Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Online travel agents
away happy! In most cases tourism development and
promotion are co-ordinated by public sector bodies,
such as tourist boards and local councils. Visit Wales,
for example, is the national tourist board that uses
public money to invest in tourist facilities in the country
and promote Wales as a holiday destination to UK and
overseas visitors. The public sector is keen to develop
tourism because it brings much-needed income to many
parts of the country, creates jobs for local people and can
help to regenerate areas and improve the quality of life.
Travel agencies are going through a period of signifi cant
change at present. Developments in new technology,
particularly the internet, are giving customers a host
of new ways to buy their holidays and travel products
direct, rather than using an agent. Travel agencies are
responding by reducing the number of high street
premises and developing their own online operations,
giving customers the opportunity to book online
rather than visiting a travel agency. All the major travel
agency chains - Thomas Cook, Going Places, Thomson
and First Choice - now operate as online travel agents
alongside their more traditional high street branches.
Online companies such as Expedia, the Destination
Group (which includes lastminute.com), Flightbookers
and Travelocity are really online tour operators, but
also fulfi l the role of travel agencies.
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on the work of Visit Wales.
http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/
tourism/?lang=en
Tourist boards
Tourism development and promotion
Tourist boards have an important role to play in
promoting destinations and co-ordinating the work
of private sector tourism businesses, e.g. hotels and
tourist attractions. Tourist boards are funded from
public money, so are said to operate in the public sector,
which consists of all government departments, public
bodies and local authorities that provide services to the
public. Public sector bodies play a major role in travel
and tourism in the UK, as you can see from Figure 1.10,
which shows the relationships between the various
organisations with an interest in UK tourism.
So far in this unit we have investigated specifi c
components of the travel and tourism sector, such as
accommodation, transport and attractions. We now
need to look at the wider areas of tourism development
and promotion. 'Tourism development' refers to all the
activities associated with providing facilities for tourists
in a destination, whether in the UK or overseas. 'Tourism
promotion' is concerned with publicising destinations
to tourists so that they visit, spend money and go
Central Government
Dept for Culture,
Media and Sport
Welsh Assembly
Scottish Executive
Northern Ireland
Assembly
Northern Ireland
Tourist Board
Visit Britain
Visit Wales
Visit Scotland
Area Tourist
Boards
English Regional
Tourist Boards
Regional Tourism
Partnerships
Regional Tourist
Boards
Overseas offi ces
Local Government
Fig 1.10 - The structure of public sector tourism in the UK
