The tourism system model

The tourism system model The Tourism System In early tourism research, it was argued that by analysing disaggregated components of tourism, it is possible that an understanding of tourism as a whole could be achieved (Pearce, 1989). However, these reductionist claims often result in a failure to explain the different complex relationships, interactions, interdependencies and impacts within the tourism system (Carlsen, 1999). For example, traditional tourism models such as Leiper (1979) tourism system model assumes that tourism players function in a coordinated manner, suggesting that tourism could be controlled in a top-down approach (McKercher, 1999). However, tourism displays all the characteristics of complexity. Failing to acknowledge the elements of uncertainty, chaos, dynamics and non-linearity in tourist systems, these simplistic traditional approaches to tourism seems to become irrelevant and invalid. Tourism is an activity in which people freely engage in, for personal satisfaction or pleasure, where their behaviour is voluntary and discretionary proceeding from ones own free choice (de Freitas, 2002). Thus, tourists participation is expected to decrease as discomfort and dissatisfaction increase. â€Å"Should climate change, so will be the tourism demand† (De Freitas, 2005, 35). Over the years, more sophisticated models have been developed in attempting to explain what tourism is, its composition and the relationships and interactions that exist within it. From the tourist personality type models (Plog 1974; Pearce 1990), Maslows hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954), expectancy theory based on Vrooms theory of work motivation by Witt and Wright (1992) to the Mieczkowski Tourism Climate Index (1985) and the push-pull tourism framework (Dann, 1977; Crompton 1979; Iso-Ahola, 1982, 1989; Klenosky, 2002), these approaches provide different but valuable insights for examining the motivations underlying tourist and visitation behaviour. These models have also been useful for the study of the importance of climate to tourism as well as the research on climate change and tourism, providing an understanding and agreement of the varieties and kinds of activities and stakeholders involved. Climate, a Tourism Resource Climate exists outside of any tourism project. However, it becomes a resource when incorporated within a good or service. This is illustrated by the high demand of North Europeans travelling to the Mediterranean resorts, seeing it as a land of paradise. In addition, climate is often said to delimit optimal zones for tourism at a global and regional scale, as illustrated by the warm tropical zone, considered optimum for sun and beach tourism (Burton 1991). In this way, climate, a natural resource becomes part of the tourism product. All of respondents of the survey agreed that climate is important to tourism with 89% ranking it as â€Å"very important†. With the aim of accessing how climate fares in relation to other important considerations in tourism demand, Table 2.1 illustrates the ranks respondents give to each of the factors relevant to their visit to a country for tourism. Attractions in the destination were viewed as the most important factor followed closely by climate. Of considerable importance to this study which may have been omitted in many studies focusing on the temperate regions, 95% of respondents believed that escaping from their countrys winter cold is at least of some importance in their decision for travel. This shows how weather and climate are intrinsic components of the vacation experience and can act as a central motivator in an individuals selection of holiday destination, the timing of holiday travel as well as a salient factor in tourism spending and holiday satisfaction. This study measures up to many other researches such as that done by Hu and Ritchie (1993). Measuring the importance of destination characteristics, they reviewed several destination image studies from the 1970s and found that â€Å"natural beauty and climate† were of universal importance in defining destinations attractiveness. Using a representative survey, Hamilton and Lau (2005) confirmed that climate is at least the third most popular attribute in tourists decision making. Climate can directly affect tourism. There seems to be a clear connection between weather, climate, and human sensitivity. Atmospheric weather conditions may impact tourist demand, participation, experiences and satisfaction (de Freitas, 2003; Yu et al, 2009). People usually dislike very cold or hot climates and possibly very humid ones probably for good reasons founded in evolutionary biology (Heal and Kristrom, 2002). Survey result of this study proves similar conclusion where 74% of respondents indicate that they were more likely to travel during their countrys winter and 19% during summer. None of the respondents chose autumn and spring as the season they would want to travel out of their country. A warm climate seems to be a huge attraction for many of the mid-latitude tourists with 100% citing a â€Å"hot and sunny† weather condition as the preferred choice in the country they visit, even for those who want to escape the summer heat in their country. This proves Maddison and Bigano (2000) findings that the ideal temperature at the most popular tourist destinations are those offering warmer temperatures of around 31oC. In Context: Sentosa Climate has been argued to be one important component which shapes a destinations image and in some regions of the world, constitutes the resource on which the tourism sector is predicated (Lohmann and Kaim 1999). For example, marketed as â€Å"The Island for All Seasons†, the Mediterranean climate which Cyprus, Greece has been blessed with, has identified as the fundamental attribute attracting tourists to the destination. Mather et al contends that â€Å"the climate is a dominant factor in much of the travel that takes place from northern Europe to the Mediterranean () Not only is the purpose of this mass movement of people primarily leisure-based, visiting a sunny beach destination is the intrinsic reason for travel† (2005, 70). Being a tropical country, Singapore and in particular Sentosa has the perfect conditions for the creation of the ideal tourist coast all-year sunshine, warm water, white sandy carbonate beaches and coral reefs -popularised in the three â€Å"Ss†: sun, sea and sand (Wong, 2003). Sentosa is Singapores premier island resort getaway and Asias leading leisure destination. It receives over 6 million visitors yearly, making it the most visited paid-access attraction in Singapore. According to partial break-down of visitor arrivals to all the paid attractions in Singapore as seen in Figure 2a, it show consistency with Sentosa being the most visited paid-access attraction among all groups of tourists. Thus, it makes a good case study for studying climate as a resource for beach tourism in Singapore. Findings in this study shows that although the warm tropical climate of Singapore appeals to the mid-latitude tourists, inducing them to visit the Island of Sentosa