Three Major Aspects Of Gunn's Model Of Tourism

Gunn’s model (1972) of tourism has three major aspects related to a site of attraction. The three major aspects are The Nucleus, The Zone of Closure and The Inviolate Belt. All these 3 aspects somewhat determines the layover of any tourist attraction. The first aspect is The Nucleus. The Nucleus is the actual point of attraction which is famous as a tourist spot for any country, state or a city. If we take an example of Taj Mahal then its majestic structure and view in moonlight is the nucleus of Taj Mahal. Same way if we take an example of Mt.Everest then the nucleus would be its peak. Whole Mountain cannot be the nucleus because what attracts a tourist to Mt.Everest is its high peak. Second aspect of Gunn’s model is The Zone of Closure. Zone

Any tourist spot (nucleus) has to have an zone of closure to make it successful as a tourist attraction. It’s not necessary that every tourist spot has all the amenities but if the amenities are more than that spot will surely attract tourists in large numbers. Inviolate belt plays an important role in Gunn’s model as it is a major factor which affects the rise or decline of a tourist spot. If the amenities are less or we can say if the inviolate belt is on a weaker side then it will have a negative effect on any tourist spot. Last aspect of Gunn’s model is The Zone of Closure. Well where will all the tourists go in order to see and feel the beauty or the view or the sound or we can say the nucleus? No tourist can have that feel from standing in zone of closure or from the nucleus. There is always a zone wherein a tourist can see or feel the nucleus. This zone is known as The Inviolate belt. If we take example of Niagara Falls then a tourist cannot stand under the falls to have the majestic view or the sound of falling water. There are viewing decks and ferry service for the tourists to see the Niagara

A particular destination has inflow of tourists because that particular destination has a site. A site attracts tourist from across the globe on large scale. This relationship between a tourist and a site is not possible until attached with a marker. The marker plays an important role when it comes to tourist and a site. MacCannell (1999) clearly suggested that a marker is highly influential for a tourist to visit a certain site. He classified the marker in two ways i.e. on-site marker and off-site marker. Off-site markers are those source of information which a tourist gets before arriving at a certain destination. These off-site markers can be word of mouth, advertisements or guidebooks. These off-site markers encourages a tourist in getting an idea in deciding which tourist destination to visit. On-site markers are helpful when a tourist is actually at the site. These on-site markers are more affective compared to off-site markers. These on-site markers consists of signboards, plaques and souvenirs. Generally on-site markers have a stronger hold on tourists as compared to off-site markers because on-site markers affects a tourist directly. The main reason behind it is that if a tourist gets more information by off-site markers then it may demotivate a tourist to visit that particular destination. Off-site markers provides limited information about a