DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

MICRO PERSPECTIVE OF
TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

STUDENT’S HAND-OUT

PREPARED BY:

JULIE ANN M. BERONILLA

Subject Instructor
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

CHAPTER 2
THE SOCIOLOGY OF TOURISM

LEARNING OBJECTIVE
At the end of the discussion, the students should be able to:
L.O. 1.1 Explain the social nature of travel;
L.O. 1.2 Describe the social effects of tourism
L.O. 1.3 Discuss the socioeconomic variables and their effect on travel
L.O. 1.4 Describe the new travel patters;
L.O. 1.5 Explain the preferences of the international tourist;
L.O. 1.6 Describe the types of tourist roles; and
L.O. 1.7 Explain the meaning of social tourism.

LESSON 1
THE SOCIAL NATURE OF TRAVEL

Travel is brought by the social nature of man. Human beings, as social animals, feel
comfortable in a tour group. They feel that their trip is more enjoyable and free from
anxiety if they join a group tour. Camaraderie often develops friendships that last for years.

In some subcultures, travel is the accepted way of spending one’s vacation.

Sabbatical leaves and foreign assignments make it possible for university faculty members
and employees to travel and develop a passion for it.

Tourism evolves a mutual trust and respect for one another and the dignity of life on
earth. According to Pope John Paul II, “The world is becoming a global village in which
people from different continents are made to feel like next-door neighbors. In facilitating
more authentic and social relationships between individuals, tourism can help overcome
many real prejudices and foster new bonds of fraternity”.

THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF TOURISM

Tourism is concerned with the movement and contact between people in different
geographical locations. In sociological terms, this involves;

1. social relations between people who would not normally meet;

2. the confrontation of different cultures, ethnic groups, lifestyles, languages, levels
of prosperity, and the like;
3. the behavior of people released from many of the social and economic constraints
of everyday life; and
4. the behavior of the host population which has to reconcile economic gain and
benefits with the costs of living with strangers.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

The degree to which conflict will occur between host and guest depends upon the
similarity in their standards of living, the number of tourist at any time, and the extent to
which the tourists adapt to local norms.

SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABLES AND THEIR EFFECT ON TRAVEL

A. Age
There are several differences between patterns of travel based on age. Younger
people tend to select more active recreational activities than older people. The elderly
(those in the late sixties and upward) prefer passive forms of recreation, such as visiting
friends and relatives, fishing, sightseeing and playing golf. Older tourists tend to travel to
farther destinations, prefer ship travel, travel more in spring than younger tourists do, and
spend less than middle-aged tourists but more than younger tourists.

B. Income and Social Status

Income and social status have great influence on travel. Rich persons, as well as
persons with higher social status, travel more than those with lower income and social class
status. Higher income tourists stay longer and spend more per day than those with lower
incomes.

C. Education
There is a strong correlation between education and travel. Generally speaking, the
better educated members of the population have greater desire to travel. Researchers have
found that the more educated the travelers are, they tend to be more sophisticated in their
tastes. They prefer activities that require the development of interpretative and expressive
skills, such as attending plays, concerts, art museums, reading books, playing golf, and
skiing.

D. Life Stages of the Family

The presence of children in the family limits travel. More leisure time is spent at
home. As the children grow up and leave home, the married couples renew interest in travel.
Couples in this life stage usually have more discretionary income and are more financially
capable to travel.

Lesson 3
The Rise of New Travel Patterns

A. Travel Clubs

The most significant development in group travel consist of travel clubs. A very good
example is the Club Mediterranee which started in western Europe and then spread to North
America and the other areas of the world. In this group travel plan, a club member enjoys
travel opportunities and vacation destination facilities at a much cheaper price than that
paid by a nonmember. The accommodations offered by the club range from deluxe to very
modest. There is also a wide choice of locations, climate, and other vacation features.

B. Airline Group and Arrangements

 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

Another development in group travel is the introduction of different types of tour

fares promoted by airlines. These are the following:

1. groups of 15 or more are given reduced fares;

2. Charter service is given by some airlines to affinity group tours which are
intended for those affiliated to a legitimate group for a period of six months or
longer;

3. public charter in which an entire airplane is made available to a group of

persons who travel to the same destination; and

4. incentive tours which are given by firms to employees as a reward for a special
achievement or as a motivation for achievement.

