About Destination Management - Assignment Example

? About Destination Management Introduction: London London is regarded as the biggest in the continent of Europe. It is the capital of England and was historically founded by Romans almost 2000 years ago. The city is located on the bank of the famous river Themes. Today, the city is often viewed to be one of the prominent cities in the world and one of the most visited destinations throughout the globe. It is the home for most of the national as well as the international based organisations and is also considered to be a significant commercial centre. It has been ascertained that millions of tourist visit London every year. It is worth mentioning that number of famous attractions dwells in the city. Amongst these Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London and Buckingham Palace among others are the few world renowned places that are located in the city. Apart from these, numerous events are also conducted in the city annually. The city has a good transportation system. It is regarded as among the safest destinations for visitors (Visit England, 2013).Correspondingly, this paper primarily intends to describe the emergence of destination development along with relating various theories and concepts to the city of London. 2. The Emergence of Destination Development and Consideration of Sustainable/Responsible Tourism Development A destination is duly regarded as an area of tourist appeal which comprises attractions and accommodations along with support services. In other words, it can be regarded as a physical boundary embrace with distinctive images as well as qualities that provides a brand identity to a particular location recognisable by potential visitors (Visit England, 2013). The aspect of destination development is often considered to be a central theme especially from tourism perspective. It is worth mentioning that emergence of destinations, government policies, impact of development and marketing issues among others are the vital components that play an imperative role in destination development. It is strongly stated that a destination possesses the capability to motivate visitors to travel by and entail activities of interest to accommodate wherein visitors feel safe and secure. At the same time, shortage of tourism resources, obstructionist role often play by governments, inadequate infrastructure and ineffective promotion are the primary determinants for destination development (Henderson, 2006). It is firmly stressed that destination development has viable influence on the notion of sustainable development. Broadly speaking, tourism activity considerably contributes towards the development as well as the growth of a particular location. It can be affirmed that sustainable development has greater interrelation with destination development. Correspondingly, destination development is accompanied with various significant factors such as quality environment, social interaction, cultural distinctiveness, security and welfare of visitors and host communes (European Commission, 2007). Thus, destination development is viewed as an important tool driven with economic development along with enhancing the quality life of tourists as well as host communities. 3. Application of Theories to the City Of London a. Stage of Development The mounting demand of national along with international visitors for spending their holidays has resulted in rapid development of tourist destinations. In order to understand the destination development stage, it is crucial to adopt the model propagated by R. W. Butler. According to Butler (1980), the development of a particular destination typically passes through six major sequences or phases. These stages can be identified as exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and decline or rejuvenation (Butler, 1980). Diagrammatic representation of the aforementioned stages of destination development has been illustrated below. Source: (Butler, 1980). With this concern, it can be apparently observed that the city of London has experienced considerable level of growth in terms of tourism over the previous few decades. As a result, tourism became one of the biggest economic activities of the city and thus several resorts have been developed to support the increasing rate of tourism. In the exploration stage, tourism in London can be historically associated with the advancement of the resorts (Williams, 1998). The initial resorts were mainly the inland health spas that were believed to possess healing qualities. The growth of these health spas has attracted the interests of a considerable number of visitors. In the involvement stage, the development of spas was initially limited to sick people. Specially mentioning, numerous spas were sponsored by shrewd entrepreneurs as a medium of maximizing wealth. Later, the spas have been developed as a place of recreation and fashion for leisure seekers. In the development stage, the changes in terms of transportation and invention of steam engine in the early nineteenth century promoted the growth of resorts on the Themes estuary. In the consolidation stage, the transformation in transportation with the invention of railway significantly influenced the growth of tourism in London. In the stagnation stage, the tourism in 1770s began to decline in London due to the construction of numerous infrastructures. The wealth drained from colonial regime has dramatically facilitated in making such infrastructural changes. In the rejuvenation/ decline stage, London has transformed into a modern city. The development of new modes of transportation system has considerably changed the aspect of tourism in London (Skilton, 2007).With the beginning of 21st century, the people and the governments were primarily involved in the promotion of tourism in the city (Lumsdon & Page, 2004). b. Approach to Destination Management Destination management is regarded as the process of coordinating all elements that facilitate in the development of destinations. The notion of destination management entails destination value, people, attractions, access, services and marketing practices for promoting the destination. The role of destination management is predominately associated with managing, integrating and supporting different resources along with activities through the formulation and execution of suitable policies as well as actions. It has been viewed that numerous policies and strategies have been framed or formulated in order to promote tourism in the city. It is worth mentioning that the city contains numerous attractions as well as monuments depicting cultural heritage which eventually appeal the visitors to visit the destination. Nonetheless, there lay the occurrence of increased competition from other tourist destinations located in different regions of the globe. At the same time, it can be firmly admitted that London attracts considerable number of visitors both national and international level and ranks relatively high as a dynamic destination for business travellers. In order to enhance tourism in the city, numerous programmes have