Tourist Destinations: A Comparative Analysis of the British Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of two prominent tourist destinations: the British Museum in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It delves into their visitor profiles, historical visitor numbers, income generated, key tourist generator countries, and emerging trends. The report also examines the cultural, social, physical, economic, and political characteristics of both destinations, highlighting their appeal to tourists. Furthermore, it identifies potential issues affecting the popularity of the UK destination and explores how it can sustain its appeal through responsible tourism practices.

TOURIST DESTINATIONS

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
a) Identify and analyse a world’s leading destination and compare with a chosen UK destination
in terms of visitor profile and historic visitor numbers, income generated and the key tourist
generator countries to these destinations.........................................................................................4
b) Using the data from the above, analyse destination trends for your chosen overseas destination
and the UK destination and predict future trends in visitor numbers and visitors profiles. (330
WORDS)..........................................................................................................................................5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................8
a. Identify the cultural, social and physical features of your destination, detailing the appeal to
tourists..............................................................................................................................................8
b) Compare and contrast the cultural, social and physical features of UK destination with those
of the chosen overseas destination...................................................................................................9
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................9
a. Investigate and analyze (comparatively) the economical and political characteristics of both
the destinations:-..............................................................................................................................9
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................12
a) Identify three issues that may affect the popularity of the UK destination as a destination and
compare and contrast them with the oversees destination chosen.................................................12
b) Critically discuss how your UK destination could sustain its appeal with an emphasis on
‘Responsible Tourism’...................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
Reference list.................................................................................................................................15

Introduction
A tourist destination can be defined as a place of interest where inquisitive people having
different travelling aspirations that come to experience the aura of a typical tourist spot and
thereby, gain knowledge. A spot can be natural as well as man-made. However, each spot has
different typology. Whatsoever, the chosen tourist destination from United Kingdom, which
will be contrasted and compared throughout the project with an overseas tourist spot such as the
British Museum situated in London whereas the overseas tourist spot such as The Metropolitan
Museum of Art within New York City. Throughout the project both the travel destinations will
be compared in terms of their net profits, number of visitors and various kinds of background
facilitating the economic profits. It will also focus on the different types of emerging trends,
which are dominating the tourist seasons.

Task 1
a) Identify and analyse a world’s leading destination and compare with a chosen UK
destination in terms of visitor profile and historic visitor numbers, income generated and
the key tourist generator countries to these destinations.
One of the leading destinations from New York City, which has been chosen here, is The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, which would be further compared with British Museum from
London. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the third most visited art museum and the fifth most
visited museum of any kind in the world (Stein, 2017). It is so because it contains art works
consisting from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt as well as famous paintings and sculptures
from famous artists around the world. According to a data gathered in the year 2016, it is
estimated that around 7.06 million people visit this museum yearly. However, there is no entry
free for visitors but talks are in prowl that the museum authorities are planning to charge entry
fee from this year onwards.
On the other hand, based on “Statistical Portal of U.K”, around 6.9 million people have visited
the museum last year. Similarly like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the entry fee is free here
(Rushton, 2017). Its maintenance is actually carried out by the funding received from the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport due to it being a government sponsored museum. Despite
of this, it is one of the most visited museums in England and one of the leading visitor attractions in
United Kingdom.
The key tourist generator for this British Museum most particularly is its location. Due to it being
situated in the central hub of London, it is obvious that people would like to know the historical relics
of English, which includes its past, and present. In comparison to this, the key tourist generator for
the Metropolitan Museum of Art is its location, which is in Manhattan. Due to Manhattan being the
fashionable hub of New York, most people desire to come here. Even other historical as well as
famous places of U.S.A like Central Park, Central Park Zoo and Alice in Wonderland Statue
contribute for this place of art to be the most visited place of art.

Figure 1: Showing the comparison amongst visitors visiting museums of
different places in UK
(Source: Rushton, 2017)
b) Using the data from the above, analyse destination trends for your chosen overseas
destination and the UK destination and predict future trends in visitor numbers and
visitors profiles. (330 WORDS)
Due to New York City being the most talked about tourist destination, there are certain trends,
which dominate the tourist season. Earlier New York City was the place where only scholars
would only liked to come and study and the people who wanted to visit the most superior of the
developed places would arrive here. However, through much popularity being achieved through
mediums of media, all people from different age groups now desire to come.
Most particularly the trend, which dominates the tourist season in New York, is seasonal breaks
where attractive benefits grab the eyeballs of customers along with certain packages through
which they can visit more than one city and innumerable places of interest (Vanhove, 2017).
However, the peak season here is Winter Break, which includes the festival of Christmas and the
event of New Year dominated by operas, plays and shows.

