Ontario Culture Days | Tourism Strategy and Resources Development

Glossary of Terms

Terminology

National tourism: comprises domestic tourism and outbound tourism; the activities of resident visitors within and outside the country of reference, either as part of domestic or outbound tourism trips

Same-day visitor (or excursionist): a visitor who does not stay overnight.

Tourism Product: typically a combination of different trip characteristics (places visited, activities at destination, services such as transportation, accommodation, etc. around a specific centre of interest, which could be nature and parks, the beach, the mountains, visits to historical and cultural sites, visits to museums and galleries, culinary experiences, urban visits, the practice of particular sports, etc.) In tourism, experiences are often combined or bundled under the major feature or attraction (e.g., wine, health, culinary, cultural, arts, sports, etc.)

Tourist (or overnight visitor): a visitor is a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an overnight stay.

Tourism: There are three main actors:

•  Public sector: public attractions, arts and culture, historical sites, safety and assistance, infrastructure, infrastructure, transportation, etc.
• The DMO: destination marketing and strategy, visitor information, public relations, stakeholder management, research
• Private sector: private attractions, events and entertainment, retail / shopping, tour-operations, travel agencies, food services and accommodations, transportation, suppliers

Value Chain: “The tourism value chain is the sequence of primary and support activities which are strategically fundamental for the performance of the tourism sector. Linked processes such as policy making and integrated planning, product development and packaging, promotion and marketing, distribution and sales and destination operations and services are the key primary activities of the tourism value chain”

Acronyms 

DMO: Destination Marketing (or Management) Organization represents a destination, develops policies, and attracts travelers to the destination. A DMO can be called a “Tourism Board,” a “Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB),” or “Tourism Authority.” Sometimes, a local Chamber of Commerce has that role. Ontario has 13 Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs)

NTO: National Tourism Organizations (e.g. Destination Canada) are country-level organizations established to promote a country internationally and to attract international travellers.

Additional Resources

UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization Glossary of Tourism Terms World Tourism Organization (2019). UNWTO Tourism Definitions. UNWTO, Madrid. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420858