UK Tourism Challenges and Opportunities

This assignment examines the current state of tourism in the United Kingdom. It requires you to analyze various factors influencing the industry, including economic indicators like GDP contribution and unemployment rate, social trends such as domestic tourist spending, and political issues like terrorism threats. The goal is to evaluate both the challenges and potential opportunities facing UK tourism in the present context.

Contemporary issues
in Travel And
Tourism
Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK-1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 The different current issues using appropriate methods and resources............................1
1.2 Two different current issues.............................................................................................3
TASK-2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 The current trends influencing the change in travel and tourism sector...........................5
2.2 The current trends by using appropriate techniques and resources:Poster.......................7
TASK-3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Responding to the change.................................................................................................7
3.2 Developing strategies to respond to the change...............................................................9
3.3 Justification of the strategies in order to respond to the change.....................................10
TASK-4..........................................................................................................................................10
4.1 The impact of issues and trends that will bring change in travel and tourism sector.....10
4.2 The consequences of business failing to respond to market change..............................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Tourism can be termed as the movement from one place to other with the aim of
recreating one's self and provision of the services for this movement. In the travel and tourism
sector there have been change at a very large scale (Pike and Page, 2014). With lots of tangible
and non-tangible parts tourism can be considered as service industry. In the transport systems
and hospitality services the tangible things can be classified. The road,water ,air etc are all
included in the transport system and services . The accommodation. Food, beverages , tours,
safety etc are included in the hospitality services. The rest , relaxation, escape ,adventure etc are
comes in the category intangible services. On the business operation of the travel and tourism
industries there have been a hug impact due to this. The various advancements related to
technology have been made in this sector and it has several positive development in this regard.
Titan travel is well-known UK tour operator .The best experience to the travellers is
being provided at Titan .In this report the current driving change that is taking place in travel and
tourism sector will be represented. This report will also examine the current trends that are
influencing change in travel and tourism sector. The strategies will also be made in the report on
how Whitbread business can respond to the change.
TASK-1
1.1 The different current issues using appropriate methods and resources
To the economy of the UK travel and tourism industry is an active contributor. In the last
five years the contribution gradually increased to more than 23.4%.By some issues regarding
change in trends and atmosphere of the remarkable place this industry is affected. The dream of
visitors will be fulfilled by the places in the UK such as Wales, London and Scotland. On the
travel and tourism industry half of the country is dependent In order to expand what they have
dreamt of more than 12 million visitors come every year. Every year the architecture nature and
atmosphere affects the millions of people (Telfer and Sharpley, 2015). From this popular
holiday destination the tourist have been found revolted due to some practical reason .They are
as follows-:
Technological development -In order to maintain satisfaction among tourist and hospitality
technology plays an essential role in travel and tourism industry. Today the concept of holiday
travelling have become more sophisticated and along with wonderful destination the tourist
prefer luxury. Rather than train, ship or coach drive tourist today prefer airplane. About 80% of
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tourist prefer plan instead of train, ship for arriving or departing from London, Whales. To the
international tourist some traditional airplane service do not offer 24/7 online booking of
flight .This is due to reason of security verification of VISA permit. From authorized ticker
computer booking flight can be quite lengthy and harassing process for tourist . In order to stay
in touch with travel guide expert traveller make use of more technology than before. The tourist
are being harassed by the different phone call and message that they receive from different
travel agencies. By the travels and tourism industry the unethical uses of technology and
protection of data act have not being maintained. By the tourist the cellular activities that is
being carried out is often affected by network fluctuation. In order to implement the computer
based call for the tourist the travel and tourism industry has no such intention. The interests of
tourist is decreased automatically through the uniformed regarding new technological
development (Volgger and Pechlaner, 2014).
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Illustration 1: Contribution of travel and tourism to world
GDP
(Source:Contribution of travel and tourism to world GDP,
2017)

As per the graph it is being shown that there has been gradual decrease in the rate of
contribution of travel and tourism industry. The tourist number is decrease due to the
technological flaws.
High cost of the package – The out bound tourist plan to visit UK is affected by the high cost of
expense. For the tourism the holiday trip in UK is considered as the most costly trip. In their
place the UK people prefer to stay and for long time the UK people do not love to travel to other
place. In fun places such as Buckingham palace, London Eye ,lake district etc they prefer to
spend their weekends. In order to develop accommodation, interior decoration and luxurious
level a huge mount of money is being spend by this industry. The cost of the packages are too
costly so it can' be afforded by most of the tourist. This is the reason why the tourist have lost
their interest to visit UK.
Political reason – On the political condition of the country the travel and tourism industry is
depended. On the travelling industry of UK a great impact is there of the political role. On the
two factors that is kingdom and democracy the political factors are dependent on. The political
condition is affected by the radical changes of king and queen and government change (Zehrer
and Tschiderer, 2014).
1.2 Two different current issues
By violence terrorist attack UK has been targeted. For the natural beauty, construction
and design executives in UK is popular as it attracts large population of tourists. UK comes in
the category of safe and secure tourist destination. In the last 3 to 4 years some have issues have
been discussed in the recent days .
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Terrorism – In the UK the regular terrorist threats increase the uncertainty in the travel and
tourism industry. A panic in the tourism mind is being created by the high tourist attack. The
economic area, building and stock exchange is being affected by the terrorist attacks. The
political and religious perception was the motive of the tourist attack. The plan of the tourist
have been changed due to this and they are visiting more of Asian countries. By the London
terrorists attack that is being there it is found that there have being more than 21% downfall in
the tourist number. Due to civil war in Syria, Middle East more than 10 5 of the tourist have
refused to visit UK. Not only UK is affected by the terrorist attack but also North Africa has also
lost their tourist visors due to Muslim attack in Tunis. More than 22 tourist were killed in this
attack (Zhang and Lu, 2014).
Natural calamities- For the travel and tourism industry it is being found that natural calamities
are worse in comparison with terrorism attack. By the security forces the terrorist attack can be
stopped but the natural calamities that is taking place can't be stopped. After observing the news
about natural disaster it is being found that more than 15% of the tourist have cancelled their
booking. By Tsunami Thailand was affected in the year 2004 and around 13 to 14 months were
taken in order to recover from that natural calamities. A massive amount of loss is being
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Illustration 2: Terrorism in UK
(Source: Terrorism in UK, 2017.)

encountered due to these calamities. On the mind of the terrorist these natural calamities such as
flood, earth quake and volcano etc have a negative impact (Pearce, 2014.).
TASK-2
2.1 The current trends influencing the change in travel and tourism sector
By the sum of total of the services that is being offered to the tourist , the travel and
tourism industry can be explained. For the different purposes such as business, holiday the
services is being offered to the tourist that are traveling from one destination to other. The
various trends in the travel and tourism industry in the UK is being taking place due to which the
travel and tourism industry of UK is being affected. In the travel and tourism industry the trends
are shifting to different form of tourism as per the interest of the tourist it is being shifted. The
change on the tourism industry of UK are being influences by the following trends and activities.
They are as follows-:
Food tourism – In this type of tourism the objective of the tourist is to travel around in order to
taste the food of different places. The importance is being gained by this type of tourism .
Agro-rural tourism – The farm lands are being visited by the tourist in this form of tourism and
the lavishing experience of rural tourism is being provided by this tourism.
Eco-tourism –This type of tourism deals with the interaction with biotech component of the
natural environment. The social responsible travel, personal growth and environmental
sustainability is being focused by the ecotourism. An insight impact of human being on the
environment is being provided by the Eco-tourism.
Sustainable tourism – The importance is being gained by this type of tourism as it helps to
maintain a balance in between the local communities and the environment
Inbound tourism – Within the boundary of the country the people used to travel in inbound
tourism. With the help of graph that is shown below it can be found that in the UK there have
been increase in inbound tourist .
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In the UK it is been shown in the graph that there is an increasing trend in the inbound
tourism and it is expected to rise in the coming years.
Sports tourism – For the purpose of sports activities the places are being visited by the tourist in
this type of tourism. For an instance in the London there are many sports events that is taking
place such as Olympics so people can visit London in order to watch Olympic games that is
taking at London.
Festive tourism – In order to attend the festivals of the destination the popular destination are
being attended by the tourist. For an example in the Spain a festival named La To matina is
organized each year so many tourist visit this place in order to attend this festival.
Outbound tourism – In this type of tourism the travelling is done outside the boundaries of the
countries .
Adventure tourism – In this type of tourism the places are being explored by the tourist that
offers them adventure. As the youth is shown interest in this type of tourism so the importance is
being gained by this tourism. The diff jump, Skydive, bungee jumping, hot air balloon etc are
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Illustration 3: Domestic tourist spending in UK
(Source:Domestic tourist spending in UK, 2017.)

some of the adventurous activities in which youth are interested in .The destination that offers
all these type of adventures are visited by the youth.
Medical or health tourism – For some treatment or for some health reasons the destinations are
being visited by the tourist (Pearce, 2014.)..
As per the above table it can be shown that in the list of the most well-known tourist
destination in the world UK stands at fourth position and on the basis of the contribution of the
travel and tourism industry to the economy of thee destination the ranking is being done.
2.2 The current trends by using appropriate techniques and resources:Poster
TASK-3
3.1 Responding to the change
Whitbread Plc UK will analyse the environment of the travel and tourism
business .Whitbread Plc is one of the largest hotel, restaurant and coffee shop operator in the
UK. There are around 50,000 employees that are working in this company. In two division that is
Premier & restaurants and Costa this company operates. The excellent services are being
provided by this company in order to enhance the experience of tourist who visit the hotel during
travel. The goal of Whitbread Plc is to offer quality services to its travellers and also to ensure
that the expectations of tourist are met who visit their hotel, restaurants during their travel. The
SWOT and PESTLE analysis will be done for the analysis of the manners in which Whitbread
Plc UK will respond to the change that is taking place in business environment.
SWOT analysis – The strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Whitbread Plc UK
will be focused in this analysis.
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Strength – In offering quality services for the travellers in London it is an effective workforce.
The knowledge of the market condition is there and also they have all the resources available
with them. The business base of Whitbread business group is also string as it is doing business
for last to centuries. In the UK it is one of the largest and fastest growing brand .With all
stakeholders this hotel have a strong networking.
Weaknesses – At a risk of overpricing costa is at risk. Due to change in the taste of customers the
rapid expansion of the company has been on a fad. Also, the advanced technology is not used by
this company and the services that is bing offered by this hotel is also quite costly which affects
the behaviour of customers (Mowforth and Munt, 2015).
Opportunities – As an opportunity the reduction in the tax rates can act. With the pricing
structure employed in the Premier Inn chin there are more opportunities to become more flexible.
The results in the reduction of prices of the services will be there due to reduction in the cost of
fuel.
Threats – In the cost of fuel and other resource there will be an increase in cost. Any change or
modification in the economic factors will affect the sale of the company. Suppose if there is
some recession that is faced then the number of travellers that are visiting the hotel will
automatically be reduced. Also, if there is any change in the technology then this will also be
threat for the company.
PESTLE analysis
Political factors – There is still a rule in the UK in which the king and queen are responsible for
making the decision and over the government the control is hold by them due to the business of
this company can get affected.
Economic factors – The rates of inflation, interest rates and exchange rates are included in this.
In both positive and negative manner as well the functioning of this industry of UK can get
affected due to rates of inflation, interest rates and exchange rates.
Social factors – The trends , culture and belief that is being adopted by the people regarding
selection of particular hotel while travelling comes in the category of social factors. Towards it
these attracts the visitors. The services need to be provided by this hotel in a manner that it do
not affect the society and culture. Toward the hotel the culture and trends of the destination
helps in attracting the tourist towards it (Komppula, 2014.).
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Technological factors – In a better manner this industry can offer the services to its customer or
tourist due to change in technology. In the UK the technological changes are adopted and also
UK comes in the category of developed economy .The technological changes are adopted in the
UK in order to ensure the effectiveness in different industries of UK.
