5 Characteristics of Tourism Products| Best Notes Tourism Guru

In this blog, I will be explaining the 5 Characteristics of tourism products which include Intangibility, Perishability, Inseparability, Heterogeneity, and Lack of ownership in detail. So stay tuned on this Blog.

Table of Contents

Characteristics of Tourism Products

Intangibility

It is the most essential characteristic of the tourism industry. Things that we can see and touch are tangible products such as mobile phones, cars, and consumer products are tangible products.
Things that can only be felt and experienced are intangible products. For example – In a classroom, a teacher is teaching English to 50 numbers of students, so while she is teaching every student has a different experience, some students may consider her teaching skills good, and some may consider her teaching skills average so the teaching skills of the teacher is an intangible tourism product as it can be only felt and experienced.
Another example of an intangible product – if a person for the very first time is going to travel by flight, he is may not aware of what will be the meal on the flight, what services will be provided on the flight, the behavior of the other passengers, interaction with the air hostess, using washroom in the flight, seats will be comfortable or not, how to wear seat belt in the flight so when he will travel, he will experience these things so this is also called Intangibility.
Intangible tourism products include hospitality, sightseeing, relaxation, amenities, entertainment, etc. As these things can only be experienced and felt. It creates a feeling of excitement and gives a memorable experience. The tourist does the Intangibility promotion by giving positive reviews, referring to his friends or relatives by word of mouth, repetitive tourist, etc.
Tourism products include transportation, accommodation, sightseeing, tour packages, etc. which depend on the interaction between the tourism service provider and the tourist. And good interaction can make the experience better.
There are some intangible barrier which includes communication barrier, trust, high price, customer satisfaction, quality assurance, etc. To overcome these problems the best way is online marketing and promotion, After the experience of the tourist ask him to write reviews, feedback, and ratings so that other people will read and trust will be created. Intangibility plays a vital role in the characteristics of tourism products.

S.no	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
1.	Brand reputation and competitive edge	Lack of Tangible Assurance
2.	Enhance customer satisfaction	Reusability and Miscommunication
3.	Flexibility and Unique experience	Limited Physical Souvenirs
4.	Word of Mouth and Repetitive of clients	Difficulty in Marketing
5.	Emotional bond and innovation	Negative Reviews and Ratings

Perishability

It is the most crucial product of the tourism product. We know that products like milk, vegetables, dairy products, etc. are perishable products as they are lost very quickly and cannot reused or reclaimed. Likewise, in the tourism industry if the times have passed it cannot be resold, reclaimed, or reused.
For example – In a flight when all seats are booked except the one seat which remains unsold the same cannot be sold on the next flight as the revenue of that seat is lost forever. And the same goes for the train, To avoid this loss of unsold seats, At the last minute, airlines decrease the rates of unsold seats so that it pushes people to book that seat on a particular flight.
Another example – if in the hall rooms are booked only one room remains unoccupied for a night then the revenue for that room is lost forever.
Another example -if a tourist books a tour package through a travel agent and once the tour is started and in between he says that take this tour package back, then it is not possible at all as tourism services cannot be stored.
The rise of demand for tourism services fluctuates based on season, weather, fairs, festivals, events, holidays, etc. And once the opportunity is missed you have to wait for the next year and face financial losses so try not to miss the opportunity as it will generate a lot of revenue.
There are some Perishability barriers which include seasonal, demand forecasting, tourism infrastructure, and pricing factors and to overcome this problem concentrating decrease in developing new strategies, development infrastructure, proper management, and good pricing or costing should be done to attract tourists. And perishability plays a vital role in the characteristics of tourism products.

S.no	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
1.	Promoting seasonal attractions	Some tourism products are for a limited period
2.	Contribution to the local business	Revenue fluctuations
3.	Stimulates Last-Minute Bookings	Results in Overbooking
4.	Promotes Dynamic Pricing	Management challenges and overcrowding
5.	Partnerships with tourism vendors	Loss of jobs during the off-season

Inseparability

It is a most essential product of the tourism product. Inseparability means that it cannot be separated from the service provider as the product is simultaneously consumed by the tourist.
For example – If a tourist is watching Burj Khalifa on tv doesn’t mean that he is experiencing that wonder, lightning sound, etc. as to experience the wonder of Burj Khalifa he needs to visit Dubai.
Guides are also considered the best tourism product in Inseparability as they provide information about the destination, monument, etc. which creates interest in the person to know more about the place and next time again he might come and visit or may recommend to his friends or relatives.
The main ingredient of Inseparability is the production of tourism service products and consumption of tourism service products. Likewise, when a traveler visits a particular destination and checks- in at the hotel the tourism service is produced and when he checks out from the hotel then the tourism service is consumed.
Tourist interaction with the service provider and their tourism experiences impact their satisfaction.
Service quality is an important factor in Inseparability if the tourist visits a particular destination and the service provided to him is not good then it will impact the tourist’s impression and satisfaction and may give bad reviews.
So it is very important that staff should take care of the services provided to the tourist so that in return he may be our repetitive client or may recommend to his friends or family and give a position review. And Inseparability plays a vital role in the characteristics of tourism products.

