Impact of COVID-19 on UK Tourism: Heritage Sites and Digitization

This report covers the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the UK tourism industry, with a focus on heritage sites such as Stonehenge and Skara Brae Prehistoric Village. It discusses the economic significance of the tourism industry in the UK, the drastic impact of COVID-19 on inbound and outbound tourism, and the negative impact on heritage tourism. The report also highlights the positive change introduced by COVID-19, which is digitization of important heritage events at heritage sites.

Impact of COVID-
19 on UK tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
The tourism industry is defined as the industry which facilitates travelling to location
either domestically or international for leisure or professional reasons (Seraphin, Gowreesunkar
and Platania, 2019). The tourism industry offers consumers products and infrastructure which
makes their travel experience highly satisfactory. The tourism industry is facing drastic impacts
of COVID-19. This report covers the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the UK tourism
industry. Key heritage sites of UK which are affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic are
also included in this essay.
MAIN BODY
The global tourism industry makes up 10% of the global GDP which is three times more
than the agriculture industry (Re-imagining the $9 trillion tourism economy—what will it take?,
2020). This showcases the economic importance of the tourism industry. In case of the United
Kingdom, tourism has similar economic significance as the tourism industry contributed to
£127.5 billion to the UK economy. This equalled to 6.7% of the total gross value added to the
UK economy in that year. In addition to this data from Office for National Statistics for 2018
states that the tourism industry employed a total of 3.9 million people in the tourism industry
(Size of the UK tourism industry, 2022).
The year 2019 was similarly advantageous for the UK tourism industry. The expenditure
of visitors from inbound tourism reached to record level of 28.4 billion. This number was
increase by 7% on the previous year inbound expenditure. Visits to UK also increased in the year
2019 by 1% with 40.9 million inbound visitors seeking tourism activities in the country
(Britain's visitor economy facts, 2022). It is evident from the statistical data that the tourism
industry is thriving sector and is key to the growth of UK economy. The arrival of COVID-19 in
early 2020 hugely impacted the tourism industry as lineage of COVID-19 virus reached UK
because of international tourists (Baum and Hai, 2020).
The first case of COVID-19 pandemic in UK was reported on January 29, 2020 after two
Chinese nationals staying at a Hotel in York showcased symptoms of the disease (COVID-19
Timeline, 2021). The rise of COVID-19 leading to the first wave in March and October along
with arrival of new variant in UK lead to significant travel restrictions in the country. This
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negatively impacted inbound and outbound tourism in the country and affected travel to heritage
sites.
The economic impact of COVID-19 on UK tourism can be understood easily because the
difference in total number of visitors in UK is alarming. Visitors number in United Kingdom
were reduced to 11.1 million in 2020 from 40.9 million in the year 2019 which equalled to dip of
73%. The year 2021 similarly showcased low tourism statistics for United Kingdom's inbound
tourism sector. The end of the year only reached up-to 7.4 million visitors which showcases a
reduction to 82% in comparison to 2019. Comparing this data to other European tourism hubs,
UK has suffered worst impact of pandemic. Greece was able to recover to pre-pandemic levels of
tourism with 86% of arrival of July ad August 2019 (How the UK became the sick man of
European tourism, 2021).
The heritage sites and heritage tourism also suffered because of COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the UK was one of the worst affected European countries by the pandemic, international
travellers and tourists did not showcase enthusiasm travelling to the United Kingdom after the
end of second wave. Heritage tourism is defined as the concept of travelling and engaging in
tourism activities to understand and look at traditions, artefacts, activities and places which
provide an authentic view of past (Kumar, Sureka and Vashishtha, 2020). Heritage tourism is a
popular subset of tourism in UK as there are many heritage sites in the country.
The Stonehenge is one of the most poplar Heritage sites in the United Kingdom because
of its ancient History (Mason, 2020). Tourism and travel to this important heritage site was also
affected because of the pandemic. The summer solstice celebrations at the Stonehenge in 2021
were negatively affected because of the pandemic. Usually a crowd of thousands comes to the
ancient site during summer solstice to celebrate ancient traditions. This crowd not only included
international travellers but also Pagans and Druids who perform rituals according to their beliefs
at the Stonehenge to mark the Summer solstice on June 21 (Anderton, 2018).
The summer solstice is celebrate at June 21, and the Stonehenge celebrations were
dampened as the UK government enforced ban on gathering of large crowds. Instead the event
was live streamed digitally by English Heritage which was viewed by 3.6 million viewers as
dawn broke at 4:52 am (Coronavirus dampens Stonehenge solstice celebrations, 2020). The
pandemic has accelerated the usage of digital technology in heritage tourism as travellers all over
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the globe are looking to experience important heritage tourism moments which have traditional
significance through digital mediums.
The Winter solstice celebrations at the Stonehenge on December 21 2021 were similarly
live streamed rather than accommodating a large celebration. The introduction of digital tourism
provides the advantage of acting as a source of income as live streaming important heritage
events by governing bodies of heritage sites attracts large audience. Selling digital advertisement
and opening promotional opportunities during digital streaming of such events can help gain
extra income to support maintenance of heritage sites and significant heritage events during time
of crises such as the pandemic (Ketter and Avraham, 2021).
