This is solution of Icon College tourist destinations Assignment, describes the leading and developing tourist destinations in UK with stats and analysis.
Task 1 Research the scope of tourism of the selected destination and analyse the tourism statistics in terms of foreign exchange earnings and visitor numbers
The statistics to determine tourism destination trends and predict future trends
The tourism at UK has been increasing at a higher rate. Around £2.1bn in 2010 has bene spent by the American Visitors in UK who form the major chunk in the number of visitors in United Kingdom. (Office for National Statistics, 2010)
The analysis is done by breaking down the tourism industry of United Kingdom into various sectors –
- Airline Industry
- Lodging companies
- Cruise lines
- Travel agencies
- Motor coach operators.
As per the analysis in 2012 the most challenging factors of European tourism are: increased cost of living, economic uncertainty and political unrest in the tourist destinations.
The online travel trends have also increased and expected to increase more in the near future (Urry, 2003). The below table shows the online travel trends in United Kingdom:
| Percentage of Trips | January till August 2008 | January till August 2009 |
| Online Booking | 61 | 70 |
| Online information | 15 | 16 |
| Internet users | 75 | 82 |
| Non Internet users | 65 | 59 |
(Source: IPK, 2009)
The table clearly depicts the changing trends towards the online networking in travel industry. This is also supported by the geographical shift in the demand.
Kat impact on the economy and the tourism industry has become the most important part.The tourism industry is very significant because it contribute 9% in total world’s GDP, the industry generates large number of jobs, It employs almost 102 million worldwide and it is contributing 6% in the world’s exports
Inreport by Deloitte, the value of inbound tourism at United Kingdom is estimated to be growing by £ 36 billion in the coming 12 years. The people forming the international tourism are the major sources of revenue (Fennell & Malloy, 1999).
(Source: Office for National Statistics. 2010)
The statistical data on the analysis of the tourism industry is needed for developing better procedures, products, policies, and promotional activities. It will also help in predicting the current trends that exist in the business and markets. UNWTO has also been using the world tourism barometer for analysis on statistical front for tourism industry.Around 43 million new tourists would be entering the tourism market will 2013 from 2010. The consumers are rising due to rising economic level in the various countries. The sector on tourism would be the major source of revenue for the government. People have become very much interested for the short trips and tours. There has been provision of the budget airlines that has reduced the distance as well as the costing for travelling among the shorter distances saving time(Willms, 2007).
United Kingdom has been quite expensive when compared with various other tourist destinations and has been losing on the tourism front for generating income. Europe has become one of the majorly travelled and admired destination and international tourism has been reduced in the lastdecade.
(Source: IPK, 2013)
UK, ABTA’s market statistics as per data in year 2014:
- There would be increased spending on holidays by 2014.
- An anticipation of around 19% of the consumers for holidays is there in 2014.
- Holiday makers would be working with the objective of the obtaining value for money.
- UK will have strong income from Sports Tourism.
- By 2014 people will prefer beach holidays.
- There would be gain in momentum for short haul travel destinations.
Task 2. Investigate the cultural, social and physical features of the selected destination and evaluate the effects of such features on the tourism industry.
The cultural, social and physical features of tourist destinations and their appeal to tourist
The United Kingdom is defined as the land of museums encouraging different religion, cultures, cuisines, and politics. Industry of Tourism at United Kingdom comprises of several physical, social feature, heritage and cultural aspects. These are significant for development of creating and impact for the tourists destinations.
- Cultural Resources: These comprise of the heritage property like churches, museums, monuments, and other structure that are made by man (McKercher and Du Cros, 2002). This also has food patters and various other events of entertainment like music, sports and art. United Kingdom has several historical towns and cities that are developed as an appeal among various tourists.As it has rich cultural resources, therefore it attracts many numbers of tourists when compared to places of native origin that do not have any heritage for culture. The museums of UK are providing an edge to the world in terms of increased tourism due to the heritage linked with them.
- Social Groups:These include the national, local and regional communities of a destination. The social groups play a very important role in attracting a large number of tourists from various countries. It helps in raising the level of tourism and even increasing the tourism capacity. These groups give a warm and high-fi welcome to the tourists and hence mark an everlasting impression of the country on the people who further spread its branding. They give a delightful experience to the people.
- Physical Resources: These comprise of popular lakes, landscapes, coastlines, mountains, beaches, flora and fauna, sand dunes and forests. These physical resources also leave a lot of impact on the travellers who are nature lovers. People look for a comprehensive and different kinds of tourist destinations in terms of nature and its beauty as an appeal to attract tourism.
The comparison of features of developing and leading tourist destinations
Tourism is influenced by the attributes and features of the tourist’s destination in a country. The factors like: its cultural appeal, destination itself, accessibility, attraction and features of destination also influence as an appeal for the destination.These factors are responsible for increasing the level of tourism in the country. Gateways and transport hubs also play a great role in tourism. Lifestyle of people, cultural programs, preferences of people, religion, festivals, and the traditions also play a key role.
