Unit 3 – The UK as a destination

Unit outcomes:

1. Be able to locate UK gateways, tourist destinations and geographical features
2. Know the needs of inbound and domestic visitors to UK tourist destinations 
3. Know the features and facilities that attract visitors to UK destinations 
4. Understand how UK inbound and domestic tourism is affected by internal and external factors

Keywords:

• Topography – The arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area 
• Incoming visitors – the number of visitors coming to a country 
• Domestic visitors – People travelling in their own country for tourism purposes 
• Inbound visitors – People who visit a country which is not their country of residence for the purposes of tourism
• Day visitors – People going on an excursion and not staying overnight 
• Tourism generator – The amount of money visitors spends on tourism in a country 
• Receipts – A country from where visitors originate 
• Visitor Flow – The number of visitors coming in and going out of a country 
• Arrivals – The number of visitors coming into a country 
• Tourism receiver – A country that is a destination for tourists 
• Outbound tourists – Tourists leaving their country of residence to visit another country
• Business visitors – Visitors travelling for the purposes of business 
• Leisure tourists – Tourists going on a holiday
• VFR – Visitors travelling to visit a friend or relative 

UK attractions:

• Seaside’s and UK islands – Blackpool and the Isle of Wight 
• Historical and Cultural – Stratford-upon-Avon and York 
• National Parks and Bodies of water – South Downs and Loch Ness
• Woodland Areas and main sea ports – Epping Forest and Dover
• Capital Cities and major airports – London and Gatwick 
• Mountain ranges and rivers – Snowdonia and The Thames

What are the needs of visitors to the UK? 

• Access to information – Internet can help travellers plan holidays 
• Language – Important to welcome people in their own language 
• Accommodation – Inbound tourist expectations are high
• Accessibility – tourist attractions and facilities should be available to all 
• Transport – tourists arrive at airports to find information desks and car hire 
• Car – not many inbound tourists drive in the UK 
• Public transport – overseas visitors depend on public transport 
• Customer service – all tourists have a right to expect a high standard 
• Value of money – Value is good if tourists have received a good quality and service

Location 

Roads in the UK have a great network and its easy to reach destinations except in Scotland

Roads

73% of domestic trips are made by car	Very busy and congested in holiday seasons
Extensive road network with few tolls	Fuel is expensive
Easy to find petrol and service stations	Inbound tourists find it hard driving on the left
Roads are well sign posted
No baggage allowance

Coach trips

Many services from all major towns and cities	Takes a long time to get to destinations
Much cheaper than other forms of transport

Rail 

Comfort and can be very fast	Expensive if not booked in advance
Most towns have a railway	Pricing strategies confusing for

Domestic air travel 

Often cheap	Onward connections are also needed
Journey is fast	Airport check in and travel to and from the airport adds time to the journey
Safest mode of transport

Natural features 

• Appeal to inbound and domestic tourists who want to appreciate the worlds wonders 
• Every tourist area will have some kind of natural attraction, in or near, to the destination that can be promoted to tourists 
• Certain features of Topography – will appeal to different types of visitors 

Local natural attraction example: Epping Forest

Activities: Horse riding, Walking, Bike Riding, Fishing, Hunting, Camping and Hiking 

Seasonal: In the summer, Domestic tourists visit the forests and have picnics and BBQ’s. But during the winter, less people visit, only people who walk their dogs and those who want to get some exercise. There is only one business operation in the forest which is a log company that chop trees from a certain height. 

Internal factors affecting the tourism market 

Health, Safety and Security within the UK:

• People behave differently on holiday and are not aware of difficult situations 
• Domestic tourists maybe more vulnerable vising a part of the country they are not used to 
• Activities which deter visitors to London: Bombings and Riots 

Health and Safety Advice:

• The UK has expert heath and safety laws so tourists can expect to be as safe, or safer than in their home countries 
• You should check the metropolitan police service and the Foreign Commonwealth websites for up to date advice for tourists 

Recession and the strength of the pound:

• Strong pound = less visitors
• Weak pound = more pounds for their money, so UK is cheaper 

