Tourism in the UK - Coursework Example

Tourism in the UK Affiliation: I. Introduction Tourism has been on the upward trend in the UK as the nation increases its tourist destination and elements that are attracting many people from all over the globe. This industry has been sustaining the UK economy with its numerous employment opportunities in different industries such as transport, accommodation and food services. The government has been developing policies to ensure the industry is remains sustainable even with the challenges that it has been facing that will be indicated in detail below. Sustainability of tourism industry in the UK will demand a look at the historical background of the sector such as through a personal experience at the Leeds Museum and a comparison with tourism in Saudi Arabia. II. Background of tourism in the UK A. Definition of tourism Tourism according to White (2010, pp. 5) is the movement of people from an environment outside their usual place and travelling as well as staying in locations for the purpose of leisure, business among other activities. They may stay in that new environment for a day or longer. There are a lot of elements that are involved in tourism which include issues such as transportation whether by air, sea or land, accommodation such as in the hotels which will include not only bed but also food and drinks, the leisure areas as well as historic sites to visit among many other things. B. The history of British tourism The tourism industry before 1980 was not so popular but it started picking up after that in not only UK but the whole of Europe. Visitors started coming in from other parts of the world mostly in the United States as well as other European nations, Asia and the Middle East. The trend continued to pick steadily leading to high economic growth up until the 2012 recession that rocked the world (Deloitte, 2013, pp. 19). However, due to the strong roots that had been already established, it bounced back as soon as the recession ended and is now as strong as ever. The growth in tourism has led to increase in employment in the UK as well as increasing the number of sustainable tourists. The fact that tourism visas to the UK have had lesser restrictions to acquire in many nations has been an added advantage to the growth of the tourism industry (Tourism Alliance, 2014, pp. 7). C. How tourism emerged and became important tributary to the economy of Britain UK started growing its tourism sector by marketing its numerous historic sceneries and sites as well as buildings which caught the attention of most people in other nations of the world. With the easy access to tourist visa, many people started going to the nation. With time, the government and the private sector started expanding their hotels, proper maintenance of their camping sites, restaurants and entertainment spots in the nation. There was an influx of travel agencies that assisted the tourists with the best places to visit which they then got paid for. There was also development of recreational facilities as well as an increase in sporting activities all of which acted to increase the number of tourists that were paying highly for the best quality (White, 2010, pp. 10). What this meant is that the economy of the nation started to increase steadily and more people got employed as a result of the development. III. The Impact of Tourism Industry in the UK in terms of economy, culture and politics A. Impact on economy Tourism industry has been contributing over 3 billion pounds to the Exchequer every year which is high revenue. The Royal family alone for example contributes to 500 million pounds every year on tourism through their different Royal destinations that tourists pay to visit such as the Buckingham Palace (Kennedy, 2011). Further research by (Tourism Alliance, 2014, pp. 5) indicates that more than three million people in the UK have been employed by the tourism sector directly or indirectly which means that tourism industry accounts for 9.6% of the total employment of the nation. This is employment in the different sectors such as accommodation services, cultural activities, travel agencies, transport industry among many others. Visitors in the tourism industry are spending billions of pounds through visiting of the seaside areas, the large and small towns among other locations that are considered historic. B. Impact on culture Culture is the day to day living of the people and the running of a community. As a result of the influx of tourism, the culture of the locals seems to have been affected as many people are working in the industry and have to work different shifts and have to be constantly away from home such as the tour guides. On the other hand, interacting with people from different cultures has made UK much more diverse, enable them appreciate their culture even more as they try to market it to the tourists as well as prospered their community with better services, more employment and having a sense of belonging and appreciation of their culture (Department for Culture, Media and Sports, 2009, pp. 7). More people as a result of the interaction with different cultures have left behind the issue of cultural ethnocentrism. C. Impact on politics As a result of the increase in the number of tourists and the impacts that this has brought to the nation, a number of policies have been developed by the government as well as proposed on how to bets manage the industry to ensure its sustainability. This is especially so as a way to curb or address the challenges that are being experienced in the industry such as climatical changes that lead to people loosing revenue and livelihood for several months as a result of the reduction of tourists. Some of the measures being undertaken include reduction of prices during the winter season in order to attract tourists despite the poor weather (Ashworth & Thomas, 1999, pp. 736). People are usually attracted by low charges and are therefore likely to withstand the weather and take advantage of the winter charges. IV. The Challenges that are facing Tourism industry in the UK “Sustainable Tourism” A. Growing competition and competition from emerging destinations Tourism industry has not only been booming in the UK but in the rest of Europe as well which the increased re-development of the tourism industry and increase in services related to tourism such as recreational activities, leisure spots, accommodation, increase tourist amusement activities among others . What this has done is increase competition of the tourists to the different destinations and this translates to competition in the economic advantages as well. There is also inbound competition in the UK itself with the increase in the tourist destinations in the different parts of the nation. This therefore means that there are places that are benefiting more than others and hence experiencing more economic growth in the process than the