Tourist Destinations: A Comprehensive Analysis of Leading and Developing Tourist Spots

This report delves into the world of tourism, analyzing key tourist destinations and generators globally. It examines visitor numbers, income generation, and trends in the industry. The report explores the cultural, social, and physical features that attract tourists, comparing leading destinations like Paris with developing destinations like Bangkok. It also investigates the impact of factors like political conditions and security on tourism popularity. Finally, the report discusses the potential of responsible tourism to enhance host communities at worldwide tourist destinations.

Tourist Destinations

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Analyze main tourist destinations and generators of the world in terms of visitor numbers and
income generation............................................................................................................................4
1.2 Analyze statistics to determine tourism destination trends and predict future trends...............7
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................10
2.1 Analyze cultural, social and physical features of tourist destinations explaining their appeal
to tourists.......................................................................................................................................10
2.2 compare features of developing and leading tourist destinations............................................13
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................15
3.1 compare the appeal of current leading tourist destinations with that of currently developing
tourist destinations.........................................................................................................................15
3.2 evaluate how characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal.....................................17
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................19
4.1 Analyze issues that affect the popularity of tourist destinations.............................................19
4.2 Discuss the potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide
tourist destinations.........................................................................................................................20
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................22
Reference.......................................................................................................................................23
Appendix........................................................................................................................................25

Introduction
An assignment has been done, where the junior product analyst, who is working for Virgin
Holidays with the strategy team, has been requested a written management report by the line
manager on the scope of key UK and the tourist destination worldwide. The learner will get the
opportunity to exhibit the understanding of UK and other worldwide destinations. The social,
cultural and other physical features and characteristics of the tourist destinations shall be
analyzed, that affects the popularity of the destination. Analysis of the tourist destinations
according to the number of visitors and the income generation have to be done. The product
analyst is also responsible to analyze the statistics which will determine the tourist destination
trends and is also responsible to determine the future trends.

Task 1
1.1 Analyze main tourist destinations and generators of the world in terms of visitor
numbers and income generation.
One of the biggest and fastest growing industries is the Travels and Tourism industry. The tourist
destinations, whose number of visitors and the income generation has been analyzed, are as
follows:
UK- London -With a whole lot of culture and the history dating back to as old as the Victorian
age, Lond0on indeed occupies the first position the list of the leading tourist destinations of the
world. The country is indeed characterized by a number of palaces, gardens dating back to the
Victorian era and representing the beauty of the country in the most extravagant manner
possible. If reports are to be believed then more than 19 million of people from the different
parts of the world visit London every year and the overall tourism industry of the place
contributes to more than 50 % of the total revenue generated (Anfuso et al. 2014).
France (Paris)- France however occupies the second position in the list. People are attracted by
the beauty of the place along with the overall art and culture extravaganza of the place. There is a
common saying that even the streets and the by-lanes of Paris are worth watching. The beauty
of place and the excessive exhibition of art and culture in the place mesmerize the tourists
visiting the place. The Louver museums stand out to be the chief attraction of the place. Paris is

also considered as the “city of love’”. The city attracted an approx of 17 million of tourists
according to the data that have been collected in 2018 (Anfuso et al.,2014).
Romania- The history of Romania also dates back to the historic era and this is one of the major
reasons people prefer visiting Romania. Among the different cities that are attracted by the
tourist, the most significant is Timisoara. The city is located in the western Romania and dates
back to as the 200 BC. The extensive and interesting histories of the place are some of the major
reasons that magnetize the tourists towards themselves. Some of the major places of interest in
the city may include the victory square, freedom square, the Romanian Cathedral. As discussed
by Apollo (2016), often referred to as the Little Vienna this is indeed a place to visit and for this
reason ,more than 15 million tourists visit the place on a regular basis.

Malaysia- - Malaysia particularly Kuala Lumpur occupies the 4th position in the list. The city is
considered as an example of a developing tourist destination that is gradually moving towards
developed tourist destination. The city has emerged to be a leading tourist destination since the
past decades. However, the tourist attractions of these places are quite of discrete types. People
visit here to enjoy modern life and the amenities of all types. The different tourist destinations
include the Petronius tower, Batu caves and the Kuala lumpur tower. The average numbers of
tourists visiting the place are estimated at a whooping 12 million.