Leading Destination – United Kingdom
United Kingdom’s Appeal: United Kingdom is one of the world’s most traveled ten tourist destinations, and is currently the 8th largest in terms of tourism. It has presence of great museums and heritage places that mark as an appeal for the tourists.
Costa Rica - Developing Destination
Costa Rica’s Appeal: It is one of the developing destinations in tourism industry. It contributes a lot to the economic growth of the country. The key places are heritage destinations, culture, best geographical location and the rich history of the city. It has efficient transport infrastructure and provides sports tourism to for national, local and international market for tourism. It is popular as an eco-tourism destination.
Comparison of developing and leading tourist destination
| United Kingdom - Developed Destination | Costa Rica - Developing Destination |
| It is a popular destination in Europe. The area in total for United Kingdom is 243,640 km2 and population is 63.23 million.It has English Channel, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, and the Irish Sea surrounding on all sides. | Costa Rica is present in Central America. Its area in total is 51,100 km2, and population of 4.805 million. It has the Pacific Ocean to the west, Nicaragua to the North, Panama to the SE, and the Caribbean sea to the East surrounding it. |
| United Kingdom is ranked at 8th number among the ten most preferred tourist destinations. | Costa Rica has grown its own niche in the tourism market at present. It is an emerging and developing destination. It is medical destination for the Americans. It is popular for eco-tourism. |
| It is ranked number 7 within the top 10 earners for 2012 by estimating 29.3 million international tourists and $36.4 billion with receipts | It contributes 12.5% countries GDP with 2.43 million international tourists. It is the fastest growing economic sectors in the country |
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Task 3 Evaluate the economic and political characteristics of other destinations with your investigations in task 2 and compare with other developing tourist destinations.
The comparison of appeal of current leading tourist destinations with that of currently developing tourist destinations
UK’s strategy for growth entails a key portion of travel and tourism sector (Richards and Wilson, 2007). As per the UK government, it is one of the major segments with the need for marketing campaigns with the basic focus on the promotion of both domestic and international tourism. There have been campaigns in all over the World, including China, to promote UK tourism. Since, UK do not form as a part of the Schengen agreement, so the visa procedures in UK have been criticized over the restrictions on the inbound travelling. Similarly there has been criticism related to rise in the duty for Air passengers (APD) that has a negative impact on the travel sector. In the year 2011, the VAT also raised to 20% from 17.5% that was a reason for the discouragement among the tourists as of visiting UK, a nation which has already been regarded as very expensive to be visited. Regardless of the Government’s attempts to draw more travellers, in addition to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London’s swarming of the Olympic Games, the domestic inbound and outbound sightseeing had been steady in 2012 as in relation to the preceding year. On the whole, sightseeing continued to be underneath the peak point as observed in 2007 (Goodwin, 2005). On the other hand, the inclination in 2012 can’t be well thought-out as awful bulletin since it came subsequent to revival in 2011. additionally, the financial view point continues to be extremely unsure in the UK however primarily in the Euro zone, in addition to in the remaining parts of the world as the disaster in the Euro zone is beginning to have an effect on world wide business. Actually, sightseeing continues as fairly supple to the financial recession which is currently going into its fifth year, although it considerably lessened customer assurance in addition to remunerations and buying capability.
The tourism in Costa Rica bunch is created of noticeable performers-like hotels and airlines-, in addition to connected sightseeing businesses, similar to transport, foodstuff, attractions, tour workers, support services, and preparation. The subsequent indicative of the cluster associates has the major objective of reinforcing and encouraging their aggressiveness. The cluster should innovate and develop endlessly its creations and services to be successful. The incentives to stopover at Costa Rica are at the hub of the bunch. In the region of these are the businesses that encompass nonstop contact with the travellers: accommodation, transport, provisions, appeals, tour machinists, and endorsement. Just about the direct businesses are those businesses that offer support to the nonstop ones (Richards & Wilson, 2007). These don't possess a contact with the travellers at all; however has a vital responsibility in the ultimate service. The surveys depict that a medium-high returns family unit spends just about 101.000 colones (something like US$320) in a journey inside the nation furthermore, numerous Costa Ricans well thought-out that outsiders more often than not obtain superior service than residents in the hotels, locates and correlated business. in conclusion, 90% of the native citizens believe that the sightseeing expansion have beneficiated the nation because of the foreign exchange that supplies, boost in the government revenue, jobs and infrastructure improvement.
The characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal
There are various benefits which can be attained by the tourism. These can be social or economic benefits, mainly for the developing nations, although there can also be negative impacts. A lot of debates have been there regarding the tourism’s impacts- beneficial or harmful towards the internal and external environment. On one side, the tourism creates a lot of job opportunities in different sectors like transport, retail etc. with a lot of income being generated for the host country. And conversely, these jobs are not permanent but seasonal. There can be adverse effects on the lives of the host citizens in the form of pollution, crowds, traffic jams, littering and dust. The tourism on one hand is a protector of the wildlife and famous locations, and on the other hand a lot of people might get displaced from their own land so as to have a vacant land for hotel building or site seeing. The tourists might also bring in some unwanted diseases or pollution along with them to the host country (McKercher and Du Cros, 2002).
Task 4 Evaluate the economic and political characteristics of other destinations with your investigations in task 2 and compare with other developing tourist destinations.
The issues that affect the popularity of tourist destinations
The tourism sector is impacted by various dissimilar features. Several of these aspects influence certain places whereas others influence tourism all together. The next are a few of these concerns.
The economy
The tourism sector is really impacted by the financial system. If there is no ample facilities and wealth and people are worried about their livelihood, then definitely they would not be going for sightseeing in UK or Costa Rica. Although if a person is withstanding the hurricane approve, they may be concerned regarding the upcoming and might decide to put aside their wealth at present rather than expend it on something similar to journey (Goodwin, 2005). For numerous people, travel is well thought-out as a treat to be completed with further wealth when there are superior phases. When phases are dreadful this may be one of the first stuff to set off. This may be in particular factual for the further luxurious tourism alternatives for example the incredibly expensive travels. Natural disasters might also impact some of the destinations. There are two aspects to it. First, if the people face the natural disaster they would not like to travel rather would be busy in mending their normal lives. Secondly, if a tourist destinations is expected to be hit by any natural disaster or is prone to any, then tourists would not like to visit that place. For example, The 7th July’2005 terror attack in London had made a lot of people afraid of visiting London and a lot of people got against the trips to London during that phase. There are a lot of destinations that might be exposed to earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters like tornados.
The potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide tourist destinations
The responsible tourism is defined differently by different people. It can be defined as the travel that:
- reduces harmful financial, ecological, and communal effects;
- produces superior economic benefits for local inhabitants and improves the comfort of host societies, advances operational circumstances and access to the business;
- engages local citizens in assessments that influence their existences and existence likelihoods;
- creates encouraging involvements to the maintenance of accepted and civilizing inheritance, to the preservation of the globe's assortment;
- offers access for bodilydefied individuals; and
- is ethnicallyresponsive, produces admirationamong tourists and hosts, and constructs local satisfaction and assurance.
The statement ends with an obligation 'to effort with others to seize accountability for attaining the financial, communal and ecological constituents of accountable and sustainable sightseeing.' St. Kilda’s, Scotland had been the conqueror for Responsible tourism 2012 (Urry, 2003).
The jury observed the National Trust for Scotland's effort in St Kilda, the UK's barely mixed-World Heritage being a first-classinstance of the involvement which sightseeing is capable tobuild to the preservation of built civilizinglegacy in isolatedregions”. Developing nations like Costa Rica need toput up on the characteristics that Costa Rica is acknowledged for, which are:
- Well planned and good-looking resort townships
- Affectionate and welcoming citizens
- Naturalattractiveness
- Ecologically welcoming position
- A variety of attractions
The main responsibilities of a tourism sector in any nation are to bring surplus revenue and income-generation for the nation. There has to be a special concentration on the areas which can help in attaining the tourism objectives. The resort areas and travel hubs are important aspect to travel and tourism sector, have to be maintained and improved in a planned manner. There are various destinations all over the globe, so there have to be plans and policies in place, to enhance the footfall in Costa Rica. These plans and endorsement has to be such that the travellers chose this place over and above other similar destinations in competition. There has to be a security provision for the local citizens as well as the tourists. This security has to be in social, cultural, economic, environmental, architectural as well as aesthetic terms as it is part of tour operations. For this, there is a need for co-operation from all the related parties as well as the tourists (Fennell and Malloy, 1999).
Even ifeach and every international destination possess a common interest and joint support in accountable sightseeing, sustained attempts eventually will create unfortunate circumstances recovered and first-class circumstances as great.
References
Beirman, David (2003). Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis: A Strategic Marketing Approach. CABI Publishing. Fennell, D. A. & Malloy, D. C. (1999). Measuring the ethical nature of tourism operators, Annals of Tourism ResearchVolume 26, Issue 4, 928-943. Goodwin H (2005). Responsible Tourism and the Market ICRTOccasional Paper 4 on the resource disc as RT&theMarket.pdf IPK International, (2009).Tourism trends in United Kingdom.Retrieved from http://www.itb-berlin.de/media/itb/itb_media/itb_pdf/worldttr_2010.pdfFor further help in Icon College tourist destinations Assignment, order us now
