Factors Affecting Tourism Appeal

The assignment explores the key factors influencing tourist attractions, including economic, social, cultural, and physical features. It highlights the importance of sustainability in natural places and other tourist locations to prevent misuse. The document references various sources on tourism research and policy implications for health systems.

Travel and tourism
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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 3
Task 1.............................................................................................................................. 3
Task 2.............................................................................................................................. 5
Task 3.............................................................................................................................. 7
Task 4.............................................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 10
References.....................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Thailand is one of the leading travel destinations just like the UK around the
world. Thailand is also considered to be a land of smiles. There is enormous support
from government to provide an excellent tourism experience including reasonable
transportation, accommodation, and communication and also with modern technologies.
There has been a dramatic change in the tourism industry in Thailand which has lead to
wide growth in the international tourist travels. The UK has been considered to be one
of the influential countries for the purpose of tourism. UK comes at 7th place amongst
the biggest attraction for tourist.
When it comes to UK and Thailand the first city which is most preferable for
tourist in both the countries are London and Bangkok. This assignment aims to
investigate the aspects of tourist such as features, characteristics, visitor profile, culture,
physical and economic characteristics and issues related to sustainability in the London
and Bangkok which is the most visited and attracted place for tourist.
Task 1
A.
Bangkok is considered to be one of the popular tourist destinations in South Asia.
People usually have lifetime travel experience in Bangkok. Bangkok is famous for
fantastic food and shopping market looking like a maze. Tourist in Bangkok usually
stays for more than 106 million nights and spent around $16.2 billion in 2017. Tourism
has been a fastest growing industry in UK and among all cities, London hit the records
of visitor around 31.5 million internationally which was found to be increased to 20% in
five years ago. There are many impressive monuments, vibrant culture with a
performance theatrically. Approximately 26 million visitors visit London in every year.
The tourism from London generates revenue which comprises 10% of the gross value
added income. Tourists in London spend approximately £15 million per year. The
average spending is £563 per person who is staying for at least 7 days (Smith, 2015).
The visitors have been found to be more inbound than outbound in the last five years.
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The best places in London to visit our Tower of London, ZSL London, Colchester
Zoo and houses of Parliament. The number of visitors in these places in the year 2016
and 2016 are here presented below:-
Figure 1: Number of visitors
Source: (Independent, 2017)
The most visited and attraction places in Bangkok are WatTraimit, Dusit Palace,
Lumphini Park, Chatuchak weekend market, khao san road, central world and Watarun.
The total number of visitors has been projected to be more than 15.90 million in the year
2017. The revenue generated from tourism in Thailand was 12.53 billion baht and
Bangkok comprises of more than 5 billion (Independent, 2017).
B.
In future Bangkok is expected to have more than 30 million international travels
which can even beat London as London is expected to have 28 million visitors. In the
year 2016 and 2017 London topped in getting high visitors from that of Bangkok.
Bangkok is one of most metropolitan cities in Asia having magnificent temples and
palaces, vivacious night, wide-ranging canals and brilliant platform for shopping. In
future Bangkok is also expected to be a most visited city in the whole world.
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Furthermore, in the year 2016, there were more than 20 million tourists who stayed in
Bangkok. Although the amount of spending has been increased in hotels, restaurants,
shopping in London as compared to last year’s there is less chance of increment in the
number of visitors in London. London is also expected to welcome more than 35.6
million visitors in the year 2020 (Ghimire, 2013). Not only the outside travellers, the UK
residents were also found to be extremely interested in visiting the UK. Among all the
places in London, Victoria and Albert museum tempt a large number of tourists from all
around the world. Bangkok and London tourism sector are working hard to raise the
profile of their city and attract the whole world by making their cities as an exciting
destination to visit.
Task 2
A.
Currently, London is one of the most appealing places as compared to any other
destination. London has topmost museum and galleries consisting of total 857. People
in London speak over 300 languages which are more than in any city around the world.
More than 16000 music performances held which is including of o2 arena. People in
London give much importance to culture (Fourie and Santana-Gallego, 2011). The city
has more than 200 festivals which also include large festival such as Mayor Thames
and Europe biggest festival takes place every year. With the arrival of Brexit, the
economy of the London has become more stable and less fluctuated which is also one
of the main cause that people are becoming attracted towards this destination. The
value of a dollar has been fallen down which has appreciated the value of currency
tourist. This has allowed increasing their spending on the basic needs such as food and
shelter when they come to visit.
Physical features of London include valleys, mountains, beaches, hills and
plains. There is very cool climate in London and have a ridge borders which is forming
series of hills such as crouch and Highgate hills. The river Thames is the largest river in
across London basin (Coren and Gray, 2012). There are also the several Thames such
as Stamford Brooks, Tyburn brooks and Counter creek. There are also many canals in
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London. There are peace and a better understanding of the culture of not only of the
people in London but also the people who come to visit.
