Tourism, Indiana Jones and Car Wheels

Alain Jordà

Author of Local and Territorial Development: A Guide for Politicians and Technicians
Expert in Local Development for cities, regions, and countries

The title of this article is inspired by many places around the world that have the privilege of enjoying fantastic tourist attractions but that, to their surprise, fail to benefit from a flow of visitors that would allow them to improve the prosperity of the territory and its inhabitants.

To make the reasons for this frustration clear, I will share a couple of analogies in the hope that they may inspire a shift in perspective among those responsible for tourism who have the opportunity to read this article.

First analogy: Indiana Jones is not a tourist

Indeed, it would seem that some policymakers imagine the tourists they hope to attract as if they were clones of Indiana Jones. Here are a few examples that show how far Indiana Jones is from the typical tourist:

• While Indiana Jones has no problem eating roots dug up from the ground or lizards painstakingly hunted in the jungle, a tourist expects to find a good table where they can leisurely enjoy their meal, their coffee, and attentive service.
• While Indiana Jones sleeps on the hard ground or among tree branches, a tourist expects a comfortable, clean room with hot water and air conditioning.
• While Indiana Jones arrives with his treasure map prepared from home, the typical tourist expects to find, upon arrival, both at the hotel and at local tourist offices, all kinds of information and maps about the activities available during their stay.
• While Indiana Jones travels by all kinds of overcrowded means and without any comfort, a tourist will not accept traveling 20 kilometers standing in a minibus; instead, they expect organized excursions tailored to them, with comfortable transportation and properly planned meals.
• While Indiana Jones can go days without eating, a tourist expects to be able to have a coffee or a beer at any time of day and practically wherever they may be.
• While Indiana Jones wears only his adventurer’s outfit and needs nothing more, a tourist expects to be able to make a variety of purchases that they may not find at home: handicrafts, art, luxury goods (clothing, shoes, jewelry…), souvenirs, sports equipment…
• And while Indiana Jones sleeps simply to recover his strength, the tourist expects a variety of nighttime activities in order to make the most of every minute of the trip.

We could surely add more differences, but what has been mentioned is more than enough to understand that a tourist is someone who comes to disconnect from daily life, to be entertained, and to spend a few carefree days. To do so, they bring money that they are willing to spend in exchange for the services they use. The tourist comes to be treated with care and attention, to be guided smoothly from one moment of the day to the next without having to worry about anything.

This means that, beyond the tourist attractions of our territory, which generate the initial impulse for a potential visitor to come, there will be a series of additional elements that will determine whether the tourist chooses to visit us or, on the contrary, opts for another destination for their leisure time. In other words:

1. A tourist will not travel to a region or city where they believe their expectations of leisure, tranquility, and freedom from concern will not be met;
2. Even if the tourist decides to spend a few days among us, if we do not provide the services they expect, they will spend here only part of the money they intended to spend.

The result is that, if we do not have a well-organized tourism industry, we will receive few tourists and, moreover, each of them will spend less than they originally planned.

The conclusion of this first analogy is that, for a territory to benefit from tourism, it must focus on satisfying customer expectations. In other words, tourism must be centered on the tourist, offering all the services and quality they expect, since they are the reason tourism exists and the source of wealth for the territory.

It should also be remembered that it is the tourist who decides whether to visit our territory or choose another place that seems more attractive. Our tourism model must therefore aim to make our territory highly appealing to the visitor. And that implies being capable of satisfying most of their expectations.

The next question, then, is: how do we make our territory attractive to tourists? That brings us to the second analogy.

Second analogy: tourist attractions and car wheels

Wheels alone are not a car, nor do they allow us to travel. In reality, to have a car that allows us to move, which is its purpose, wheels must be complemented by an engine, steering, brakes, a body, seats, seat belts, headlights…

In exactly the same way, the tourist attractions of a territory are not tourism. Like wheels, tourist attractions are essential for generating tourism. But on their own, they are incapable of producing a continuous and substantial flow of visitors, nor of ensuring that satisfied tourists leave a meaningful economic return in the territory for the services they receive.

Therefore, tourist attractions, which are a sine qua non condition for attracting visitors, must be surrounded by a broad set of conditions and services that will make our territory truly supported by tourism.

Conclusions

From Analogy 1

We must make our territory highly attractive to potential tourists. To achieve this, we must focus on the tourist and on satisfying their expectations at every moment of their stay.

The tourist is neither an explorer nor an adventurer. On the contrary, they are an average citizen, like you or me, belonging to the middle or upper-middle class, for whom tourism represents a few days of disconnection from daily routines, days away from usual obligations and responsibilities. Therefore, they seek an environment where their only responsibility is to engage in activities that attract them, without any worries.

Every tourist destination must ensure that the visitor’s stay unfolds with full satisfaction and without problems. In doing so, we will gain not only their satisfaction but also an excellent ambassador for how wonderful our land is and how easily one can forget daily concerns among us. Conversely, a dissatisfied tourist will not only fail to return but will also recommend to friends and acquaintances that they should not visit.

From Analogy 2

The existence of tourist attractions alone will neither bring visitors nor ensure that they spend significant amounts of money in our territory.

We must surround the attractions we possess with a comprehensive system of services capable of meeting the expectations of visiting tourists.

In other words, we must create in our territory a tourism industrial system, that is, a coordinated set of services (transportation, accommodation, food services, information, leisure, commerce, culture, security, healthcare…) capable of satisfying the desires and needs of tourists while generating wealth for our region.