Chapter 2

• postmodernism is a movement based on modernism even though it criticises modernism

• effective in almost every aspect of social life, apart from the phenomenon of consumption.

• Because each change brings different consumer models, consumer characteristics and consumer purchasing decisions. The products consumed in postmodernism are evaluated in terms of symbolic meaning they carry rather than their functional significance. Postmodern consumers behave in individual and free in their consumption preferences, do not show any loyalty to any product or brand, and expect immediate satisfaction from the products. The companies that want to continue their activities in the postmodern market must supply with the demands and needs of the postmodern consumers who do not display traditional consumer behaviors

• Individualism and authenticity, one of the main determinants of postmodernity

• Tourists moving away from the massification of modernity, have turned to alternative types of tourism in order to gain authentic touristic experiences

• Origins of the pre-tourism phenomenon —> Classical Greece

• The Romans also travelled throughout the Empire's domains.

• During the Middle Ages —> Expeditions to the Holy Land and Mecca are undertaken. Pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela begin

• Renaissance —> The first establishments called "hôtel". "Le Grand Tour".

• One of the antecedents of tourism is pilgrimages.

• In Latin, peregrinatio means "journey abroad". In principle, the interest: spiritual quest that went beyond the material aspects. The central idea here was to reach a place that was supposedly physical but which for the pilgrim had a connotation that went beyond the profane reality

• Their massive character was relative and depended on historical cycles, they had fixed and consolidated destinations, with their own routes and accommodation for that purpose, they had signposts and a certain degree of organisation.

• At the time, travel was a very dangerous activity. There were no maps, orientation was difficult and there were hardly any transit roads (land infrastructure)

• Travel was therefore seen as a way to achieve fame and wealth.

• Greek theatres emerged around the 5th century BC. Point of interest

• In ancient Greece, journeys to sacred sites and the festivities associated with them led to a real mobilisation of the masses that went beyond the original spiritual intention and developed into something very similar to today's tourist activity, with social, political and economic implications.

• In this context, cities such as Delphi, where the famous oracle (considered the navel of the world) was located, came to specialise in this activity of welcoming, accommodating and guiding pilgrims and became true proto-tourist destinations.

• During the Republic (510-27 BC) and especially in the Imperial period, Romans travelled more than at any other time

• The better-off classes travelled to the coast where they owned second homes in search of better temperatures (Apennines, Naples)

• There were also trips for fun (Canope, Alexandria), for health or for cultural reasons.

• It was the Romans who took the definitive step towards turning the use of mineral-medicinal waters into an activity which, in addition to being therapeutic, was also recreational and leisurely, and where the social differentiation and ostentation of a social class was already taking shape, which two thousand years later would be repeated throughout Europe

• The exquisite baths of Nero, Agrippa, Vespasian, Titus, Aurelian and, above all, Caracalla, the ruins of which have survived to the present day, bear witness to the importance of spa baths as a predominant form of leisure in Roman civilisation.

• In Rome, leisure did not only develop in terms of the phenomena that took place in the city, the centre of this civilisation, but there were also important advances in other phenomena that went beyond the city, towards the rural world and abroad, such as second homes and travel

• For this to happen, it was necessary for a society to have achieved, within its ruling class, a certain capacity for the accumulation of surpluses that would allow full enjoyment of its leisure time

• There would also be notable progress in the field of travel, thanks undoubtedly to the impetus given to road infrastructures, which in Rome would have its main exponent in the roads.

• The trade routes that have existed since ancient times (indeed, ancient Egypt exploited them) are also of great importance, especially the routes to Africa and Asia, the best known of which were the Silk Road and the Spice Route.

• The long period of peace came to an end and with it, the social, economic and infrastructural deterioration

• travel became much more dangerous and was avoided as much as possible

• Most Roman Baths were destroyed

• The most numerous journeys had to do with religion

• The bath tradition and its expansion: This bathing tradition would be exported by the Ottomans themselves to the territories they were invading, so it is not surprising that their influence was decisive in the later forms of spa tourism that would become popular in central Europe (Hungary, Bulgaria) and from there also their influence towards the rest of the continent. Thus, in the 19th century, in parallel with the success of the great Central European and British spa towns, luxurious and inaccessible to a large part of the population, more popular Turkish baths became fashionable in cities such as Victorian London.

• New agricultural techniques which helped the development and increase of trade and population in the cities

• The printing press appeared in 1440

• But war did not cease

• China had begun great maritime expeditions a century before Columbus arrived in America

• to America. They reached the Persian Gulf, but in 1433 the emperor closed China to international contact

• In Europe, there was a development of ships that allowed faster and safer travel. This development as a prologue to the advent of the age of great discoveries.

• Thermal baths are born

• Example: Brighton

  • The evolution of a place created by and for tourism takes place.

    • A place for the leisure classes to relax and enjoy themselves

    • Holiday resort for the middle classes.

    • Nowadays it is a multifunctional space.

