Unit 3 - The UK as a Destination Task One, Pass Two

all data and prices were accurate of December 2014

The Needs of inbound and domestic tourists:

• Access to information - internet can help travellers plan holidays 

• Accommodation - expectations for inbound tourists are high 

• Transport - tourists arrive at airport to find information desks to book public transport and car hire

• Accessibility - tourist attractions and facilities should be available to all 

• Customer Service - all tourists have a right to expect a high standard of customer service 

• Attractions - places to go and visit whilst staying at a location 

• Value for money - value is good if tourists have received good qualities of services and products 

I chose two hotels so the couple could choose for themselves, I included breakfast so they didn’t have to find a restaurant to eat breakfast every morning.
I priced up the Sofitel hotel at terminal five at London Heathrow airport and to have breakfast and access to the club lounge it is £227.20(2207.96 CNY).
The total price for the time the couple had spent in London was a lower price compared to if they went during one school holidays. The total price for the six nights stay in London is £2668.40 (25931.81 CNY) to stay in the Premier inn and everything else included (transport & activities) this also includes the hotel at London Heathrow airport , however the price to stay in the Hilton hotel for the six nights including transport and activities is £3749.40 (36437.09 CNY). Overall the price difference between the trip staying in the Hilton hotel and the Premier Inn is £1081 (10505.28 CNY), this is because Premier Inn is a more budgeted hotel.
I have purchased two bus tickets that go all over Edinburgh however there is already twenty single journeys on the tickets and costs £60 (583.09 CNY)
The Ramada hotel for a room that has a double bed including a buffet breakfast costs £320 (3109.80 CNY)whereas to stay in the Merchant Hotel, Belfast which has a gym, an indoor pool, a roof top hot tub, Wi-Fi, movies included on the TV in the room, a newspaper every morning and a buffet breakfast is £1150 (11175.83 CNY ). There is a £830 (8066.03 CNY)price difference between the two hotels. 
They can also go on trip advisor to see what peoples personal views about the stadium and the best recommendations to go and eat.
The Adventure island theme park have their own website allowing tourists to see offers on tickets, what rides there are in the park, how to get there and places to eat & drink. They can also go on trip advisor to see what peoples personal views where about the them park and the best recommendations to go and eat. Also on the website there is a map off all of the rides.
Also whilst they are in Southend-on-Sea, I have priced up for the family to go to the Sea life Adventure Aquarium which will cost them £22.80 and will save £5.70 as they are booking online 
I have also found a more up market and relaxing  hotel which is the Sun Hotel, which costs £700 for the seven nights.
There are many seaside places surrounding Canterbury such as:

The Needs of a Chinese couple in their 50’s, who are interested in visiting the four capitals of the UK:

London, Wales, Edinburgh, Belfast

London, England 

The couple will start their visit at London, which is the worlds most popular capital . Whilst they are in London they will be going to many attractions and exploring London how everyone travels around, by public transport. Last year, london had 16.8 million visitors. 

I think the couple will enjoy London and the atmosphere which is created by everyone visiting and will be able to feel the excitement. They will be staying for six nights, from the 31st of January to the 6th February.

Access to information

Internet can help tourist plan their trip and where to go/visit whilst on holiday. The London tourist board is called Visit London. On this website there are four tabs: discover London, Things to do, Traveller information and Tickets and attractions. You can also buy books on things to do in London. 

Accommodation 

The Chinese couple will have high expectations of their accommodation whilst in London, so I have compared a budget hotel to an expensive one.

The premier inn in Holborn for six nights is £704 (6831.23 CNY) including a buffet breakfast, double bed and pull out sofa bed. The check out time is midday. 

The Hilton Tower Bridge for six nights is £1788 (17353.76 CNY) including a buffet breakfast for the whole duration. The room has a double bed, 37 inch TV, free Wi-Fi so they can stay in contact with friends and family members back in China.

