth of textile manufacturing, and an improved infrastructure were successes that could be attributed to the post-1977 policies, these gains came at the cost of a mounting foreign and domestic debt and declining living standards for the poor.

POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT TOWARDS TOURISM

13. The One Stop Unit – Unit for National Investment in Tourism is a Centralized promotion and facilitation center Established Thurs assist potential tourism investors interested in investing in Sri Lanka Tourism Industry. Specialist staff from various government agencies helps investors Identify possible projects, Obtain information possible, Regarding Investments, submit applications, and Provide support in obtaining investment promotion privileges, trade licenses and other approvals Requested for project clearance. OSU Prevents the need for investors Thurs spend time in search of answers and ensures all queries are handled by its specialist staff.

14. Serious civil disturbances starting in July 1983 and the subsequent violence badly affected tourism. Total arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, down 43 percent from 1982. To ease the dilemma of the industry, the government provided various concessions to hotels, such as the rescheduling of loans and the reduction of the turnover tax from 10 percent to 5 percent. The Ceylon Tourist Board also undertook a crash promotion program in an attempt to restore the island’s image in world tourist markets. Tourist arrivals in the first six months of 1987, however, showed a decline of 23 percent compared with the same period the previous year. In early 1988, the outlook was for further contraction.

15. In 1988 it remained unclear whether the policies of economic liberalization Sri Lanka has pursued since 1977 would succeed in their principal goals of employment, wealth creation, and economic diversification. Although increased rice production, the growth of textile manufacturing, and an improved infrastructure were successes that could be attributed to the post-1977 policies, these gains came at the cost of a mounting foreign and domestic debt and declining living standards for the poor.

PROMOTION OF TOURISM INVESTMENT

16. The Board of Investment has introduced incentives in the form of tax exemptions, duty-free imports and the relaxation of controls on foreign exchange holdings. The incentives provided by the government have mainly attracted investment in the hotel sector. The present hotel capacity is 13,670 rooms. That figure is projected to increase to 21,000 rooms by 2004, which will accommodate the target of 1 million tourists. Five regional domestic airports to be restructured at a total cost of approx. Rs. 2bn: Rathmalana, Koggala ,Ampara , Trincomalee & Jaffna (Rathmalana will be developed as a “City Airport”) Previous year. This denotes that tourism industry is one of the core sources of foreign exchange earner in economy of Sri Lanka. Due to the development of tourism improved accessibility via new highways and conversion of military to domestic airports may make high-end hotels in the Deep South and the East of Sri Lanka viable alternatives to the Galle area.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY

17. Tourism directly affected to economy of a country. The momentum of growth in tourism, as result of the post conflict peaceful environment, the tourist arrivals grew to 654,476 in 2010 surpassing the previous record of 566,202 in 2004. Tourist nights one of an important indicator in measuring the volume of tourist traffic, has recorded 6, 544, 760 in 2010. It shows 60.6 per cent increase compared to 2009. Total receipts in 2010 amounted to US $ 575.9 million as against US $ 349.3 million recorded for the year 2009. It indicates a vast increase of 64.9 per cent than

THREATS FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY

18. Development of tourist hotels in Sri Lanka will extremely support the rapid economic development. Developments of tourist hotels, increase room capacities, increase occupancy rates and develop the condition of rooms and upgrade the service provided in the hotels are the key factors to be mainly focused on if to develop tourism. It indeed contributes to the development of tourism and in turn development of economy of the country. Tourist hotel industry should be developed in most of the famous city for tourism with sufficient amount of tourist hotels

19. As political risk introduces additional elements of uncertainty into the rules governing tourism investment projects, the risk of capital loss is raised for longer- term projects. Political risk also negatively influences the timing and pricing of the tourism production process. Negative images, lack of foreign exchange for tourism development, lack of skilled manpower, weak institutional frameworks for tourism planning, political instability caused by communal violence, civil war conflicts are inhibitors to tourism development. However, little is known about how international tourism firms perceive political risks and other general barriers and threats to tourism promotion in Sri Lanka.

20. Common political factors which affect the tourism industry are revolution, civil war, factional conflict, ethnic violence, religious turmoil, widespread riots, terrorism, nationwide strikes, protests, cross- national guerrilla warfare, world public opinion, repatriation restrictions, bureaucratic politics, leadership struggle, high inflation, border conflicts, high external debt service ratio and creeping nationalization. Last thirty years Sri Lanka also faced the civil war and it affected the tourism industry of Sri Lanka. Organizing elections frequently also create threat to the tourism industry because during the election period in some places to control the situation cur hews are implemented.

21. This will create negative image in the mind of tourists. Some of the foreign countries have reject Sri Lanka’s products in their country due to the violation of human rights during the war time. For example government invested and spent on IIFA programme but it was not a successful event for Sri Lanka because the big stars have boycotted the event. They didn’t visit Sri Lanka because of the protests held in their country by asking them not to visit the place. Currently Sri Lanka is having negative relationship with some foreign countries therefore the export and import of Sri Lankan products will be decreased and it affects the tourism industry as well.

FUTURE TRENDS, CHALLENGES

22. Source markets in Asia and Middle East to drive demand: Sri Lanka’s proximity to source markets such as India and its connectivity to the Middle East and China will help in sustaining tourism growth. The rise in per capita income and therefore consumer spending in these source markets will aid the growth in tourism.

23. Infrastructure growth to fuel tourism growth: To ensure rapid growth of tourism in the future, tourism projects will need to be balance with infrastructure development. We expect that with improvements in road infrastructure and development of the new airport in Hambantota, various new destinations will emerge in the country, especially to the north and the east, as these areas have abundant natural beauty to attract tourists but currently suffer from poor connectivity. We expect more airlines to operate in the country as the second airport develops.

24. Greater competition will facilitate growth: We also expect greater competition with the introduction of new hotels in popular destinations such as Colombo, Kandy, Bentota, and Sigiriya, and Galle. We expect the existing hotels to undertake phased renovations to effectively compete with the upcoming hotels. Also, with the increase in income from hotels over the past few years, we expect an increase in the number of hospitality related transactions and mergers and acquisitions.

25. Challenge of attrition to other destinations: Currently, the hotel industry witness’s significant employee attrition to countries in the Middle East and to the Maldives and India. However, with a more stable political environment and improvement in quality of living in Sri Lanka, we expect the attrition to gradually

26. Shortage of skilled labor: As new players enter the market, the projected growth in tourism will be accompanied by shortage of skilled labour. We anticipate the need for relive hospitality education institutions as the contribution of the tourism sector to the overall economy increases.

SUMMARY

27. Sri Lanka is located in a strategically considered naval spot on the world map. Sri Lanka entered the international tourism arena in the 1960s. Since then, government involvement has been the key factor in tourism development in Sri Lanka. Over the years tourism in Sri Lanka has developed significantly. Today tourism has become the sixth Foreign Exchange Earner (FEE) in Sri Lankan economy.Tourism can make a great impact on development of the Sri Lankan economy. Employment opportunities and regional development are playing significant role with regard to the tourism industry development. The government’s vision is to make the tourism sector as Sri Lanka’s most innovative and profitable income generating source.

28. During past three decades Sri Lanka’s tourism industry had few draw backs. In the year 2010 approximately one million tourists visited Sri Lanka. Following graph indicates how tourism increased from 1966 to 2011 in Sri Lanka. To cater for this increase tourist hotels in Sri Lanka must be developed. Sri Lanka’s climate is tropical and the southwestern part of the island is the wettest. . Around 38,000 people in Sri Lanka were killed during this incident and much of Sri Lanka’s coast was destroyed.

29. Total arrivals were 230,106 in 1986, down 43 percent from 1982. The Ceylon Tourist Board also undertook a crash promotion program in an attempt to restore the island’s image in world tourist markets. This denotes that tourism industry is one of the core sources of foreign exchange earner in economy of Sri Lanka. Tourism directly affected to economy of a country. Development of tourist hotels in Sri Lanka will extremely support the rapid economic development. Developments of tourist hotels, increase room capacities, increase occupancy rates and develop the condition of rooms and upgrade the service provided in the hotels are the key factors to be mainly focused on if to develop tourism. Tourist hotel industry should be developed in most of the famous city for tourism with sufficient amount of tourist hotels

30. Negative images, lack of foreign exchange for tourism development, lack of skilled manpower, weak institutional frameworks for tourism planning, political instability caused by communal violence, civil war conflicts are inhibitors to tourism development. However, little is known about how international tourism firms perceive political risks and other general barriers and threats to tourism promotion in Sri Lanka.

31. Last thirty years Sri Lanka also faced the civil war and it affected the tourism industry of country. Some of the foreign countries have reject Sri Lanka’s products in their country due to the violation of human rights during the war time. Currently Sri Lanka is having negative relationship with some foreign countries therefore the export and import of Sri Lankan products will be decreased and it affects the tourism industry as well.

32. Sri Lanka’s proximity to source markets such as India and its connectivity to the Middle East and China will help in sustaining tourism growth. To ensure rapid growth of tourism in the future, tourism projects will need to be balance with infrastructure development. We expect the existing hotels to undertake phased renovations to effectively compete with the upcoming hotels. We also expect the hotel companies, especially the domestic companies located in the country to undertake long and medium term hospitality training programs and regularly undertake competition benchmarking for compensation to retain the talent.

RECCOMONDATIONS

33. These are the recommendations which we can produce in related to tourism.

Develop a marketing strategy: Emphasizing the creation and sustaining of a positive image of Sri Lanka as a substantive and well-established tourist destination offering facilities experiences that are distinct Sri Lankan products.

Establish a domestic tourism strategy: To expand the existing product base and encourage a greater level of holiday movements in addition to pilgrim movements.

Develop goods and services: To meet the increasing needs of the tourism industry, and thus optimize the economic benefit of tourism development to Sri Lanka.

Modify the organization of tourism activities: In order to bring about related improvements in the private sector, increase coordination between tourism and interrelated sectors, and introduce streamlining to facilitate the development of the tourism sector.

Emphasize the environmental, social and cultural aspects: Tourism Development Planning is the only way to solve many issues related to tourism in development. Therefore the tourism planning process should be designed to produce goals and objectives for the destination area related to tourism development. The tourism development plan provides overall guidelines for development and identifies development opportunities. Many development countries are involved in tourism planning.

Financial Assistance: Financial assistance for hotel owners and any other profession in tourist sector would help to create more employment opportunities.

Domestic Airport: Airport also more than 100 km away from the tourist destination it is needed have domestic airports.

Surfing Training: This will create more employment opportunities and generate good income. Among the tourists there are some people they love for surfing and keen to learn.

Conduct Language Teaching: Language barrier should be overcome by conducting specially job oriented language training.

Employ Combat Divers: Surfing is risky and adventure sport it don’t take much time for some to happen therefore as precautionary measure it is needed some combat divers close to the surfing area it would enhance the confidence of people who do surfing.

Proper Taxi Service: Taxi service should be reformed introducing good vehicles fixed with meter system and giving training for drivers.

Improve Infrastructure Facilities: Infrastructure facilities such as Power, Highways, Railways, Airports, Ports, Water Supply, Telecommunications, Accommodations, and Recreational, Shopping and Banking to be improved.

Awareness Programs: Tourists should be informed on specific social, cultural and religious environment programmed.

GAD ALWIS SLE

Maj

STUDENT OFFICER -DSCSC

SPORT TOURISM: FACTORS INFLUENCING MOTIVATION FOR SPORT TOURISM.

OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY………………

Introduction……………………………….3

Purpose of the Study ………………………….3

Aims and Objectives………………………….3/4

LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………..

Defining Sport Tourism…………………………4

Event Sport Tourism………………………..4/5

Motivation Theory………………………….5

Fan Motivations…………………………..5/6

METHODOLOGY………………………………..

Questionnaire based interviews……………………6

Street Surveys……………………………..6/7

Focus Groups……………………………….7

Introduction & purpose of study

The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into visitor motivation for sport tourism. The proposal will investigate the importance of sport to individuals and the motivation to travel for sporting purposes. Sport tourism is an ever growing industry which has continued to thrive in all aspects, particularly of late. This is highlighted by Gibson (1998) who states that “the concept of sport-related tourism has become more prominent in the last few years as both an academic field of study and an increasingly popular tourism product”. The definitions of sport vary between authors with “some critics insisting that an all-embracing definition is impossible because sport is a socially constructed activity that has varied across historical eras, societies and cultures” (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). Others have suggested that “sport has specific and timeless characteristics, such as being goal-oriented, competitive and a forum for the creation of winners and losers (Rader, 1979, Paddick 1975,Goodman, 1976)”. Furthermore, it is evident that like various other topic areas, sport tourism has a vast and broad research base.

Sport and tourism are currently two of the most important industries, with a significant increase in tourists travelling for sport related purposes in recent years. However, researchers such as Delphy (1998) and Gibson (1998) have recognized that people have been travelling to participate or watch sports for centuries”. Furthermore, Hall (1992) postulates that “sport tourism falls into two different categories, travel to participate in sport and travel to observe sport”. Sport tourists choose to travel to either participate or spectate. With regard to this, particular focus of this study will be placed on spectators and what motivates them to travel, attend and observe at various sporting events.

Visitor motivation is a significant topic area which will be investigated rigorously within this study. The research will focus on the factors which influence motivation for sport event tourism. According to Mullins (2008) “motivation is a force which drives any person to show a specific behaviour towards any condition or situation or things”. Motivation is perceived by various authors as being either “Intrinsic or “Extrinsic”. Intrinsic motivation is widely regarded as a self generated procedure which encourages an individual to act in a particular way. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is perceived as an external influence which encourages an individual to act in a certain way. In other words something is done for an individual to motivate them to behave in a specific way. Specific examples of motivation within businesses include freedom to act and responsibility (Intrinsic) and also promotion and praise from others (Extrinsic). Visitor motivation will look at tourist’s behaviour, profiles and the motivation they have to attend various sporting events.

Aims & Objectives

The main research question will be to ascertain what motivates individuals to travel for sporting events. The following aims and objectives will be pursued throughout the study in order to critically examine the topic area.

To analyse visitor motivation theory
To discuss the importance & understanding of Sport Tourism
To discuss factors of influence on travel motivations for spectators
To attend numerous sporting events in order to get a feel of the influences on travel motivation

The scope of research will be primarily focused on the relationship between motivation and sport tourism. In order to meet the aims of the study the following objectives will be set to enable a successful investigation into the research area:

Assess the concepts, theories and models related to motivation & Sport Tourism
Examine previous studies related to sport event travel motivation
Conduct primary and secondary research to understand the “spectator experience”
Critical Literature Review

The following literature review will provide an introduction on sport tourism, highlight the key authors related to the field and also provide a deeper understanding of the factors influencing people to conduct sport related tourism.

Sports tourism is defined by Gibson (2006) as “leisure based travel that takes individuals outside of their home communities to participate in physical activities (Active Sport Tourism), to watch physical activities (Event Sport Tourism) or to venerate attractions associated with physical activities (Nostalgia Sport Tourism)”.On the other hand, Standevan and De Knop (1999) define sport tourism as ” all forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity, participated in casually or in an organised way for non-commercial or business/ commercial reasons, that necessitate travel away from home and work”. The key authors related to this field of study include Heather Gibson, James Higham, Mike Weed and Thomas Hinch to name a few. Notable academic books and journals include Sport Tourism: Concepts and Theories (Gibson, 2006), Sport Tourism – Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues (Ritchie, B. & Adair, D. 2004) and also The Journal of Sport & Tourism.

Although both definitions mentioned are very similar it is interesting to note that Gibson (2006) has separated sport tourism into three different segments. This includes Active Sport Tourism, Event Sport Tourism and also Nostalgia Sport Tourism. However, Standevan and De Knop (1999) have opted on a more broad definition stating that sport tourism is “all forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity”. The definition provided by Gibson (2006) illustrates a clear and concise understanding of what sport tourism is whilst also depicting the different types of sport tourism specifically.

Robinson and Gammon (2004) like Gibson (2006) have also separated sport tourists into different segments. They depicted that “sport tourism could firstly be divided into two areas of focus, differentiating between those who travel primarily for sport (sport tourists) and those where sport is perceived as a secondary consideration (tourism sport). This study however, will focus on what Gibson (2006) describes as “Event Sport Tourism”. This refers to tourists who travel to spectate physical activities or events. Event tourism includes travelling to attend a range of different events although it is interesting to note that sporting events have had the most significant impact on the industry. This is backed up by authors Chalip and McGuirty (2004), Turco (2003) and Saayman and Uys (2003) who state that “Although event tourism includes arts festivals and cultural activities as well as sport events, the latter have played a key role in the growth of the event industry. One reason for this is that sport events have been seen to make an effective contribution to the economic development mix of cities and regions”.

Furthermore, this study will aim to ascertain what motivates tourists to travel to watch sporting events. In order to determine this successfully the literature related to motivation theory will need to be critically discussed. According to the Journal of Sport (2004) “The motivation(s) of the sport tourist has been a regular source of discussion within much of the sport tourism literature (Gammon and Robinson, 1997; Gibson, 1998a; Hinch and Higham, 2004; Kurtzman and Zauhar, 1995a; Standeven and De Knop, 1999)”. Every year there are numerous events taking place with increased numbers of tourists travelling. Tourism is conducted domestically as well as outbound in order to actively take part or spectate at sporting events. Hollyforde & Widdett (2002) postulate that motivational theory “outlines a researchers answers to questions such as “why do people make the choices they make? Or what makes someone persist at one activity and yet quickly give up another “.

Abraham Maslow is a renowned psychologist who proposed the motivational theory the “hierarchy of needs”. This theory has been an important framework related to motivation and assumes that human motivations proceed through various stages of needs. The hierarchy of needs starts off with the more primary basic needs such as physiological and safety needs at the foundation further leading to belongingness & love and esteem needs and lastly ending with self-actualisation. According to Gibson (2006) “psychologists such Maslow and also Murray have long postulated that behaviour is a function of needs, indeed, much of their work has provided the theoretical foundation for studies that have investigated the relationship between leisure or tourism and need satisfaction”.

