TERTIARY SECTORGEOGRAPHY Y3 Social Studies

WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE TERTIARY SECTOR?

TOURISM, A BOOMING ACTIVITY

The tertiary sector, or the service industry, includes all the

economic activities which do not produce material goods, but

provide services to people. It includes, commerce,

communications, transport and leisure activities. One of the

fastest growing leisure activities is tourism.

A little bit of history

Until the second world war tourism was not very important

economically. Only the European nobility and upper classes could

afford to travel for pleasure and they made long journeys to exotic

places (Egypt, India), to spa towns (Spa, Baden-Baden) and to

coastal cities (San Sebastián, Biarritz, Monte Carlo).

Today, however, the tourist industry is one of the most important

economic activities in developed countries

Spa, Belgium

Baden-Baden

THE TERTIARY ECONOMIC SECTOR

In developed countries, services are very widespread and the

majority of people have access to basic services, such as health care and

education. In many countries the service industry accounts for a large

share of GDP and employment.

In developing countries, services are insufficient, and most of the

population does not have access to basic services. The sector is far less

important, in terms of employment and GDP, as low-paid services

requiring few qualifications predominate, such as domestic service and

street traders.

Regional differences

CLASSIFICATION OF THE SERVICES

• Private or market services are provided by private

companies, who charge money to people or other

companies who require the service. Their main

objective is to earn profits.

• Public or non-market services are provided by the

State with money collected through taxes. Their purpose

is to provide basic services to society, rather than making

profits. They include public administration, health care

and education.

Location of services

Traditionally, services providers have located themselves

close to consumers. The most specialised were located in

large cities while less specialised ones were distributed

more uniformly around the country.

Today, improvements in transport and new

communication technologies means that certain services

have moved to areas with lower costs, such as small and

medium-sized towns and underdeveloped regions.

HOW IS THE LOCATION OF THE SERVICES LIKE?

200 shops and 40 restaurants

COMMERCE

DEFINITION: Commerce or trade is the exchange of goods

and services between producers and consumers in exchange for

some form of payment. Its aim is to meet the needs of the

population.There are two types of markets:

• Physical markets, where merchandise is present, such as

produce markets.

• Abstract markets, where it is not present, such as stock

exchanges or securities markets.

Phisycal markets, like this produce market, offer goods which are physically present.

In abstract markets, like this stock exchange where shares are bought and sold, the goods are not present.

VocabularySTOCK EXCHANGE: bolsa SHARES:

acciones

Domestic trade is carried out within the borders of a country. It

can

be wholesale*, when large amounts of merchandise are bought

directly

from producers and then sold to smaller shops; or retail*, which

sells

directly to consumers. Today, because of new technologies,

telesales

and internet shopping are becoming increasingly popular.

Foreign trade is carried out between countries. Importation is

the

purchase of foreign goods and services, exportation the sale of

goods

and services abroad. Both exchanges are recorded annually in a

document called the balance of payments, which can be positive

(in

surplus) if the value of exports exceeds the value of imports, or

negative

(in deficit), if the opposite is true.

Wholesale: al por mayor Retail: al por menor

Comercio interior y exterior

DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN TRADE

LAND TRANSPORT

Land transport is the most frequently used type of transport in

the world and the infrastructure forms the largest global

transport network. There are two main types of network.

Road transport

Advantages Disadvantages

it is door-to-door(directly from the starting point to the destination) and is very flexibile with regard to time.

the passenger and goods capacity islimited and that high densities of traffic cause accidents and pollution,in particular CO2 emissions, which cause climate change.

Rail transport

Advantages Disadvantages

it has high capacity, it is safe, fast and has low levels of pollution if it is electrified.

the network does not always go door-to door,and construction and maintenance costs are high, especially inthe case of high-speed rail.

WATER AND AIR TRANSPORTWATER TRANSPORT

Ships are used, above all, for the

transportation of large quantities

of

merchandise by sea or navigable

rivers and account for only a small

percentage of passenger transport.

Ships are ideal for the

transportation of heavy, goods,

over large distances such as oil,

cereals, minerals or coal and also

manufactures. The advantages

are its large capacity and low cost.

The disadvantages are that it is

slow, and that accidents cause

contamination of the waters.

AIR TRANSPORT

Air transport by plane is used for

the transportation of passengers

over long distances and the

transportation of perishable

(perecedero), urgent or lightweight

goods.

The advantages are it is fast,

safe and the fact that the routes

are not

affected by geographic land

features (mountains, rivers, etc.).

The disadvantages are the high

costs of operation and

maintenance, the high price of

fuel and the acoustic and

atmospheric pollution it causes

The European transport network is one of the most modern and

efficient in the world, especially in the member countries of

the EU.

– Road transport has a dense network of motorways. The railway

network, is important for both passenger and goods transport,

especially in the countries in the west and the centre of the

continent.

– Water transport has large merchant fleets*. Maritime transport

has very active ports, such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Le

Havre, Amsterdam, London and Bilbao, on the Atlantic Ocean;

and Marseille, Genoa, Barcelona, Valencia and Piraeus on the

Mediterranean Sea. River transport is carried out along navigable

canals and rivers, such as the Rhine (the busiest waterway* in

Europe), the Danube and the Volga.

– Air transport has major international airports, such as London,

Frankfurt and Paris.

THE EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK

TOURISM

Definition Tourism is the

temporary transfer of

people from their place of

residence to other places,

for leisure purposes, for a

period of more than 24

hours and less than one

year.

Since 1950, it has

experienced enormous

growth in developed

countries, where it has

become a mass

phenomenon enjoyed by

the middle classes.

CAUSESEVOLUTION

• The increase in the standard of

living.

• The generalisation of the five-day

working week and paid holidays.

• The improvement of means of

transport and tourist facilities.

• Tourist company marketing, which

promotes tourism through

advertising.

• Water tourism is the most popular form of tourism. It includes sun-and- sand tourism, along the coasts of temperate seas and the shores of some lakes; nautical tourism, based around nautical ports and marinas; and spas, located next to springs and thermal waters.

• Mountain tourism includes skiing and sports and adventure activities, such as hiking (excursionismo), climbing (escalada), canyoning, paragliding(parapente), etc.

• Rural tourism lets people find out about traditional activities and landscapes, visit agricultural museums, rest and purchase natural or artisanal products.

• Other forms of tourism include cultural tourism, where people visit cities of historic, artistic or cultural interest; business trips, congresses and conventions, which value good communication and infrastructure; and religious tourism to holy* places such as Mecca, Rome, Santiago de Compostela or Jerusalem.

TYPES OF TOURISM

EUROPEAN TOURISM

Europe is both a major source and receiver of international

tourists.

– The high number of European tourists is due to the high

standard of living and it is led by the Germans, the French and

the British.

– Tourists come to Europe because of the good

transportation

network, the diversity of the physical environment and

the cultural wealth (riqueza cultural). In 2008, six out of the

ten leading tourist destinations in the world were in Europe,

most notable being France, Spain and Italy.