Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Know the features and facilities that
attract visitors to UK destinations
SECTION 3
Since the early days of travel and tourism, the UK has
been one of the world's most popular tourist destinations
for British people and visitors from overseas. Using the
classifi cation of UK destinations set out at the beginning
of this unit - capital cities, coastal resorts, cultural or
historical towns and cities, and countryside areas - this
section investigates the many features and facilities
that combine to attract visitors to UK destinations.
add to a destination's ap
p
ea
l
for certain people. If we
take the example o
f
t
he
UK National Parks, the Peak
District, which is easily reached from both Manchester
and Sh
ef
fi eld, has up to 20 million visitors per year. In
co
n
tr
a
st, Northumberland National Park, which is further
a
w
ay
from major centres of population, welcomes 1.5
million visitors per year. Destinations in the UK that are
well served by public transport fi nd it easier to attract
tourists than those with limited services, given their
greater accessibility. We have seen already in this unit
that the UK has a wide variety of transport services
- rail, road, air and sea - provided mainly by private
businesses. Whatever service is used, and whether it is
to reach a destination in the fi rst place or travel around
once there, all tourists look for transport services that
are convenient, safe and offer good value for money.
Transport operators tend to charge the highest prices
when demand is at its greatest and offer reduced rates
for off-peak travel.
Location
The UK is accessible by road,
rai
l,
air and sea to many
important tourist generatin
g
c
o
untries of the world, i.e.
the countries of origin o
f
travellers, such as the USA
and countries in conti
n
ental Europe. New air routes
are being introduce
d
regularly and the high-speed
rail link from London to the Channel Tunnel has made
rail travel to and from the continent much faster and
more convenient. In years to come, the UK is likely to
see increased numbers of tourists from the emerging
e
co
nomies of the former Soviet states, e.g. Poland,
Czech Republic and Estonia, plus more visitors from
the Far East, including China and South Korea.
Natural features
Geographical features play an important part in
attracting visitors to UK destinations. An area's
topography, i.e. the type and variety of natural features
that go to make up the appearance of landscape, is
often the main reason for visiting a destination. For
example, tourists have long been drawn to the beauty
of mountainous areas like the Lake District, Snowdon
and Ben Nevis. Although the UK is relatively small in
comparison to many other countries of the world, it
has an abundance of fi ne landscapes, from Land's End
in Cornwall to John O' Groats on the northern tip of
Scotland. Domestic and overseas visitors are attracted
to the UK's rugged mountains, beautiful coastline,
picturesque dales, desolate moorlands, woodlands,
gorges, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, estuaries and many
other features that complete the scene. The eighty
per cent of the UK population that work in urban areas
use the countryside as a leisure resource, for day trips,
at weekends and for longer holidays. Tourists visit the
countryside for many reasons, such as to walk, view
Britain is very accessible from the continent by coach
A destination's location within the UK will have a bearing
on its popularity and appeal to tourists. If a destination
is not easily accessible it is unlikely to be popular with
large numbers of tourists, although remoteness can
