Evaluating the Role of Tourism & Hospitality in the UK Economy

This essay examines the significant contributions of the tourism and hospitality sector to the UK economy. It highlights how tourism accounts for a substantial portion of the UK's GDP and creates numerous employment opportunities across various business sectors, including agriculture, transport, and retail. The study emphasizes the sector's role in generating income, improving the balance of payments, and fostering infrastructure development. While acknowledging past challenges, including the impact of global recessions and competition, the essay concludes that the hospitality sector remains integral to the UK economy, supporting employment, promoting tourism, and facilitating infrastructure development, thereby playing a crucial role in the country's economic recovery and growth. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers for their academic needs.

How Tourism or
Hospitality sector
contributes to the UK
Economy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAINBODY....................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
The hospitality sector is growing unexpectedly, and this is a kind of sector which is
contributing to the UK economy . The hospitality enterprise is an important industry in most
nations of the world. This industry consists of accommodations, restaurants, and catering
services. The UK economy is a fast-developing hospitality industry. Within the beyond few
years, the hospitality enterprise has shown splendid vigorous in an effective expansion technique.
The hospitality sector is built on a local, national and international level. The international
hospitality industry consists of many competing corporations on the local and regional tiers. The
hospitality industry makes a completely positive contribution to the UK economy.
Notwithstanding this, the hospitality industry remains very important to the UK's monetary
boom. Therefore this essay highlight and discus the contribution of the hospitality industry to the
UK economy.
MAINBODY
In the last few decades tourism has been teremed out to be one of the flaourhsing and
booming industry within UK for the past years. Moreover, as recent studies have shown that the
tourism sector contributes 9% to the total GDP of the UK economy and this sector has created
many job and employment opportunity not within the UK but also in other service too. Tourism
works hand in hand with a wide range of business sectors in the UK, including agriculture,
transport, retail, sports, museums, and the arts. Tourism is rapidly developing as one of the most
important factors of economic growth and regional development in many countries of the world
(Wondirad, Kebete, and Li, 2021). Tourism generates income and employment, the balance of
payments growth, and contributes to the destination country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
and supply-side weight of the tourism sector. In addition to the direct impact of tourism on the
economy, there are indirect and stimulated causes, such as infrastructure development.
The importance of the hotel industry in the UK for the country's economy cannot be
overemphasized. Based on a study by Oxford Economics commissioned by the British
Hospitality Association (BHA), shows that this sector is the main source of employment in the
UK economy. About 2.4 million people will benefit from jobs that are directly from the hotel,
while another 1.2 million jobs are indirectly linked to the industry (Wondirad, 2019). In the hotel
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industry, it is of great importance, as it is the source of the country's gross domestic product. The
hospitality industry ranks fifth among the most efficient sectors of the UK economy.
The importance of this sector to the UK economy has been the subject of discussion on whether
it is a positive or negative impact. The economy of benefits and the contribution of the
hospitality industry are very large (Wondirad, 2019). In the past, this industry contributed well
for the British economy by contributing to the country GDP and by creating employment
opportunity. However, at the time when the world recession hit the work and there is sever
economic tension in the UK, hospitality industry is the only one sector which are working on the
economic repair of UK. However, the recovery has led to a huge improvement in the UK
economy. Therefore, this will be not wrong to say that Hospitality and tourism sector are giving
huge sign for the country economic development.
The hotel and catering industry in the UK is very important in the economy as it is the
key to the development of the tourism industry. Even so, the hospitality sector is one of the
growing sector within the UK which has drastically absoed the effect of the Brexit as it allows
additional support to the UK development (Madanaguli, Kaur Bresciani, and Dhir, 2021). The
hospitality industry also includes the development of hotels, resorts, and other facilities where it
will find individual business events and missions that can be placed. Hence, all these aspects
shows that this is fast growing industry within the UK which is attracting the customer in more
prominent manner. Tourism earns money in the UK and has a lot of foreign currency, as well as
local income and local tourists. Therefore, there is a need to stimulate the growth of the tourism
industry, to ensure that the majority of tourist attractions that are carefully preserved, namely the
potential of tourists has a wide range of opportunities in the hotel and catering industry. (The
value of tourism in England, 2021). Neverthess, it can be said from the above statement that the
hospitality industry plays an important role in the development of the UK economy,
The hospitality industry, apply for one million jobs in the UK. With high unemployment,
there is a strong demand in large sectors, such as the territory sector, to create new jobs. Based
on the results of a study by Oxford economics for food service, which gave out about 2.4 million
direct jobs in 2019. It also made an interim contribution to creating another 1.2 million jobs in
the same year. The survey is organized according to the industry, as it is the fifth-largest in the
country (The value of tourism in England, 2021). Now, this is a huge industry, as it is seen as the
main source of income for millions of others in the UK.