Legal factors -In order to make sure that activities in the hotel industry are under the legal
framework of UK the rules and regulations are framed. Within the legal framework this company
also need to ensure that it is operating.
Environmental factors – In the UK the climatic and weather condition are warm in summers and
col in winders. This may affect the number of tourist that are visiting the hotel. On the basis of
the climatic conditions of UK this hotel industry need to offer special packages to the tourist.
3.2 Developing strategies to respond to the change
The different strategies can be adopted by the Whitbread Plc UK which will aid them to
respond to the change that is taking place in travel and tourism industry in UK. The
implementation of technological advancement in the operations of the business and the use of
marketing mix is the most suitable technique or strategy that can be adopted by this hotel in
order to respond to the change. The performance at large is being affected by technology as it is
an important aspect. On the technology the travel and tourism industry is dependent .On the use
of technology the services that is being offered is based. The different forms of technology can
be used by the company (Kim, Holland and Han, 2013). In order to promote its business online
and attract more number of customers the social networking site such as Facebook, twitter and
you tube etc can be used. In order to promote the services that is offered by the business this
company can also make use of marketing mix 7 P's. And also to respond to the change that is
taking place in the travel and tourism industry this hotel can make use of technology to promote
its services in a better and innovative manners. The use of marketing mix will help this hotel to
make sure that it is capable of reaching to its customers. From explore destinations to the
destination that is not explored by them the focus of tourist is shifting. The introduction of
various activities are included in the current trends in travel and tourism. The attention of tourist
is being there on the various forms of tourism that are trending. For better functioning this hotel
need to know about the latest trends in the tourism so that based on that trends they can offer its
services. A strategy of personification will also be adopted by this industry so that as per the
needs of the tourist the services will be given.
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3.3 Justification of the strategies in order to respond to the change
Whitbread Plc UK is a well-know hotel operator in the UK and the excellent quality
services to the customer is being offered by them. And the focus of this industry is to enhance
the customer experience(Kim, 2014.). In order to enhance the services that is offered to the
tourist this hotel will make use of technological advancements and in order to make the
customers' ware about the services that is provided by them the marketing mix elements will also
be used. Due to change in environment there has been shift in the focus of travellers to different
forms of the tourist and this company want to provide its customers with better services during
their visit to the hotel and also they want to retain the customers that are visiting the hotel. In the
travel and tourism industry UK there are various trends that are prevailing and the new locations
or destination, adventurous trips for unique experiences, better connectivity etc are being
exploded by the tourist now-a days. And also the tourist want to explore those places that are to
costly for them .The quality of food and service also is looked by the tourist before selecting that
hotel for visit. So, this hotel need to follow all these trends in order to make its customer base
strong. The tourist will be attracted by the personalisation strategy that will be adopted by the
hotel .
TASK-4
4.1 The impact of issues and trends that will bring change in travel and tourism sector
Trailfinders Ltd is a privately owner tout operator .The following will be the change on this tour
operator due to the impact and trends in tourism (Iqbal and González, 2014.).They are as
follows-:
Increase in revenue – The number of tourist that will visit UK will increase in numbers due to
changing trends in the travel and tourism industry. This will help the travel operator to lean more
revenue and also it will contribute towards the GDP of UK .And also in the operation of UK
there will be effectiveness due to increase in number of tourist visitors to UK.
Increase in the employment opportunities – The rates of unemployment in the UK will be
reduced and it will develop the opportunities of employment due to increase in travel and
tourism sector.
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A graph that is shown below represent the rates of employment in the UK. From the
graph presented below is clear that the rates of unemployment in UK is reducing and the main
reason behind reduce in unemployment rates is travel and tourism industry.
In between the countries providing better relationship – With other countries the caging trends in
travel and tourism industry are effective in maintaining healthy relationship (Chen, Chen and
Okumus, 2013. ).
