Tourism and Destination Competitiveness

This assignment delves into the complexities of tourism development and its effect on destinations. It requires students to analyze various aspects, including destination branding strategies (brand architecture), key determinants of competitiveness, and the influence of large-scale events (mega-events) on tourist arrivals. The analysis should draw upon provided academic sources and consider real-world examples like Spain's tourism economy impacted by political crises.

Tourist Destination

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Analysis of tourist destination around the world..................................................................1
1.2 Statistics which determine current and future trends in tourism sector................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Identification of social, cultural and physical features tourist destination............................4
2.2 Comparison of features of chosen tourist destination with other leading tourist destination
.....................................................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Analysis of political and economic characteristics of both destinations...............................7
3.2 Evaluation of cultural, economic, physical and social characteristics and their appeal to
tourist...........................................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Factors which affect popularity of the tourist destination.....................................................9
4.2 Sustenance of appeal of UK................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism have turned out to be one of the most crucial sectors for the economy
of nation. It takes into consideration people visiting from one country to another for business or
pleasure purposes (Ahmad, 2013). However, tourism management aims to manage the activities
which are related to tourism such as determining tour destination, accommodation and travel and
arrangement supported by marketing tactics. This sector is crucial in uplifting the standards of
society by providing employment to people in same domain. The attraction which is sustained by
a country will have a positive impact on the image and beneficial from economic point of view
as well. This assignment considers Breacon Beacon National Park as a major travel destination.
A brief analysis of the leading destination is to be carried out and impacts of external
environment will be ascertained on the same. Further, factors of external environment which are
to be considered in this report are cultural, economic, physical and social characteristics of the
United Kingdom.
TASK 1
1.1 Analysis of tourist destination around the world
The concern of government towards maintenance of these attractions have led to a
competition of experiencing maximum number of travellers across the world (Armenski and et.
al., 2011). The major tourist destinations with their brief analysis are as follows:
France: It is a country which is leading the chart. The nation has been successful in
retaining their top position in terms of tourists. Another cause for the same is that Paris is the
most sought after tourist destination around the world. Another main attractions of the country
are Musee du louvre, Eiffel tower and Loire valley. Number of visitors in country stands at 82.6
million solely in the year 2016. The GDP contribution of tourism sector is accounted at 80.7
billion euros.
United States: This is second most sought after tourist destination in the world. The USA
combined covers around 3.79 million sq/mi. The country is famous for its diverse tourist
attractions which tempts visitors belonging to different classes or segments to visit the country.
The major attractions are national parks and colourful cities. The most visited cities in USA are
New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Number of aggregate tourists in the year 2016 are
recorded at 75.6 million.
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Spain: When it comes to tourism, Spain is the most renowned destination in Europe. It is
the known fact that 9 out of 10 people have already visited Spain to appreciate its sheer beauty
and nature. The country recently saw an increase in tourists in year 2016. Summer season is the
most visited time in Spain and major highlights are Costa del Sol and Balearic Islands. The
country is filled with tourist attractions; be it historical sites or rich cultural heritage. Barcelona
and real Madrid are two major towns visited to experience the metropolis of Spain. Tourists who
visited the country are 75.6 million and garnered revenue of approximately 60 million USD.
(Source:Internation Tourist Arrivals, 2016 )
China: This country stands at fourth position in terms of visitors. Approximately, 59.3
million people from around the world visited China. This nation has recently opened their gates
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Illustration 1: Internation Tourist Arrivals

for travellers and have experienced a heart warning response. Another change which is seen by
the people is increase of multinational corporations entering the country to carry out their
operations. Great Wall of China is one of the major wonders across world that constitutes as a
prime major destination in country (Beritelli, 2011). Other eye catching features of company are
ancient and culture oriented cities. The rural parts of country are also famous for its trekking,
hiking and Buddha statues. The tourism sector catered around 7.1% of total GDP which is
CNY6, 646.3 billion. The below mentioned table defines the top tourist destination in the world
along with change in the number of international visitors experienced by them.
Rank Country International
tourist arrivals
(2016)
International
Tourist Arrivals
(2015)
% Change in
visitors
1 France 83.7 83.6 0.1
2 United States 74.8 7 6.8
3 Spain 65 60.7 7.1
4 China 55.6 55.7 -0.1
5 Italy 48.6 47.7 1.8
1.2 Statistics which determine current and future trends in tourism sector
It can be analysed from the available data that UK experiences around 40% inbound
travellers among which 30% constitute as business travellers. This data shows that remaining
10% are people who visit the country to experience it. The trend is such that people visiting
Great Britain will prefer visiting London as their first choice in terms of tourism. The recent data
recorded stated that approximately, 12 million GBP was received through people visited Britain.