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It is worth noting that in the tourism sector, which absorbs the vast majority of part-time and
seasonal workers, as well as 74% of the total number directly involved in the interests of
residents in the activities of the tourism industry, including housing, travel, food, and beverages,
etc. In addition, the sector attracts new participants and entrepreneurs about 10.2% of the total
number of companies and start-ups with less than 2 years of experience in the industry
(Golubovskaya, Solnet, and Robinson, 2019). This shows the development of tourism-it is a
profitable business in a country like the UK, which has become the 8th largest tourist center in
the world.
Official reports on tourism in the UK show that tourism plays a significant role in helping the
country recover from the crisis caused by the global financial crisis. However, the hospitality
industry has harmed the UK economy. The hospitality industry has also had a negative
contribution to the British economy in the past and thus reduced economic growth and
development. In the UK, the hotel industry, which has had a bit of fierce competition in the past,
with several hotels, resorts, and catering establishments, is entering the hospitality industry. With
a high level of competition, it is expected that this will contribute to economic growth (Travel &
tourism total GDP contribution UK 2028, 2021) However, in the case of the UK, the level of
competition is counterproductive. Some competitors try to close the distance for themselves to
attract more customers to their competitors. Some of them even engage in unethical activities
like providing false information to attract more customers.
A new report has revealed that Travel & Tourism is the crucial contribution that must
make to help kick-start the UK's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has
been successfully fought for. The publication this year of the World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTTC), which represents the global private travel and tourism sector, and the Annual Impact
Report (ESP), point to the important role the industry played in managing the British economy
last year (UK’s economic recovery will be powered by Travel & Tourism sector says WTTC,
2021).
The hospitality industry is therefore an integral part of the United Kingdom's economy. This
is because this sector encourage and promotes substantial employment supports tourism, and this
industry helps in the development of the infrastructure facility for the country along with the
development of the many local regions. The industry also supports local and international
businesses for business meetings and seminars organized in hotels and foodservice
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establishments in the country (Filimonau, 2021). Hospitality sector falls under the categotry fo
the terriroty sector of the occupation and this sector also provide assitence to other various
territories occupations like food and beverage and the other small local shops. Despite the
negative impacts on the hospitality industry, it is clear that the hospitality industry is an integral
part of the United Kingdom economy and ensure the growth and development of the country.
CONCLUSION
Therefore, from the above carried out discussion, it has been summarised that the hospitality
sector is the backbone of the UK economy as it is a sector which is contributing to country GDP
and maximize the employability in the country. Moreover, the hospitality sector is an integral
part of the British economy and this industry helps in the development of the other sector too.
The hospitality sector were designed not only to attract tourists but also for people from the
business world. This is because people from all over the world come to the UK to do their
business in the hospitality industry and in this way, they are recovering from the financial
recession and the COVID-19 pandemic economic damage.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Filimonau, V., 2021. The prospects of waste management in the hospitality sector post-COVID-
19. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 168, p.105272.
Golubovskaya, M., Solnet, D. and Robinson, R.N., 2019. Recalibrating talent management for
hospitality: a youth development perspective. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management.
Madanaguli, A.T., Kaur, P., Bresciani, S. and Dhir, A., 2021. Entrepreneurship in rural
hospitality and tourism. A systematic literature review of past achievements and future
promises. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Wondirad, A., 2019. Retracing the past, comprehending the present, and contemplating the
future of cruise tourism through a meta-analysis of journal publications. Marine
Policy, 108, p.103618.
Wondirad, A., Kebete, Y. and Li, Y., 2021. Culinary tourism as a driver of regional economic
development and socio-cultural revitalization: Evidence from Amhara National Regional
State, UK. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, p.100482.
Online
The value of tourism in England, 2021. VisitBritain. [online] Available at:
https://www.visitbritain.org/value-tourism-england
Travel & tourism total GDP contribution UK 2028, 2021 | Statista, [online] Available at:
<https://www.statista.com/statistics/598093/travel-and-tourism-gdp-total-contribution-
united-kingdom-uk/>.
UK’s economic recovery will be powered by Travel & Tourism sector says WTTC, 2021. [online]
Hospitality Net. Available at: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4098094.html
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