Tourist Typologies and Destination Choices: London and Bali

Introduction

Tourism refers to the act and procedure of spending time far from their usual place or home in pursuit of relaxation, enjoyment and recreation while utilising the commercial provision of goods and services (Fletcher et al, 2018). People who make use of the commercial services and visit a place or country for entertainment as well as other purpose is known as the tourist. Basically, tourist implies for the people who travel for enjoyment and goes to different places for spending their vacations. The main aim of this essay is to describe about the tourist and different typologies such as; Plog’s model (1974) and Cohen’s Classification of Tourist (1972). Plog’s tourist typology divided the tourists according to their personality and traits. This essay will discuss about the tourist destination along with the tourist attractions to meet the requirement of different tourist types.

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Main Body

Tourist refers to an individual who travels to different countries for recreation and relaxation, generally exploration and staying in the hotels. Basically, a tourist uses the commercial services while travelling such as; transportation, food and beverages, tour guides and other related services (Holloway and Humphreys, 2022). Tourist typologies are defined as the classification of tourists according to their travel behaviours, requirements and motivations. There are many tourist typologies that help in understanding the different types of tourists.

Plog’s tourist typology

This model has categorised the tourists into three main types such as; Allocentric, Midcentric and Psychocentric.

Allocentric – This is also known as venture and wanderer which refers to the people who look for new experience, desire to explore the less known or unusual places, enjoy communicating with others from various cultural background and refers adventurous activities in their tour. These kind of tourists are the quick decision-maker, choose new products and always eager to learn new things.

Midcentric – These types of tourists have qualities of both Allocentric and Psychocentric tourists (Butzmann and Job, 2020). These kinds of tourists have balanced combination of personality based attitudes and traits.

Psychocentric – People who fall under this category are known as repeater or dependable who prefer familiarity and awareness while making selection of tourism destinations for vacation. Psychocentric are those people who have a strong belief on the concept that whatever happens is widely beyond their control, so they usually choose safe destinations and select popular things. They are non-adventurous and prefer family trips.

Cohen’s tourist typology

Cohen divides the tourists into four major types such as; the drifter, the explorer, the individual mass tourists and the organised mass tourist.

The Drifter – These kinds of tourists are extremely adventurous and prefer to live with the members of local community. They choose new and unique things over familiarity and often do not eat in famous restaurant.

The Explorer – Explorer also look novelty and originality over the familiar like drifter (Różycki and Korbiel, 2022). However, this kind of tourist do often have more interaction with communities related to tourism sector. They travel independently and adore immersive cultural.

The Individual Mass Tourist – Tourist who fall in this category looks familiar and wants familiar food. Individual mass tourist prefer solo travel and stay in hotel that they are accustomed with.

The Organised Mass Tourist – These types of tourists search for familiarity over newness and they are usually found with guides and choose group tours. They make schedule or plan and always stick to it.

London and Bali are the two most famous tourism destinations that are often choosen by the tourists for their vacations. London is a part of the United Kingdom and highly popular city in all over the world. London is city destination and many people prefer this to spend their vacations for making holiday experience memorable. Visit London is the tourist board that manages the tourist activities and provides the latest information regarding travel (Tomicki, 2024). According to the London’s official website Visit London, it is vibrant as well as exciting city and it has worlds the best attraction points, sites, activities and other tourism related services. List of attractions mainly include Science Museum, Tate Modern or British Museum and art galleries where tourists can spend their time. Based on Cohen’s tourist typology, individual mass tourists can enjoy the city’s best food and beverages with wide range of choices from Michelin-starred restaurants to the traditional restaurants and afternoon tea (Visit London, 2024). London has champagne bars, riverside pubs and rooftop bars that are enough to attract modern tourists. Visit London also has a mobile application so that tourists can find different attraction point.

Bali, a province of Indonesia is one of the most beautiful tourism destinations and it is a kind of coastal destination. It is an exotic tropical destination which exhibits scenic beaches, mountains and rivers. This destination is deep-rooted in the tradition, heritage and culture that enhance the charm and attraction of this scenic island. Bali Tourism Board is the official website which was developed to establish and develop sustainable tourism sector in Bali and Indonesia (Bali Tourism Board, 2024). Bali has the top attraction points such as; Lovina, Jimbaran and many more that attract Allocentric tourists who like beaches and adventure. Tourists can enjoy the different adventure activities like rafting, safari, Bali swing, water activities and many more. Apart from the adventure activities, it has ancient temples that add charm to this place. Moreover, this place organises a cultural dance performance and offer spa and yoga facilities to relax mind and body.

According reports, approximately 16.1 million people visited the London in year 2023 which shows the 26% increment compared to 2022 (Road Genius, 2024). Both domestic and global tourist visits London for spending their vacations. Psychocentric and individual mass tourists who like familiar and safe destination always choose this city and enjoy their vacations with good food. Whereas; explorer who like culture and heritage often visit the London as this city has beautiful historic attractions. Approximately 9 out of 10 tourists visited minimum one attraction or place during their London visit (London & Partners, 2024). It means Psychocentric which is also known as repeater chooses London while planning their holidays. Based on the reports, around 77% of inbound, 92% of business and 63% of holiday tours were repeat visits (Condor Ferries, 2024).