The income which can be earned from digitization of such events is limited which
showcases the negative impact of the pandemic. The governing bodies and associated business of
the tourism and hospitality industry who earn income from physical tourism activities at heritage
sites such as The Stonehenge are negatively affected. In addition to this the pandemic also has a
negative social impact in case of The Stonehenge because the communities which celebrate
important events at The Stonehenge such as pagans and druids are not able to complete full
celebrations.
Skara Brae Prehistoric Village is another heritage site in UK which has seen significant
changes due to COVID-19. Skara Brae Prehistoric Village is an ancient heritage site in United
Kingdom built during the Neolithic age and most of the structures in the village have been
effectively preserved to this day. The village is a key heritage site in UK as it presents an
authentic view of life during the Neolithic period and has high areological significance (Harris,
2021). This heritage site was closed of to visitors during the national glockenspiel but has opened
recently as cases of COVID-19 virus are reduced with less severity.
Historic environment Scotland which supervises maintenance of Skara Brae Prehistoric
Village has taken various precautions to offer travellers safe tourism environment on the site.
The changes are the result of COVID-19 pandemic as it has affected basic tourism operations a
the Neolithic sites. Historic environment Scotland has implemented special arrangements to
comply with Scottish government guidelines. The main change at Skara Brae Prehistoric Village
is providing staff working at the site training and PPE kits to implement hygienic and social
distancing measures (Access, 2022). This change is in line with containing further spread of
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COVID-19 and limits the number of visitors who can be accommodated in a single tour of the
village.
The social distancing measures limits the income gained by the prehistoric organization
as the number of visitors which can participate in tours is decreased. The restriction of mass
gatherings is a significant change bought by the pandemic which is a primary reason for tourism
losses in UK (Khalid, Okafor and Burzynska, 2021). In addition to this extra expenditure in
terms of purchasing PPE kits and providing workers hygiene and social distancing training is
introduced because of the pandemic. This negativity affects the annual profit gained from
tourism to Skara Brae Prehistoric Village. Another significant change which impacts tourism at
Skara Brae Prehistoric Village is the policy of mandatory face covering to indoor and enclosed
spaces.
The mandatory face covering rule can alienate some international travellers from visiting
the Skara Brae Prehistoric Village as they might be uncomfortable in masking. This is another
negative impact of pandemic on tourism to heritage sites in UK as the rules related to social
distancing and masking reduces interest of potential tourists. Cafeterias in the location are closed
as precaution for COVID-19 which further limits tourism income for the heritage site. This
action will lead to reduced tourist interest in the area as they will not be able to access food joints
during their journey to the heritage site to enjoy local delicacies.
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CONCLUSION
From the above essay it is determined that the tourism industry in United Kingdom is
facing many difficulties because the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel restrictions imposed by the
UK government lead to serious loss in the tourism sector of the country during 2020 an 2021.
Tourism to heritage sites such as Stonehenge and Skara Brae Prehistoric Village had also been
vegetatively affected leading to negative social and economic impact. Digitization of important
heritage events at heritage sites is a positive change introduced by COVID-19 as it can create
more income for heritage sites.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anderton, C., 2018. Music Festivals in the UK: Beyond the Carnivalesque. Routledge.
Baum, T. and Hai, N. T. T., 2020. Hospitality, tourism, human rights and the impact of COVID-
19. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Harris, O. J., 2021. Assembling past worlds: materials, bodies and architecture in Neolithic
Britain. Routledge.
Ketter, E. and Avraham, E., 2021. # StayHome today so we can# TravelTomorrow: tourism
destinations’ digital marketing strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of
Travel & Tourism Marketing, 38(8). pp.819-832.
Khalid, U., Okafor, L. E. and Burzynska, K., 2021. Does the size of the tourism sector influence
the economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic?. Current Issues in
Tourism, 24(19). pp.2801-2820.
Kumar, S., Sureka, R. and Vashishtha, A., 2020. The Journal of Heritage Tourism: a bibliometric
overview since its inception. Journal of heritage tourism, 15(4). pp.365-380.
Mason, P., 2020. Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge.
Seraphin, H., Gowreesunkar, V. G. and Platania, M., 2019. Examining the relationship between
residents’ level of happiness and supportiveness to tourism events: Winchester (UK) as
a case study. Journal of Tourismology, 5(2). pp.93-112.
Online
Access, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/skara-brae/access/>
Britain's visitor economy facts, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts#:~:text=In%202019%20inbound
%20tourism%20was,and%20reporting%20for%202019%2D20.>
Coronavirus dampens Stonehenge solstice celebrations, 2020. [Online] Available through
<https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/coronavirus-dampens-
stonehenge-solstice-celebrations/article31882461.ece>
COVID-19 Timeline, 2021. [Online] Available through <https://bfpg.co.uk/2020/04/covid-19-
timeline/>
How the UK became the sick man of European tourism, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/uk-tourism-decline-restrictions-cmd/index.html>
Re-imagining the $9 trillion tourism economy—what will it take?, 2020. [Online] Available
through <https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-
insights/reimagining-the-9-trillion-tourism-economy-what-will-it-take>
Size of the UK tourism industry, 2022. [Online] Available through
<https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/promoting-tourism-in-the-uk/> (2018)
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