Quality of goods and services 

• Consumers these days care a lot more about the quality of the products and services they spend their money on. 
• Visit Britain no only markets accommodation that has been quality assessed which means it has met certain standards

External factors affecting the tourism market

• Exchange rate – The exchange influences the number of visitors in the UK.  Rates to watch are Sterling to Dollar and Sterling to Euro 

Travel restrictions 

• Security related restrictions – 2006 plot to blow up plane, extra hand baggage rules 
• Customs restrictions – These relate to alcohol, tobacco and gifts
• Immigration restrictions – UK has seen huge increase of inbound tourism from Europe 

• Emergent’s of new markets – New group of tourists are heading to the UK. Asia, The Middle East and Africa are the faster growing visitors to the UK. China is another important market

• Weather – Plays a huge part in determining where tourists go. A poor summer here leads to more people booking holidays abroad. Inbound tourists do not come to the UK for the weather, they come for our heritage and other attractions 

1. Campaign - the VisitBritain have a campaign to gain more tourists via many projects 
2. Information - tourist boards give information to tourists
3. Environment - airline companies are trying to more eco-friendly 
4. Alternative - there are many alternative attractions for tourists to visits while in the UK; purpose built, historical and cultural 
5. Determined - people were determined to get tickets for the 2012 olympics
6. Appealing - the royal wedding was appealing to many tourists as many countries don't have a royal family 
7. Generating - inbound tourists helps the GDP by generating income 
8. Restrictions - the 2012 olympics had no restrictions as it was accessible for all 
9. Recession - in 2009 there was a recession which had a knock on effect on tourism in the UK
10. Weather - plays a big part on tourism as if the royal wedding had bad weather, there may not of been as big a turnout as there was

Unit 2: Business of Travel and Tourism - Notes

Tourism Industry Background

1. What is the value of the UK tourism industry? £127 billion 
2. Is the UK tourism industry in growth and how it is performing vs the rest of the UK economy? Uk tourism is in growth and is worth around 10% of UK economy 
3. How many people does the tourism industry employ and what % of the UK economy does this represent? 3 million people are employed in the tourist industry and its 10% a year
4. What is GDP? Gross domestic produce - everything a country produces in a year
5. What is revenue to the exchequer?  money made in taxes - £6 million
6. What is the global travel industry worth? $5.8 trillion and by 2018 it should be worth $10.8

Types of Organisations:

• Public LTD
• Private Limited Company 
• Sole Traders
• Partnerships 
• Franchises 
• Co-operatives

Keywords:

• Franchise - buying the right to sell a company's products or services under the branded name 
• Private Limited Company - a company which is not listed on the London stock exchange and usually has limited liability 
• Dividends - a share of profits made as a payment to the share holders
• Share Capital - the money raised by selling shares of a business 

1. What is Company House? Where you can go and buy a company
2. What companies have executive directors and non executive directors? Private companies
3. What is the name of people responsible for governing a charity? Trustees 
4. Who controls co-operatives? The members
5. What does horizontal integration mean? A company that buys other in it's field 

What documents are you required to submit to company house in order to set up a business?

Certificate of Incorporation

• Application completed 
• When completed and successful certificate of incorporation issued
• Limited company formed 

Memorandum of Association 

• Name, location and nature of business 
• Shows share capital in a company and how divided 
• If setting up business with others - how many shares each of you have and sign it 

Article of Association 

• How is the company run?
• Right share holders name 
• Rights directors name 

Sources of Finance 

Banks 

• Loans: repayment schedules, interest rates, guarantee and business plan 
• Overdraft: more flexible than loan, quick to arrange, less security/ guarantee required, penalties 

Friends and Family 

• Small businesses use them as a source
• Creates a family enterprise 
• No hands on commitment

Shareholders/ Private Equity Finances 

• Issue shares
• Become part owners with voting rights 
• Profits distributed as dividends 

Grants 

• Regional tourist boards advises on sources 
• Government of EU funds 
• One off payment, not repaid or any interest payable 
• Strict eligibility criteria 

Public Funding 

• European Regional Development Fund - 1975: Financial instrument for fisheries guidance fund, European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, European social fund 

