Tourism Destination Information

A person working in the Tourism Industry needs to understand:

General World Geography

• The Continents

• The Oceans

• Major Physical Features

Time Zones

Climate

Information Sources

Introduction

Land Area148,940,000 sq km 29

%

Water Area361,132,000 sq km 70.8

%

Fresh Water Area – less than 2 %

World Population6,633,190,000 20 July

2006

The Continents

#1 Asia 44,579,000 sq km

#2 Africa 30,065,000 sq km

#3 North America 24,256,000 sq km

#4 South America 17,819,000 sq km

#5 Antarctica 13,209,000 sq km

#6 Europe 9,938,000 sq km

#7 Australia/Oceania 7,687,000 sq km

AustraliaAfrica

Africa & Australia

AsiaAsia & Europe

Ural Mountains

Aral River

Caspian Sea

Caucasus Mountains

Black Sea & Bosphorus Strait

For Homework located these features on your Map of Europe

North America

South America

North & South America

The Oceans

Pacific

Pacific

South

North

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Southern Ocean

Latitude & Longitude

Equator

Prime Meridian & Tropics

Prime Meridian

Arctic Circle

66ºN

66ºSAntarctic Circle

International Date Line180º line of longitude

middle of the Pacific Ocean

imaginary line - separates 2 consecutive calendar days. not perfectly straight line

In the Eastern Hemisphere, left of the International Date Line (the date) is always one day ahead of the date (or day) in the Western Hemisphere. note that Tonga and Samoa have the same time but are (1) day apart, as Samoa is in the Western Hemisphere, on the opposite side of the International Dateline from Tonga. Fiji is (1) hour earlier than Tonga.

Hawaii, further to the east of Samoa, is (1) hour later in time.

International Date Line

north to south

Hemispheres

Climate Types

Equatorial

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

Continental

Climate Types

Equatorial

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

• hot all year

• a very low temperature

range - usually less than 3ºC

• wet climate

annual rainfall often more

than 2000 mm

• Lies close to the equator

•Eg Singapore 1ºNContinental

Climate Types

Equatorial

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

• hot all year 28 - 32 ºC

• Wet & Dry Seasons

• Seasonal change of wind

direction - called monsoon

• Lies between

Tropic of Cancer [N] &

Tropic of Capricorn [S]

• Eg FijiContinental

Climate Types

Equatorial

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

• 3 Seasons

Summer, Spring, Autumn

• Lies between

Tropic of Cancer & 33º[N] &

Tropic of Capricorn & 34 º[S]

•Eg Newcastle

Continental

Climate Types

Equatorial

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

• 4 Seasons

Summer, Spring,

Autumn, Winter

• Lies between

33 - 66ºN & 33/4 - 66ºS

•Eg Melbourne

Continental

Climate Types

Continental

Tropical

Sub - Tropical

Temperate

Equatorial • extreme difference

between day & night time

temperatures

• away from moderating

effects of the sea

Factors that influence Climate

Altitude

Latitude

Coast vs Inland

Proximity to Hills & Mountains

Prevailing Wind Direction

Seasons

Altitude

Altitude measures

height above sea levelas Height increases temperature decreases

Latitude

Latitude measures the distance from the equator in degrees north or south eg Singapore 1ºN

As Latitude Increases

temperature decreases

Seasonality

Seasons tell us about the normal weather patterns and temperature ranges

Eg

Summer Autumn Winter Spring

Coastal vs Inland

Due to the moderating effects of the Sea Coastal regions have less extremes of temperature

ie the water cools and heats slowly

& away from large bodies of water the land heats & cools rapidly

Other Factors

Proximity to Hills & Mountains due to local prevailing wind direction one side of the mountains tends to be wetter than the other

Prevailing Wind Direction the West of a Continent tends to be drier than the East

Politics

is a form of social organisation

Travel Documentation

Passports

Health Documents[sometimes]Visas

Information Sources for Travel Issues

www.s m a r t t r a v e l l e r.gov.au

Gross Domestic Product

GDP• Value of all Goods & Services

• Produced & Sold in that country in one Year

• Measured in USD

Tourism Generating Regions

Tend to be Developed or Developing Nations

Tourism Destination Regions

Can be any Developed, Developing or Lesser Developed Nations