been designed and implemented offering discount tickets to people encouraging them to visit London. Moreover, the London Tourism Action Group has been founded in collaboration with London Tourist Board which provides numerous cut price offers for the visitors visiting the city. In addition, radical marketing campaign has been structured for promoting tourism in London. Correspondingly, various sports events and business conferences are organised in London which facilitated the city to establish itself as one of the most appealing destinations for the visitors across the globe. Other aspects such as transportation and infrastructure are regularly been planned which eventually facilitated the city to attract extensive tourists at domestic along with international level (Greater London Authority, 2002). c. System of Governance London is often viewed to be one of the most successful tourism destinations which attracted considerable number of overseas visitors. In this regard, it can be apparently observed that the government is significantly involved in creating flourishing environment for the purpose of enhancing the tourism aspect of the city by a significant level. Additionally, the government has also removed several structural problems that might possibly hinder the growth rate of tourism in the city. With regard to determine the governance system linked with tourism of London, it can be apparently viewed that the government is involved in making substantial funding relating to tourism activity within the city through various channels. In this context, the governance system of London has adopted new structures and practices with greater enthusiasm. The local authorities have adopted as well as executed numerous approaches primarily focusing on marketing and promotion of tourism. Such approach has eventually resulted in benefiting the interests of both the localities as well as the tourists visiting the city. It is worth mentioning that the governance system prevailing in London has broadly contributed towards effective and efficient tourism management practices which has resulted in developing the tourism aspect of the city at large (Penrose, 2011). d. Research Undertakings/Application of Research Numerous researches have been conducted with the aim to identify the potential aspects affecting the tourism sector of London. According to these researches, it has been ascertained that heritage serve as an extremely important part for visitors visiting and staying in London. Furthermore, various researches have been undertaken to improve tourism in London. The primary emphasise is allocated on various issues related with tourism such as attractions, accommodation and other facilities. Nonetheless, tourism activity in London is concentrated to small area of London. Thus, more researches are being conducted to explore tourism beyond the small area (Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee Members, 2012). These researches have been undertaken to understand the contribution of tourism in developing the economy, employment and thereby improving the quality of life. e. Tourism Policy & Planning The tourism based developing and planning activities are directed with the intent of promoting a particular city towards attracting the tourists. These policies and planning intends to promote the city as an enjoyable place to visit, to live in and also to invest in along with seeking improvement in the physical environment. High profile projects are regularly been planned to meet the interest of various stakeholders (Tashkov & Dzaleva, 2011). In this similar context, transportation is often considered to be an important aspect in improving the tourism system in London. The cultural and tourism sectors are viewed to be the prime factors for strategic development of London. The tourism policies are also directed towards providing effective training to the staffs that are closely associated with hospitality industry and improvement of other support facilities. The river services in London are continuously improved so that visitors can explore the wonders of the city and enjoy their holidays in a pleasant manner. Regular repair and conservation of heritage are also performed in the city for maintaining competiveness in the global tourism industry (Transportation for London, 2013). f. Stakeholders Heritage tourism is viewed to be an important component with respect to London tourism. The iconic heritage located in the city significantly attracts the domestic and overseas visitors to enjoy and stay in the city. The stakeholders’ collaboration and management role is perceived to be crucial for the preservation of heritage and promotion of tourism in the city. Both public as well as private sectors impose significant impact especially on the development of London as one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. In this regard, relating to the public sector, the governmental agencies have formulated numerous policies as well as strategies in order to promote tourism in the city. These agencies have been widely engaged in the development of infrastructure and marketing of tourism for attracting considerable number of visitors to visit the city. On the other hand, the private sector has also been involved in providing various services and activities related with tourism primarily concentrating on profit-oriented developments (Awang, Hasan & Zahari, 2009) g. Forms of Tourism It is worth mentioning that London is among the most visited cities in Europe and also in the world. Owing to its rich heritage and economic importance, millions of visitors visit the city annually. The three forms of tourism are usually offered by the city which includes business tourism, leisure or holiday tourism and visit to friends and relatives. The domestic tourisms marginally contribute to the prosperity of London tourism, while maximum benefits are attained via overseas visitors. At the same time, strong seasonal pattern is followed by the international visitors (Kyte, 2012). h. Application of Sustainability Indicators (Social, Economic and Environmental) The notion of sustainable tourism primarily deals with three major aspects and goals such as economic development, social justice and environmental protection. It is worth mentioning that London provides an appropriate example of sustainable tourism which has embraced tourism as a tool for socio-economic development. London has been viewed as one of the most popular tourist destinations for visitors throughout the globe. Tourism in London contributes almost ?15billion annually to the national economy. Subsequently, more than 250,000 people are directly as well as indirectly engaged in the tourism industry in London. Protection of environment and use of environment friendly products has also accorded prime importance in the promotion of tourism in London by a certain degree (London Assembly, 2010). i. Competition and Collaboration In recent times, number of new tourist destinations has emerged which eventually raised greater business market significant competition in the tourism sector in London. The emergence of new tourist