Economic and Political Factors Affecting Tourist Destinations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of various tourist destinations, focusing on the UK, France, Italy, North Korea, and Cuba. It examines these destinations' tourism statistics, including visitor numbers and revenue generation, to identify trends and growth patterns. The report delves into the economic and political characteristics of the UK and North Korea, highlighting how these factors influence the tourism sector. Furthermore, it evaluates how specific characteristics of Cuba, such as its geography and cultural offerings, impact its appeal to tourists. The analysis also addresses issues affecting the popularity of tourist destinations and explores the potential of responsible tourism to enhance host communities. The report concludes with an overview of the key findings and insights into the dynamics of the global tourism industry.

Tourist Destination
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Analysis of main destinations in terms of income generations and number of visitors .......4
1.2 Analysis those statistics provided to determine tourism destinations trends for the three
destinations..................................................................................................................................8
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................10
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
a) The economic and political characteristic of UK and North Korea .....................................10
b) Evaluation of characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal with reference to Cuba
....................................................................................................................................................11
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
4.1 Analysing issues affecting popularity of tourist destinations..............................................12
4.2 Potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide tourist
destination..................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
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Illustration Index
Illustration 1: Ranking of countries in terms of tourism revenue ...................................................7
Illustration 2: Ranking of countries in terms of tourism arrivals ....................................................9
Illustration 3: International tourist arrivals ...................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, tourism sector is one of the leading and most potential sector in
the world. Further, it contributes more than 15% of the total economic growth in the world.
Nowadays many countries has developed different locations and places into popular tourist
destinations (Di Pietro, Di Virgilio and Pantano, 2012). The present study focuses on
understanding the scope of key UK and worldwide tourist destination. In addition to this, it also
highlights cultural, social and physical features of those locations. Other than this, the report also
depict issues which affects the success and popularity of tourist destination.
TASK 1
1.1 Analysis of main destinations in terms of income generations and number of visitors
The analysis of top five tourism destinations is mentioned below as:
Tourism statistics of UK
UK is considered as one of the leading destinations in terms of travel and tourism.
Furthermore, tourist from different countries visit the country in order to see its vibrant culture
and beautiful monuments.
 UK is ranked 8th in terms of popular tourist destination in terms of number of visitors
 The country is also ranked 8th all across the world in terms of visitors expenditure
 In the year 2014, the total number of tourist in UK were 34.8 million (Visitors Economy
facts, 2010) The total revenue generated from tourism was £125.2bn in the year 2014
Tourism statistics of France
France is the top destination in terms of tourism and therefore, it is also termed as global
leader in the industry.
 From the year 2012 to 2013, the number of visitor in France increased by 2%
 The tourism sector contributes 7% of the total French GDP
 France has positioned itself as a cultural tourism destination all across the world In the year 2014, the number of visitors was 83.7 million
Tourism statistics of Italy
 The total number of visitors in Italy was to 48.6 million
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 Income generated by its travel and tourism sector in 2014 was EUR 348bn. It rich cultural history and beaches are some features which attracts travellers from
different locations.
Tourism statistics of Spain
 In terms of number of tourist, Spain was on the third position all across the world
 It was ranked as second destination in terms of revenue received by tourism industry
 In the year 2013, Spain recorded revenue of €59.08 billion Total number of visitors in Spain accounted to 64.9 million in the year 2014.
Tourism statistics of China
 The tourism industry of china was grown by 14% in the year 2012 as compared to the
year 2011.
 In the year 2015, the revenue received from tourism industry was amounted to 3419
billion yuan
 China is one of the most popular destination for tourism as compared to other Asian
countries
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Conclusion: It can be concluded that UK is leading travel and tourism destination. However,
France has experienced am increase in number of visitors in the past years. Travellers are
attracted towards the rich cultural heritage of Italy. In terms of revenue, Spain stands at the
second position.
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Illustration 2: Ranking of countries in terms of tourism arrivals
(Source:The economic impact of the tourism industry in Spain, 2014 )

1.2 Analysis those statistics provided to determine tourism destinations trends for the three
destinations
In the present scenario, the travel and tourism sector of the world is growing with a very
good pace. Government in many countries has started providing much focus on the tourism
sector in order to generate higher profits and sales. Many locations are not developed as a travel
destination in order to attract more and more tourists. It can be stated that the growth of travel
sector is also very important for the development of society (Fernández-Cavia and et.al., 2014).
