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Unlock This CourseTourism is one of the world's biggest industries. Millions of people travel every single day for holidays, work, to see family, or just for an adventure. But in your iGCSE exam, you need to be really precise about the type of tourism or travel you're describing. Get the definitions right and you'll pick up marks easily!
Let's start with the two most important terms:
The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) uses these definitions to count tourists globally. In 2019, there were around 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide a record at the time. Knowing who counts as a "tourist" helps governments plan transport, hotels and attractions.
These three terms are the backbone of tourism geography. They describe the direction of travel in relation to a country's borders.
Definition: When residents of a country travel within their own country for tourism purposes.
Example: A family from Manchester travelling to Cornwall for a week's holiday. They never leave the UK that's domestic tourism.
📌 Domestic tourism is often the largest type of tourism in big countries like the USA, China and India.
Definition: When visitors from other countries travel into a country.
Example: An American tourist flying to London to visit the Tower of London. For the UK, this is inbound tourism.
📌 Inbound tourism earns money for the destination country it's a major source of foreign exchange.
Definition: When residents of a country travel abroad to visit other countries.
Example: A British family flying to Spain for a beach holiday. For the UK, this is outbound tourism money leaves the UK economy.
📌 Countries with high outbound tourism (like Germany and the UK) are called tourist-generating countries.
INbound = visitors coming IN to your country 😊
OUTbound = your people going OUT of your country ✈
DOMestic = staying at HOME 🏠
It's not just where people go it's why they go. The iGCSE syllabus identifies three main purposes of travel:
Travel for fun, relaxation, holidays and sightseeing. This is the most common reason people travel.
Examples: Beach holidays in Thailand, skiing in the Alps, city breaks in Paris.
Travel for work purposes meetings, conferences, trade fairs or training.
Examples: A sales manager flying to Dubai for a conference, or a consultant visiting a client in Frankfurt.
Travel to spend time with people you know. VFR travellers often stay in private homes rather than hotels.
Examples: Flying home for Christmas, visiting a cousin who emigrated to Australia.
📌 Other purposes include: medical tourism (travelling for healthcare), religious tourism (pilgrimages) and educational travel (school trips, study abroad).
As well as direction and purpose, tourism can be described by its scale (how big it is) and its style (how it's done). These are really important for the iGCSE exam.
Definition: Large-scale tourism where huge numbers of people travel to popular destinations, usually as part of a package holiday.
Mass tourism developed rapidly from the 1960s onwards as air travel became cheaper and package holidays became popular. It's the most common form of international tourism today.
Benidorm on Spain's Costa Blanca is a classic example of mass tourism. In the 1960s it was a small fishing village. Today it receives over 5 million visitors a year, mostly from the UK and Germany. It has hundreds of hotels, theme parks and nightclubs. While it brings huge economic benefits, it also causes environmental pressures water shortages, litter and damage to local culture.
Characteristics of mass tourism:
Definition: Tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It aims to have a low negative impact on the environment, local culture and economy.
The UNWTO defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts.
Key principles:
Definition: A form of sustainable tourism focused on natural environments. Ecotourists travel to experience and learn about nature, wildlife and ecosystems, while supporting conservation and local communities.
Costa Rica is a world leader in ecotourism. Despite being a small country, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Tourists come to explore rainforests, spot toucans and sloths and visit national parks. Over 25% of Costa Rica's land is protected. Ecotourism generates around $4 billion a year and employs thousands of local people as guides and rangers.
Definition: Travel to experience the history, art, architecture, religion and culture of a place.
Examples: Visiting the Pyramids in Egypt, exploring Kyoto's temples in Japan, or touring Rome's ancient ruins.
Cultural tourists are often interested in UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Definition: Tourism that involves physical activity, risk and excitement, often in remote or natural environments.
Examples: White-water rafting in Nepal, bungee jumping in New Zealand, trekking in Patagonia.
Adventure tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the tourism industry.
The iGCSE syllabus also expects you to know these additional types:
In the iGCSE exam, you'll often be asked to give examples of different types of tourism. Don't just define the term always back it up with a real place or case study. Examiners love specific detail!
Here's a quick-reference guide to the key types of tourism you need to know:
You've now covered all the key definitions for Types of Tourism and Travel. Make sure you can define each term, give a real-world example and explain why it matters. Now test yourself with the quiz below! 😉