C. Special Interest Tours

Special Interest group travel is becoming more popular at present. These are tours
arranged for those who are interested in a particular activity such as bird watching,
festivals, fishing, hunting, scuba diving, photography, flower arrangement, golf, skiing,
mountain climbing and the like.

Preferences of the International Tourist

The preferences of the international tourist are divide into four categories namely;

1. complete relaxation to constant activity;

2. traveling near one’s home environment to a totally strange environment;
3. complete dependence on group travel to travelling alone; and
4. order to disorder

A. Relaxation Versus Activity

Before, the workweek for most people including the middle class was long and
exhausting. Thus, they demand holidays that offered relaxation and rest. At present, the
workweek has been shortened and the annual holiday leave has been lengthened. Work has
become less tiresome and people have become used to greater leisure. Relaxation has
become possible throughout the year. Accordingly, people has started to use their no holiday
time leisure to exercise new activity skills, such as sailing, climbing, horse riding and sports.
The demand for activity-oriented travel has greatly increased.

B. Familiarity Versus Novelty

In general, most tourists on their first trip abroad tend to seek familiarity rather than
novelty. They search for something that will remind them of home, whether it be food,
newspapers, living quarters, or another person from their own country. As soon as they find
a place where they feel at home, these tourists will go back to the same place for a number
of times. Not until they have gained more experience in travelling will they want to go a
new environment—to see customs and cultures different from their own, and to mix with
people who speak differently, eat differently, and dress differently.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

At present, there is an increasing positive attitude for novelty and for change. People
accept innovations in industry, education, family life, the arts, and social relationships
among others. Tourist move away from traditional resorts to new tourist destinations.

C. Dependence Versus Autonomy

In the past, tourists joined package tours in which transportation, lodging, food,
sightseeing and entertainment were fixed in advance by the tour agency. At present, there
is the emergence of a group of tourists who would like to acquire a sense of personal
autonomy regarding their leisure time. They would like to travel on their own and not part
of a group. They would like to feel independent – in complete control of what they do and
how they do it.

D. Order vs Disorder

In the past, tourist sought holidays which enforce the traditional concept of
conformity- set meals at fixed times, guidebooks which told them the right places to visit,
and resorts where their fellow tourists were tidy, well-behaved and properly dressed. They
avoided situations where their adult-imposed sense of orderliness might be offended.

Now, the new generation of tourists is not very much concerned about what to wear
and how to behave when on holiday. Informality in behavior, a greater tolerance toward the
differences of others, and freedom from institutionalized regulations are now the
characteristics of the modern traveler.

Because of social and economic changes in the modern society, the demand for travel
will be based less on familiarity, relaxation, dependence, and order, but more on novelty,
activity, autonomy and informality.

The Types of Tourist Roles

The continuous combination of novelty and familiarity forms the basic variable for
the sociological analysis of the phenomenon of modern tourism. This combination leads to
the four types of tourist’s roles. Each type represents a characteristic form of tourist
behavior. The first two types, the organized mass tourist and the individual mass tourist,
are called institutionalized tourist roles because they are dealt within a routine way by the
tourist establishment, such as travel agencies and hotel chains which cater to the tourist
trade. The last two types, the explorer and the drifter, are called non-institutionalized
tourist roles because they are loosely attached to the tourist establishment.

A. The Organized Mass Tourist

This type of tourist is the least adventurous. He buys a package tour in which
the itinerary of his trip is fixed in advance and his stops are well-prepared and guided. He
seldom makes decisions for himself. He prefers a familiar environment rather than a new
environment.

B. The Individual Mass Tourist

The individual mass tourist is similar to the organized mass tourist, except
that the individual mass tourist has a certain degree of control over his time and itinerary
and is not bound to a group. However, all the major arrangements of his tor are still made
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

through a travel agency. Like the organized mass tourist, he also travels within his own
country and goes out of it occasionally. Familiarity is still dominant, but less than the
organized mass tourist. The desire for novelty is greater for the individual mass tourist.

