Tourist Circuits: Design and Planning

Travel Schedule

The circuit is the basis for the production of guided tours, routes, and tour packages. A tourist circuit is composed of four elements:

• A specific space
• A natural or cultural heritage
• One subject, when the circuit is a specialized type
• Innovation capacity

Space or Territory

The tourist circuit can be considered local or regional depending on the territory covered. It is limited when covering a local city or town and regional when comprising more than one location. (City tour, guided tour of a neighborhood: local circuit; package in northern Argentina: regional circuit).

Factors to take into account to define the size of the circuit are several:

• The type of product it is designed for: The circuit is not a product itself but is the basis for developing different types of travel.
• The characteristics of space or territory: These are the physical characteristics of space and its feasibility to be run, as well as legal restrictions that may limit the use of portions of land (reserves, private land, etc.).
• The theme to be addressed: The choice will limit the specific subject area that relates to the circuit, and once chosen, the theme should only cover the areas where it is carried out.
• The location of the attractions: The circuit must include the attractions that were selected on the basis of the final product.
• The total duration of the service included in the circuit: It can be an hour for guided tours of a monument, one day, or several days. Local receptive packages are two to six hours, while regional receptive packages can range from 15 days to a month.
• The chosen method to travel it: There are 2 modes: pedestrian and various means of transportation (bike, horses, motorcycles, cars, buses, boats, etc.)

The Theme

The tour can be general (global) or thematic (cultural or geographic-specific).

The Attractions

Attractions are goods or events that can compel or induce travel.

Attractions can be of a natural type (flora, fauna, geography, etc.) or cultural when their existence depends on man (museums, monuments, traditional festivals, customs, etc.).

Travel Time

Travel time is the time that passengers spend on the road or moving from one point to another. Its duration depends on the distance and the type of transport. When programming, it is preferable to calculate distance according to the number of hours that travel involves and the comfort of transportation, rather than the miles traveled.

Time and Service Benefits

It is necessary to consider two main aspects that can lead to customer dissatisfaction: the length and time of each service. This means you have to check whether the services we provide are truly available.

Personal Time Off

This is time off for the client to relax and engage in free-choice activities.

Time for Sports

Such practices observe their own rules. The programmer must know and take them into account when producing the schedule and comply with operating the tour.

ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM IS TO ENSURE THE SEQUENTIAL ORDER OF BENEFITS AND ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY.

Types of Tourist Circuits

Covering the space, they can be local or regional; for their subject, general or thematic; and subject to linear or circular layout.

Circular or triangular circuits are those where the starting point and end of the path are the same.