• Baths as a therapeutic recommendation

• A place where leisure and health motivation are combined

• City in transformation: mass tourism (since the 19th century)

• In France, accommodation establishments first appeared under the name of Hôtel. These were buildings for the authorities, such as the King, and later for the bourgeoisie

• At the end of the 17th century, the custom arose in England of sending young noblemen to the continent after they had finished their studies. They were accompanied by a tutor. Because of its long duration, it was called Grand Tour (from the French Tour = "round trip"). From this expression, the terms Tourisme and Tourist were derived

• The journey passed through Turin, Milan, Pisa, Venice, Florence and Rome

• This British custom lasted until the beginning of the 19th century due to the Napoleonic wars

• Later on, gambling and leisure encouraged travel. The first gambling house took place in Venice (Ridotto di San Moisé)

• Industrial Revolution: bourgeoisie and proletariat. Class difference

• The 19th century saw the following events related to tourism:

  1. Appearance of the steam engine (James Watt), which will be applied to navigation and railways

  2. Rise of mountain tourism in Central Europe

  3. The rise of spa resorts and the discovery of beaches in the Mediterranean

  4. The tourist industry begins to develop

  5. The automobile and the invention of the aeroplane.

• In this sense, different events or movements have been interpreted as pioneers of modern tourism:

  1) The holding of the first universal expositions in Europe and America

  2) The Indian Mail or travel of British officials to India.

  3) The first trip organised by Thomas Cook in Great Britain

  4) The creation of the first national park in the United States

  5) The development of casinos following the shift in seaside fashion from central Europe to the Côte d'Azur.

• Thomas Cook (1808-1892): he is the creator of travel agencies and devised many other facilities for tourism

• Henry Wells, together with Fargo, founded the American Express company, linked to the transport of goods, which later became a large travel agency and one of the largest financing and issuing of travellers' cheques and credit cards

• Cesar Ritz: father of modern hotel management.

• Baedecker: first edition of travel guides

• Nagelmarckers: creator of the Orient Express (Paris-Istanbul)

• Important transformations took place in the world of catering, which had also been an artisanal and unprofessionalised activity

• For much of the 19th century, the model of the eating house predominated, designed for workers who had to eat outside their homes. The restaurant concept found it difficult to consolidate because eating out was very expensive, and it began its journey in some of the aforementioned elements linked to bourgeois leisure, both luxury transport by rail and by boat

• Likewise, hotels were modernised and their best representatives now incorporated good catering services with renowned chefs.

• extension of this phenomenon to new destinations which, in time, would become the paradigmatic destinations of generic and mass tourism par excellence: sun and beach tourism. It is the transition from the fashion for bathing in cold waters to the fashion for bathing on warm beaches

• The irruption of the automobile plays a decisive role in these changes, as now tourists do not want to be subject to the rigid regulations that were established in the seaside resorts, especially with regard to certain timetables and customer practices, and prefer the freedom that sea bathing resorts offer them.

• World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945): tourism activities come to a standstill.

• Between 1918 and 1939 (inter-war period)

  • Increased volume of female travellers

  • Decrease in aristocrats

  • Increasing use of automobiles

  • Summer holidaying and suntanning become more widespread

  • Appearance of the airship and first airlines

• Between 1950 and 1973 the "tourist boom" took place

  • In this period, tourism grows more than in the whole of history

  • It becomes a mass phenomenon

  • In 1950 there were 25 million international arrivals while in 1973 it rose to 193 million.

• The reasons for this boom were:

  • The post-war peace and the new international order

  • Economic recovery of the Western powers (Germany and Japan especially)

  • Improved communications and transport

  • New commercial and marketing techniques

• From 1973 to 1978: there is a period of crisis

  • Growth of international terrorism

  • Diversion of tourist flows as a result of attacks

• In 1988, world tourist arrivals reached 392 million, 206% more than in 1973

• Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and disintegration of the URS (1991)

• Maastricht Treaty (1992). Integration of member countries into the EU

• Schengen Agreement (1995). Border controls in the European framework

• Large tourism companies internationalise.

• New ways of using leisure time emerge, diversifying travel motivations and giving rise to new products and destinations.

• New demand requirements and new tourist behaviour are emerging.

• These changes are coupled with the growing number of new destinations. Increasing competition

• Segmentation: cultural tourism, senior tourism, etc.

• Experiential tourism.

• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

  • Accommodation sector: TripAdvisor

  • Transport sector: Skyscanner.

  • Utilities: Google Maps.

  • The digital era

• Demographic changes in industrialised countries: ageing of the population, more working women, increasing age of couples marrying and starting families, more childless couples and more people living alone and travelling. Increasing retirement age

• Increased flexibility in working hours.

• Growing importance of ethnic ties: Asia, America, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Asia - North America and Africa.

• as well as between Asia - North America and Africa - Europe.

• Increased awareness of travel opportunities.

• Growing interest of the developed Western world in the peoples and cultures of developing countries. Increasing flows to developing country regions.

• Positive developments in the world economy

• Increase in personal disposable income.

• Market liberalisation. Establishment of free trade areas can be another instrument for many countries to gain real benefits from tourism.

