UK Tourism

UK Tourism

1. Tourism makes a great contribution to the UK economy. There were 32 million overseas visitors to Britain in 2008.

2. The UK is popular with tourists because of it's countryside, historic landmarks, famous churches and cathedrals, and it's castles and palaces.

3. In 2007 tourism contributed £114 billion to the economy and employed 1.4 million people.

4. Factors that affect the numbers of tourists....

   • Weather - bad weather can discourage tourists from visiting the UK, e.g a really wet summer in 2007 was blamed for a drop in the number of overseas visitors.
   • World Economy - in times of the recession people tend to cut back on luxuries like holidays, so fewer overseas visitors come to the UK. This isn't all bad though as more UK citizens chose to holiday in the UK.
   • Exchange Rate - the value of the pound compared to other currencies affects the number of tourists. If it's low the UK is cheaper to visit so more overseas visitors come.
   • Terrorism and conflict - wars and terrorist threats mean less people are willing to visit affected areas. Tourism fell sharply after the London bombings on 7th July 2005.
   • Major Events - big events can attract huge numbers of people. E.g Liverpool was European Capital of Culture in 2008 and as a result 3.5 million people visited that hadn't been before. Also the London 2012 olympics was a major attraction and encouraged many tourists.

5. Growth in Tourism

   • Tourism is a growing industry as people are having more holidays and longer holidays.
     • People have more disposable income than they used to, so they can afford to go on more holidays.
     • Companies give more paid holidays than they used to. This means that people have more free time so they go on holiday more.
     • Travel has become cheaper and their is more transport available so more people are able to afford it.
     • Holiday providers e.g tour companies and hotels, now use the internet to sell their products to people directly, which makes them cheaper. This means that more people can afford to go on holiday.
   • Popular Tourist Areas
     • Cities - people are attracted to cities by the culture (e.g museums, art galleries), entertainment (bars, restaurants, theatres and shopping. Popular destinations include London , Paris , New York and Rome.
     • Coasts - people are attracted here because of the beaches and the activities like swimming, snorkelling, fishing and water skiing. Populsr destinations include Spain, the Caribbean and Thailand.
     • Mountains - people are attracted here because of the beautiful scenery and activities like walking, climbing, skiing and snow boarding. Popular destinations include the Alps, the Dolomites and the Rockies.
   • Improvements
     • Improvements in transport ( e.g more airports) have made it quicker and easier for people to get to different places.
     • Countries in more unusual tourist destinations like the Middle East and Africa have got better at marketing themselves as tourist attractions. This means people are more aware of them.
     • Many countries have invested in infrastructure for tourism (e.g better hotels) to make them more attractive to visitors.

6. Importance to the Economy

   • Tourism creates jobs for local people (e.g. in restaurants and hotels), which helps the economy to grow.
   • It also increases the income for other businesses that supply the tourism industry, e.g. farms that supply food to hotels. This also helps the economy to grow.
   • Tourism is important to the rich and poor parts of the world, e.g. tourism in France generated 35 billion Euros in 2006 and created 2 million jobs.
   • Poorer countries tend to be more dependant on the income from tourism than richer ones, e.g. tourism contributes 3% of the UK's GNP compared to 15% of Kenya's.