Tourism Destination: Analysis, Trends, and Characteristics

This report provides an analysis of tourism destinations, including income generation, visitor numbers, social and cultural features. It also explores trends in tourism and compares leading and developing tourist destinations. The characteristics of tourist destinations are evaluated, with a focus on Cuba.

Tourism Destination

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Tourism destinations and generators regarding income generation and visitor numbers.....4
1.2 Analysis of statistics in order to determine trends of tourism destination............................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Social, cultural and physical features of tourist destinations................................................6
2.2 Features of leading and developing tourist destination.........................................................7
TASK 3 ...........................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Comparison of leading tourist destination with developing tourist destination....................8
3.2 Evaluation of different characteristics of tourist destination..............................................10
TASK 4 .........................................................................................................................................10
4.1 Issues affecting tourist destination's popularity..................................................................10
4.2 Potential in relation with responsible tourism so as to enhance host community at tourist
destinations................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Tourism destination can be defined as the place where a tourist visits to enjoy its cultural,
exhibited, inherent, natural and historical beauty. It can also be defined as the physical place with
or without analytical or administrative boundaries where visitors and tourist spend their holidays
(Baggio and Cooper, 2010). This report is based on the topic of Tourism Destination, which is
prepared by business development analyst of the product and business development team of TUI
Group, which has the world's number business of tourism. The aim of the report is to have
understanding regarding UK and various destinations.
TASK 1
1.1 Tourism destinations and generators regarding income generation and visitor numbers
There are several tourism destinations in UK, which helps to attract more and more
tourist and visitors. These tourist destination places are categorised into different types which can
be like: natural attractions, that are developed naturally by having support from nature. Heritage
attractions can be defined as the historical places. Purpose built attractions, which are built for a
specific reason like London tower, Buckingham Palace etc., and events which are like Olympics,
Blackpool Illuminations etc. (Saraniemi and Kylänen, 2011). There are several main destinations
that help in increasing number of visitors also generate more income. Some facts are described
below:
 The UK is ranked as the eighth largest tourism destination by visitor’s number.
 The UK is ranked as the eighth largest tourism destination by visitor’s expenditure.

 British museum was one of the most popular attractions of UK, and welcomes around 5.8
million people.
 The Royal family helps in generating approx. £500 million for tourism of British by
London Tower, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
 London is always the key attraction for overseas visitors with around 14.6 million
spending for the capital (Baggio, Scott and Cooper, 2010).
 Outside London, Edinburgh Castle is one of the popular destinations for tourists,
attracting around 1.2 million visitors every year.
Some of the major tourist destination is being selected from USA, Spain, UK, Thailand
and Italy, and then the analysis is being made regarding different issues:
Issue USA Spain UK Thailand Italy
Contribution in Economy 8.2% of
GDP
15.2% of
GDP
7.1% of
GDP
9.1% of
GDP
10.1% of
GDP
No. of visitors 26, 817, 000 66, 914, 000 22, 710,
000
32, 127, 000 49, 697,
000
Spending by per visitor £611 £811 £505 £710 £750
1.2 Analysis of statistics in order to determine trends of tourism destination
There are various travel and tourism trends, which will help in the increasing tourism in
country. As a Business Development Analyst of TUI Group, it has been analysed that there are
various trends which exist to help in maximization of visitors attraction. Some of the trends are
as follows: Continued strength of UK market: The market of UK in relation with the travel and
tourism is growing very fast, when planning for travelling, customers look for such
companies who have presence of social media. This make them get more attracted.
 Tourists want to unplug: Tourists want to unplug and sign off from work so as to enjoy
holidays. They want to travel on their own their own terms and conditions. Wi-Fi is the
main requirement for many tourists (Gartner and Ruzzier, 2011).. Discovering unique and untouched places: Tourists always look for opportunities which
help them to explore more and more, especially at those places which are unique and
untouched.

