tourism product and its characteristics

What is Tourism Product? Definition, Types, Characteristics

• Post last modified: 3 October 2021
• Reading time: 14 mins read
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What is Tourism Product?

Tourism Products are a combination of goods and services demanded by a tourist during travel to and stay at a destination. These include natural, cultural and manmade attractions and facilities such as hotels, transport and ancillary services.

In this process, tourists derive an experience which varies from individual to individual. From a broader perspective, the sum total of experiences derived by the tourists during the entire trip can be considered as the product.

Table of Content

• 1 What is Tourism Product?
• 2 Definition of Tourism Product
• 3.1 Natural Tourism Product
• 3.2 Man-Made Tourism Product
• 3.3 Symbiotic Tourism Product
• 3.4 Event Based Tourism
• 3.5 Site Based Tourism Product
• 4.1 Intangibility
• 4.2 Inseperatability
• 4.3 Perishability
• 4.4 Heterogeneity
• 4.5 Essentially of Users Presence
• 4.6 Complexity in Marketing
• 4.7 Absence of Ownership

Definition of Tourism Product

Burkat and Medlik say tourism products to an array of integrated products, which consist of objects and attractions, transportation, accommodation and entertainment, where each element of the tourism product is prepared by individual companies and are offered separately to consumers (tourist/tourist).

The tourism “product” is not the destination, but it is about the experiences of that place and what happens there. – Chris Ryan

Economist M. Sinclair and Mike Stabler define the tourism product as a “composite product involving transport, accommodation, catering, natural resources, entertainment and other facilities and services, such as shops and banks, travel agents and tour operators.”

According to Suswantoro (2007:75) on substantially the understanding of tourism products “is obtained and the overall service felt or enjoyed by tourists since he left his residence to the tourist destination of his choice and to return home where she originally departed”.

Types of Tourism Products

Following figure describes the classification of Tourism Product:

Natural Tourism Product

Man-made tourism product, symbiotic tourism product, event based tourism, site based tourism product.

These are the products connected to the natural environment. Natural environment that constitutes natural resources which is related to area, climate and its settings, and the landscapes. These natural resources are the most important elements in a destination’s attraction. Such as countryside, climate, natural beauty, water, flora and fauna, wildlife, beaches, deserts, islands or any scenic attraction.

Some examples of natural tourism products in India are Marina beach- Chennai, Darjeeling hill station-West Bengal, Islands of Andaman & Nicobar- Andaman & Nicobar, Deserts of Thar-Rajasthan, etc

Something which is not natural, found in the destinations to attract the tourists. These are man-made creations. As per the tourism point of view they are made for pleasure, leisure or business.

Man-made tourism products are further divided into three subtypes:

• Sites and areas of archaeological interest
• Historical buildings and monuments
• Places of historical significance l museums and art galleries
• Political and educational institutions
• Religious institutions
• Fairs and festivals
• Arts and handicrafts
• Folklore l native life and customs
• Amusement and recreation parks
• Sporting events
• Zoos and oceanariums
• Cinemas and theatres
• Night life l cuisines

Examples of Man-made tourism products are Ajanta and Ellora cave-Maharashtra (Cultural), Surajkund Craft Mela-Haryana (Traditional), Essel World-Mumbai, etc

This type of tourism product do not fall in any particular category because they are a blend of nature and man but the core attraction is nature. These are the natural resource that has been converted into a tourism product by maintaining and managing them.

In other words man has taken initiative to preserve the natural aspects of earth and also managed in a way to provide best possible services to the tourists who come for the visit, for example, accommodation, parking facilities, etc. Some examples are National Park or Wildlife Sanctuaries, Flower Festival, Marine Park, Aero and Water Sports, Botanical Garden etc.

In India, there are many national parks like Ranthambhore-Rajasthan, where tigers and many animals are preserved and tourists are given facilities like a jungle safari.

Product Here event is the main source of attraction. Tourist comes to observe and participate in the events. Events are temporary in nature and are often mounted in order to increase the number of tourists to a particular destination.

Some events are for a short time scale while other last for longer days. Sometimes events are mounted in those places where the tourist’s eye usually don’t reach such as unusual exhibitions.