Fan motivations are an important aspect when determining the reasoning behind “Event Sport Tourism”. Tourists love for the game/sport provides a big influence in them wanting to travel in order to watch their favorite team/player or event live rather than from a television set. A good example of this would be Football, where individuals purchase season tickets in order to watch their team play on a regular basis. This includes home games only but first option on away games is usually provided. Tourists will also be motivated to attend the away games especially on the big European nights away from home in order to support their team. This relates to Simon Hudson’s theory that “sport events away from can have an appeal based on their uniqueness or their quality that, when combined with escaping from the familiar and routine, generates personal and interpersonal benefits which make it a worthwhile expenditure of time and resources.

Sport event tourism also provide a range of positive impacts for the consumer, destination and also the events. This is backed up by Hudson (2003) who states that,

Special events can attract more tourists than regularly scheduled games.
Sport events attract corporate sponsors.
When sport facilities are built, they become permanent event venues.
Major sport events can be catalysts for new facilities and new or improved infrastructure.
Sport events can assist in destination branding by providing powerful, active lifestyle images and making cultural themes come alive. (Hudson, 2003)

It is envisaged that this study will further strengthen the current body of literature related to sport tourism. A conceptual framework will be used in order to meet the aims and objectives of the research, placing particular focus on “Event Sport Tourism”.

Methodology

The following section will provide details of how the planned research will be conducted, what method(s) will be used and how long it may take to obtain relevant data.

According to the research methods workbook “the research process or methodology is the approach to the entire study – it is the master plan. It is the blueprint for achieving objectives, one of which is the production of the dissertation” (Workbook, 2014). There are generally two main processes of conducting research, the qualitative approach and the quantitative approach. Quantitative data is primarily concerned with assessing numerical data and conducting statistical tests. Conversely, qualitative data focuses on descriptions that can be observed and includes methods such as participant observation and unstructured interviews. In simple terms the main difference between the two approaches is that quantitative data collection deals with ‘quantity’ of research whereas ‘qualitative’ data collection emphasise quality research.

The methodology section will emphasise how the research will be conducted in order to attain relevant information regarding sport tourism and motivational theory. Within this study it is envisaged that the research process will consist of questionnaire based interviews with tourists that attend sporting events. This will be completed in order to determine the factors which influence their decision/desire to attend. It is believed that interviews can have a number of positives including “the encouragement of participation, clarification of any confusion regarding questions and also the inclusion of people who are incapable of reading (Long, 2007)”. By mixing the two concepts of questionnaire and interview it will in a sense provide the “best of both worlds” and enable the researcher to gather sufficient data. Authors such as Kendall (2008) postulate that “while questionnaires can provide evidence of patterns amongst large populations, qualitative interview data often gather more in-depth insights on participant attitudes, thoughts, and actions”.

Furthermore, alternative research methods will also be taken into consideration in order to determine the most efficient and effective way of obtaining information. Street surveys and focus groups will be the other two approaches in question, they will be looked at in detail as potential research methods. Street surveys are a quantitative research method whereas focus groups provide a qualitative approach to data collection.

Street surveys are a tempting research method considering it is an efficient way of gathering data from individuals. According to Long (2007) “street surveys are a quick and cheap route to gathering survey data. The ‘street’ in this may represent any convenient location for ‘capturing’ respondents (e.g. the mall or refectory/canteen). Street surveys will be conducted outside specific sporting events in order to receive data from relevant sport tourists. However, there are disadvantages like any other method, including relatively low response rates due to the typical locations in which surveys are conducted. The lack of quality of data gathered and the overall amount of data collected are also negatives of using this method. Conversely, surveys can also have various positives including the ease and efficiency of conducting the process. According to March (1982: 147) “Surveys have a lot to offer….since experimentation cannot be used to investigate a wide range of macro-social processes, there is often no alternative to considering variation across cases in a systematic fashion”.

Focus groups will also be taken into consideration when depicting the ideal research method to use in order to conduct research for this study. Focus groups are a traditionalist method of research, enabling the researcher to obtain information on a face to face and personal basis. Therefore, the researcher is able to obtain descriptive answers rather than numerical or statistical data. It is envisaged that “Qualitative research is generally based on the belief that the people personally involved in a particular (leisure or tourism) situation are best placed to describe and explain their experiences or feelings in their own words. They should be allowed to speak without the intermediary of the researcher and without being overly constrained by the framework imposed by the researcher” (Veal,2006) . With regard to this, focus groups should be high on the list of potential research methods. However, there are also disadvantages of using this method like any other. Focus groups can become difficult to control, analyse and conduct. It is easy to get a group of people together but it is not as easy to avoid disagreements, conflicts between individuals and irrelevant discussions. Transcribing a focus group is also a very time consuming process due to the amount of people involved within the discussion. Participants may also feel under pressure to follow the lead of a dominant individual within the group therefore succumbing to peer pressure and holding back their own views.

Regardless of which research approach will be used, significant methods will need to be included within the process of obtaining information. This includes personally attending various sporting events in order to get an idea of the “spectator experience”. It is interesting to note that Weed (2008) postulates that in order to ascertain ‘why’ sport tourists travel, researchers need to focus on participation experiences underpinned by ontological research. Furthermore, significant library based research will need to be conducted as well as the visitation of numerous libraries and archives. Fieldwork will also be conducted during event visitations in order to broaden knowledge in relation to the topic area. The subjects of research will include randomly selected individuals with an interest in “Event Sport Tourism”. Conversely, small groups may be required if focus groups are chosen as the most suitable research method. The timeframe for the research to be conducted is yet to be finalised however, it is understood that the following research will take several months to complete in order to obtain the relevant data required.

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and applying the sport tourism framework. Journal of Sport Tourism, 9(3), 221-233

Standeven, J. & De Knop, P. (1999). Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Vernon, M.D (1969) Humanmotivation.London : Cambridge U.P

Veal, A (2011) Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide, Longman, Essex (4th edition)

Weed, M (2008). Sport & Tourism. Oxon: Routledge.

Weed, M and Bull, C (2012). Sports Tourism. 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier

Journals

Harris, Lois R. & Brown, Gavin T.L. (2010). Mixing interview and questionnaire methods: Practical problems in aligning data . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 15(1). Available online:

http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=15&n=1.

International Journal of Sport Management, Recreation and Tourism

Journal of Sport & Tourism-Abingdon Taylor & Francis Ltd

Kotze, N (2006). Urban Forum.Cape Town and the Two Oceans Marathon: The Impact of Sport Tourism. 17 (3)

1 | Page

Cyprus is unique destination for tourists from all over the world. The island has great advantages for visitors such as sun, sea, fine weather conditions, services, hospitality and professionalism of staff. “Tourist Arrivals in Cyprus decreased to 357194 in October from 421201 in September of 2016. Tourist Arrivals in Cyprus averaged 190802.91 from 1990 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 482132.00 in July of 2016 and a record low of 16748.00 in February 1991” (Tradingeconomics.com, 2017)

.

Cyprus also has great potential for development sport tourism. According CTO “Sport tourism is most valuable assets when it comes to alternative forms of tourism”.

The constant fall of arrivals and tourist revenues during the last decade (Cyprus Tourism Organisation-CTO, 2010) that resulted in the decrease of the island’s competitiveness as a destination (Boukas and Ziakas, 2012), made the Cypriot tourism policy-makers to seriously consider golf tourism as a means to counterbalance the negative climate and the serious chronic problems of the island’s tourism (i.e., seasonality, low service quality, mass tourism) (Archontides, 2007). Hence, the Strategic Plan for Tourism 2000-2010 and 18 its second version, the Strategic Plan for Tourism 2003-2010 prepared by CTO, put emphasis on the development of a number of golf courses as major tourism infrastructure projects in order to help enrich the image of the island’s tourist product (CTO, 2000; CTO, 2005; CTO; 2010). Even though the value of golf for Cyprus tourism was recognized since 1993, serious interest for golf by the tourism policy was noted during the beginning of the new century (Boukas et al., 2012). In 2003 the government granted permission for the construction of eleven more golf courses on the island (added to the already three completed golf courses until then) for the enrichment of the tourism product and in harmony with the synchronized development of property and tourism (Archontides, 2007). Finally, in 2009 the Council of Ministers refined the golf courses policy in Cyprus: the final number of golf courses was determined to fourteen and given to the dry climate of the island and the water shortage problems, each golf course should not use water from the public tanks and draining system but should use individual desalination plants that would produce the amounts of water needed for maintaining golf operation via renewable means (Ministry of Finance, 2009). Until today, five golf courses operate on the island, most of them located in Paphos and are accompanied by other types of development such as real estate and hospitality units.

Event: International Golf Tournament, 3 days event to introduce Cyprus as golf destination to international tour operators from Austria, France, Finland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, UK and Switzerland. Golf tourists will be primary sport tourists where will be experienced participants and learning participants( beginners). To perform in the event guests will need specific resources and facilities, collecting places, always affluent& independent and golf for them is like lifestyle appeal.

Mission statement: Also the main purpose of this event is to attract tourists from different countries to participate or to support their favorite team.

Aims: The main aim to present Cyprus as a golf destination during the winter season and holidays period. The event will happen in order to increase more sport tourists to Cyprus.

Objectives: SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time- Bound)

With one purpose to generate sustainable growth of golf tourism
Different tourists coming for business purposes and thereby they represent and secure the long term interest of the golf tourism
The primary objectives of the CGF are to promote, administer and encourage amateur golf in Cyprus.

Organisational Profile

Maps:

The event’s physical layout and the resources required:

All Year Round Golf at Aphrodite Hills, the first ever leisure and golf development of its kind in Cyprus, Aphrodite Hills Golf Resort is home to a magnificent 18-hole championship golf course, dedicated 3-hole Golf Academy and magnificent Clubhouse, designed for golfers of all standards and ages. Spreading out over 6,289 metres and overlooking the site where Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is said to have emerged from the sea, our golf course is truly a unique location in which to test your skills with friends.

The award-winning golf course was officially opened in 2002 and was designed by the acclaimed architect, Cabell Robinson. Robinson has designed Aphrodite Hills to be the perfect mix of challenging pot bunkers, manicured fairways of lush Bermuda grass and generous tiered greens.

Visually spectacular, the course expands through indigenous olive and carob trees and is built on two plateaux, separated by a dramatic ravine with outstanding views over the Mediterranean. And the staggering 130 metre gorge dividing tees at the 7th hole is an enticing challenge for all lovers of this beautiful game.

Format: The luxurious 234-hectare Resort which is located 15 km from Paphos District and magnificently positioned on two plateaux divided by a dramatic ravine and commands breath-taking sea views of the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.Aphrodite Hills is home to a number of integrated facilities, again for the pleasure and use of all guests to the Resort. Facilities include the majestic and visually spectacular 18-hole championship-standard Golf Course, with 3-hole Golf Academy that caters for all ages and abilities. A team of resident PGA-qualified Golf Professionals provide valuable tuition. A driving range, pitching and chipping green, an impressive Golf Clubhouse, Lounge and Pro Shop complete the outstanding world-class golf facilities.

Timing: The date of this sporting event in Cyprus will be running during winter on 25^th of December at 10:00. The average of people expected to participate from abroad is approximately 30 people

Stakeholders: Tour operators specialising only in golf, or with a golf department, range in size from small companies, some handling only 250 golfers a year, to mass-market tour operators such as TUI, Thomas Cook and Hana Tour, each of which has a sports or golf division. More than half of the sales of small golf tour operators are non-golf, but the percentage of golf sales increases with the size of company. Or looking at this another way, the larger golf tour operators (excluding the mass-market operators) focus entirely or predominantly on golf.

Gantt chart:

Marketing and promotion:

The main objective of the CTO is the organization and promotion of tourism in the Republic by making full use of all existing possibilities. An effective promotion requires a delicate balance between giving your audience what it wants and convincing them of whatever it is you want – whether to buy your product, order a service, or attend an event. If you’re selling golf products, however, your job is much easier. Rather than convince your audience they need your club, bag, or shirts, you are simply presenting an already interested crowd with things they likely already buy. First way of advertisement is online advertising – heading straight to the World Wide Web to catch your customers may seem like an obvious strategy, but it’s one you don’t want to miss – the sheer numbers of potential consumers online make the Internet a massive world of opportunity. Second way is golf infomercials. They show your audience exactly how they can benefit from your product. A golf infomercial is an excellent way to provide a captivating and informative visual explanation as to why your product is better than the rest. Third is a Live demonstrations – These can be performed at any number of golfing events, conventions, and merchandise exhibitions. The advantage of a live demonstration is similar to that of an infomercial – letting people experience the unique benefits of your product -while taking it to the next level of advertising by putting your product literally in front of the consumer. And the last way is Print ads – advertising in magazines or newspapers is a classic, time-tested strategy for reaching your desired population of golf enthusiasts. Whether placing an ad in a monthly golf publication or the sports section of the local newspaper, you are marketing to a select group who is already inclined to buy your products.

Is it financial viable? It is very important to have financial opportunities of service, and a good relationship with the public sector, such as national, state / provincial, regional and local authorities. This will help tourism, ensure the safety of tourists (and the safety of the event itself), sustainability, financial assistance and much more. And also very important to maintain contact with the specialized agencies, which provide sports tourism policy at the national level (different types of Director) and provide funding, technical support, etc. The most important thing is to provide sports facilities at the local level tourist port companies. For such an event, the dancers need a place to speak (stage closed / open), a place for training, opportunity (musical, technical, water, light) . Another one of the main points is the administration and policy. It is very important to have good and strong relationship with them, as they solve complex and intertwined problems frequently encountered attitude sports tourism in our increasingly globalized world. Often organizers faced with the transfer date of the event (weather conditions, etc.), and in this situation they refer to policy and management

What are the risks? (Risk management, operational risks, marketing risks, financial risks) This section shows the project’s early understanding of risk. Naturally, the project size and complexity will be the main drivers of this activity. The objective at this stage is to identify the risk response development that you want to formally build into the project execution processes. In order to do so, the project team must identify and quantify the risks as normal. In the quantification step, it is important to develop common probability and severity criteria so that all risks can be objectively evaluated to the extent possible. Event has two important phases. It is initiation and planning.

Initiation creates a project charter that minimally contains a description of the business need, the desired deliverables, and a formal approval to proceed by appropriate management. They must to inform the people from different countries about the event (from internet, TV, blackboard ).Planning creates an integrated plan outlining in greater detail the var- ious projected aspects of the proposed effort. Articles in this section will deal with these topic areas in more detail. A major point in this chapter is that the initiation process and its related planning activities are fundamental activities that should not be shorted to save time.

The social, environmental and economic impact: On the one hand, there is evidence that golf has adopted organizational citizenship practices and become an environmentally friendly sport (Husin et al., 2012; Limehouse et al., 2010). On the other hand, it is argued that the growth of golf tourism engenders considerable risks to the sustainable development of destinations, and hence, raises serious controversies in local communities between proponents of golf’s beneficial effects on tourism and economy and opponents who call attention to the adverse environmental, economic and socio-cultural impacts of golf (Boukas et al. 2012; Briassoulis, 2007, 2010, 2011; Davis and Morais, 2004; Neo, 2010; Palmer, 2004; Perkins et al., 2010; Wheeler and Nauright, 2006)

In conclusion, it is very hard to create an event. Everything must to much each other the weather, people, date of event, time, place, hotel, transportations, tourist, stakeholders, budget. You should plan an interesting event in order managers, sponsors and stakeholders liked it .

References:

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/11/22/golfing-touristors-last-year/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://tgaproductions.com/golf-infomercial.html [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29018459.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Aphroditehills.com. (2017). About Aphrodite Hills Resort, Cyprus. [online] Available at: http://www.aphroditehills.com/Aphrodite-hills/resort/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2017].

Boukas, N., Boustras, G. and Sinka, A. (2012) ‘Golf tourism in Cyprus’, in Mufakkir, O. and Burns, P.M. (Eds.), Controversies in Tourism, CABI, Oxfordshire, pp. 144-159.

Cgf.org.cy. (2017). Cyprus Golf Federation | CYPRUS GOLF FEDERATION | NICOSIA | CYPRUS. [online] Available at: https://www.cgf.org.cy/about-cgf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2017].

Cyprus Mail. (2017). Sports seen as way to boost tourism – Cyprus Mail. [online] Available at: http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/02/12/sports-seen-as-way-to-boost-tourism/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2000) Strategic Plan for Tourism 2000-2010. Available at: http://www.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/Strategic_Plan/STRATEGIC_PLAN_ FOR_TOURISM_2000_2010.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011). 40

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2011) Cyprus Tourism in Figures 2010, Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Nicosia.

Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTP (2005) Annual Report 2005. Available at: http://media.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/CTOAnnualReports/Annual_Report_ 2005.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011). Cyprus Tourism Organisation – CTO (2010) Strategic Plan for Tourism Development 2003-2010. Available at: http://www.visitcyprus.com/media/b2b_en/Strategic_Plan/Stategic_Plan_for_tour ism_development_2003-2010.pdf (Accessed 26 July 2011).

Husin, S., Chelladurai, P. and Musa, G. (2012) ‘HRM practices, organizational citizenship behaviors, and perceived service quality in golf courses’, Journal of Sport Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 143-158.

Tradingeconomics.com. (2017). Cyprus Tourist Arrivals | 1990-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast. [online] Available at: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/cyprus/tourist-arrivals [Accessed 4 Jan. 2017].

Under the fast development of the events industry, holding sports events is growing continuously. More and more cities hold sports event to attract tourists or business investments, and then to become a sports destination. One of the biggest impacts of holding a sports event is to increase the image of a city. Also, it could improve facilities (Marketing Manchester, 2003). Amount of researches have suggested that sports events have developed continuously and have become powerful catalysts of the economy of a city over the years.

