14 Types of Tourism That Even Hodophiles Might Not Know

If you are a travel freak or a globetrotter, then you might be aware of the types of tourism and their distinguishing characteristics. But for an ordinary person who travels once a year, tourism is only traveling to different countries and places and capturing beautiful moments. But do you know that saving for travel and spending quality time with family, and ticking off the bucket list doesn’t fall under the type of tourism? 

While traveling is a fun, relaxing activity, an individual’s movement for a short time for different places, tourism, on the other hand, is the social arrangement, a business to provide the infrastructure, including restaurants, convenience tours, transport services, and more. People always look for budget-friendly traveling places that don't burn a hole in their pocket. Also, they search for destinations that offer incredible customer services and accommodation. 

Travel and tourism have become a crucial part of life as it refreshes and rejuvenates the soul. The majority of people use these terms interchangeably without knowing the differences between them. It is believed that tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries and making an important contribution to the world’s GDP. The diversity of tourism makes sure that it provides multiple services and has something for everyone to do. Right from rural tourism to business tourism and war tourism to suicide tourism, there are over 20 types of tourism. 

Let us know about some common and interesting types of tourism that you could add to your bucket list. 

1. Domestic Tourism

It is one of the most common types of tourism recorded when people travel to places within their country. It is a type of holiday spent in the same country. Domestic tourism is different from inbound tourism and brings significant revenue for the economy of the country. 

Several countries rely on domestic tourism to improve infrastructure, reduce poverty, and increase economic growth. According to the reports, in 2018, in the US, domestic tourists spent over 1000 billion dollars and represented  85% of total tourism expenditure. 

2. Disaster Tourism

As the name implies, disaster tourism involves the visit of disaster places, either man-made or natural. It is regarded as the sub-sector of dark tourism and majorly includes the tourist sites surrounding volcanic eruptions. These places raise awareness of the event and also educate everyone about the local culture. 

Unfortunately, those who have suffered from various disasters don’t admire tourists witnessing their grief and travel companies earning on behalf of them. The Chernobyl Power plant is one of the popular disaster tourism sites. 

The world’s worst nuclear accident was recorded here, and it killed over 300,000 people. The Lakehurst Naval Air Station, outside New Jersey, is another disaster location, where an accident happened in 1937. The site is marked with a bronze plaque and can be captured through public tours. 

3. Adventure Tourism

Adventure tourism is gaining popularity for several reasons. People who are adventure freaks travel to Ladakh, the United States, and other places that include water rafting, mountain climbing, zip-lining, and other adventure activities. 

Adventure tourism gives opportunities for travelers to step out of their comfort zone. As a subspecies of adventure tourism, event trips aim at particular activities as a part of travel. People who go for adventure tourism organize campfires and are meant for people who can handle stress. 

4. Wildlife Tourism

Wildlife tourism is eco-friendly tourism and involves watching animals in their natural habitat. It is an element of the nation's travel industry and focuses on the observation of the plants and animals in their natural habitat. In other words, Wildlife tourism means the interaction of animals either by hunting or watching. It is a crucial part of tourism industries in many countries, like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and more. 

Sometimes wildlife tourism causes disturbances to the animals in their natural habitat. Also, the pressure of searching for beautiful wildlife photographs can adversely affect feeding patterns and hunting. The wildlife tourism sector is growing considerably every year and is expected to grow around 7-10% per annum over the next decade. 

5. Atomic Tourism

It is a new form of tourism in which visitors learn about the Atomic Age by traveling to different atomic sites like museums with atomic weapons. The United States conducts tours of the Trinity Site, Hanford site, and other places. While you can visit the beach anytime, these atomic sites are opened at specific times. 

The United States allows atomic tours once a year. It provides insight into world history. The Trinity Site in New Mexico is one of the popular Atomic tourist sites visited by millions of people. The site remains open twice a year. Doom town in Nevada, established in 1951, carried out over 900 nuclear tests and is another popular type of atomic tourist destination popular worldwide. 

6. Birth Tourism

Have you ever heard about this type of tourism? Birth tourism or maternity tourism is a kind of tourism in which soon-to-be-moms travel to another country to give birth. The main reason why moms prefer this is to gain birthright citizenship. 

Countries that offer birthright citizenship are the United States, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and more. We don’t know how and when this tourism began. But other reasons to choose birth tourism is getting healthcare and sponsorship to parents, quick access to public schooling, and more.  

To discourage birth tourism, countries like Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have modified their citizenship laws and granted citizenship only if at least one parent is a citizen of the country or a resident of the country for several years. Currently, no European country grants permission for birth tourism. 

7. Garden Tourism

It is a kind of niche that involves traveling to botanical gardens and places that are important in the history of gardening. Flora-loving people travel to different countries and join organized garden tours, where they can find accommodation in the vicinity of the garden. 

