ABSTRACT
In Chapter 3, some of the reasons why people choose to go on holiday and explanations of the diverse motivations associated with the demand for tourism services and products were discussed. Yet in any purchasing decision by potential tourists, there has to be a provision of a service, product or experience by a business, organization or destination to meet the visitors’ need or demand. This provision is known as tourism supply or, as was explained in Chapter 1, as a form of production. In any analysis of supply, there are a number of basic questions which tourism businesses have to consider:
● What should we produce as a business to meet a certain form of tourism demand? (i.e. should we produce an upmarket high-cost holiday package for ecotourists using tailor-made packages or aim for mass market, low-cost package holidays?)
● How should it be produced? (i.e. should we contract in supplies to provide each element of the package product to reduce costs or should we produce each element to ensure quality control and consistency in product delivery?)
● When, where and how should we produce the tourism product? (i.e. do we produce an all-year round or seasonal tourism product?)
products so that we meet demand?