Some examples of event-based tourism product include Camel Polo at Jaisalmer- Rajasthan, Kite flying in Ahmedabad-Gujarat, where tourists also participate and observes. In Snake boat race-Kerela, one can enjoy witnessing it. Short time scale event includes Republic day parade-New Delhi and long days event include Khajuraho dance festival-Madhya Pradesh.

It is a particular site or a place, permanent in nature which is the main source of attraction for the tourists. In India examples are like Taj Mahal, Beaches of Goa, Sunset at Kanyakumari, Temples of Khajuraho, etc.

Characteristics of Tourism Product

Following are the main characteristics of tourism products:

Intangibility

Inseperatability, perishability, heterogeneity, essentially of users presence, complexity in marketing, absence of ownership.

As discussed earlier in this chapter, tourism products are actually the services that are being sold to the tourists, and it’s not the goods. Services can’t be seen, smelled, felt or touched, it can only be experienced. What can be seen is their effect.

For example, a guide’s comments can be heard. A travel agents books a ticket from place A to B. The ticket is just a piece of paper, an entry pass for using the service. An airline provides the service of transportation, comfort and leisure. A thorough evaluation of the service before buying it is therefore impossible and leads customers to use other cues to help them assess the service like the interior of the restaurant, the appearance of the hotel entrance or the behaviour of the receptionist.

A service of a tourism product cannot be separated from the provider of the service. For most services, the producer and the seller are the same people. Services are manufactured and consumed at the same time. In the case of products, consumption takes place after production and often far away from the factory.

In the case of tourism products for example a guide has to be present to explain the attraction. A pilot has to be present to fly a plane. Both service providers and the service user have to be physically present for mutually satisfying the exchange of service. The visitor to a national park cannot experience counter service if the receptionist is not present, nor can the receptionist render the service is the visitor is absent.

The tourism product is highly perishable, which means it cannot be stored. For example, a hotel room or an aeroplane seat that is not sold on a particular day, is a lost sale. If the tourists don’t visit a particular place, the opportunity is lost. If the opportunity is lost, the moment is lost. This adversely affects the tourism business.

The demand has to be managed by the marketer in such a way as to ensure that as little capacity as possible is lost. The problem is unique for the tourism industry. Due to these reason sometimes heavy discount is offered by hotels or transport generating organization.

Services offered by most people are never the same. There is some degree of variability present in almost all types of services. This may be due to the extensive involvement of people in the production of service. This issue is not present when a machine dominates. Depending on the mood, behaviour, working style, efficiency and knowledge of the people variability exist.

For example, all air hostesses cannot provide the same quality service like the other. Yet again the same individual air hostess may not perform the same uniform service both in the morning as well as in the evening.

Even the tour package and the aircraft can’t be consistent of equal standards because an aircraft can de-shape the travelling pleasure into a nightmare and a holiday seaside is ruined by the prolonged rainy spell.

Another reason for variability of service is the involvement of customers in the process of product delivery and consumption system. For example, a musician performing at a program may not perform with uniformity. His performance will depend on the response and appreciation of the audience. Hence service varies from person to person, time to time and from situation to situation.

In travel and tourism businesses, service quality depends on uncontrollable factors and there is no sure way of knowing whether the service delivered matched what was planned or promoted, or what was expected by the customer.

Presence of the user is necessary to avail the service. The customer or the guest has to be personally present on the spot. It can’t be brought to the user. As in the case of other tangible goods, the buyer can avail the service from anywhere or from his home. But in the case of tourism products, it is not at all possible. The tourist has to go to the tourist attraction to experience the tour.

However the marketers here need an in-depth study of users behaviour, tastes, preferences, likes and dislikes so that expectations and realities coincide and satisfaction is made possible.

Tourism product involves complexity in marketing. It requires a lot of effort to convince a buyer. As in the case of travel agents. In order to sell their tour package they need to convince the customer by introducing various facilities, discounts and services. Product demonstration is bit difficult in the case of tourism product.

As in the case of tangible goods like television. As soon as we buy it, we become the owner of it. But this is not the case with tourism products. A tourism product when sold to the customer or tourist, he can only avail the service but can’t be its owner.

For example, while buying a hotel room, while buying a seat in an aircraft or a luxurious train, you can only take the facilities of the service for a certain time. You can’t be its owner for lifelong.

