What this lesson teaches
I can describe the parts of a tourism system and explain how they affect each other and the wider environment.
Syllabus K329, Topic 2.1, Key Question 1. What is a tourism system?
Make a guess
A stressed office worker books a beach holiday in Bali. Which is the push factor?
- Cheap direct flights from Singapore to Bali.
- The beautiful beaches of Bali.
- The hotels with good facilities.
- Wanting a break from stress at work.
Show the answer
Wanting a break from stress at work.
A push factor comes from the traveller's own life or home. Stress at work makes them want to get away for a while.
Push factors make people want to leave home for a while; pull factors draw them to a particular place.
Push factors come from the traveller's own life or home region, such as needing rest or a break from stress. Pull factors attract people to a destination, such as scenery, heritage, a festival or good facilities. Several can work together.
Sort these
Is each one a push factor (from the traveller's home life) or a pull factor (from the destination)?
Groups: Push factor, Pull factor.
- A famous temple and its festival
- Clear water and coral reefs for diving
- Well-run hotels and easy local transport
- A student wants a break after exams
- A crowded, noisy home city
- Long working hours leave a family tired and stressed
Show the answer
Push factor
- A student wants a break after exams The wish to get away starts with the student, not with any one place, so it is a push.
- A crowded, noisy home city Conditions in the home region make people want to escape for a time, which is a push.
- Long working hours leave a family tired and stressed The need comes from home life, so it makes the family want to leave for a while.
Pull factor
- A famous temple and its festival Heritage and events attract visitors to one particular destination, so they pull.
- Clear water and coral reefs for diving Natural attractions draw tourists to the place that has them, which is a pull.
- Well-run hotels and easy local transport Good facilities make one destination more attractive than others, so they pull.
Tourism affects nature, communities and economies, from local to global scales. Visitor spending supports guides, food producers and local traditions. But transport and hotels use energy and water and create waste. Residents may face crowding. Flights add emissions far beyond the destination.
Changes flow both ways. Tourism changes a place, and those changes affect later tourism. This is feedback. A damaged reef may attract fewer visitors, so there is less money for conservation. A disease outbreak can also cut visitor numbers. Protecting the environment, by contrast, can help a destination stay attractive.
- Push factor
- Something at home that makes people want to travel.
- Pull factor
- Something that attracts people to a destination.
- Feedback
- Tourism changes a place, which changes later tourism.
Step by step
Push
What makes someone want to travel?
Pull
Why would this destination meet that need?
Feedback
How does tourism change the place and future visits?
Real examples to use
Singapore's top visitor markets, 2024 (STB)
Mainland China (3.08 million), Indonesia (2.49 million) and India (1.20 million) sent the most visitors to Singapore in 2024. Nearness, frequent flights and Singapore's attractions all pull visitors from these large, growing markets.
Worked example: How reef damage can affect future visits
In a coastal destination, visitors pay for reef trips. If that money funds conservation, the reef stays attractive. If careless visits damage it, fewer people return and income falls.
Watch out for this
A beautiful beach is a push factor at the tourist's home.
A beach is a pull factor at the destination. Wanting to escape a busy life is a push factor.
Check your understanding
Which pair correctly matches a push and a pull factor?
- Push: cheap hotels at the destination; pull: a stressful job at home.
- Push: wanting to relax; pull: a place with appealing beaches.
- Push: a destination festival; pull: wanting a break from work.
Show the answer
Push: wanting to relax; pull: a place with appealing beaches.
Yes. The need comes from home; the attraction is at the destination.