Whatsoever, the scenario of London is different .Earlier London was the spot where historical
enthusiasts would visit with an eager to see castles, palaces and towers .As London was the only
place where rich history and culture was assimilated with the royalty showcased through western
monarchy (Heeley, 2017). However, since recent years the trend has changed .People are coming
here for family gatherings and leisure based holidays with amazing packages enabling them to
visit other countries like Austria and Hungary as well due to which people would not miss the
chance of seeing the innovative history of the British wire the British Museum.
Figure 2: Showing the comparison between the numbers of tourists visiting the
countries
(Source: Heeley, 2017)

Figure 3: Showing the different types of trends in United Kingdom
(Source: Heeley, 2017)

Task 2
a. Identify the cultural, social and physical features of your destination, detailing the
appeal to tourists.
The British museum, situated in UK influenced a wide range of population in variety of ways
(Thompson, 2015). The British museum plays an important and vital role in preserving the
culture of the United Kingdom. To recover the declining culture, it is very important to preserve
the heritage of the country. The Cultural feature of the British museum improves the efficiency
of countrywide and provincial tourism. It absorbs and integrates the cultural and historical
resources of the United Kingdom. The British Museum persuades and preserves the crafts and
designs of the prehistoric times. The Social feature of the British Museum generates
employment for the people out there. The infrastructure of the United Kingdom is also improved
as the tourism sector is working on the infrastructure. The main physical feature of United
Kingdom is its location, which is surrounded by many islands. The favourable climatic condition
is also one of the biggest reasons to attract tourists in British museum.
The Metropolitan museum of Art is one of the biggest and most significant art museums of the
New York City(Galitz, 2016). The cultural feature of the museum can be seen from the ethnic
diversity. The performers are attracted to the city because it is a significant midpoint of visual
arts, theatre and dance. It is a main centre of the “global art market” nationwide and
worldwide. The social feature of metropolitan museum of art is of great significance to the city.
It attracts a large number of tourists from different parts of the world due to its diversity.
Generation of employment is also one of the important features of the city. The social impact of
the museum can be seen from different social plays and performances. The physical feature is
that People from different countries come to visit the museum and gains diverse knowledge of
the social and cultural values of New York City. The New York City is situated by forests,
rivers, lakes and mountains, which attracts a large number of tourists due to good metropolitan
atmosphere.

b) Compare and contrast the cultural, social and physical features of UK destination with
those of the chosen overseas destination.
The social, cultural and physical features of two different tourist destinations such as The British
Museum in UK and the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York City vary in different
situations. The cultural, social and physical features of both the countries related to some extent
but vary too. The first and foremost distinction can be made from the physical features of both
the destinations that is United Kingdom is surrounded by islands whereas the new York city is
situated by forests, rivers, lakes and mountains. Due to diversity in its location, the atmosphere is
different of both the tourist destinations. The climatic condition of New York City attracts more
tourists. The culture of both the city is different. The metropolitan museum of art is mainly
indulged towards the artists in the form of art, dance and theatre. On the other hand, British
museum is indulged towards preserving the heritage of the United Kingdom (Graham and et al.,
2016). The demographics of both the countries are also different since the preferences and
choices of the tourists coming from different backgrounds are very different. The social impact
of both the countries varies. The theatres, plays and so on of the metropolitan museum affect the
society either in a positive or negative way. On the other hand, British museum of United
Kingdom affects the infrastructure of the country and generates employment for the local people.
The New York City has many historical architectures as compared to the United Kingdom due to
which it are more appealing to the tourists.
Task 3
a. Investigate and analyze (comparatively) the economical and political characteristics of
both the destinations:-
An economical and a political background of UK destinations stands spaced out from US city
destinations. By investigating and analyzing, an overall comparative study of both these
destinations will essentially give a set of paradigm of tourism.

