iGCSE Travel & Tourism

4.3 Describe support facilities for travel and tourism

Starter
What do you think is meant by the
term ‘infrastructure’?
Learning Objectives

►To be able to define infrastructure and to explain how

it supports the number of visitors in a country

►Type and range of accommodation

►Local public transport provision and relationship with

improved accessibility
Activity
► Watch this video – as you are watching you need to list as many
ways as to how Dubai would need to ‘develop’ the country to
facilitate tourists over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgS41FdEUVM
Infrastructure
►Refers to features of the built environment
►Includes the basic facilities such as:
►services and installations – utilities (water, sewage,
power)
►Roads
►Telecommunications
►Education
►Health facilities
In terms of T&T

►This means provisions of transport facilities including:

A....p....., s........... And r......... Networks.

►Initial infrastructure development in a country is

publicly funded.

►what does this mean?

Clue: it has to do with the government
Infrastructure in T&T

►As destinations start to develop – private

organisations are encouraged to invest further.

►E.g. Building of hotels, tourist attractions and

other facilities that tourist may need.
►Once a destination is developed it is better at
supporting a wide range of tourism activities

►Developing the country would attract more tourist

which would lead to what? £

►Why would development be greater in MEDC’s than

LEDC’s?

►Lets read! Case study 3 page: 154

Range of Accommodation

►List all the

accommodation types

►Explain how one might

differ from another
Keywords

►Construction of new hotels can contribute to

infrastructure – can also determine the
success of a destination

►All accommodation is either serviced or self

catering
 Main Types Of Accommodation - Hotel
►One of most common serviced accommodations
►Some are small individual companies some are part of
international chains which have a broad
product/service mix

►Examples on page: 156

Hostel
►Inexpensive
►Offer both serviced or self catering facilities
►Usually targeted at school groups or independent
travellers looking for budget accommodation – what
type of segment?
►Offer dormitory style as well as private rooms
Camping Site
►Overnight stays outdoors
►Can pitch own tent or rent
►Some may be like holiday
centres which offer a wide
range of facilities
►Camping sites are usually
privately owned
Economies Of Operation

►Many accommodation providers are small and

privately owned but there are also a few large
international chains

►E.g. Hilton, Marriott, Novotel, Intercontinental

etc.

►These are known as branded multiples – this is

where the hotel group uses the same hotel
model
Measuring The Scale Of The Sector

► National tourist authorities produce statistics about the

number of bed spaces in destinations – why do you think this is
done?

► It indicates to which extent the demand (for that destination)

is matched by supply

► E.g. If the destination can only supply 200 beds but the
demand is 1000 the destination will lose out.
Investment

►Key component in choices - The availability of quality,

value for money accommodation

►Investment in developing accommodation is mainly

private. Including: refurbishment – usually done every
5-7 years

Why do the accommodation sector refurbish?

Measures Of Efficient Operation
How can the popularity of different types of
accommodation be measured?
Measures Of Efficient Operation

►Occupancy rate – this is the number of beds/rooms

that have been occupied against the beds/room
available over a given period of time

►Usually measured on a yearly basis and given as a

percentage
Occupancy Rates
►E.g. Singapore had a occupancy rate of 75.8% in 2009
– what does this tell us?

►Occupancy rates are calculated from the internal

records of individual hotels

►These are then reported to national tourism

authorities and collated for the particular destination
Classification & Grading
► Classification – to group or arrange something

► Grading – Giving a scoring level

Why are these important for accommodation?

► People need to know what to expect especially if they

are travelling for the first time.

► To help tourist accommodation types have adopted a

classification or grading scheme
How are they classified?

