Trends in tourism
Aside from visiting remote destinations, tourists are increasingly visiting ‘second cities’. ‘Second cities’ refer to the lesser-known destinations in a country that offer tourism experiences. These places are often promoted to avoid exceeding the carrying capacity in tourist hotspots. ‘Second cities’ travel therefore aims to divert tourists away from tourist hot spots and enable their environments to recover.
‘Second cities’ enable tourists to fulfil their need for unique travel experiences in crowd-free environments. Moreover, the travelling costs are often much lower as compared to tourist hotspots. These destinations are becoming more popular, especially among younger travellers, as social media and online platforms increase tourists’ awareness of these places.
e.g. Many fans of the world famous football clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United visit Manchester city to view the home stadiums and watch their favourite team play.
Adventure tourism
A form of tourism where tourists travel to natural environments and participate in challenging physical activities such as mountain climbing and skydiving. Adventure tourism mainly occurs in places of natural beauty where tourists can enjoy scenic views. Often, adventure tourists seek to achieve personal growth and self-fulfilment by taking part in these challenging tourist activities.
Watch the video below which featured adventure tourism in Egypt.
Heritage tourism
A form of tourism where tourists participate in activities to experience its culture and learn about its history. Heritage tourism occurs in places with rich history and cultures. Often, places which have been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status attract many tourists. By experiencing the culture and learning about the history of the place, heritage tourists are able to fulfil their need to understand rich and diverse global cultures outside of their home country.
For example, the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru attracts more than a million tourists every year. Many are attracted to learn more about the history and culture of the ancient city and its inhabitants. Watch the video below to find out why Machu Picchu attracts tourists to its heritage.
Watch the video below which explores heritage tourism in Malaysia
Sports tourism
A form of tourism where tourists either observe or participate in sporting events. Sports tourism often occurs in places where sporting events are held. These places often come equipped with sporting facilities to host the events such as stadiums, courts and race tracks. Sports tourists who participate in the events seek to achieve personal growth and self-fulfilment, while those who observe the events may seek to enjoy the event and escape the stress of work.
For example, during the English Premier League, thousands of overseas football fans visit the city of Manchester to watch their favourite football team, Manchester United or Manchester City, play .
Watch the video below on sports tourism.
Health tourism
A form of tourism where tourists travel to seek medical care or activities to enhance their physical, mental or spiritual wellness.
This can help fulfil tourists’ need for self-fulfilment or personal growth.
Often, health tourism occurs in places with renowned medical services or wellness facilities.
Many health tourists seek medical procedures in these destinations to improve their health as they:
are relatively cheaper than those in their home countries
have a shorter waiting time
may not be available in their home country
Aside from medical procedures, health tourists may participate in activities to relax and enhance their overall health such as yoga retreats and hot spring tours
Watch the following videos which show popular health tourism destinations:
South Korea receives more than 2 million health tourists in 2018 who seek cosmetic procedures such as plastic surgery and non-cosmetic procedures to treat their medical issues. This is due to South Korea’s advanced medical technologies and renowned medical services as shown in Fig. 16.
Thailand is a well-known tourist destination as well as a great medical and wellness hub. It has been improving its’ healthcare throughout years, implementing the best medical practices. As a result, Thailand’s healthcare system is ranked 6th best in the world accordingly to international GHS index. The leading private hospital in the region - Bumrungrad provides world-class medical services.
Tour operators can be categorised into two groups:
Mass market tour operators
A person or company who creates package tours that caters to large groups of people, also known as mass tourism.
These package tours often include other tourism services such as transport and accommodation. Often, these operators buy these services in large quantities at low costs. Tourists are attracted to these tours as they are relatively cheaper.
These tours remain popular with tourists as:
they take out the hassle of booking the different tourism services.
many tourists trust the tour operators’ knowledge of the destinations and their ability to provide help when things go wrong.
Example: Klook is one of Singapore’s largest mass market tour operators. They offer a large variety of tours to many destinations around the world at relatively affordable prices.
Specialist tour operators
A person or company who supplies tours for niche interests. They specialise in specific destinations or tourism experiences that many mass market tour operators do not usually offer. Hence, tours for niche travel are not widely purchased as compared to package holidays
However, niche travel is increasing in popularity due to the increasing use of the internet and social media which are creating greater interests for them. They are experts in these experiences and destinations, enabling them to give advice and recommendations to the tourists.
These tours are often customisable as they cater to small groups of tourists, unlike package tours.
Example: Quark Expeditions specialises in tours to the Arctic and Antarctica, offering experiences ranging from sea kayaking to iceberg cruising.