Tourism and sport at the international scale practice questions.

In a low-income island destination, which arrangement retains the largest share of tourist spending within the local economy?

• An all-inclusive resort owned by a foreign tour operator group
• A locally owned guesthouse buying food from nearby farms
• A cruise ship calling for six hours with meals served on board
• A foreign-branded hotel importing most of its supplies

Answer: A locally owned guesthouse buying food from nearby farms

Retention depends on who owns the business and where it buys its inputs; local ownership plus local supply chains keeps profits, wages and purchases circulating on the island, whereas foreign ownership and imports send them straight out again.

After the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (Greece), several purpose-built venues were left with little regular use while still requiring maintenance. Which term describes such a venue?

• A honeypot site, concentrating visitors in one place
• An enclave resort, separated from the local economy
• A white elephant with little post-event use
• A legacy venue converted for community use after the games

Answer: A white elephant with little post-event use

A white elephant is an asset whose running costs outlive its usefulness, which is the classic legacy risk of mega-events; venues designed only for a two-week competition rarely find a viable everyday user afterwards.

A Caribbean island receives large numbers of visitors on all-inclusive packages sold by foreign tour operators and flown in by foreign airlines. Which problem does this arrangement create?

• High leakage, as much of the price never reaches the destination economy
• A high multiplier, because all-inclusive resorts buy locally
• Excess capacity, because package tourists stay for shorter periods
• Loss of foreign exchange earnings, since packages are paid in local currency

Answer: High leakage, as much of the price never reaches the destination economy

When the flight, the operator's margin and often the hotel brand are foreign-owned, only a fraction of the holiday price is spent in the destination, and all-inclusive formats further reduce spending outside the resort. Leakage is why arrivals figures are a weak measure of benefit.

Tourism is classified as an export even though nothing physically leaves the country. Why?

• It earns foreign exchange from non-residents consuming a domestic service
• Tourists are legally treated as goods once they cross a border
• Tourism receipts are recorded in the capital account, like exports
• Hotels are always owned by companies based in the visitor's country

Answer: It earns foreign exchange from non-residents consuming a domestic service

An export is a sale to a non-resident, and the visitor brings the currency to the product instead of the product being shipped out. That is why tourism appears in the current account and why it is treated as a development strategy for countries with few manufactured exports.

Host cities bidding for major international sporting events often justify the cost by pointing to legacy. Which factor most determines whether a legacy materialises?

• Whether venues have a planned long-term use and operator afterwards
• The number of medals won by the host nation at the event
• The size of the opening ceremony audience worldwide
• Whether the event is held in summer rather than winter

Answer: Whether venues have a planned long-term use and operator afterwards

Venues built without a post-event tenant become a maintenance liability, which is the pattern behind the abandoned facilities in several past hosts. Legacy is decided in the planning of use, not in the performance of the event.

A cruise ship carrying 3 000 passengers calls at a small historic port for eight hours. Which pattern of impact is most likely?

• Intense congestion with modest local spending, since meals and beds are on board
• Low congestion but very high spending per passenger ashore
• An even spread of visitors across the port and its hinterland
• No environmental impact, because passengers do not stay overnight

Answer: Intense congestion with modest local spending, since meals and beds are on board

Cruise calls deliver the crowd of a large hotel for a few hours without the accommodation and restaurant spending that normally accompanies it, and the passengers move together through the same few streets. This is why several ports now cap calls or charge a landing fee.