In context of Great Britain, Scotland is ranked second after London in terms of visitors. In the
recent year, UK received around 4.5 billion GBP through its inbound tourism.
But the times have changed and countries which were less popular are experiencing a
tremendous rise in the number of inbound visitors (Crouch, 2011). The statistics mentioned
below defined major trends which have emerged in travel and tourism sector.
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(Source: Recent trend in tourism sector, 2016)
It can be ascertained from the above data that USA is experiencing a favourable change
in terms of inbound tourists. Data is recorded for the past 4 years which shows that there is
growth of 229 million euros. The market which is supreme in this is Chile whereas France which
is ranked highest in terms of visitors is facing a decline and have suffered loss of 35 million
euros in the financial year of 2016. Another major nation which has been experiencing
favourable tourism trends are Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Italy which are defined in
terms of income. In terms of % growth, Chile is benefited followed by Romania. The United
States which has been major tourist destination is suffering decline in inbound travellers since
then the government is working hard to increase number of tourist visiting the country. In the
year 2016, London attracted 19.1 million visitors which gave away 11.9 billion GBP. This
situation is directly impacting people whose sustenance is based on tourism in the country.
The statistical analysis which determine the future tends of tourism in the united
kingdom. The data from the past 5 years is taken into consideration to determine the future
trends in tourism are as follows:
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Illustration 2: Recent trends in tourism sector

Years Number of
Visitors (in
million)
Spending (in
billions)
Average
spending per
visit
Average
nights per
week
International
Balance of
Payments (in
billion)
2012 29.8 16.9 567 7.6 -14.92
2013 30.8 18 584 7.6 -13.7
2014 31.08 18.64 600 7.4 -13.81
2015 32.69 21.26 650 7.5 -13.25
2016 34.38 21.85 636 7.7 -13.69
It can be ascertained from the above mentioned statistics that tourism trends in the United
Kingdom is experiencing a favourable trend. The changes in number of visitors to the country in
the year 2016 were ridiculously higher when contrasted with year 2012. the prediction for the
future of the tourism sector for the country forecast that this sector will worth more than 257
million in the coming 5 years. This will create a positive impact on the GDP which is expected to
rise 10% and create approximately 4 million more jobs in the country.
TASK 2
2.1 Identification of social, cultural and physical features tourist destination
It is essential to consider social, cultural and physical features and their role in impact
visits of tourist in that particular area (Datzira-Masip and Poluzzi, 2014). The tourist destination
which is undertaken in this assignment relates to the Brecon Beacons national park, London. UK
is a popular tourist destination and receives millions of inbound traveller every year. It
encompasses 3-4% of the total share of the visitors around the world. The various aspects which
relates to tourism in the are as follows:
Social Aspect: Tourism sector plays a vital role in establishing social equality in the
country. There are large number of people who are dependent on tourism sector for their
sustainability in the environment. It is known to be the third leading employer and caters
livelihood to around 9.5% of the total population. In addition to that, tourism sector of this
country ensures that needs and expectation of visitors is fulfilled in the best possible manner. To
achieve the same industry offers top notch services in all the sectors. The recent recoded data
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states that around 3 million people are employed in this sector. The development of tourism
sector in the company will have a positive outcome in terms of social equality. The Brecon parks
provides chances to employment to large number of people in the sector of F&B,
Accommodation, water sports, arts and crafts.
Cultural Aspect: Tourism can be directly linked to promoting culture of a nation. Not
only it can be linked to culture, it helps in transforming culture of a country by experiencing
culture of other nations. The culture of the country have been a major interest to the visitors from
outside nations. The historical interest which is offered by the county have emerged as a major
crowd puller. Manchester is the second most visited place in the county after London due to
presence of museum relating to war, science and industry. Globalization has lead to increase in
the interaction between culture of a country with the rest of the world. The outbound travellers of
the country tries to adopt which they find more suitable and relevant. Such instances will lead to
enrichment of an economy of a country by adopting the positives of others. Cultural harmony
stands crucial for a society as it leads to defined evolution of society. The companies or
organisation who are directly linked with tourism results in betterment of society. To attract
more and more visitors in the country a government makes efforts to preserve cultural and
ancient heritage (Di Pietro, Di Virgilio and Pantano, 2012). It is not only confined to preserving,
efforts are made to promote the culture of country through international boundaries. This aspect
carries a positive impact on the society, culture and economy of a country which leads to its
upliftment.
