Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Factors currently af ecting the
travel and tourism sector
Since 1996, MORI has included questions on 'dream
destinations' in its survey for ABTA. Respondents
are asked which country they would most like to visit
if money were no object. Australia continues to be
the most popular dream destination amongst British
holidaymakers. Over the past few years, there has been
little change in the countries people dream of visiting,
with the USA remaining in second place, followed by
New Zealand and Canada.
In many respects, travel and tourism is a very fragile
sector. It is very vulnerable to outside effects, whether
these are naturally-occurring or man-made. In this
section we investigate many of the factors that currently
affect the development of the sector.
Popular holiday destinations benefi t from increased
visitor numbers, thereby adding to the income
generated by hotels, attractions, tour operators
and other travel and tourism component industries.
Increases in tourism also help the stability of the local
economy, provide jobs for local people and may lead
to investment in airport expansion and new road/rail
links. Destinations that become unpopular may suffer
economic decline and reductions in planned tourism
developments.
Natural disasters
Natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, fl oods
and hurricanes, can cause havoc to a country's travel
and tourism sector. The Asian tsunami that affected
Indian Ocean countries in late 2004 and Hurricane
Katrina's devastation of New Orleans in 2005 are
examples that are all too familiar. The recent eruption
of the Icelandic volcano and subsequent ash cloud
over Europe is another case in point. Although tourism
can be badly affected very quickly when such disasters
occur, the sector has proved itself to be very resilient
in the face of adversity. Tourism in areas affected by
natural disasters usually returns to its former state, on
the back of investment in new hotels, infrastructure and
other tourist facilities.
Growth of regional airports
The rapid growth of low-cost airlines in recent years has
led to a surge in the use of regional airports in the UK.
According to CAA data, among the fastest-growing
are Bristol, Liverpool, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford,
Prestwick and Southampton. Regional airports are
benefi ting from extra fl ights to European destinations
as well as more domestic UK travel by air. Low-cost
carriers benefi t from lower landing fees at regional
airports, while passengers often prefer the speedy
service offered by these airports located outside main
UK cities.
Health warnings, epidemics and
pandemics
In the same way that natural disasters can adversely
affect tourism, so too can health scares. Britain's tourism
sector was very badly affected in 2001 when the country
experienced an outbreak of foot and mouth disease
(FMD). Countryside areas were closed to the public
and countless rural tourism businesses lost earnings of
up to 90 per cent for the year. Further afi eld, in 2002
an outbreak of the disease SARS affected tourism in
the Far East and had a knock-on effect on the countries
to which people from this area visited, including the
UK. Recent outbreaks of bird 'fl u have caused similar
problems in certain parts of eastern Europe.
The growth of regional airports is a trend that can also
be seen in other European countries which are served
by UK-based low-cost airlines, for example France,
Spain, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Poland. The low-
cost business model adopted by airlines such as Ryanair
and easyJet sometimes leads to regional bases being
closed at short notice when passenger numbers drop.
This can have serious implications for the economy of
these areas, where jobs will be lost and investment
halted.