S.no	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
1.	Cultural Exchange	Dependency on service providers
2.	Involvement of the local community	Lack of control can result in dissatisfaction
3.	Supporting local livelihoods and cultural preservation	language barriers between service providers and visitors
4.	Economic growth in destinations	Over-reliance on interpersonal interactions
5.	Authentic experiences by observing attractions.	Inconvenience during peak seasons

Heterogeneity/Variability

It is also called variability. Heterogeneity is the most crucial element of the tourism product. Heterogeneity includes the human element in the delivery of tourism services.
For example – A person is not aware of traveling on a flight. Hence, it is obvious that he is not aware of the behavior of passengers, air hostesses, and crew, check-in and check-out from the airport, waiting for baggage, eating a meal on the flight, etc. which all equates to the complete experience of flying in that particular airline.
In Heterogeneity the delivery of maintaining the product such as hotel industry, airlines, and tour operators is essential. In shaping the tourism experience cultural preferences play an important role.
Demand for seasonal fluctuations often affects the tourism destination. For example In winter, because of snowfall, the place Shimla is crowded but in summer it is quiet.
Travel agent makes customized tour packages for tourists according to the needs and desires of tourists. The services provided by the hotel and travel agent leave an impact on the tourist experience. Infrastructure planning and development are done appropriately for the safety and satisfaction of the tourists. Heterogeneity plays a vital role in the characteristics of tourism products.

S.no	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
1.	Encourages the development of niche and specialty tourism products	Market segmentation challenges
2.	Preservation of natural and cultural heritage	Challenges in resource allocation
3.	Economic stability in various regions	Risk of cultural commodification
4.	Unique and authentic experiences	Information overload
5.	Innovation and creativity	Inequalities within destinations and communities

Lack of Ownership

Lack of Ownership is a crucial characteristic of the tourism product. It estates that the consumer is not the owner of the product only they purchase the service of the product. For example – A person has reached the restaurant and there he orders the meal but it doesn’t mean that he is the owner of the restaurant, as he is only paying for the meal and the services.
Another example – A person buys a boarded air ticket for Dubai, so it doesn’t mean when he boards the flight he is the owner of the flight as he has only paid for tickets, meals, and as for the services provided in the airplane.
Lack of Ownership involves visitors’ experience and the services provided to tourists but tourists should be very clear that they are only paying for the services, and shouldn’t consider themselves as the owner. Lack of Ownership plays a vital role in the characteristics of tourism products.

S.no	Positive Impact	Negative Impact
1.	Variety of options	Deteriorating Infrastructure
2.	Support for local businesses	Environmental Degradation
3.	Expanding tourism opportunities	Visitor Discomfort and Lost Revenue
4.	Empowering local communities	Missed Growth Opportunities
5.	Encouraging exploration and Minimizing environmental impact	Reduced Community Benefits

FAQs

What are elements of tourism product?

The elements of tourism product include Accessibility, accommodation, infrastructure, tour package, services, safety and security.

What are the characteristics of tourism product psychological ?

The characteristics of tourism product psychological includes social interaction, cultural connection, sense of adventure and beautiful landscapes.

What are natural tourism product?

The natural tourism product includes beaches, islands, mountains, national parks, ecotourism, wild safari, lakes, etc.

What are man-made tourism product?

The man-made tourism product includes heritage sites, museum, art galleries, theme park, botanical garden, and national park.

Conclusion

This post is all about the characteristics of tourism products which include Intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity, Inseparability, and lack of Ownership. In the tourism industry tour professionals and tourists need to understand the characteristics of tourism products. These tourism products are important in terms of tourism marketing, tourism business, and tourism motivation to travel. These features make tourism products unique, push tourists to travel, and manage the challenge. The main motive is to make the customer’s trip memorable. To make to understand better I have explained to you with examples so while reading the post must go through the examples.