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As defined by UN Tourism, a Tourism Product is "a combination of tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural and man-made resources, attractions, facilities, services and activities around a specific center of interest which represents the core of the destination marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience including emotional aspects for the potential customers. A tourism product is priced and sold through distribution channels and it has a life-cycle".

Rural tourism

UN Tourism understands Rural Tourism as "a type of tourism activity in which the visitor’s experience is related to a wide range of products generally linked to nature-based activities, agriculture, rural lifestyle / culture, angling and sightseeing.

Gastronomy and Wine Tourism

As global tourism is on the rise and competition between destinations increases, unique local and regional intangible cultural heritage become increasingly the discerning factor for the attraction of tourists.

Mountain Tourism

Mountain Tourism  is a type of "tourism activity which takes place in a defined and limited geographical space such as hills or mountains with distinctive characteristics and attributes that are inherent to a specific landscape, topography, climate, biodiversity (flora and fauna) and local community. It encompasses a broad range of outdoor leisure and sports activities".

Urban Tourism

According to UN Tourism, Urban Tourism is "a type of tourism activity which takes place in an urban space with its inherent attributes characterized by non-agricultural based economy such as administration, manufacturing, trade and services and by being nodal points of transport. Urban/city destinations offer a broad and heterogeneous range of cultural, architectural, technological, social and natural experiences and products for leisure and business".

Sports Tourism

Tourism and sports are interrelated and complementary. Sports – as a professional, amateur or leisure activity – involves a considerable amount of traveling to play and compete in different destinations and countries. Major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, football and rugby championships have become powerful tourism attractions in themselves – making a very positive contribution to the tourism image of the host destination.

Shopping Tourism

Shopping Tourism is becoming an increasingly relevant component of the tourism value chain. Shopping has converted into a determinant factor affecting destination choice, an important component of the overall travel experience and, in some cases the prime travel motivation.

Tourism Product Concept

Tourism Product Concept: Tourism product is usually as the amount of psychological and physical satisfaction it offers or delivers to the tourists when they are travelling to a new place or are on the way to a given destination it can be both domestic and international. Tourism products are more concerned towards services and facilities produced to fulfil the requirement of the consumers or the tourists.

Tourism product concept may be combined or amalgamated in nature i.e. the various attraction at a given destination, transportation facilities and other entertainment facilities result in full or 100% customer satisfaction. every element in tourism product is delivered by single supplier service or facilities like tour operator , airline companies, hotels and resorts etc. tourist products can be studied on the basis of four important elements viz. attraction, accessibility, accommodation and amenities.

Meaning of Tourism Product

Tourism product is a group of various components and elements which are combined together to satisfy the needs and wants of the consumers. The product in tourism industry is the complete experience of the tourist from the point of origin to the destination point and back to the origin point. The product in Tourism may be defined as the ‘sum total of physical and psychological satisfaction it provides to the tourist from the origin point to the destination and during their travelling route’.

Also read Tourism

The raw material in tourism industry is the natural beauty, Climate, History, Culture and people of the destination and some other important elements are the existing facilities or the infrastructure such as water supply, electricity, roads, transport , communication, services and other ancillary services. If any of these elements get missing, then it will completely destroy the whole experience of the tourist. Tourism products are offered in the market with some cost i.e. money. A Product could therefore be defined by its three characteristic: 

• The product must be offered
• It should satisfy some need or needs of the customers 
• It should be exchanged for some value 

Also read more about Tourism Product Life Cycle

So, we can say that if the Tourism Product i.e. the sum total of a country’s tourist attractions, transport systems, hospitality , entertainment, and infrastructure is well designed and developed and then offered to the tourist this will ultimately result in consumer satisfaction. Tourism products are nothing but various services offered to the tourists, and falls under the category of service product. Tourism product is the prime reason for tourist to choose a destination. Tourism product helps in earning revenue for the destination. So all the tourism product should be properly preserved and promoted

A) Attraction

Attraction is the first and the most important element of tourism product, until unless there is an attraction, then only a tourist would be encouraged to visit a particular place. Attraction is a very important element as it determines the choice made by a tourist to travel to a particular place rather than another place or destination. An attraction can be of different types such as historical buildings and monuments, areas of archaeological interests, mountains, beaches, resorts, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, Flora and Fauna, events like conferences, exhibitions, sports meet, world cups, music and art festivals etc.