 Responsible tourism: Tourist always looks for responsible tourism. They are always in
search of such places which will be safe and secure to travel. They will be interested in
social, environmental and economic impact which they will make at the destination they
are visiting.
Analysis of the particular statistic can be made which will help in determining tourism
destination trends and will also assist in predicting future trends.
USA 2014 2015 2016 2025 Comments
Contribution
to economy
7.9% to GDP 8.2% to GDP 8.7% to GDP 9.3% to GDP Trends in
increase of
visitors in
2016 with the
help of which
future increase
can also be
predicted.
No. of visitors 8.2% of total 8.4% of total 8.6% of total 12.5% of total
Spain
Contribution
to economy
15.20% to
GDP
15.24% to
GDP
15.27% to
GDP
15.40% to
GDP
Increase in the
GDP in 2016,
by which it
helps to
predict
increase in
future.
No. of visitors 15.30% of
total
15.34% of
total
15.38% of
total
15.50% of
total

TASK 2
2.1 Social, cultural and physical features of tourist destinations
Many different kinds of features like social, cultural and physical are there at the
tourism destination places which help in making appeal to tourists. These features can be
explained as:
Cultural Features:
 Culture of the UK has influence of UK's history as a successful island country, its
religious Christian life, a major power and liberal democracy, and composition of four
different countries that is Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, each of them
have distinct culture, custom and symbolism (Ekinci, Sirakaya-Turk and Preciado, 2013).
Culture of China is generally influenced by the Buddhism culture. There is very much
influence of Buddhist in many areas of China.
 English is the official language of UK. Different individual countries in UK have specific
framework for the promotion of its indigenous language. In china the official language is
Chinese and in some parts English is also spoken.
 UK has inherited literary tradition of Scotland, Wales and England with the inclusion of
early native literature in old English literature, Celtic languages and recent English
literature.
 Main cultural resources of the UK are monuments, museums, festivals, churches, music,
drink, food etc. Heritage sites include Jurassic coast, Tower of London, Westminster etc.
British museum and Madame Tussauds is one of the most famous museums in London.
Cultural resources of China are Buddhist temples, monuments etc.
Social Features:
 People in different parts of the country are usually helpful and cooperative in both UK
and China.
 The relationship between the local people and tourist are good in UK and China as it
provides with the various cultural features for different types of people (Wang and Pizam,
2011). Different types of customer have different taste regarding music, literature, culture
etc., UK helps in providing all such types of features to customers.
 Tourism have several types of positive and negative impact on different factors. It helps
in preserving and inhibiting natural environment, but also creates noise and water

pollution. It helps in increasing economy and there may also be increase in goods and
services prices.
Physical Features:
 UK comprises of different physical landscapes like coastline, geology of lakes,
mountains, flora and fauna, beaches etc. UK is blessed with all types element of nature.
China has various waterfalls, lakes and different landscapes that attract customers.
 One of the famous physical attractions in UK is Stonehenge. These features have effect
on large number people and therefore it is very necessary to conserve them (Buhalis and
Michopoulou, 2011). Urban infrastructure, sanitation, water supply and transport network
should also be conserved. Great wall of china is the main physical attraction in China.
2.2 Features of leading and developing tourist destination
Issues UK Thailand
Pubs It is the discotheque where
people cheers and cherish
different moments by raising
toast.
In the Thai term, Pub refers to
the 'Public House'.
Architecture It offers a great interior with
superb serenity.
The exteriors of Thailand are
ornamented with different
scriptures which tell manifold
stories of Thailand (Choo,
Park and Petrick, 2011).
School Systems There is not much strict
education in city.
The vision of Thailand is to
educate each and every person
of the country.
Language English is the official language
which now is a modern
language
Influence of Asian Dialects is
there on Thai language.
Cuisine There is a trend of steamed
food in this country.
There is a trend of having
curry types food.

Spoken Language English, Scottish, Scots ,
Welsh
Burmese and Thai
Religion Christianity is being practised
in this country and religion
does not create difficulty in
their lifestyle (Choo, Park and
Petrick, 2011).
Buddhism is followed in
Thailand and the residents are
highly spiritual and religious.
TASK 3
3.1 Comparison of leading tourist destination with developing tourist destination
Leading tourist destination Developing tourist destination
 A large number of niche tourism is
associated with leading tourism
destination like UK, Spain, and France
etc. Passionate and independent
travellers can be gathered for this. Golf
tourism, Vineyards etc.
 Several activities are in association
with water sports, rock climbing,
sporting events etc. (Richards and
Munsters, 2010). An appropriate
infrastructure is needed to make sure
that such activities are carried out
efficiently.
 Events like music concerts etc. in
surreal and exotic locations like Miami,
Belgium etc., creates large amount of
international arrivals.
 Historical importance and rich
 Developing tourism destination is
popular for wide spreading tourism in
relation with agriculture, where an
entire day can be spent by the tourist in
a farm to learn about how procedure
takes place.
 Similar types of activities can be
widespread in developing countries like
Dominican Republic, Brazil etc. but
more faith is focused on developed
nations due to improved infrastructure.
 Cultural heritage and carnivals of
countries like India, Brazil etc. are the
main attraction for tourists as the
diversity in culture attracts and invites
large amount of tourist around the
world.
 Physical diversity and the local

