Fundamentals of Tourism Management: Theory and Practice

Description

Tourism industry is the one that deals with the tourists as consumers, the money spent by them, and the resources rendering various goods and services which facilitate the composition of the tourism product. The tourism industry is an extraordinarily complex integration of many industries spread over many sectors. It is an umbrella industry containing a set of inter-related business participants like transport, accommodation, travel companies, recreation and entertainment institutions, handicraft businesses, etc and the provision of the many goods and services demanded by tourists. Interestingly, most of the component industries also get related to varied commercial and non-commercial activities over and above providing their services to the tourists.
Like any other industry the tourism industry draws resources from the economy, adds value and produces marketable products. The only difference here is that no tangible product is produced like in the case of a manufacturing industry. The product in this case is intangible and joint or composite in nature. The marketing therefore involves an approach of selling an ‘experience’ as opposed a an object. This can be tricky as experiences can differ from person to person. The testimonials of a group of people traveling to a place may differ from another group touring the same destination.
This book acts as a comprehensive guide on the various facets of the tourism industry.