Transportation

I have booked flights to fly from Beijing ,China to London Heathrow, terminal five. Flying into the UK on the 31^st January 2015 and leaving on the 19^th February  2015. The flight it with British Airways and costs £1371.88 (13418.00 CNY)for the couple to fly economy , I didn’t price up the premium economy as it was sold out and they could save the money difference for attractions/eating  out. I've booked them a cab from terminal five at London Heathrow to each hotel. However when they have finished visiting Belfast they have to come back to London Heathrow airport to fly home  .The minicab to the Premier inn costs £47 (456.17 CNY) and to go to the Hilton Tower Bridge hotel it costs £44 (427.05 CNY).

I have also priced up a travel card  for the couple  whilst they are in London going to all of the zones  via many form of transports: bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Over ground and National Rail services. The price is £114.40 (1110.79 CNY) for the whole time for both of them allowing to go all over London without worrying about having change to top up an oyster card.

Accessibility 

The couple may not want to do all the stairs when walking over the bridges when walking over the Thames so they may want to take the lifts. Also the stations, some platforms may have lots of stairs to walk up (example: Covent Garden station has many stairs). Also in London toilets are few and far between so they may want to go to the toilet when they find one ( in a restaurant or paying to go). Also some streets in London are cobbled (especially in Covent Garden) this makes it harder to walk normally and may end up tripping over, so they will have to pay extra attention when walking on the cobbled streets. Also if the weather is bad when the couple are over (which is highly likely) the pavements are more likely to be slippery and dangerous causing unneeded accidents. 

Customer Service i

When the couple arrive in London and during the stay they will want to be greeted with a smile and a warm welcoming. When the couple arrive at London Heathrow airport, they will be trying to find the driver of the minicab who will be holding up a sign with the couples last name on it  allowing the couple to know who their driver is. When they arrive at the hotel, they will expect excellent customer service and to feel very welcomed and at ease to ask any questions they have about places to go and visit or the best restaurants to eat at. When they will be walking around London and going on the tube, they may get lost or a bit confused so they will have to ask people for directions and expect a polite answer back. Overall customer service leaves an impact on their holiday as if they have bad service it may put the couple off of coming back to visit London and they might not recommended visiting the capital to their friends and relatives. 

Activities

There are many activities for the couple to do whilst in London, from purpose built attractions to heritage attractions. Some are free whereas some you have to pay for. I have priced up some attractions for the couple to enjoy whilst their stay in London. I priced up for the couple to go on the tour bus (all three routes) for a day which cost £51 (495.62 CNY) the tour bus allows the couple to get on and off the bus at many different points of interest and whilst they are on the bus they can have headphones talking about the places of interest in Chinese. I have also booked them a duck tour, this tour is , for the couple to get on the bus doing a city tour at 11:30am for the 3^rd of February, it costs £51 (495.62 CNY)  including the booking fee, the tour lasts for 75 minutes . I have also booked the couple a afternoon tea in the Marriott County Hall hotel which is on the South Bank for 2pm which costs £56 (544.21 CNY) and includes lots of various different sandwiches, cakes and scones. Besides the three actives I have booked the couple a trip to go on the London eye either before or after the afternoon tea as the ticket is not time specific, the cost to go on the eye for 30 minutes on the 3^rd of February is £45.92 (446.26 CNY)  

Value for Money

Cardiff, Wales 

The Chinese are now going to travel from London to Cardiff and will be staying in the capital for four nights, arriving the 6^th February and leaving  on the 10^th in the morning . Whilst their stay in Cardiff, I will book them two hotels to compare prices, book transport and activities to do there.   

Access to information 

The visit Cardiff online tourist board will help the couple see what is in Cardiff (shop, restaurants) and what to do whilst staying there . There are also books the couple can purchase to read all about Cardiff.

Accommodation

For the couple to stay in the Travelodge in the city centre for four nights it will cost them £319.60(3105.91 CNY) which includes a breakfast box every morning. I also priced up a more upmarket hotel which was the Novotel Cardiff centre which costs £762.60(7411.03 CNY) for four nights  including a buffet breakfast and has a heated indoor swimming pool.