Thailand- Thailand particularly Bangkok however occupies the fifth and hence the last position
in the list. The country lists itself among the developing tourist attractions in the world. The city
attracts more than 11 million tourists every year. Most of the tourists visit the place to enjoy the
Thai culture and traditions. Few of the tourists’ attractions of the place include the Grand Palace,
Wat arum, Wat Phra Kaew. People visit Bangkok for enjoying a break from their daily and
hectic work schedules. The presence of excessive number of spa and message centres is also
some of the basic reasons for which the individuals prefer visiting Bangkok.
1.2 Analyze statistics to determine tourism destination trends and predict future trends.
The different types of tourists are as follows:
Leisure tourists: Leisure tourists are those types of tourists, who are travelling for the purpose of
leisure, i.e., they are likely to be on holiday or taking a short break.

Figure 1: Statistics related to the number of business tourists
(Source: Apollo, 2016)
Business tourists: Business tourists are those who are travelling to attend a meeting, conference
or some events that are associated with their business.
Figure 2: Statistics of International visitors travel in France from 2010-2015
(Source: Ben et al., 2016)

The above statistics points out that the current trends of the visitors visiting Bangkok are on the
decreasing graph since 2013.
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourists: VFR tourists are those types of tourists who are
visiting family or relatives and therefore they are unlikely to spend as much on tourism as they
are not using accommodation facilities.
Incoming tourists: Incoming tourists are referred to those types of tourists who visit a country
which is not the country of their residence, but they visit for the purpose of tourism. Suppose, if
the tourist comes from France to UK, then the tourist is outbound from France and incoming to
UK and vice versa if the opposite happens.
Domestic tourists: Domestic tourists are those people who are travelling within their own
country may it be for tourism purpose, business or work related purpose or leisure.

Task 2
2.1 Analyze cultural, social and physical features of tourist destinations explaining their
appeal to tourists
In the statistics of developing economy, a tourist place is determined based on certain features.
These features are physical, cultural, social and economic feature. These features affect the
economy any tourist country. The revenue of a certain country either developing or developed
depends on the tourist attractions. Among the developing countries, Malaysia and Bangkok are
the two well-known tourist destinations. Tourist attraction depends on external factors like
climatic changes, food and beverages, famous tourist spots and population rate. A tourist place
must possess features available both for high and low-income tourists. Cultural heritage
influences the revenue of the developing country; hence, it requires to be preserved. Cultural
factors depend on the mixtures of different people belonging to different regions. In Malaysia,
ethnic groups like Indians and Chinese have lived for many years. This resulted in the
development of mixed culture and point of attraction for tourist. Malaysia today makes up 50%
of the country’s population (Beritelli et al., 2015).
Malaysia consists of exciting tourist destinations, natural wonders, choices of entertainment and
even shopping paradise. Having different cultures makes Malaysia count as one of the country
with diverse culture. Cultural elements include music, traditional heritage, festivals and customs.
In Malaysia, cultural heritage includes 'Tepak Sirih', a traditional pattern of metal craft. This is
use to place betel leaves. ‘Wau’, stated as one of the traditional game in Malaysia. Buddhism is
the religion followed in proportion. Religious factors also influence the tourist destination. The
birth, death and enlightenment of Lord Buddha are celebrated in Wesak Day, which is most
popular in Malaysia. Having ethnic groups serves the purpose of different culture and as a tourist
commodity. Dresses are a part of the cultural heritage. Specific dress code attracts the tourists. In
India, different way of wearing dresses makes it a popular tourist attraction. Wearing a scarf over
their hair and wearing lose clothes covering entire body is a unique pattern of dress code
followed in Malaysia.