According to the newest data published by the Bali Central Bureau, the arrival of international tourists reached approximately 625,665 visits throughout July 2024 (Theurillat, 2024). Bali is considered as the great tourism destination for thrilling and adventures so, allocentric, drifter and explorer give priority to the Bali. These tourists prefer new experiences; exploration and less familiar things and this destination fulfil the needs of tourists. In Bali, July 2023 witnessed the large number of tourists (541,353) because of beautiful beaches as well as cultural festivals (Road Genius, 2024). There are many temples in Bali such as; Ulun Danu Beratan Temple, Pura Tirta Empul and Tanah Lot that convince the people to visit Bali and get novel experiences as well as learn about the rich history of this tourism destination.

Exodus Travels and Collette are the two leading tourism organisations that offer the different and unique tour packages to the people. Exodus Travel considers the Plog’s tourist typology while planning and making the tourism packages. Many resorts and hotels in the London offer all-inclusive packages which include safe accommodations, high quality food along with the activities like spa and water sports (Charkina et al, 2022). London attracts the different kinds of tourists like midcentric, explorer and individual mass tourist because this destination offers a combination of modern and cultural tourism. Tourism companies in the Bali grab the attention of different tourist types. They use tourist typologies to attract those people who are fascinated to experience the local culture, islands, mountains and adventure activities.

Official tourism board of both destinations such as; Visit London and BTB (Bali Tourism Board) are focusing more on sustainable tourism approaches. It helps London and Bali in addressing the issues like over tourism as well as climate change and thereby meet the tourist expectations. Tourism board helps in preventing the misuse of natural resources like water and electricity, reduce pollution, climate change, waste production and disrespect towards the local culture (Page and Connel, 2020). According to tourist typologies, I have identified that my tourist type is allocentric and explorer. I like the adventurous activities, beaches and mountains usually choose place that meet these needs. I also like the local culture, heritage and ancient temples which increases my knowledge. It allows me to learn about the different local culture and traditions. Furthermore, I also plan my trip and follow the schedule properly to complete my tour on time.

Conclusion

As per above essay, it can be concluded that behaviour, attitudes and traits of the tourists play the most crucial role within the tourism industry. This essay has identified that there are many types of tourists who choose destinations according to their needs. According to Plog, Allocentric, Midcentric and Psychocentric are three types of tourists and based on Cohen’s tourist typology, major tourist types include drifter, explorer, individual and organised mass tourist. According to statistics and information available on official website, it has analysed that tourists who are looking for familiarity, safe travel, popularity, art and culture often visit the London as it’s city destination. On the other hand, Bali is often visited by the tourists who want adventure activities and novel experience.

Refreneces

Books and Journals

Butzmann, E. and Job, H., 2020. Developing a typology of sustainable protected area tourism products. InProtected Areas, Sustainable Tourism and Neo-liberal Governance Policies(pp. 40-59). Routledge.

Charkina, T., Pikulina, O., Zadoja, V. and Tsviliy, S., 2022. Improvement of the tourism industry management due to introduction of new trends and types of tourism.

Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D. and Wanhill, S. 2018. Tourism: Principles and Practice. 6th edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Holloway, J. C. and Humphreys, C. 2022. The Business of Tourism. 12th edn. London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Page, S. J. and Connel, J. 2020. Tourism: A Modern Synthesis. 5th edn. London: Routledge.

Różycki, P. and Korbiel, K., 2022. The theoretical concept of tourist typology in the interdisciplinary structure of tourism.Sport and Tourism Central European Journal,5(3), pp.141-157.

Online

Bali Tourism Board, 2024. Online Available through < https://www.balitourismboard.id/ >

Condor Ferries, 2024. UK TOURISM Statistics 2024. Online Available through < https://www.condorferries.co.uk/uk-tourism-statistics >

London & Partners, 2024. London’s cultural tourists. Online Available through < https://files.londonandpartners.com/l-and-p/assets/our-insight-londons-cultural-tourists.pdf >

Road Genius, 2024. Bali Tourism Statistics. Online Available through < https://roadgenius.com/statistics/tourism/indonesia/bali/#What_are_Balis_peak_tourist_months >

Road Genius, 2024. London Tourism Statistics. Online Available through < https://roadgenius.com/statistics/tourism/uk/london/#How_many_people_visit_London_each_year >

Theurillat, A., 2024. Bali’s Tourism Statistics: Insights from July 2024. Online Available through < https://balimanagement.villas/blogs/bali-tourism-statistic/ >

Tomicki, S., 2024. Top 10 reasons to visit London. Online Available through < https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/visiting-london-for-the-first-time/ten-reasons-to-visit-london#:~:text=Renowned%20for%20its%20vibrant%20mix,day%20trips%20to%20sightseeing%20tours >

Visit London, 2024. Discover London - Official Visitor Guide. Online Available through < https://www.visitlondon.com/ >