The list of gardens that people prefer during their travel is Alhambra in Spain, the Taj Mahal in India, Versailles, Giverny, Villandry, Rivau in France. The garden tour in England involves gardens that do not accept visitors under the National Gardens schemes.

The Botanical gardens share most of its space for cultivation, preservation, and plants from around the world. People also visit Persian gardens in garden tourism. They are the types of gardens having Charbagh, each representing greenery. The Persian style gardens are the inspiration for Mughal gardens at different places. 

8. Business Tourism

When a person travels to a different country not to relax, but for business purposes, it falls under the category of business tourism. This tourism is a combination of work and pleasure and also one of the major reasons for divorce, believing that men travel not for business but to meet someone else. 

During business tourism, individuals are working and also being paid. The major works that are included in business tourism are exhibitions, conferences, and meetings. Business tourism is divided into incentive trips, where organizations aim to motivate employees by giving perks, and traditional business traveling, where business partners meet face to face and then deal for the business.  

9. Cultural Tourism

Cultural tourism is a type of tourism that involves people who want to engage with a country's beliefs and culture. It includes tourism in urban areas, specifically in large cities with museums and theaters. Cultural tourism is becoming popular throughout the world. It has been defined as, 

“The movement of persons to cultural attractions away from their normal place of residence, with the intention to gather new information and experiences to satisfy their cultural needs.” 

Tourists get indulged in activities and festivals outside the country and know about their culture. 

Popular cultural tourism destinations are Greece, South Africa, India, Columbia, and Thailand. These countries welcome millions of people from around the world during their festivals. 

10. Gay Tourism

Gay tourism or LGBT tourism is a type of tourism targeted at gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Sometimes people don’t open about their sexual orientation due to violence against LGBT people. 

The slang term ‘gaycation’ has been used for the vacation that includes the aspect of LGBT culture. This tourism industry involves destinations, cruise lines, hotel groups, and more. 

According to a Travel University report in 2000, 10% of international tourists were gay and lesbian. Mexico, New York, London, Thailand, Miami are a few top gay-friendly destinations. 

11. Agri Tourism

It is a kind of travel that revolves around farming and animal husbandry. It offers travelers an opportunity to know about farming and to experience rural life. Event and recreation tourism, experience and education tourism, and direct market tourism are a few examples of agritourism. 

If you are interested or have planned to own a farm to grow fruits and vegetables, then you must explore countries that allow agritourism to know about it in detail. Agritourism is becoming popular in every country. It is giving unique experiences, right from picking fruit to calf roping. 

It should include multiple factors to attract tourists. For instance, it should provide an educational experience to visitors and combine the elements of tourism and agriculture industries. 

12. Culinary Tourism

Culinary tourism or food tourism is the most amazing kind of tourism, where people travel to different places to taste authentic cuisines from around the world. It is popular amongst food enthusiasts and wine connoisseurs and has seen a rise in the last few years. Sometimes, this type of tourism also includes sightseeing and other activities. 

Culinary tourism educates and inspires everyone about food culture and delicious cuisines in the world. It directly contributes to the country's economy and hospitality. People from different backgrounds come and taste different food and embrace delectable cuisines forever. 

Have you ever heard about gastro tourism? It is related to culinary tourism and focuses on how you eat, what you eat, and when you eat. The top countries that fall under culinary tourism are Thailand, Greece, Japan, and France. Each of these countries is known for boosting recipes and for centuries. The recipes might include dramatic port wine, Scottish highlands, french wines, and more. 

If you are a food lover, then you must try these mouthwatering recipes that are still served across the globe. 

13. Accessible Tourism

Accessible tourism ensures tourist destinations and other services are accessible to everyone regardless of disabilities or age. It is also known as access tourism and universal tourism and caters to the needs of the consumers, including older people and people with disabilities. It removes the institutional barriers in society and gives accessibility to transportation, communication, and services. 

Several factors contribute to access tourism. It depends on the person’s free time, nature of employment, health, and more. Accessible tourism aims to promote social inclusion, increase travel opportunities with special needs, and improve the skills of the employees in the industry. 

14. Dental Tourism

Dental tourism involves people seeking dental care outside their country. It can be considered as a subset of medical tourism and sometimes accompanied by a vacation. Thailand, Spain, Hungary, and India are common dental tourism destinations. 

Thousands of people every year travel from different countries for dental treatment and dental procedures. Every country has different dental treatment costs and offers different services to the patients. It is seen that dental treatment costs are lower in India by 60-70% in comparison to other countries. 

Final Words

Did you know about these types of tourism before? Do you know other facts about types of tourism and the rules about these in different countries? Which type of tourism have you ticked on your bucket list, and how was your experience? Drop your comments below. 

Also, if you are planning to head off to some new destination, then know about these travel hacks that could save you time and money.