Pupil Tourism Revision Guide

Unit 1 Investigating Leisure and Tourism

The Travel and Tourism Industry

Name_____________________

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About this unit This unit is worth 33% of your final GCSE. You will sit an exam for this unit. This unit includes 3 sections: 1. The leisure industry 2. The travel and tourism industry 3. Links between leisure and tourism The idea of this unit is for you to: • Understand the important role that leisure and tourism plays in today’s society. • Learn about the different facilities and organisations that make up the leisure and tourism industries. • Consider how leisure and tourism industries are linked and how they work together to offer customers a good service. • Investigate the leisure industries in the local area. • Learn about tourism destinations in the UK, where they are, what they offer visitors and the main transport routes to them. • Understand how the industry provides products and services for people in the UK

This guide provides you with the basic information that you need. You will need to complete all classwork activities to ensure that you understand the key points in this guide.

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Part A

The Travel And Tourism Industry

• Travel is how people get to their chosen destination and how they travel around the area they are visiting. It is the key factor that allows people to become tourists.

• Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to

destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and the activities they take part in during their stay at these destinations. A tourist must have the intention to return home.

• Incoming Tourism – visitors who come to the UK from overseas. • Domestic Tourism – people from the UK who spend their holidays or go on day trips in the UK • Outgoing Tourism – people who spend their holidays overseas. Travel and tourism is one of the world’s biggest industries. In 2000, tourist spending in the UK was £52 billion. Tourism provides 1.7 million jobs in the UK. In 2000, 26.2 million overseas visitors came to the UK. This means tourism has become much more important to countries in all parts of the world. This is because people spend a lot of money on tourism and this creates jobs etc.

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The Purpose of Visits There are 6 main reasons why people become tourists. Holiday Examples of this might be 2 weeks in Majorca soaking up the sun or one week in Skegness enjoying the seaside. Sightseeing This involves exploring the sights of a location and taking in the atmosphere e.g. a day trip to the Lake District to see the lakes and mountains. Visiting an Attraction There are thousands of these in the UK and range from seaside funfairs to art galleries, historic country houses to theme parks and shopping malls. Visiting Friends or Relatives This usually involves travelling away from home for at least a day e.g. a family reunion in Blackpool. This type of tourism makes up 25% of all holidays taken by UK residents. This is partly because it is cheaper as people tend to get free accommodation. Going to a Sports Event as a Spectator or to take part Major events such as the Olympics, Tour de France, World Cup, Test Match cricket attract thousands of tourists. As a tourist you would spend money on staying in a hotel, use restaurants, go sightseeing as well as enjoying the actual event. This boosts the economy of the area by bringing in money and creating jobs. Business Tourism Many people travel within the UK and internationally for business purposes e.g. Business Meetings Exhibitions and trade fairs Conferences and conventions

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Part B What are the Key Components of the Travel and Tourism Industry? There are seven key components (parts of the travel and tourism industry). 1. Travel Agents The main aims of travel agents are: • Sell holidays and linked products like insurance and car hire

• Provide information, mainly through brochures and computer

reservation systems. • Advise clients using the knowledge that they have gained through visits to the different resorts They also provide the following services • Plan travel itineraries • Work out costings • Issue tickets • Keep accounts • Book airport car parking spaces • Currency exchange Travel agents do not charge their customers for the service. The companies whose products they sell pay them commission. These include tour operators, airlines, rail companies, hotels, ferry companies and car hire companies. There are 2 different types of travel agents: • Retail Travel Agents – they sell a wide range of popular summer and winter holidays. They also deal with long-haul flights e.g. to Australia. These can be divided into national multiples (Thomas Cook) or local independents who may have up to six branches • Business Travel Agents – they specialise in arranging transport and accommodation for business people. Some large companies (e.g. Boots), who have a lot of travel requirements, have a travel agent onsite. This is an ‘in-plant’ travel agency.

