We have all done tourism At some point in our life. We know that the activity is associated with leisure, rest and the discovery of new places, among other issues. But what exactly is tourism?
Tourism can be defined as the set of actions that a person carried out while travel and spend the night in a different place from his habitual residence, for a consecutive period that is less than one year.
For example: “When I retire, I will do tourism in Europe”, “In this town, most people live on tourism”, "The mayor expressed his desire to promote tourism to generate wealth".
The history of tourism is extensive. Its origins can be traced in the Ancient Greece , when thousands of people moved to attend the Olympics every four years. Understood as a commercial activity, tourism is born from the hand of English Thomas Cook , who organized the first tourist trip in history in 1841 and founded, a decade later, the first travel agency: Thomas Cook and Son.
Today tourism is one of the most important industries worldwide and promotes trips of all kinds: with rest ends cultural reasons social interest , business or just leisure.
Although the tourist activity comes from ancient times, it was recently defined as an independent economic activity a few years ago and since it encompasses a wide variety of economic sectors and academic disciplines, finding an absolute definition of the term is somewhat difficult. It can be seen in one way or another according to the aspect or activity from which you want to define it.
In the economic sector they could define tourism to from consumption , while a psychologist would perform an analysis starting of behaviors tourist For its part, a geographer would offer a definition whose main element would be the territory, its properties and other issues that touch your work area.
Here are some academic definitions that have been made about tourism:
Burkart and Medlik they offer a description of the concept that sees it as those short and temporary movements that people make outside the place where they reside or work and doing various activities than usual.
Mathieson and Wall , on the other hand, explain that the temporary movement of people to places far from their residence is called and for periods of less than one year.
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) it consists of those activities that people carry out while they are traveling in environments where it is unusual for them to be, whose purposes are leisure, business or others and last for less than one year.
It is possible to distinguish between different types of tourism according to the tastes of travelers and the activities that can be carried out during the stay.
He shopping tourism It is characterized by being organized in order to tour the shopping centers and spaces where the traveler can consume buying.
He cultural tourism It is focused on visits to museums, exhibitions, and other places of the place where the traveler can learn more about the history and cultural life of the site he visits.
The term rural tourism It refers to any tourist activity that is located in a rural environment, near natural, coastal areas and that allow activities related to the work of the rural sector. It is a type of tourism opposite to the massified one, the one that is stylized in the coastal cities, and demands an endogenous environment supported by a human and environmental environment. It is an environmentally friendly tourism, which tries to join the rest of the tourist activities taking advantage of local resources.
He formative tourism Its objective is to offer the traveler knowledge about a specific subject, objective of his trip.
He gastronomic tourism Its objective is that travelers know the local foods of the place and carry out tastings and activities related to cooking.
He agrotourism It consists of activities in rural areas where tourists stay and can participate in the activities of the place, collaborating in the restoration of farms or farmhouses.
He ecotourism It is the one that is carried out in means of natural protection. The residents of the place who receive tourists and present the space usually participate in this activity. In the ecotourism priority is the preservation of nature.
He Adventure trip It consists of a series of activities that are carried out in a rural environment and whose objective is to offer sensations of discovery, to test the survival limits of tourists. It is carried out in spaces that have been barely exploited at the tourist level.