Increase in number of tourists means that more resources will be invested in the developing
infrastructures facilities and improving the living standard of people living in nearby society. In
destination such as UK, France and Italy, the trend of tourism is increasing day by day along
with the passage of time. On the other side, countries such as Greece are witnessing declining
trend due to the financial problem or crises which the destination is facing (Sartori, Mottironi and
Corigliano, 2012). This has created several kinds of restrictions in growth and development of its
travel and tourism sector. However, it can be argued that the destination will overcome from its
major financial issues and will emerge as one of the leading travel destination all across the
world. According to present trend, it has been found that many countries in Europe has created
restrictions on foreign investment. This mean that destinations are not allowing foreign player to
invest their resources in development of travel and tourism sector.
As per the recent trends, travellers now seek for visiting the places which can provide
them with unique and a different experience which other destinations are not providing. Tourist
are investing their money in destinations which can enhance their overall travel experience.
Along with this, they also want that adequate facilities in terms of food, accommodation and
transportation is provided to them (Chen, Shang and Li, 2014). Therefore, government and other
private bodies needs to seek for continuous improvement in the above stated areas. Destinations
such as France, UK, Italy consists of rich cultural heritage and amazing monuments which
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attracts people from different nations of the world. Nowadays more emphasis is laid on
sustainable or development of eco tourism. In addition to this, European unions has also
providing importance to formulation of plans and policies which can provide free flow of
tourism and related activities within the nations (Cole, 2012). Focus is also provided to develop
tourism sector so that more employment opportunities can be created for people living in nearby
society of the destination. Some important trends in three destinations which are UK, France,
Spain are mentioned below as:
 Lowering down the obstacles in terms of travelling between nations
 Enhancement of Destination which are offers long haul
 Development of effective marketing strategies to promote the destinations and attract
more tourist
 development of destination in more sustainable manner
Illustration 3: International tourist arrivals
(Source: Coban, 2012)
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From the above stated graph, it has been analysed that the number of tourist arrivals is
incensing year after year. Along with this, it is observed that the sector is going to witness 1.56
billion visitors or travellers in the year 2020. In order to achieve the above mentioned figure, the
countries will be required to make promote their destinations and take care of sustainability.
after carrying out the analysis of statistics it has been analysed that the trend in tourism
destination is growing with a very good pace. Furthermore, the trend also highlights the fact that
the destination has potential to become leading and most attractive place in terms of tourism.
Government and other regulatory bodies needs to make sure that effective development of these
destination is carried out so that more and more tourist can be attracted.
TASK 2
Covered in PPT
TASK 3
a) The economic and political characteristic of UK and North Korea
The economic and political characteristics of North Korea completely differs from that of
UK. Further, these differences has resulted in affecting the tourism sector of these destinations to
a great extent (Stalidis and Karapistolis, 2014). The characteristics of both destination are
mentioned below as:
Basis of
comparison
United Kingdom North Korea
Average tourists
per year
The destination witness almost 33
million tourist from different countries
of the world. Further, its vibrant
culture and historical monuments are
the features which attracts tourists.
In terms of average number of
tourist per year, North Korea
witnesses 11 million tourists. Now
the government has kept
development of tourism sector on
priorities in order to generate
higher revenues (Santos and Cabral
Vieira, 2012).
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Economic growth The tourism sector of UK is growing
with a very good pace and it has
provided potential opportunities to
businesses in the sector. After the
recession of 2009, tourism sector has
contributed a large part in overall
economic growth of UK (Anuar and
et.al., 2012). In the year 2025, it is
predicted that the sector will generate
a revenue of £27. Other than this, the
demand of UK in international and
domestic travellers is also expected to
increase between 3 to 6%.
In-spite of attractive locations,
and monuments, North Korea is
not able to attract adequate number
of customers which has results in
higher economic growth. The
reason behind this is that a
negative image of the destination is
developed among the travellers.
This has resulted in lowering down
the overall number of tourists in
the country.
Product
developmental
The government and other regulatory
bodies are giving adequate support in
terms of new product and service
development in the tourism sector.
