HND Travel and Tourism

HND Travel and Tourism

HND Travel and Tourism

The nature and development of Special Interest Tourism

Special interest tourism is a type of tourism that is specially designed for people who have a special interest that is common among them. This special interest has a great influence on their travel choices (Eagles, 2001, p. 7). Special interest dictates the development and planning of travel to a specific destination unlike mainstream tourism. In mainstream tourism, people travel in order to have rest, novel recreation and experiences.

These tourists are differentiated by particular motivations or interests instead of other factors such as social class, age and so forth. The type of experience of travel that they look for is greatly related to their special interest. An example of special interest tourism is nature tourism. For instance, bird watchers of varying ages select those destinations for their travel that provide them with opportunities to view specifically species of birds that are unique to that region.

Various tourism trends and factors have had an influence on the development of special interest tourism. One of the key tourism trends is the growing trend among people these days towards learning history. One's keenness to learn about history and historical places attracts him to various historical destinations worldwide. The factors that have played their roles in development of special interest tourism include industry factors as well as participant factors. The industry factors include market and demographic segmentations, novel locations, tailored packages, developing appeal and attraction of pursuits and events, and social trends. The main participant factors include disposable income, social-economic factors, time, increased security, and holidays. People who are an expert, enthusiast, or fanatic regarding a special interest decide to utilize their holidays and get them arranged for special interest tourism.

Special Interest Tourism matching customers, products and services

The tour operator provides the customers products and services of their interest in special interest tourism. The operator focuses on what the customer is looking for in the tourism product. He evaluates what the customer wants and expects to accomplish during his tour (Knight, 2011, p.n.d.). There are various products in special interest tourism such as adventure tourism, nature tourism, sports tourism and so forth. The operator needs to develop a specifically tailored service or product for the tourists in accordance with their tastes and needs.

Natural History Museum is one of the greatest nature museums situated in London. Tourists who have special interest in nature are attracted towards this museum. This museum has a huge collection of nomenclatures surpassing 9 million in number. There are around 30,000 fossil reptiles specimen and amphibians (Smith & Robinson, 2005, p. 268). There are specimens of dinosaurs as well. This museum has an objective to assist people in understanding via fabricated experience and feelings instead of understanding through facts and reasons. Full-scale reconstructions at this museum are established so that special tourists gain an authentic experience relating to the ancient times. In this way, this museum proves to be the target destination of anthropologists, ...