Domestic tourism is tourism involving residents of one country traveling only within that country. A tourist must not be present at the destination for more than 12 calendar months and must spend at least 24 hours thereafter. A common habitat is considered to be the geographical area that remains in the daily routine of a person (work, school, grocery, homeetc.). Places that are far from human settlements, but visited frequently and regularly, or places that are located around the home, but rarely visit a person in their everyday life are also considered habitual habitats. Historically, domestic tourism arose prior to foreign tourism, forming today a major part of the tourist industry. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2008, 83% (4 billion) of tourists make up 4.8 billion tourists, namely domestic tourists.
A playing holiday is a holiday (vacation) spent in the same country; this class may overlap with staycation, a vacation spent in the same region. This is different from inbound tourism.
With the resurgence of the package holiday, research carried out by British travel agent Thomas Cook has identified that domestic holidays are not always a cost-effective means of holidaying. According to their research, a one-week family holiday to Devon for four can cost in the region of £2,299, whereas an equivalent holiday to Majorca £2,036.
In the PK, the growth of domestic holidays has had a major impact on its domestic tourist industry. Haven Holidays, one of the PK’s biggest holiday park owners, in 2009 reported a 38% rise in sales of static caravans to sale-and-leaseback investors or buyers who want a more affordable second home.
Characteristic for domestic tourism
Unlike foreign tourists, domestic tourists are aware of the destination’s customs. They are familiar with language, cultural background, local laws and their own rights. As a result, domestic tourists are more demanding in terms of terms and product quality. In addition, the destinations are close to the home and most of the buses, trains, private cars, etc. are used for transportation. From home tourists, 88% of visitors use land transport. As the destination is close and transport is cheap, the total cost of the trip is usually also low, which encourages more frequent travel with the whole family.
Internal tourists come from all social classes. Families, children and teenagers, the elderly, people with disabilities and modest but steady income people are emerging as compared to foreign tourists. Such social diversity will increase the demand for different accommodation, leisure and tourist destinations. Internal tourism is not geographically concentrated on a single point, but is divided into the whole territory of the country.
Economic impact
Compared to foreign tourism, domestic tourism is not sensitive to global crises, whether economic, natural, political or epidemic. Therefore, domestic tourism is an excellent tool to alleviate crisis situations, especially in the economic crisis. As domestic money flows evenly across the destination, domestic tourism helps to develop less developed regions. In the world, thanks to the development of domestic tourism, such regions as the mountain villages of the Alps, such as southern Poland, northern China, eastern Germany, Wales and France, have been built.
Volumes of domestic tourism
In developed countries, the average annual volume of domestic tourism is 2.1 billion visits, while developing countries account for 1.96 billion. As it is largely due to predictions, on average, visitors are developed and equal in developing countries, with a loss of 2 billion. In general, the number of domestic tourists is lower than the population of the region, but in more prosperous countries it is customary to travel more than once a year. Domestic travel can be noted in Scandinavian countries (Sweden has 4.8 domestic tourists per capita), Canada, Australia and the United States (3.7 domestic tourists per capita in the United States).
Top ten tourist countries in 1995 (millions)
| Domestic tourism | Outdoor tourism | Together | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America | 999.0 | Germany | 87.4 | United States of America | 1058.5 |
| China | 644.0 | United States of America | 59.5 | China | 649.3 |
| India | 320.0 | Great Britain | 49.1 | India | 323.6 |
| Brazil | 176.2 | Russian Federation | 25.0 | Great Britain | 182.7 |
| Great Britain | 133.6 | Malaysia | 24.2 | Brazil | 179.2 |
| Indonesia | 107.0 | France | 21.9 | Germany | 169.6 |
| Poland | 86.7 | Canada | 21.3 | Indonesia | 109.1 |
| Germany | 82.2 | Italy | 18.7 | Canada | 102.3 |
| Canada | 80.9 | Japan | 17.9 | France | 96.4 |
| Japan | 77.8 | Hungary | 15.3 | Japan | 95.7 |
Developed countries
In the Member States of the European Union, domestic tourists make 510 million visits per year. In Germany, domestic tourists stayed at a 4: 1 ratio in relation to foreign tourists, 2: 1 in the UK and France, while in Italy there were two types of tourism in balance. The economically poorer countries of tourist nights spent by foreign tourists were predominant, representing Greece in almost the relationship of 4: 1, in Portugal, in Spain and in 2: 1 in the United Statesthis figure is twice as high, 1.2 billion visits per year, of which about 25% make up business and 75% holidays. The number of vacation trips is stable, but the number of work trips in the United States has declined due to the declining budgets of companies. The total number of trips in the country will also slowly decrease as a result of increasing debt, declining wages and rising unemployment. The rest of the developed countries will make 250 million visits per year.