Physical Aspect: this aspect takes into consideration the geographic and physical
resources which are possessed by a country. It is essential to determine physical aspect of
tourism as it impact the society in positive or negative manner. The major sector which are
emphasized are energy, raw materials and food. The natural environment which is offered by this
country have impacted the tourism sector in the positive manner. According to the last data
recorded over 17,404,000 visitors has been attracted to the physical environment of the country.
The attraction which experiences a huge crowd of travellers will have to compromise with
resources. The problem which are often faced are solid waste, exploitation of natural resources,
air and water pollution. The positive aspects of tourism is that there will be development in terms
of conveyance, infrastructure and income generation (Fourie and Santana-Gallego, 2011).
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Therefore it is essential for authorities to minimize negative impact of the same and enhance on
the positive aspects of tourism.
2.2 Comparison of features of chosen tourist destination with other leading tourist destination
It is essential to compare the features such as cultural, social and physical with other
tourist oriented nation so that major discrepancies can be found out and addressed at the same
time (Frenzel, Koens and Steinbrink, 2012.). The United Kingdom is ranked as 6th most visited
destination in the world but the country is facing a change in the environment and is threatened
to retain its position in the tourism sector. The countries such as America, Romania and Chile are
seeing a sudden boost in their tourism sector. The comparison between United Kingdom and
other leading tourist destinations is as follows:
United Kingdom Others
Social Aspects In terms of social grounds the
economy of UK carries a far better
social equality when compared with
other tourist destination around the
world.
Whereas in developing nations
which define a far worse
unequal social system
countries such as Chile,
Romania, India and Nepal are
struggling with poverty. Spain
consist of 21% of its total
population below poverty line
compared to 14.8% of United
Kingdom.
Cultural Aspects The country with the helps of their
strong infrastructure and disposable
income is able to preserve and
promote their culture. This have led
to be a unique proposition for the
country.
The cultural aspects in other
major tourists destination have
also been kept strong.
Countries such as France and
Spain are able to retain their
culture in terms of fashion,
cinema and cuisine which have
led to enhanced competition
with UK.
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Physical Aspects The United kingdom carries a
balanced portfolio terms of
resources. The combination of
terrains, lakes, low hills and flats
provides it a unique combination
which supports it in entertaining
visitors or guests.
The under- developed nations
fail to keep their physical
resources as their requirements
are higher than their supply
which means they will not be
able to provide the services
which developed nations can
provide.
TASK 3
3.1 Analysis of political and economic characteristics of both destinations
The two destination which are undertaken in this segment of assignment are Breacon
beacon National park and Ordesa y Monte Perdido nation park in Aragon, Spain. This
comparison will exclusively consider political and economic environment of their respective
nations. The comparison between the two is as follows:
Breacon Beacon National
Park (London)
Ordesa y Monte Perdido
National Park (Spain)
Political Environment The country political
environment is experiencing a
bump due to its exit from the
European union. The research
shows that maximum number
of inbound travellers to UK
were from Europe itself. It is
believed that this political
move by the country will carry
a nominal impact on the
functioning of a tourism
sector. It is essential for a
government to ensure that
The unsuitability in the
external environment have
caused a lot of negative impact
on the economy of the country.
The capital city of the country
have taken a major blow in
context of tourism. The recent
data collected post Catalonia
incident stated that there is
decline in tourism by 22%. this
not only will impact Catalonia
but there will be a impact on
country as well. The
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there is a certain level of
stability in the environment so
that people will feel safe to
visit the country. The ruling
labour party is making efforts
to promote tourism as it is
crucial determinant of GDP.
government is working hard to
retain political stability in the
country.
Economic Environment The UK government expect
the tourism sector of the
country worth more than 257
billion euros. The current
employment of the tourism
sector stands at a crucial 11%
of the total employment. The
country entertained around
37.6 million people who gave
away 22.5 billion euros which
is enormous. The above facts
states that for tourism right set
of environment is provided.
The tourism sector will mark
BOP in surplus which is a far-
fetched dream.
The economic environment of
the country in context of
tourism sector is experiencing
a growth. According to a data
collected in the year 2016
states that tourism in Spain
constitutes around 11% which
is 1.2 trillion USD in country's
gross domestic product. The
instability in political sector
will turn up losses for the
economic segment as well.
The expected losses from the
incident are around $1.41
billion and in terms of society
it can lead to situation of
unemployment in the country.
