COMPONENTS OF A DESTINATION

Defining the destination

 A tourist destination is defined as a physical space, in
which a tourist spends at least one night. It includes
tourism products such as support services, attractions
and tourist resources.
 A destination is hard to delineate (as its borders
depend more on the visiting tourists) for one tourist
a whole country can be a destination while for
another even a little village can be attractive
enough to set off on a journey (For technical reasons
many researchers (Blanke & Chiesa, 2009, Croes,
2010; Dwyer & Kim, 2003; Gomezelj & Mihalic, 2008)
followed the approach of using countries as tourists
destinations.
 Hence destinations can be on any scale, from a whole
country e.g. Zimbabwe, a region e.g. Southern Africa,
an island, a town or village or a self contained area.
 At times, a destination might not be a single place,
but a conceptual entity which incorporates several
destinations and locations
 Buhalis (2000) defines a destination is considered to be
a geographical region which is understood by its visitors
as a unique entity with a political and legislative
framework for tourism marketing and planning.”
 A destination has physical and administrative
boundaries, that define its management and images
and perceptions that define its market competitiveness
Cont…

A destination can be described as a;

 A single entity – one product
 Many products – comprising of every kind of
tourism organisation and operation
 Socio-cultural entity – its history, people,
traditions, way of life
 A concept – in the minds of tourists and
potential visitors
The Destination Amalgam

 Tourism is a multifaceted phenomenon which can be viewed

from different perspectives, depending on the purposes and
interests of the observer (Huttasin et al., 2015).
 Destinations are amalgams of tourism products, offering an
integrated experience to consumers.
 These products include individually produced tourism amenities
and services (accommodation, transportation, catering,
entertainment, etc.) and a wide range of public goods (such as
landscape, scenery, sea, lakes, socio-cultural surroundings,
atmosphere, etc.)
 Destinations offer an amalgam of tourism products and services,
which are consumed under the brand name of the destination.
The 7 A’s
 The destination amalgam, consists of what are commonly
referred to as the six A’s. Traditionally, these were four, primarily
Attractions, Amenities, Accessibility and Ancillary services. They
have however evolved to become the six A’s of tourism with
activities and available packages being added to the list. It is
important to note however, that some authors substitute
available packages with ambience.
 The six A’s can be summarised as follows;

 Attractions (natural, man-made, historical, purpose built, cultural,

heritage, special events)
 Accessibility (transport system comprising of routes, terminals
and vehicles)
Cont…

 Amenities (accommodation and catering facilities,

retailing, other tourist services)
 Ancillary services (services used by tourists such as
banks , insurance , telecommunication , post, news
agents, hospitals , etc.)
 Available packages (pre-arranged packages by
intermediaries and principals, packaged tours)
 Activities (all activities available at the destination and
what consumers will do during their visit e.g. bungee
jumping, boat cruises, guided tours)
 Ambience- the general atmosphere of destination
Attractions
 Attractions are commonly referred to as the raison d’ eté for
tourism.
 PEARCE (1991) “a tourist attraction is a named site with specific
human or natural feature which is the focus of visitor and
management attention”
 Swarbrooke (1995) defines an attraction as a feature in an area or
a focus of activities.
 These are often the focus of visitor attention and may provide the
initial motivation for the tourist to visit the destination.
 According to Cooper et al (2006), the attractions generate the
visit to the destination while the other support services and
facilities are essential for tourism at the destination, but would
not exist without attractions
Cont…

 Attractions should be developed in order to

realize their potential of attracting visitors and
providing an enjoyable experience of the
traveler.
 A tourist attraction can be defined from the
perception of someone who considers it an
attraction.
 The determinants of an attraction are therefore
related to the needs and wants, perceptions and
experiences of tourists.
Types of tourists
attractions
 Video
Cont…
Attractions can be classified as;
 Natural, e.g. Lakes, Mountains, Wildlife, Waterfalls, Niagra Falls, is
Angel Falls-Venezuela, Scenery, beaches eg Watamu, Kenya.
Chitimba, Malawi. Belle Mare, Mauritius, caves- Chinhoyi caves, The
Blue Grotto (Italy) The Cave of the Crystals (Mexico) Krubera Cave
(Georgia)
 Purpose built , e.g. theme parks, casinos, exhibition centers, heritage
centers
 Man made, built for other purposes other than tourism, e.g. the Great
Zimbabwe ruins, religious structures
 Cultural, e.g. Folk dances, Art and Craft, Museums
 Heritage, e.g. Death/burial places of national heroes
 Architectural, e.g. Bridges, Cathedrals,
 Special Events, e.g. Festivals, Sporting events, Expos,
Cont…

 Attractions;
 Set out to attract visitors including day visitors
 Provides fun and leisure experience and an
enjoyable way for people to spend leisure time.
 Provide an appropriate level of facilities to meet an
cater for the demands of the tourists
 May or may not charge an admission for entry
 They are shared with host communities and this can
be source of conflict, where tourism can be
perceived to cause problems.
Accessibility

