Special Interest Tourism in the UK - Essay Example

The main river, Shannon, runs through North Ireland and into independent South Ireland. The United Kingdom is a glowing economy with one of the highest per capita income in the world at 35,100. "The United Kingdom "is separated from Scotland on the north by the granite Cheviot Hills; the Pennine chain of uplands extends south through the center of England, reaching its highest point in the Lake District in the northwest. To the west along the border of Wales, a land of steep hills and valleys, are the Cambrian Mountains, while the Cotswolds, a range of hills in Gloucestershire, extend into the surrounding shires.

"Important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Thames, Humber, Tees, and Tyne. In the west are the Severn and Wye, which empty into the Bristol Channel and are navigable, as are the Mersey and Ribble" (United Kingdom: History, Geography, Government and Culture, 2009). With such a rich topography, the whole of the United Kingdom has special interest tourist locations spread out throughout the land. For this essay, we will concentrate on Harrogate in England as the special interest tourist location.

Harrogate is one of the places in England, "suited for tourism owing to its special features and rural leanings. "The Harrogate district boasts a strong, resilient economy centred on a high quality built and natural environment, a culture of enterprise and a highly skilled resident workforce" (Draft Economic Strategy)."Business tourism attracts over 350,000 visitors per annum. This brings spending of 160m to the district each year and helps support around 21,000 tourism-related jobs (30% of employment) in hotels, restaurants and other related businesses" (Draft Economic Strategy).

Owing to the recent worldwide recession, development in Harrogate had to be curtailed that also led to some setback to tourism. The area has to be appropriately developed with railways and roads to enable better transportation. Also, infrastructure including communication is relatively poor in the rural areas of the district. Facilities for higher education do not exist. These conditions do not severely affect tourism. However, they impact the quality of tourism in the area that can only improve with proper infrastructure and education.

Evidently, the urban-rural connection in the region is imbalanced but the rural areas are poised for better organizational growth with initiatives from the local authority and its partnership with the sub-regional tourism and coastal tourism bodies. There has been a growth of 75% in the tourism industry in the last twelve months in Harrogate. The region attracts footfalls not only locally but also from other countries such as Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Eastern European nations. This is indicative of the rich potential that exists in Harrogate as a tourist centre in Europe (Suckling, Helen et al; 2010). The