How Tourism Contributes to the Economy of United Kingdom

This essay focuses on how tourism contributes to the economy of United Kingdom, discussing its significant contributions such as GDP growth, boosting national income, increasing employment opportunities, development of image, and multiplier effects. It also highlights the challenges faced by the tourism industry in the country.

Essay

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Tourism refers to travel which is undertaken for the purpose of obtaining pleasure or for
business point of view (Bilgihan and et.al., 2016). It has a very important contribution to make in
the economy of any country. This essay will focus on discussion on how tourism contributes to
the economy of United Kingdom. In this essay, specific analysis will be made on knowledge of
identification, location and discussion of a range of information. Also, analysis on knowledge of
presenting the service sector information appropriately will be made as a part of this essay.
MAIN BODY
The United Kingdom consists of the countries- England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland. It offers various attractions for the tourists and its government earns a lot every year
from tourism activities (Bowen and Whalen, 2017). There are different attractions available in
U.K. for the tourists. These attractions are-
London- London is U.K.’s all-in-one destination (12 Best Places to Visit in the UK,
2019). It is the biggest city in the U.K. It has attractions like Tower of London, Buckingham
Palace, Natural History Museum and Trafalgar Square. These attractions bring various tourists to
this city which is always full of visitors from many countries.
Edinburgh- Edinburgh is located in Scotland. It is also the capital of the country. It is
home to the famous Edinburgh Castle.
Bath- Bath is one of the smaller cities in U.K. It is famous for its history as well as
Georgian architecture.
Ancient Stonehenge and Medieval Salisbury- Stonehenge is one of the world’s
heritage sights. Just south of it is Salisbury which is a medieval city.
Windsor- Windsor is a historic town and is located to the west of London and offers
plenty of fun things for the tourists. It hosts Windsor Castle which is the most famous of U.K.’s
castles.
The Cotswolds and Lake District- They are the most photographed corners of the
country and host Lake District National Park.
York- York is a medieval city in the country and boasts of the one of most famous
cathedrals of the country.
Cambridge and Oxford- Cambridge and Oxford are small towns in U.K. and host the
Cambridge University and Oxford University which are world-famous.

Liverpool and Manchester- Both Liverpool and Manchester are famous tourist
attractions and a lot of visitors visit both these cities every year.
Canterbury- It is located in Kent and is near to London. The Canterbury Cathedral is a
famous attraction here.
Cardiff- Cardiff is the capital of Wales. It has Cardiff Castle and World of Boats and
Techniquest to attract the tourists.
Loch Ness and Inverness- Loch Ness is a famous tourist attraction and has Urquhart
Castle. Inverness has Inverness castle, the Inverness museum and Art Gallery, and the late 19th-
century St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Tourism has a lot to contribute to the economy of U.K. Some of the significant
contributions are mentioned as follows-
Tourism has been the fastest growing sector in U.K. in the terms of employment. Britain
is forecasted to have a tourism industry worth over 257 billion pounds by the year 2025. It
accounts for 9.6% of the total jobs in the U.K. and also contributes 9% to the GDP of the
country.
The contribution made by Tourism in the economy of U.K. is as follows-
GDP growth- Tourism has a significant contribution to make in the GDP growth of U.K.
It is a key driver of the GDP growth rate in the country (Choi, M. J., Heo, C. Y. and Law, R.,
2016). Due to the high income and revenues it generates for the government the government is
able to spend on various projects and infrastructural development. Thus there is a direct as well
as indirect contribution of tourism in the economy of the country. This has been made possible
by increasing the offers for tourists to visit the country which has resulted in higher revenues and
thus the higher GDP growth.
Boosting the national income- Tourism also boosts up the national income of the
country (Martín, J. C., Mendoza, C. and Román, C., 2017). In U.K., tourism makes quite a
significant contribution to the overall national income of the country. The government earns
higher revenues through the tourists and visitors visiting the country every year. This provides a
significant boost up to the national income. Thus, a significant contribution is made every year to
the national income of the country every year which acts as a driving force for the country’s
overall economic growth.
Increasing employment opportunities- Tourism provides various employment
opportunities in the U.K. This helps in reducing the problem of unemployment in the country.
Also this leads towards providing more opportunities for the youth of the country as they can
take it as a profession and earn a good amount from it. Thus by boosting employment growth the

