Nodal Functions in Tourism

NODAL FUNCTIONS IN TOURISM Tourists have an itinerary that contains two geographies, namely; 1. Place of origin, or permanent residence 2. The tourist destination, where the tourist must move in order for the trip to be characterized as tourism. Factors that influence the status of a region as a supplier of tourists are; 1. Population income factor, 2. Cost of living, where the high cost of living in the place of origin will encourage people to travel to places where the cost of living is lower, 3. Political factors 4. Environmental considerations such as climate and pollution A large number of transportation networks combine different geographical modes of transportation to connect destinations and origins. These networks are interconnected by terminals or nodes which, in many cases, can fulfill special functions within the network. Among these functions, specifically characterized are: hub and gateway. Figure 22 displays theoretical examples of the four types of nodal functions considered here namely: origin, destination, hub and gateway. Initially, all nine points shown in each schematic drawing (A to I) can be considered potential tourist origins and destinations. However, point F has a privileged location in the transportation network because most of the traffic connecting the various parts of the system passes through it, thus characterizing it as a hub. More theoretically, a hub is defined as the 'centrality' and spatial quality of intermediation [which] increases in importance and degree to which traffic centers are strategically located within a transport system. Most transportation hubs are related to air travel. Compared to road and rail networks, the implementation or transfer of air hubs from one network node to another is much easier, considering that air transportation uses airways, which do not require construction. Among the advantages of a hub is the possibility of interconnecting several points in the network with a small number of connecting pairs. The main disadvantage of hubs is that travel time increases greatly because not only may the distance traveled increase, but layover time may increase at the hub between two trip segments. One aspect of a gateway is the idea of an intermediary, which can be 'extended by association' with a stopover function, from which visitors are sent to other centers or resorts. A gateway can generally be compared to a funnel where travelers gather from different routes to gain access through a certain point and from where they can disperse. Due to the location of hubs and gateways in the transport network, these two nodal functions are privileged to have an intense flow of tourists passing through them to reach other nodes. This function gives the gateway the added advantage of capturing passing traffic, with some travelers stopping and becoming tourists. With the current significant flow of passengers, many incentives have been created to encourage these passengers to take advantage of passing through the hub to get acquainted with the hub as a tourist destination. Among these promotions are incentives for shopping tourism, including the purchase of airline tickets combined with hotel stays at significantly reduced rates, in addition to various services provided by the airport's existing infrastructure. A large number of transportation networks combine various transportation models at different geographic scales to connect various tourist destinations and origins. This network is interconnected by terminals. In many cases it can fulfill a specific function in the network. Presented are four types of nodal functions: origin, destination, hub and gateway. In his doctoral thesis on the conversion of passengers on ferries connecting the North and South Islands of New Zealand to tourists, Lohmann (2006) operationalized the concepts of tourism gateway and destination using three variables: (i) Reason for travel to the gate (ii) Number of nights spent at the gate, and (iii) Trip index (TI) to the gateway. To analyze the tendency of passengers making inter-island connections to become tourists at the gateway (in this case, Wellington on the North Island, and Picton on the South Island), categorizing ferry users under four different types. That is: 1. Gateway Travelers, defined as tourists who do not live in a node and have clear reasons. In this case, it is clear that the reason becomes clear that the reason for travel to that node serves as a gateway, without further involvement with the tourism sector. 2. Stopover Visitor (SV), this stopover visitor is divided into 2 situations, namely the first is visitors who do not spend the night at the node, but have another main reason for going there. the second is visitors who overnight at the node and spend more than one night on this trip and have another main reason for traveling to the node other than taking the ferry to travel to another island. Visitor stopover can also be characterized by visitor interactions with nodes outside of their role as gateways 3. Overnight Gateway Visitors, namely those who only stay overnight at the node and whose main reason is to take part in inter-island travel. 4. Visitors/passengers who stay 2 nights or more are classified as Destination Tourists. Also included in the destination tourist are tourists who only stay one night at the node.