Sports events are one of the oldest kinds of events dating back to ancient Greek Olympics. Sports events are becoming part of a strategy that is more and more being used by governments in their destination marketing programmes (Law, 1995). Very often the destination of events is linked to strategies of urban regeneration and tourism development. This is why cities staging major events have a unique opportunity to market themselves to the world. One of the characteristics of sports events is the media coverage or the ability to change the image of a city (Gratton et al, 2005). The fact is, to hold a sports event, a city must have facilities, the environment, the economic supports and the staff required. Getz (1997) declares that sporting events are rapidly increasing in popularity as a means of attracting attention to particular geographic locations. As sports events are becoming so important, organizations have been created to support sports all around a country. For instance, in England, the association UK Sports has been developed “to lead sport in the UK to worldwide class”, and it has adopted the term major sports events (UK Sports, 2009).

The use of sport events as a reimaging tool is an established tradition with precedents dating back to classical civilizations (Favro 1998). With the impactive example, which is the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester had made an indelible contribution on the positive image of the Manchester city. During the years, the city also tried to bid for the Olympics Games by building new venues and developing new facilities. Till now, Manchester is proud to have been voted the world’s leading Sport City in 2008, a recognition for the city’s commitment to delivering a comprehensive sporting programme that connects major events to community sport, elite performance, facility development, volunteering, training and education (Northwest, 2009).

The study focuses on the city of Manchester, in which one of the most famous sports event held was the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The game was held in Manchester from July 25 to August 4, 2002. It ranks as the third largest sports event in the world after the Olympic Games and the Word Cup. In UK, it was the largest sports event to be held after the Olympic Games in1948. 72 nations involved in 14 individual sports and 3 team sports events (The Commonwealth, 2009). Seven years later, the impacts and legacies of this grand sports game still exist. Marketing Manchester (2003) issued that it created more than 300,000 additional visitors per year as a direct result of the games. The positive image of Manchester continues to grow. This is then reflected in real economic benefits for the city-region. The government became an active partner at all stages of the Games in 1999 as Sport England is providing capital funding (Games Legacy, 2003). Dating back from 1996 to 2000, the bidding for Olympic Games resulted in a series of new facilities, including the National Cycling Centre (NCC) and the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena (Smith, n.d.). When organizing the Commonwealth Games, Manchester wanted to leave a sport legacy in the city, not only for its citizens to have access to sports facilities but also from an economic point of view. It did not take into account that the Games influence themselves but also the impacts after the Games. This event promoted the city with developing a new economy and offering new social aspects for Manchester City (Games Legacy, 2003).

Therefore, based on the existing researches and the opinions of sports associations and events organisations, this study will focus on the capacities of a city to become a sports event destination and its impact on Manchester city. Meanwhile, the importance of the destination management and the key principles of being a sports events destination will be discussed.

On the other hand, different researches undertaken on the reimaging of a city lead to a common agreement that it is not clearly identifiable, and can even be negative. Queuing, ways to enter the town, the site, toilets or seats, can generate negative responses from the audience (Derret, 2004). It may generate bad behavior, loss of amenity, environment damage, or even direct financial loss. Therefore, in this study, both positive and negative impacts will be analysed concerning the sports events in Manchester.

1.2 Aim

The aim of this study is to evaluate the capacities of Manchester to become a sports events destination and its impact on Manchester city.

1.3 Objectives

1. To seek the critical reasons of the importance of the destination management.

2. To critically evaluate the key principles of being a sports events destination.

3. To analyse the capacity of Manchester as a sports event destination, and to assess the impacts and legacies of the sports events in Manchester.

4. To conclude and recommend from the findings of the dissertation.

1.4 Structure of the dissertation

In order to establish a clear background of this research, a literature review will explained more precisely and more detailed with key numbers of related conceptions and notions of sports event destination. The methodology part will then explain the research methods, which were used and how they react on the whole studies. Furthermore, the study will analyse and then present the results and data that have been found all over the research. Finally, it will draw a conclusion, and further recommendations will be suggested.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will explain more precisely and detailed conceptions and notions that used in the study. It develops the topic through a number of different ranges of resources about the destination management, sports event destinations and its impacts and legacies in Manchester city.

The importance of the destination management

Destinations are places that attract visitors for a temporary stay, and range from continents to countries to states and provinces to cities to villages to purpose built areas (Pike, 2004). Manager a destination could generate millions of profits and thousands of employment. (Parry and Shone, 2004).In order to know the importance of managing a destination, several concepts and notions will introduced to support it.

The destination management was initially defined by Janeckova and VaA?tikova (1999) as “a system of managerial skills and activities used for coordinated planning and organizing of tourism for a particular destination”. Several years later, Parry and Shone (2004) added that the destination management was not just a case of managing the physical products such as the venues, hotels or transports systems, but was also very much to do with building partnerships and collaboration across destinations. The destination management plays an important role in the venue sector such as ensuring facilities, approaching potential investors, protecting products and balancing visitor experiences.

Smith (2008) illustrated that destination management is about coordinating all the activities and services, which impact on the visitor and their enjoyment of the destination. This covers a very wide range of things including marketing and information provision, traffic circulation, the warmth of the welcome, signage, accommodation and attractions, local distinctiveness, transport, environmental quality and cleanliness etc. Moreover, destination management can include land use planning, zoning controls, environmental issues, regulations, business association initiatives, and a host of other techniques to shape the development and daily operation of event-related or tourism-related activities (Srinivas, n.d.). Manente (2008) highlighted that the role of destination management is to manage and support the integration of different resources, activities and stakeholders through suitable policies and actions. It implies both governmental and functional competences, which should be generally performed by the public sector.

In addition, DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations) should take responsibilities for all aspects of destination management in their areas, including tasks currently performed by local tourism partnerships, local authorities and others. In simple terms, DMOs will take the lead on the development of the destination, providing a membership offer, communicating with industry, providing ICT services, running tourist information centres, marketing the destination, providing information to visitors, businesses and others, foster excellence, carrying out research and providing support (Marketing Manchester, 2003). Key DMO goals can be summarized as relating to the following four themes, which are enhancing destination image, increasing industry profitability, reducing seasonality and ensuring long term funding (Pike, 2004). Furthermore, the role of DMO is to sell the destination and highlight all strengths and facilities, generate and convert enquires into confirmed business. They act as intermediaries, serving as a custodian of the destination information, to be the official voice of the destination and the facilities, services and overall ‘product’ (Davidson and Roger 2006). The British Tourist Organisation, is an example of DMO. Lohela (2008) pointed out that DMOs negotiates with several authorities such as the country administration boards and government, in order to improve, for example, infrastructure to and within the destination. DMOs work towards development of larger and better quality accommodations. Target market definition is an important factor for DMOs to determine as well as to consider the impacts and effects of destination development.

However, the needs, expectations and anticipated benefits of tourism or events industry vary greatly from one destination to the other, and there is certainly no “one size fits all” approach to destination management. (Srinivas, n.d.)

Principles of sports event destination

Every destination has a unique mix of characteristics, which are determined by its geographical location, culture and history (Getz, 1997). According to Highman (2005), a general lack of knowledge is associated with the definition of sports event destination. However, he explained that the particularly dynamic and powerful domain of tourism, which offers tourist destinations of scope, scale and diversity, is related to sport.

The strong growth of the sports event industry is part of a general economic change. Whereas the economy tends to be more product base, it is increasingly becoming service based. This is the reason why governments increasingly use events as economic development strategies. The government plays a key and leading role in events. Increasingly, governments use events strategy to plan the use of resources and to improve and measure the outcomes of programmes and service (Bowdin, McDonnell and O’Toole, 2002).

Sports destinations range from sports purpose-built resorts, where all the functions are focused on the dominant activity, to capital cities and entire country (Law, 1995). Derret (2004) stated that a sports events destination can be defined as a city or a country having the facilities and staff required as well as the government’s support to hold a major sports event. As a successful sports event destination should comprise, efficient transport, well-signed directions and cost-friendly events are undoubtedly essential for a great attraction to audience. Meanwhile, the appropriate accommodation, transport infrastructure, tourist activities, secure parking, pathways, access to amenities like automatic teller machines, phones, first-aid and emergency service are all related to a successful event (Parry and Shone, 2004).

The main ability of sports event or sporting event is to attract tourist visitors, media coverage and economic impact (Highman, 2005). Moreover, the holding sports event goals for a destination should address following issues (Parry, and Shone, 2004):

The extent to which existing events are to be developed and promoted as sports attractions.

The extent to which support will be given to develop or assist the creation of new sports events and bidding for sports events.

The role events are to play in creating and enhancing images, particularly a destination area or attraction theme, and in correcting negative imagery.

The acceptable costs associated with development, and who is to pay for them.

The means to identify, prevent, ameliorate, or remove negative impacts.

The need for organizational development at the level of interest groups, communities, destination areas and government agencies/departments to support event tourism.

A key element directly link to sports events is the image of the city and how this kind of event can influence it. Indeed, sports events can help a city or a country to promote a specific image and thus to attract tourist (Westerbeek et al, 2002). Jennings (1996) early explained that the staging of sports events does not only attract tourist but also political and commercial business interests, which also help to change the image of the city. Furthermore, according to Smith (2005), more and more cities use sports events to present an attractive image to potential tourists. Sports events are able to influence the reputation and change the image of a city.

In addition, Kasimati (2003) explained that the long-term benefits of major sports event lead to re-build the event facilities and the infrastructure, enhance the international reputation, increase tourism, improve the public welfare and add employment. Long-term impacts are the longest ones to evaluate. This is the reason why there is very often a lack of information about them. Moreover, Ritchie and Adair (2005) declared that even if a city experiences image advancement, it does not mean that this will directly lead to the increase of tourism or to the economic development. The change of the image of a city cannot be a direct impact after the event. This is the long-term legacy that a major sports event can leave. Also, Sport’s mega events are both too powerful and too costly to justify staging for reasons of generating sports tourism alone (Sports Business 2009). Therefore, sports events generally have both positive and negative impacts as there will always be uncontrollable elements. However, negative impacts can be managed if the event could be carefully planned with a complete strategy.

Capacities of Manchester

Manchester identified the sports development and major events as good postindustrial prospects in the early 1990s (Jones, 2001). Braham (1999) had already regarded the success of Manchester United football club and the regular hosting of international sports events as major factors in the enhancement of Manchester’s image for a visitor destination.

Manchester City has a wide range of sporting facilities that are equally capable of catering to World Class competitions as well as serving the casual needs. It is the home for two top class football clubs, Manchester United Football Club and Manchester City Football Club. These two clubs each has its own museum that provides guests with opportunities to relive past glories and trophies. Manchester also features Britain’s National Cycling Centre and the primary indoor Olympic cycle track that is known as the Manchester Velodrome. It also offers other sporting facilities that include courts for basketball, netball and badminton. The Aquatics Centre was constructed so that the city of Manchester could host the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Today the centre is also the home of the City of Manchester Olympics Team. Golfing enthusiasts can visit Heaton Park Golf Centre that offers visitors to the city of Manchester the opportunity to golf on any day of the week (Millennium, 2009).

The success of Manchester airports as an international hub makes Manchester uniquely placed to act as an international gateway to Britain. The city-region’s comprehensive regeneration, combined with the success of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the rise in urban tourism, means Manchester now has the capacity to truly compete as a destination on a national or international stage (Marketing Manchester, 2003).

Adaptable Travel (2009) stated that recent years Manchester has become a world player in hosting large scale sporting events. From the 2002 Commonwealth Games to the 2008 World Track Cycling Championships, Manchester has become a world-class sporting host. With a range of sporting venues, Manchester demands audiences’ attention with a warm, no-nonsense welcome and a liberating open-mindedness place.

Manchester has been crowned the best ‘Sports City’ in the world for its successful hosting of six international sports events in 2008, including three world championships. A group of industry experts including representatives from FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club and the International Cricket Council selected Manchester the winner ahead of other leading world sport destinations. Throughout the year, Manchester World Sport 08 has hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008, the BUPA Great Manchester Run, the UEFA Cup Final 2008, the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships 2008 and the Paralympics World Cup. One of the key campaign objectives for Manchester World Sports 08, which was coordinated by Manchester City Council in partnership with Marketing Manchester, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, UK Sport and M.E.N. Media, was to raise Manchester’s position in the global hierarchy of ‘top world cities’ (Manchester City Council, 2008).

Manchester is now continuing to present international sport in 2009 with major events, including (Sports Business, 2009):

– BUPA Great Manchester Run;

– BT Paralympics World Cup;

– Standard Bank Cup Argentina vs. England Rugby Union International;

– LEN European Women’s Water Polo Trophy;

– BTCB British International Taekwondo Open Championship;

– Co-operative World Netball Series;

– UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classic

– UCI Paracycling World Championships.

Simon Morton, Senior Events Consultant at UK Sport, said: “The city of Manchester will continue to play a key role in our World Class Events Programme throughout the coming years, as we prepare British athletes, volunteers, and officials for our home Games in London in 2012” (Sports Business, 2009). Besides, Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, the tourist board for Greater Manchester said: “Sport is one facet of what makes Manchester and being able to show the world we stage events enhances the appeal of Manchester, particularly from the international visitor perspective. The year 2008 has seen Manchester’s credentials as a sports destination reach even new heights.” (Sports Business, 2009)

The following lists are the venues for the 17 sports events (Marketing Manchester, 2003):

Manchester Aquatics Centre- Diving, Swimming,

City of Manchester Stadium- Athletics, Rugby 7s.

National Squash Centre, Sportcity- Squash.

Table Tennis Centre, Sportcity- Table Tennis.

International Convention Centre- Weightlifting.

Bolton Arena- Badminton.

Wythenshawe Forum Centre- Boxing.

Manchester Evening News Arena- Boxing, Netball.

National Cycling Centre- Cycling.

G-MEX- Gymnastics, Judo.

Belle Vue Hockey centre- Hockey.

Heaton Park- Lawn Bowls.

Even though Manchester ranks third only behind London and Edinburgh in terms of overseas British visitors, there is a considerable gap behind the leader. There is still a real potential for growth. In order to more clearly understand the present position Manchester is currently in, along with the future of direction it should pursue in its tourism policy, two SWOT analyses were undertaken by Marketing Manchester. The first analysis examined the physical tourism product and the conurbation’s tourism infrastructure. The second one looked at public perception and the brand identity of the city region. Not all conclusions reflect the position across the Great Manchester conurbation. There are wide ranges of differences within these districts. But they are issues that emerged as of significant relevance Source (Marketing Manchester, 2003):

Infrastructure:

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

Manchester Airport Plc;

Metro link tram service;

New attractions;

High number of budget hotels, nightlife; Shopping;

Entertainment;

Rebuilding of the city centre;

Large pool of skilled graduates.

Lack of budget airline service to Manchester; Lack of high capacity conference facility; Coach parking facilities; Visitor service infrastructure; Poor taxi service; Lack of iconic attractions; Signage in city centre; lack of disabled access facilities.

OPPORTINUTIES

THREATS

Proximity of Liverpool Airport; Opportunity to expand and grow the convention market; Enhancement of visitor areas; Improvement of public transport network; Development of waterway network.

Continued failure if rail service; Fragmented political structure; Oversupply of hotel accommodation

Brand:

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

Leading UK city; Sport (particular Manchester United and the 2002 Commonwealth Games Legacy); Self-confidence;

Friendliness;

Value for money in the view of domestic tourist.

Negative perceptions of the city; Lack of unique reasons to visit; Perception by overseas visitors that the city is expensive; Perception that the city is unsophisticated

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

Opportunity to change the negative Perceptions (e.g. via achievement of World Heritage Site status); Development of brand identity in terms of culture; Activity promote Manchester as an international conference and convention destination; Promote city events programme

Other UK regional cities; Fear of crime

Source: Marketing Manchester, 2003

Impacts and legacies of sports events

It is important for a city organizing a major sports event to get as much feed back as possible to find out what this event can bring to a city. The hosting of sports events provides a short period of excitement for resident and causes the long-term awareness of the host destination, which is about creating a long lasting legacy or impact Kasimati (2003).

According to Cashman (2005), there is no clear and evident definition of this notion, because legacy is often assumed to be self-evidence so there is no need to define. However, Ritchie and Adair (2005), a legacy planning can help to ensure the hosing of a major event and can contribute to the development of facilities and programmes that will give profit to the residents for many years. If considering about the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, when being organised, it had been planned for a leaving legacy. The legacy activities were funded under the 2002 North West Economic and Social Regeneration Board Programme, operating from 1999 to 2004. The objective was to attract more business like national and international sports events. Concerning the sporting legacy, the new investment created by the games aimed to give Manchester a unique opportunity to redevelop its existing sporting venues and also to fund the construction of new ones (Games Legacy, 2002).

Moreover, Manchester Event Volunteers was designed to build upon the success of the XVII Commonwealth Games Volunteer Programme. Manchester Event Volunteer service has proved successful in developing and maintaining a volunteer database of over 3000 enthusiastic individuals who have supported more than 400 communities, regional and national events during the providing thousands of volunteering opportunities. Also, strong links with event organisers have been developed and the excellent reputation of the service can be evidenced by the fact that organisers now approach the service directly (MEV, 2006). This could be seen as one of the biggest legacies that the sports events left in the city of Manchester.