Both of the hotels have a  comfortable double bed in the room for the couple to sleep in, however the Travelodge is right in the centre of the city so they may have disrupted  sleeping at night time .

Transportation

I have booked the couple a national Express coach to go from London Victoria bus station to Cardiff bus station, leaving at 10:30am on the 6^th of February and arriving in Cardiff at 1:30pm, this travel costs £26.98(262.19 CNY) and includes baggage allowance (pay for it to be stowed away). I have also priced up a weeks travel on the bus for the couple which came to £30 (291.54 CNY), the travel ticket means that they can get on and off of the buses however many times they would like to. 

Accessibility

Cardiff is very accessible because the council make sure everywhere is accessible for all (no restrictions, unable to get to a certain place). The council make sure the that the public transport network is available to anyone and is easy to follow and understand, this means that Chinese couple will have no struggles finding the way around Cardiff. The streets of the city centre are paved meaning that the couple will not be at risk when exploring the city (no threats of falling over). 

Customer Service

When the couple arrive in Cardiff and during the stay they will want to be greeted with a smile and a warm welcoming. When they arrive at the hotel, they will expect excellent customer service and to feel very welcomed and at ease to ask any questions they have about places to go and visit or the best restaurants to eat at. When they will exploring Cardiff on foot and going on the buses, they may get lost or a bit confused so they will have to ask people for directions and expect a polite answer back. Overall customer service leaves an impact on their holiday as if they have bad service it may put the couple off of coming back to visit Cardiff and they might not recommended visiting the capital to their friends and relatives. 

Attractions 

I have priced up for the couple to go on a boat ride to Flat Holm island for 3 hours which costs £10 (97.18 CNY), i think that the couple will enjoy looking around a peaceful island compared to the hustle and bustle of the city centre. I have booked them tickets for the Sunday 8^th February to go on watch a Welsh Opera show at the Wales millennium centre at 7:15pm which costs £80 (777.45 CNY). I think the couple would enjoy spending the day at Cardiff bay, where there are many shops, restaurants and various of other things, Cardiff Bay is a pleasant place to spend a day for the couple, The bay is easy to get to as they can just use the bus pass. I tried to book the couple a Doctor Who experience however they have not released the dates whilst they are in wales.

Value for money

The total price for the time the couple had spent in Cardiff was a lower price compared to if they went during one school holidays. The total price for the four nights to stay in Cardiff Travelodge is £456.58 (4437.10 CNY) to stay in the and everything else included (transport & activities) , however the price to stay in the Novotel Cardiff centre for the four nights including transport and activities is £908.98(8833.57 CNY). Overall the price difference between the trip staying in the Novotel Cardiff centre and the Travelodge is £443(4305.12 CNY), this is because Travelodge is a more budgeted hotel.

Edinburgh, Scotland 

The third capital the Chinese couple are going to visit in Edinburgh, this capital is very popular and “in 2012 57% of the visitors were overseas visitors and in total £1.16 billion was spent by tourists in 2012 alone” (Edinburgh tourism action group,2012) 

Access to information 

The internet can help the couple what to do whilst in. The Edinburgh tourist board  is called this is Edinburgh and has many clear labelled tabs for the couple to read and navigate round the webpage.  

Accommodation 

Just like the last two capitals I have priced up for them two different hotels: Ibis hotel and the Hotel du vin.

The Ibis hotel, including a buffet breakfast every morning and Wi-Fi it is £325(3158.39 CNY)  this hotel booking is for four nights, comparing the Ibis hotel to the Hotel du Vin which is £1409.60 (13698.65 CNY) and includes a walk in monsoon shower in the bathroom an is a very posh room.

