Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1.
National - through the work of government
Private sector travel and tourism businesses work with
the public sector to provide most of the facilities for
visitors in tourist destinations. If we take the example
of the popular seaside resort of Blackpool - the hotels,
guesthouses, amusement parks, taxis, restaurants, fast-
food outlets, pubs and nightclubs are all private sector
businesses aiming to maximise their revenues. Public
sector bodies, such as VisitBlackpool and Blackpool
Council, work in partnership with the private sector
by promoting the destination to visitors in the UK and
overseas, providing facilities such as tourist information
centres and organising the famous Blackpool
illuminations that attract visitors outside of the peak
holiday season.
departments, National Tourist Boards and
government agencies;
2.
Regional - activities undertaken by Regional
Development Agencies (RDAs) and Regional
Tourist Boards (RTBs);
3.
Local - through local authorities, e.g. local
councils.
Central government, and the devolved UK
administrations, set the policy for tourism development
and look to the National and Regional Tourist Boards
to help deliver high quality products, services and
destinations for visitors. The Boards do this by
working in partnership with local authorities, Regional
Development Agencies (RDAs) and businesses. Public
sector travel and tourism organisations are funded
from central government, devolved administrations,
local authorities and the European Union (EU).
Unit 1 has more information on public sector tourism,
including a diagram on page 25 that shows the structure
of public sector tourism in the UK.
Private sector
The bulk of organisations working in travel and tourism
operate in the private sector, for example most
accommodation providers, airlines, travel agencies, tour
operators, visitor attractions, train companies, car hire
fi rms, airports, etc. Some are very big companies, but
most are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
employing up to 250 people, or micro-businesses with
fewer than 10 employees.
Center Parcs is a private sector company
Geography of travel and tourism
Travel and tourism organisations are found all over the
world and operate at different geographical levels:
The private sector is made up of commercial
enterprises that are in business to make money and
have 'profi t maximisation' as their primary aim. All of
their activities, whether it is to do with selling products
and services, marketing, employing staff or investing
in new equipment, are focused on the 'bottom line',
i.e. the profi ts generated by the business. Income from
the sale of their products and services will hopefully
be greater than the costs of operating the business, so
as to leave a surplus. This can either be taken as profi t
or re-invested in the business in order to build a solid
foundation for future success for owners, directors,
employees and any shareholders who may have bought
a stake in the business.
1.
Local - depending on where you live, you will have
a wide variety of travel and tourism organisations
in your local area, such as travel agencies, tourist
attractions, coach companies, tourist information
centres, a local council tourism department, etc.
2.
Regional - public sector organisations across
the world work hard to promote tourism in their
regions, e.g. the Limousin region of France and
Florida in the USA;
3.
National - many countries welcome tourists and
support organisations that encourage tourism