Horizontal integration occurs when a company owns or controls other businesses at the same level of the distribution chain. e.g: a multiple travel agency chain taking over an independent travel agency in a town, or a hotel chain buying up an independent hotel 

News articles:

Virgin Atlantic Cancels Little Red Domestic Flights

1. Virgin Atlantic is a private organisation 
2. Virgin Atlantic is a private LTD company 
3. Virgin Atlantic set up the airline to connect long haul virgin customers to other parts of the UK
4. It hasn't worked because not many people booked the flight (business passengers didn't' use it as much)
5. Virgin Atlantic's competition was British Airways and they couldn't compete against BA's huge domestic network and having to ground flights 

Euro Disney Shares Tumble 15% on Debt Financing Plans 

1. Euro Disney is a private organisation 
2. Euro Disney is a public LTD company 
3. Euro Disney is struggling because there is around 600m euros in debt and there is an economic downturn
4. Euro Disney are doing various things to improve revenues by Walt Disney injecting more than 400m euros, Euro Disney have released new shares for existing and new shareholders to buy

Competitive advantage: an advantage gained over competitors by giving better value to consumers so that they choose your product and not theirs. 

Business change their structure to gain competitive advantage 

• In travel and tourism, a consortium refers to an organisation made up of independent travel agents and agencies 
• They join together to increase their buying power, commissions and amenities they are able to provide clients 
• Agents and agencies must meet a threshold shares volume requirement in order to be invited to join a consortium
• Member benefits include marketing programs, commission overrides, agent training and education, Fam trips, technical tools, client referrals and networking opportunities 

Alliances 

• Travel the world with the star alliance network 
• The member airlines of the alliance network are among the most respected in the world 
• In order to become members, all airlines must comply with the highest industry standards of customer service, security and technical infrastructure 
• Together, they offer convenient and comfortable travel to almost any destination in the world 

An interline partnership is where one carrier markets service and places it code on another carries flight. this offers carries an opportunity to provide service to destinations not in their route structure. These schedules are considered online bookings for most situations. An exception could be the minimum connecting time, which is sometimes equal to the off-line connecting time. 

Business Case Content 

• Name, purpose and mission statement 
• Objectives 
• How you will gain competitive advantage 
• How you are filling a gap in the market
• Cash flow forecast
• Timescales for set up 
• Operation of enterprise - sources of finance, ownership, marketing and staff

Business Plan:

What is a mission statement?

A short sentence or paragraph used by a company to explain, in simple and concise terms, it's purpose for being, 

Short term smart target (within first year of opening) - advertise the business twice a week via TV, magazine, radio and social media 

Pay for links and ads on FB page,  page set up is free 

Cashflow - the assessment of cash coming in and out of the business at any given time. 

Why?

Sell idea to bank

Shows you know how to manage flow of money 

Knows peaks and troughs 

The Basics of a Cashflow:

• Opening balance: the money you start with 
• Total cash inflows: sales, loans and grant
• Total cash outflows: utility bills, expenses, wages, rent, loan repayment, mortgage, tax, raw materials, supplies and repairs/maintenance 
• Closing balance: opening balance- inflows and outflows 

Summary of the Scenario:

In this unit, which is unit two: the business of travel and tourism, this unit I will learn up till December. The first objective I will cover is knowing the different types of organisations which are involved in the travel and tourism industry and know the characteristics of different types of organisations. I will understand these objectives bu writing an information pack via using notes and independent research 

Unit 8 Long Haul Destinations - M2 & D2

In this report I will be assessing the significance of different features and facilities on the appeal of Florida for different types of visitors from the UK. I will then evaluate how Florida has capitalised on its features and developed its facilities to attract different types of visitors from the UK. I will be combining the two grades together by talking about how Florida has adapted to attract the separate types of customers. 

Florida appeals to different types of customers as appeals to all. I will be writing about the different types of visitors that Florida appeals to in the sub-categories.