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Demand for tourist products can be determined on the basis of upcoming trends in the market or current fashions. Present fashion in the market are helpful for analyzing and fulfilling the demand for different tourism products (which can include attractions, services and other amenities). Tourist visiting to hill stations for their natural beauty and panoramic views may choose to opt for some other destination due to current trends in the market and sometimes change in the fashion.

You may read History of Travel and Tourism

Peter has sketched up a list of the different attractions that are important in the tourism . Though, the attractions of tourism are, to a very large amount, geographical in character. Location and accessibility (whether a place or coastal or inland position and the ease with which a given place can be reached) are essential. Those who wish to seek wilderness and adventure may think of physical space at a destination.

Landscape or scenery is a mix of landforms; water and flora and has a beautiful and artistic value. Weather conditions, especially in relation to the amount of sunshine, temperature and precipitation (rain as well now), are of unique importance. Animal life might be a significant attraction, first in relation, to bird watching or viewing game in their natural habit and second, for sports purposes, e.g. hunting and fishing. Human’s influence on the natural landscape in the name of his settlements, archaeological remains and ancient monuments and is also a main attraction. Finally, a range of artistic elements folklore, artistic expressions, ways of life etc. offer valued attractions to large tourists.

B) Accessibility

Accessibility can be defined as means by which a person/tourist can travel or reach to particular place or destination. Tourist attractions can be of different types some may be accessible or some may be not by a mode of transportation . A tourist always looks up to a mode or means of transport in order to reach that particular place/attraction. Mode of transportation can be a coach, a car, an aeroplane, a ship or boat and a train that can enable or help a tourist to visit his desired destination. There are certain destinations which are not accessible by different modes of transport or inadequate transportation services, these destinations then turn into of a little value.  

Generally the tourist attractions that are situated close to a tourist generating area or market and are connected by a proper network of effective modes of transportation, experience a large number of tourist visits. Distance between the places of origin to the desired destination plays a crucial role in the movement of tourists and effect their choices in destination selection, proper connectivity between places or destination can act as motivation factor for tourists to visit a particular destination or place. Long distance destination increases the cost of travel for the tourists which somehow restricts the limits of different tourists travelling across places.

Time constraint and cost play a crucial role in the movement of tourists across the globe. An instance can be that of India. Almost two and half million tourist visitors for a country of the size of India may seem to be rather insignificant. Though, we see at certain things like the country’s distance from the affluent tourist markets of the world such as Europe, United States, Japan, Canada and Australia, one may determine that the long distance is one of the reasons liable for low tourist visits. It costs a tourist from these nations, quite a large amount, to travel to India for a vacation. It has been listed before that North America and Europe last to be major markets creating and getting areas for international tourist arrivals, accounting for as much as 70% and 20% respectively, of inbound tourist arrivals. Easy-going accessibility, thus is a main aspect for the development and growth of tourist arrivals.

C) Accommodation      

Lodging and other services balance the tourist attractions. Accommodation is very crucial and plays a central role and is very essential requirement of every tourist destination. As per the definition given by UNWTO, a person travelling to a new place from his place of origin must spend at least 24 hours at a particular destination so then only he/she would be considered a tourist. This tells about the importance of accommodation facilities at a different destination.

The demand for accommodation has always been there since ages. Therefore, the demand or the need for accommodation is met through variety of facilities. In the accommodation sector, the range and type of lodging is a bit wide-ranging and has experienced through different stages in the last couple of years. There is a decrease in the need for small hotels, boarding houses and other accommodation facilities. Large hotel chains have started to increase their share at famous tourist destinations and big metropolitans throughout the globe in more traditional holiday and sea- side resorts in Europe and elsewhere, large hotels are keeping their share of holiday resorts.

In the past few years, certain changes have arisen in the accommodation sector and the type of accommodation has totally transformed. The demand for non-traditional and informal types of lodging facilities have increased to a great extent. Holiday villages and concepts like home stays, condominiums and youth hostels are the current trends in the accommodation sector and popularity of these types of accommodations has increasing in the present times. Accommodation in itself has become an attraction in the modern times.