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Location of Travel Agents Despite the rise of Internet bookings, many travel agents can still be found in the High Street of towns. This is because people still like the personal services that travel agents offer and complaints about the holiday can be dealt with face to face. Ground-floor premises in a busy street with nearby parking make an ideal location. The window can be used to promote and display holiday destinations. 2. Tour Operators Tour operators e.g. Thomas Cook and American Express usually produce the brochures that you find in travel agents. Tour operators put together holiday packages that include: • Travel • Accommodation • Travel services There are 2 types of tour operator: Wholesale operators put together and operate tours only through retail travel agents Direct sell operators do not make their products available through travel agents but sell the package direct to the public. When working out the cost of a holiday package, a tour operator needs to take into account the following: • • • •

Marketing of brochures Employment and training of staff Market research Reservations

Some people like to arrange their own travel and accommodation, which is not part of any package. These are known as independent travellers.

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3. Tourist Information and Guiding Services Organisations Providing Tourist Information include:

• The English Tourism Council aims to -

improve standards in accommodation and service quality provide forecasts, research and guidance to find out possible future trends make a positive contribution to the social, economic and environmental well-being of national life

• British Tourist Authority aims to promote the UK to overseas visitors. It has sales offices in many countries abroad so that it can give out leaflets and brochures to encourage people to come to the UK. They also promote the UK at the world’s largest tourism exhibitions. •

National, regional and area tourist boards and tourist information centres - their job is to market and monitor the quality and development of the tourism area that they serve. - The 4 national tourist boards (England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland) encourage tourists to visit their country and improve their tourist facilities. - The regional and area tourist boards help by concentrating on smaller areas. - Local tourist information centres tell visitors about accommodation, car hire, visitor attractions, restaurants and transport. They also provide maps of the town and region that they serve.

Guiding Services Aim to make the tourist experience more interesting and informative. For example, guided tours can be made around London on open-top buses. The tour guide gives a running commentary, which usually includes interesting stories about people and places on the route.

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4. Online Travel Services More and more people are booking their holidays, flight and accommodation on the Internet. Travel companies like Itavia buy air seats in bulk so can afford to charge fares at a cheaper rate than tour operators and travel agents. Hotels can be booked by logging on to www.needahotel.com. Companies advertise website addresses in newspapers and magazines or can be found using search engines. Online bookings have caused some travel agents to lose business. It is particularly useful for independent travellers. 5. Accommodation and Catering Accommodation can be divided into 2 basic categories: • Service accommodation – such as hotels where meals are provided

• Self-catering such as cottages where people provide for themselves. Tourists decide for themselves the type of accommodation they want, and then choose out of the following options for eating arrangements: • Full-board – three meals are provided • Half-board – breakfast plus midday or evening meal • Bed and breakfast Hotels can be placed under different headings according to their location: • City centre hotels • Beach hotels • Resort hotels • Country house hotels

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Grading Schemes These help tourists find out about the type, and quality, of accommodation. The best known are the English Tourism Council, AA and RAC ratings. Properties are visited each year by trained inspectors. •

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Hotels and self-catering accommodation are given star ratings out of 5. The more stars awarded, the higher the quality and the greater the range of facilities and level of service provided. The same system is used for holiday, touring and camping parks. The number of stars awarded depends on the quality of service, cleanliness, environment and facilities provided.

Catering Tourists eating out want a wide choice of catering outlets. The standard of catering in hotels will affect how much people enjoy their holidays. 6. Attractions The reason why many people make trips is to see attractions. For example, tourists go to Blackpool to see the Tower, visit the Pleasure Beach and see the lights. The more attractions an area has, the more tourists will visit the area. This will benefit the local economy. A big sporting event will also be classed as an attraction. This is why London is bidding to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Attractions can be divided into 2 types:

• Natural Attractions e.g. Lake District, Grand Canyon • Human (Man-Made) Attractions e.g. Alton Towers, Disneyland A National Code of Practice ensures that visitor attractions provide a high standard of customer service, cleanliness and maintenance. They must also deal with enquiries and provide proper access for people with disabilities.