However, it can be argued that
nowadays, more emphasis is laid on
development of products which are
sustainable.
Earlier the government in North
Korea was not interested in
providing support to tourism sector
and more support was given to
other sectors (Reza Jalilvand and
Samiei, 2012). The spending on
development of products was also
very less. Now the things has
changed and importance is
provided to sector.
Political condition The stable government in country is
one of the major factor which has
resulted in higher growth of tourism
sector in UK (Bajs, 2015).
Government always seeks for taking
corrective measures to promote its
In terms of political conditions, it
can be stated that North Korea has
grown through various kinds of
political ups and downs. The
government is controlled and taken
care by a single party which enjoys
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tourism in the world and attract
tourists.
monopoly. This means adequate
support is not provided to tourism
sector.
b) Evaluation of characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal with reference to Cuba
Cuba is a nation which falls under the category of Caribbean island. Furthermore, the
nation is taken care by communist party and it is popular because of its beaches which consists
of white sand. Havana is the capital of Cuba and attract many tourist every year. People from
different countries visit the place in order to see its great Spanish colonial architecture. Other
than this, Cuba has also given birth to many classical style of dance such as Cha Cha, Mambo
and Bolero (Oliveira and Panyik, 2015). This catches attention of people from different countries
of the world. Some important characteristics of Cuba which assists in attracting more and more
tourism are mentioned below as:
Geography and location of the nation- It can be termed as one of the most important
characteristic which has resulted in increasing the overall number of tourist year after year. Cuba
is located on the east of Gulf of Mexico and west of North Atlantic ocean (Chen and Phou,
2013). The average temperature is about 25 degree which is very cool and calm temperature. The
nation is not too hot and not too cold. Further, due to its geographical characteristic, majority of
tourist visits Cuba with the purpose of leisure and relaxation.
Demographic makeover- Total population of the nation is around 11.17 billion and more than
half of its total populations fall under the category of mulatto. It can be stated that mulatto is the
term used to define individuals which has one white and one black parent (Salman and Hasim,
2012). On the other side, 11% of Cuba's total populations consists of Negro which are black
people and 37% of total population consists of white people.
Language and gestures- Spanish is the common language which is spoken by residents of Cuba.
The interesting fact about people living in the country is that the use of hands at the time of
communicating with others is very common (Kassean and Gassita, 2013).
Architecture and urbanization- According to the culture of Cuba private space to people is not
encouraged in the nation. The country is very diverse in terms of culture as it is made with the
integration of Asian, French, African and Spanish culture. Majority of architectures are made up
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with Spanish design which amaze people (Sun, Zhang and Ryan, 2015). Attractive monuments,
lanes and churches, building are other things which attracts tourist.
Food- It can be stated that due to the presence of tropical climate, a variety of root vegetables
and fruits are being produced in the country. Further, it is directly used in the meals and dishes
which are prepared in Cuba. Chicharrones, fried pork skins, Cuban sandwich, white rices and
black beans are the food which are mostly preferred in the country.
Conclusion: Comparison of characteristics of UK and North Korea indicates that UK receives
more number of visitors per year. There are various features of a tourist destination which affect
its appeal. These include demographic makeover, geography and location, food etc.
TASK 4
4.1 Analysing issues affecting popularity of tourist destinations
In the last one decade, TUI group has really worked very hard in order to promote
sustainable tourism. It can be stated that developing a destination and making it popular among
tourist is not an easy task. Lots of efforts and resources are required to be invested in order to
gain popularity of a particular destination. However, it can be argued that even if a destination
become famous, there are certain factors which needs to be taken care of. The key issues
affecting popularity of tourist destinations are mentioned below as:
 Terrorist- At the time of carrying out its operations of sustainable tourism development,
TUI groups needs to deal with issues such as terrorism. The growing terrorist activities
all across the world has emerged as one of the biggest threat of the entire travel and
tourism sector. Sometimes Travellers avoid visiting in different countries such Mexico,
Jamaica, Turkley, Cuba due the threat of terrorist activities. Popularity of tourism
destinations can be directly affected by increasing terrorist activities on that destination.