Sports events are short-term events with long-term consequences for the cities that stage them. So they will have impacts either positive or negative on the holding destination. The benefit of holding sports events includes sharing opportunities in access to new funding, as well as the development of new sporting infrastructure. Moreover, the economic activities associated with the staging of major sports event can give significant economic benefits for the host destination (Westerbeek, Turner and Ingerson, 2002). The constructions of new sport buildings represent a net addition to the local economy. The remaining facilities after events that can lead to future activities can generate additional tourist expenditure. Furthermore, major sports events can create a network between the event organization and other managers working on the event (Chalip and McGuirty, 2004). When the authors list the positives impacts of a major sports event, very often they also list and explain the negative ones. The majority of them are linked to the finance loss. Westerbeek et al (2002) explained that it is a significant financial burden on the host communities. It needs to require assistance from the community such as public funding. Ritchie and Adair (2005) stated that sport tourism bring modification to cultural experiences and lead to crowd disorder. However, in the case of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester did not invest a lot of money in the development of capital projects. The funding came from both UK Government and private sponsorship. Also, most people in Manchester are encouraged by this grand sports festival. In this case, Manchester managed to produce many important benefits from the event (Carlsen and Taylor, 2003).

Recently, the completed research has confirmed that the biggest year of international sport in Manchester in 2008 attracted over 317,000 visitors to the City and generated ?23 million of net economic impact to the Manchester area, along with providing social and participatory benefits for community and youth groups across the city and the Northwest. Peter Mearns, Executive Director for Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said: “This level of economic impact shows just how important major sporting events are to the regional economy. It is a fantastic figure obtained from Manchester hosting a unique number of high-quality international sporting events and world championships” (Manchester City Council, 2009). Moreover, Viamanchester (2009) described that the year 2008 was the single biggest year of world sports in Manchester since the Commonwealth Games in 2002. With holding 6 international sports events, it is no wonder the city has just been crowned ‘Sports City of the Year’. Therefore, the hugely positive impacts of Manchester World Sport 08 demonstrated the government objectives to deliver benefits to residents by maximising opportunities for inclusion and participation, while improving the considerable contribution that major sports events can make to the local economy.

Councilor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council said: “Manchester is renowned for its incredible sporting legacy and to be recognised internationally for our achievements are a great honour” (Manchester City Council, 2009).

According to Brown and Massey (2001), if Manchester is seen as a sports destination, balancing the need to attract tourists and the need to provide community use will be important as to the impact of the facilities in sports development in the region. Likewise, if the 2002 Commonwealth Games is successful in re-imaging Manchester, and if the benefit from the increased visitors is distributed, the event perceptions that discussed above in terms of legacy will be draw.

In conclusion, this chapter has set the background of the research and explained the different concepts and notions linked to sports events. To completely understand how it is possible to evaluate the capacities of Manchester to become a sports event destination, it was necessary to seek the critical reasons of the importance of the destination management first, then to evaluate the key principles and influences of being a sports event destination including the impacts and legacies of the hosing city. As the 2002 Commonwealth Games played an important role, which links to the study. It was analysed by different aspects to support this chapter. Also, the year 2008 was described as the best sports year, and generated millions of pounds for the regional economy. Besides the literature, the primary research will be conducted based on the key notions and conceptions reviewed here to make a further proof of the whole study.

Literature Review

An extensive literature is review essential in order to define the concept and key terms of spiritual tourism. In order to understand spiritual tourism in more detail, the characteristics of the spiritual activities by that tourism can affect positively will be discussed. It further introduces of various authors defining spiritual tourism. Literature review is further used to assess current situation of spiritual tourism development. The researcher will analyse the literature to help build a theoretical frame work on the definition and concept of spiritual tourism. Hence definition of spiritual tourism is discussed followed by characteristics of spiritual tourism and lastly attempt to justify spiritual tourism as a sustainable tourism and authentic tourism has employed. Cottrell (2005, p. 127) states

“when looking for evidences to support an argument one needs to consider whether anything has been written about it already, where the information could be found and which are the most relevant and authoritative sources for the subject.”

Spiritual tourism is a tourism that is motivated by faith or religious reasons has been in evidence for centuries (Sharply and Sundram, 2005). In more recent times, however, it has been suggested that modern tourism has become the functional and symbolic equivalent of more traditional spiritual practices, such as festivals, pilgrimages, yoga and holy places. To date, however, little work has been undertaken to explore this position (Sharpley and Sundram 2005). The purpose of this literature review, therefore, is to contribute to this debate.

Spiritual tourism

It has been long recognised that a variable relationship exists between the institutions of spirituality and tourism. Research proves that conceptual discussions of leisure or tourism often have spiritual overtones or link leisure with spirituality (Doohan, 1990; Godbey, 1989; McDowell, 1986). Authors above shows that spiritual tourism area has been in research for many years however people’s awareness of spiritual tourism is still an area to study. Conceptual discussions of leisure and tourism have made references to spirituality however there is a rarity of theoretical reflection and empirical study on how these two concepts may be related (Heintzman, 2002).

On the one hand, spiritual tourism may be identified as a specific type of tourism whose participants are motivated either in part or exclusively for peace reasons (Rinschede, 1992 p.53). On the other hand, tourism may be considered as a spiritual activity. (Vukonic?, 1996). Smith (1992a) refers to as the ‘mission in guest’. At one extreme it is prescribed as sacred pilgrimage, a journey drove by faith, religion and spiritual fulfilment; at the other extreme it is prescribed as a tourist who may seek to satisfy some personal or spiritual need through tourism. Between these two points can be found different forms and intensities of spiritual tourism are motivated to a greater or lesser extent by religious or, conversely, cultural or knowledge-based needs. As Smith (1992a) puts it, some religious tourists may be ‘more pilgrim than tourist’, whereas others may be ‘more tourist than pilgrim’.

Brown (1998, p. 1) defines spirituality as

“has become a kind of buzz-word of the age . . . an all-purpose word, but one that describes what is felt to be missing rather than specifying what is hoped to be found . . . The spiritual search . . . has become a dominant feature of late twentieth-century life: a symptom of collective uncertainty.”

Vukonic (1996) explains that it is an opportunity for human being to recognise and encourage their spiritual needs, but also tourism, as a particular use of such free time has come to seen as a spiritual journey.

Aggarwal el, al. (2008) explains that Spirituality means having understanding with deep, often religious, feelings and beliefs, including a person’s sense of peace, purpose, connection to others, and beliefs about the meaning of life. The essence of spirituality is inner feeling through love. Spirituality is one word which puts a human being on the highest pedestal of life. Spirituality is living life as it was meant to be not as we may have desired or wanted living it. It is a certain fact that only the true seekers of Spirituality become the masters of their destiny. Knowingly or unknowingly many people who have a materialistic goal in life travel the path of Spirituality and become successful in life. These highly acclaimed individuals unknowingly tread the path of pure Spirituality and achieved the goal of their life. Spirituality in other terms means that before we ask God the Almighty for material riches to be bestowed upon us we need to compensate by giving something equivalent or more back to the community. In terms of Spirituality we are not supposed to get anything unless we promise to do something in return in the system of God.

Smith and Kelly (2006) define spiritual tourism as one that provides the visitor with activities and/or treatments aimed at developing, maintaining and improving the body, mind and spirit. Ali-Knight (cited in Mintel, 2009) defines spiritual tourism similarly as involving travelling to a destination to engage in the practice of yoga and related activities that enhance physical, mental or spiritual well-being. And however, takes a step further, exploring spiritual tourism in the context of expanded definitions of cultural tourism, as it embodies and incorporates many of its wider elements and involves a learning experience. It was noticed that the most notable difference between cultural tourists and yoga tourists is the greater maturity of the yoga tourist, perhaps because of the spiritual and self-reflective part of the holiday experience, which may not be as accessible or appealing to a younger age group (Mintel, 2009).

New age spirituality is now a religion in the formal and organisational sense. Instead it represents a personal spiritual quest that typically eschews traditional monotheistic to concentrate on what is not associated to closely with traditional theologies and churches (Hanegraaff, 1999). O’Neil (2001) describes new age spirituality as a movement rather than a division, because in common with other natural religious, there is no structural religious institution, but instead an explosion of classes, worships and seminars focusing on some aspect of new age teaching.

Journeys can be regarded as “spiritual”

When contemplating spiritual tourism, there is an inclination to just include those journeys that correspond to one’s personal understanding of spirituality. The following can be subsumed under the heading:

Yoga-

A 5,000-year-old spiritual discipline, which originated in the South of India, yoga is by far the most popular holistic pursuit, and the one to have most fully entered the mainstream, aided by a celebrity following. Yoga has proved to be helpful in the treatment of lifestyle conditions, including stress, obesity, diabetes and depression, and is practised as part of ayurveda. Of the variety of styles, hatha yoga and ashtanga (power) are most common (Mintel, 2007).

Ayurveda

‘Science of life’ in Sanskrit – is a complete medical system with its origins in northern India 5,000 years ago. By diagnosing and balancing the body’s humours, it is effective in treating a variety of conditions including lifestyle diseases. However, it is most commonly chosen as a ‘detox’ and ‘rejuvenation’ therapy. Yoga is a constituent of ayurvedic therapy. Barberry Reef, which opened 25 years ago off the west coast of Sri Lanka, pioneered the offering of ayurveda to westerners(Mintel, 2007).

Meditation

Although only 6 percent of the world population are Buddhists, most of whom live in Asia, Buddhism is a rapidly growing religion in the West and an interest in Buddhist meditation has increased in the last decade. The number of Buddhist organisations in Australia, for example, increased by 211 or 126 percent in almost seven years from June 1995 to April 2004. In the UK, in the 2001 Census, 15,000 people – or 1 in 400 – declared themselves as Buddhist (Mintel, 2007).

Cultural activities

Visiting sites of history, Archaeological digs, cities up to battlefields, the interest in an epoch or specific historical events having prominence. Visiting places where historical figures or famous personalities lived and worked. Visiting places of religious significance (pilgrimages), reflection, meditation for the sake of soul-searching. This involves the cultivating and practicing of religious beliefs or the performing of religious duties (Melchers, 2006).

Religious activities

Religious travel is not a new phenomenon. Religion has been an integral motive for undertaking journeys and is usually considered oldest form of non economic travel (Jackowski & Smith, 1992). Every year millions of people travel to major pilgrimage destinations around the world both ancient and modern origin (Timothy & Olsen, 2006). There is small but important literature that focuses on the characteristics and travel pattern of religiously motivated tourists. Rinschede (1992) differentiates between different forms of religious tourism based on time involved and distance travelled namely short and long term religious tourism. The short term type involves travel nearby religious attractions, while long term means travelling the world. However the motive for such travel is a journey towards the perfection (Timothy & Olsen, 2006).

Adapted from Melchers (2006)

Melchars (2006) further argues that Spiritual tourism isn’t just religious tourism like pilgrimages. A wide spectrum of travel forms deserves this name. Given the current “inflation of meaning”, spiritual tourists seek something that is worth being interested in, that can give their lives new richness or even a new direction. They want to “visit meaning” and investigate on the spot whether they experience anything sustainable here. In order for such expectations to be fulfilled, appropriate destinations are subject to special demands on marketing and organization of the visit. Journeys concerned in a wider sense with experiencing culture, art and religion are understood as “spiritual” although the travellers seldom use the term “spiritual tourism”. They themselves speak of educational trips, hobby trips, meditative journeys, art trips.

Spiritual tourism is also viewed from different aspects. However the concept of spiritual tourism has been viewed from very narrow prospective. To summarise above arguments about spiritual tourism it simply means linking peace of mind with leisure for an annual holiday. According to union tourism minister Renuka Chaudhri (cited in Gaur, 2006 p. 43)

“The concept of spiritual tourism has been viewed in a very narrow sense. People think that is all about visiting temple and all other holi sites. We are looking at it from a wider perspective now.”

She explains spiritual tourism as visiting a temple, visiting cultural sites, practicing yoga or just simply relaxes in your hotel room and listens to the vedic chants. As an example where this is practiced in India is a land of spirituality. People across the world are showing interest in yoga. It can provide healing touch particularly to the busy urban people living in the concrete jungles.

Motives for spiritual travel

Spiritual holidays seek to address the interdependence of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, often referred to as ‘mind, body and spirit’. Inextricably connected, dynamic balances of all three are seen as essential for wellbeing. Spiritual tourism is a more abstract, multi-faith and eclectic one in which tourists seeks meaning, engagement and peace through activities such as meditation. Eco- and sustainable tourism is also tied closely to holistic tourism. (Mintel, 2009).

Chaline (2002) states spiritual tourism as an extraordinary experience. What is anticipated in spiritual tourism destination is not holiness or divine visions. It is however something even more miraculous – the opportunity to feel different from the way we feel at home. It is as if the act of travelling to a certain place in the world entitles us to feel happier and more alive.

Spiritual tourism is a journey, not a destination. One of the key themes to understand on spiritual tourism is that the journey towards wellness is far more important than the destination in spiritual tourism is often an alternative space in which one can engage in self analysis without the stresses and distractions of home (Wright state university, 2003).

According to Brass (2006), is authenticity linked to goodness, and exploring one’s inner potential is another aspect of authentic-seeking that of searching for a non-material, authentic and deeper experience. An increasing number of people are undertaking activities which incorporate creating something new.

The spiritual traveller wants to establish or document “intimate” closeness and attachment to and with the subject of their journey. Purpose and destination of the journey are experienced as something special – at least compared to trivial vacations and the usual places that are visited without any particular ambitions. To come close to something, it’s still best to make our way to the spot. A place is visited that has been “consecrated” and so is suitable for soul-searching. There is a desire to become intimate with a piece of history, the Art of the Renaissance, Saint Francis or the current musical culture. Such a trip shows others that you are already close to such themes (Melchers, 2006).

Spiritual tourism as a sustainable tourism

Carey (2006) of Tourism Concern notes that sustainable tourism will be a core driver in the future as destinations shape their image. Carey states that, when sustainably developed, tourism can create so many social and economic opportunities for the destination community.

Sustainability and authenticity go hand in hand where communities build a tourism product which belongs to their community, for example, the Kawaza Village tourism project in central Zambia where tourists can stay in an authentic African village, learn about environmental issues, collect wild honey, and find out about apiculturists (Schlesinger, 2006).

Tourism can be a powerful tool of development, but its potential can also be wasted. Too often tourism enterprises see each other only as competitors, and end up frustrating visitors. Every destination talks about quality and exceeding visitors’ expectations, but what is the spark that transforms a destination into something remarkable? It is a destination that has pride and is passionate about celebrating its heritage, its food, landscapes and its people. Of course, authenticity does not guarantee sustainability, but without the celebration of ‘local distinctiveness’ it is just ‘another resort’ Carey (2006).

There is increased demand for such kind of tourism as Stueve et al. (2002) claim their ‘‘geo tourism study” indicates that there are at least 55.1 million Americans who could be classified as ‘sustainable tourists’ or ‘geo tourists” and in particular specify a ‘‘good citizen” demographic segment.

Spiritual tourism as an authentic experience

Boyle’s (2004) appraisal of authenticity means that tourists are searching for a connection with something that is real, unsullied and rooted within the destination. Hence the connection to ‘spiritual experience’. These visitors increasingly hark back to ‘the good old days’, despite the fact that the quality of life has significantly improved since the ‘good old days’. Here, tourism destinations have an opportunity to create something real, what is termed a sense of place. Yeoman and Beattie state that destinations which have no history have no anniversaries or festivals to celebrate. It is a destination’s image that is shaped by its history, which then creates its sense of place. It is a destination’s food, people and places which make up its heritage and its character (Yeoman & McMahon- Beattie, 2006).

Authenticity as a concept is nothing new (Brass, 2006; Chambers, 2005); destinations such as Australia, Canada and China are promoting authentic experiences. There is a growing desire to obtain experiences and products that are original and the real thing, not contaminated by being fake or impure. This movement away from impurity, the virtual, the spun and the mass-produced in a world seemingly full of falseness needs further explanation (Yeoman et al., 2007). There is a dearth of literature about authenticity and tourism from different philosophical approaches such as positivism, constructivism or post-modernism (Wang, 1999). But whatever your approach, the importance of authenticity is paramount.

It is a fulfilment of moving beyond goods and services to experiences. At one level it means increased spending on holidays, eating out, the theatre and so on. But it also includes special experiences such as white-water rafting or spending a weekend at a health spa (Yeoman et al., 2007). Pine (2004) also observes that, as the experience economy matures, a shift is identified towards authenticity. Consumers decide to buy or not to buy, based on how real they perceive the product/service offering to be. Thus the rendering of authenticity emerges as a selection criterion for tomorrow’s tourist.

The trend of authenticity is a close fit with the proposition of Spiritual tourism, based upon its nature and offering (Yeoman et al., 2005). The cornerstones of authenticity are quintessentially linked to David Boyle’s (2004) writing and more. So, to conclude, authenticity should be:

Ethical

An authentic experience should be founded on the principles of community, sustainability and ethical consumption.

Natural

Tourism should be a natural phenomenon which is pure and not tainted nor manufactured. Natural tourism products are those which are quintessentially associated with the destination or region.

Honest

Be honest with your visitors; the tourist industry shouldn’t promise something which can’t be delivered or produce something tainted by falseness that will spoil the authentic proposition.

Simple

An authentic experience should be simple to understand in which the visitor can see the benefits. The more complicated the experience, the more unbelievable it will be. As the world is full of complications, an authentic experience should be simple, pure and consumed in an inconspicuous manner.

Beautiful

Authentic destinations have a beauty about them, whether this is a magnificent view which creates a sense or place, or the feeling that experience cannot be copied as it belongs there and only there.

Rooted

Authenticity has some sense of past which is rooted in the destination or community. India is often known as a home of spirituality especially for yoga.

Human

A human experience is something that is living and people-focused. This means that the tourist wants human contact which is local and real.