Increase in the process of resources – In negative manner the increase in price affects the travel
and tourism industry .The cost of travel services will increase due to the increase in price of
resources such as human resource and fuel. Due to this there will be decrease in the travel and
tourism industry.
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Illustration 4: Unemployment rate in UK
(Source:Unemployment rate in UK , 2017.)

On frequent basis change in technology – The cost of operators or the travel agents is increased
due to increase in the technology as they need to invest more in the installation of that
technology.
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4.2 The consequences of business failing to respond to market change
The business will be affected adversely in case the business is not able to respond to the
change that is occurring in business environment. In order to avoid the adverse impact this tour
operator Trailfinders Ltd is required to comply with the changes and respond to them. The
following can be the results if Trailfinders Ltd is not able to respond to the changes (Carlisle and
Tiffin, 2013.)
Depletion of performance – With the changes Trailfinders Ltd need to be comply in effective
way .In case if it is not able to respond to the changes then the performance of this company will
also be affected and in the market it will loss its position that it holds.
Decrease in revenue – The revue of the company will also gets affected as this company is not
able to respond to then change effectively.
Loss of customers – To other travel agents the customers of Trailfinders Ltd will start shifting as
the quality of service that is given by the company will be affected.
CONCLUSION
Thus summing up the above report it can be concluded that technological changes and the
political reason have a high impact on the tourism activity. The number of tourist visitors are
decreasing to the UK due to the terrorist attacks that is taking place. The eco-tourism, agro-
tourism etc are the latest trends in the tourism. In order to respond to the change the hotel
industry need to adopt personification strategy.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Carlisle, S. and Tiffin, S., 2013. Supporting innovation for tourism development through multi-
stakeholder approaches: Experiences from Africa. Tourism Management. 35. pp.59-69.
Chen, H.J., Chen, P.J. and Okumus, F., 2013. The relationship between travel constraints and
destination image: A case study of Brunei. Tourism Management. 35. pp.198-208.
Iqbal, M.S. and González, M.C., 2014. Development of origin–destination matrices using mobile
phone call data. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies. 40. pp.63-74.
Kim, J.H., 2014. The antecedents of memorable tourism experiences: The development of a scale
to measure the destination attributes associated with memorable experiences. Tourism
management. 44. pp.34-45.
Kim, S.H., Holland, S. and Han, H.S., 2013. A structural model for examining how destination
image, perceived value, and service quality affect destination loyalty: A case study of
Orlando. International Journal of Tourism Research. 15(4). pp.313-328.
Komppula, R., 2014. The role of individual entrepreneurs in the development of competitiveness
for a rural tourism destination–A case study. Tourism Management. 40. pp.361-371.
Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015. Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and
new tourism in the third world. Routledge.
Pearce, D.G., 2014. Toward an integrative conceptual framework of destinations. Journal of
Travel Research. 53(2). pp.141-153.
Pike, S. and Page, S.J., 2014. Destination Marketing Organizations and destination marketing: A
narrative analysis of the literature. Tourism management. 41. pp.202-227.
Telfer, D.J. and Sharpley, R., 2015. Tourism and development in the developing world.
Routledge.
Volgger, M. and Pechlaner, H., 2014. Requirements for destination management organizations in
destination governance: Understanding DMO success. Tourism Management. 41. pp.64-
75.
Zehrer, A. and Tschiderer, F., 2014. Leadership networks in destinations. Tourism Review. 69(1).
pp.59-73.
Zhang, H. and Lu, L., 2014. Destination image and tourist loyalty: A meta-analysis. Tourism
Management. 40. pp.213-223.
Online
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Terrorism in UK. 2017. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/17/uk-most-severe-terror-threat-ever-
mi5-islamist/>.
Contribution of travel and tourism to world GDP. 2017. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/travel-and-tourism-set-to-boost-contribution-to-
global-economy-in-2015/>.
Domestic tourist spending in UK. 2017. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.statista.com/statistics/597970/domestic-tourism-expenditure-united-
kingdom-uk//>.
Unemployment rate in UK . 2017. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.statista.com/statistics/279898/unemployment-rate-in-the-united-kingdom-
uk/>.
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