Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the UK do not need to apply for a visa to enter this
country as a tourist, thereby widening its appeal as a
place to visit. China is tipped to be a major growth area
in future years since the UK was awarded Approved
Destination Status in January 2005, meaning that its
citizens are free to visit the UK on organised tours.
Activity 3.12
Using appropriate reference sources, analyse how
two factors are currently affecting UK inbound and
domestic tourism.
Emergence of new markets
This activity is designed to provide evidence
for P5 and M2.
Britain's traditional inbound tourism markets, such as
the USA, France, Germany and the Netherlands, are
forecast to grow slowly over the next ten years, but
several new markets show great potential for growth.
These include South Africa, South Korea, China, Brazil,
India, Argentina, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia.
VisitBritain monitors the visitor numbers to the UK
countries around the world and makes this information
available via its website www.visitbritain.org.
Ef ects on inbound and domestic
tourism
The most noticeable effect of the factors discussed
in the previous sections is the change in inbound and
domestic visitor numbers in the UK, as discussed in the
following sections.
Competition from other destinations
Length of stay
Travel and tourism is a very competitive sector, not
least in relation to destinations and how they sell
themselves to potential tourists. Some countries
invest heavily in tourism promotion in order to reap
the economic benefi ts from domestic and inbound
tourism. Good examples are Dubai, New Zealand,
Australia and Malaysia, each of which runs expensive
marketing campaigns throughout the world. The work
of VisitBritain in selling the UK as a destination overseas
is often hampered through lack of government funding,
but the organisation mounts very effective campaigns
in key countries.
Data from the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS)
indicates that more than 71 per cent of tourism trips
taken by British people in the UK in 2009 lasted between
1-3 nights, with an overall average length of 3.16 nights
across all trips. This highlights the importance of short
breaks to the UK tourism industry and the relative drop
in popularity of 7 and 14-night holidays. The average
length of stay of overseas visitors to Britain tends to be
longer than for domestic tourists, refl ecting the extra
time needed to travel to and within this country. In
2009, the average length of stay in the UK by overseas
residents was 7.7 nights (business trips 4.1 nights, visits
to friends and relatives 10.4 nights and holidays 6.3
nights).
Weather
We have seen that overseas tourists come to Britain
mainly for its rich culture and heritage. Our weather
is not a major factor in their decision making. British
people, however, can be infl uenced by the weather
in this country. In periods of warm, dry weather the
UK's coastal resorts are popular with a wide range of
visitors. When the weather is poor, tourists look for
wet-weather facilities, such as covered swimming pools
and sports arenas. Some outdoor pursuits, including
mountain biking and walking, are not infl uenced to any
great extent by poor UK weather.
Volume and value of inbound and
domestic tourism
Figure 3.4 indicates that there were 29.9 million
inbound tourist trips to the UK in 2009 (this is the
volume), spending £16.6 billion (this is the value). The
number of overseas visitors to the UK rose steadily in
the 1990s and the early years of the new millennium,
although the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the outbreak
of foot and mouth disease, both in 2001, had a negative