overall economic growth is facilitated by tourism in the economy which leads to high GDP. This
increases the value of U.K. in economic terms. Thus it is beneficial for the economy.
Development of image- Tourism has helped in development of image of U.K. as top
tourist destinations worldwide. This has increased the value of the country in the tourism market
and travel sector. Due to the hospitality provided to the tourists positive reviews have been
provided on various travel portals. This has developed the image of the country in the eyes of
many people worldwide. Thus, it has led to an increase in attention of visitors towards the
country. Therefore, the number of tourists and visitors visiting the country every year has grown.
Multiplier effects- It refers to the contribution made by tourism activities directly or
indirectly towards the economy (Sreejesh, S. and Abhilash, P., 2017). There has been a 1 pound
increment in GVA at the level of U.K. and there is likely to be an additional 1.20 pound
generated in this country due to these activities. This is the Type I multiplier. Also the analysis
suggests that for a 1 pound increment in GVA at the U.K. level there is likely to be an additional
1.80 pound generated in the country as a result of this activity. This is the Type II multiplier.
Thus due to the multiplier effects there is a significant and valuable contribution to the economy
of the country.
Despite the significant contribution which tourism activities make in the economy of
U.K. there are significant challenges as well. These challenges are as follows-
Stringent entry requirements- The primary challenge which is facing the tourism of
U.K. is the stringent entry requirements in the country (Teo, H. M., 2017). These entry
requirements can reduce the number of tourists and visitors visiting the country every year. It is
so because it takes a lot of correspondence to get a visa to visit U.K. and thus it acts as a
challenge for the tourism.
Visa processing time- The time taken by the U.K. embassy to process the visa for the
country is too much. It takes months to get a visa to visit the country. In the times of Visa on
arrival offered by many countries tourists find it easier to visit them. Therefore it affects the
tourism of the country. Thus it is a major challenge for the country’s tourism and hospitality
sector as their income can be reduced due to it.
Expensive travel- Travelling to U.K. is not cheap by any means. It is quite expensive
deal for many people. Thus in the times of countries offering cheaper travel for the tourists and
visitors it often affects the number of tourists and visitors visiting the country. Thus the focus
should be on making the travel to the country comparatively cheaper and bringing out different
types of offers for the tourists so that there is no financial load on them by visiting the country.
Uncertainty after Brexit- Brexit refers to the exit of Britain from the European Union
(E.U.). Thus after the implementation of Brexit, there has been a significant impact on the travel

& tourism sector. Thus this is a challenge which the country faces and therefore a strategy has to
be developed for overcoming this challenge.
Competition from other destinations- U.K. faces a challenge from other countries in
terms of tourism. Destinations like Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore have emerged as the favorite
destinations for the tourists. These destinations are quite cheap to visit from a tourist’s point of
view and thus this makes them the top choice of many tourists and visitors. In comparison, a visit
to U.K. is very expensive for many tourists because of high cost of flight tickets, visa,
accommodation and food. Also there are various other charges which are levied on the tourists
and visitors. Thus this makes the travel to the country quite costly. Therefore, it is needed that
U.K. government should make a specific strategy for tourism by offering tourists and visitors
some relaxations and also by making their travel comparatively cheaper. This will lead to an
increase in the number of tourists visiting the country.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it can be concluded that tourism consists of various activities.
There are various destinations in U.K. from a tourist’s point of view. Tourism makes significant
contribution in the economy of U.K. Also, there are various challenges in front of tourism of
United Kingdom.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Bilgihan, A. and et.al., 2016. Consumer perception of knowledge-sharing in travel-related online
social networks. Tourism Management. 52. pp.287-296.
Bowen, J. and Whalen, E., 2017. Trends that are changing travel and tourism. Worldwide
Hospitality and Tourism Themes.
Choi, M. J., Heo, C. Y. and Law, R., 2016. Progress in shopping tourism. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing. 33(sup1). pp.1-24.
Martín, J. C., Mendoza, C. and Román, C., 2017. A DEA travel–tourism competitiveness
index. Social Indicators Research. 130(3). pp.937-957.
Sreejesh, S. and Abhilash, P., 2017. Investigating the process through which e-servicescape
creates e-loyalty in travel and tourism websites. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 34(1).
pp.20-39.
Teo, H. M., 2017. Wandering in the wake of empire: British travel and tourism in the post-
imperial world. In British culture and the end of empire. Manchester University Press.
Online
12 Best Places to Visit in the UK. 2019. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.planetware.com/england/best-places-to-visit-in-the-uk-eng-1-2.htm>