THE TERTIARY SECTOR

1. The tertiary sector

2. Transport
3. Tourism
4. Trade
5. Telecommunications
6. Other tertiary activities
THE TERTIARY SECTOR
 1. The tertiary sector
The tertiary sector involves activities that do not produce material products but, instead, provide
individuals, companies and the government with services such as transport, medical care, tourism,
education, administration and banking.

Characteristics The impact of the tertiary sector

It’s one of the indicators of the grade of

• Changes in people’s lives improvements
development of the countries. This is because
in working conditions, and variety of jobs,
primary sector activities are largely moved to
more leisure facilities.
countries where labour is cheaper.

It became the most important economic sector Natural landscapes have suffered as a result
during the last quarter of the 20th century. of intense programmes of land development
for the services industry, such as the
construction of golf courses, theme parks,
sports centres, commercial areas and large
• Classification of services
transport networks.
o Public services
o Mixed services
o Private services
PUBLIC SERVICES
 2. Transport
Transport is the moving of people and goods from a point of origin to a destination, using road,
rail, air or water transport. It is essential for the sucessful connectivity, or communication, in the
tertiary sector.

Types of transport The impact of transport

• Road transport: over medium to • Changing the terrain: networks of roads and
long distance for people or heavy rail.
goods.

• Improving speed. High velocity trains

• Sea transport – with container deliver people faster but many smaller
ships for heavy goods. In Europe, towns en route have been isolated because
too, there is a large network of the lines have been taken away.
rivers such as the Rhine which are
navigable for this kind of transport.
• The creation of infrastructure and new
• Air: Light goods and people over landscapes. Airports etc.
long distances.

Transformation and development of key

locations
TRANSPORT
 3. Tourism
Tourism refers to the movement of people away from their regular home or place of residence to another
area, for leisure and for a period of longer than a day.
• social, cultural and economic, and its importance continues to
grow because it allows people to become more familiar with
other cultures and provides the economy with an important
source of income.

Cultural tourism • Visiting places for their historical and cultural value.

Important tourism areas in the world • Estados Unidos, Países mediterráneos, Resto de Europa, Costas
del Caribe, China y sudeste de Asia, otras zonas (Brasil, India,
Canadá, Australia, Sudáfrica, Argentina, Chile

• Rural tourism, including ecotourism and nature tourism. This

Rural tourism includes safaris, hiking and mountain sports

• Makes the most impact on the environment, but brings in the

Beach and sun tourism most money because of high volume.

Other types of tourism • Theme parks, cruises, etc.

TOURISM
 4. Trade
Trade is an economic activity which involves the buying and selling of products and services.
Depending onits nature and where it’s based, it could be domestic or international trade.

Domestic trade International trade

• Imports and exports.

Wholesale trade. Carried out by
companies who buy large amounts of
products directly from the
manufacturer in order to sell the
products on to the retailers.
Retail trade. Retailers sell products
directly to consumers. Examples of
this activity are shops, supermarkets
and hypermarkets. It also involves
selling products by mail, phone,
television and the Internet.
• Trade balance = the difference between exports
and imports
• ‘Developed’ countries (the European Union,
Canada, the USA, Japan and South Korea) import
raw materials and energy sources and export
manufactured products.
• Less developed regions (Africa, South America and
parts of Asia) export raw materials and sources of
energy, and import manufactured products
(industrial and technological).
• Trading blocs: EU, NAFTA, Mercosur and APEC
TRADE. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
 5. Telecommunications
Telecommunications systems are long-distance systems that use cables or electromagnetic
waves: television, radio, or data sharing between computers are all forms of
telecommunications.

• one of the most important areas of

economic activity due to the amount of
jobs it creates.

• Information and communications technology (ICT)

dominates all activities.

• The Internet has been one of the major advances in telecommunications. It

is a worldwide computer network that allows the efficient and effective
exchange of information between its members.
TELECOMUNICATIONS
6. OTHER TERTIARY SECTOR ACTIVITIES
Banking activities
Education and culture
• International funds and organisations
that provide financial assistance (lending
with interest) to developing countries,
such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, which • Education is one of the markers of a
promote economic cooperation. The country’s development. In more developed
European Central Bank was created by countries education is free and obligatory.
the European Union to maintain the
stability of prices in the Eurozone.
• Culture is a mix of ideas, traditions, and
Health customs for the country or a social group.

• There’s a free service for its citizens in

advanced country. Another indicator/marker
of the development of a country.
OTHER TERTIARY ACTIVITIES:HEALTH,
EDUCATION, BANKING