Former Eastern Bloc countries
There are very few reliable sources for the Russian Federation’s domestic tourism volumes, but the volumes remain between 75-100 million visits per year. Compared to the Soviet-era volumes, the figures are much lower today. The reason is the high price increases for airfare and train tickets, which direct the tourist’s eyes to foreigners. According to 1995 data, Poland is the eighth largest in terms of domestic tourism in the world.
Estonia
According to the data of the Statistical Office, in Estonia between 2004 and 2013, a total of 24 million tourists stayed in Estonian accommodation establishments. Of these, two thirds were foreign, the remaining domestic tourists. Home tourism has started to become popular in Estonia since 2000. In 2006, the Estonians exceeded the number of Finnish tourists accommodated for the first time in Estonian accommodation establishments. From 2014, residents of Estonia have been the main visitors of accommodation establishments, accounting for over one third of the total number of tourists housed. In 2008, when the world, including Estonia, was hit by a major economic crisis, the country returned to the country in terms of domestic tourism. In 2009, the number of domestic tourists was the tenth lowest, decreasing by almost a fifth. In a couple of years the former situation has recovered. In 2010, the number of nights spent by domestic tourists in Estonia increased by 9%, comprising 838,000 domestic tourists, of whom 44% went on holiday and 37% stayed away from their daily work environment for work . In 2013, the number of internists accommodated for the first time exceeded the millionth limit. The most popular destinations for domestic tourism in Estonia in the last years are the same: Tallinn, Ida-Virumaa, Tartu, Pärnu, Saaremaa, Valgamaa and Lääne-Virumaa. One reason for the increase in domestic tourism is the decrease in the price level of accommodation establishments and the more favorable special offers of tourism companies, which are more affordable for Estonian domestic tourists. In addition, more and more attractive new services are being offered to attract more customers.
Overnight stays by Estonian residents in 2014
| Purpose | |
|---|---|
| Working trip | 316 300 |
| Holiday trip | 831 500 |
| Visiting or dating | 1,406,400 |
| Another trip | 18 200 |
| Together | 2 572 300 |
The domestic trips of Estonian residents are predominantly short-lived, in the year 2014, 90% of the Estonian residents spent 1-3 nights. Estonians do not usually use the travel package purchased by travel agency for inland travel, most of the trips are without a tour arrangement.
Developing countries
In China, domestic tourists have made a big leap. In 1990 there were only 280 million domestic tourists in the country. By 2005, this figure rose to 1.21 billion. In 2005, 404 million domestic tourists were expected to visit India. The most popular destination is Goa, a country known to the rest of the world as a popular destination for foreign tourism. In reality, foreign and domestic tourists are strictly separated and domestic tourism accounts for 80% of the total number of visitors to the area. In 2005, respectively 110 and 80 million domestic tourists were predicted for Indonesia and the Kingdom of Thailand. About 100 million trips are made to the rest of Asia. Peruthe number of domestic tourists exceeded 10 times by foreign tourists (10 million domestic tourists in 2004 were in Peru). In 2005, approximately 250 million domestic tourists visited the rest of Latin America. In Africa, domestic tourism is low due to low incomes, with the exception of developed countries such as South Africa and others.
Source from Wikipedia