GLOSARIUM

1. Perceptions – The subjective interpretation by individuals of the data available to them, which results in them having particular opinions of, and attitudes towards, products, places or organizations.

2. Perishability – A characteristic of tourism products whereby they have very limited lives, after which they no longer exist and have no value. For example, an airline seat is no longer an existing saleable product once the aircraft has departed.

3. Phrase Book - A small book that contains useful words and phrases in a particular foreign language, used especially by tourists.

4. Point of Sale – Refers to techniques which are used at the point when tourists actually buy products or services to encourage higher sales. This could involve window displays in travel agencies .

5. Postmodernism – A sociological theory that has major implications, if it is a valid theory, for the study of consumer behaviour in tourism. It is based on the idea that in industrialized, developed nations, the basis on which people act as consumers has been transformed in recent years. The theory suggests the traditional boundaries, such as those between high-brow and low-brow culture and up-market and down market leisure activities are becoming blurred and are breaking down.

6. Post-Tourist – A tourist who recognizes that there is no such thing as an authentic tourism product or experience. To the post-tourist, tourism is a game and they feel free to move between different type sof apparently totally contrasting holidays, from an eco-tourism trip to Belize one year to a sun, sand, sea and sex trip to Benidorm the next year.

7. Product Extension- An add-on product or service, which enhances the experience of your product and generates additional revenue. Example - A state park that offers guided wildflower tours (for a fee).

8. Product Life Cycle - The cyclical pattern of demand for most products from “new and exciting” to “old and dated.” Almost all products (tourism and otherwise) have these cycles.

9. Product-Service Mix – The combination of tangible elements and service that is aimed at satisfying the needs of the target market.

10. Promotion – The techniques by which organizations communicate with their customers and seek to persuade them to purchase particular products and services.