3.2 Evaluation of cultural, economic, physical and social characteristics and their appeal to
tourist
It is necessary to analyse these factor critically as they act as a major determinant of
tourist behavioural in respect to a country. The evaluation of such factors are as follows:
Cultural Factors: The cultural factors are another crucial determinant of tourists in
visiting the country (Horng and et.al., 2012). The possess power of either being asset for the
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country to act as a damage image for the same. The United Kingdom culture is influenced by the
its history and Christian lifestyle. Another factors which are crucial are British literature, music,
theatre, architecture and education which appeals to people to visit and explore the nation.
Economic Factors: The current economic circumstances of the country act as a crucial
determinant in attracting tourist to visit the country. The country is experiencing a growth in
context of the economy. This particular circumstances promote investment in the tourism sector
which ultimately leads to attaining higher foreign exchanges. This situation results in more
disposable income with the prospects which they would love to spend on travelling and leisure
activities resulting in higher mobility.
Physical factors: The physical resources of the country are capable enough to fulfil
requirements of residents and travellers within the country. This country possess varied physical
resources such as agricultural land, minerals, lakes and mountain make it appealing and
satisfying for the travellers. The presence of such physical factors promote the state of tourism
for the country.
Political Factors:The constitutional monarchy is another feature that appeals to the
tourists planning to visit the country. The queen is head and carry an influential rights in the
decision undertaken by the government (Laws, 2011). This nation have able to create a stable
environment which have been successful in inviting international organisations to conduct events
in the country. The Major example of the same is Olympics which encouraged 5 million people
to visit the UK.
TASK 4
4.1 Factors which affect popularity of the tourist destination
Below mentioned are the factors which carries a vital affect on influencing popularity of
united kingdom. These factors will be compared with other tourist destination.
 The first and most crucial factor which influence popularity of tourist destination is
terrorism. The disclosure of secret service of United Kingdom MI6 stated that country is
under a major threat of terrorist attack which affect popularity of a country in terms of
tourism. Whereas Spain carries fresh wounds when it comes to terrorism (Political crisis
harms Spain's tourism economy, 2017). The recent shoot-out in Barcelona claimed life of
many people which lowers the morale of people visiting the country.
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 Adoption of suitable marketing tactics help in appealing people to visit the country. This
is another major issue with with UK is struggling. In the era of competitiveness every
country including UK have adopted marketing as a major tool which help in making a
county popular compared to its rival nations. Spain on the other hand is successful in
making people visit their nation. Research stated that 1 out of 3 British people visit Spain.
 Natural disasters is another ground which is to be dealt by the government. The united
kingdom have been experiencing floods which leads to decline in UK as a ideal
destination to visit. Spain is not far behind UK when it comes to natural disasters. The
floods in recent past have hampered the popularity of the country as a preferred tourist
destination.
4.2 Sustenance of appeal of UK
Responsible tourism is defined to be a form of tourism which carries emphasis on the
natural, social and economic environment (Oliveira and Panyik, 2015). The efforts are aimed to
minimize negative impact of tourism on all the above mentioned domains. It is the duty of all the
stakeholders such as government, hoteliers, tour operator and local residents to ensure that
tourism in the country does not involve any harmful impact.
Educate: the first measure which can be adopted by the government is make people
aware about sustainable tourism and provides manner by which it can be practised in the tourist
oriented regions.
Maintenance: the major attraction of the country are visited by millions of people
throughout the year therefore it is essential to maintain them in their ideal condition. This is done
to ensure that appeal of the county can be maintained.
Revision of policies: The government has to adopt sustainable means in their operations
so that responsible tourism can be adopted by the stakeholders. It is essential to keep policies and
laws up-to-date so that they can be practised ideally (Pandža Bajs, 2015). This is another manner
through which appeal of the country can be preserved.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that tourism is a crucial components for the
economy. It undertakes mobility of the people from one place to another. It is necessary to
compare cultural, physical and social features as they play crucial role in determination of ideal
tourist location for a traveller. The impact of political and economic situation of the country is
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analysed with its major competitor. United kingdom have been able to maintain a certain level of
political stability which boosts the tourism sector along with promoting economic development
of the country. Statistical figure have been deployed as well which help in better understanding o
the current circumstances of the company as well. It is essential to adopt sustainable means of
tourism as it is beneficial for both community and society.
REFERENCES
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Frenzel, F., Koens, K. and Steinbrink, M. eds., 2012. Slum tourism: Poverty, power and ethics
(Vol. 32). Routledge.
Horng, J.S. And et.al., 2012. Understanding the impact of culinary brand equity and destination
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Oliveira, E. and Panyik, E., 2015. Content, context and co-creation: Digital challenges in
destination branding with references to Portugal as a tourist destination. Journal of
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Pandža Bajs, I., 2015. Tourist perceived value, relationship to satisfaction, and behavioral
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Online
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