C. The Explorer

This type of tourist arranges his trip by himself and looks for comfortable
accommodations and reliable means of transportation. He tries to associate with the people
he visits and to speak their language. The explorer dares to leave his country much more
than the previous two types, but goes back to it when the experience becomes too rough.
Although novelty dominates, the explorer does not adopt completely the lifestyle of the
host country. He still retains some of the basic practices and comforts of his native way of
life.

D. The Drifter

The drifter goes the farthest away from the accustomed ways of life of his
own country. He is almost totally immersed in his host culture. He tries to live the way the
people he visits live and to share their shelter, food and habits. He retains only the most
basic of his native customs. He arranges his own trip and does not seek the help of tour
agency. He does not have a fixed itinerary. Novelty is at its highest; familiarity disappears
almost completely.

Lesson 4
Social Tourism

In general sense, Social tourism is a subsidized system of travel through the

intervention of the government, employer, or labor union to achieve social goals and
purposes. In the late 1930’s, when many European countries passed laws on paid holidays,
it was recognized that the right to legal holiday could not only be meaningful if the ordinary
worker will be able to afford travel for recreation and rest. Thus, a number of voluntary
associations in the field of social tourism worked to obtain reduced fares and to create a
network of holiday centers for tourists of limited means.

In 1963, the International Bureau of Social Tourism (BITS) was founded in Brussels,
to encourage the development of social tourism on an international scale. At present, it has
a membership of more than 100 associations all over the world. The BITS is promoting
tourism to achieve social objectives by studying such issues as youth and senior citizen
travel, the staggering of holidays, camping and caravanning, building and financing
moderate cost tourist facilities, and preservation of local culture and environment.

A number of European government subsidized tourism in several ways. Belgium

grants subsidies for the modernization and construction of family hotels. Spain has provided
money for winter sports, camping sites, as well as rural and mountain recreational facilities.
The state owns a chain of 82 inns called paradores. France gives assistance to holiday
villages and camping grounds. It also gives loans and grants for rural lodgings rented to
tourists for at least three months a year for minimum of 10 years. Ireland subsidizes inland
cruising. Norway and Sweden grant loans for less expensive accommodations.

In the United States, more than 100 different major programs of the federal
government provide for recreation, tourism, travel, and environmental conservation.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

Activities range from assigning approximately one billion acres of public lands for recreation
to the operation of historic sites, national parks and forests.

SUMMARY
Man’s desire to travel is due to his social nature. He feels more comfortable in a
group tour. It enables him to develop friendships that often last for years. Travel increases
his sociability and makes him more interesting to himself and to others.

Tourism is concerned with the movement of and contact between people in different
geographical locations. It involves the confrontation of different cultures, ethnic groups,
lifestyles, languages and the like. The degree to which conflict occurs between host and
guest depends upon the similarity in their standards of living and the extent to which tourists
adapt to local standards.

There are socioeconomic variables that affect travel. These are age, income, and
social status, education and life stages of the family. The growth of tourism brought about
the rise of new travel patterns such as travel clubs, airline groups rates and arrangements
and special interest tours. The preferences of the international tourists are divided into for
classes, namely; relaxation versus activity, familiarity versus novelty, dependence versus
autonomy, order versus disorder.

The four types of tourist roles are the organized mass tourist, the individual mass
tourist, the explorer, and the drifter. The first two types, the organized mass tourist and
the individual mass tourist, are called institutionalized tourist roles because they are dealt
within a routine way by the tourist establishment, such as travel agencies and hotel chains
which cater to the tourist trade. The last two types, the explorer and the drifter, are called
non-institutionalized tourist roles because they are loosely attached to the tourist
establishment.

Social tourism is a subsidized system of travel through the intervention of the

government, employer, or labor union to achieve social goals. The international Bureau of
social tourism (BITS) was organized in 1963 to encourage the development of social tourism
on an international scale. It promotes social tourism by building and financing tourist
facilities and preserving local culture and environment.