as well as their beaches, weather did not prove to be the ultimate choice affecting tourists decision to Sentosa. In fact, although weather ranks second after attraction/activities, given only a choice, only about one quarter, specifically, 27% of the tourists chose weather to be the most important. One reason for this may be because climate invokes the concept of weather which is what tourists anticipate experiencing at a specific destination and is a key factor of consideration for tourists, consciously or implicitly during travel planning (de Freitas, 2002; Gomez Martin, 2005). Thus, having already considered Singapores hot and humid climate before the trip, factoring in possible weather conditions that might be experienced, attractions and activities that can be found in Singapore is determined to be more important at the expense of weather. This result corresponds to the activities that respondents carry out in Sentosa illustrated in Table 2.2, with â€Å"visiting attractions† being the most carried activities by all tourists during their day in Sentosa. The preference of tourists for certain climatic and weather conditions highlights the relationship between tourism and climate. Naturally, different tourism types and activities require different climatic conditions. Thus, climate is one important variable that influences among other factors, what and when particular kind of tourism activities can be done carried out. For example, climate has been identified as the fundamental attribute attracting tourists to the Mediterranean area (Mather et al, 2005; Amelung and Moreno, 2009). Seeking and enjoying the sun is one of the main reasons why many tourists go away on holiday, evident in 70%-80% of UK holidaymakers citing better climate abroad as the primary reason for their trip (Perry, 1993). Similarly, winter sports depend directly on climatic resources. Without snow or low temperatures for the artificial production of snow, the development of ski resorts would not have been possible (Gomez Martin, 2005). In this study on Sentosa, the activities that can be carried out by tourists (Table 2.2) could be sub-divided into two categories: weather dependent and weather independent. Swimming/sun tanning, picnicking and water sports/playing volleyball is to a large extent dependent on weather, especially to the presence of sunshine and rainfall. Although a large percentage of 59% tourists came to Sentosa specifically for sun tanning and swimming, respondents seems to participate largely also in non weather specific activities such as visiting attractions, shopping and dining in an indoor eatery. This result points to an important fact that although Sentosa depends largely on its beaches as well as some outdoor attractions, they provide a diversified range of activities which tourists are also attracted in but do not solely tap on the appeal of the weather. Climate versus Weather Climate invokes the concept of weather in that it is defined as the accumulation of daily and seasonal weather events over a long period of time whereas, weather is the condition of the atmosphere at any particular time and place (de Freitas, 2002). In a study of this nature, McEvoy (2008: 103) reminds that it is important to differentiate between visitor responses to climate versus weather conditions. Decision-making relating to tourism such as the destination and period of travel has been found to be based largely on climate information. On the other hand, the vacation period is much more weather-dependent and reliant on short term forecasts where actual weather information is more important than climate information (Matzarakis, 2007). The nature of the relationship between the atmospheric environment and the enjoyable pursuit of outdoor recreational activity may be seen to be a function of facets of on-site atmospheric conditions, the weather. Pleasant weather increases tourist satisfaction, whereas severe weather conditions such as rain and strong winds disrupt outdoor activities. In southern Alaska, for example, tour operators noted a marked difference between the sunny, dry summer of 2004 and wet summer of 2006. Although this study fully acknowledges the importance of climate to tourism, with weather being an important factor, survey results show the possibility that destinations may also be chosen in spite of the likely bad weather. Figure 1 illustrates the findings. The result suggests that even if it rains on the day that tourist decides to go to Sentosa, 49% of the respondents would not alter their original plan to visit the island. The reasons cited were more or less similar in that they would â€Å"choose to visit other attractions within Sentosa† and â€Å"stay in indoor venues†. All of the 28% tourists who states that there will be changes to their plans to Sentosa were at Sentosa beach specifically for the purpose of outdoor beach activities such as swimming, sun tanning and picnicking. Therefore, with some tourist activities more sensitive to weather than others, metrological conditions may affect or disrupt the construction of the planned days event. On the other hand, Sentosa Island with many indoor attractions, allows for contingency plans to be made which enables tourists to be independent of weather conditions. With â€Å"visiting attractions† being the most carried out activity for respondents (Table 2.2), as well as â€Å"attraction/activities† cited as the most important factor affecting their decision to visit Sentosa, it suggests why majority of tourists may not change their plans to visit Sentosa even under unforeseen weather events. Therefore, although climate and weather is one of the many factors that may influence tourist decisions, good weather may not be the primary reason for selecting destinations. Weather Forecast Mark Twains famous quote of â€Å"Everybody talks about the weather but no one does anything about it† is often held up as a truism but Twain himself have said this â€Å"aint necessarily so†. Along the same line of argument, Dewar (2005) contends that humans may not be able to alter the day-to-day weather but they do alter their behaviours to either avoid or take advantage of these weather conditions. To some extent as discussed previously, a majority of respondents seems to have predicted that they would alter their behaviours, by visiting indoor attractions to avoid unfavourable rainfall events. Weather forecasting is a useful way to alter ones behaviour or plan activities to suit prevailing weather conditions on the day of event. Favourable climate and weather conditions are essential advantages which influences the degree of satisfaction, allowing tourists to enjoy their holiday activities safely and comfortably, helping them fulfil the desires that originally brought them to the destination (de Freitas 1990, 2003; Blazejczyk, 2001; Gomez-Martin, 2005). However, it is surprising that although 59% of respondents engaged in a pre-planned weather dependent activity of sun tanning and swimming as well as 10% for picnicking, only a small percentage of 13% admitted to have checked the weather forecast before coming to Sentosa.