Economical characteristics of UK destinations and US Destinations:-
The destination of UK has always been gorgeous for the tourists. One of the major reasons is due
to its economy, which stands as a backbone for the country itself. Steps taken by the British
government for the growth of the tourist destinations in UK have been amazing so far.
Considering this fact, it has been acknowledged that the travelling cost is affecting Britain’s
competitiveness as an objective for international tourism. Air Passenger Duty avoidance has
been observed among visitors. Aviation is another feature that can be measured as an enabler for
inbound tourism. Based on the report more airports need to be implemented for a better
communication for the tourists. Besides, railway network need to be enhanced for more pleasant
appearance. Coming to the most rightful part of the tourism is for the Visa arrangement. Services
of Visa for UK destinations are more simplified as compared to other competitive countries like
USA.
On the other hand, the economy of USA is far more complex behind its tourist destinations. If
taken for instance, the Visa service is quite different from that of the services that is received
from UK government. In order to get a Visa for US is method that is far more difficult any
tourists to apply. Therefore, many tourists are gradually retreating to visit the country’s tourist’s
destinations. The tourist destination like Metropolitan Museum in NewYork city is one such
centre of attraction. As compared to this, the destination of London that is the British Museum is
easier to access for tourists arriving from foreign locations.
Study of Political characteristics of UK and US destinations:
As opined by Vanneste and Goeminne (2017) the most absolute difference between the two is
with the constitution of both the governments. The US government is more rigid as compared to
the British government. The US government has always followed some lay down rules, which
restrict many tourists to have the right of entry to the country. These are some of the comparisons
that affect both the destinations mentioned above in the study.

b. Critically evaluate how the cultural, economic, physical, political and social
characteristics of UK destinations affect its appeal to Tourists:-
As per the role of the Government of UK, other than economic and political influence, the
country’s cultural and social characteristics also affect a lot to appeal its tourists. The country’s
natural phenomena- its innate finery has been tempting since the beginning. Hence, it should be
sustained for future to implore more tourists. Greeneries need more replenishment in order to
plea for tourists. Based on different types of tourists, the destinations should be more customized
and more fascinating. Lets come up with an evaluation of different types of tourists for whom
UK destinations are today of so much consequence.
Categories of tourists:- Tourists can be categorized depending on the criteria like:- Domestic
tourists who visits every locations in their own cities. Foreign tourists who come from other
neighboring countries or from parts of countries. Along with these groups of tourists some other
class of tourists also comes to visit UK destinations which are none other than an independent
tourists and business- based tourists. Such types of tourists mainly come for short period of time
for a certain days of recreation and they expand much more on the destination.
Evaluation of socio-cultural characteristics:
Socio-cultural attractions like museums, monuments, megaliths and other such places are mostly
attractive for all above mentioned types of tourists. As stated by Cholte van Teeffelen and
Verburg (2015)But all these locations require more elasticity for every type of tourists to visit the
places for not only entertainment but also for a awareness and inspiration which will sustain for
more quantity of tourists to bring down to those locations in future.
Evaluation of economic and political characteristics:-
Finally, it can be tinted once again here as a considerable statement that the country’s economy
and political background need even more attention to draw the attention of the tourists for its
destination for a long time ( Nevitte, 2017).

Task 4
a) Identify three issues that may affect the popularity of the UK destination as a destination
and compare and contrast them with the oversees destination chosen.
Three factors the affect the popularity of a UK tourist destination that is LONDON are listed
below.
The major issue effecting the destination in NEW YORK and LONDON is transport system.
London has underground metro system. The first big difference is how the journey is taken
London you have pay for the distance travelled touching in and touching out. In NEW York it is
flat fare regardless where you are going. The biggest problem in New York City is comprehend
the mess of different trains that all run on the same colored lines. The stations themselves can be
confusing as the train network. Where as in LONDON the central line is different from the
Piccadilly.( Smith, 2015) London underground metro system is much ahead of NEW York
subway system in terms of design and cleanliness. The stations are much more modern and
advance as compared to New York . London is having double decker bus facility, which is more
comfortable. On the other hand, there is more rush in NEW YORK buses. In LONDON while
sitting in buses one can enjoy the outside view..
In UK, the theft of terrorism impacted public mood in the second half of 2015.Major travel
companies are quickly diverging the destinations. Impact of terrorism has effect on consumer
travel habits. That’s why people are preferring holidays in safe destinations. Internationally UK
suffers from price competitiveness.( Xiang, 2015)Despite of ever increasing and unexpected
terrorist attack and political instability travel and tourism progressed fast in2016.It shown GDP
growth 3.1% and provided 6 million jobs..This industry provides 6.6% global exports. The
growth of travel and tourism is expected fast. It may provide 380 million jobs. In future, it will
the most powerful industry for wealth and economic development. Its growth is faster than other
industries such as manufacturing, finance, business.