Adapted from Yeoman, et al. (2007)

The importance of all of the above is to understand how this trend is developing and whether it will last. This can surely provide an opportunity for tourism industry—especially for those providers who are trying to be authentic and appeal to visitors whilst also undertaking niche marketing. As long as technology and virtual life continues to develop at the pace they are, the need for human contact and for traditional activities will increase. As consumers become even more empowered and cynical of fake promises, they will continue to seek out the authentic in their own way (Yeoman et al., 2007)

The role of tour guides in providing authentic experience

Authentic tourism refers not to consumption of the real or genuine (Reisinger & Steiner, 2006) but rather to individual and personal tourist experiences that contribute to one’s sense of identity and connectedness with the world (Steiner & Reisinger, 2006). The authors suggest that the individual and personal dimension of authentic tourism should extend to people making up their own minds about how they experience and interpret the toured world. This could certainly mean that tour guides in their current incarnation might be largely superfluous in authentic tourism. But it might be a worthwhile philosophical exercise to examine what tour guides do, see what that tells us about the concepts of meaning-making and interpretation, and perhaps recast their role to find a place for them in authentic tourism. Finding a role for tour guides in authentic tourism calls for a rethink of what tour guides most commonly do. It also calls for a reconceptualisation of interpretation as a tour guide responsibility (Reisinger & Steiner, 2006).

According to Ap and Wong (2001), mediating and culture broking are two interpretive functions of the tour guides’ work. Tour guides mediate between tourists and locals and the environment. Mediating moves beyond telling tourists how to think and feel about their experiences; it is about leading them to their own conclusions and letting them learn. Culture broking is the act of bridging, linking or mediating between groups or persons of differing cultural backgrounds for the purpose of reducing conflict or producing change (Jezewski & Sotnik, 2001).

Ap and Wong (2001) believe tour guides’ interpretive work plays a vital role in enhancing visitors’ experience and understanding of a destination and its culture. Ap and Wong (2001) say tour guides, through their knowledge and understanding of a destination’s attractions and culture and through their communication skills, transform tourists’ visits from tours into experiences. Moscardo (1998) identifies three main ways in which interpretation can contribute to the quality of visitors’ experience. These are: (1) providing information on the available options so tourists can make the best choices about what they do and where they go; (2) providing information to encourage safety and comfort so tourists know how to cope with and better manage encountered difficulties (e.g. sea sickness) and understand messages given by the warning signs (e.g. ‘you cannot swim here’); and (3) creating the actual experience so tourists can participate in activities such as guided walks, ecotourism, visit art galleries, fauna sanctuaries or zoos, and learn in areas of educational interest.

Summary

Smith and Kelly (2006) conclude that, as with other specialist tourism interests, spiritual tourism faces challenges related to authenticity, practice, regulation and management, as well as definition problems and categorisation challenges. Consumers and the industry alike currently experience confusion as to what spiritual tourism is. In the short term, its true meaning is unlikely to become any clearer, as ‘spirituality’ becomes a commercial buzzword, and hotels get into the game. They caution that finding a balance between provisions of care, economic development, and meeting the needs of a diverse set of consumers in an erratic world will prove an enormous challenge.

However, there is no doubt that a wave of interest in holistic holidays has stirred the mainstream, moving the sector on to a new phase of development. The WHO warns that depression and mental health problems will be the second-largest disease burden by 2020 (cited in Mintel holistic report), and this would indicate that stress, and the need to cope with increasingly fast-paced modern lives, is not going to go away. Going to an alternative therapist or doing a yoga class for exercise is one thing, but signing up on a yoga retreat, or to engage in life coaching while on holiday, is not yet mainstream practice. However, demand is increasing, as evidenced by the amount of new businesses entering the market, and has shown accelerated growth in the past five years. In particular, growth at the top end, and in holistic spas, is bringing the alternative world to an increasingly discerning clientele. Previously almost non-existent, luxury spiritual holidays is one of the fastest-growing sectors within holistic tourism (Mintel Holistic report).

Spiritual tourism
AuthorSourceConceptualisationMotivationAuthenticitySustainability

Aggarwal el, al. 2008Report

understanding with deep, often religious, feelings and beliefs, including a person’s sense of peace, purpose, connection to others, and beliefs about the meaning of life

Boyle 2004Book

that tourists are searching for a connection with something that is real, unsullied and rooted within the destination.

tourism destinations have an opportunity to create something real

Brass 2006Research Paper

The spiritual traveller wants to establish or document “intimate” closeness and attachment to and with the subject of their journey

Authentic-seeking that of searching for a non-material, authentic and deeper experience.

Brown 1998Book

an all-purpose word, but one that describes what is felt to be missing rather than specifying. The spiritual search . . . has become a dominant feature of late twentieth-century life: a symptom of collective uncertainty

Spiritual tourism
AuthorSourceConceptualisationMotivationAuthenticitySustainability
Carey 2006Web article

can be a powerful tool of development, but its potential can also be wasted

sustainable tourism will be a core driver in the future as destinations shape their image.

Chaline 2002Book

the opportunity to feel different from the way we feel at home

states spiritual tourism as an extraordinary experience

Doohan, 1990Book

spiritual tourism area has been in research for many years however people’s awareness of spiritual tourism is still an area to study

Godbey, 1989Journal

conceptual discussions of leisure or tourism often have spiritual overtones or link leisure with spirituality

Heintzman, 2002Journal

Conceptual discussions of leisure and tourism have made references to spirituality however there is a rarity of theoretical reflection and empirical study on how these two concepts may be related

McDowell, 1986Journal

It has been long recognised that a variable relationship exists between the institutions of spirituality and tourism.

Spiritual tourism
AuthorSourceConceptualisationMotivationAuthenticitySustainability
Melchers 2006Journal

a movement rather than a division, because in common with other natural religious, there is no structural religious institution, but instead an explosion of classes, worships and seminars focusing on some aspect of new age teaching

“visit meaning” and investigate on the spot whether they experience anything sustainable here

A place is visited that has been “consecrated” and so is suitable for soul-searching.

Mintel 2009Report

spiritual tourism similarly as involving travelling to a destination to engage in the practice of yoga

Introduction to Special Interest Tourism/Niche Tourism

Special Interest Tourism/ Niche Tourism is defined as the provision of customised leisure and recreational experience, experiences driven by the specific expressed interests of individuals; a special interest tourist chooses to engage with a service or product that satisfies particular interests or needs, so special interest tourism is undertaken for a distinct and specific reason.

This essay will be focusing in three sectors of the niche tourism, Gastronomy, Volunteer and Medical Tourism.

Gastronomy Tourism

According to Callanan.M & Thomas.S (2011) “food is one of the essential elements of the tourist experience”.

Gastronomy is becoming an important attribute in the development of niche travel; many tourist main interest for travelling is gastronomy according to Kivela.J & Jonh. C (2006) gastronomy is often referred to exclusively as the art of cooking and good eating, however Kivela.J & Jonh. C (2006) states that that is just part of it flowing with, someone that is seriously interested in gastronomy is often involved in tasting, preparing experiencing, experimenting, researching, discovering, understanding and writing about food. The word gastronomy is derived from Greek gastro meaning “Stomach, and gnomos, knowledge or law”. According to Home and away rentals (2006) the top five gastronomic break destinations are the following: France, Belgium, Florida, Portugal and Italy.

However tourist behaviour is changing over the years they are requesting more than sun, sea, beach, they want to experience something new and take part in other activities, such as gastronomy tourism as any individual could experience that in any day, anytime of the year and anywhere as they do not need to rely on anything to take part in gastronomy tourism. Kivela.J & Jonh. C (2006) believes that “travel in order to search for, and enjoy prepared food and drink and a unique and memorable gastronomic experience”. When travelling to a destination dining out is very especial and attractive as these become transposed into experiences that are often are very personal and no one will be able to take that from you.

According to Cohen (1984) phenomenological categorization of tourist’s lifestyles, following Kivela.J & Jonh. C (2006) follows- offer a phenomenological model of culinary tourism experiences. The model of tourism and gastronomy lifestyles depicts tourist attitudes and preferences for food according to four categorizations-recreational, existential, diversionary and experimental gastronomy tourists. However there are three types of gastronomic tourist, the experimental gastronomy tourist-these tourists symbolise the lifestyle through food, usually trendy, they will actively seek the destinations luxury restaurants and cafes that serve innovative menus and provide equally chic service, they keep up with up to date trendy and fashionable foods, latest growths, ingredients and recipes. Following with recreational gastronomy tourists are the more conservative type- they appreciate and actively seek while on holidays the familiarity of the home foods. And the diversionary gastronomy tourists are the kind of tourist that want to escape from the mudanity of everyday life that includes day to day shopping and preparing food for the family, according to Poon ( “Gastronomy is a form of a new tourism”.

According to International Culinary Tourism Association –

-Almost 100 per cent of tourist dines out when travelling, and each dining opportunity is a chance to get familiar with local food which if the restaurants satisfy them, they will return and pass it on (word of mouth)

-Dining is consistently one of the top three favourite tourist activities

-Gastronomy art and wine tasting is the only art from that affects all five human senses-sight, sound, smell, taste and touch which is a unique experience

-there is a high positive correlation between tourist who are interested in gastronomy and those interested in museums, shows, shopping etc

-interest in cuisine when travelling is not reserved to a particular age, sex, or ethic group

-unlike other niche products, gastronomy is available year-round, any time of the and in any weather.

Volunteer Tourism

According to Wearing.S (2001) volunteer tourism is- its roots “volunteerism” which implies that individuals offer their services to change aspect of society for the better/ to take part in goodwill activities and undertake new experiences in their life.

There are many organisations that provide volunteer programs for individuals. The type of organizations that generally fall in the volunteer category of experiences often provide international support and sponsorship for the implementation or research projects and community development.

Volunteer tourism is rapidly growing in the travel niche market, fuelled by many different types of tourist with different ages and ethics, interests searching for more sense and personal experience in their holiday. However now days there are multiple of options available for individuals to take part in, it all depends on the amount of time the individual wants to do it for it varies from one week to one year and what type of voluntary work they want to undertake as there is a variety to choose from.

More and more people are turning to volunteer abroad in order to give back to our planet and help those people in need. The increasing global demand for volunteering is met by a growing number of volunteer service organisations. Most of them are non-profit oriented, but the amount of commercial providers is highly increasing.

According to Mintel (2011) 10% of all the UKs outbound travel expenditure, and 1% of outbound trips, is from the gap year market, with 200,000 people undertaking projects each year- spending an average of ?4,800- the volunteerism sector is worth about ?960 million annually.

Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism is the process of individuals travelling abroad to receive superior medical, dental and cosmetic care by highly skilled surgeons at some of the most modern and state of the art medical facilities in the world, however medical tourism is not a new concept according to Health Base (2006) medical tourism has been practised by wealthy Europeans and Asians for decades when they would travel within their continent.

According to IMTJ (2009) the UK is the sixth most visited destination by international tourist for medical tourism.

However different types of tourist take part in medical tourism for different reasons such as, some are attracted to the cost savings, some for dental or cosmetic treatment. Others access new treatments which are not available at home; others still gain access to a better quality of care.

According to Discover Medical Tourism (2008) the below are the most popular destinations-

-Argentina -Mexico

-Brazil -Panama

-Costa Rica -Philippines

-India -South Africa

-Hungary -Thailand

-Malaysia -Singapore

According to Healism (2011) more than 500,000 Americans travelled abroad to receive medical and dental work in 2006. Every year millions of patients from around the globe travel to top medical tourism destinations in order to receive five-star treatment at convenient prices. Healism (2011) predicts that by 2012, medical tourism will grow to be $100 billion business with more than 780,000,000 patients travelling abroad to receive care from foreign doctors, dentist and hospitals.

Appeal and Motivation of Customers

Smith.M& Puczko.L (2009) states that Medical tourist can be any age but are most likely to be older or retired people from western developed countries where prices for medical treatment are very high and waiting lists are long such as USA and Britain. Smith.M& Puczko.L (2009) estimated that in the UK in 2004 over 4 1,000 individuals were expecting to experience a waiting time of 6 months or more to have various surgeries, in the USA medical insurance is particularly very expensive so many residents are uninsured or under-insured, therefore cannot afford medical treatments. The motivation of individuals undertaking medical tourism vary according to what kind of treatment they are having or is needed, some may travel for illness or wellness within the context of medical tourism. Many of medical tourism patients come from the UK and USA; the average client ages is 45-65 and are usually single.

However when it comes to individuals motivations for taking part in volunteering Volun Tourism (2009) believes that the following are the seven top motivations-

-Altruism -Professional Development

-Travel and Adventure -Right time and place

-Personal Growth -The individuals program itself

-Cultural Exchange and Learning

Gastronomy tourism in the UK is estimated to be worth $8billion a year as the market is increasing as years go by, according to Culinary Tourism (2011) gastronomy consumer’s tent to be couples that have above-average income, are usually professionals and are aged 30-50. According to the International Culinary Tourism Association on average, food travellers spend around $1,200 per trip, with one-third (36% or $425) of their travel budget going towards food related-activities.

Economic Impacts

The benefits of Niche tourism economic impacts is that it could provide employment opportunities for the locals that are unemployed, it could generate foreign exchange, is also an increase of income, the more the market grows the more income that it will bring. It can be developed with local products and resources it also diverse the economy, it also spreads development, they are the positive impacts of economic, however the economic issues- it can develop excess demand, it could increase vulnerability to economic and political changes, according to Douglas.N et al (2001) the economic impact for the niche market is increasing number of visitors as that can lead to the trap of ” profitless volume”, this can affect an individual business in various ways, for example incurring the expense of putting on a new bus and an additional driver to cater for only the marginal increase in visitor numbers, it can also affect whole areas by requiring massive new capital investment for basic infrastructure beyond the return, or infrastructure increase that create changes in patterns of normal life.

Cultural Impacts

There are cultural issues such as authenticity and the careful retention of a distinctive local character and sense of place are increasingly becoming critical to success in cultural tourism, visitors are far more discerning and widely travelled and concerned about the growing “sameness” of many destinations or how they could have been.

Most cultural and traditions activities in many destinations are losing authenticity as they get practice constantly and it becomes an activity that they undertake constantly as they could get tips from tourist, so the locals start thinking more about tips and tourist and start losing the authenticity, for example in the amazon in Ecuador indigenous individuals have their own traditions tribe dances, and as the amazon gets plenty of tourists throughout the year, indigenous start doing the tribe dance for money and not because is a tradition and they enjoy it, there for the tribe dance starts losing its authenticity.

Another cultural impact could be that in the urban side there are many more residents than the rural side, negative impact could be that as there are further job opportunities in the urban sides, individuals from the rural side start moving to the urban side the consequence is migration. For example according to Wall.G& Mathieson.A (2006) pacific islanderders migrating to New Zealand since 1971.

Environmental Tourism

According to Douglas.N et al (2001) environmental tourism is based on natural resources and so has an impact on air, land, water, flora and fauna. It is also acute seasonal peaks in demand create pressure on infrastructure, such as water supply, sewerage, systems, roads and community services, usually designed to cater for a much smaller population base.

However when it comes to medical tourism there are planet of negative impacts that consumers are not aware of such as Physical hazards for example high altitude, scuba diving, also air travel is utilized by hundreds of millions of people every year, has been considered safe, fast and is often used when peoples health status requires rapid transportation however according to Irmgard.L (2001) cerebral venous thrombosis was described as a health risk to air travellers where five case reports were presented of patients in whom cerebral venous thrombosis was causatively linked with long distance travelling. There are many more health risks that consumers should be aware of before travelling, health risks such as Underwater diving, Temperature, Hypothermia, Hyperthermia, The sun- Queensland is reported to have the highest melanoma rate in the world Irmgard.L (2001), water, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, the 5230 m Sangay Volcano in Ecuador is the most active volcano in the Andes, Sangay is constantly erupting, is very unpredictable and tour guides refuse to climb the mountain some tourist however still proceed, although they should not. There are also many more health risks for example through large and poisonous animals, plants, jet lag, motion sickness, air pollution, water pollution, travel exposes the individual to a range of different types of experiences and challenges, one of which is the resistance to health threats from the natural environment, a recommendation for tourist will be to be aware of the above hazards that could happened when travelling. However according to Irmgard.L (2001) tourist are not passive victims of the risks they are exposed to, they expose themselves actively by travelling to risky places or participating in risky activities.

Conclusion

The essay has looked at the types of modern tourist and three sectors in Niche tourism Gastronomy, Voluntary and Medical Tourism, it has also looked at the motivations that tourist have before travelling following with Economic, Cultural and Environmental issues in the niche tourism market.

Abstract

Tourism is included in the most dynamic and propulsive activities, with complex and multiple effects. It supplies tourism with strong driving force in wide range of activities and includes it more and more into priorities of economic development of numerous receptive countries and their particular parts.

Wealth, preservation and appeal of natural resources, large number of traditional agricultural households, gradual increase in domestic population living standard, as well as increasing interest of international market for performances of special interest tourism, make solid framework for development of this branch of tourism in Serbia, where required conditions exist. The development of other, accompanying activities is emphasized also in order to enrich the content that this particular branch of tourism has to offer.

The intention of the authors in this paper is to, whit particular retrospective on conditions in Croatia and Serbia, answer to some developmental questions of tourism progress, depending on natural, economic and social facts, recognition of geographic aspects of terrain and determination by human factor in enhancing special interest tourism with all of it’s following content, through its’ work and activities.

Key words: special interest tourism, comparative analysis, market, accommodation capacities, education.

Introduction

Based on key factors of success analysis, apparent is that both destinations have relatively good potential for developmental and international commercialization of tourism product. The fact is, that this product is based on preserved natural resources, to the larges extent, which both countries are abundant with, which enables them to define, develop and supply international market with attractive product palette of special tourism services.

Natural and economic resources of special interest tourism in Istrian Regoin and Kolubara District

Istrian Region by its’ geographic and natural landmarks has significant advantage, amongst others, in development of special interest tourism. This is justified by numerous data that evidence Istrian precedence in degree of quality supply, as well as the visit, when it comes to tourism in general. To comprehend completely essential vantages for tourism development of special interest places, parallel review of basic characteristics of each region is given, Istrian Region and Kolubara District, that also disposes with numerous natural attributes and potential possibilities.

Additional assurance of special interest tourism prosperity on both locations, what can be seen from previous table is attractive relief that includes water areas, mountains, numerous gouges, caves and other.

