Unit 9 Tourist Destinations Assignment - TUI Group

Program	Diploma in Travel and Tourism
Unit Number and Title	Unit 9 Tourist Destinations TUI Group
QFC Level	Level 4

Introduction

This Unit 9 Tourist Destinations Assignment TUI Group relates to the case study of TUI Group which is leading business of travel and tourism sector worldwide. This contains the report which will assist the product manger in developing new products for the company through Analysis of topmost tourist destinations provided. The cultural, social and physical factors of leading and developing tourist destinations are also discussed along with the comparison of data of these places. The characteristics of tourist destinations and the issues which affect their popularity are also discussed so ads to enable the managers of the company make decisions regarding the sustainable development of business of the company. Also a draft magazine article is provided in context of potential of  TUI Group  to enhance the host community for responsible tourism at tourist destinations.

Task 1

Formal Business Report

To,
Product Manager
Product Development Team
TUI Group
Date: 20^th July, 2016

Subject: To provide information about the challenges in tourist destinations UK and worldwide.

This is to inform you about the challenges in tourist destinations through analysis of five tourist destinations in UK, Europe and other parts of the world in terms of number of visitors at these destinations and income generated from them. The analysis of statistics is also provided in order to determine trends in tourist destinations and prediction of future trends.

Top tourist destinations in UK and worldwide

1. London, United Kingdom

London is the biggest city of Western Europe with population of more than seven million people. It is a multicultural city having people belonging from all parts of the world. The green environment at London covering 39% of total area and a large number of visitor attractions makes it one of the topmost tourist destinations of world. The places of tourist attractions in London are Big Ben, The Palace of Westminster, The River Thames, Buckingham Palace, London eye and many other places for visit. There are 36.1 million overseas visitors to UK with spending of £22.1 billion in the year 2015. UK accounted for 2.9% of global arrivals and 3.4% of international tourism receipts of the world. The inbound tourism is reported to be 54% in London, 34% in England, 8% in Scotland and 2% in Wales. The value of inbound tourism is forecasted to grow over £ 57 billion by 2015 which was £21 billion in 2013. (Caviar, 2015)

2. Paris, France

Paris is the topmost tourist destination of the world as ranked by UNWTO in 2014. The number of international visitors was more than 84.7 million in France in the year 2013. The tourist attractions such as beaches and resorts, ski resorts and rural regions, villages with quality heritage etc contribute in making it most popular tourist destination worldwide having visitors from Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Netherlands, Italy Spain etc. Paris which is the capital of France is the foremost city of France with cultural interest. Paris comprise of most visited museums and renowned landmarks such as Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the cathedral of Notre-Dame or the Sacré-Cœur,  Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Louvre and  Musée d'Orsay. Other tourist places include French River, Provence and Loire valley.

3. USA

The tourism in USA attracts tourist who come to see natural wonders, historical landmarks and entertainment venues. USA has been ranked second highest after France for tourist attractions in 2014 by UNWTO. The wide range of tourist attractions in USA include amusement parks, gambling venues, golf courses, historical building, landmarks, museums, outdoor recreation, spas, hotels and restaurants and sports. The destinations include Walt Disney World’s magic Kingdom in Florida, The Grand Canyon of Arizona, Statue of Liberty in New York, Yellowstone National Park, Las Vegas Strip, Times Square, Golden Gate Bridge etc. The number of inbound international tourist visitors in USA accounted for 88.3 million in 2014 with spending of $887.9 billion in USA which consist of maximum visitors from Canada. (Raga, 2014)

4. Barcelona, Spain

Spain is the country which has popular tourist destinations particularly for summer holidays. The popularity is mainly due to the museums at Barcelona and Madrid. The other tourist destinations in Spain include Gothic Quarter at Barcelona, Park Guell with sculptural buildings, Casa Mila, Casa Batlo, Museo Nacional Del Prado, Mosque of Corboda, Royal Palace of Madris, Sagrada Familia etc. The number of international tourists in Spain was 64.9 million in 2014 and 68.1 million in 2015 which was the major reason of economic recovery of the country. Most of these visitors were from Germany and France.