You can also read History of Travel and Tourism

In fact, a big group of travelers visit a specific town or destination simply since there is a first class luxury resort and hotel that offers outstanding facilities sand services for the entertainment of tourists. Few nations like Holland, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria have achieved a reputation for offering exceptional lodging with lavish food. Countless hotel companies away in different nations, specially the resort hotels have earned a status for their exceptional services, cuisines and other entertainment facilities. The French government for example, overlaid the way for tourist expansion of Corsica by introduction of a large hotel growth agenda. 

D) Amenities

Every tourist travelling to a new destination desires for world class facilities and services. In order to fulfill their demand huge efforts are made by the industry. High quality facilities are important aid to every tourist destination or center. For a coastal resort, services like swimming, boating, yachting, surf-riding and other amenities like recreation, dancing and other entertainment and amusement services are very essential for each and every tourist destination/center. Facilities can be of 2 kind’s natural, i.e. sea-bathing, beaches, possibilities of fishing, opportunities for trekking, climbing or viewing etc. and man-made, i.e. different kinds of entertainment facilities that can cater to the unique requirements of the various tourists. Outstanding beaches, sheltered from sunshine with palm and coconut trees and providing good bathing conditions makes a very goo the tourist center. Various other natural facilities like large water for the purpose of cruising or the chances for hunting and fishing are equally very significant.

Characteristics of Tourism Product 

Tourism products are mostly service goods that have different types or features. For instance, in business tourism management and planning are the services provided by different large convention centers and hotel chains. Various fair and festivals are the events that are provided for the entertainment and amusement only at a given time of the year and these are usually variable and perishable. In country like India numerous traditional/ancient attractions in the form of music and dance can be watched and experienced. There are different natural products which are been consumed by the tourist travelling to India like flora and fauna, wildlife. Following are some of the features and characteristics of tourism products:

a) Intangibility of Tourism Product

Unlike a physical product, say, a train or television, there is no handover of ownership of products is included in tourism. The goods or products in tourism cannot be consumed or demonstrated before purchasing it. Instead, some installations, amenities, items of equipment are available for a certain or fixed period pf time and for a particular use. For instance, a hotel room is offered or provided for a given time frame or a seat in a train is provided for a couple of hours of the journey.

b) Psychological 

A tourism product is offered to provide or offer certain level of satisfaction to the consumers or tourist. A person/tourist acquires experience with the consumption of different tourist products. Experiences derived while interacting to new places, people and environments helps in the encouragement of potential customers and helps in attracting them to consume the products offered to the market.

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c) Highly Perishable

Usually a tour operator or a travel agent offer or sells various tourism products to the market, which are perishable in nature and cannot be stored or sustained for a longer time frame. Production of the products and services is only possible if there is a demand and the customers are actually present and if the customer buys the product it cannot be blocked, disturbed or customized. If the product is not consumed on time or is unused the chances are lost which means, if a tourist doesn’t buy the flight ticket on a given date, the chance at that time is lost or can say the validity of the seat is expired or is left unused. The reason can be heavy discounts or offers given by the airline company on the given date or during off season.

d) Composite nature of tourism Product

A tourism product is never offered or produced by a single enterprise there is an involvement of different parties (viz travel agent , hotels, airline company, tour guide etc.) when compared to a manufactured product. There is a involvement of various parties in providing or manufacturing a complete tourist product. The product shields broad experience of a holiday to a specific destination. And numerous suppliers and providers that supply to create this experience. For example, a hotel provides a food and rooms, travel agent makes booking for sightseeing and stay at different places, airline and rail provides seats etc.

e) Unstable Demand of Tourism Product

There is a problem or one can say a challenge for tourism products as tourism products are influenced by the seasonality, economic , political factors. For instance, there is a demand for the hill station in the summer season as people like to travel to cold places mostly places likes Manali, Shimla, Nainital, Mussorie etc. whereas the demand for coastal areas like Goa rises in the winters. There are different times of a year when there is a demand for a particular destination than other destinations. This is the time when there is a huge tension on the hotel bookings, transport system, the employment etc.

f) Fixed supply in the short run

Tourism product similarly as the factory-made products cannot be transported to the final consumers, the consumers have to go to the products offered to them. Product development is done on the basis of analysis of the taste and preferences, behavior, dislikes and likes of the consumers, so that the expectations and realities of the consumers. Therefore, the supply of the tourism product is limited in the short run and may be maximized on a long term basis depending upon the increasing demand pattern of the tourist product.