rest of the locations which is not necessarily good (VisitEngland, 2015, pp. 4). B. Taxation of accommodation and food There are different accommodation services and units provided from fully furnished suites and self-contained units with kitchen and housekeeping services to bed and breakfasts. Others have additional recreational facilities such as swimming pools and exercise rooms while others simply offer just parking services. With the economic instability that had been rocking the world, there was a reduction in tourists and the few that managed did not want the suites and self-contained units as they were saving their cash. This therefore meant that profits in the taxation from accommodation reduced and this proved to be a great challenge that is yet to be dealt with fully. There are also other tourists that come to stay with their families and other relatives and this reduces the tax on accommodation (White, 2010, pp. 2). C. Entry Visa The visas that granted entry to the UK had higher charges attached to them which minimized the number of tourists coming in to the nation. According to Tourism Alliance (2014, pp. 7) for example, visa costs for UK for only a short period of time is 83 pounds compared to 50 pounds for a visa in China. This therefore means that people do not afford to come with their family members due to the high costs. Other nations that did not use to have visa restrictions to the UK such as South Africans were introduced to the visas which limited their influx into the nation as tourists and this means that the nation is losing on its tourist market if this trend of curtailing entry into UK through visas continues. D. Climate change Climatical changes have proven to be another great challenge to the tourism industry in the UK. This is so because during the winter time for example, it is too cold for people to travel or engage in outdoor activities, the historic sites are covered with snow and people therefore do not travel to the nation as tourists. The potential tourists both locals and internationals seek tourism in other warmer areas and this therefore has a negative impact on the economic part of the industry (Ashworth & Thomas, 1999, pp. 736). People have to close down businesses and workers have to seek employment elsewhere for the few months until the warmer weather that is much more liked and attractive resumes. This is uncontrollable and hence nothing much can be done about this challenge. V. National Museum of Arms and Armour in Leeds I have never been a great fun of museums simply because being a parent taking the children to the museums is rather stressful considering most museums have no play areas or children’s activities to engage them. This was however different for the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Other than the adult activities that involved learning about the over 8000 arms and armour pieces in the museum that were used for war, hunting, tournaments among other activities, there were a wide range of facilities that both children and adults could enjoy together. The museum hosted several gift shops where children had fun purchasing replicas of the arms in the museum as well as shopping around. With children always being hungry, I was able to enjoy the variety of restaurants and coffee shop and more so the picnic area where children could play as they ate their smacks. Amazingly, the museum had a play area known as Jester’s Yard which had a castle where children could dress up as knights and princesses and play inside the castle which was fun for them. They also got to enjoy a wide array of sporting activities and games such as fencing and taekwondo which has coaches to train them (Royal Armouries Museum, 2015). VI. Tourism in Saudi Arabia A. Accommodation and food Accommodation and travel is very expensive in Saudi Arabia more than it is the case in the UK. These together with the various types of food that are unique to the Arab culture and which the international tourists find strange to eat pose as some of the greatest challenges being faced by the tourism industry in this country and is the reason domestic tourism is being encouraged by the government (Scott & Jafari, 2010). B. Historical sites Saudi Arabia similarly to the UK is renowned for its world historical and heritage sites which attract both local and international tourists. The sites range from archaeological sites and historical buildings to famous religious sites such as Mecca and numerous museums. These museums just as those in the UK offer a history of the nation and are also considered a national heritage hence treasured highly as a result. C. Domestic tourism Domestic tourism has been on the rise in the nation just like it has been in the UK. This is largely attributed to the local promotions that have been constantly provided by both governments as a way to increase and develop the tourism industry further and ensure its sustainability even when the international tourism from the US and other European nations starts to reduce (Scott & Jafari, 2010). VII. Conclusion Tourism in the UK has been on the fast growth since 1980 even though it experienced a small downturn during the recession period. Its increased positivity has led to an increase in the number of employments in the nation, contributed to a large cultural diversity as well as minimization of ethnocentrism as well as led to much more policies being developed that favour an increase in sustainability of the industry. A personal experience at the Leeds museum provides experience of tourism in the UK. A comparison with tourism in Saudi Arabia unearths that other than in terrorism, the two nations are similar. Reference Ashworth, J. & Thomas, B. (1999). Patterns of seasonality in employment in tourism in the UK. Applied Economic Letters, 6: 735-739. Deloitte. (2013, November). Tourism: Jobs and Growth. Oxford: Oxford Economics. Department for Culture, Media and Sports. (2009, March). Sustainable Tourism in England: A Framework for action. London: Crown Copyright. Kennedy, T. (2011, June 20). UK Tourism facts and figures. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/tourism/8587231/UK-Tourism- facts-and-figures.html Royal Armouries Museum. (2015). Royal Armouries Museum- Leeds. Retrieved from https://www.royalarmouries.org/visit-us/leeds Scott, N. & Jafari, J. (2010). Tourism in the Muslim World. Massachusetts: Emerald Group Publishing. Tourism Alliance (2014). UK Tourism Statistics 2014. London: Tourism Alliance. VisitEngland. (2015, May). England Tourism Factsheet – May 2015. Retrieved from http://www.visitengland.com/sites/default/files/england_tourism_factsheet_2014_data _29th_may_issued_0.pdf White, S. (2010). Measuring Tourism Locally: Local Economic Impact Modelling Approaches. London: Office for National Statistics. White, S. (2010). Measuring Tourism Locally: Measuring the Supply Side of Tourism. London: The Office for National Statistics. Read More