b) Critically discuss how your UK destination could sustain its appeal with an emphasis on
‘Responsible Tourism’.
There is close relationship between transport and tourism. There are three pillars of sustainability
1) economic 2) social 3) environmental. Sustainable tourism comes from the concept of
sustainable development. Transport is the important means for tourist destinations (Mason,
2015 ). UK can sustain by a planned sustainable transport network as an important factor for
travel and recreation. In UK the traffic jam and pollution out of it is the main issue Conscious
efforts are done for utilizing finite sources. To save environment if possible build cycle routes
should instead of motor routes. Proper planning should be done for recycling of waste products.
Sustainable development is important to save current and future generations. Government must
foster policies that foster sustainable development by overcoming the growth fetish (Cetin,
2015). Government tourism authorities must do integrated planning. Government must tackle
environment limits to growth. Local communities must have right to participate in tourism
decision making .Consumers should be educated for responsible travel choices. For example
resorts result in economic benefits. Stress should be given on green hotels, energy efficient and
ground transportation. Detail study on the impact of coastal areas should be done. Sustainable
tourism is the key for reputation and competitiveness of cities. Archaeological and museum sites
should be made more attractive. Social and cultural activities of communities should be
respected. Cultural heritage should be conserved. For good growth politicians and stake holders
should be participated.. The results should be monitored from time to time and proper changes
should be done according to need. It will help both tourists as well as travel industry.
The main aim should be satisfaction of customers and their needs. Then only one will be a
successful businessman iin this industry.
Conclusion
To sustain in the tourism industry certain changes should be made according to time which will
be beneficial to current generation as well as will be helpful for future generations. Government
has to undertake certain policies which help to protect environment and also help customers to

enjoy the nature. It is the need of time that tourist should be safe anywhere in the world and will
be given rights to make their journey more comfortable. It is proper planning should develop the
most important industry for economic as well as social growth of any country.It.will also give
employment to future generations and they will also enjoy the benefits. Now days it is the most
competitive industry.

Reference list
Cetin, M., 2015. Evaluation of the sustainable tourism potential of a protected area for landscape
planning: a case study of the ancient city of Pompeipolis in Kastamonu. International Journal of
Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 22(6), pp.490-495.
cholte, S.S., van Teeffelen, A.J. and Verburg, P.H., 2015. Integrating socio-cultural perspectives
into ecosystem service valuation: a review of concepts and methods. Ecological economics, 114,
pp.67-78.
Galitz, K.C., 2016. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
Graham, B., Ashworth, G. and Tunbridge, J., 2016. A geography of heritage. Routledge.
Heeley, J., 2017. 8 The Dynamics of Tourism Development in Britain: The Profit Motive and that ‘Curious’
Alliance of Private Capital and the Local State. Mass Tourism in a Small World, p.85.
Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge.
Nevitte, N., 2017. The North American Trajectory: Cultural, Economic, and Political Ties
among the United States, Canada and Mexico. Routledge.
Reich, M., 2017. Racial inequality: A political-economic analysis. Princeton University Press.
Rushton, M., 2017. Should public and nonprofit museums have free admission? A defence of the
membership model. Museum Management and Curatorship, 32(3), pp.200-209.
Smith, M.K., 2015. Issues in cultural tourism studies. Routledge.
Stein, E., 2017. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Bringing the Past into the Present and Future.
Thompson, J.M. ed., 2015. Manual of curatorship: a guide to museum practice. Routledge.
Vanhove, N., 2017. The Economics of Tourism Destinations: Theory and Practice. Routledge.
Vanneste, S. and Goeminne, S., 2017. The Effect of Political Characteristics on the Budget
Balance of Local Governments: A Dynamic System GMM Data Approach. In International
Conference on Public Finance and Fiscal Policy.

Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.

Appendix
Slide 1

Slide 2

Slide 3

Slide 4
The destination of UK has always been gorgeous for the tourists. One of the major
reasons is due to its economy which stands as a backbone for the country itself. Steps
taken by the British government for the growth of the tourist destinations in UK have
been amazing so far. Considering this fact it has been acknowledged that the travelling
cost is affecting Britain’s competitiveness as an objective for international tourism. Air
Passenger Duty avoidance has been observed among visitors. Aviation is another feature
that can be measured as an enabler for inbound tourism. Based on the report more
airports need to be implemented for a better communication for the tourists. Besides,
railway network need to be enhanced for more pleasant appearance. Coming to the
most rightful part of the tourism is for the Visa arrangement. Services of Visa for UK
destinations are more simplified as compared to other competitive countries like USA.
On the other hand, the economy of USA is far more complex behind its tourist
destinations. If taken for instance, the Visa service is quite different from that of the
services that is received from UK government. In order to get a Visa for US is far more
difficult method any tourists to apply. Therefore, many tourists are gradually retreating
back to visit the country’s tourists destinations. The tourist destination like Metropolitan
Museum in Newyork city is one such centre of attraction. As compared to this, the
destination of London that is the British Museum is more easy to access for tourists
arriving from foreign locations.

Slide 5

Slide 6

Slide 7

Slide 8

Slide 9

Slide 10