Hospitality & Tourism Subject Guide: Mass Tourism

Mass tourism is a form of tourism that involves tens of thousands of people going to the same resort often at the same time of year. It is the most popular form of tourism as it is often the cheapest way to holiday and is often sold as a Package Deal. A package deal is one in which all of the tourists needs are catered all by one company. These needs include travel/flights, activities, accommodation and sometimes food. These types of holiday are often the opposite to sustainable tourism, extreme tourism and ecological tourism.  There are many types of mass tourism, including skiing in the mountains, sunbathing on a beach, visiting a theme park (eg Euro Disney near Paris) or taking a cruise. Governments and local people often support mass tourism because it generates a lot of income for local areas.

via: coolgeography.co.uk

Mass tourism refers to the movement of a large number of organized tourists to popular holiday destinations for recreational purposes. It is a phenomenon which is characterized by the use of standardized package products and mass consumption. Conceptually, this type of tourism features standardized leisure products and experiences packaged for mass tourists (Poon 1993).

Naumov N., Green D. (2016) Mass tourism. In: Jafari J., Xiao H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01384-8_378

1. Jobs are generated by tourism in many areas - in the initial construction of the resorts, in travel, in food provision and in other service related industries.
2. Local people benefit directly from employment.
3. Roads, rail, facilities, electricity services etc. all need improving to accommodate the tourists - local people also benefit from these.
4. Transport facilities are developed.
5. The local tax base increases so the local government/council can invest in schools, healthcare and social services.
6. Tourists introduce new values and cultures and learn about new cultures.

via: coolgeography.co.uk

1. TNCs (Trans National Corporations) from rich countries are often involved - this can result in a lot of profits leaving country.
2. Jobs can be seasonal - especially in beach and skiing based resorts. People can therefore find themselves out of work in the close season.
3. Tourists consume huge amounts of resources including food and water.
4. Tourists introduce new values and culture - this causes cultural pollution.
5. Land is lost from farming to tourist developments.

via: coolgeography.co.uk

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