• Trade and liberalisation / privatisation - liberalisation and privatisation policies are leading to increased trade between countries in the Americas region (i.e. intra-regional).

• Growing tourism market in developing countries, especially in Asia and Latin America.

• Emergence of new industrialised countries

• Favourable exchange rates.

• Availability of capital for tourism investment

• Political changes in Eastern Europe.

• Consolidation of the European Union.

• Strengthening of the movement to protect the natural, social and cultural environment.

• Deregulation of air transport. The deregulation of air traffic in North America has favoured North Atlantic traffic.

• Reduction of border formalities.

• Increased concern for the safety of travellers.

• New forms of cooperation between tour operators and public administrations will be necessary to achieve this objective.

• travel operators and public administrations.

• Improvements in air transport technology. There will be improvements in the operating costs of new aircraft models and economies of scale.

• Application of information technologies in distribution systems (GDS).

• Unlimited advances in transport infrastructure, both airport, road and rail.

• Improvements in planning and marketing techniques.

• In previous decades, we worked in a market where it was relatively easy to win. Now and in the future, it will be win-win or lose-lose. The marketing effort will have to be expanded, made more precise and more efficient. Promotional budgets will expand, growing faster than demand. Professionalism in the area of tourism marketing will be increasingly valued.

• Modern tourism began in the 1950s

• Four periods can be distinguished in the 20th century:

  • Until the early 73s: this was a period of take-off. In 1973 the aforementioned crisis

  • From 1973 to 1982: the foundations of mass tourism are laid. Family sun and beach tourism

  • From 1982 to 1991: stage of development and transformation.

  • From 1990: consolidation of the sector. Spain proposes the first policy to boost tourism competitiveness (Plan Futures).

• In 1951, the Ministry of Information and Tourism (Gabriel Arias-Salgado) was created. Its bases for of action were:

  • Obtaining foreign currency income from abroad

  • Reporting on the political and public order situation in Spain

  • Regulating the increase in tourism in line with the process of repairing and building infrastructures

  • There was no possibility of meeting a massive demand. Post-war consequences.

  • Collect taxes from tourism for its development and attention (Tourism Policy).

• The tourism boom started in Spain a little later than in the rest of the neighbouring countries. (starting 1959/60)

• At the beginning of the century, tourism in Spain is strongly consolidated.

• Integral Plan for the Quality of Spanish Tourism (PICTE 2000-2006)

• Spain joins the EURO in 2002

• A deep economic crisis occurs between 2008 and 2012.

• Spanish National Tourism Plan (2012-2015). This was replaced by the Horizon 2020 Plan. It was oriented towards 5 axes:

  • Strength of the Spain brand

  • Customer orientation

  • Supply and destinations

  • Public-private alignment

  • Knowledge

  • Talent and entrepreneurship

    
    

1. Falling returns on investment in tourism.

2. Environmental and landscape degradation.

3. Fall in the quality of tourism services and products.

4. Stagnation of employment generation in the sector.

5. Inability to attract high-spending tourism.

Spain's dependence on tourism as the main cause of the leverage of the Spanish economy

• The recent economic crises that have hit Spain have highlighted the importance of tourism in Spain:

  1. The importance of tourism in Spain

  2. Spain’s dependence on the economic situation of the main emitting countries.

These circumstances represent a problem of competitiveness for Spain, since in times of economic recession, the tourism sector in Spain suffers a very high demand problem. The tourism sector in Spain depends mainly on international demand, as the tourism sector in Spain is a highly specialised sector with a high degree of added value.

• The high dependence of the Spanish economy on the tourism sector is preceded by the process of deindustrialisation that Spain has been undergoing in recent years

• The 2008 crisis highlighted this problem, given that the crisis was an international credit crisis, so that international demand was highly stressed, which meant that domestic (Spanish) demand was unable to cover a significant % of the sector's supply

• This insufficiency of internal demand is due to the fact that Spain is no longer a producer and industrial country capable of generating resources

• The Tourism sector is a very consolidated sector based on the characterisation of a service which, in a majority of cases and from the point of view of supply, satisfies a leisure need.

• The impact that the Covid19 pandemic is having on the tourism sector is of an unprecedented magnitude known until now

• The lock-down of economic activity has led to an almost total closure of the tourism sector

• This situation has once again highlighted Spain's excessive dependence on this sector, which accounts for more than 13% of GDP.

• represents more than 13% of GDP and 12.7% of total employment in Spain

• The greatest challenge facing the tourism sector in Spain, without prejudice to the health situation that has been caused by this pandemic, is that it has caused and necessitated by this pandemic, is a challenge of competitiveness

• Throughout history, events of force majeure have slowed down the tourism sector and have caused deviations in tourist flows, and Spain faces the challenge of regaining the confidence of the centres of origin in order to avoid this deviation in flows. The disastrous management of the Covid19 pandemic by the Spanish Government and the respective autonomous governments has caused a reaction in demand and has diverted it to places where the management of the pandemic has been better and security, as we have seen throughout history, is a thermometer of the prosperity of tourism. Marca España