Tourism Revision Cards

Reasons for increased tourism:

• Higher earnings
• Paid leave.
• Better infrastructure - more airports, motorways, etc.
• More holiday time.
• Everyone has cars.
• Longer life expectancy.

Tourism experienced a rapid increase during the 1950's due to the availability of package holidays and more holiday time.

Tourism is influenced by 3 main factors...

• SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS: money and social side of things; people nowadays have higher income and smaller families, so they can afford to go on holiday more frequently.
• IMPROVEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY: improvement in planes, cars and trains mean that people can get abroad very easily nowadays.
• EXPANSION OF HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS: there is a wide range of holiday destinations available today as opposed to twenty years ago, e.g. Antartica for extreme tourism.

Tourism is very important to a lot of countries across the world, rich or poor because it...

• creates lots of jobs.
• brings a lot of money in.
• tourism is a muliplier effect, meaning that it encourages the growth of other businesses.

• COASTS (physical): not always sunny in the UK; promise of sun, sea and sand; climate; 1970's invention of cheap package holidays.
• MOUNTAINS (physical): snow and scenery; climate and relief; better scenery; guaranteed snow; not always snow in Scotland.
• CITIES (human): historic buildings; recent creations; uniqueness, i.e. the UK is crappy; events.

CURRENCY:

• weak £, strong $/€ - UK is good value.
• strong £, weak $/€ - UK is expensive.

SECURITY:

• no recent incident - UK is safe.
• terrorist bomb attack, e.g. 7/7 - UK is not safe.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY:

• expanding economy - UK is not in recession, happy to spend.
• rising unemployment - UK is in recession, afraid to spend.

MEDIA COVERAGE:

• good publicity - UK is good.
• bad publicity - UK is bad.

STAGE ONE: EXPLORATION

• Very few tourists.
• People tell others.
• They start to go.
• New businesses start.

In 1735, Blackpool's first guesthouse opened.

STAGE TWO: INVOLVEMENT

• More people go.
• It is mentioned in brochures.
• More shops/businesses open.
• It gets busier.

In 1819, the first hotel was opened in Blackpool.  In 1846, the railway line from Bristol to Blackpool was completed.

STAGE THREE: DEVELOPMENT

• Everyone knows the resort.
• People move for work:
• Very busy in season.
• Everyone works in tourism.

In 1870, Central Pier and a new promenade opened.

STAGE FOUR: CONSOLIDATION

• Tourism is now a major part of the economy.
• Tons of visitors.
• Locals think the tourists are "in control".
• Traffic problems.

Many new attractions were built.  The famous Blackpool Illuminations were first switched on in 1912.

STAGE FIVE: STAGNATION

• People think it's too busy.
• Locals complain.
• People stop coming.
• Businesses shut.

Numbers started to decline in 1986, but Blackpool is still in stagnation.

STAGE SIX A: DECLINE

• Places get shut down.
• Gains a "reputation".
• Charity shops open.
• People stay away.

Blackpool is currently in decline.

STAGE SIX B: REJUVENATION

• New money comes in.
• Shops open up again.
• Refurbishment begins.
• New jobs.
• Tourists return.

Blackpool is currently trying to rejuvenate itself.  They are failing.  :(

Rise (Development)

• popular destination for factory workers.
• upgraded the attractions.
• cheap destination for families on a budget.

Fall (Decline)

• lost out to big supercasino development.
• relies on day trips and hen/stag parties - bad reputation.
• bad consecutive summer weather.
• A quarter of the town's occupants left in 1990.

• It is no longer considered an exciting place.
• Approximately 2,000 B&B's dropped their prices to £10.  There is just no money for investments.
• Some parts of Blackpool and are very run down and dilapidated.
• The M55 was built to improve access from the M6 but this still had no impact on tourism.

Rebranding means giving something a new image or name and making it more popular, e.g. The Millenium Dome --> The O2.

Blackpool needs rebranding because...

• It has a bad image/reputation; home to hen/stag parties.
• It can't compete with other nearby attractions, e.g. Alton Towers.
• It is very run down.

• Attractions include walking, hiking, natural beauty, wildlife, climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering, picnics, good farming land, camping, bird watching and photography.  Sounds fun...
• Positive Impacts include it providing money and jobs.
• Negative Impacts include lack of parking, damage to wildlife, overcrowding, increased traffic, higher house prices and damage to the environment.
• Solutions include designation picnic areas, park and ride schemes, increased parking, protect the environment, provide more litter bins and build wider roads.

The Lake District is one of the oldest National Parks and gets approx 12 million visitors a year.  They have problems with increased traffic and limited parking.  It is also very densely populated.

Lake Windermere and Grassmere suffer with lots of visitors and limited parking. 

In one year, 8,500 boats were registered and second home ownership drives up house prices.