 This includes, the time taken to reach the

destination, the cost of travelling to the destination
and the frequency of transport to the destination.
 This can be in the form of Sea, Road, Rail and/or Air
transport.
 Attractions should be accessible by at least one or
more modes of transport. In fact a destination
which is accessible using the various modes of
transport in most cases has competitive advantage
over those whose accessibility is limited.
Cont…

 Issues to do with accessibility include the way and

terminals needed that is roads, railways, airports, sea pots
and stations.
 Carriers are also important where travelers will be worried
about the comfort, speed and range on that particular
mode of transport.
 Elements of transportation: there are four elements
namely, terminal , carrying unit, motive power and the way’
 Terminal is the furthest point to which extends, there are
also points of interchange between different forms of
transport.
Ancillary Services
 Ancillary services are provided to the tourist or supplier of tourist
services (Holloway 1998).
 These are not just for tourist use, but are shared with the local
community as well.
They include;
 Banks
 Education and Training Providers
 Internet-sites, Reservation Systems
 Advertising agencies
 Hospital
 Council
 Regional
 District
 City
Available Packages

 Available Packages are offered by travel

agents, tour operators and other travel
intermediaries.
 These are pre-arranged packages by
intermediaries and principals at the
destination.
 Packages, facilitate the tourist’s journey, and
can be sold at the generating region as well as
the destination region
Ambience

 In some cases, available packages can be interchanged with

ambience in the destination amalgam
 Ambience looks at more than the physical tourist related
features.
 It encompasses social and cultural features which give the
destination its atmosphere, for example, Africa is
considered laid back, “There is no hurry in Africa”, Hong
Kong is Vibrant and Johannesburg South Africa is dangerous
 Ambience includes features such as friendliness of locals,
service delivery, history and folklore and the way of life of
local residents.
Activities

 Activities represent whatever the tourist shall

engage in, and what could be done by tourists
while they are in the destination.
 They are commonly referred to as, the things
to do and things to see at the destination area.
 Examples include; Skiing, Camel rides,
Elephant rides, Bird Watching, Canoeing,
Walking Safaris, Surfing, Sun Bathing, e.t.c
 Activities are the fun part of a tourist’ stay.
Amenities
 Amenities are support services and facilities which support the
visitor’s stay such as accommodation, food and beverage outlets,
retailing, sport facilities, entertainment , shopping facilities etc.
 These support services are essential but some would not exist
without tourism especially in the case of resort towns.
 The retailing sector includes shopping centers with travel
agencies, banks ,clothing, photo souvenir shops etc.
 Other support services include information services, security
services, insurances, medical care, and these tend to locate close
to the main attractions of the destination.
 The range of support facilities increases according to the size of
the destination
Cont…
Amenities are basically the infrastructure and
superstructure of a destination.

Infrastructure
 Roads
 Waste disposal
 Sewerage system
 Electricity
 Water
 Harbour – water quality
Cont…
Superstructure
 Buildings and structures covering area that
cannot exist successfully without a good
infrastructure, e.g. Airport, Sea port
 Societal structure
 Culture
 Rules
 Rituals
 Community
Destination Life Cycle

 The destination development model is utilised to

show the evolution of a destination.
 Like most products, destinations have a lifecycle. 
 Butler (1980), proposed a widely-accepted model
of the lifecycle of a tourist destination, commonly
known as the Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC model)
and it has proved to be an important aspect in
articulating the evolution of the tourist resort.
Tourist Area Lifecycle Model
Butler (1980)
Cont…

According to Butler (1980), resort areas undergo a six staged

evolutionary cycle

1. Exploration stage
 The basic idea of Butler’s 1980 Tourism Area Life Cycle
(TALC) model is that a destination begins as relatively
unknown and visitors initially come in small numbers
restricted by lack of access, facilities and local knowledge.
 Only small numbers of adventure tourists (explorers,
allocentrics, poets and painters) discover the destination,
making individual, non-institutionalized travel arrangements
and having limited impacts on the area.