Transport in Edinburgh

I have booked the Chinese couple a flight on City Jet from Cardiff to Edinburgh as the train takes too long, the plane departs at 6:15am and lands at 7:50am on the 10^th February 2015, including bags, a meal/snack, fast track and front row seats it comes to £675.36 (6563.22 CNY). 

I used the same minicab company that they used in London, to price up the taxi journey  from Edinburgh airport to both hotels, to go to either hotel from the airport it costs £26(252.67 CNY)

Accessibility in Edinburgh

The couple will be doing a lot of walking as there is many great outside places to go walk around and experience the Scottish nature. Also some streets in the city centre  are cobbled making  it harder to walk normally and may end up tripping over, so they will have to pay extra attention when walking on the cobbled streets. Also if the weather is bad when the couple are over (which is highly likely) the pavements are more likely to be slippery and dangerous causing unneeded accidents. 

Customer Service

When the couple arrive in Edinburgh and during the stay they will want to be greeted with a smile and a warm welcoming. When they arrive at the hotel, they will expect excellent customer service and to feel very welcomed and at ease to ask any questions they have about places to go and visit or the best restaurants to eat at. When they will exploring Edinburgh on foot going on the buses, and walking around the countryside they may get lost or a bit confused so they will have to ask people for directions and expect a polite answer back. Overall customer service leaves an impact on their holiday as if they have bad service it may put the couple off of coming back to visit Edinburgh and they might not recommended visiting the capital to their friends and relatives. 

Attractions

I booked a city bus tour for the couple which costs £28(272.11 CNY) . I have also booked the couple to go to an afternoon tea at 3pm in the Balmoral Hotel which overlooks the city skyline and costs £54(524.78 CNY). The couple can have a nice morning walk in the Princes Street Gardens which is free and is a great break away from shopping.

Value for money 

The total price for the stay in Edinburgh in the Ibis hotel in the city centre is £1168.36(11354.25 CNY) whereas the total price stay for the Hotel du Vin stay is £2246.96(21836.21 CNY)  there is a difference of £1078.60(10481.96 CNY).

Belfast, Northern Ireland

“Belfast is a popular short-break destination and in 2012 there was 7.59 million visitors and they spent £416 million”(Belfast city council,2012). Belfast is the last capital the Chinese couple are visiting on their tour before going back to London to fly home.

Access to information

Visit Belfast is the tourist board allowing the couple to see what is going on in Belfast whilst they are there, what things there is to do and where to stay. They can also go on trip advisor to see what peoples personal views where about Belfast and what the best attraction are and the best places to go and eat. 

Accommodation

I have priced up four nights stay in the Merchant hotel, Belfast and The Ramada hotel which is in the city centre.

Transport

I have booked the couple seats on a Scottish city link coach from Edinburgh to Belfast on the 14^th February and costs £64(621.96 CNY). I have priced up tickets for a weeks worth public transport pass and costs £30(291.54 CNY) , this allows the couple to go on trains, buses and the metro.

At the end of the trip in Belfast, they have to go back to London Heathrow airport to fly home to Beginning so I priced up a flight on Aer Lingus and it costs  £285.98(2779.19) , it departs from Belfast at 5:30pm and arrives at London Heathrow Airport at 6:50pm. 

Accessibility

The couple will be doing a lot of walking in the streets of the city centre are paved making  it slippery when it has rain and makes it harder to walk normally and may end up slipping/falling over. On a positive note of being able to access Belfast is that the public transport is very easy to use. When the couple go to the dock and pump house at the titanic attraction , there are four flights of stairs to get to the house.

Customer Service 

When the couple arrive in Belfast and during the stay they will want to be greeted with a smile and a warm welcoming. When they arrive at the hotel, they will expect excellent customer service and to feel very welcomed and at ease to ask any questions they have about places to go and visit or the best restaurants to eat at. When they will exploring Belfast on foot and  going on the public transport. Overall customer service leaves an impact on their holiday as if they have bad service it may put the couple off of coming back to visit Belfast and they might not recommended visiting the capital to their friends and relatives. 