5. China

China is one of the most popular countries for international tourists who fascinate tourtists due to cultural diversity, ancient cities, fast modernization etc. It has been ranked as third most popular tourist destination after France and US by UNWTO in 2014 but if Hong Kong and Macau will be included it will become number one tourist destination of the world. The travellers to China comprised of 98.8 million people in 2015 which was 26 million in 2014. The major tourist destinations include Great Wall of China which is one of the seven wonders of the world, Forbidden city, Terracotta Army, Potala Palace, Summer palace, The Bund, Temple of Heaven, Huangshan mountain, Weat Lake, Yu Garden, Ming Tombs, macau caves etc. (Vilchez, 2012)

Analysis of current and future trends: As reported by UNWTO the international tourist arrivals worldwide were 1.133 billion in 2014 which was after a growth of 4.3% as compared to 2013 during which the international tourist arrivals were 1.087 billion worldwide. The data related to topmost tourist destinations of the world belonging to ten countries along with details of tourist arrivals is given in the following table:

The above chart shows that the maximum tourist arrivals are in France and US and United Kingdom has been ranked eighth in topmost tourist destinations of the world. However  travel and tourism industry  is a growing sector worldwide therefore the newly developed tour products which are likely to be developed by TUI Group will be successful in the tourism market since the number of tourists in UK as well as throughout the world is continuously increasing and is expected to rise up to a good level in near future. The trends of international receipts and expenditure related to tourism in different countries can be represented from the following charts:

From the above data it can be analysed that the highest receipts from international tourism in the world is reported to be from United States whereas the highest international expenditure on tourism is highest in China. United Kingdom ranks at seventh place in terms of international tourist receipts and fourth in terms of international tourist expenditures. The decline in tourist receipts can be seen in Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong and France as compared to previous year out of which maximum is in Thailand being 8%. This means that the income generation from tourism in these countries is likely to show a declining trend in future also. Similarly the decline in expenditure is found in Russia and Australia but the market share is constant which means that these countries will be able to achieve growth without increase in tourism expenditure. (Pang, 2011). Thus, from the above analysis of current and future trends in different countries in travel and tourism sector it can be concluded that tourism industry is a growing sector and the new tour products to be developed by TUI Group will be appreciated throughout the world. Therefore the product manager is recommended to con=side the above mentioned facts and analysis while making decisions about the tour products.

Regards,
Business Development Analyst
Product and Business Development Team
TUI Group

Task 2

Cultural, Social and Physical features of tourist destinations

Features of United Kingdom as leading tourist destination

• Cultural – The culture of UK is predominantly influenced by Christian religious life. The important aspects of British culture include literature, music, camera, art, theatre, comedy, media, television, philosophy, architecture and education. The culture also has prominence in science and technology. The various sports events organised in the country suggest that sports are also an important part of the culture of Britain. The official language of the country is English language. It inherited the literary traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. Due to various aspects of culture incorporated by the country the tourists are interested to visit the country.
• Social – British society has been divided into system which includes classes which arrived through hereditary transmission of occupation. The social classes are influenced by wealth, occupation and educational factors. The Parliament also comprise of House of Lords representing upper class and House of Commons representing the lower class. The social life faced a huge impact after the Second World War which resulted in a dominated economy with changing role of women and more individualistic culture. However UK has still not become a class less society where presently the classes have been divided on the basis of employment by assigning grades. The classification was given by UK Office of National Statistics. (Pearce, 2015)
• Physical – United Kingdom is located at north-western coast of continental Europe. Due to this reason it is surrounded by many islands. There are a large number of places to visit for tourists in UK but the highest tourist attractions are located in London city. There is a great diversity in the physical geography of the country. The ten tallest mountains of UK are all located at Scotland. The longest river in UK is River Severn which is 350 km wide. The country has a temperate climate with local variations. The estimated population of the country in 2011 census was 63.182 million. These climatic conditions are also one of the major reasons for making the country one of the leading tourist destinations.

Features of India as developing tourist destination

• Cultural - India is a country which has highest cultural diversifications. The different states of the country represent different cultures each being unique in cone=at of its customs, beliefs, traditions, dressing and language. This cultural diversity in India is the major reason of attracting tourists from all over the world who are willing and curious to know about the diversities in the different cultures of one country and how they affect the cultural unity and sovereignty of the country.
• Social – The social traditions and lifestyle of people in India is completely influenced by their culture and beliefs. The traditional society customs developed by ancestors are still found in the social environment of country. The oldest traditions and social values are also found in some or the other form which is the reason to attract tourists from different parts of the world who seek to explore the ancient customs and rituals performed in the country.
• Physical – The geography of India comprises of three different types of physical divisions structured as Himalayas representing the mountain areas in the north, Great Plains with basins of three rivers in the central region and Plateau at the south region which are made our of hard rocks. The country is not only culturally and socially diversified but also has huge geographical diversifications and demographic diversifications. Thus the tourists from the different parts of world consider India as a good tourist destinations since a large variety of socio-economic and geographical factors are found in the environment of country. (Pan, 2015)

Comparison of developing and leading tourist destinations

Basis	Leading tourist destinations	Developing tourist destinations
Meaning	It refers to as those countries which have high industrialized economies, high GDP and per capita income, well built infrastructure and an advanced  market strategy.	It refers to as those countries which is not developed country and has low levels of productivity and standard of living, high growth of population and underdeveloped industry and infrastructure with more reliance on agriculture for economy.
Example	UK	India
Economical development	The economy in UK is a developed economy with high GDP and per capita income of citizens of country.	The economy of India is fluctuating and developing economy which is dependent on agricultural exports and production for its growth.
Cultural attractions	The culture in UK is a combination of all the aspects such as art, literature, camera, sports, cinema, philosophy, architecture and education.	The culture of India is highly diversified which consists of variety of traditions, beliefs, customs and rituals related to different aspects of culture representing different states in the country.
Social diversity	The social system of UK is divided into various classes inspired by the old and ancient traditions on the basis of occupation and employment.	The social system is India was divided into classes in ancient times but presently it is influenced by the culture and traditions of different states and that too up to a limited extent.
Purpose of tourism development	The purpose of development of tourism and tourist attractions in UK is to increase the revenue from tourism sector for the country.	The purpose of tourism development in India is the economic development of the nation and growth of GDP and income generation for the government.

Task 3

Comparing the appeal of current leading tourist with that of currently developing tourist destinations to be presented to marketing department to assist them in marketing activity

As a business development analyst, the comparison of appeal of leading tourist for the developing tourist destination can be done by the following analysis.

Basis	UK	India
Tourist arrival	33.9 million	5.29 million
Tourism income	£106 billion	US$ 136.3 billion in 2015
Participation in GDP of the country	9 % of GDP	6.3 % of GDP

 

Basis	UK	India
Economic stability	Country has a stable economy and sufficient flow of money in the market. This helps to develop the tourist destination of the country.	There is lack of economic stability as in the country is a developing country. There can emerge problems like inflation and deflation in the economy which affect the growth of the tourist destination.
Culture	Country’s culture is rich and supportive for the development of the tourism which makes it more attractive.	Culture of the country is ancient and diversified. People are friendly in nature and support the tourism in the country.
Resources	UK is a developed country and financially effective. This helps to attract more visitors by providing sufficient resources.	For a developing country it becomes difficult to provide sufficient resources to meet the demand of the visitors in future.
Places to be visited	There are a variety of places to be visited in the country. Buckingham Palace,  British museum,  Westminster Abbey, Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo, Yorkshire, Chester Zoo, Windermere,, Boat Cruises, Bowens, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Tower of London, Highlands House and Estate, Essex, St Paul's Cathedral etc.	The country has Tajmahal which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Golden temple, Gang River, and many palaces of kings with their stories.

Evaluating how characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal with reference to Cuba, North Korea or Burma.

Every tourist destination has different attributes in itself and has positive or negative impact on the attractiveness of the destination. These characteristics can help to make a destination more appealable for the visitors. The better understanding can be achieved by analysing these characteristics. This attractiveness of tourists generates revenue in the country which ultimately helps in the growth of the country. Generating employment opportunities and increase in the resources are the results of the attractive characteristics of a destination. Characteristics can be analysed as follows.

• Government intervention: Stable and supportive government defines positive atmosphere for the tourist destination. Government ensures the code of conduct for the activities in the tourism industry. By following this code of conduct their emerges healthy and positive environment which makes the destination more attractive for visitors. For example government of every country like Cuba, North Korea are intervening in the tourism development because of the scope of the industry.
• Criminal and unethical activities: Safety is highly demanded by the tourists in a destination. Low rate of criminal and unethical activities ensures the level of safety at a destination. This helps to create a good image of the place in the minds of the visitors. For example there are anti-criminal activities are regulated in Cuba to protect the visitors from any kind of harm.
• Availability of resources: A tourist destination is more attractive when there are sufficient resources in the country to meet the demand of the visitors. Soundness in the resources and facilities are a key factor for the growth of the attractiveness of any destination. Developed countries are efficient in providing all the resources and facilities to the visitors like accommodation, effective communication and transportation. This makes their destinations more attractive whereas the developing and under-developed countries cannot meet that level. For example North Korea, Cuba and Burma are developing countries and there are resources and facilities are also developing that make the destinations less attractive. (B.S.M., 2014)
• Promotional strategies: Different promotional strategies like advertisement help to increase the popularity and desire of the destination in the minds of the visitors. These strategies increase the reach and attractiveness of destination by advertising in TV, cinemas, newspapers, websites, videos and live pictures through internet. For example countries like Burma, Cuba and North Korea are promoting their destinations to develop the tourism sector of the country and participation in the GDP.
• Political aspects: Instability of the political condition affects the tourism industry of the country and distorts the image of the destination in the eyes of the tourist which makes a bad impact in the attractiveness of the destination. Stable political environment helps to develop all the sectors and industry in the country and reduces all unethical practices. For example riots and banns are emerged from changing and unstable political environment. This is harmful for the tourism and other industries in the country.

Task 4

Management Report Summary

Analysis of issues affecting the popularity of tourist destinations

The tourist destinations are used as the major ingredient for the development of tour products by the product manager. There are many factors which affect the popularity of the tourist destinations and attractions at different parts of the world. As a result the tour products with such affected destinations will adversely affect the sustainability tourism of the company. The major issues which create an impact on the popularity of various tourist destinations at different parts of the world are as follows:

• Environmental pollution – The natural environment and greenery which develops the beauty of a place is the first and foremost determinant of selection of a suitable tourist destination. The environmental pollution affects the natural beauty of a place and destroys its greenery and natural scenes and views. As a result these polluted places are not considered to be a suitable tourist destination by tourists from different parts of the world who have a wide range of alternatives available for visit. Thus the tour products with these tourist destinations are likely to be rejected by the visitors which are the clients of company. In this way the environmental pollution at the places is a major issue which has the threat of adversely affecting the popularity of tourist destinations since during a holiday a tourist seeks peace of mind and refreshing environment which is not available at polluted and crowded places. Therefore such destinations are avoided for tourism purposes. (Blazeska, 2015)
• Accessibility and accommodation – The accommodation facilities and accessibility factors at various tourist destinations also contribute ego the popularity of tourist destinations. The facilities for safe and comfortable accommodation helps the tourists in meeting the purpose of their tour or visit easily and therefore the places with easy approachable accommodation facilities are preferred by the tourists all over the world. Also the other socio-economic factors such as cost of living, availability of basics amenities etc are some of the reasons which affect the choice of selection of best tourist destinations.
• Cultural diversities and religion – The diversities in the culture and religion if a country also affect the popularity of tourist destinations of that country. The diversification of culture is a positive factor for the tourtists and visitors who seek to explore the culture of various places but for other tourists it may be a reason of deprivation of selecting a tourist destination since the cultural diversification results in an environment which may not be comfortable or suitable. A culturally diversified place does not ensure cultural safety to those who are staying away from home, whatever is the purpose of their tour or visit.
• Cost of living – The cost of living and the cost of availing various facilities at a tourist destination is also an important factor contributing to the selection of a tourist destination by tourists throughout the world. Since many tourists are short of expenses therefore they prefer only those destinations which could be afforded by them for tour purpose.

Therefore the senior sustainability executive shall consider the above mentioned issues for deciding about the sustainability of TUI Group. (Mawby, 2016)

Magazine Article to be published in Travel and Tourism Gazette

Potential of responsible tourism with TUI Group

The host community which consists of travel agents and tourism companies and tour operators play a crucial role in the responsible tourism to be provided to worldwide tourists at various tourist destinations located at different parts of the world. Responsible tourism refers to as the provision of tourism services by the host community of tourism sector in the best possible interest of tourists. This relates to providing them with comfortable accommodation and quality food and proper guide for visiting the best tourist attractions which meet their purpose of visit. The improvement of responsible tourism can be done only through enhancement of host community at far accessible places of the world. (Silvar, 2015). TUI Group is one of the leading part of host community of tourism sector withy wide range of operations worldwide. Both of its divisions TUI Travel and TUI AG have good reputation in tourism business and have the potential to achieve sustainable performance throughout. The purpose of responsible tourism toy enhances the host community at worldwide tourist destinations can be easily achieved by the efforts of TUI Group. It is presently operating in Europe, Turkey, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Egypt, and Thailand which are far accessible places of the world. Thus the company has the potential to enhance the responsible tourism for the tourists who intend to visit these places. The provision of services related to accommodation, food and availability of other basic amenities at these places is a crucial factor in the enhancement of responsible tourism. These places are far from the reach of tourist and are also considered as good tourist destinations if the availability of hospitality services ids provided to the tourists at these places. The portfolio of TUI Group consists of more than 1800 travel agencies and online portals having worldwide access. Apart from this  Ryanair airlines  with 130 aircrafts, more than 300 hotels with 210,000 beds 13 cruise and infinite number of agencies at holiday destinations across globe are the facts which ensure that the company is capable to support holiday and tour experience to more than 30 million customers in 180 regions of the world. Thus TUI Group has undoubtedly the potential and capability to enhance the host community across the globe at all the possible tourist destinations so that the objective of responsible tourism is achieved by the host community of tourism sector of which TUI Group is a large part. (Costa, 2010)

Conclusion

From the above mentioned analysis in the assignment which relates to the case study of TUI Group it can be concluded that the tour operator company is a leading giant in the business of tourism throughout the world. The analysis of different tourist destinations and the data related to the facts and figures about the tourism information at these places will be helpful for the company in deterring the issues which affect the tourist destinations and develop its tour products in accordance with the analysis of the information govern in this report. The objective of sustainability development and improvement and making decisions about development of business through new tour products can be achieved through consideration of facts and information mentioned in this report. (Amegger, 2016)

References

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This Unit 9 Tourist Destinations Assignment TUI Group relates to the case study of TUI Group which is leading business of travel and tourism sector worldwide,  Locus Assignment Help  in UK posting free units solutions so scholars can explore assignment help and get review the quality of our work.