g) Absence of ownership in Tourism Product

Tourism products have absence of ownership. For instance, when you buy a product say a bike or a car, the possession of the same is reassigned to you, but when one rents a cab, he/she only buys the right to be transferred from one place to another, you neither own the driver nor the cab. Similarly, in case of tourism products like airline tickets, train tickets or a hotel room can be used for given time frame but not owned. Tourism products can only be purchased for using but the ownership of the same stays with the provider of the service or the product so, an Opera show can be watched but the performer cannot be kept.

 h) Heterogeneous nature of Tourism Product

Tourism is not a uniform product. Similarly, tourism product is not same, since they tend to change or vary in terms of quality and standard with the passage of time, unlike a television set or any other factory-made product. A flight or a tour package cannot be the same at all times. The reason behind the changing nature of the tourism products is a service and services are customers/consumer oriented. So there is variability in tourism products as all humans are not the same and vary in terms of their behavior, taste and preferences. For example, all workers working in a hotel cannot give the same excellence of facility and the same worker might not perform equally in the morning and evening. Therefore, the services cannot be uniforms or homogeneous.

Tourism products are first purchased and later on consumed that is why there is a high level of risk involved in purchasing before the consumption of the products. An element of chance of risk is always there in the process. For instance, a movie might not be as entertaining as it promises to be or a summer vacation in Goa may be disappointing due to bad weather or heavy rains.

j) Marketable

Tourism products are marketable at different markets. Firstly, both the regional and national organizations involve themselves in catering the potential customers/tourists to travel to different region/destinations across the country. Secondly, the individual firms are trying to market their own tourism products in order to cater potential customers.

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Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing

ISBN : 978-1-78756-292-9 , eISBN : 978-1-78756-291-2

Publication date: 29 November 2018

This chapter introduces its readers to the concept of tourism. It sheds light on the rationale for tourism, as it explains the tourists’ inherent motivations to travel. It also describes different aspects that together make up the tourism industry. Tourists travel to destinations that are accessible to them. They require accommodation if they are visiting a place for more than 24 hours. Leisure and business travellers may also visit attractions, and engage in recreational activities. Hence, the tourist destinations should have the right amenities and facilities. In this light, this chapter clarifies how destinations may offer different products to satisfy a wide array of tourists. Tourism products can include urban (or city) tourism, seaside tourism, rural tourism, ecotourism, wine tourism, culinary tourism, health tourism, medical tourism, religious tourism, cultural (or heritage) tourism, sports tourism, educational tourism, business tourism (including meetings, incentives, conferences and events), among others.

• Hospitality
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Camilleri, M.A. (2018), "The Planning and Development of the Tourism Product", Camilleri, M.A. (Ed.) Tourism Planning and Destination Marketing , Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-291-220181001

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Characteristics of Tourism and Hospitality Marketing

• First Online: 09 May 2021

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• Richard George 2  

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This chapter explores the characteristics of tourism and hospitality marketing. It begins with a discussion of the difference between services marketing and manufacturing marketing. The chapter then reviews the characteristics that make the marketing of these services different from the marketing of other products. These include intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability. Further, this chapter looks at the various marketing management strategies for tourism and hospitality businesses. It examines some of the marketing approaches, such as the to address the unique challenges facing the marketer. Finally, the characteristics of tourism and hospitality marketing are applied to low cost carrier Wizz Air.

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George, R. (2021). Characteristics of Tourism and Hospitality Marketing. In: Marketing Tourism and Hospitality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64111-5_2

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Tourism Guru

5 Characteristics of Tourism Products| Best Notes

In this blog, I will be explaining the 5 Characteristics of tourism products which include Intangibility, Perishability, Inseparability, Heterogeneity, and Lack of ownership in detail. So stay tuned on this Blog.

Table of Contents

Characteristics of Tourism Products

Intangibility.