Attractions 

I have booked the couple a titanic experience day for the 15^th February which is a Sunday at 12pm to look around the worlds largest titanic visitor attraction and also the dock and pump house which the cruise ship used. It costs £65.54(636.93 CNY). To go to Belfast zoo for the day it will cost £17(165.21 CNY) and can get to there via a bus on the metro service. There are many parks for the couple to visit whilst in Belfast, a recommendation is the Falls park which has beautiful scenery and has many flowers and grassland areas.

Value for money

The total price for the stay in Belfast in the Ramada hotel which is in the city centre is £765.52 (7439.41 CNY) whereas the total price stay for the Merchant Hotel, Belfast is £1612.52(15670.65 CNY)  there is a difference of £847 (8221.52 CNY).

Value for money in all four capitals 

To stay in the Premier Inn at Holborn, Travelodge at Cardiff city centre, Ibis hotel in Edinburgh and the Ramada hotel in Belfast it comes to £4215.50(40966.70 CNY ) whereas to stay in the Hilton Hotel at Tower Bridge, the Novotel at Cardiff centre, Hotel du Vin in Edinburgh and the Merchant Hotel in Belfast costs £6914.38(67194.72 CNY)

There is a difference of £2698.88(26228.02 CNY) between staying in cheaper accommodation for the whole trip

A group of French males aged between 22-26 who are coming over to watch a rugby match at Twickenham for the RBS Six Nations

Access to information 

The group of French males are at a young age (22-26) so are able to use the internet more meaning they can book everything via the computer (flights, accommodation, tickets and what else there is to do there)

They can also go on the main RBS Six Nations website (http://w ww.rbs6nations.com/en/home.php) also there is also a tourist board in Twickenham for the men to access online  .

Accommodation 

To stay in Heston Hyde Hotel in Heathrow Airport and for three twin rooms is £549(€700.82) , the rooms include free parking, buffet breakfast, bath and free Wi-Fi. 

To stay in the Travelodge in Teddington which is £517(€659.97) for two rooms. One of the rooms has early check in and late check out, there is buffet breakfast and free parking.

Transport 

I have priced up flights from Orly, Paris to London Heathrow Airport with British Airways, leaving on the 20^th March 2015 departing at 7:35am and arriving in London at 7:55am and on the Sunday leaving at 6:35pm and arriving in Paris at 8:55pm, the flight for the whole group costs £1,105.32  (€1410.98) 

I priced up a manual car to hire for three days which includes (as extras): unlimited mileage, satnav, Drop off at terminal one, one extra driver and Go Zen (no excess to be paid, if the car is damaged). The car will cost £454.04 (€579.60). I booked the car hire through Europcar

Accessibility

Due to the group of males going to the rugby match it may be very busy around the stadium and supporters will be drunk and may be violent and wanting to start unneeded fights. There may be many stairs when walking up to the stadium and could be awkward when there are mass crowds trying to find the seats. When walking around the Stadium there may be lots of rubbish which could make the group trip up even if they are steady on foot.

Customer Service 

When the group arrive at London Heathrow Airport and during the stay they will want to be greeted with a smile and a warm welcoming. When they arrive at the airport, they will be trying to find the Europcar rental place to pick up the car key.  They also expect decent customer service and to feel very welcomed and at ease to ask any questions they have about places to go and visit or the best restaurants to eat at. Overall customer service leaves an impact on their weekend break  as if they have bad service it may put the group  off of coming back to another game at Twickenham and they might not recommended going to watch any matches to people back home. 

Attractions 

I priced up  for the group to go to the France vs England on the Saturday 21^st March 2015 at 5pm and sitting behind the posts upper and it costs £2,967 (€3442.82) 

I have also priced up for the group to go to the World Rugby Museum and costs £48 (€61.27) for the whole group to enter the museum, however they couldn’t do the tour around the stadium due to the matches. They can also go to Strawberry Hill house which is beautiful. 