Leisure visitors:

Families

Families love to visit Florida mainly because of the theme parks (Walt Disney World and universal parks), the parks entertain children as they offer different activities like meeting the characters, going on the rides, participating in activities in the parks and watching parades and shows. Florida has capitalised on families as they are the main type of visitors as children love to see their favourite movie characters in real life and get their autograph, they have developed the parks to suit families by having places to park the pushchairs when going on the rides, having more food suitable for children and have more activities for them to do rather than just going on rides, walking around the park and meeting the characters. 

Gap year travellers

Gap year travellers are always travelling around different destinations, some of the people may visit Disney World to go on the rides and experience what everyone talk about. Others may go to the beaches to have a relaxing year before going back to their hometown and continue with whatever they are going to do with the rest of their lives. They also may want to educate themselves by going to some art museums and go to the Kennedy Space Centre if they are interested in science. Florida has capitalised on gap year travellers as there are more people wanting to travel the world before going to university and Florida is a good place as you can have a fun time (going to the theme parks), a relaxing time (visiting the beaches) or an educational time by going to the space centre and tours at the national park.

Couples 

People may want to get married in Disney World as they want a Magical wedding and something they could experience with other people rather than a normal church wedding. 

They may also have their honeymoon in Florida because of the beautiful beaches and can have an adventurous holiday and  can go shopping in the outlets. Florida has capitalised on weddings by having more wedding venues on the hotel grounds on the Disney grounds and offering the happy couple free champagne at certain places at the park and maybe free deserts. The workers will know because the couples get given badges to wear saying just married. 

VFR (visiting friends and relatives)

Some people decide to go and live in Florida because of the weather. People may go visit family and friends because they miss them and at the same time they get a holiday out of it. They may also go visit because a personal event may be happening such as a wedding or funeral. Florida has capitalised on people visiting friends and family by offering the residents whom are being visited to bring along guests to certain things and some buffet restaurants offer discount. 

Business visitors 

There are big companies over in Florida and there is a large exhibition centre in Orlando  where some conferences take place and employees are made to travel to the conferences. Some business may fly out employees to attend a meeting that will affect the organisation. Florida has capitalised on business visitors by hosting more conferences and exhibitions at the Orange County Convention Centre. 

Other - 

Educational 

There are many places in Florida for people to learn with the main educational attraction being the space centre. Florida has capitalised on people going over there to learn as the theme parks such as Sea World, are offering a days experience at a cost of what its like to be a marine keeper and what goes on during a typical day at the park. 

Medical visitors

People would go to Florida for medical purposes such as participating in a medical trial, visiting a world renowned surgeon for an operation that surgeons in the UK may not be able to deal. Another attraction may be that they have a medicine cure for the treatment that is not available in the UK. Florida has capitalised on people travelling for medical purposes as they are constantly creating new medical trials for people all over the world to take part in. 

Volunteer

The main volunteering activities to do in Florida is look after the wildlife and the environment. The volunteers would look after the rivers and animals living in the swampy water. Another way people can volunteer but still working with animals is by being at sea world and learning about all of the animals and how to care for them. If volunteers want a different educational learning thy can euro in a program at Walt Disney World to learn about what they do there and how to keep gaining visitors. Florida has capitalised on the volunteer visitors as they realise they can offer great knowledge to the people without having to lose money from the economy but still gain money as the volunteers will spend money whilst there. 

Theme Parks
When people first think about Florida, the first that comes to mind is theme parks especially Walt Disney World. 

Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 and since then the tourist numbers have grown, yearly over forty-million visit the Floridan State and under half of them go to the theme parks. 

Weather is a well know thing for Florida as it is nicknamed as being the sunshine state. Hotel providers know holidaymakers will travel to the state when it is decent weather so they will charge more for the rooms and people will still pay for it. 

During the summer months

Unit 8 - P3, M1 & D1

Introduction:

I will be explaining how factors affect travel to long-haul destinations. I will then review how travel factors affect travel to selected long haul destination and then finally analyse the impact of travel factors on selected long haul destinations. 

I have Chosen two long haul destinations for examples of the factors, the two destinations are Hawaii and New York. For the merit part of the assignment I will be expanding on all of the travel factors and providing more examples on how the factors are affecting long haul travel destinations.

A long haul travel destination is when the flight takes over six hours. 

Timezones and length of flight  

This factor affect people when flying to a long haul destination as you pass through many time zones. GMT (Greenwich meantime) was created in 1884, It is set in London at the royal observatory and the each area of the world is either behind or in front (+ or-) It is now more popularly known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 

For example New York is five hours ahead of London so the GMT is +5, Hawaii is 10 hours behind of London so the GMT is-10. 

When there is a long flight, people may become dehydrated, irritated due to being cramped in a tiny seat and a lack of sleep (may travel overnight). People may split their flight up by having either a few hour stop over, a night or stay for a few days. The flight time to New York is eight hours and the travelling time to Honolulu is 17 hours and 5 minutes. 

Timezones and length of the flight may stop people from travelling to places which have a long flight time. People many choose to not to travel to Orlando because the flight time is nine hours and the plane could have children on it and they may get restless causing other people onboard to be annoyed.

Seasonality and extreme climatic conditions 

Long haul destinations have particular times of the year for the best times to go and the worst times to go.Some long haul destinations have a rainy seasons and very high humidity which makes horrible conditions for a holiday. Quite often destinations in the Far East and the USA experience Monsoons, hurricanes and tropical storms = devastating. For New York, July is the hottest month  with temperatures of 25°C and has the most amount of sunshine (11 hours everyday). January is the month of the year with temperatures of  2°C and the wettest month is May. The best time to visit Hawaii is in August as it is the hottest month with daily averages of 27°C  or July when there is 11 hours of sunlight. The coldest month is January  with 23°C.  Many people try to avoid going in November as it is the wettest month.

The seasons and the weather affects tourism to long haul destinations in a positive and negative way. Many people visit Australia in the winter because out there it is their summertime and the winter season is the hottest three months of the year. People may not go to the USA in the summer holidays because of freak weather such as hurricanes and daily thunderstorms not to mention the high humidity levels.


Entry requirements and travel restrictions  
When entering a long haul destination you may need to apply for a visa in advance. Some places you need to have  vaccinations  and certificates may also be a requirement to proof you have had the vaccines done and gain entry. To travel to New York and Hawaii, you need to fill out an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) online and costs £9 per person. The form needs to be filled out before 72 hours of departure, but it is preferred to do it a month beforehand in case of any mistakes on the form or the first form gets rejected. The vaccines that people need to have before going to New York and Hawaii is Tetanus and Polio, but people should always check with their GP for the most up date vaccines needed. When the ESTA form came in, it affected travel as some people did not know you had to fill out online, other people may not have realised until they are arrived in the USA. This wouldn’t have cause tourism problems for months only the entry to the country  

Safety and security

Crime and unrest can be a problem, tourist police to ensure safety and security of visitors. Some destinations say tourists can’t go to certain places. Terrorism attacks make people aware of what is going on around them. People can find out if it is safe to visit the country by going on the FCO (Foreign Commonwealth Office)  travel website and they have up to date information. 

Because Hawaii and New York are in the USA, the FCO have the same advice. On the website it says there is a general threat of terrorism, so you have to be vigilant at all times and follow the advice of local authorities. In both places, local gangs target rental cars as they know tourists use them so the advice the website give is do not leave passports and anything valuable in the car and especially in the boot. Also, not many people do this but people should not make flippant remarks about bombs and terrorism on flights and especially when passing through US airports.    When the 9/11 terrorism attack happened it affected travel to and out of the USA for a few years, the first few months air travel dropped by half. The affect of the 9/11 created the first year of negative growth in 20 years. It was a negative thing but created positive tourism to  the European destinations as more people were visiting them as they decided tit wasn't a risky destination increasing the tourist arrivals. 

The Swine Flu pandemic affected not only Mexico but for business their shares are dropping , for example IHG shares fell by 5% because people were worried about how much the shares would be if tourism was extremely affected so pulled out whilst still got money.

Health issues 

DVT (Deep Vein thrombosis) is when there is a blood clot in the deep veins of the body. The clots are normally found in the leg in the muscle which runs through the muscle in the calf and thigh. Flights longer than eight hours increase the chance of getting DVT. To help prevent getting it people can buy flight socks to wear on the plane, wear loose and comfortable clothes that are not restricting any blood flow, foot exercises, not drinking any alcohol onboard and drink plenty of water instead. Do not take any sleeping aid tablets and walk around the plane a lot during the flight.  Adequate travel insurance is needed for all long haul travel destinations as medical bills in the USA is very dear for medical procedures and consultations. Some long haul developing  destinations HIV and diseases may be common so you will have to go to your GP, pop into a travel agency or go online to find out what extra vaccines you need to have. People who already have HIV may find it more awkward to travel because they have to declare their problems and insurance providers will charge them more money to be covered, if people with HIV do not take out insurance and end up in hospital (it doesn’t even have to be related to the original problem) but the hospital will not treat them until they pay up.

Social issues

When people go to developing destinations they may get a culture shock because they see poverty, diseases and malnutrition with their own eyes.  Travellers are advised to support the locals by buying local crafts and produce and going on appropriate trips that do not offend their religions and historic ways.New York does not have many social issues but Hawaii does. 

Hawaii depends heavily on tourism. There is an extreme divide between the rich and the poor. Most of the travellers do not see the poorer locals, as the rich and wealthy  live on/near the beach front and the more popular tourist areas, whereas the poorer areas are in the remote areas and they turn to pick pocketing the holidaymakers as they have a lot of money (to change up or already in the local currency). 

When women travel alone (without any males in the group) can cause problems when travelling to places like Turkey and Morocco and are treated like second class citizen. South America is also a very dangerous place. Reports also state that in India every twenty minutes a sexual assault has been reported. The most unsafe cities are Bogota, Mexico City and Lima for women to visit alone.  On the Women’s Travel Guide they state that females cannot enter the country without a male chaperone at all times. They even have to go to the Embassy in London to declare and sign forms stating who will be the male companion is.  

Distinction Work

In this part of the assignment I will be analysing the impact of the travel factors on long haul travel destinations within in the last five years.

Swine Flu Pandemic  

The virus was found in 2009. The pandemic cost Thomas Cook around £12.6 million as they had to cancel trips from UK and Germany to Mexico. The first week the virus being detected, bookings to Mexico dropped by 60%

around 330,000 people travel to Mexico from the UK every year.

The virus has left a significant dent in the country’s economy and lost $57 million dollars everyday for three months. In 2011 it was recorded that 6.6 million jobs are in the tourism industry which is 14.8% of the total employment in the country.  

Skyscanner has reported that there has been a 19% drop of flight searches to Mexico. 

Sousse Attacks 

On the 26th Of June this year there was a gun attack on a beach in Tunisia. 30 people of the 38 killed were British tourists.Also in 2015, on the 15th of March, Bardo National Museum was attacked by three terrorists. 22 people was killed, 21 were tourist and one person was a  policeman.Another attack happened in October last year when a suicide bomber blew himself up on a beach because his terror attack failed. 

Two weeks after the June attack. 1,155 people cancelled their holiday bookings to the country. This has affected the tourism industry because up to two million hotel nights are expected to be lost in the upcoming year and so far 23 hotels have already closed down. The terror attack has affected the locals as well because 400,000 people are employed in the tourism sector of Tunisia and contributes to 14.5% of the GDP. After the attack at the museum, visitors numbers have dropped by a million.

Bibliography

Tunisia tourism scares are resulting in declining passenger traffic (Online) available at:

http://www.anna.aero/2015/10/07/tunisia-tourism-scares-are-resulting-in-declining-passenger-traffic/ Last Accessed: 02/11/15

How travel is being affected by the swine flu outbreak (Online) available at:

http://www.skyscanner.net/news/updated-swine-flu-outbreak-how-travel-being-affected Last Accessed: 02/11/15

Tunisia: murder of holidaymakers could dent tourism but not hope (Online) available at:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/tunisia-attack-terrorism-tourism Last Accessed: 02/11/15

Tunisia's tourism industry plunges into crisis (Online) available at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-3158870/Tunisia-tourism-crippled-European-warnings.html Last Accessed: 02/11/15

Swine flu a further hit to Mexican tourism (Online) available at:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/apr/27/mexico-tourism-swine-flu Last Accessed:02/11/15