‘Kuala Lumpur’, in Malaysia is one of the brand tourist spot. The various sites of attraction in
Kuala Lumpur are as follow:
 Petronas Towers
 Kuala Lumpur Tower
 Kuala Lumpur Bird Park
 Lake Gardens
 Sultan Abdul Samad Building
 Aquaria KLCC
 Sentral Railway
 Butterfly Park
 Makam Pahlawan
Tourist destinations earn revenue by the presence of these tourist attractions. Malaysia, being a
Muslim centric country has also created a negative impact in the social field. It has affected the
tourism zone. Local food and cuisine adds another factor to the attraction of any tourist place.
Government and the marketers have taken special initiative to advertise the different foods and
beverages of a particular country. Fusion cuisine due to mixture of culture forms the advantage
of Malaysia. Indian, Chinese and Malaysian items are prepared here, which attracts tourists and
satisfy the appetite. Local cuisine available attracts travelers round the world (Caruana et al.,
2017).
Thailand is another developing tourist destination. Bangkok is considered as one of the leading
tourist attraction. The different tourist spots include
 Grand Palace
 Khaosan Road
 Wat Arun
 MBK centre
 Wat Phra Kaew
 Wat Saket
 Lumphini Park
 Thonburi

 Golden Budha
Bangkok serves as one of the major industry contributing the economy. Report suggests that in
the year 2017, approximately 17. 4 million tourists are attracted. It is ranks as the 13th country in
the world famous for tourist attractions. River Safari and Night Safari are the two famous
attractions to explore the habitat of Bangkok. Sentosa attracts 19 million visitors as suggested by
a report.
Features Malaysia Bangkok
Cultural Feature Culturally speaking, Malaysia
has a high positive and a small
negative fact affecting tourism.
Being a preservative of ethnic
group, Malaysia comprises of
different cultures. Dress pattern,
foods and cuisine are the most
attractive part in tourism.
Bangkok, culturally introduction
of art exhibition has help in
tourism. Urban ethnic heritage is
also practiced in Bangkok
(Castaneda et al.,2015)
Social Features Malaysia has helped to grow the
society with the revenue income.
Bangkok besides having
harmonious blend of culture, it
also has a growth in tourism and
air accommodation. Various
campaigns are launch to attract
tourist worldwide. Country's
strategic location, infrastructure
creation and various events and
entertainments increases in rate
in economic and social factor.
Economic Features Economically, the growth of
tourism in Malaysia has a decline
rate. This downfall is due to it
being a Muslim centric tourist
spot.
Economically, this country is the
highest in the ASEAN in terms
of highest paid. Openings of
integrated Resorts and the
invention of Formula One
SingTel Bangkok Grand Prix
since 2008 has led to the

attraction for tourists (Chen et
al., 2014).
2.2 compare features of developing and leading tourist destinations
The features of the different developed and developing nations can be compared on the basis of
the following criteria and these are
Features Paris (developing) Bangkok
Cultural Feature The cultural features of Paris are
quite well defined. Infact Paris is
known for its cultural features –
the whole lot of monuments,
sculptures and the art galleries
stand as examples of extensive
art and culture that are present in
these places.
The cultural features of these
places are quite of the diverse
nature. Bangkok never enlists
itself among the countries that
enlist itself among the countries
that are rich in culture. The
culture of Bangkok is quite of
diverse types and is characterized
by the pubs, casinos, and dance
life. Precisely the nightlife of
Bangkok relies much on an
extensive nightlife and the ways;
the residents of the place can use
it extensively.
Social Features The social features of the
country are quite of friendly type.
The people of Paris are extremely
friendly towards the different
visitors travelling the place. The
social conditions of the country
are also quite stable and
peaceful. However, the series of
the different terrorist activities
have recently threatened the
political stability and the peace
Since Bangkok is a developing
tourist destination, so the country
needs to emphasize more on the
social conditions. Though the
people of Bangkok are extremely
friendly towards the tourists and
there are ample numbers of
language interpreters who are
present in the places, but the
cases of robbery, theft and
frauds are quite prevalent in

and serenity of the place. Bangkok (Chon, 2015).
Economic Features The economic or rather the
financial conditions of the
country are quite stable. Almost
all the types of branded products
are easily available in Paris and
that too at affordable rates.
The economic conditions of
Bangkok on the other hand are
also extremely stable and follow
an increasing graph with the
passage of time.