Other than this, it also has negative impact on the sales and profitability of the business
which are operating in tourism sector. People or travellers has always preferred the places
or destinations which are safe and where there is no threat of life (Ahmad and et.al.,
2013). It can be stated that Paris is another example of how and to what extent terrorist
activities can affect popularity of destinations. In the year 2016, Paris witnessed terrorist
attacks which has caused large damages to life of people and property. In addition to this,
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many tourists also died in the attack. This has created a very bad image of Paris in front
the world and has also resulted in lowering down the number of visitors.
 Natural disaster- It can be termed as another major issue which can affect the popularity
of tourism destinations in negative sense. Further, travellers or tourist do not prefer to
visit the areas or places in which natural disaster occurs at frequent intervals. Along with
this, disasters also affect destinations to a great extent by causing harm to life and
property (Coban, 2012). There are many popular destinations among tourists which
attracts large number of tourist from different countries of the world. Natural disates rs
such as earthquake and cyclone affect the destination to a great extent. Furthermore
people do not prefer visiting such places due to the fact that the risk to their life is quite
high. Thus, it can be stated that areas which encounter natural disaster at regular intervals
are less preferred by tourist and this affect popularity of tourist destinations in negative
sense.
 Disease- It is another issues which TUI group needs to take care of in order to enhance
the popularity of destinations. It can be also expressed that destinations which consists of
serious diseases are not taken into consideration by tourists. Such places can be very
dangerous for the life of tourist and their families (Zhang and et.al., 2014). Viral diseases
as such flue van result in declining the popularity of destinations. Furthermore, such kind
of issues is not an only a big threat for tourists but they are also a major threat for local
people.
Conclusion: Terrorism poses a big threat to the travel and tourism businesses. Natural disaster
increases the risk of loss of life of visitors. Hence, they affect the popularity of a destination in a
negative manner. As some diseases are dangerous for the life of tourists, these also decrease the
popularity of destinations.
4.2 Potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide tourist
destination
In simpler terms, responsible tourism can be termed as a process of developing tourism in
such a way that maximum benefit can be gained in terms of economy, society and environment.
Along with this, it also focuses on lowering down the cost which is incurred in development of
destination. Nowadays when tourist destinations are developed, government and other authorities
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do not considered the issues related to environment and society. Responsible tourism is a concept
which focuses more on the development of sustainable tourism. At the time of developing tourist
destinations, TUI group makes sure that environment and people living in nearby society are not
affected negatively (Popesku and Pavlović, 2013). In addition to this, with the help of sustainable
tourisms, the group develop places which provided adequate growth to society, environment and
economy of the country. In the present scenario, travellers also prefers to visit places which
promotes sustainable tourisms and which takes care of natural environment. Egypt, Costa Ric
Mexico, Turkey, Europe, Cuba Thailand and Jamaica are the countries in which TUI group is
presently carrying out its operations. At the time of providing its services to tourist in these
countries, the brand needs to make sure that adequate services are provided to them. In addition
to this, food, accommodation, transportation and health are some areas which needs to be taken
care of by TUI group to enhance host community at worldwide destination. Responsible tourism
can be also promoted by developing effective tourism related to packages (Chen and Phou,
2013).
Other than this, the group is also responsible to deal with issues related terrorist activities
which are faced in destinations such as Egypt and Turkey. Corrective measures are required to be
taken to minimise such activities and protect the life of people living the society. This will
directly results in increasing the number of travellers in the country. In order to enhance the host
community at worldwide tourist destination, TUI Group needs to take care of the health and
safety of all its tourist. The development of effective strategies related to advertisement,
marketing and promotion of these places is also very important for the group (Frangos,
Karapistolis and Stalidis, 2014). The rationale behind this is that effective marketing will result
in making people aware about the destinations and encourage them to visit the same. Marketing
strategies are also going to play important role in the providing tourist with information
regarding new destinations such as Cuba and Thailand.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that tourism sector has become one of the
most growing and potential sector ion the world. Further, economic and political characteristic of
UK and North Korea are completely different from each other. It can be also inferred that there
are various issues which can affect the popularity of destinations in negative sense. Other than
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this, it can be also concluded that government, private businesses and other regulatory bodies in
sector are required to develop destinations in more sustainable manner. This will help in
protecting interest of society and environment.
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