architecture are also one of the kind
experience to visit various cities apart
from landscapes and locations.
 In USA, multi cultural and multi
linguistic occurring of people is the
main appeal as they add overall
diversity in location.
landscapes are the main USP of tourism
within developing countries like India,
Nepal, Bhutan etc. as economy of such
countries will not be able to follow
incursion of expensive architecture
(Boes, Buhalis and Inversini, 2015).
 In countries like Jamaica, Nepal etc.,
customs and religions are followed
beside different beliefs of the modern
world and it can be an attraction point
for the tourists.
3.2 Evaluation of different characteristics of tourist destination
Introduction: The tourism destination which is considered here is Cuba. Cuba can be said
as the place of many good attractions, as it provides variety of tourist destinations like
landscapes, heritage destinations, monuments etc. People of Cuba are multi- cultural and multi-
ethnic. Location of Cuba is in the entrance of Gulf of Mexico, in western par of Caribbean Sea.
Its closest lands are, to the west, peninsula of Yucatan. In the north, Cayo Hueso is there. In the
south, Jamaica is there and in the east, Haiti. The total population there is approx. 11,200,000.
The 75% of the total population is there is urban areas and 25% in rural areas (Zhang and et.al.,
2011)
Characteristic: There is contribution of international shocks in the development of cuban
economy. One shock is negative: Main commercial partners of Cuba that is Brazil, Venezuela
and China have faced loss in their appetites to subsidize Cuban economy, forcing the authorities
of Cuba to have a look on new sources regarding foreign exchange (Alvarez, 2010). The another
shock was positive, United states have relaxed restrictions on travel to island in U.S., and tourist
from different nations saw Cuba in the new light. This helped in increasing tourism which
jumped by around 16% in 2015 to 3.5 million. Cuba offers lovely beaches, various historic sites
and vibrant culture which attract tourism (Tourism in Cuba. 2016). Cuba generally has low
tourism volume and if they will have proper management then they can entertain planned
expansion and can raise incomes for the entire nation. Every year Cuba attracts 2 million people.
Cuba's climate is subtropical humid, with two seasons that is rainy and dry from May to October.

The average temperature is 25 degree Celsius. In winter, it is 20 degree Celsius and in summer
26-27 degree. Annual average of rains is 1200 mm (48 inches). Culture in Cuba is Roman
Catholic; residents there also practice protestant religion (Boes, Buhalis and Inversini, 2015).
TASK 4
4.1 Issues affecting tourist destination's popularity
Various issues that are affecting popularity of the tourist destinations are like:
 Climate: industry of travel and tourism badly get affected by occurrence of climatic
disasters as they can even destroy or damage tourist’s destinations. Because of climate
there is an effect on infrastructure and tourists do not wish to come to such kinds of
places.
 Prevalence of Terrorism: It is an important factor which is directly linked with the tourist
destination's popularity. Tourist does not want to go to such places where terrorism is
prevailing (Richards and Munsters, 2010).
 Depletion of natural resources: Tourism has negative effect on natural resources, when
they visit natural places like oceans, waterfalls etc., they create noise and water pollution
and as a result there is depletion in natural resources and agriculture land.
 Physical and cultural diversity: One of the main factors which affect the popularity of the
tourist destination is the physical diversity in inclusion with cultural establishments and
prevalent landscapes. People in a particular country may get tired of people and culture
and want to visit other country to have knowledge of diverse culture. Thus, if the
particular destination will not have much to offer in regards with physical and cultural
features then that particular destination will go down.
 Affordability: For the tourists, popular destinations are those which can be affordable and
therefore popularity of the destination has direct link with the costing and value of the
destination. If a traveller can get more value with limited expenditure, the budget
traveller will get convinced (Wang and Pizam, 2011).
4.2 Potential in relation with responsible tourism so as to enhance host community at tourist
destinations
 Egypt: The Red Sea Rangers and HEPCA are having association with responsible
tourism as they help in preserving ecosystem. Hurghada Environmental Protection and

