The characteristics and specific features of modern tourist demand.

Pavlic, Ivana

1. INTRODUCTION

The beginning of the 21st century has resulted in intensive development of production forces which has further directly caused a significant improvement of the existing living standards worldwide. The stated phenomenon has exerted a great influence onto the behavioural changes, as well as on the change in structure of the existing needs in tourist demand in comparison with the previous period. While the old mass tourism, apparently identical tourists were forced by the economic and mass production to consume mass, standardized and rigidly packaged holidays en masse, new tourist are dictating the pace and direction of industry changes (Poon, 1993). The modern tourist travels are being modified under the influence of various factors, and there are three determinants which influence the tourist demand in particular (Vellas & Becherel, 1997):

* Demographic changes and social evolution.

* Increased leisure time and duration of holidays.

* Segmentation of holidays and market segmentation.

Demographic changes are being monitored on traditional and on the existing outbound markets respectively, since these are two markets having various influence factors on the individual exogenous changes which influence development of international tourism. For example, the traditional outbound markets are characterised by aging of population and stagnation of the number of young employees. On the other hand, by 2010 an increase in work force in the third world countries is expected, approximately 700 million. Due to rapid industrialisation of the countries in East Asia and Pacific, as well as liberalisation of travelling of population from these countries abroad, the countries in this region are turning into increasingly significant outbound markets (Cavlek, 1997). Modern tourists are more discerning and they seek quality services as well as choice in their travel.

2. MAIN FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHANGE IN TOURIST DEMAND

Among the numerous factors contributing to increase of leisure time, love for travel and surplus of free assets for prolongation of human lifetime, increased number of bachelors, trend for late forming of families, longer period of living with parents, more active role of women in realisation of income, increased number of marriages without children, more flexible working hours, earlier retirement and better awareness (Costa, et al., 2001.). Modern tourists are experienced travellers. Their experience is one of the most important factors that will change tourism demand. They have changed values and needs, particularly with great respect to the different culture and environment. Better experience, flexibility, adaptability and independence of tourists generate demand focused onto better quality with particular emphasis onto the element "value for money". They are more quality conscious.

The characteristics of new, modern tourist demand are:

* Adeptness.

* Heterogeneity.

* Spontaneity.

* Unpredictability.

* Independence.

* Individualism.

The specific feature of tourist demand is increased differentiation and individualisation. There has been a shift from mass travel to individual travel, with an accent on demand for non-standard products and services, with particular emphasis on quality. The spontaneous of modern tourists is responsible for the growing numbers of shorter breaks. Also independent tourists need to take more risks and try to confirm their individuality. The focus is on gaining first-hand experience, active participation in happenings in destinations, getting close to nature and need for learning and familiarising with new cultures. It is interesting to note that all bookings made are the last minute bookings, without special preparations (Pechlaner & Weiermair, 2000). The elements of a dominant life model of modern industrial society are work--living leisure --traveling. That model get a great contribution to the creating the new view of mass tourism. New life model has special characteristics in the area of the leisure and modern tourism (Dulcic, 2002):

* Personal activity instead of passivity of the strange experience.

* Spontaneity instead of completely organization and planning.

* Society contact instead of detachment, loneliness and isolated.

* Relaxation instead of fatigue stresses.

* Amusement instead of disappointment and constantly competition.

3. CHANGES IN THE MODERN TOURIST DEMAND

The needs and motives of modern tourists are changing fast. The only constant under the conditions of globalization is guaranteed rest and relaxation possibility. Within the period as of 1990 until today there has been a reduction in the percentage of tourists motivated to travel to enjoy the rest, and the percentage of those travelling due to health, religious or other reasons has increased.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The number of tourists motivated by the possibility of rest and relaxation in the given period has been growing at the rate of 3,5%. while the number of those travelling due to health, religious and other reasons has been growing at the rate of 5,5%.

The globalisation processes have largely contributed to change in social relations which have been manifested in the working sphere in particular. Progress in the area of leisure time along with education, health status, information and communication has lately become the generators of development in world developed countries. More leisure time has largely influenced the changes in behaviour of a tourist and the time component of his holidays. Thus, the holidays are not being used in full but rather in segments during the year. Negative changes happening in the surroundings make people change the way of thinking about the present. This has had a positive effect onto behaviour of tourists whose awareness of the necessity of abandoning the passive holidays and choosing the active holidays has increased. The demand is for more eventful holidays. The choice of tourist destination increasingly depends on the relation between the price and quality of service offered. The expected satisfaction of tourists has become the main criteria when choosing tourist destination. From the mentioned relation some new, completely different tourist needs and new forms of tourism are being developed in order to satisfy the newly found needs. There has been an affirmation of such living needs that have completely changed the industrial model of tourism. An emphasis has been put on individualization of tourism along with the new lifestyle that has changed under the influence of globalisation process as well. The more experienced modern tourists are more quality conscious and more value conscious. That is a natural consequence of the following (Poon, 1993):

1) Many already travel extensively for business.

2) They are more experienced holiday makers.

3) They are growing concerns over airline safety and airport congestion.

4) There are more destinations to chose.

5) Time is of the essence.

6) Travellers have more information from a variety of media.

7) They are more educated.

8) Many travellers make return visit and, as result, are more knowledgeable about destination they visit.

9) They expect to do far more than just lie in the sun.

If it is true that the dominant lifestyle model in the modern industrial society has to a large scale formed mass tourism of consumer type, it is realistic to expect that the change of the basic lifestyle model in post-industrial, information, civil and global society will provide circumstances for new perception of development of tourism. The sustainable development in the perception of the "new lifestyle model" is not measured by parameters of economic growth, income, number of tourists and money income or expenditures etc., but by the resource economy, especially natural resources, i.e. decrease of physical volume of the resources used in the development process, and thereby decrease in environmental pollution (Dulcic & Petric, 2001). The most notable changes that have recently happened in tourist demand are (Weiermaier, 1993):

* Strong segmentation of tourist markets according to age and social features of population, which resulted in very differentiated and particularly modelled travelling arrangements, such as for retired persons, younger people eager for activity, etc.

* Increased frequency of travel (going on holidays more often, which means more shorter voyages instead of a traditional one larger holiday per year)

* More tourist voyages outside traditional summer and winter seasons

* More occasional voyages between annual segmented holidays

* Increase in demand for more imaginative and eventful tourist products, such as adventures, cultural or study voyages, health or rehabilitation tourism, etc.

* More frequent holiday last minute bookings and bringing of instant decisions, which especially influenced increase in weekend tourism in larger European cities.

The emphasis is being put onto safety and well-being, the relation between quality and cost and monitoring of economic, political and social circumstances characterising various destinations.

4. CONCLUSION

The universal type of tourist no longer exists, there are various different types that represent the real dynamics and require segmentation according to their needs and requests. The causes for changes in modern tourism are in the changes of value system, which influenced forming of a new lifestyle. Changes in tourist behaviour require constant research of tourist market in order to enable the carriers of tourist activities to adequately adjust the offer with the requirements of tourist demand. Reconciliation of these contrasts, that are simultaneous product of the global society, cannot take place without active approach to the changes in the present tourist policy. Author future research plans are to monitors the future tourism demand changes and to indicate the necessity of tourism policy adaptation for those changes.

5. REFERENCES

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