Cont…

 Tourists are welcomed by the locals. The resort is isolated

with little or no development.
 A limited number of businesses exist and the facilities
provided are used and owned by locals with no specific
facilities provided for visitors.
 The use of local facilities and contact with local residents are
therefore likely to be high, which may itself be a significant
attraction to some visitors.
 The physical fabric and social milieu of the area would be
unchanged by tourism, and the arrival and departure of
tourists would be of relatively little significance to the
economic and social life of the permanent residents.
Involvement stage

 The first hotel, ‘pioneer hotel’ is built to higher-than-local standards

and this catalyses tourism development at the destination.
 This hotel draws a new sort of tourist to the destination, tourists’
numbers increase, as well as tourism impacts.
 Given the success of the first hotel in attracting tourists, there is a
kind of “neighborhood effect” with the increase in the construction
of more accommodation, infrastructure, commercial, and
recreational facilities.
 A road is constructed for access to the hotel.
 Visitors from the overcrowded urban centers are attracted by the
relaxing and unspoiled landscape of the resort.
Cont…
 As numbers of visitors increase and assume some regularity, some
local residents will begin to provide facilities, primarily or even
exclusively for visitors.
 Some jobs are created for locals and the demand of foreigners’
leads to the production of local handicraft, and art items for sale to
tourists.
 Contact between visitors and locals can be expected to remain high
and, in fact, increase for those locals involved in catering for visitors.
 Pressures may be placed on the public sector to provide
infrastructure and other facilities for visitors, and a seasonal pattern
emerges.
 At this stage community begins to adapt to the tourist trade and
advertising to attract tourists can be anticipated.
Development stage

 The number of tourists’ increases and at peak periods far outweighs the size of
the local population and this is helped by the improvement of accessibility.
 The development stage reflects a well-defined tourist market area, shaped in
part by heavy advertising and as the stage progresses, local involvement and
control of development will decline rapidly.
 Some locally provided facilities will have disappeared, being superseded by
larger, more elaborate, and more up-to-date facilities provided by external
organizations, particularly for visitor accommodation.
 The number of incoming workers increases
 Natural and cultural attractions will be developed and marketed specifically, and
these original attractions will be supplemented by man-made imported
facilities.
 Changes in the physical appearance of the area will be noticeable, and it can be
expected that not all of them will be welcomed or approved by all of the local
population.
Cont…
 Regional and national involvement in the planning and provision of
facilities will almost certainly be necessary and, again, may not be
completely in keeping with local preferences.
 The number of tourists at peak periods will probably equal or exceed the
permanent local population.
 As this stage unfolds, imported labour will be utilized .The type of tourist
will also have changed, as a wider market is drawn upon, representing the
mid-centric of Plog’s classification or Cohen’s institutionalized tourist.
 Local agricultural and cattle production cannot provide the quantity and
perhaps the quality of food demanded by enterprises and many foods are
imported. Likewise the local handicraft production is not enough and
imported souvenirs are sold in the shops of the resort.
 Large-scale investments are undertaken and local involvement and
control of development declines rapidly and the tourist trade is taken over
by outsiders.
Consolidation stage

 The consolidation stage is entered when the rate of increase in numbers of

visitors begins to decline, although total numbers will still increase, and
total visitor numbers exceed the number of permanent residents.
 A major part of the economy will be tied to tourism. Marketing and
advertising will be wide-reaching .
 Major franchises and chains in the tourist industry will be represented but
few, if any, additions will be made.
 The large numbers of visitors and facilities provided for them will arouse
opposition and discontent among locals, particularly those not involved in
the tourist industry in any way, as it results in some deprivation and
restrictions upon their activities.
 The resort cities will have well-defined recreational business districts, and,
depending upon the length of time involved, old facilities may now be
regarded as second rate and far from desirable.
Cont…
 In the consolidation stage there is construction of more accommodation
establishments and businesses and the indigenous population is being
pushed further away from the resort.
 Construction follows international standards rather than the traditional
local one.
 As the amount of capital for construction increases, buildings are getting
greater and taller and high-rise hotels along and at back of beaches for
example indicate the resort has reached the ‘international’ form”
(Johnston, 2001:14).
 Attractions such as beaches become inaccessible for the locals because of
the ribbon development of accommodation establishments, businesses
and second homes along the shore.
 A major part of the local economy is tied to tourism, but native residents
may find themselves excluded from major attractions.
 As a result of an oversupply of hotel rooms and other tourist facilities,
prices fall
Stagnation stage

 The tourism landscape becomes dominant and little room is available

for further expansion. The resort has become urbanized and its capacity
levels are reached or exceeded, to the extent that it loses the local
quality that made it attractive in the first place.
 Tourism related developments as well as the increasing tourist activities
have led to the degradation of the resort complex and the tourist
product has been seriously weakened or diminished (Young, 1983).
 There will be a heavy reliance on repeat visitation and strenuous efforts
will be needed to maintain the level of visitation.
 Natural and genuine cultural attractions will probably have been
superseded by imported ‘artificial’ facilities.

