Technical definitions of tourism: tourists and excursionists

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TECHNICAL DEFINITIONS OF TOURISM

It is possible to divide definitions of tourism into categories. One such category consists of technical definitions. Technical definitions are used for comparative statistical purposes, and also for legislative purposes. Because of this, their framers try to make them as precise as possible. In 1976 an international conference convened by the United Nations Statistical Commission set out guidelines for defining international travellers. These guidelines, which were published by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in 1981, distinguished between international tourists and international excursionists. Duration of stay was a major defining factor identified in the guidelines. International tourists were defined as visitors to a foreign country spending at least one night in accommodation in that country but remaining less than one year in the country visited (cited in Smith 1989, p. 19). International excursionists, by contrast, do not stay even one night in accommodation in the country being visited. The precise elements in these definitions are the length of time in a foreign country and the using (or not using) of accommodation.

While there has been some degree of success in setting the limits and boundaries for technical definitions of international tourism, attempts to arrive at a technical definition of domestic tourism (that is, tourism in one's own country) have faced much greater difficulty. While the WTO has applied the international tourism time limits (at least 24 hours and less than one year) to domestic tourism, national groups with an interest in tourism have tended to provide their own definitions. Smith (1989, p. 21) cites a variety of approaches in the United States and Canada in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987 the Australian Government Committee of Inquiry into tourism included in its definition of tourist the following clause:

... a person who undertakes a pleasure trip involving a stay away from home for at least four hours during the daylight, and involving a round distance of at least 50 km; however, for trips to national parks, state and forest reserves, museums, historical parks, animal parks or other man–made attractions, the distance limitation does not apply (cited in Hall 1995, pp. 7-8).

This definition is very precise in its detail and captures the variety of ways in which domestic tourists are likely to spend money and time. Like other technical definitions it tends to focus on tourists as a market. What are the precise details provided in this definition? Does the definition include people who are making a business trip to a destination? Would a person be a tourist if he or she made a round-trip of 49 km.? Would a person be a tourist if he or she was away from home for 3 hours and 59 minutes? In other words, is it wise to make details so precise as is done in the definition above?