Tourism Geography or Geotourism is the study of travel and tourism as an industry, as a human activity, and especially as a place-based experience. From a geographical point of view, tourism consists of the places of tourist origin (or tourist generating areas), tourist destinations (or places of tourism supply), and the relationship (connections) between origin and destination places, which includes transportation routes, business relationships, and traveler motivations. Travel is the transport of people on a trip or journey. ... Tourists at Oahu island, Hawaii Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ... Place is a term that has a variety of meanings in a dictionary sense, but which is principally used as a noun to denote location, though in a sense of a location identified with that which is located there. ...

Geography is fundamental to the study of tourism because tourism is geographical in nature. Tourism occurs in places, it involves movement and activities across geographic space (between places), and it is an activity in which both place characteristics and personal self-identities are formed through the relationships that are created among places, landscapes and people. Physical geography provides the essential background against which tourism places are created, and environmental impacts and concerns are major issues that must be considered in managing the development of tourism places. Space has been an interest for philosophers and scientists for much of human history. ...

Human geography provides an understanding of the social and economic relationships that exist in providing tourism and U.S. National Park Service nature-based ^[1] outdoor recreation opportunities and activities, as well as the special meaning that these places have to individuals. A destination's sense of place is often a key element behind tourism development -- after all, without the uniqueness and diversity of places, tourism would be mundane and uninteresting. Population density by country, 2006 Human geography is a branch of geography that focuss on the systematic study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with the environment, with particular reference to the causes and consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity on the Earths surface. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... Sense of Place is a characteristic that some geographic places have and some do not. ...

References

1. ^ Planning, Environment & Public Comment (PEPC)

See also

• Agritourism, place-based geotourism in hands-on rural communities
• Cultural tourism, community-building through creative story-telling ...
• Freedom's Frontier, retraces Frontier Army's "Military Road" ...
  • Heritage tourism, experience people, places & changes over time!
• Hayward Fault Zone, earth science with emergency preparedness focus
• International Network of Geoparks
  • Iskar-panega Geopark
• Traveler Magazine, champions sustainable travel programs ...

Agritourism is a style of vacation in which hospitality is offered on farms. ... Cultural tourism (also culture tourism) is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or regions culture, especially its arts. ... Promises made and broken! A town attacked at dawn! Thousands made homeless by war! Soldiers fighting settlers! Each of these stories is a link in the chain of events that encircled Fort Scott from 1842-73. ... Heritage tourism involves visiting historical or industrial sites that may include old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc. ... For recent activity in the region shown on this map see the USGS map for this location. ... The International Network of Geoparks (INoG) is a UNESCO Geoparks programme established in 1998. ... The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ...

External Links

• Commission on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change (International Geographical Union)
• Recreation Tourism and Sport Specialty Group (Association of American Geographers)
• Geography of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (Royal Geographical Society)
• Pioneering China-based Geotourism (China Daily March 31, 2006)
• Tourism Forum: Geotourism Editor (National Geographic Traveler Magazine)
• Tourism Geographies: An International Journal of Tourism Space, Place and Environment (Routledge)
• Geography for Travelers podcast and blog
• Travel destinations, photos & tips travel diaries