Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE TRS1151

 
TITLE Tourism, Travel and Destinations

 
UM LEVEL 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Tourism Management

 
DESCRIPTION This unit introduces the fundamental concepts of the importance of geography to tourism and how the tourism industry developed, together with the geographical links to tourism. It will consider the interaction between the geographical components of the tourism and transport system. This includes tourist-generating areas, tourist destination areas and transit routes between those areas. Particular attention will be paid to tourist destination areas, by far the most significant in the tourist system as they not only attract the tourist but are places where the impacts of tourism occur and therefore where the planning and management of tourism is crucial.

Study-unit Aims:

This study-unit aims to assist students to explore the relationship between geography (physical and human) and tourism. An understanding of the centrality of geography to tourism prepares students with the knowledge that accounts for the decision-making process of travellers. This study-unit provides the necessary background knowledge for tourism operators to successfully sell a destination.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Recognize the geographical underpinnings of global travel patterns and explain the relationships between generating and destination regions, and transit routes between them, using geographic concepts, models, and principles while understanding the geographical impact of crises and shocks to the tourism system;
- Appreciate the role of technology in shaping the future geography of travel and tourism;
- Recognize the importance of the environmental movement in tourism;
- Explain the historical development, from a spatial perspective, of the tourism industry and its impact on present and future economic, social and environmental well-being;
- Analyse the trend towards the globalisation of the tourism sector;
- Comprehend the geographical limitations imposed on tourism development;
- Identify key generating areas and their impact on the supply of resources;
- Examine the basic principles underlying the geography of tourist demand, supply and transportation.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Distinguish, describe and understand the different types of tourist destinations and the geographical components of the tourism system;
- Understand and analyse the geography of demand for tourism, which includes both the determinants and limiting factors for demand;
- Recognize, classify and evaluate resources for tourism, including the factors involved in the development of tourist resources;
- Understand the major climatic elements that affect recreational tourism, and identify the world climatic zones and their significance for tourism;
- Describe the relationship between tourism and transport, understand time zones and their importance to the traveller, as well as evaluate the key features of the various modes of transport and their contribution to world tourism;
- Critically identify resources which are utilized by tourism;
- Access, interpret, and evaluate tourism information and communicate this in written, verbal, and visual forms.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Text

- Boniface, B.G. & Cooper C. (2009) Worldwide Destinations. The Geography of Travel and Tourism. Elsevier.
- Butler, Richard W. (2005). The Origins of the Tourism Area Life Cycle (Clevedon and Toronto: Channel View Publications.
- Butler, R.W. (2009) Tourism Destination Development: Cycles and Forces, Myths and Realities. Tourism Recreation Research, 34:3, 247-254.
- Butler, R.W. (2011) Tourism Area Life Cycle. Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.
- Dallen, J.T. (2017) Geography: the substance of tourism. Tourism Geographies, an International Journal of Tourism Space, Place and Environment. Routledge.
- Hall, M.C. & Page, S.J. (2014) The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space. Abingdon and Boston: Routledge.
- Haywood, K. Michael, ‘Evolution of Tourism Areas and the Tourism Industry’, in: Richard W. Butler (ed.), The Origins of the Tourism Area Life Cycle (Clevedon and Toronto: Channel View Publications, 51-70.
- McLeod, Michelle and Croes, Robert (2018). Tourism Management in Warm-Water Island Destinations. Wallingford and Boston: CABI.
- Wilkinson, Paul F. (2009) Predictions, past and present: World and Caribbean Tourism: Futures 41 (6), 377–386.

Classic texts

- Crompton, J. (1979) Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research 6(4), 408-424.
- Dann, G. (1977), Anomie, ego-enhancement and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 4(4), 184-194.
- Hall, D., and Brown, F. (eds) (2006). Tourism and Welfare: Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainable Well-being. Wallingford: CABI
- McCabe, S. (2009) Who needs a holiday? Evaluating social tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 36 (4), 667-688.

Various journals and case studies given by lecturer as part of the course reader.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM1 Yes 30%
Assignment SEM1 Yes 70%

 
LECTURER/S Dane Munro

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit