Development of Tourist Destinations in the UK and Sri Lanka

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Hospitality Provision, Tourist Destinations, T & T Entrepreneurs
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MANAGEMENTSummary
This report highlights various aspects of the development of the tourist destinations. It gives an
overview of the travel and tourism sector of the UK and compares the features of the tourist
destinations in the leading and developing areas, that is, in the UK and in Sri Lanka. It also
explains the factors that affect appeal and popularity of tourist destinations. The business
opportunity of an economy car share service is also explained and evaluated in this paper. A ride
share service in the UK tourism sector will be beneficial for the low budget travelers, such as, for
the students and tourists with lower income level as the ride cost for the cars is quite higher in
the UK. The success factors for the entrepreneurial enterprise and the entrepreneurs are also
discussed in this paper.

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MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Travel and tourism industry of the UK is one of the largest industries of the country. The
growth of this sector has been tremendous in the past few decades, especially after the
globalization and liberalization policies, the economic condition of people has improved across
the world, which also contributed in the growth of the travel and tourism sector in the UK and
also in other countries. However, the travel and tourism of UK has been facing challenges due to
various factors, such as, Brexit, falling GBP, increased terrorism, technological advancement,
rise of sharing economies, such as, Airbnb and peer to peer travel (Moutinho and Vargas-
Sanchez 2018). These trends are rising rapidly which is challenging the conventional travel
businesses in terms of popularity and revenue. Thus, although the number of international
travelers has been increasing in the UK, the traditional travel and tourism businesses have been
facing tough challenges and threats from the new trend of sharing economies like Airbnb, which
is not only cheaper, but also convenient and gives an exclusive feel of the local life that is
attracting the travelers. This report focuses on the issue of the rising popularity of Airbnb and the
challenges and threats it poses for the conventional travel and tourism businesses in the UK and
how that challenge can be addressed through innovations and strategies. This report will also
focus on exploring different aspects of tourist destinations such as physical, cultural and social
features, issues that likely to affect their appeal to tourists and popularity, the characteristics and
skills of a travel and tourism entrepreneur and the development of enterprises for growing the
industry. Based on the industry research, some recommendations will also be provided to help
the businesses to address the challenges.

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MANAGEMENTIn the year 2016, the travel and tourism sector of the UK alone contributed approximately
217 billion British pounds to the GDP of the UK. The sector of travel and tourism has grown
rapidly in the country and significant positive changes have been seen over the last five years.
There was a fall experienced by the country in 2009 that was very sharp but it has again risen
upwards since 2012 and the outbound visitors of UK have increased considerably almost every
year. The visitor spending rate in the UK has also risen by 2% in the year 2016 and 2017.
There are almost a thousand flights scheduled every week flying between the UK and the
US and maximum passengers traveling are tourist passengers who are either visiting the US or
the UK to have a great time spending their holidays. Culinary tourism and authenticity continue
to be the trend of UK travelers.
Background
The travel and tourism sector of the UK is one of the largest and most significant sectors
of the economy. Every year, it contributes a significant amount in the total GDP of the nation. It
not only provides revenue through various services but also provides huge job opportunities to
millions of people. The numbers of inbound tourists have been increasing rapidly that benefits
the industry. However, with different types of innovations that are benefitting the industry, some
innovations and new trends are also posing threats to the conventional travel and tourism
industry. For example, the concept of co-sharing economy and peer to peer travel has become
extremely popular in the past few years. Thus, a ride sharing business will be introduced for low
budget travelers, such as, the students and travelers with lower income, especially from the
developing countries, which will be beneficial for the domestic and international travelers as well

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MANAGEMENTas for the transport industry of the UK by increasing the number of tourists in the tourist
destinations of the UK.
Scope of key UK and worldwide tourist destinations
The main tourism destinations in terms of tourist arrivals and income generation:
The major tourist destinations of the world in terms of tourist visitation and generation of
income are the UK, USA, France, China and Spain (Tindeche, Mărcuță and Honțuș 2018). The
tourism sectors of these countries are analyzed below.
United Kingdom
The nation holds the 6th rank among the largest tourist destinations of the world. In 2018,
the country experienced around 37.9 million visitors, who spent around £22.9 billion. The
country accounted for around 2.8% of the international arrivals and 3.7% of the total
international tourism receipts in 2017 (VisitBritain 2019). According to a report by Brignall
(2017), in 2017, around $31.93 billion US was spent in the tourist destinations in the UK by
international tourists. USA is the biggest tourist generator region for the UK destinations as
American tourists spent around £2.1 billion in 2010, which has been increasing considerably in
the past decade. It is followed by France and Germany in terms of tourist generators for the UK.
According to a report by VisitBritain (2019), the tourism sector is the fastest growing sector in
terms of employment. By 2025, the industry is expected to be worth of £257 billion. London is
the primary destination in the UK. The domestic visitors are the biggest part of the UK tourism.
These include all types of visits, that is, business, leisure, and educational. In 2018, the travel and
tourism industry has contributed around 213.8 billion GBP and the direct tourism gross value