destinations across the globe has made the idea of destination marketing more competitive. Correspondingly, to maintain competiveness in the global tourism industry, the tourism policy and planning are effectively coordinated for ensuring prosperity of tourism in London. London as a tourist destination is amalgamated with other tourist products, services and offerings for satisfying the recreation needs of the visitors. Public sector and private sector are rigorously involved in functioning in a collaborated manner to achieve strategic objectives, long-term prosperity and competiveness of London as a tourist destination (Buhalis, n.d.). j. Destination Marketing The increasing global competitiveness in tourism aspect has contributed towards the arousal of numerous challenges and problems in attaining loyal customers and sustainable competitive advantage in destination marketing. These problems and challenges have created a demand for the creation of a unique image for London as an attractive tourist destination. Furthermore, balancing the strategic interests of the stakeholders and meeting the economic needs have emerged as paramount requisites for strategic marketing of tourist destinations. In order to promote tourism in London, holistic approach of marketing is adopted. Both public sector and private sector are engaged in improving certain accessibility components such as transportation. In this similar context, numerous events and business conferences are organized in the city to increase the flow of visitors to London. Besides, ancillary services including banking facilities, telecommunication and hospitals among others are regularly improved in the city (Stankovic & Dukic, 2009). k. Tourism Trends The number of tourists and travellers visiting to London has increased over the years. Despite the tough competition impose by other tourist destinations such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore, London has been able to attract considerable number of visitors across the globe. This can be better understood with the help of the following pictorial illustration. Source; (Messe Berlin GmbH, 2012). Despite the gloomy economic condition, the built heritage, contemporary culture and unique shopping experience have ultimately resulted in increased flow of visitors in London. The development of effective transport systems and organisation of large events such as Olympic Games in London have radically contributed towards the increasing tourist trend in the city (Office of National Statistics, 2011). 4. Summarising Potential (Opportunities) For Tourism From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that London is one of the most visited cities around the globe. Millions of overseas and domestic tourists visit London for business, leisure and for other purposes. Correspondingly, there exists tremendous opportunities for the tourism industry in London to grow and expand. The city has historical importance along with rich built heritage and contemporary culture. Nonetheless, the domestic tourism forms a small part of London tourism, while international tourists are often regarded as the primary source of London tourism contributing broadly to its economic and social prosperity. The tourism in London supports numbers of jobs in the city that forms a significant part of national employment. It can be viewed that there has been constant increase in the numbers of visitors visiting the city. Despite the sluggish growth of the UK’s economy and the Eurozone crisis, the tourism in London has been the major economic sector that has dramatically aided the national economy with increasing revenue. The visitors around the globe are attracted towards visiting London in order to explore its rich heritage and culture. Even though the tourism has contributed significantly to the prosperity of London, there still lay numerous and untapped potentials to explore. The London Olympic Games provided the city with huge opportunities to showcase its rich heritage and contemporary culture to unprecedented number of visitors. Hence, it can be stated that by promoting such sports events, London can benefit itself with increasing numbers of visitors in future. It is crucial to understand that new tourist destinations are emerging rapidly and London needs to make substantial investments in making new projects to allure visitors from across the globe. The collaborate efforts between the government and the private sector towards destination management and marketing will further benefit the city to meet the needs of tourists in a better as well as in an enhanced manner. However, the opportunities relating to tourism aspect are accompanied with certain challenges that need to be tackled prudently. The increasing volatility in the exchange rates and frequent eruptions of economic crisis has dramatically affected the growth potential for tourism in London. Additionally, the globalisation process has intensified business market competition making the tourism industry to experience crucial problems. At the same time, environment related impact of tourism may act as a hindrance in exploiting tourism opportunities. The increasing costs of air travel due to hike in the oil prices may also adversely impact the growth of tourism in London at large. In order to mitigate these issues and challenges, it is vital to develop a sustainable based tourism plan. It is the public along with the private sector who need to work collaboratively to address these problems or challenges efficiently. Nonetheless, the role of government would also play a decisive role relating to this particular aspect. In this regard, the government should ensure the security of the visitors travelling to the city and must engage in offering supporting services to tourism at reasonable costs. It is equally important that local community along with government are involved in the preservation of heritage and protection of environment. The ultimate authority of a country or a city lies in the hands of the governing bodies that are responsible for formulating effective policies and implementing these policies in a capable manner. Hence, the role of government is considered to be quite vital for promoting tourism in London. Conclusion From the above analysis, it can be comprehended that tourism in London is a major contributor to the prosperity of the city. Every year millions of visitors visit London to explore its rich heritage and contemporary culture. However, the economic crisis and globalisation process has emerged as the most vital challenges for the growth of tourism in the city. Security of visitors is also viewed as another important aspect deterring the tourist flow in the city. Hence, it is crucial that government along with other private sector are engaged in ensuring flourishing environment wherein both domestic and overseas tourists are attracted and visit the city frequently. References Awang, K. W., Hasan, W. M. W., & Zahari, M. S. M. (2009). Tourism development: a geographical perspective. Asian Social Science 5 (5), pp. 67-76. Buhalis, D. (n.d.). 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