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7. Transportation Vast improvements in transport networks have enabled people to travel much further and more often. Choice of transport depends on: • Price • Destination • Time • Reason • Departure points The increase in travel, however, has caused problems such as congestion and pollution.

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Part C

Different Types of Holiday Available

There are 8 different types of holiday: 1. Package Holidays This is a ‘total tourism product’. It includes: • Transport to the destination • Accommodation • Sometimes other services such as tours or golf course fees. • The ‘all-inclusive’ package is becoming more popular. This also includes meals and drinks. • First organised by Thomas Cook, package holidays started in the 1950s and have increased in popularity. • In the 1990s, 15 million people from the UK each year went on a package overseas. • They are put together by tour operators and sold by travel agents. 2 factors have led to the increase in popularity of package holidays: • New technology in aircraft development meant shorter flight times, making it easier to get to international destinations. • Security – the organised package holiday took away any worries travellers had. 2. Independent Holidays This is where people prefer to make their own travel arrangements, and enjoy the freedom to organise their own itineraries. This type of holiday has also grown since the 1970s. This shows that more people like the flexibility in travel arrangements. 3. Domestic Holidays These are taken by people from the UK and may involve short breaks or day trips. Short breaks are becoming more and more popular. The West Country (Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall) is the most popular destination for UK domestic holidays. These holidays can also be booked through travel agents.

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4. Inbound and Outbound Holidays Inbound Tourism • These are taken by visitors who come from overseas to visit the UK and spend their holidays here. • The highest number of visitors to the UK is from the USA. Outbound Tourism • Includes those people from the UK who spend their holidays overseas. • This means their money is spent overseas, in countries such as France and the USA, and this provides economic benefits to these countries. • This type of holiday has risen to 28 million per year in the 1990s. • This has caused domestic tourism to decrease. 5. Holidays involving short-haul and long-haul flights • Short-haul flights usually take less than 5 hours and include destinations such as Greece and Spain. This is the major part of the market.

• Long-haul destinations have become increasingly popular as they are

becoming cheaper and travellers now have a higher disposable income. These take longer than 5 hours to reach and include the USA, Caribbean and the Far East.

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Disney World, in Florida, is one of the most popular long-haul destinations. Thailand and Hong Kong are also very popular because of their cheap prices, fine service and touch of the exotic.

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However, since 9/11, people feel safer with short-haul flights. The political situation has affected the number of people taking long-haul flights.

6. Special Interest Holidays This is where people combine their holidays with their interests, e.g. sport. Skiing holidays in the Alps and golf holidays in the Algarve (Portugal) are particularly popular. Specialist tour operators, such as Neilson Active Holidays, offer packages that include sailing, diving, mountain biking etc.

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7. Cultural Holidays This is where people travel so that they can be inspired by art and culture. Examples of these holidays include visiting art galleries in Italy, wine tasting in France. There are specialist tour operators offering these types of holidays. 8. Short-Break Holidays People who cannot afford the time or money for longer holidays take these types of holidays. This type of holiday is often in addition to the main holiday. Short-break holidays are becoming more popular. The Channel Tunnel and cheaper air and ferry prices have made it easier for people to spend the weekend in France or Belgium. Weekend breaks to long-haul destinations such as New York have also developed. For example, Christmas shopping in New York is very popular. In the UK, City Breaks to London offer mini-package holidays that include transport, accommodation, theatre tickets and sightseeing tours.

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Part D

Methods of Travel

• Transport is known as a capital-intensive industry. This means that

airlines, railways and shipping companies need to invest large amounts of money in buildings, planes, trains or sips and equipment.

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This is needed so that they can provide modern, efficient services to their customers.

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Governments also need to provide money to build roads and motorways for car owners and coach operators.