Segments of product

Starting with a fact that special interest product is compounded of large number of market niches, the easiest way to segregate it is following:

Mild or “soft” activities that include camping, hiking, bike riding, rafting, 4?4 driving, in-nature activities, horse riding, fishing, etc. Some of these activities, for example animal chase are being largely commercialized in Istria and Serbia, while some are being included in maps and catalogues of specialized operators, more in Istria then in Kolubara District. It is good to keep in mind that particular niches of special interest products, can represent an included part of product group “Mountains and Lakes ” as additional activities while vacationing. Rich offer of activities represents a base for development of these products throughout the year, not only during high season.
Rough or “hard” activities, that refer to canoeing or kayaking down river streams, exploring canyons, caves, mountain biking, cross country skiing, alpinism, free climbing, paragliding, jeep safari and similar. All of these activities, can in long-term, be presented as independent product on the market, particularly because their organization and popularization need more investment in promotion, standard formation and similar.
Cultural resources activities, gastro interests, monastery tours, places of importance heritage tours, archeological journeys and similar.
Market – special interest products ought to be introduced to domestic market, as well as to foreign emissive markets of special interest like Germany, Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Italy etc.
Competitive strategy of special interest tourism development in Serbia

Taking into consideration complexity of the product, it is hard to determine unique developmental strategy. Each creative and professional destination, with its’ management on behalf, will determine its’ own competitive strategy. Regarding that Serbia is taking smaller steps in tourism supply and in its representation on foreign markets, in comparison to Istria, it must specially focus on these production segments which accompanied with reasonable prices and low costs make its’ biggest potential. On the other hand, Serbia must directly approach communication among it’s strategic benefits in special interest product, even more because of the fact that these products development and their international popularization do not require large financial investment. Although the special interest product is of mostly seasonal character, vast resource base provides Serbia with possibility of organizing activities in this domain, throughout the year.

Aiming for faster popularization of special interest product, needed is to stimulate development of destination management companies, who have programs for preparation and development of different product segments.

Special interest product are usually promoted by specialized brochures of foreign tour-operators, presentations on specialized fairs and especially by direct marketing and internet. To enhance international promotion of this product in Serbia, special internet platform should be established, connected to powerful international internet providers.

Accommodation facilities are essential and characteristic features of tourism area, which implies that their space and quality in significant part determine range of tourism circulation; their types, forms and quality directly affect types and forms of tourism and therefore tourism’s economy effects. In continental Istria possibilities of hotel, camp, private accommodation and family agricultural households prevail. In Kolubara District domestic country tourism is developed, which could contribute to tourism development of that particular part of Serbia in total, but it’s still being conducted slowly and poorly organized.

Models of development

Considering special interest product as mainly reposing on natural resources preservation, both in Istrian Region and Kolubara District, there is a big chance for this product to develop, define itself and offer itself to international market.

Special interest product can in medium term develop on low cost strategy, with small investments and reasonable prices, considering wealth of resources.

In medium and long term, Serbia must raise general competitiveness level in field of infrastructure development, particularly road accessibility, which open numerous opportunities for special interests products development, what characterizes majority of even vaguely developed tourist countries.

Besides, both regions have traditional and cultural heritage and conditions that facilitates them to attract tourist’s interest, what enables tourists to, while on vacation, use their leisure time to get to know the people and surroundings, where they temporarily reside in (to see the museums, galleries, special collections and similar). Cultural manifestations also have strong ability to attract tourists, supplying with enrichment of contents, higher value to an area or a place and enable higher cost budget. Naturally, high emphasis is put on distinguished conditions for rural tourism development in agro-tourism oasis of Istria and Kolubara.

Global market potential of special interest product significantly overcomes possibilities of Serbia and Istria to develop and popularize this product, exceptionally in short and medium term. Therefore, intensifying global communication of this product by mediation with present global internet portals is of great importance. Simultaneously, creation of sales orientated internet portal and other common steps of advanced popularization with preceding unification of special interest product leading organizations.

Conclusion

Development and popularization of special interests do not require high investment. Therefore, the emphasis is on management of activities that are much less favored in Istrian Region and Kolubara District. Following this context, developmental model of this product should be based on following activities:

Location of coordination responsibility for development and popularization of special interest product, especially because of large number of small individual organizations activities (for example fishing and animal chase) lacking in joint effort for serious popularization, on behalf of the region or whole country.
Identification and creation of unique data base of activity organizations and special interest supply.
Creation of greatest world’s tour-operators data base in field of special interests.
Support and financial stimulation for private personae when forming new companies for destination management.
Additional regulation of activities description for these companies, that make the most important link in chain of product value.
Drawing initiative for general preservation and sustainable development of mountains, rivers and lakes, together with successive formation of infrastructure favorable for special interests development.
Program of incorporation of specialized and scientific workers and education of tourist guides for various cultural and scientific contents in field of this product.
Formation of special quality systems in field of special interest products.
Seminary organization by qualified companies in all tourism clusters.
Organization of special tours for those engaged in this field.
Support of specialized magazines and publication launching in this field.
Educational program for specialized guides
Consumer protection program and other competitiveness programs in general.
References
DFV, “Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Tourismus und Umwelt, 2008
Hamovic, V. – „Quality of service and consumer protection in tourism, Besjeda, Banja Luka,RS, 2004
Horner, S., Swarbrook, J. – “International cases in tourism management”, Elsevier, London, England, 2004
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Kripendorf, J. – „Traveling Mankind”, Zavod za istraA?ivanje trA?ista, Zagreb, Croatia, 1986
Ph. Kotler, Keller K. – “Marketing management”, Data status, Belgrade, Serbia, 2006;
Weaver, D., Lawton, L. – „Tourism mangement”, Data status, Belgrade, Serbia, 2008;
“Strategija razvoja turizma Srbije do 2015.godine”;
Magas, D., – „Management in touris organization and destinations”, Adamic, Rijeka, Croatia, 2003;
Marusic, M., PrebeA?ac, D. – „Tourist market research”, ADECO, Zagreb, Croatia, 2004;
Bulesic, E. „Rural tourism in Istria”, University in Rijeka, Business department Pula, Croatia, 2004.
Golja, S. – „Opportunities for tourism development in rural area of Istrian Region University in Rijeka”, Business department Pula, 2008.

This article represents a part of the Project no. 149007 D research results – Multifunctional Agriculture and Rural Development Aimed at EU Integration of Serbia, financed by the Serbian Ministry of Science and and project “Competitiveness and Comparative sustainable rural development of Istra and Kolubara region”, within the program of scientific-technical cooperation of R.Serbia and R.Croatia. Both projects are financed by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.

Space tourism is tourism in which participants pay for flights into space. Space Tourism is the term that’s come to be used to mean ordinary members of the public buying tickets to travel to space and back. Many people find this idea futuristic. But over the past few years a growing volume of professional work has been done on the subject, and it’s now clear that setting up commercial space tourism services is a realistic target for business today.

It’s a distinct category of “space travel” which also includes travel in space for work purposes – to date, mainly by government staff. In recent years it has been observed that, although governmental space agencies are not interested in space tourism, it is an objective of development of space activities and will help considerably in funding the space operations or activity.

A report published by NASA – “General Public Space Travel and Tourism” in March 1998, endorses the idea of space tourism; pointed out that it is going to start sub-orbital flights; that it promises to be a much wider market that space launch.

Although space tourism had come up in a number of science fiction stories, it is an astonishing fact that in almost none of them, tourism is portrayed as more than a small-scale activity greatly overshadowed by government space missions – military operations, scientific research, defence, etc. This is a good example of how the Cold War pattern of space activities has paralyzed the public’s imagination. That is, government organizations carrying out monopoly “missions” in space ostensibly for the benefit of the taxpayer and created a fixed image of what are space activities, which has dominated the imaginations of scientists and engineers, politicians, the media, and the general public for several decades.

The price for a flight to the International Space Station is US$ 20-35 million. The space tourists or the spaceflight participants as called by few, usually sign contracts with third parties to conduct particular research while in orbit. This helps to minimize the expenses.

Infrastructure is being developed for a suborbital space tourism industry through the construction of spaceports in various parts of the world, including California, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Alaska, Wisconsin and Esrange in Sweden as well as the United Arab Emirates. Some prefer to use the term “personal spaceflight” as in the case of the Personal Spaceflight Federation. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry. For a list of such companies, and the spacecraft they are currently building, see list of space tourism companies. Russia halted orbital space tourism since 2010 due to the increase in the International Space Station crew size, using the seats for expedition crews that would be sold to paying spaceflight participants. However it is planned to resume in 2012, when the number of single-use three-man Soyuz launches rises to five flights in a year.

Dispute over the terminology of “space tourists”

Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari and Richard Garriott have conveyed their desire to be called something other than “space tourist”. The reason accorded was that they carried out scientific experiments as part of their journey. Garriott has expressed his opinion to be called as “private cosmonaut” or “private astronaut. Tito prefers to be known as an “independent researcher” and there are many terminologies proposed by others as well. Charles Simonyi is the only one who seems to have no issues about calling it “space tourism”. However, it is important to note here that even the Outer Space Treaty or the other relevant conventions do not provide with an appropriate definition.

NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have agreed to use the term “spaceflight participant” to distinguish space travelers from astronauts on missions coordinated by the two agencies.

There is a notion that space tourism has a potential of being burgeoning industry that could further the development and settlement of space and so a need to settle the objections on terminology.

Growth of an Early Dream: Harnessing Potential

The economic promise of space tourism has been discussed in some detail in earlier papers. Its potential to grow into a large-scale airline-like business was described in 1986 [1] . Based on a wide range of related research that has been published in the intervening 20 years, the potentially important economic benefits were described with detailed supporting evidence in 2006 [2] . The major points are summarized briefly here.

The 2001 orbital flight by Dennis Tito on a “Soyuz” rocket demonstrated the remarkable fact that, despite having spent the equivalent of $1 trillion since the same type of rocket launched the first satellite in 1957, the government space agencies of the OECD have not reduced the cost of getting to space at all in half a century. Soyuz remains the cheapest and safest means of space travel.

The 2004 flights of SpaceShipOne further demonstrated that sub-orbital flights could be made at a cost of about 1% of the expendable rockets used by space agencies, and that commercial passenger services could in principle have started in the early 1970s, if not earlier. From the economic point of view this would have been very desirable, creating new industries and employment. Consequently it is clear that governments’ “space policies” have been responsible for a delay of 40 years so far in exploiting space travel economically.

Studies by Asford and Collins [3] , the Japanese Rocket Society ( JRS) [4] , the Space Transportation Association (STA) and NASA [5] , Ashford [6] , Bekey [7] Futron (for NASA) [8] and others have increasingly showed that space travel could grow into a large new business activity; that it could reduce the cost of traveling to orbit by 99% or more; and that this could lead on to other valuable activities such as CO2-free energy supply from space [9] . Reducing launch costs sharply would also enable large-scale economic development in space, contributing greatly to the resolution of global environmental problems, and removing the justification for “resource wars” by making the limitless resources of space economically accessible. It could also have important cultural benefits [10] .

It is also important to recognize that, from an economic or business point of view, the space industry is today very unhealthy. Employment in rocket engineering in the USA fell from more than 28,000 in 1999 to less than 5,000 in 2002 [11] , while European space industry employment fell by 20% from 1995 to 2005 [12] . The “bottom line” is that, like any other industry, unless the space industry starts to supply services that can grow to be sufficiently popular with sufficiently large numbers of the general public to reach substantial economic scale, it cannot become a major commercial activity, and will continue to impose a heavy burden on taxpayers.

Accruing Benefits: Advantages
Research benefits

For one it is an important to discuss as to why so much emphasis is given on space tourism and the purpose of space tourism. Space development, exploration as well as cultural renewal is the prospect of space tourism. The Space agencies have sufficient justification to contribute greatly to the development of space tourism, since it is their existing legal responsibility or the duty to encourage the commercial use of space. Such agencies could contribute in different ways which are closely related to their existing fields of work, which include appropriate research, technology development, education, and legal activities. The space agencies could possibly contribute through their research to short-term orbital stays by average people, treatment of minor-ailments in gravity and so on. [13]

Till date no government space agency has provided more than minimal support for space tourism-related research, the resistance within space agencies is still far stronger than those favoring such efforts. This reluctance of government space agencies has adversely affected the budgets allocated to such activities which include space tourism. However, this situation is fast changing due to two ongoing trends. First is the worsening economic situation which has led to the increasing need for development of new industries to reduce world-wide unemployment. Thus there is a lot of economic potential in such commercial activities which should be beneficially utilized. [14]

And secondly the participation of private players in space tourism activities is educating the public about such economically very valuable new space activities that could be developed without burdening space agencies’ budgets.

Economic benefits

Under democracy and capitalism, if there is substantial demand for a particular service which is not threatening to some sections of society, people and agencies freely supply it. However, the development of commercial space activities like space tourism services will provide great economic and social benefits for humanity than any business opportunity because of its potential to grow as large as aviation and even more. [15]

It has been reported that many of those involved in government-funded space activities and also politicians view space tourism as “a waste of money and resources” or not worth investing in because the return on investment may be very low. [16] Tragically, space agencies themselves rather than the general public decide what technology is developed. As a result space activities remain a burden on taxpayers instead of a source of profit for the economy and the public loses interest in any kind of space development.

This is a serious fallacy because in future such space tourism services have the potential to become a popular new branch of the leisure and travel industry with the help of advanced aerospace technology, the economic effects of the growth of such activities will be very positive, not only for companies but also for world economic progress and society as a whole. Moreover under its influence, “space development” will resume its natural meaning of economic development in space, instead of its present meaning of development of government-selected technology and there use in space, generally without economic benefit.

Challenges Confronting Space Tourism

Commercial space activities today are mainly limited to communications, broadcasting and observation satellites. The decline in the commercial demand for satellites has lead to contraction of the commercial space industry and also to the need to develop new space markets if the space industry is to grow. Since there is no other space activity that offers any greater potential for growth, space agencies’ anti-space tourism stand is growing increasingly untenable.

Thus in line we have certain challenges that again pose a threat to the development and growth of space tourism. Cost is one of the biggest challenges as such space travel by tourists is limited only to rich people till now. OECD space agencies have spent approximately $1 trillion since 1961 without any reduction in the cost of getting to space at all. This clearly reveals that space agencies have not been trying to cut the cost of getting to space. The fact is that the space agencies do not know how the cost of space flight can fall, because they have not studied the possibility. This strongly suggests that the cost of access to space as performed by space agencies in orders of magnitude is higher than it needs to be. [17] As further evidence of this, NASA is proposing to expend $14 billion for developing an expendable capsule of comparable capability to the Apollo capsule 40 years before, though possibly carrying more passengers. This vehicle would have a cost many times higher than Soyuz and would have no economic value. [18]

As a consequence, unless they accept that there is an urgent need to reduce costs as far as technology allows, and to observe space tourism as the only activity that offers to link the economic energy of consumer spending on space development, space agencies’ role in the future development and exploration of space is likely to shrink progressively. Ultimately, by reducing the cost of space activities, the development of space travel will lead to the permanent and progressive expansion of human culture into space However; this will also require institutional change.

As already discussed that space agencies focus more on development of satellites and the recent decline of commercial demand for satellites has led to rapid contraction of the space industry, of which the annual revenues are now barely 2% of the $1 trillion of cumulative expenditure made by OECD space agencies to date. [19] Thus it has become a strong notion that the agencies spend every year on space activities which are neither profitable nor lead to development of commercial space activities. In summary, space agencies’ negative stance is not economically justifiable; it is based on political calculation. Thus any kind of political considerations as well as stance of politicians play a vital role in discouraging such activities. So all this needs to change and the space agencies should remember their statutory responsibilities.

Insurance Industry and Space Activities Linked

As space tourism matures, it shows a picture of tremendous opportunity for “insurance companies” to offer coverage to space travelers, a much similar activity to what they carry out in airlines. Neither in space law or air law has the contract of insurance been regulated on an international level. Space Insurance has, however been available from private sources from a number of years. Space Insurance concerns especially communication satellites. The first insurance satellite contract, written for Intesat’s Early Bird’ in 1965, provided pre launch coverage. Pre-launch coverage will cover risk associated with the manufacturing and transport of satellites, but cover for the launch itself is also available. The two forms may include the risk of loss or damage to the space object and the risk of loss or damage to the on-board equipment. Regarding the insurance of spacecraft, I would like observe the following: insurers play a very important role, reducing the financial risk, which will make parties more willing to finance spacecraft. The problem is that the companies would like to see the result first [20] .

International conference on space business, was organized as part of Bengaluru Space Expo 2010, where speakers scrutinized that since Yuri Gagarin’s flight in 1961, 38 citizens from all over the globe have flown in space. Most of the individuals till date who have flown either were astronauts, military personnel or scientists who have been expensively and extensively trained, but as of now, one will also see the emergence of ‘space tourism’ with space access for private individuals.

S Ramakrishnan, Director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, said that apart from satellite and space launching sector, personal space flights, space tourism and other space tourism activities are emerging as a possible market for insurance industry.

Ramakrishnan referred to the successful ‘Spaceship-I’ venture, and the Spaceship-II which is expected to take place shortly.

These initiatives are currently being catered to only ‘select people who enjoy the adventure spirit’; they are perhaps ‘paving the way for possible sub-orbital trans-atmospheric passenger and cargo transportation systems with commercial potential in not too distant future’.

At a session on risk management for space ventures, it was pointed out that risk cover in space tourism is possible, and something we can imagine. It was also pointed by Ramakrishnan as to the change in policy direction in USA-NASA in handing over of the earth orbit transportation sector to private sector, which has also been taking separate and promotional initiatives in this regard.

