Scribd
Upload
6 views1 page

THM Lesson 1

This document outlines the key characteristics of tourism, including intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity, seasonality of demand, interdependence, fixed and variable costs, and inseparability. It emphasizes that tourism services cannot be physically evaluated before purchase, cannot be stored, and are subject to variability due to human involvement. Additionally, it highlights the importance of understanding costs associated with tourism services and the interconnected nature of various services experienced by tourists.

Uploaded by

raizamae0726
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
6 views1 page

THM Lesson 1

This document outlines the key characteristics of tourism, including intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity, seasonality of demand, interdependence, fixed and variable costs, and inseparability. It emphasizes that tourism services cannot be physically evaluated before purchase, cannot be stored, and are subject to variability due to human involvement. Additionally, it highlights the importance of understanding costs associated with tourism services and the interconnected nature of various services experienced by tourists.

Uploaded by

raizamae0726
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MARKETING

LESSON 1: CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURISM


1. Intangibility
Cannot be touched, gripped, handled, seen, smelled, tasted or heard before
purchase. Unlike goods, which can be touched and inspected before purchase, tourism services
are essentially intangible. However, customers use other cues to help
them evaluate the service: the appearance of the hotel entrance or the behavior of
the receptionist.
2. Perishability
Tourism service cannot be stored like tangible products. A hotel room or airplane seat that is
not sold on a particular night/day can never be sold. Unused capacity cannot be stored for
future use. For example, spare seats on one airplane cannot be transferred to the next flight,
and query-free times at the reference desk cannot be saved up until there is a busy period.
3.Heterogeneity (or variability):
The extensive involvement of people in the production of a tourism service introduces a degree
of variability in the outcome. There is a strong possibility that the same enquiry would be
answered slightly differently by different people (or even by the same person at different
times). The same employee may hence render services of varying standard, depending on his
mood, the time of the day, the day of the week or the customer involved.
4. Seasonality of demand
Most tourist destination areas are characterized by fluctuating periods of demand called
‘peaks’, ‘shoulders’ and ‘troughs'
Peak – Time of the year during which demand is highest.
Shoulder – An abbreviated season that falls between the peak and low troughs
Troughs - off season, time of the year during which demand is very low.
5. Interdependence
"Interdependence" occurs because when tourists visit a destination their experience is made up
of several services, such as accommodation, transportation, and attractions. Even an individual
tourist buys a whole set of products supplied by different firms – the attractions have no
economic value without the necessary accommodation.
6. Fixed and Variable Costs
Fixed costs are costs that are independent of the number of customers and must be paid
anyhow, whereas variable costs are costs that are incurred as a function of the number of
customers received at any given time.
6.1 Fixed Costs
These costs have to be met whether the hotel or air charter draws few or many visitors. A
hotel, an air charter or a tourism attraction has in any case to finance the following costs in
order to be open and to receive customers: Maintenance, Energy and utilities, Insurance,
Property taxes, Wages and salary costs for employees
6.2 Variable Costs
A variable cost varies in direct proportion to the level of business activity. Examples of variable
costs include cost of casual labor, guest supplies, Travel agents’ commission, laundry in a hotel,
and beverage cost of sales and the cost of raw material such as food in a restaurant.
7. Inseparability
The tourism service consumer is inseparable from service delivery because he is involved in it
from requesting it up to consuming the rendered benefits. Tourism service cannot be separated
from its provider. The hotel guest cannot experience counter service if the receptionist is not
available, nor can the receptionist render the service if there is no guest.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy