Analysis of Tourist Destinations: Trends, Features, and Issues

TOURIST DESTINATIONS
1

2

INTRODUCTION
Tourist destinations are visited by the tourists for their cultural, natural or historical value. In
current scenario, tourism has become one of the key sources of revenue generation which
contribute significantly to nation’s economy (Cooper, 2013). This assignment portrays the
different aspect of the tourist destinations. It throws light on the scope of Worldwide
tourist destinations. There are many cultural, social and physical features of the tourist
destination which are described in this report. It further explains the characteristics of
destination and its impact on their appeal. The issues that are likely to influence the tourist
destinations are also described in this work.
Virgin Holidays is a UK based leading tour operator. It was founded in the year 1985 with
headquarters in Crawley, UK. It offers holidays worldwide with destination including Canada,
USA, India, Australia and South Pacific. It is important for companies like Virgin Holidays to
focus on the all the aspects of tourist destination to develop effective business strategies.
3

LO1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report incorporates the detailed information of main tourist destinations of the world.
It focuses on the visitor numbers as well as income generated by this destination. The
tourist destinations selected for this purpose are UK, USA, Spain, France and China. It
further discusses the statistics to determine tourism destination trends and predict future
trend.
1.1 ANALYSE MAIN TOURIST DESTINATIONS AND GENERATORS OF THE
WORLD IN TERMS OF VISITORS NUMBERS AND INCOME GENERATION
A tourist destination is a place for tourists to visit and stay due to its natural or cultural
value, it could be a city, region, state or a country. It is a geographical area consists of all the
infrastructure and service essential for the stay of tourists (Cooper, 2013). There are
different tourist destinations which attract the large volume of the tourist across the globe.
As the junior product analyst, it can be suggested that Virgin Holidays should focus on the
top tourist destination of the world for the enhancement of the sales.
The five main tourist destinations which can be considered by Virgin Holidays are:
 United Kingdom
 USA
 Spain
 France
 China
4

Figure1: Top most tourist destination
[Source: UNWTO, Tourism Highlight, 2016]
UNITED KINGDOM
The United Kingdom is one of the most visited destinations of world. It is made up of
Scotland, England, Northern Island and Wales. The key visitor attractions of UK include
British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Stonehenge, St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham
Palace, Big Ben, London Eye etc. The popularity of these tourist destinations is attracting a
large volume of the tourists every year. In the year 2016, 35.8 million international tourists
visited the UK. London, England, Scotland and Wales contribute 53%, 35%, 8% and 2%
respectively (Vanhove, 2013). The total international receipt in the year 2016 was 39.6
billion US$.
USA
The USA is popular for its wonderful and eye-catching natural wonders, historical landmarks
and entertainment venues. Statue of liberty, Time square, Yellowstone national park, golden
gate bridge, Grand Canyon of Arizona etc (Laws, 2011). The international tourist arrivals of
the USA in the year 2016 were 75.6 million and total International tourism recipients in the
year 2016 were 205.9 billion US$.
SPAIN
5

Spain is a country of Europe’s Iberian Peninsula with varied culture and geography. Sagrada
Familia, Park Guell, Alhambra, Plaza Mayor, Museo Nacional Del Prado, Puerta del Sol are
the major attractions of Spain. The events like bullfighting are La Tomatina also attracts a
large number of tourists across the globe. The number of the international arrival in the
year 2016 is 75.6 million. Tourist belongs to Germany and France contributes considerably
to the Spain tourism. The total international tourism receipt is 60.3 billion US$.
FRANCE
France is one of the top most visited countries in the world. Eiffel tower is one of the most
visited places. The popular visitor attractions of France are Disneyland Paris, The Louvre, Arc
de Triomphe, place da la Concorde etc. The international tourism arrival of France in the
year 2016 is 84.5 million and international tourism receipts were 42.5 billion US$
CHINA
This most populated country in the world attracts the tourists from all around the world.
One of the 7 wonders of the world ‘ The Great Wall of China ‘ enhances the curiosity among
the tourists (Gmelch and Kaul, 2018). Forbidden city, Terracotta army, West Lake, Temple of
heaven, Oriental Pearl tower etc. The international tourism arrival 2016 is 56.9 million
whereas international tourism receipts are 44.4 billion US$ (Wang and Ap, 2013).
6