Conservation Association mainly focus on preserving the environment along with coast
and also focus to conserve corals in sea. The aim of Red Sea Rangers is to protect marine
life.
 Europe: The wide success of OTA in Italy is in association with responsible tourism in
the sector of hospitality. The main cause of success includes the reliability on OTA that
people are having and the wide option of booking and flexibility that customers have.
Availability of offers also give contribution in the success of responsible tourism (Ekinci,
Sirakaya-Turk and Preciado, 2013)
 Thailand: It is very popular among tourists and is the most popular destination around
the world. Elephants were there in large number few years back but there is decline in
population because of few illegal practices. For this “Save the Elephants” foundation is
formed for the conservation of elephants.
 Turkey: Matiana Travel is in association with responsible tourism, as they are offering
different tour programs and brings different local culture together.
 Cuba: Pinar Del Rio is in association with the eco tourism and sustainable tourism. The
Cienaga De Zapata and Zapata Peninsula is famous for conserving crocodiles. The profits
from tourism are distributed in people and it also helps in raising employment
opportunities.
 Dominican Republic: The emphasis here is on preserving the local heritage and culture
of the tourist's destination so that it will help in attracting more tourism. Socially
responsible tourism is achieved by protecting nature and community and by having
proper knowledge in the contribution of responsible tourism (Choo, Park and Petrick,
2011).
 Mexico: Practice of responsible tourism can be adopted by making sure that proper care
is taken by having respect for community, environment and local culture. The local
culture can be preserved by making sure that laws are getting followed in regards with
photo session at the prohibited places etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that places of tourist destination are very
important which helps in attraction more and more tourists, and eventually they helps in
increasing economic growth of the particular country. The forecast of the future prediction help

in showing that Spain will have large amount of international tourists in the upcoming years and
will also have high percentage of share in regards with tourism industry. It has been analysed
that there are various factors which are affecting the popularity of the tourists destination and it
includes cultural diversity, terrorism etc.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alvarez, M.D., 2010. Marketing of Turkey as a tourism destination. Anatolia, 21(1). pp.123-138.
Baggio, R. and Cooper, C., 2010. Knowledge transfer in a tourism destination: the effects of a
network structure. The Service Industries Journal. 30(10). pp.1757-1771.
Baggio, R., Scott, N. and Cooper, C., 2010. Improving tourism destination governance: a
complexity science approach. Tourism Review. 65(4). pp.51-60.
Boes, K., Buhalis, D. and Inversini, A., 2015. Conceptualising smart tourism destination
dimensions. In Information and communication technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 391-
403). Springer International Publishing.
Buhalis, D. and Michopoulou, E., 2011. Information-enabled tourism destination marketing:
addressing the accessibility market. Current Issues in Tourism. 14(2).
Choo, H., Park, S.Y. and Petrick, J.F., 2011. The influence of the resident's identification with a
tourism destination brand on their behavior. Journal of Hospitality Marketing &
Management, 20(2), pp.198-216. pp.145-168.
Ekinci, Y., Sirakaya-Turk, E. and Preciado, S., 2013. Symbolic consumption of tourism
destination brands. Journal of Business Research. 66(6). pp.711-718.
Gartner, W.C. and Ruzzier, M.K., 2011. Tourism destination brand equity dimensions: Renewal
versus repeat market. Journal of Travel Research. 50(5). pp.471-481.
Richards, G. and Munsters, W. eds., 2010. Cultural tourism research methods. Cabi.
Saraniemi, S. and Kylänen, M., 2011. Problematizing the concept of tourism destination: An
analysis of different theoretical approaches. Journal of Travel Research. 50(2). pp.133-
143.
Wang, Y. and Pizam, A. eds., 2011. Destination marketing and management: theories and
applications. Cabi.
Zhang, H., Lu, L., Cai, L. and Huang, Z., 2011. Tourism destination image structural model and
visitors’ behavioral intentions. Based on a confirmatory study of localization of
potential consumers’. Tourism Science, 1. pp.35-45.
Online
Tourism in Cuba. 2016. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.brookings.edu/research/tourism-in-cuba/>. [Accessed on 11th
May 2017].