• It is the most essential characteristic of the tourism industry. Things that we can see and touch tangible products such as mobile phones, cars, and consumer products are tangible products.
• Things that can only be felt and experienced are intangible products. For example – In a classroom, a teacher is teaching English to 50 numbers of students, so while she is teaching every student has a different experience Some students may consider her teaching skills good, and some may consider her teaching skills average so the teaching skills of the teacher is an intangible tourism product as it can be only felt and experienced.
• Another example of intangible product – if a person for the very first time is going to travel by flight, he is may not aware of what meals about on the flight, what are services provided on the flight, the behavior of the other passengers, interaction with the air hostess, using washroom in the flight, seats will be comfortable or not, how to wear seat belt in the flight so when he will travel he will experience these things so this is also called Intangibility.
• Intangible tourism products include hospitality, sightseeing, relaxation, amenities, entertainment, etc. As these things can only be experienced and felt. It creates a feeling of excitement and gives a memorable experience. The tourist does the Intangibility promotion by giving positive reviews, referring to his friends or relatives by word of mouth, repetitive tourist, etc.
• Tourism products include transportation, accommodation, sightseeing, tour package , etc. which depends on the interaction between the tourism service provider and the tourist. And good interaction can make the experience better.
• There are some intangible barrier which includes communication barrier, trust, high price, customer satisfaction, quality assurance, etc. To overcome these problems the best way is online marketing and promotion, After the experience of the tourist ask him to write reviews, feedback, and ratings so that other people will read and trust will be created. Intangibility plays a very important role in the characteristics of tourism products.

Perishability 

• It is the most crucial product of the tourism product. We know that products like milk, vegetables, dairy products, etc. are perishable products as they are lost very quickly and cannot reused or reclaimed. Likewise, in the tourism industry if the times have passed it cannot be resold, reclaimed, or reused.
• For example – In a flight when all seats are booked except the one seat which remains unsold the same cannot be sold on the next flight as the revenue of that seat is lost forever. And the same goes for the train, To avoid this loss of unsold seats, At the last minute, airlines decrease the rates of unsold seats so that it pushes people to book that seat on a particular flight.
• Another example – if in the hotel all rooms are booked only one room remains unoccupied for a night then the revenue for that room is lost forever.
• Another example -if a tourist books a tour package through a travel agent and once the tour is started and in between he says that take this tour package back, then it is not possible at all as tourism services cannot be stored.
• The rise of demand for tourism services fluctuates based on season, weather, fairs, festivals, events, holidays, etc. And once the opportunity is missed you have to wait for the next year and you have to face financial losses so try not to miss the opportunity as it will generate a lot of revenue.
• There is some Perishability barrier which includes seasonal, demand forecasting, tourism infrastructure, and pricing factor and to overcome these problem concentrating decrease in developing new strategies, development infrastructure, proper management, and good pricing or costing should be done to attract tourist. And perishability plays a very important role in the characteristics of tourism products.

Inseparability

• It is a most essential product of the tourism product. Inseparability means that it cannot be separated from the service provider as the product is being simultaneously consumed by the tourist.
• For example – If a tourist is watching Burj Khalifa on tv doesn’t mean that he is experiencing that wonder, lightning sound, etc. as to experience the wonder of Burj Khalifa he needs to visit Dubai.
• Guides are also considered the best tourism product in Inseparability as they provide information about the destination, monument, etc. which creates interest in the person to know more about the place and next again he might come and visit or may recommend to his friends or relatives.
• The main ingredient of Inseparability is the production of tourism service products and consumption of tourism service products. Likewise, when a traveler visits a particular destination and checks in at the hotel the tourism service is produced and when he checks out from the hotel then the tourism service is consumed.
• Tourist interaction with the service provider and their tourism experiences impact their satisfaction.
• Service quality is an important factor in Inseparability if the tourist visits a particular destination and the service provided to him is not good then it will impact the tourist’s impression and satisfaction and may give bad reviews.
• So it is very important that staff should take care of the services provided to the tourist so that in return he may be our repetitive client or may recommend to his friends or family and give a position review. And Inseparability plays a very important role in the characteristics of tourism products.

Heterogeneity/Variability

• It is also called variability. Heterogeneity is the most crucial element of the tourism product. Heterogeneity includes the human element in the delivery of tourism services.
• For example – A person is not aware of traveling on a flight so it is obvious that he is not aware of the behavior of passengers, air hostess, and crew, check-in and check-out from the airport, waiting for baggage, eating a meal in flight, etc. which all estates to the complete experience of flying in that particular airline.
• In Heterogeneity the delivery of maintaining the product such as hotel industry, airlines, and tour operators is essential. In shaping the tourism experience cultural preferences play an important role.
• Demand for seasonal fluctuations often affects the tourism destination. For example In winter because of snowfall, the place Shimla is crowded but in summer it is quiet.
• Travel agent makes customized tour packages for tourists according to the needs and desires of tourists. The services provided by the hotel and travel agent leave an impact on the tourist experience. Infrastructure planning and development is done appropriately for the safety and satisfaction of the tourist. Heterogeneity plays a very important role in the characteristics of tourism products.

