B) REASONS FOR
GROWTH
*
‘Better and affordable transport is the main reason for the growth of global
tourism.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Support your answer using
evidence. [8]
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Candidate
may provide information on the following points:
Better
and affordable transport, More air routes and agreement, Disposable income,
Leisure time
Development
in technology has led to great improvements in safety, shorter travelling
time and lower travelling costs for the average person. Currently, aeroplanes
can fly non-stop for 15,000 kilometres and travel at 800 to 1000km per hour.
A commercial flight from Singapore to London now takes around 14 hours.
Budget airlines such as Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways are able to sell
cheaper tickets than major commercial airlines as their aircrafts are smaller
and more fuel-efficient. Costs are further reduced by selling tickets online
rather than through travel agents. However, besides better and affordable
transport, there are other factors that cause the growth of global tourism.
Disposable
income is the amount of income left to an individual after taxes have been
paid. It is the amount of income available for spending and saving. With
rapid economic growth, countries such as China and India experienced a
growing number of middle income and high-income groups. These are the groups
who can afford to spend more on goods, services and tours.
Changing
lifestyle refers to the change in the way people live throughout their
lifetime. The pace of life today is much faster with longer working hours.
Therefore, travelling becomes a way for people to relax and take a break from
their fast-paced lifestyles at work and at home. Due to advances in medical
technology and knowledge, people are now more health conscious and lead
healthier lifestyles. They live longer and are physically fit to travel
frequently. This is evidenced by the increasing number of healthy retirees.
Travelling is also a way for the retirees to spend the remainder of their
healthy years productively. Retirees are major contributors to the growth of
tourism. Cruises are popular with retirees and they make up many of the
passengers on cruise ships in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
Leisure
time is the part of a day, week or year when people have no work commitments.
It becomes a time for relaxation. With more income and paid leave, the middle
income to high-income groups are more inclined to travel. In many DCs and
LDCs, people in all income groups have enjoyed shorter working weeks with
more public holidays and more paid annual leave which allowed more people to
travel. In Australia, many employees can exchange paid overtime work for
leave. This increases their chances of taking longer weekend breaks. In
Canada, there has also been an increase in additional breaks and extended
weekends.
L1 (0 – 3 marks)
At
this level, answers will be generalised or with minimal support if any given
at all. Reasoning rather weak and expression may be unclear. A basic answer
that has little development. Answers lack examples or other evidence, or it
is so sketchy that it adds little support to the answer.
L2 (4 – 6 marks)
Disagreement or agreement will be supported
by appropriate detail. Or, both agreement and disagreement are considered,
but support is patchy so that answer is not full. Good reasoning and logic in
parts of the answer with good expression in places. Some examples or other
evidence will be presented to support answers in at least one place in the
answer.
L3 (7 – 8 marks)
At this level, answers will be comprehensive
and supported by sound knowledge. Both agreement and disagreement are
considered and well supported. Reasoning is clear and logical with good
expression of language. Examples or other evidence to support answers will be
extensive.
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SCGS PRELIMS
2014
3
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(a)
|
Study Fig. 2 which shows the map of Penang
where tourism is a major industry.
|
|
With reference
to Fig. 2, explain why Penang is a popular tourist destination.
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[4]
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||
·
Attractions/Scenic
beauty – presence of natural attractions such as Penang Hill, Batu Ferringhi
beach provide opportunities for hiking, swimming, snorkeling etc; honeypot
tourism
·
Good facilities
o Accommodation –resorts to cater to tourists’
need;
o
Health tourism/Spa facilities – at the resorts-
where people can restore their minds and bodies
·
Accessibility –
1 international
airport facilitates the arrival of international tourists
·
Education- Presence of bird park [Sebarang Jaya] / National Park
[Panang] / Tropical Spice garden [Teluk Bahang] provide opportunities for
school trips/for learning
·
Rich culture / Heritage tourism - presence of Penang War Museum/ Fort
Cornwallis
·
Pilgrimage tourism - people can take part in religious activities at
mosques/ temples like Sri Mariamman/ Kuan Yin
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C) REASONS FOR
FLUCTATIONS
BEATTY SEC
PRELIM 2014
3
|
Using examples, discuss the reasons for the fluctuations in tourism in
countries.
[8]
|
|
Candidates may include the following material:
Diasters
·
Disasters can cause fluctuations
·
Events that can cause great damage
to properties, lead to injuries or cause great loss of lives
·
Discourage tourists from visiting –
pose risk to safety of tourists, disruptions of essential tourists
infrastructure
·
Eg: Tohoku Earthquake caused nuclear
meltdown at Fukushima
·
By end 2011, Japan’s tourist arrival
decreased by 28% to 6.2 million (majority decline from Korea and China)
·
Also discouraged citizens from
travelling overseas
·
Eg: 1/3 of tourists to S. Korea from
Japan but no. fell by 12% in March, 8% in April, 2% in May
·
Increase in tourist arrivals again a
year after disaster due to international promotion efforts (showing safe and
beautiful Japan)
Global recessions
·
Period of general slowdown in economic activities
·
Many experience loss of income/ jobs
·
Pple cut back on spending = lower dd in goods and services = less likely
to travel = lesser international tourists
·
Can be caused by: sharp increase in price of goods, problems in financial
mkts, decline in exports
·
Can be global or regional
·
Regional: only affect a region/ group of
countries
·
Eg: European Debt Crisis 2010
·
Greece unable to pay its govt debts
·
Since then, other countries (Ireland, Portugal, Spain) sought help in
repaying govt debts
·
Crisis affected many countries that use Euros in national currency
·
Resulted in collaspe of businesses and financial institutions and
massive unemployment
·
Global: affects many countries around
the world
·
Eg: Global Financial Crisis (2007/ 2008)
·
Started when some of the world’s largest financial firms went bankrupt
·
Firms collapsed after loosing large amt of investments in crash of the
housing mkts in USA
·
Triggered panic in most financial institutions ard the world
·
Affected many countries causing economies to slow down
·
Btwn 2008 and 2010 many of world’s economies experienced recession
·
Europe, N. America and East Asia affected by rising unemployment and
increasing no of part time workers
·
Eygpt, Morocco reported shorter tourists stays: staying <1day, and at
cheaper accommodation
·
Many pple choose to travel within own country rather than travel abroad
·
Usually choose shorter distances, less on transport
Outbreaks of disease.