Pros and Cons of Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Essays

Pros and Cons of Gene Therapy Gene therapy is thought of by some people as an terrific discovery that could greatly improve the human population and also give people with certain disabilities some glimmer of hope. And on the other side of the coin there is some people that think we have no business playing God. They feel that playing God may possibly cause devastating effects to the human gene pool and may also led to misuse. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines gene therapy as the insertion of normal or genetically altered genes into cells usually to replace defective genes especially in the treatment of genetic disorders. By using gene therapy, we can go to t he base of the disorder instead of using drugs to alleviate symptoms. Some diseases that have been treated include ADA Deficiency, familial hypercholesterolemia, cystic fibrosis, cancers that include melanoma, Neuroblastoma, brain tumors and AIDS (Nation al Cancer Institute,1993). Technical Aspects There are three methods used to deliver the genetically altered material. The first method includes either retroviruses or retrotransposons. Retroviruses are viruses that can transfer their own genetic information and also genetically alter the huma n gene. These viruses are unable to copy themselves but still pose a problem in altering protein synthesis when these retroviruses splice a patient’s cells. This is were retroviruses come into play. There are parts of DNA from a cell that â€Å" can copy th emselves onto other sites in the cells genome â€Å" (Glausisus,1996). One type of transposon is a yeast transposon called Ty3. This yeast transposon is still under research. The second method involves blasting genes with a pressurized gun filled with helium (Glausi... ...normal or could led to misuse in other forms. For just these reasons we definitely need RAC (Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee), NIH (National Institutes of Health) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Without these committees the p ossibility of misuse will be greatly enhanced. References 1) Glausisuz,J.(1996).The genes of 1995. 1995:The Year in Science 17,36-38. 2) Macer,D.R.J.Public Acceptance of Human Gene Therapy and Perceptions of Human Genetic Manipualtion.Obtained from the WWW 10/28/96:http//www.biol.tsykuba.ac.jp/~macer/Papers/HGT92:html 3) Britannica On Line: gene therapy. Obtained from the WWW 10/23/96:http://www.eb.com 4) National Cancer Institute.Questions and Answers About Gene Therapy. Obtained from the WWW 10/23/96: http://oncolink.upenn.edu/pdq/600718.html 5) Seligman,J.(1996).Hope for genetic healing. Newsweek,April 15,64.