• Without transport, there would be no travel or tourism. Transport is important in 3 ways:

1. It provides the means of travel to a destination from the tourist’s place of origin and return. 2. When the tourists have arrived, it provides the means of travelling around a destination e.g. using a taxi to visit The Tower of London. 3. Transport can be a major feature of the tourist experience e.g. a cruise around the Mediterranean. Methods of Travel There are 4 main methods of travel: 1. Air Travel This has become very popular because of 2 reasons:

• It is quick. It can take more direct routes because there are no

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natural barriers. The only things that prevent planes taking the shortest routes are bad weather conditions, congestion and political restrictions. It has become more affordable now that airlines are competing for more passengers.

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There are a number of UK airports, which make it easy for tourists to visit different parts of the country. These include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow. 85% of visits to overseas destinations are made by air. However, 9/11 has affected the number of people travelling by plane, especially to the USA. This has caused job losses in airlines. Air transport can be divided into 3 main areas:

• Scheduled air services – these regularly fly across domestic or international routes according to timetables that are fixed in advanced.

• Charter flights – these services meet travel needs at specific times but are not fixed to a timetable and can be changed or cancelled if there are not enough passengers. These are mainly organised by tour operators for transporting holidaymakers. Therefore, the majority of the flights are organised in the summer to destinations such as the Mediterranean.

• Air taxi services – are usually offered by small private charter companies, carrying 18 or more passengers to specific destinations. As they are small, they can use the runways of small as well as large airports. Executives for business meetings often use them. 2. Rail Travel • Particularly used for domestic tourism – leisure and business. • A quick and convenient way of travelling between cities. • Offer facilities and services such as: sleeping accommodation, restaurant cars, serving snacks and meals, bars and telephones. • Offer different classes of travel according to the price paid for the ticket • There has been a recent growth in private steam railways that attract visitors to nostalgic rail journeys in areas such as Minehead, Somerset. • The Channel Tunnel has had many important outcomes e.g. takes 40% of cross-Channel passenger; 5000 people employed to staff the tunnel; thousands of other jobs created in engineering, transport and tourism.

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Rail travel has a number of advantages and disadvantages: Advantages • Fast over long distances • Rarely need to book in advance • Choice of joining points • Catering on many trains • Least impact on the environment Disadvantages • Restricted to rail routes • Restricted to timetable service • Luggage limited to what you can carry • Often more expensive than road journeys • Standing room only on busy trains 3. Ferry Travel As the UK is an island, ferries are a popular way of travelling, especially for European visitors coming to the UK. • •

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Regular ferry services link the UK to all European countries with a North Sea coast and Ireland. Ferry services are usually used by passengers in combination with local transport (e.g. car, coach or train), which carries them to ferry ports from their places of origin. Success of ferry companies depends on being able to get cars and passengers on and off ferries quickly. This means there needs to be good links between a ferry port and road and rail. Demand peaks in July and August. In the low-season, day trips to French hypermarkets have become very popular. Weather conditions can severely affect all ferry services, particularly in the winter. Ferry services are very important in providing links to Ireland, and also small islands like the Isle of Wight, the Shetlands and the Hebrides.

Advantages • Sometimes the only form of transport available e.g. Isle of Wight • Vehicle ferries can take private cars

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Disadvantages • Timetable can be restricting • Some services are passenger ferries only and cannot take vehicles 4. Road • This is a very popular form of transport, whether it is by coach, taxi or car. • Long distance journeys can be made by motorway so that travelling time is reduced. • Many UK attractions are near to motorways e.g. Lake District • ‘A’ roads and ‘B’ roads serve the other directions that tourists need to take. There are 3 main ways of travelling by road: 1. Buses/coaches Coach operators offer a wide choice of tourism services: • private hire service • express trunk routes for domestic and international travel • tours and excursions • transfers from airports to tourist destinations. Not very popular with business travellers. Mainly used by the young and elderly, as it is a convenient and cheap form of travel. • Other uses might be attracted by services including on-board toilets, reclining seats, telephone, video etc. • Visitors in large towns and cities often use local bus services. • •

Advantages • Goes straight into town/city • Choice of ‘joining’ points • Low cost • All passengers must have a seat • Many services have catering and on-board toilets Disadvantages • Restricted to service routes • Restricted to timetable service • Luggage limited to what you can carry • Seat can be guaranteed only through booking • Slower than rail/air.