 
Cont…
 The resort image becomes divorced from its geographic
environment.
 Although the resort now has a well-established image, it is no
longer in fashion and property turnover is high.
 Few new establishments open, facilities depreciate in value and
local ownership of tourist facilities increases.
 The type of visitor can also be expected to change towards the
organized mass tourist identified by Cohen and the
psychocentric described by Plog.
 The end of the cycle is marked by the post-stagnation phase,
which may result in decline, if the tourist market continues to
wane and the resort is not able to compete with newer resorts,
or rejuvenation.
Decline
 In the decline stage the area will not be able to compete with newer
attractions and so will face a declining market, both spatially and numerically.
 It will no longer appeal to vacationers but will be used increasingly for
weekend or day trips, if it is accessible to large numbers of people.
 Tourist facilities will be replaced by non-tourist related structures, as the area
moves out of tourism.
 Local involvement in tourism is likely to increase at this stage, as employees
and other residents are able to purchase facilities at significantly lower prices
as the market declines.
 Hotels may become condominiums, convalescent or retirement homes, or
conventional apartments, since the attractions of many tourist areas make
them equally attractive for permanent settlement, particularly for the elderly.
 Ultimately, the area may become a veritable tourist slum or lose its tourist
function completely.
Rejuvenation

 This stage requires a complete change in the tourist attractions. There are basically
two ways of achieving rejuvenation.
 One is the addition of a man-made attraction, as in the case of Atlantic City’s
gambling casinos. However, if neighboring and competing areas follow suit, the
effectiveness of the measure will be reduced
 An alternative approach to rejuvenation is to take advantage of previously
untapped natural resources. Spa towns in Europe and the summer holiday village
of Aviemore in Scotland have experienced rejuvenation by a reorientation to the
winter sports market, thus allowing the areas to experience a year-round tourist
industry.
 The development of new facilities becomes economically feasible, and
simultaneously serves to revitalize the older summer holiday trade.
 As new forms of recreation appear, it is not impossible that other tourist areas will
find previously unappreciated natural resources to develop.
 Eventually, however, it can be expected that even the attractions of the
rejuvenated tourist area will lose their competitiveness .
Points to note
 It must be noted that not all areas experience the stages of the cycle as clearly as
others. The establishment of what has become known as the ‘instant resort’ is a case
in point. Under these circumstances the development phase becomes the real
commencement of the cycle.
 An increase in either visitors or time in the model implies a general reduction in
overall quality and attractiveness after capacity levels are reached.
 The shape of the curve must be expected to vary for different areas, reflecting
variations in such factors as rate of development, numbers of visitors, accessibility,
government policies and numbers of similar competing areas.
 Each improvement in accessibility to a recreation area results in significantly
increased visitation and an expansion of the market area. If development of facilities
and accessibility is delayed, the exploration period may be much longer than
anticipated
 The classic, well-established tourist areas of the world (i.e. those which have been
popular over several decades), frequently reveal evidence of having passed through
all of the postulated stages. such as the Grand Isle resort of Louisiana (Meyer-
Arendt, 1985), Malta (Oglethorpe, 1984), Vancouver Island (Nelson and Wall, 1986)
etc.
Strengths of the model

 It is useful in interpreting and explaining the past

and can be utilised as one of the prime
attractions in the tourist destinations. It enables
targeting the right type of tourist at each stage
 In the context of fully-developed destinations
the TALC model could be utilised in a strategic
manner to instigate action to prevent the decline.
 It is a useful tool for understanding the
development patterns of mass tourism
destinations. 
Limitations

 Agarwal (1994) notes that the model should have alternative and
additional stages after the stagnation stage of the original model.
 Baum notes that the original TALC Model does not acknowledge the
probability of having further stages which could take place as
associated alternatives to either decline or rejuvenation.
 Other researchers found Butler’s model incapable of explaining the
tourism evolution of some resorts and proposed modifications or
alternative models that better fitted the development process of
particular resorts.
 Choy (1992) suggested that it is better to treat each destination
individually, as a unique entity, and taking the case of Pacific island
destinations, proposed that different approaches may be required
from those which have been applied to other regions of the world.
Cont…
 Exceptions to the process may also occur in case authorities decide
to control development and limit the construction of tourist
facilities before the destination reaches the stagnation stage.
 In this case the resort remains in the involvement, development or
consolidation stage and is slow to reach the remaining stages of
evolution.
 In addition, there is a possibility to jump stages (Prideaux, 2000).
 As Goncalves and Aguas (1997:13) state about more recently
developed destinations; the first stage is being gradually reduced
and sometimes even disappears, giving as example the Cancun of
Mexico, where the resort has been transformed rapidly to a mass
tourist destination without passing the first stages of resort cycle.
Doxey’s Irridex Model – Doxey 1975

 As destinations go through a life cycle, so does the host community.

 According to Doxey (1975), the host community goes though four
stages, as tourism development increases. These are as follows;

 Euphoria: Visitors are welcome and there is little planning

 Apathy: Visitors are taken for granted and contact becomes
more formal
 Annoyance: Saturation is approached and the local people
have misgivings. Planners attempt to control via increasing
infrastructure rather than limiting growth
 Antagonism Open expression of irritation and planning is
remedial yet promotion is increased to offset the deteriorating
reputation of the resort