The culture of Bangkok is largely influenced by the world of Western. Bangkok is
the centre of Thailand which is prosperity and urbanization. Bangkok has its own
Buddhist and traditional values. The culture of Bangkok includes street corner, food
arts, and a Buddhist temple (Berger, 2014). There are also annual festivals in Bangkok
such as Songkran and Lol Krathong which is the escort of golden mount fair. Buddhism
is playing a very important role consisting of art, sculpture, and paintings. The New Year
is celebrated every year in Bangkok. Festivals, fair and kite fights generally take place in
the park of the cities.
Bangkok is situated at Chao Praya River which is extending to the vacuum of
Thailand. Bangkok has many beaches, lakes, hills, mountains, rivers, plateaus, plains
parks and peninsulas. The city is very crowded having factories, shops, and temples.
The city is considered to be one of the happiest cities. Bangkok is centre of the land, air
transport system and water. There is modern irrigation canals and waterway
transportation network from the early 20th century (Berger, 2014). The tourism industry
is providing employment to people within and outside the country. The people are
mostly ethnic Thais. In Thailand, there are a large number of the Chinese and sizeable
community of other people from Asians, Europeans and North Americans.
B.
UK is a developed country but foreigners still considered Thailand as developing.
It has been found that the development plays a big role in attracting tourist from all over
the nation. Apparently, a Tourist destination of UK is far different from that of Thailand.
The government and stakeholders of London are spending more than that of the
government of Bangkok to maintain and enhance the number of tourist in the country.
The people of London are more friendly which is opposite in the Bangkok where there
are more reserved people and also not much help. There are more promotional
activities whether online and offline for creating awareness on the heritage and culture
elements of the tourist in London while Bangkok has not invested enough amount of
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time in promotional activities (Zouganeli, et. al., 2011). Web sites such as
visitbritain.com are a great support in branding London using online media.
Bangkok is also applying various measures but found less active on online
websites. There are varieties of people living in Bangkok such as Indians, Malays,
Europeans, Cambodians and Vietnamese and whereas there are more British and
Indian people in London. Among all group in Bangkok, the Chinese people are against
of the foreign visitors and more reserved in nature. London is more of hills, rock, plain
and valley while Bangkok has more beach, lakes, and river. The area of London is
cooler and is also unsuitable for the purpose of farming. The climate of Bangkok is hot
all the year but slightly cold in the month of December. The festivals in London are
world leading and also very much interesting while Bangkok has not a number of
festivals. There are many workshops, libraries and music hall in London which is very
less in Bangkok (Zhang, et. al., 2014). London has much developed in various aspects
such as transport, accommodation and other facilities which are also developed in
Bangkok and in future Bangkok will give the equal fight to the London in
accommodating a large number of visitors.
Task 3
A.
Economy and political characteristics matter a lot in determining the quantum of
the attraction of that place for tourist. The tourist will only get attracted when there will
be favourable political and economic environment in the country. If there is high
inflation, interest rates, tax rates in any economy then it will become costlier for tourist to
stay. If the political environment will also not be favourable such as stringent visa
policies then it will detract the tourist. The risk of terrorism is also one of the major
causes of discouragement for travelling.
Bangkok is believed to be the main commercial centre of Thailand. Bangkok also
contributes the one-third of the income of Thailand via importing and exporting of goods.
Agriculture was previously considered to be the main source of income but now
manufacturing is one of the major sources of income (Smith, 2015). The living
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conditions in Bangkok are not adequate and up to a level. There is a rapid increase in
the number of population which is not equal to the availability of the houses. There is no
backyard on the houses available (Richards, 2011). Lands are urbanized by either
houses, rivers, shops and buildings. There is more use of Thai boats to get anywhere
instead of roads. The real decision power in Thailand is rest with the prime minister and
there is more stability in the execution of power. Bangkok is run by an elected governor
appointed by central government. Bangkok has eased in visa policies and it allows
many countries to enter without having a visa and it is especially for the people who are
coming to Bangkok for travelling purposes. There is also the risk of terrorism in Bangkok
which can de-motivate people to visit Bangkok.
The economy of UK is growing the economy but is facing some uncertainties due
to the decision of Brexit. There is instability in the government which can lead to
unfavourable changes such as an increase in interest rates and a decrease in the
investment in tourism. The decision of Brexit has resulted in fall in the value of Pound
which has been found profitable for the tourist as they will be required to spend fewer
pounds while visiting London (Pocock and Phua, 2011). There is unemployment in the
UK which can create a negative impact on the tourist. The government has very strict
policies for a visa which creates difficulty for people to arrange their arrival. There is a
high risk of terrorism in the UK for last two years which is creating a big risk for the
foreigners to visit but there are very strict facilities for the safety and security for the
local and foreign people.
B.