·
Sudden and widespread occurrence of disease in an area
·
RESULT: tourists do not want to risk getting infected with infectious
disease à decrease in travels
·
Govt agencies also issue travel advisories to avoid disease outbreak
areas
·
Eg: H1N1 or SARS – cause business to be postponed/ cancellation of large
scale MICE activities
·
SARS in 2003, killed 775 pple, infected >8000 in 25 countries
·
Hotel occupancy in HK dropped from 82% to 15% in May 2003
Max
highest Level 2 if not located A full
answer does not need to include all the above points. Candidates at each
level will show the following characteristics:
Level
1 (0 – 3 marks)
·
Simple sentences or brief mention of
the factors causing fluctuations in tourism numbers (ie: disasters cause
fluctuations)
·
Briefly describes only 1 cause of
fluctuations
·
No link to how the factor can cause
fluctuations
·
Not supported by examples
Level
2 (4 – 6 marks)
·
Good description of the factors
causing fluctuations in tourism
·
Discusses at least 2 cause of
fluctuations
·
Weak link to how the factor can
cause fluctuations
·
Supported by examples that are not
located or are general (eg: Singapore)
Level
3 (7 – 8 marks)
·
Detailed description of the factors
causing fluctuations in tourism
·
Discusses all three cause of
fluctuations
·
Strong link to how the factor can
cause fluctuations
·
Supported by examples that are
located (eg: 2003 SARS in Hong Kong)
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||
D) IMPACTS OF
TOURISM
SCGS PRELIMS
2014
4
|
With reference
to examples, discuss the economic impact of tourism on LDCs. [6]
|
|||
Suggested
Introduction
Elaborate- economic impact
Positive impact
Creation of jobs/Employment
opportunities
·
tourism is a labour-intensive industry
·
E.g. hotels employ chefs and receptionists
·
E.g. workers in hotels, transportation,
souvenir shops and tour agencies;
·
Some jobs are directly linked to the tourism
industry like travel agents, tour guides etc.
·
In 2011, the UNWTO estimated that the
tourism industry employed 235 million people worldwide; this is roughly 6-8%
of all the jobs in the world
Growth in income/Contribution to
revenue
·
Tourist spending enable industries to make
profits
·
government taxes on these industries →
revenue
·
E.g. In 2011, worldwide tourism receipts
exceeded US$1 trillion.
·
In Pamilacan Island in the Philippines,
local tor companies hire fishermen to take tourists on their boats to look
for and swim with whale sharks and dolphins; the fishermen are paid between
US$80 and US$100 per boat for their service
·
With a high demand for their service from
tourists, the fishermen can expect additional income; tour companies also
experience increase in revenue
Increase in foreign exchange
·
Money earned from other countries in
exchange of goods and services
·
Foreign exchange is earned from the spending
of international travellers
·
E.g. tourism is Fiji’s largest foreign
exchange earner; it makes up for between 20 and 25% of the country’s economy
Development of Infrastructure
·
Infrastructure developed for tourism –
roads, railways, and other amenities
·
Roads that link airports, cities and tourist
sites – increases accessibility to local attractions
·
Revenue earned can be used to build more
schools and hospitals; local people benefit
·
Provide income for local people as locals
are needed for construction purposes
·
thus improve their standard of living
·
Local materials may be used in constructing infrastructure-
hence boosting the local industries
·
Eg. In both the cities, Athens [Greece] and
Beijing [China], underground rail systems were expanded to move large number
of visitors during the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008 respectively
Negative Impact
Leakage
·
Much of the profits earned goes to foreign
owners than local workers → leakage - loss of job opportunities
·
E.g. travellers may fly to Phuket, Thailand
on a non-local airline, stay in a foreign-owned hotel, drive around in
foreign-made cars and eat imported food
·
So money spent by tourists will contribute
to paying for these imported items/money spent may not stay in the local
economy/may bring few benefits to local businesses and workers
Vulnerability to seasons/Seasonal
Unemployment
·
Tourism subject to peak and off-peak
seasons/tourist activities depend on climatic conditions
·
So people in tourism related jobs may have
to find other sources of income
Underuse of facilities
·
Since some types of tourism is seasonal,
facilities built specifically for certain events may be underused- hence
costly to maintain
·
Because money/revenue earned from tourists
normally pays for the cost of maintaining such facilities
·
E.g. Beijing National Aquatics Center had
been renovated into a water park in August 2010, but in 2011, only one-third
of major sports venues in China have managed to break even
Shortage
of services
·
Tourist infrastructure may require large
amounts of land, water and power
·
This could lead to a shortage of services
such as water supplies or power in non-tourist areas
A complete
answer may not include all the above points
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