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2. Taxi/car hire • Visitors to cities use taxis as a fast and convenient way of moving around unfamiliar streets. • In the UK, there are £600 million of car rentals each year. Business people or overseas tourists mainly rent these cars. • Travel agents see car hire as an important add-on to a sale. • Examples of major car rental companies are Avis and Hertz. 3. Travel by car • Car is the most popular method of transport for tourists. In the USA, 85% of all holiday travel is by car. • There has also been an increase in the purchase of camping gear and caravans. • There has been a large increase in services such as roadside catering and motels. Advantages of travelling by car • Flexible – you can decide when and where you travel • Large amounts of luggage are easily carried • Door to door • Cost per mile is low • You can hire one if you don’t own one. Disadvantages of travelling by car • High cost in buying, licensing and insuring • Parking can be a problem • Traffic congestion can cause delays

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Part E

Tourism Destinations in the UK

There are 6 main types of tourism destination in the UK. You will need to know at least one example of each type of destination, where they are, the features of the destination and the possible environmental, economic and social impacts of tourism.

1. Coastal Areas There are 2 categories of coastal areas: seaside towns and heritage coasts. SEASIDE TOWNS • Most popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. • Tourists tended to travel by train, stay in a guesthouse and would paddle in the sea; visit bingo halls and the amusements. • They allowed people to escape from cities and proved to be very popular with factory workers, miners etc. • These seaside resorts fell in popularity in the 1980s because low priced overseas packages to Spain became available to more people. • Since the 1980s, seaside resorts have tried to change their image. All-year-round entertainment was developed and holiday camps became fully modernised family entertainment centres. CASE STUDY OF BLACKPOOL • • • • •

Attracts millions of people each year, making £435 million. 120 000 holiday beds available in 3 500 hotels and guesthouses. This is more than the whole of Portugal. The size of the industry in Blackpool means that tourism will have a wide range of positive and negative impacts. It is known as the UK’s top fun spot. It has an image of life, energy and activity. This is aimed at all age groups.

Positive Social Impacts • Locals have the chance to use the facilities provided to tourists • People can meet new friends and learn new sports or hobbies. • Senior citizens can benefit from the improved transport system

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Negative Social Impacts • More crime such as theft, vandalism and violence. This is often caused by the drunken behaviour of tourists. • Many people have lost traditional jobs because of the increase of tourism. This has caused local tradition and culture to become lost. • Local services are lost as shops, which sold vegetables or groceries, turn into tourist gift shops etc. Positive Economic Impacts • Tourists bring millions of pounds into the area. • Money is spent on accommodation, food and drink, tourist attractions, entertainment, souvenirs etc. This has improved business in the area. • A huge number of jobs have been created by tourism e.g. summer job in a café, jobs on the Pleasure Beach. • Jobs are created in the industries that supply tourism e.g. butchers, dry cleaners, newsagents etc. Negative Economic Impacts • Prices tend to rise; including increased local taxes and higher house prices. • Seasonal work – jobs tend to be available only from April to November. • If people have less disposable income in the future, they would not be able to visit places such as Blackpool. This would cause many jobs to be lost and businesses to close. • Most jobs are low paid, meaning that local people do not have much money to cope in an increasingly expensive area. Positive Environmental Impacts • Derelict areas, such as the airfield, have been cleaned up and regenerated. For example, the airfield has now become Stanley Park and includes a zoo, an exclusive hotel and golf course. • Old buildings, such as disused barns, have been turned into restaurants and accommodation. • Blackpool town centre has been improved, with pedestrian areas decorated with flowers and a one-way system to improve traffic flow.