As space tourism matures into personal space transportation system, it can be foreseen that what happened in beginning of the airline business (when insurance players started offering insurance cover for passengers) is taking the same turn in space tourism. Executive vice-president of ISB, Tim Wakeman, speaking on risk and insurance solutions for space ventures in the 21st century, said, within India, the space industry is thriving and contributing around `10,000 crore(`100 billion) per annum to the Indian economy. He said it is a good time to buy insurance for spacecraft as market conditions are favorable with premium rates declining and availability of insurance capacity is going up three-four times the demand.

While space venture promises huge returns with an evolving sector, the execution risks are far too high.

Risks involved in space sector are related to industrial, technological, commercial, financial, legal and in particular, insurance.

Officials said that the time is ripe to share the risks and returns with other stakeholders who plan to enter business in space activities. Also it was said that despite the recent economic depression, the global space industry remains robust and healthy, United States’ decision to emphasize on commercial resupply of the International Space Station and reallocation of fiscal resources from Space Shuttle or manned space to earth observations and exploration.

India’s space industry is registering explosive growth, with many opportunities for indigenous and foreign suppliers to help further develop the country’s communications and positioning, among other things. The above statement was made by Tom Captain, vice-chairman, Deloitte LLP, Global Aerospace & Defence Sector Leader.

A report released by CII-Antrix-Deloitte during the conference said the spending in space activities is expected to increase by an average of 14.8 per cent annually in India over the next four years and estimated to be `10,000 crore (`100 billion) by 2014. India is ranked sixth currently; globally in terms of technological capabilities and space budget, behind the US, Europe, Japan, Russia and China, as mentioned in a New India Space Market Study.

Legal Regulations concerning Commercial Activities in space

In near future space tourism will become the domain of private enterprises. However, commercial activities not necessarily need non-governmental or private participation. But for some reason it is the private enterprises that have supported the idea of space tourism until now. Space Tourism revolves around public interest and public welfare which in turn creates a tremendous need for manpower. Thus the states should support and provide adequate platform to private enterprises.

Now a big that follows is which law will govern such private enterprises carrying out such activities. National law and International law both can be made applicable. Here we will be focusing only on international regulations that govern such entities. However, this takes place in an indirect way i.e. government and non-government bodies sometimes delegate certain tasks on private enterprise, Therefore the legal conditions regarding private activities in outer space have to be examined.

Relevant Space Law treaties, Agreement and Conventions.
Outer Space Treaty of 1967

The Outer Space Treaty is taken as the backbone of international space law. When the said Treaty was created and came to force there was no clue as to direct private activities in outer space. Nevertheless the Outer Space Treaty does not disregard private activities in outer space altogether. Art. VI and IX of Outer Space Treaty can be referred in this context. Moreover Art. I of the treaty mention the freedom principle and include the right of free access, the right of free exploration, and the right of free use. This freedom is only granted to the States. [21]

United Nations has also deliberated on this issue through its resolution 1962(XVIII) of the General Assembly entitled “Declaration on Legal Principles Governing Activities of States in the exploration and use of Outer Space”. On the same lines Soviets have also proposed that “all activities of any kind pertaining to the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out solely and exclusively by States”. [22]

The Outer Space Treaty also stipulates the principle of “exploration and use of outer space” and so space tourism comes within the scope of “use” in this context. It is important to note here that no provision in the treaty mentions “commercial”. Art. VIII of Outer Space Treaty gives jurisdiction, ownership and control over the space object and its personnel in outer space into state’s hands. Although the Outer Space Treaty mainly discusses States Parties it has a ruling effect on such activities by private enterprises. Art. VI of Outer Space Treaty stipulates a national State responsibility for outer-space-activities carried either by a governmental or private organization. [23] Thus risks of space tourism could finally fall on states and they can be held liable. Such a legal situation is not satisfying for the State Parties or for the private enterprises engaged in space tourism.

Liability Convention

The Liability Convention was created as a consequence of Art. VI Outer Space Treaty i.e. the responsibility-principle. Art. II of the Liability Convention makes the launching state absolutely liable to pay compensation for any kind of damage caused by its space object on the earth surface or to aircraft in flight. [24] Article III of liability convention and IV of Outer Space Treaty provide that if the damage is caused elsewhere other than the surface of the earth, the launching state shall be only liable in case the damage is due to its fault or the fault of persons for whom it is responsible which covers non-governmental entities as well. The launching state is absolutely liable and is liable in different degrees of fault, but in final consequence the state is liable for damage caused by a private enterprise. [25]

This adversely affects space tourism as the states refuse to allow private enterprises to perform space tourism, or that states set up exaggerated requirements. However, the Liability Convention must be considered as insufficient with regard the aspect of settlement of claims. Therefore it is suggested that the potentially unlimited liability of states mentioned in liability convention should be replaced by an international agreement that stipulates a limited and guaranteed maximum-amount-liability for such activities.

Registration Convention 1975

The Registration Convention has two main functions i.e. to coordinate launches and to ensure identification of the launching state in respect of the Liability Convention. Private enterprises that want to carry out space tourism have to comply with this procedure. The problem occurs when a launching state is not a Member State of the Registration Convention. Thus this problem needs to be resolved for avoiding any kind of conflict. [26]

Further in line we have the Moon Agreement and the Rescue Agreement that can also be referred while dealing with the legal issues involved in space tourism. Taking into consideration the present situation where there is no specific law that deals particularly with space tourism and at the same time presence of insufficient laws on outer space make the situation worse. Thus there is an immediate need to enact legislation for commercial activities in outer space such that states supervise the outer-space-activities of their governmental organizations or private enterprises. Another solution is to create an international treaty that grants an equal standardization and leads to more transparency and reliability for private enterprises in space tourism or any other commercial activity in outer space.

Environment concerns

Environmental concerns in case of space tourism cannot be avoided and is a big area of concern. Space-touristic traffic can have an effect on the environment on earth. However, newly-developed transport-systems which resemble more like aircrafts will work more efficiently and therefore less polluting. Art. IX of Outer Space Treaty also talks about the preservation of celestial bodies’ environment that might be interfered by space tourism. Accumulation of debris can also pollute the outer space environment. [27]

Thus keeping in mind the common-heritage-principle space tourism has to comply with environmental standards.

Conclusion

Humans have outgrown the Earth several decades ago. Now it is time to correct the view that deceived both government and the public into believing the myth that space is a barrier rather than being full of opportunities. There are prospects in future for the start of sub-orbital passenger space flight operations from newly- developed commercial spaceports. Thus in order to maximize the benefits of this opportunity the public in many countries have to compel their governments to make relevant institutional changes which are needed to overcome the long stagnation of space activities maintained by the space agencies only and their clients who profit from present arrangements.

Space tourism contains aspects of space transportation, manned space flight, and commercialization of outer space. Considering the loopholes in the existing laws there is an immediate need for a regulation, be it a treaty, to deal and cover conflicts and disputes that may arise. On these lines, there have been efforts made to create an agreement, to mention one, e.g. the Draft Convention on Manned Space Flight. Moreover, the approach of international space law needs to be properly re-defined and reconsidered to enable private enterprises to directly perform such commercial activities.

The time has come to recognize that, far from being an eccentric or even misguided “fringe” activity, space travel and tourism should already be the mainstream – and it would have been but for the huge economic and social deviations caused by the cold war. But instead of being the passive victims of history – specifically of unfortunate incidents such as the cold war which destroyed vast quantities of resources, killed millions of people, and seriously stunned the development of the space industry to turn the focus on missiles and expendable launch vehicles developed from them. Initially this increased the rate of development of expendable rockets capable of delivering heavy payloads to orbit, and thereby increased the rate of first crewed flights to orbit. The after effect of this, was, that, civilian space activities based on expendable vehicles became a victim of cold war politics, and are still dominated by government space agencies’ political agendas, rather than generating economic value.

The growth of “Space Tourism Movement”, which can be reasonably called so, is going to have a huge beneficial cultural effect, which will widen human horizons as appropriate for the 21st century. Under its influence, “space development” is going to resume its original meaning of economic development in space, instead of its present meaning of “development of government-selected technology for use in space”, generally without economic benefit. And the “space age” will have its original meaning of the period when people go to space – as passengers, customers, employees, operators, managers and tenants but for government employees. As such, tourism is not going to be just a small part of future space activity, a small-scale activity even made smaller by government space agencies – it is going to be the mainstream and highlighted space activity. Already it should have been the main focus of the government agencies by now. It is an extraordinary and a non performing idea that private citizens traveling to and from space should not be the main activity in space. The idea that government knows better than the general public as to how their money should be spent is fundamentally a Soviet one [28] . But even after consuming $1 trillion on government space activities with no commensurate economic benefit to taxpayers, it is high time for the general public to insist that this mistaken policy be reframed and their demands be made significant to space development, as they are in aviation industry.

Austria is ranked as the ninth largest tourism market in the world and the sixth largest in Europe . 22.2 billion Euros was generated from international tourism in the year 2007 in Austria. Only few countries can boast of the per capital income from tourist in the same league as Austria. Although Austria is not a big country in central Europe with a population of 8.3 million people, it is one of the top tourist destination in Europe with 20.8 million arrivals in the year 2007 because of it fantastic and extensive cultural history in addition to its interesting customs , artistic tradition and natural environment (Austrian National office, Austrian Tourism Monitor 2006/2007). International tourism expenditure in Austria has increased from $7.6 billion in year 1995 to $14.2 in year 2007. Vienna the capital of Austria attracts major part of tourists that visit Austria.

However, this report is aimed to develop a tourism marketing plan for Austria to attract spa and wellness tourist from United Kingdom and North America particularly Canada and the United States of America . This aim will be achieved through the analysis of the Austria tourism industry environment ,using the available secondary date, identifying and applying theories where it is relevant.

Spa and wellness tourism has developed as a small but important market segment in developed countries such as Scotland, Switzerland, Greece ,New Zealand, Israel ,United States and Canada as well as developing counties such as Cuba, Cameron & mailman, Croatia, Caribbean, India, Singapore and Thailand which result in growth in competitiveness. For any business to succeed, planning is a very important step .The tourism industry in any country including Austria need to have an effective plan to be successful because tourism industry has specific characteristics that will not be found in other industry.(Morrison,2002)

The World tourism Organization projects that tourist to European counties will double by the year 2020, Conferences, business travel, beauty and wellness leading in the growth . The growth in wellness tourism is increasing worldwide with 18 percent per year and over ten percent annually estimated new demand. Ringer (2007) note that according to a research by Hawail Wellness Tourism Association in 2006, the number of travel agencies that specialized in wellness travel as increased from 300 estimated in the last two year to over 500.Consequently,Austria can become the primary tourist destination in Europe for health and wellness travel if well-positioned should these global travel trends persist .Austria can take advantage of its central location in Europe and ease access from other European counties (in less than 3 hours people can get to Austria form any part of Europe). Austria has the potential to attract Spa and wellness tourism from other EU countries who do not want to travel far from home .

According to UNWTO world Tourism Barometer 2008, tourism demand could be hurt by the doubt over the global economic situation that is affecting consumer confidence. The present economic imbalance, particularly the rising cost of transportation and energy are likely to influence what people spend on tourism .However specific demand shift because of factor such as travel budget, disposable income and confidence which are different from country to country and region to region, depending on the labour market and local economies .

Travel Oregon (2005) note that sustainable tourism development and environmental quality is now another critical issue in international tourism. More Pressure is now been put on countries to preserve their natural resources as well balance growth with the possible impacts of tourism development. Consequently, any effort in Austria aim to expand tourism industry into other areas will need to consider environmental, social and cultural impacts and the image it will have on the Austria as a tourist destination .

The tourism market is also faced with the problem of international terrorism, war and H1N1 which make it more complex to attract tourists from a wider market (Videira et al 2006). This has increased the demands for product differentiation as well quality management and also significant market diversification. Austria government can capitalise on the high quality of tourist faculties and amenities in addition to fantastic and extensive cultural history as well as its interesting customs , artistic tradition and natural environment to increase the number of spa and wellness tourist visiting Austria .

3.0 RATIONALE FOR THE SELCTION OF THE MARKET CHOSEN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION .

Soukiazis and Pronca (2008) argue that tourism should only be employ has a stimulate to the growth of the economy if the supply characteristics can be enhanced to bring in more affluent tourists. Any move to attract tourists to a destination should focus on major markets, where the population is adequately affluent to increase number of tourist visiting the destination. Consequently, United Kingdom and Canada and the United States of America are the choice naturally because of the high level of per capita income enjoyed in United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. Also this countries have a long list of people waiting for spa and wellness product. In addition the cost of spa and wellness this countries are high. Also Americans may begin to look for alternative medical services in other countries because American will likely have the same problem as in England and Canada.

The North America tourist coming to Austria will have to fly a fairly expensive transatlantic flight which will possibly make them stay longer and spend more in Austria to maximise experience. This will make Canada and the United States of America tourist more important than European tourists that will fly low cost airlines and lodge in cheap hotels for a short stay. Vienna the capital of Austria has transatlantic connections flights with major US cities.

4.0 SOME PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY AUSTRIA AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO UNITED KINGDOM AND NORTH AMERICA PARTICULARLY CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

According to Austrian National office, Austrian Tourism Monitor 2006/2007 Austria has fantastic and extensive cultural history in addition to its interesting customs , artistic tradition and natural environment which will make Austria appeal to tourist from United Kingdom and North America particularly Canada and the United States of America who are keen to see more of traditional European culture and the natural environment .In words of Erich Falkensteiner ,Co-owner Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group ” Austria is a small country with an extensive and fantastic cultural history and artistic tradition, interesting customs and a natural environment which can hardly be matched anywhere in central Europe.This makes a visit to Austria so rewarding.”

Every destination claims to have a unique heritage, culture and landscape, in addition describing itself as having the highest standards of customers service, friendliest people and best facilities. As a result, the need for destinations to create a unique identity that will differentiate it from their competitors is more critical now than ever (Ana 2008). Austria has

some of the best tourism offerings. Examples of tourism offerings in some part of Austria are.

Vienna is refers to as the world capital of music .It has 3 opera house ,over 50 theatres and 100 museums. Vienna is describe as a model environmental city with its extraordinarily low rate of population where people can drink mountain spring water from the tap. Tourist can also enjoy a mild climate and diverse landscapes in Burgenland which is refer to has the land of the sun. In addition to some of the best festival and different offering of thermal bathes as well as fantastic wines (Austrian National office, Austrian Tourism Monitor 2006/2007).

Lower Austria house some world cultural heritage site designated by UNESCO and it is also recognized as a splendid location for physical and spiritual regeneration offers a well developed network of biking trails which make it one of the top tourist destination. Carinthia is also a major tourist destination in Austria to Visit because of the 1,200 lakes and ponds,8 golf courses and natural medicinal spring and radon healing galleries among other offerings.

Consequently, all this offerings make Austria suitable destination for health purposes, relaxing, holidays and adventures(Austrian National office, Austrian Tourism Monitor 2006/2007).

5.0 AUSTRIA COMPETENCIES AND SOURCES OF COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE.

Austria has most of the element required to meet the demands of a tourist destination such as well-preserved environment with scenic beauty, natural resources, a well-managed cultural landscape, green meadows and mountain pastures, crystal-clear waters, fresh air and much more. These natural treasures, in addition to the most diverse possible cultural offering, the highest quality of life and the greatest security as well as the best environmental situation give Austria a future as one of the top potential tourism sectors of the world (Austrian National office, Austrian Tourism Monitor 2006/2007).

Falkensteiner 2007 indicate that Austria is not only a beautiful and interesting country but also have good infrastructure for tourism, an exceptional workforce, and attractive business opportunities.

6.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN AND THE SETTING OF FUTURE OBJECTIVES .

For any business to succeed, planning is a very important step .The tourism industry in any country need to have an effective plan to be successful because tourism industry has specific characteristics that will not be found in other industry (Morrison,2002) . Thus, Austrian need to understands the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States tourism market and its major tourism segments after which different offerings must be develop to appeal to each segments and attract tourists form the market to Austria. As a result, more tourist from those market will develop interest in Austria, which is important in consumer decision making process.

Schultz 2005 argue that AIDA model is more appropriate than the other theories for consumer decision making process in tourism because tourist are likely to only consider destination which they fine interesting and have attracted their attention . Blumberg 2000 supported this view when he said many tourism destination use marketing advert that will focus on putting the destination on people mind, rather than attempting to get them make a decision to visit the destination. This plan aim to increase the interest of tourist from United Kingdom and North America particularly Canada and the United States of America in Austria. When more tourist from United Kingdom and North America particularly Canada and the United States of America are interested in Austria, one of the future objective will be to increase the numbers of tourist coming to Austria for spa and wellness products.

7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

International tourism are important pillar of many destinations creating much needed employment in the destination and opportunities for the general economy development. Tourism is ranked fourth worldwide in export category after oil, chemicals and automotive products in many developed nations while in some developing counties tourism is ranked number one in export category .

Austria has the potential to attract tourism from other countries but a lot of research have showed that many country possess a significant tourist attraction but they fail to utilize the tourism potential. Inadequate promotional and positioning strategy has been identified by research has part of the reason for this, especially on the part of the government of the country concerned.

In 2003 Kotler ,Dubois and Manceau noted that promotion is a extremely important tool in the positioning of a tourist attraction mainly because of its immobile and intangible nature. According to Awaritefe 2003 “Promotion has an important role to play in the positioning of a country’s tourism potential especially bearing in mind that tourism unlike manufactured products is an experience which cannot be tested before purchase”. Government and private bodies should put together more strategies to promote it spa and wellness markets. For example developing trade relationship with travel agents and airlines based UK,US and Canada .

According to Ana (2008) tourism is like a crowded marketplace where building and maintaining a brand value is the key to business success and as a result, brand management is moving fast from a peripheral marketing concern to the core strategy in business . Government and private hospitals can partner with the major hotels to enhance the standards of medical facilities and also provide discount deals for tourist . Marketing research should also be engaged from time to time to find out what tourist need and how to meet the needs.

