Growth of international tourism since 1950
Tourism = travel and a temporary stay away from home for leisure or business. International arrivals grew from about 25 million a year in 1950 to roughly 1.5 billion by 2019 -- no single cause. Rising real incomes and more paid holiday leave give money AND time; cheaper air travel, budget airlines and package holidays cut cost; longer life expectancy adds retirees; and a growing NEE middle class (e.g. China) drives outbound travel.
Tourism's costs, benefits and the multiplier
A host area sees a BALANCE of benefits and disadvantages across economic, social and environmental strands (full grid in the note). Two disciplines drive marks: many tourism jobs are low-paid and SEASONAL, and profits can LEAK abroad. The tourism multiplier is how a tourist's direct spending re-circulates as indirect then induced spending, worth several times the original sum. Leakage -- repatriated profits, imports, loan repayments -- shrinks it.
Sustainable tourism and ecotourism
Sustainable tourism meets present tourists' and hosts' needs while protecting environment, economy and culture for the future -- not just maximising numbers. Ecotourism is a focused form: small-scale, low-impact travel that conserves natural areas, benefits communities and educates visitors. Management uses real CONTROLS: permit/visitor limits (e.g. gorilla trekking in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park), zoning, conservation fees and conservancies -- NOT more hotels.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Sustainable tourism ≠ more hotels
Asked to make tourism sustainable, weaker answers propose more hotels or roads -- but more infrastructure INCREASES pressure, so it is not a sustainability answer. Credit needs genuine controls: visitor limits/permits, restricting development, zoning, conservation fees, or community revenue-sharing. Does the measure LIMIT impact, or expand tourism?
Digest (## 3.4 Tourism): sustainable-tourism answers are poorly grasped -- candidates propose MORE infrastructure (hotels, airports) as a "solution", rather than concrete controls (visitor limits, development restrictions, protected areas). (s23 Paper 21 Q6(c))
Seasonality problems answered generically
When a question asks about problems from the SEASONAL nature of tourism, weaker answers give generic disadvantages (litter, overcrowding) that are not seasonal. The credited, seasonal problems: SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT with little off-season income; TEMPORARY peak-season pressure on utilities; fixed costs hard to cover off-season. Link to the uneven timing of visitors.
Digest (## 3.4 Tourism): problems caused specifically by SEASONALITY (seasonal unemployment, seasonal utility pressure) are often answered with general tourism-problem content instead. (w23 Paper 13 Q5(b)(ii))
"Economic" means money and jobs only
When a question emphasises ECONOMIC benefits, many candidates still give social or environmental ones -- "preserves culture" or "raises conservation awareness" score nothing here. Creditworthy ECONOMIC benefits are money and jobs only: foreign currency, direct/indirect jobs, tax revenue, and the multiplier spreading income locally. Stay inside the emboldened strand.
Digest (## 3.4 Tourism): a recurring "emboldened word" trap -- asked for ECONOMIC benefits specifically, many candidates give non-economic benefits of the same features. (w23 Paper 41 Q1(c))
Mass tourism ≠ ecotourism
Opposite scales, not synonyms. Mass tourism = large numbers of visitors at one popular destination, usually via package holidays. Ecotourism = small-scale, low-impact travel that conserves natural areas, benefits communities and educates visitors. Do not call a big resort "ecotourism" just because it is near nature -- scale, impact and conservation focus separate them.
Direct vs indirect/induced spending
In the multiplier, keep three rounds distinct. DIRECT = what the tourist pays a business. INDIRECT = the business paying wages and buying local supplies. INDUCED = staff and suppliers re-spending earnings locally. A common slip counts only re-spent money and forgets the direct sum, or stops after one round. Total = direct spend PLUS every later round, minus leakage.
Vague benefit words score nothing
Vague words -- "nice", "cheaper", "good for the economy" -- are too vague to earn credit, the most repeated credit-blocker in this subject. Replace each with a specific point: not "helps the economy" but "earns foreign currency and creates hotel and guiding jobs"; not "the area is nice" but a named feature (wildlife, culture) and WHY it draws visitors.
LEDC holidays are inherently cheaper
Candidates often assume tourists pick developing-country destinations mainly because they are cheap -- but this is not the strongest reason. Cost varies hugely within both MEDCs and LEDCs, so "cheaper" is no reliable rule. The best-credited appeal is new, unspoilt environments and cultures not available at home. Explain WHY a destination appeals, not just that it is cheapest.
Digest (## 3.4 Tourism): a persistent misconception is that LEDC holidays are inherently cheaper than MEDC ones; the appeal of new/unspoilt destinations is the strongest-credited answer. (w22 Paper 11 Q6(a)(ii))
All tourist spending stays local
Candidates often treat the full amount a tourist spends as if it all stays and benefits the local economy. In reality much can LEAK out: foreign-owned hotels repatriate profits abroad, goods are often imported, and infrastructure loans are repaid abroad. The higher the leakage, the SMALLER the multiplier, since less spending circulates locally.
Level 3 on the 7-mark case study
The tourism 7-marker rewards place detail plus balance. Top band: name a REAL area (e.g. Kenya's Maasai Mara); give a named activity (safari), group (Maasai) and mechanism (conservancy revenue-sharing); and cover BOTH a benefit AND a disadvantage.
Answer the exact command word
Command-word neglect is flagged in every report. "Describe" wants what the pattern IS; "explain" wants WHY; "suggest" wants a reasoned idea; "compare" needs explicit links (higher/lower, whereas), not two descriptions. Underline the command word and shape the answer to it.
Name a place, not a whole country
Case-study marks reward a precise, named example over a whole country. "Tourism in Africa" caps low; a named area (the Maasai Mara, Mombasa's coast) with real detail reaches the top band. Choose one specific place and anchor every point to it.
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