Value for money

The total price for the stay in Travelodge, Teddington is £2127.38 (€ 2715.68) whereas the total price stay for the Heston Hyde hotel, London Heathrow airport is £5123.36 (€ 6540.16)  both prices include all transport and actives whilst the group are on their weekend break

To conclude, there is a difference of £2995.98 (€ 3824.48).

A family with young children wanting a day visit to a theme park

I have picked Adventure Island, Southend

Access to information

Accommodation

The family have chose not to stay over the night, but if they did change their minds, here are a list of hotels nearby:

Roslin Beach Hotel

Park Inn

Holiday Inn

Skylark Hotel

Transport

It will be easier for the family to get to the Adventure Island  via car as they have little ones and may need to stop for toilet breaks and the children might be restless for the hour journey. 

Accessibility

Getting into the theme park is easy as there are many ramps to enter with pushchairs, also access to the rides are maintained by a worker making sure  everyone is safe whilst waiting to get onto  and off the rides.  

Customer Service

The family will expect great customer service during the day at Adventure Island, as soon as they arrive they may need to go the desk to ask about the rides there which are suitable for the whole family (little rides).

Attractions

There many rides at Adventure Island and for the whole family to go for the day costs £69 also whilst they are there I have also priced up two meals to have in the park: one in the café and one in the fish and chip shop just outside the park.

To eat in the Jungle Jive Café, there is a meal deal which is £5.25 includes a burger/wrap, Chips and drink so for the whole family it will cost £15.75, I only priced u for three of the family as I think the little child will not eat much so may share with the mother.

However to eat in the Pavilion Fish & Chips, it costs £30.60, this includes: two lots of large portions of chips, five cod fish fingers, one small sausage, one large cod, one large Haddock, five chicken mini fillets, one cappuccino, one latte and two Capri suns.

Value for money

For the family to go Adventure Island theme park, go to the Sea life Adventure Aquarium and eat in the Jungle Jive Café costs £107. Whereas to do all of the attraction but to eat in the Pavilion Fish & Chips costs £122.40

A retired couple who want a week’s stay in a city

I have decided the city will be Canterbury 

Access to information

The retired couple will be able to access information by going into local travel agents to find out what there is to do in Canterbury and the surrounding areas (Herne Bay, Whitstable and broad stairs)  and maybe go to family members who have computers and ask them to search things (such as going onto the Canterbury  tourist board)

Accommodation 

To stay in the Premier inn which is in the centre of Canterbury is £603.50, this includes a buffet breakfast every morning.

There is a difference of £96.50 between the two hotels 

Transport

To get from Loughton to Canterbury is awkward for anyone to get to, especially the retired couple so I priced up a minicab to take them from door to door which will cost them £211.28. 

Also whilst they are in Canterbury, they are better off getting taxis to everywhere as buses are harder to understand and may have to walk a way from the bus stop to a certain location.

Accessibility 

It may be tiring for the retired couple as there is a lot of walking involved (around the centre and at seaside places). Also there may be some places (Shops) which may have a high step to enter and the couple may not be able to get up to the place due to the high steps

Customer service

The retired couple will want to be treated with respect and smiles whilst their stay as they are spending money and would like something in return. They may not be fast on their feet and will be upset and annoyed if they are being rushed to move somewhere by a fellow passer-by.

Attractions in Canterbury

I have priced up for a river boat tour which goes to fifteen points of interest whilst on the boat and it takes 40 minutes and costs £15 for the couple. To look around the Canterbury Cathedral costs £21  (the money goes to the upkeep of the cathedral). During one of the days in Canterbury, the couple can go to the Canterbury castle which has free entry and they can look around a historic site. To go for a special cream tea costs £25.90

Broadstairs

Herne Bay

Whitstable

Value for money 

To stay in the Premier inn in the city centre and everything else included (transport &activities) costs £876.68, however to stay in the Sun hotel it costs £973.18. There is a difference of £96.50