Lack of Ownership

• Lack of Ownership is a crucial characteristic of the tourism product. It estates that the consumer is not the owner of the product only they purchase the service of the product. For example – A person has reached the restaurant and there he orders the meal but it doesn’t mean that he is the owner of the restaurant, as he is only paying for the meal and the services. Another example – A person buys a boarded air ticket for Dubai, so it doesn’t mean when he boards the flight he is the owner of the flight as he has only paid for tickets, meals, and as for the services provided in the airplane.
• Lack of Ownership involves visitors’ experience and the services provided to tourists but tourists should be very clear that they are only paying for the services, and shouldn’t consider themselves as the owner. Lack of Ownership plays a very important role in the characteristics of tourism products.

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What are elements of tourism product.

The elements of tourism product include Accessibility, accommodation, infrastructure, tour package, services, safety and security.

What are the characteristics of tourism product psychological ?

The characteristics of tourism product psychological includes social interaction, cultural connection, sense of adventure and beautiful landscapes.

What are natural tourism product?

The natural tourism product includes beaches, islands, mountains, national parks, ecotourism, wild safari, lakes, etc.

What are man made tourism product?

The man made tourism product includes heritage sites, museum, art galleries, theme park, botanical garden and national park.

In today’s generation tourism has become the vast industry and it is very important for the tour professionals and tourist to understand the characteristics of tourism products. Characteristics of tourism products include Intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity, Inseparability and lack of Ownership. These tourism products are important in terms of tourism marketing, tourism business and tourism motivation to travel. These features make tourism product unique ,push tourist to travel and manages the challenge. And the main motive is to make customer’s trip memorable.

Characteristics of Tourism Products

A product is an item of merchandise brought to market with the intent of generating sales, serving customers’ needs, and achieving financial goals. Tourism products are not any exceptions to this rule. As the tourism industry is considered one of the most profitable industries in both developed and developing economies, there are many new developments in this field across the globe. However, what are some peculiarities about their nature?

Tourism Product is defined as the combination of tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural, and man-made resources, attractions, facilities, services, and activities centered on a specific point of interest that serves as the core of the destination marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience that includes emotional aspects for potential customers. UNWTO

Here are the characteristics of tourism products:

1. Intangibility: Intangibility means that the product cannot be directly seen tasted or felt before its purchase and consumption. There is no transfer of ownership of goods involved in tourism, which means a single tourism product can be sold infinite time by managing properly. For example, hotel rooms, air tickets, paragliding, raft.

2. Inseparability: Tourism products cannot be separated from its provider. For example, a hotel guest cannot experience counter service if the receptionist is not there, nor can the receptionist render the service if there is no guest.

3. Perishable : Tourism products can't be stored for sale in the future. For example, the plane tickets for April 22 cannot be sold on April 23. Due to this reason hotel industry, airlines give a certain discount to increase their sale by minimizing loss and by earning certain revenue.

4. Heterogeneity : The element of the human factor creates a difference between one product and the other, what tourist experiences at one place may not be similar to the one experienced at another place. For example, even within the same restaurant, due to a large number of servers, the way one customer is served may differ from the way another is served.

5. Absence of Ownership : A tourist product's ownership is not transferable to the consumer. The consumer only has the right to use the product because he paid for it for a set number of days or weeks.

6. Manufactured by Many Producers : A joint effort of many producers such as airlines hotels, lodges, restaurants, entertainment, etc is very necessary to run the tourism industry.

7. Seasonal Product : For every tourist product or area, there is a certain time in which most tourists visit, which is known as peak season.

8. Immovability : A tourist attraction such as a waterfall, mountain, beach, flora, and fauna cannot be moved from where it is originally located to another place.

Forestry Bloq

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Tourism Products Characteristics and Forms

2010, Acta Universitatis Danubius. …

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