The tourism network is defined as “a partnership involving different interacting elements, such as the

tourists, enterprises, institutions, and the host communities.” The travel industry is a tourism network,
which includes both the public and private sectors.
The travel industry is a composite of organizations, both private and public, that are involved in the
development, production, and marketing of products and services to serve the needs of travelers.
 Tourism businesses and corporations regarded as components of the tourism industry are
categorized as:
 Direct Providers. This category involves businesses that provide services, activities, and products
consumed and purchased directly by travelers/tourists. They also represent the sectors of the
industry that are accessible to travelers. These businesses are associated with travel such as airlines,
hotels, restaurants, ground transportation, travel agencies, and retail shops.
 Support Services. They lend support to direct providers. Support services provide products and
services to direct providers who then sell these products and services directly to tourists. A good
example is a tour wholesaler who prepares tour packages and sells them through travel agencies
that directly sell them to clients. In this example, the traveler who purchases the tour package
receives the service indirectly from the support service provider. This category includes specialized
services such as tour organizers, travel and trade publications, hotel management firms, and travel
research companies. The term support services also entail other basic supplies and services such as
laundry and food services.
• Developmental Organizations. This category deals with tourism development
that is more complex and broader in scope compared to the production of daily
travel services. Developmental organizations, government agencies, in particular,
create and enforce laws or rules for the benefit of tourism stakeholders. The
impact of their decisions is more long-term in nature than the direct providers
and support services that focus more on operations. These organizations include
planners, government agencies, financial institutions, real estate developers, and
educational and vocational training institutions.
 The tourism system can be defined as a framework that shows the interaction between tourism
demand, the bridging components between supply and demand, and the tourism supply at a
destination. The components of the tourism system are the following
 Tourism demand is the number of people that plan to purchase tourism products supported by
sufficient purchasing power (IGI Global, n.d.). Demand consists of the determinants of demand,
motivations, and buyer behavior.
 The determinants of tourism demand are those factors at work in any society that drive and set
limits to the volume of a population’s demand for holidays and travel. The determinants of
demand consist of economic factors, comparative prices, demographic factors, geographic
factors, socio-cultural attitudes to tourism, mobility, government/regulatory bodies, media
communications, and information and communication technology.
 Tourism demand is also sensitive to changes in the supply of products and the capacity of supply.
For an individual consumer, tourism competes with other products or services (such as a personal
computer, home improvements, or fitness services) for a share of the budget. A widespread
reaction to special offers on occasions or fairs can shift tourism demand in a country.
Travel motivation is the inner state of a person or certain needs and wants of the tourists that
can be considered one of the most important psychological influences of tourist behavior or
buyer behavior.
These motivations and buyer behavior created a competition to serve customer needs, and it is
that competition that governs the actions of the travel trade.
Bridging Components
The bridging components in the tourism system are suppliers connected to tourists through
tourism marketing channels consisting mainly of intermediaries (such as tour operators, retail
trade, and meeting and convention planners) and facilitators who assist in the efficient
functioning of the tourism system (i.e., flow of information, marketing, money, knowledge). The
bridging elements of the tourism system are very often considered as an extension of the tourism
supply. These components are visible in transport infrastructures, such as highways, roads,
railways, air and sea connections, and marketing intermediaries. While the service in the travel
trade is intangible as the service they provide is coordination between their customer and the
suppliers at the destination.
TOURIS
M
SUPPLY
 Tourism supply refers to all assets, services, and goods enjoyed or purchased and occasioned by tourists. In the
tourism system, the supply at the destination is the key element, with the ability to attract people to destinations.
Most tourists want to go to other places for various reasons, and the attractions or services of the destination are part
of their motivations. The following are the components of the tourism supply:
 Natural resources refer to the physical characteristics of an area that can be generalized as natural scenery, climate,
and environment. These include the elements in an area for the use and enjoyment of visitors, such as climate,
landforms, terrain, flora, fauna, bodies of water, beaches, natural beauty, and water supply for drinking, sanitation,
and similar uses. Examples are the beaches in the Maldives, Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna, Rizal, and Mt. Daraitan in
Tanay, Rizal.
 Infrastructure comprises all underground and surface developmental constructions that make business activity
possible. It also supports superstructure by providing water supply systems, sewage disposal systems, electrical and
communication systems, drainage systems, and other constructed facilities such as highways, railroads, bridges,
parking lots, parks, docks, and buses and train stations. Examples are the Golden Gate Bridge in New York, Grand
Canal in Venice, San Juanico Bridge in Leyte, and Patapat Bridge in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
 Superstructure includes above-ground facility services where business activities occur. Examples of superstructures
are airport buildings, terminals, hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, malls, museums, stores, and other
entertainment areas. Examples of known superstructures are the National Museum in Manila, the Enchanted
Kingdom in Santa Rosa, Laguna, The Forum Shops in Las Vegas, and Mirazur Restaurant in Menton, France.
 Transportation and Transportation Equipment. Transportation is the movement of
goods or people from one place to another. Transportation equipment includes
ships, airplanes, trains, buses, limousines, taxis, automobiles, cog railways, aerial
tramways, and similar passenger transportation facilities. Examples are jeepneys
and tricycles in the Philippines, underwater trains in Dubai, cable cars in Malaysia,
and Tuk-Tuk vehicles in Thailand.
 Hospitality Resources. These refer to the general feeling of welcome that visitors
receive while visiting a destination and how service providers deliver tourist
services. It also includes the general feeling of warmth from the local population. In
the tourism and hospitality industry, the success or failure of businesses and
destinations depends on their service (Freeman & Glazer, 2015). Providing more
hospitable services to tourists will leave them satisfied and willing to come back
and give positive feedback and recommendations to other potential tourists
through word of mouth.
TOURISM SYSTEM
FLOW
• The relationship between supply and demand,
via the bridging components, is a two-way link
(see Figure 1). Tourism demand (determinants,
motivations, and buyer behavior) is assessed by
the bridging components (transportation, travel
intermediaries, and marketing intermediaries),
providing the essential link between supply and
demand. Travel intermediaries make agreements
with destination supply firms to support their
customers while at the destination. The tourism
supply (includes but is not limited to attractions,
services/facilities, and infrastructure) provides
the resources enjoyed and consumed by
tourists.
 TOURISM SUPPLY CHAIN

 The tourism industry involves transactions with different sectors to operate. Zhang
et al. (2012) defined the tourism supply chain (TSC) as “a network of tourism
organizations engaged in different activities ranging from the supply of different
components of tourism products/services such as flights and accommodation to
the distribution and marketing of the final tourism product at a specific tourism
destination, and involves a wide range of participants in both the private and public
sectors.”
 Service Flow
 shows the tourism supply chain (TSC) wherein the service flow from the first tier is
composed of direct suppliers (accommodation, transportation, and excursion
providers) that directly supply tourism services to intermediaries (tour
operators/agents). The tour operator/agent buys individual travel services from the
suppliers and assembles them into tour packages sold to customers/tourists. Upon
consuming the tourism products, service providers must ask for feedback from
their customers and use this to improve their products and services. This will
mitigate any chance of losing income and gain more clients due to the customer
service- based nature of this industry.