Task 3
3.1 compare the appeal of current leading tourist destinations with that of currently
developing tourist destinations
There are of course some significant differences that exist among the leading tourist destinations
with that of the currently developing tourist destinations. The impacts of these are indeed huge
and they impact the tourist destinations in their own way. The two the destinations that have
been considered for carrying out the comparison in this particular section are Bangkok and Paris.
The appeal of both of the tourist destinations is discrete from each other and they vary from each
other to a great extent. Paris, the capital city of France is the most visited city of the country. As
discussed in the above sections, the city is indeed beautiful and attracts tourists from all over the
world. The presence of excess number of monuments and the museums are some of the major
attractions of the city. Paris entertains an approx of 15 million tourists per year and as stated by
Chon (2015), these statistics are on an ever increasing note. The leading tourist destinations like
Paris are equipped with a number of amenities and facilities pertaining to modern life. Along
with history and culture, these places also provide a glimpse of history- in a nutshell, they
provide a package - a combination of both history as well as modern life. This turns out to be a
main point of attraction for the tourists.

However, in cases of the developing tourist destinations quite adverse situations have been
identified. History of these places is not something that attracts tourists from the different parts
of the place. As discussed by Csapo (2015) these type of tourist attractions attract tourists with
the excessive modern facilities that are provided by them. Developing tourist destinations like
Bangkok attract tourists from the different parts of the world and the main reason of attraction
turns out to be the presence of excessive casinos, entertainment parks and other amenities that
are related to modern life. These are the main attractions of this place that attracts the tourists
from the different parts of the world.
Thus it can be clearly stated that the current leading and the current developing tourist
destinations indeed s how a difference among each other. While the developed tourist
destinations attract the individuals owing to the excessive amenities pertaining to modern life,
history and culture are some of the basic reasons that attract the tourist in case of the developing
nations. Differences are also witnessed in the type of tourists visiting the places. While
developed destinations like Paris mostly, attract the different leisure tourist- the individuals who
are seeking a relief from their daily or rather life (da Silva and barbosa, 2017). The tourists
visiting Bangkok are often combinations of leisure as well as the business tourists. However, in
both the places, it is extremely important to ensure political stability as well as other factors

pertaining to safety and security of the women and the children are greatly observed in these
places. This will help the developing destinations to grow and the developed tourist destinations
to retain their position.
3.2 evaluate how characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal
The characteristics of the tourist destinations are some of the major reasons that attract the
tourists towards themselves. In most cases, the different tourist visits the destinations for
enjoying a proper holiday weekend with their family and friends. The factors that affect the
appeal can be broadly classified as cultural, economic and socio-physical factors
Factors Influence on the appeal of the tourist destination
Cultural factor The cultural factors as the name suggest identifies the sole of the city- the way the
city thinks and interprets itself in the wider scale. The cultural factor identifies the
different monuments and the sculptures as well as the art and culture that are present
in the particular place. When discussions are being conducted about the cultural
factors, it is inevitable to discuss Paris. Paris is considered as the most culturally
rich country of the contemporary times. The streets, by-lanes and the other
monuments and art and architecture that are present throughout the city clearly
reflect the implications of culture in almost each and every segment possible. In

fact, the culture is the main factor that attracts tourists towards Paris.
Economic factors The economic factors identify the current financial conditions of the place. It is an
obvious fact that the places, which are economically stable, will attract more
number of tourists towards themselves. These places are mostly characterized with
the modern amenities of all types and hence people prefer visiting these places. The
example of Paris can be considered in this regard. The economic stability of the
country has indeed attracted whole lot of tourists towards themselves. However,
adverse situations are identified in the cases of Vietnam (d'Hauteserre, 2016).
Socio- physical
factors
The socio physical factors are combinations of the different social and the physical
features that are present in the tourist destinations. The factor identifies the approach
of the citizens of the particular place towards tourists and tourist destinations. It is
an obvious fact that any country where the tourists greeted and welcomed by the
residents of the place warmly are often attracted by the tourists to a great extent.
These conditions are quite prevalent in case of Paris. The people of Paris are
extremely friendly and co coordinating towards the tourists. Moreover, there are
also a number of language interpreters who are available in Paris at economic rates
thus solving the problems pertaining to language barrier largely.