►Strict criteria’s relating to the following:

✔ Quality of facilities offered
✔ Quality of the customer service provided

►Government departments are usually inspect

these and classify accordingly

►The most common is ratings

Ratings 1-5*
► After inspectors assess they give the hotel a rating (1 lowest, 5
highest)

► The more stars the higher the quality and the range of
facilities offered

► Some hotels surpass this level of luxury and receive 6-7*

Guesthouses – U.K

►U.K have adopted a grading scheme for

guesthouses – works in the same way but uses a
diamond symbol instead of a star.
Facilities provided for Business/leisure
tourists
Accommodation providers develop specific products
and services targeting to their 2 main visitor segments:

►Business tourist
►Leisure tourist
Business Tourists

►The market is strong

►Hotels offer conference/meeting facilities – venues
equipped with modern technology
►Catering services – refreshments etc
►Business centre for photo copying, printing etc
Leisure Tourists
►Provide leisure and spa clubs to attract more customers
►Wider range of in-room services such as in room
entertainment (TV’s, cable/satellite, MP3 players etc)
Local Public Transport Provision
►Public transport facilities form an essential
part of support facilities offered to tourists in a
destination

►Effective public transport systems improves the

accessibility (easily reaching or entering a
destination)
Local Public Transport Provision

►It is beneficial for residents as well as tourists as it is a

cheap method

►Examples:
►Using a water taxi in Maldives
►Airport express train in Hong Kong
►Public coaches
Rapid Transit Systems
►Used to transport large numbers of people as quickly
as possible
►Usually used around large towns and cities

►Example: London underground

Worldwide transport in relation to major
international routes

What do you think is meant by

international routes?
Hubs

A transport hub (also transport

interchange) is a place where passengers
and cargo are exchanged or pass through to
get to another connecting service
Gateway

►Name given to any destination or main point of

access to a country because of its location and
its transport links

►This can be a seaport, airport etc.

►Used to exit and enter areas

Air Transport
►We will identify some of the main
intercontinental routes (travelling between
continents)

►Increased tech has allowed a greater variation

of long haul flight options

►Increased air passengers has also increased the

number of hubs and airports
Types Of Air Transport Operation

►Flights can be international or domestic

►Page 163/164 – IMPORTANT

►E.G. United Airlines serves a total of 114 different

destinations in 31 countries.
Types Of Air Transport Operation

► Different airlines use different airports as their base.

► The following are based in which AIRPORT – NOT COUNTRY..

►Qatar airways ?
►British airways ?
►Emirates ?
Scheduled Services

►This is operated according to a published timetable and

is mainly used by national airlines and open to public

►Low cost airlines (such as EasyJet, Fly Dubai) also offer

this but the service offered is different. E.g. You may
have to pay extra to select your seat – these are called
‘no frills services’
Chartered Services

►This is when all the seats are pre-booked by a tour

operator such as Monarch Airlines in the UK

►Usually pre-booked for package holidays

Operating Economies Of Air Transport
►The airline industry transports two billion passengers
every year.

►It creates millions of jobs both directly and indirectly

– what does this mean?

►The economic impact of air transport is considerable

but also fluctuates due to recession
Operating Economies Of Air Transport

►To overcome the effects of recession and increases in

oil prices – airlines reduce costs

►Many airlines can ‘fail’ during recession especially low

cost ones
Airline Expenses

List the expenses you think airlines

may have?
Airline Expenses
1. Fuel (continually increasing in price and is around
25.3% of airline costs)
2. Labour (24.8% of costs)
3. Aircraft insurance premiums
4. Maintenance costs
5. Landing fees
6. Advertising and promotion
7. Air navigation service charges
8. Food and beverage supplier costs
9. Travel agency commission and ticketing cost
How can they reduce costs?
►E-tickets

►Online bookings (saves them

having to pay commission)

►Using different methods of

advertising/promoting
Keywords:
►Regulation – the measures and controls that
exist over industry practices (principles or rule)

►Deregulation – when the industry becomes

‘self-regulating’ i.e. Airlines assume
responsibility for the routes they offer and
charge
Regulation and deregulation of air transport

►With air traffic – the standards of safety and

how they are managed is controlled through
regulation either at a national or international
level

►Many believe that regulation offers better

consumer protection with an authority
ensuring that the industry does not come
under a monopoly
Plenary
►In a short summary explain the concepts you
have learnt about within this topic.

►Tip
►You may wish to look at your notes and
summarise them.