Culture and Literature Essay

Humans are generally described as unique, not one of us are ever exactly the same to another person. If we put a little logic, unique individuals make up societies, thus societies are also somehow unique to each other. Uniqueness is commonly regarded as a positive trait simply because it makes something interesting. In many respects, the societies of the world would never run out of interesting things to share with each other. And among these interesting things, stories are seemingly the medium of communication that is enjoyed by all cultures. Moreover, listening to stories of a different culture make us learn something about that particular culture. This paper will feature the Chinese classic story â€Å"Journey to the West† by Wu Cheng-en. The story is about an epic adventure of a monkey with superhuman strength able to withstand the 100,000-man army of the heavens. However, the monkey uses his superhuman strength for mischievous acts. As a punishment, Buddha had put a mountain on top of him. After so many years, the monkey fatefully meets a monk. The story teaches us how the Chinese views the aspects of loyalty, responsibility, spirituality, and many other aspects about the Chinese culture. Other cultures could learn many lessons from this Chinese classic such as discipline. Since the monkey was still behaving wildly even though he is freed, the monk had put a headband spell that would contract each time the monkey would act in an undisciplined manner. (Cheng-en 342) All in all â€Å"Journey to the West† by Wu Cheng-en is an action packed epic adventure that is also packed with valuable lessons. It could also be said that he popularity of this particular story had introduced China to the western world. In many respects, this classic of literature is China’s gift to the world that the country is proud and willing to share with other cultures. Work Cited Cheng-en, Wu. Monkey: Folk Novel of China. TN: Grove Press. 1958

Case Presentation Of Old African American And Asian...

Case Presentation Hue is a fourteen year old African-American and Asian transgender female to male, self-referred to the agency for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations on transgender suicide in the media. Hue is a 9th grader in high school, and he describes satisfactory academic progress. He lives with his mother, and visits his father in the summer in Michigan. Hue reports three friends he is close with and one being his best friend for eight years. Hue’s mother does not approve of his friendship with his best friend due to the verbal abuse in the past, but Hue reports that the disagreement was in the past and they have rebuilt their relationship. Hue and his mother both report having a healthy relationship with one another, and they spend quality time talking and doing recreational activities outside the home. Hue’s mother and father have been separated since his birth and were not married to one another. The parents have a cordial relationship and his father pays child support to assist with Hue’s expenses. Hue visits his father during summer breaks because his father complains that it is expensive to arrange transportation to Michigan during the school year. Hue is not upset about the arrangement because his father makes him feel uncomfortable about being transgender. Hue reports that his father is mad about the sexual abuse, Hue experienced two years ago by his paternal cousin. Hue state his father blames him and verbally communicates â€Å"he could have stopped itShow MoreRelatedLgbt19540 Words   |  79 PagesWhat Is LGBT? LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and along with heterosexual they describe peoples sexual orientation or gender identity. These terms are explained in more detail here. Lesbian A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women. Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay. Gay A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay can be used to refer generallyRead MoreThe Sociology of Women: A Study4847 Words   |  19 PagesConstruction of Gender 20 Saudi Rape Case Spurs Calls for Reform 21 13 Myths and Misconceptions about Trans Women Trans woman is a transgender person with a female gender identity. Several myths and misconceptions are associated with Trans women. It is commonly believed that penis is cut off but this is a false perception. Inversion method is used to convert penis to female genital organs. Another myth about Trans women is that they are appropriating the female body, but appropriation refers toRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesvi BRIEF CONTENTS 4 The Organization System 16 Organizational Culture 511 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 18 Organizational Change and Stress Management 577 Appendix A Research in Organizational Behavior Comprehensive Cases Indexes Glindex 637 663 616 623 Contents Preface xxii 1 1 Introduction What Is Organizational Behavior? 3 The Importance of Interpersonal Skills 4 What Managers Do 5 Management Functions 6 †¢ Management Roles 6 †¢ Management