Cultural, social, physical, economic and political have their own importance in
appealing for the tourists. Some people prefer travelling to experience the culture such
as festivals, shopping, dance, and museum. So for these people, culture characteristics
play a big role in deciding their places (Newsome, et. al., 2012). It has less number of
festivals or any other cultural activities then there will be less of these travellers. If there
is unfavourable economy such as high inflation, adverse exchange rates, the high cost
of accommodation, transportation, healthcare and education then tourist will avoid such
places. Political instability, riots, civil wars and terrorism attack have a great threat and
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will lower the level of tourism in the UK. Over commercialization of resorts,
accommodation and other facilities may create a negative impact on the tourism
industry of UK. The high rate of crimes, fraud, pickpockets, and murders can lose the
appealing of the tourist places. Lack of rivers, beaches, hills, valleys and other natural
characteristics can also make the destination less appealing to the tourist. Publicity and
sales promotion can also have an impact on the tourist places. If any country has
Olympic coverage then that place is considered to be positive in appealing to the tourist.
Crime rates are very less in London and are right now considered to be the
safest place in terms of crime (Mowforth and Munt, 2015). But there are some
pickpockets in London which are creating a bad image. These include Oxford Street,
Bournemouth and Brighton resort etc. There is also a high level of involvement of the
local and government authorities with the aim of providing better services such as
information, current locations, and maps etc. There are political instability and the threat
of terrorist attack in the UK which can have a negative impact on the growth of the
tourism industry.
Task 4
A.
One of the main issues is the condition of Weather which is one of the major
determinants of a number of tourists to visit and prefer any destination. Tourist prefers
places where is snow falling or cold and further cold places are also preferred by
couples (Maitland and Newman, 2014). The climate disaster spoils the business of
tourism and is also become less appealing for the tourist. For instance, Tsunami which
took place in South East affected many other countries and also created a negative
impact on the mind of tourist or visitors. The climate in Bangkok is both hot and cold
where the tourist has to look for particular to decide for visiting. Bangkok is basically
preferred for a particular period such as at the time of December which decreases the
capability of the tourism industry to earn in other months.
Another issue is the fluctuation in the foreign currency which is very significant in
taking decision for the destination to visit. Many conditions are taken into account before
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buying any product and export is always helpful in the development of the economy.
Just like exports tourism is same as providing of goods and services to the other
countries. Tourist coming to our place to visit is as same as people buying our products
from outside countries (Ishii, 2012). UK government will always prefer to have its local
people to visit their country not outside as it will lead to a depreciation of UK currency.
Cost of tourist can be increased or decrease depending on the fluctuation taking place
in the currency. Tourist will definitely come to visit UK when pound will be weak against
other countries as they will not require paying high for getting the same amount of
pound. There is less fluctuation in the currency of Bangkok and also found to be
reasonable to be visited by many countries including developing countries like India.
This enhances the chances of earning from tourism as people prefer places where they
can get more entertainment with less spending.
The third issue is the economy of any nation. The economy is always required to
be stable and favourable for deciding the inflow of tourists. If the economy of any
country is stronger than the infrastructure of that country will also be better and will
attract the tourist in large amount (Ghimire, 2013). The London has a strong economy
with renowned infrastructure and also considered as best destination to visit. A lot of
investment can also be made by the developed economy in promotional campaigns
which can attract a large amount of tourist from all around the world. The threat of
terrorism is also one of the major risks of declination in tourism. A country with high risk
of terrorist is considered as unsafe and unsecured by tourists. The economy of Thailand
is moderate but Bangkok is still a well-developed city of Thailand which is attracting a
large number of tourists in last five years. There is less risk of tourism in Thailand as
there in London.
B.
Responsible tourism is nothing but an act of becoming more responsible in terms
of preserving the natural places, the peace, and dignity of the nation. It is the act of local
people to behave responsibly for the benefit of both local and foreign people. Local
people with this concept are more friendly and helpful and also coordinate equally with
the tourism industry (Coren and Gray, 2012). Responsible tourism requires the local
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people to know about the culture of other nation and should not do anything to offend
the morality of foreign people which is also same applies on the tourist visiting any other
nation or country. Tourism should be more eco-friendly and should take care of the
environment and weather of the tourist places. With the increase in tourism, there is a
large impact on the local population and also affecting the local community and
environment. There is also increase in the cost of those communities which are living in
the tourist places which also need to be taken care of. Crimes also found to be high in
the tourist places. Hence tourism industry needs to be more concern and responsibility
to maintain peace and resolve these issues effectively.
Hence, the government and tourism industry of London needs to be more
conscious regarding the natural beauty and resources. They should also work on other
aspects such as restricting the time for visiting the tourist places to save the resources.
They must enhance the social lives of citizens belonging to the host country and must
provide them with effective benefits (Fourie and Santana-Gallego, 2011). A proper
maintenance should be done to the natural places.
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that tourism industry is one the biggest industry
which is generating large revenue for any economy. The number of tourists is
increasing in both London and Bangkok. The main factors which affect the appealing of
tourism are the economic, social, cultural and physical features. The sustainability of the
natural places and other places for the visit must be prevented from the misuse by
giving equal maintenance and management.
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