Abu Dhabi is the capital city and largest out of the seven emirates of the UAE; it constitutes for 85 of the UAEs total land mass. It is home to just over 613,000 people. However, it is the second largest city after Dubai. Over the recent years, Abu Dhabi has evolved into an international conurbation. It is the epicenter of the UAE’s political and industrial activities. The city is also home to prime officials, such as the royal Emir Family and the United Arab Emirates central, federal government. Abu Dhabi is considered to be one of the world’s largest producers of oil and a pantheon for regional commerce. Abu Dhabi has been recently putting in tremendous effort to actively diversify it economy through multiple investments in financial services as well as the tourism sector. From the tourism perspective, Abu Dhabi is considered to be one of the worlds’ most fastest growing tourism destinations. Also, it is deemed to be a city that offers its visitors an opportunity to experience a combination of culture-rich tradition, modernity, adventure, and utter relaxation. Alongside that, Abu Dhabi is also a place where people can experience aesthetic beauty both in terms of the natural landscapes and contemporary architectural designs. In addition, the Abu Dhabi International Airport has also been ranked among the best airports in the Middle East region. Given its blissful beaches, luxurious hotels, and all-embracing shopping experience, Abu Dhabi is an ideal destination for tourists and visitors.

Destination Mission:

Abu Dhabi has set long-term goals with respect to its tourism plans and priorities. Bearing in mind its initial plans of development and sustainability, the tourism sector in Abu Dhabi plans to achieve certain key strategic goals over the next year. According to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ABTA), they are aiming to “collectively building a world class tourism destination” (http://www.abudhabitourism.ae, 2012) via developing an extensive range of products that fulfill the needs of their target markets, and by developing some form of awareness with regards to their target market and by creating the necessary level of proficiency in the marketplace. From our standpoint, our mission is to create a marketing plan that will promote Abu Dhabi as an exceptional and globally recognized tourism destination.

Abu Dhabi’s Competitive advantage:

As Abu Dhabi continues its growth, it has managed to gain competitive advantage a customer base as well as on a product/service base and that is through enhancing the city’s infrastructure to reduce traffic, build a more environment friendly city (Masdar City), and the biggest yet to come, the metro.

Abu Dhabi reflects a relaxed yet sophisticated lifestyle. It’s a busy city and a very important business hub but yet maintains a quiet life unlike Dubai which is the city that never sleeps. And it is all in line with Abu Dhabi’s vision. It has become the perfect holiday getaway along with pleasure with business where now a business trip can also mean a good time for the family as well.

Sources of competitive advantage:

Etihad airways UAE’s second national carrier and one of the leading award winning airline, offering the best services for their customers and projecting Abu Dhabi’s true hospitality. Having top notch services in the aviation industry gives tourist their first best experience in Abu Dhabi as soon as they choose them as a way to get there.

Experience:

For these seeking a unique thriving experience these are some of the thing to do while in Abu Dhabi:

Yas Island: just an hour and a half away from Dubai hosting state of the art hotels, F1 races in Yas Marina Circuit, residential area by the beach, and fun family time in Ferrari World.

Get the chance to ride the track in Yas Marina Circuit.

Abu Dhabi islands: Saadiyat Island if relaxation and resorts is what you need, and Sir Bani Yas to explore UAE’s natural preserve and largest island, as well as Delma Island, holding the Gulf’s most important pearl diving centers.

Desert balloon expeditions

Helicopter tours

Cruise tours

Sports and Recreation:

Sports lovers will have a great share of excitement in Abu Dhabi with some out of many of activities for them to do such as:

Golf

Water sports and sailing

Motor Sports and karting

Off-road driving

Shooting

Fishing

Diving

Horse riding

Tennis; with Mubadala’s World tennis championship.

Shopping:

Shopping lovers and fashionistas will indeed have a great shopping experience in Abu Dhabi and these are some of the places and goods they can shop for:

Best buys and bargaining

Shopping malls

Carpets

Art

Arabian and local souvenirs (Sougha)

Luxury retail

Traditional markets and souks

Gold jewelry

Culture and Heritage:

A famous quote is exchanged between people in the middle east and to be specific within the Arabian Gulf region: “one who doesn’t have a past, doesn’t not have a future”, and from there we take on the words of our late leaders and visionaries to illustrate how the Emirates and Abu Dhabi to be exact takes its steps in growing and blooming. Hence, Abu Dhabi’s heritage villages theme park, and archeological sites in Sir Bani Yas illustrate the UAE’s rich culture and heritage.

Other Amazing Must-See Sites:

Masdar City and Masdar institute: a place on almost everyone’s destination’s list to see the completely sustainable building and environment friendly city.

The Grand Mosque: one of the largest mosques featuring amazing Islamic architecture. The grand mosque has the capacity to host 41,000 worshippers, 82 domes, over 1000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world’s largest hand knotted carpet.

Emirates Palace

Al Ain Zoo

Arabian Wildlife park in Sir Bani Yas island

Course Project Focus:

In the course project focus we would like to move away from the cliche of Abu Dhabi being a business hub only and home of embassies and consulates, and go beyond that. Abu Dhabi is indeed much more than that. It’s a vacation destination everywhere you look around beginning with Abu Dhabi’s cornice to Al Ain’s Oasis city, and not to mention the western region of the Empty Quarter desert in Al Gharbia for the adventure seekers [1] . We will construct a marketing plan to change our audience perception of Abu Dhabi and gain more attention and tourism attractiveness and shape tourism in Abu Dhabi, as well as to meet the goal of Abu Dhabi’s Economic growth vision in 2030.

Section 3: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Industry Analysis:

For the UAE as a whole, the tourism sector had another good year in 2011, although annual growth in foreign tourists slowed slightly to an estimated 11.0%. BMI anticipates a slowdown in the sector over the short term, with growth in arrivals forecast at about8% in 2012 (raised slightly this quarter). Growth in visitors from Europe to Dubai has been weak in recent years. Continuing favorable opportunities exist for the UAE to exploit regional tourism growth, such as from Saudi Arabia. The tourism industry has also become a notable bright spot for the construction sector. The most recent figures for Abu Dhabi for January-July show the emirate welcomed 1.37mn hotel guests, an 11% increase over the corresponding period in 2011.

The already burgeoning tourism sector appears to have benefited from the Arab Spring, with tourists attracted away from other locations in the region. Given the ongoing instability, there is potential for the industry to benefit further in this regard. Annual tourist visits is expected to rise from 1.8 million visitors in 2010 to 2.7 million by 2013 and to 7.5 million by 2030. Every aspect of the strategy works towards showcasing Abu Dhabi as an exclusive, high-end tourist destination where visitors can engage in world-class business and relax.

SWOT Analysis:
TOURISM IN ABU DHABI
ENVIRONMENT
EVALUATION
INTERNAL
STRENGTHS

Base to a large number of leading corporations in the world

Presence of leading luxury hotels

Easy access worldwide due to close proximity of Abu Dhabi Intl Airport

Well laid out and congestion-free streets

Wide array of destinations and events for a family holiday

WEAKNESSES

Lacks the luster and glamour of neighboring Dubai

Development and implementation of projects is slow

Does not cater much towards young single adults.

EXTERNAL
OPPORTUNITIES

Rising global position of the region

Presence of natural resources (petroleum)

Ever expanding globalization

THREATS

Rise of other oil states like Qatar and Kuwait

Disturbances in the region

Overview of SWOT Analysis:

The SWOT analysis sums up the strengths and weaknesses of the tourism industry of Abu Dhabi. The above table shows us that the tourism industry in Abu Dhabi has the potential to grow and become one of the largest in the region. Being the Capital of the United Arab Emirates has made Abu Dhabi home to most of the head offices of leading global corporations in the region. The large number of luxury hotels makes Abu Dhabi a prime location to host business events and conventions. Abu Dhabi caters to families also by having a variety of cultural destinations as well as those that cater to fun. The Ferrari world in Abu Dhabi, The upcoming Yas Waterpark, The Grand Prix and rock concerts such as Creamfields is an attraction that pulls in lots of fun seeking crowds. Abu Dhabi unlike Dubai lacks certain glamour, with tourism and business not being the prime source of income, the implementation of projects is quite slow. Dubai and other oil states in the MENA region are therefore a competition to Abu Dhabi that cannot be ignored.

Competition:

Competition for tourism in Abu Dhabi involves both local and international level competition. At the local level, it faces tough competition mainly from its sibling Dubai – the ‘Las Vegas of the middle east’. Abu Dhabi has announced new ambitious tourism targets, complemented by a US$30 million marketing budget and huge infrastructure projects, and it is opening up representative offices around the world and attending world travel fairs. The emirate’s ambitions would appear identical to Dubai’s but this sibling wants to be different. However the end product differs from Dubai, Abu Dhabi is now throwing impressive figures into the mix in a bid to attract an estimated U$11 billion in tourism projects by 2015. Ultimately Abu Dhabi may develop a superior tourism product to Dubai, buts its path to achieve this will follow Dubai’s development example, which has shown what you can achieve with a well-coordinated and funded marketing approach.

On the other hand, Abu Dhabi faces solid competition from the other metropolitan cities around the world and renown for tourism. Abu Dhabi has still not turned out to be a popular word among the people around the world and this is what Abu Dhabi needs to aim at. With strong marketing strategies and effective implementation along with determination, Abu Dhabi can definitely reach this goal with top rankings in the world’s best destinations.

Customer Analysis:

The customers in a tourism industry are nothing but the tourists. These tourists visit a county for either of the two purposes – Business or Leisure. Abu Dhabi, being a place which was known for standing up during the recession period and still booming in the market at a good rate with a lot of upcoming projects proves to be a good attraction to business entrepreneurs around the world. Abu Dhabi should definitely focus more on attracting customers who visit for business purposes.

At the same time, families and other people who need to take a trip for fun could satisfy themselves in Abu Dhabi with the numerous attractions. Abu Dhabi has attractions for all the age groups and if people know more about the attractions and events in Abu Dhabi, they’ll definitely not miss out on these. People nowadays are becoming more aware of and interested in tours and Abu Dhabi has very good potential to cater to the interests of all age groups. Abu Dhabi has enough to serve both the types of customers very well and this is what that makes it an effective place for tourism.

Section 4: SEGEMENTATION, TARGETING, AND POSITIONING (STP)
Market Segmentation:

When it comes to tourism planning and strategy formulation, it is of utmost importance to segment the market prior pursuing a course of action or marketing plan. Market segmentation refers to breaking down or classifying the market at hand into submarkets or segments based on certain characteristics or aspects. Such characteristics (demographics and psychographics) may include age, purpose of travel, and opportunities available to them. In our case, promoting Abu Dhabi as the next big tourism destination, the tourism market can be broken down into several segments. The first main segment is families, which consist of parents and children- perhaps also young adults within the household- and even senior members like grandparents. This segment can be further divided into different age groups. For example, this classification can be done as follows: toddlers and children ranging from the age of 5 to 12, teenagers and young adults starting from 13 years of age up to 19, a youth category which encompasses the younger generation (i.e. 20 to 29 years old), and lastly the adults or seniors which are mainly above the age of 30. The second main market segment would be the business travelers. As mentioned earlier in the project, Abu Dhabi is a regional hotspot for business opportunities and investments. Thus, it can attract potential businesspeople. As a result, it is important to consider professionals as a segment within that particular market. Lastly, a third possible segment could be individual/pair travelers such as bachelors, singles, newlyweds (honeymooners), couples without children, and finally, retired or senior couples.

Target Market Identification:

To target a particular segment, a particular destination must prove what is has to offer to be of value to the targeted market. In this case, we believe the predominant target market would be families. There are many reasons why Abu Dhabi would consider promoting itself to families, and conversely, there are many reasons why families might consider Abu Dhabi for their next vacation spot. When firms are marketing a certain product or service, the consumer must understand what the product or service uniquely offers to them compared to that of its competitor and what added value it provides. Similarly, a tourism destination must offer its tourists a unique experience in every regard. It is easy for a family to pick a destination that has amazing parks, state of the art resorts, and large shopping malls, but the question is, what is so different about a beach in Salalah, Oman, a resort in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and a shopping mall in Dubai, with what Abu Dhabi has to offer? What is it exactly that pushes a family to visit one place over another? The answer is value and experience. The experience and joyful memory is what stays with a person, especially after a trip or vacation.

Abu Dhabi is home to many things that a vacationing family would be on the lookout for. There are many activities that one can do both indoors and outdoors. A business man flying to Abu Dhabi to close some deals can worry no more about leaving his family back home. While he’s busy during the day his wife can take away the kids to Ferrari World, or if they’re a couple with no kids, the wife can go out shopping or enjoying a relaxing spa day in Saadiyat island resort. Nevertheless, business and pleasure has become a very do-able thing in Abu Dhabi where business partners can take a cruise along the sea, golf, or competing on the tennis course while discussing work. What makes Abu Dhabi different is that the visitors do not have to worry about getting stuck in traffic while getting from one place to another. The activities venues are very spread out all over Abu Dhabi beginning with Yas Island, just an hour and a half away from Dubai, to Al Gharbia the western region of the Empty Quarter desert. Additionally, Abu Dhabi has beautiful natural preserves and natural islands where the family can enjoy kayaking along and enjoy the natural beauty, and archeological specimens that reveals the rich heritage and culture of the UAE. Abu Dhabi is the destination where modernity and heritage meets, and greet its visitors with warm welcoming Arabian hospitality and traditions were inherited along the years and are carried on from one generation to the next, therefore the special treatment is always given away wherever you go about Abu Dhabi. Worry no more about what can your family can do aˆ¦ because there’s fun for everyone in Abu Dhabi.

Positioning

A quote from His Excellency Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general of ADTA regarding Abu Dhabi’s positioning in the tourism industry says the following: “Abu Dhabi is seeking to attract discerning tourists who will be attracted by a diversified product base of beach, nature, culture, sports, adventure and business tourism. Our mandate is to position Abu Dhabi as an international city of wealth and culture, while maintaining a balanced approach between development and environmental preservation and sustainability. In our five-year strategic plan, 2008-2012, we have prioritized wider international marketing of this destination and we envisage that by the end of this year we will have ADTA representative offices in Australia, Italy and China joining our existing overseas office network which serves our primary markets of the UK, Germany and France.” [2] Thus, Abu Dhabi seeks growth in the tourism industry and position itself within the market using product characteristics and customer benefits as a positioning strategy.

Section 5: MARKETING MIX & MARKETING STRATEGY
Marketing Mix:

The proposed marketing mix for the betterment of the tourism industry of Abu Dhabi consists of four main elements: Product formulation, Pricing, Promotion and Place.

Product Formulation:

Product in the tourism industry is any benefits or quality of experience that meets the needs and wants of the customer. Abu Dhabi needs to ensure that the tourism experience that it provides its guests meets their needs. This can be done by ensuring top performance in four aspects of its product.

Designed Characteristics: The tourism in Abu Dhabi can be given a boost by attracting more customers, this can be done by clubbing together different aspects of its tourism like cultural sites, hotels, leisure activities into single deals and promotions.

Service Component: All tourism staff should undergo special training for interaction with customers. There should be a uniform form of administration for all tourism organizations within the emirate. When customers notice the same uniforms and procedures within different tourist spots within the country, it instills a form of familiarity within them.

Branding/Ambience: Abu Dhabi should create a brand for itself as a top end tourist destination. The brand should consist of a catch phrase as well as a logo. The catch phrase should project in the mind of the traveler an image of the destination and a feel of the people and culture. The logo can include prominent structures of the emirate (eg. Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi). Having a brand and its consequent promotion around the world will give a boost to the tourism industry in the emirate.

Price:

Pricing is a very important marketing strategy as it helps control the sales volume. Abu Dhabi has over 125 hotels, where many of these are five star hotels. The published prices of these hotels tend to be very high and do not attract a lot of customers. The tourism industry could create deals that club together hotels and different leisure activities and charge a promotional price. This way, the customer perceives more value for the cost they are paying. Abu Dhabi could also create seasonal pricing strategies that can cater a specific tourism season.

Promotion:

Promotion is perhaps the most visible of the four marketing mixes and perhaps what Abu Dhabi lacks the most. As a tourist destination, Abu Dhabi needs to send a global message that they are now ready to enter the tourism market. This can be done through hosting tourism exhibitions and signing contracts with international hotel groups and airlines for promotional prices. Publishing magazines and brochures as well as a more interactive advertising in travel websites can help make the consumers more aware of Abu Dhabi as a tourist destination.

Place:

In tourism, place does not refer to the destination alone, rather all points of sale for the destination. This includes travel agents, online booking as well as convenience of access. Abu Dhabi should start a tourism office in major cities around the world offering deals at promotional prices. Etihad Airways already connects Abu Dhabi to different parts of the world, ensuring ease of access to the city.

Marketing Strategy:

A well-developed efficient marketing strategy for the targeted segments is very trivial for growth of the product. This can be achieved by the following means:

Sector Regulation: Work with industry sector stakeholders to enhance overall tourism sector standards. Develop and implement sector licensing and classification.

Visitor Experience: Improved and consistent visitor experiences founded on unique culture & character. Visitor services program – Advocacy with other departments and agencies to meet the traveler’s needs.

Accessibility: Significantly improved access to and within Abu Dhabi.

Stakeholder Collaboration: Champion the development of the tourism industry with stakeholders.

Tourism Product Development: Foster leisure and business tourism attractions and events.

Promote Abu Dhabi: Promotion of Abu Dhabi as an international destination. Produce a steady stream of innovative event and concepts which are aligned to, and reinforce brand Abu Dhabi.

Job Creation: Increase in skilled tourism employment and generate greater levels of Emirati participation.

Organization Excellence: Increase the organization’s effectiveness by operating with a streamlined structure, well-defined and documented processes and using the latest available technology tools.

Workforce Development: Increase the organization’s effectiveness and efficiencies by recruiting and retaining skilled employees and empowering them to the highest levels of professionalism with a customer focus attitude.

Sustainable Tourism: Promote development of a sustainable tourism sector adding value to the local community.