Task 4
4.1 Analyze issues that affect the popularity of tourist destinations
The issues or the factors that affects the popularity of the tourist destinations are as follows:
More independent travelers: In today’s world, the independent travelling has become very
common as all the people surf the internet and search for cheaper holidays by organizing food
and accommodation separately. The number of independent travelers is more as recently this
scheme becomes easier for people to book their own accommodation, flights and everything in a
much quicker and cheaper way than before. They are also able to book a package holiday in
total. So, if there are more independent travelers, it will have a huge impact in the popularity of
the tourist destinations.
Greater flexibility of booking: If the procedure of the booking can be made much more flexible,
then it will have a huge effect in increasing the popularity of the tourist attraction. If the booking
can be done over the internet or teletext or through call centers, then it would be possible for the
customers to do it within a time of 24 hours that too just sitting behind and relaxing from their
home. The process will be easier and even quicker for most of the people and would be a lot
cheaper than to book in any travel agency. This will highly affect the travel and tourism industry,
as by implementing this method, all the people will book through internet and shall not visit any
travel agents and thus as a result the travel agencies will be losing money and in near future,
most probably there will not be any travel agents around (Dickinson et al., 2016).
Political conditions: Tourism industry has to deal to a more confusing and complicated political
reality and will continue to deal with that reality on the international front. Though the
government claims that they support tourism, the restrictions of the visa have become more
complicated and this factor will also have a huge impact on the tourism industry.
Security: Security is by far one of the most significant factors that impact the overall popularity
of the tourist destinations to a great extent. As discussed by EdgellSr (2016), the terrorist
activities and the instances of bombing, extortions, abductions and other turmoil have increased
to a great extent. The women and the children are also not free from the claws of the terrorism

and the terrorist activities. Naturally, it has turned out to be a point of concern for all the tourists
of that particular place. The examples of Paris can be considered in this regard. The November
2015 attacks of Paris killed more than thousands of residents and tourist and effecting the overall
tourism industry in an adverse manner. Hence, it is advisable that the government along with all
the security personnel should adopt all the steps that may result in result in reducing the overall
terrorism of the places.
4.2 Discuss the potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at
worldwide tourist destinations
Responsible tourism means the tourism which describes all the different kinds of tourism, for
example: green tourism, fare trade tourism, etc. Responsible tourism describes sustainable
tourism, eco tourism and alternative tourism. Responsible tourism recognizes the impacts of the
tourism on any destination. Responsible tourism maximises the positive impacts and on the other
hand minimizes the negative impact of tourism. Responsible tourism has many different forms
which includes the developers, the tour operators and the environmental groups of the tourists.
Responsible tourism has different priorities. The potential for the responsible tourism to enhance
the community of the host at the worldwide tourist destinations are mentioned as follows:
A fair trade holiday is the type where all the local people rather the community benefits from the
tourism so that the local people will gain employment. The local restaurants and the bars gain
their income and custom and the money that is spent, remains in the local economy (Fodness,
2017).
Ecotourism has been defined by the international ecotourism society as a responsible travel to all
the natural areas, that conserves the environment and the conserving of the environment
improves the well being of the local people. So, here in this ecotourism, the concept of the
responsibility will occur.
Sustainable tourism is another important potential which is responsible for enhancing the world
tourist destinations. Sustainable tourism deals with developing and managing the tourism in such
a way that the environment will be benefitted by the positive economy and social culture. Instead
of abusing the precious natural and cultural resources, the number of visitors and the host
community is maximised.

Green tourism is another important factor for the responsible tourism. Generally, the green
tourism means the rural tourism. To assure and reassure that the customers have healthy and
good environmental policies, these green tourism schemes have been implemented.
Mass tourism has been the most irresponsible form among all the types of tourism. But all the
above mentioned factors rather the potential encompasses mass tourism. Any organization must
follow this responsible tourism rules. An organization follows or rather adopts the responsible
tourism policies in order to assure and reassure the customers and to gain favourable publicity
(Zhang et al., 2015).

Conclusion
The above project has proved to be effective enough in analyzing the different tourist
destinations of the current times. The tourist destinations have been classified as developing and
developed tourist destinations and a total of 5 destinations from these two sectors have been
chosen for the purpose. From the developed tourist destination places like UK, France and
Romania have been chosen and selected. The differences and the similarities that exist among
these have been identified and discussed in the section. It has been estimated that all of the
tourist destinations have some common factors in the sectors of culture, physical features that
helps the tourist destination to stand where it is. The factors have been identified and discussed
in the above sections. The importances of the different factors that may contribute towards the
development of a sustainable tourism have also been discussed in the above sections.

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Appendix