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MANAGEMENTadded was 67.7 billion GBP. The direct contribution of tourism in the employment sector is 1.72
million jobs (Prebensen et al. 2018).
A traveler in the UK is almost a visitor who is visiting the place again for an opportunity
to visit places and see some destinations and offerings that is beyond the traditional gateways.
However, domestic tourism is still the most important and the largest component of the spending
of tourists in the UK. Great time to visit the UK to get the most of it is during the bank holidays
or the months of the summer season. August is the busiest month in the UK since this month
experiences several visitors from almost all over the globe. The tourism industry was
experiencing a rise for a continuous seven years but it experienced a sharp downfall last year.
United States
The tourism of the USA is one of the largest sectors of the economy. The country is
endowed with numerous extraordinary natural and man-made tourist destinations. According to a
report by U.S. Travel Association (2019), the domestic travel in the tourist destinations increased
by 1.9% in 2018, while the leisure travel accounted for 80% of all the domestic travel, the
business travel increased by 1.6%. The number of international visitors amounted to around 80
million in 2018. Both the domestic and international travelers contributed around $108.9 billion
in 2018 in the US economy. This generated income for about 8.9 million people through job
creation. While the domestic travelers spend $933 billion, the international tourists spent $156
billion in 2017. In 2018, the leisure travelers spent $762 billion and business travelers spent $327
billion. The travel and tourism industry supported 8.9 million jobs in 2018, which is 1.3%
increase from 2017 (U.S. Travel Association 2019).

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MANAGEMENTThe US is divided into four major regions that stretch from the Tropic of Cancer to areas
further than that of the Arctic Circle. The country has treasure troves spread all over in almost all
directions. The four major divisions include New Zealand, East and West North Central, South
Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central. Mountain and Pacific's region is also
covered by the US. You get to see the Verdant forests, enormous deserts, Rolling Meadows,
glorious mountains, beaches, ice fields, etc. The country has an overwhelming beauty packed in
a single country and great diversity.
France
France is one of the most visited countries in Europe. Apart from Paris, the country has
exotic beaches, French Riviera, French Alps, vineyards, historical places and landmarks that
attract large number of domestic and international tourists. According to Statista (a) (2017), the
tourism industry contributed 82.7 billion euro in the GDP and generated 1.192 million jobs in
2017. The total inbound tourist arrival was 86.9 million in 2017, which was a record high for the
country. In 2018, the numbers increased to 89.4 million. It contributes around 8% of the GDP
(Diplomatie.gouv.fr 2019).
France has a great historical heritage and it offers good tourism. No other country in
Europe has such a diversified climate as France has. It also has infrastructure that is necessary to
cope with the leading industry of tourism. It has also had several hotels and campsites that are
generally greater than any other place in Europe. The good rail system is present in the country
and motorways are also finely located at all major places that connect the whole country. You
also get to see great views of alpines and architectural masterpieces in France. It is also famous
for its tasty wine and cheese and it receives a great number of tourists every year.

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MANAGEMENT
China
China has become one of the most popular destinations of the world. After the country
has introduced reform policies, the inbound tourist arrivals have increased significantly in the
last decades. In 2015, China was the 4th most visited country with 56.9 million international
tourist arrivals (Dhiraj 2016). Along with the Great Wall of China, it offers variety of natural and
historical attractions. The tourism sector contributed CNY 8.77 trillion (USD 1.35 trillion) to the
GDP, which is around 11.04% in 2017 and generated direct and indirect employment for 28.25
million people. In 2018, the total revenue from tourism was CNY 5.97 trillion
(Travelchinaguide.com 2018). The total tourist arrival was 141.2 million, which was 1.2% higher
than that was in 2017 and among that 30.54 million was international tourists, which reflected
4.7% increase than 2017.
China has a large number of wonderful attractions that include antique sites and relics,
amazing natural wonders, delicate water towns, imposing imperial places, diversified folk
customs, etc. There are a lot of other things that tourists can enjoy in China. You will not be able
to visit all the attractions in China in one go and it will take several visits so that you can have a
better view of all the beautiful attractions of China. A few top tourist spots of China are the
Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, Yangtze River, Silk Road, etc. For first-time visitors,
some places top the list since those places are a must-visit. They are Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an.
Spain