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Negative Environmental Impacts • Traffic congestion on the promenade and on the M55 • Problem of litter along the promenade, town centre and beach. • Increased air and noise pollution. Reducing Negative Impacts • Managing visitors and monitoring the number of tourists, good signposting; peak and off-peak prices throughout the year. • Managing traffic through public transport, trams and park and ride. • Legislation – codes of conduct and customer charters • Education – to reduce the negative impacts of leisure and tourism. HERITAGE COASTS • 32% of scenic English coastline is conserved as Heritage Coast. • There are 44 Heritage Coasts in England and Wales. • They were set up because of concerns that the numbers of visitors were harming important sites around the coast. • Natural beauty is protected and accessibility for visitors is improved. • A plan was set up to create footpaths, clean up seawater and remove litter. • Examples of Heritage Coasts are Beachy Head in Sussex and Flamborough Head.

2. National Parks

Note: This section links to the work you have done on The Leisure Sector. They have 2 aims: 1. Protect the countryside and stop it from being damaged (conserve and enhance) 2. Allow visitors to enjoy visiting the National Park. National Parks should also: 1. Preserve the landscape 2. Provide access and facilities for public open-air enjoyment 3. Protect wildlife and buildings and places of architectural and historic interest.

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National Parks provide a number of different services: 1. Information centres and leaflets, books that tell you all about the Park and places to visit. 2. Ranger or warden who helps to conserve the park. 3. Facilities that make it easier for people to visit e.g. footpaths. 4. Car parks and picnic sites 5. Help voluntary conservation and wildlife groups. There are, however, a number of threats to National Parks: • Changes in agriculture • Military use – live firing and road building • Quarrying and mineral extraction • Housing developments • Planting trees that are not native to the UK • New roads CASE STUDY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT • Attracts 16 million visitors each year so it is very important to the area. • A total of 33 000 jobs are created, directly or indirectly, by tourism in Cumbria. • Activities include: walking, climbing, sailing or sightseeing. • Tourism presents a number of challenges to this National Park. • More cars means more roads may need to be built and also the threat of air and noise pollution. • Care and expense has to be put into keeping the area beautiful. • Visitors like to se traditional dry-stone walls, grassy green fells, natural rock-falls and traditional cottages.

Action needs to be taken to make tourism sustainable in The Lake District. Sustainable tourism means allowing tourists to visit the area whilst also protecting the environment for the future. It is a balance between conservation and the economy. Possible schemes for sustainable tourism in The Lake District are: • Reduce congestion and pollution by limiting coaches to certain roads and reducing speed limits. • Repairing footpaths to reduce erosion • Make some areas accessible only to local residents.

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3. Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty • • •

These are designated by The Countryside Agency and aim to protect these areas. There are over 40 of these areas and they are protected from any type of development. This is so that the public can enjoy these areas. They include features such as forests, mountains and lakes.

4. Towns and Cities • •

There are many towns and centres that are attractive to tourists. They include attractions such as: - historical buildings - shopping centres - cathedrals and churches - trips and excursions - monuments - art galleries and museums

There are a number of reasons why towns and cities become tourist centres. It could be because of its location in a tourist area (e.g. Keswick in the Lake District), cultural links (e.g. Stratford-upon-Avon with its connection to Shakespeare), sports events (e.g. tennis in Wimbledon attracts more tourists to London).

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Theme Parks

Your information from the work you have done on The Leisure Sector can be used here. Theme parks provide a range of attractions on one site. They range from Alton Towers, where all of the rides and attractions are included in the admission price, to Blackpool Pleasure Beach where customers pay for individual rides.

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Places of Historical Interest

This category includes stately homes, castles and abbeys, cathedrals and churches, and anything which has historical significance e.g. Stonehenge. These places attract both UK and overseas visitors. Private individuals, public companies and charitable trusts usually own them.

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