Travel Geography Report: London Destination Analysis and Challenges

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of London's travel geography, focusing on its significance as a major tourist destination. It begins with an introduction to travel geography and its importance in promoting tourism. The main body of the report details the key airports serving London, including London City, Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Southend, providing facts such as passenger numbers, runway lengths, and operational details. It then explores the key attributes of London as a destination, highlighting its historical significance, cultural diversity, economic importance, and major attractions like the Tower Bridge, London Eye, and Hyde Park. The report also discusses tourist accommodations, including hotels, resorts, and alternative options like Airbnb, and provides insights into activities available to tourists. While the challenges are covered in an infographic, the report concludes by emphasizing the importance of travel geography in enhancing tourism and reiterating London's status as a highly visited destination. The report references various books and journals to support its findings.

Travel Geography

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Key airports in the destination and relevant facts related to them............................................................3
Key attributes of the destination..............................................................................................................5
Key challenges affecting the destination.................................................................................................7
(Covered in Infographic).........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Travel Geography can be defined as the study of travel and tourism as an industry. The
popularity as well as importance of this industry has increased over the last few years and
continues to become even bigger in the coming years (Chen and et. al., 2017). It helps in
promoting tourism within a destination by encouraging people to visit it. The destination chosen
for this report is London, which is the capital of England. This report describes an infographic
map that highlights the strengths as well as challenges associated with the destination. It also
explains the key airports there and various facts related to the same. Key attributes of the
destination as well as key challenges that affect it are also explained in the report.
MAIN BODY
Key airports in the destination and relevant facts related to them
London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom, it is famous for magnificent
ancient buildings, Tower of London, London Eye and many other tourist attractions. The city of
London has six major airports namely- London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow,
London Luton, London Stansted and London Southend. London City airport is an international
airport, which is located in the Royal Docks within the London Borough of Newham (Clifton
and et. al., 2016). Although, the airport is small in size in comparison to other airports, it is
becoming busier day by day. London City airport has customers who are highly satisfied and
continue to travel through it. The passenger number in 2018 at the London city airport was
recorded to be nearly 4.87 million (Passenger numbers at London City Airport up by 6.4 per
cent in 2018, 2020). The airport has a single runway which has a length of 1,199 meters.
London Heathrow is another busy international airport in the city of London that is
considered to be the second busiest airport in the world. The airport has two airports that run
parallel to each other apart from four operational terminals. The primary airlines running at the
airport are British airways and Virgin Atlantic. Nearly 1,300 planes land at the airport on a daily
basis and in case of a rush hour, one plane is supposed to land every 45 seconds by the air traffic
controllers. The length of the runway at London Heathrow airport is 3,902 and 3,662 meters.
Also, the overall size of the airport is 1,227 hectares and two different runways that serve nearly
80 airlines (LHR: 10 Interesting Facts and Figures about London Heathrow Airport, 2020). The

number of passengers that depart every day from the airport is 201,000 and the Terminal Six of
the airport is usually used for VIPs.
London Gatwick, another major airport in West Sussex near Crawley in south London.
The yearly passenger number at the respective airport is 46,574,786 with an aircraft movement
of 280,700. The average number of passengers in each flight is 166 with the biggest airline being
EasyJet. There is only one runway at the airport with a length of 3,316 meters (Derudder and
Witlox, 2016). The number of employees working at the London Gatwick airport is 24,000 who
work for 250 different airline companies. Apart from providing a large number of direct job
opportunities, the airport also offers 12,000 jobs indirectly. The airport significantly contributes
to the overall UK economy and is also directly connected by rail. The customers of the airport
are highly satisfied with the services and facilities offered by it. The airport has a parking space
for 27,000 cars easing out the process for the people who either come to drop off a passenger or
receive them at the airport.
London Luton airport is another key airport of London that has both national as well as
international airlines running. The number of passengers travelling from the airport is over 6
million. Apart from this, the aircraft movement is over 61,000 and the aircraft fly to nearly 60
destinations (Rodrigue, 2016). The airport has decided to launch a train station which will make
it easy for the passengers who arrive at the airport through rail. The airport is ranked to be the 7th
largest airport in the United Kingdom. Because of the withdrawal of Ryanair from the airport,
there was a significant decrease in the total number of passengers travelling from it. The airport
has a two-storey terminal for passengers with a single runway.
London Stansted Airport is located in the district of Uttlesford in Essex, 42 miles from
Central London. This is the third airport in London that serves nearly 27 million passengers
every year. It is the only major airport in the city that has a significant runway capacity and is the
fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom. The aircraft movement at London Stansted Airport
is nearly around 22 that serve approximately 200 destinations. The number of countries served
by the aircrafts of this particular airport is 40 (Facts and figures, 2020). The number of runways
at the airport is one with the length of 3,049 meters. Along with this, the available retail space of
10,608 square meters. There are nearly 110 parking stands available for the aircrafts and it was

seen that nearly 53% of the passengers use public transport to travel to and from London
Stansted Airport.
Lastly, London Southend is the United Kingdom’s fastest growing regional airport due to
many reasons. The first one being that the runway extension for the airport became operational in
the year 2012. Apart from this, the number of check-in desks were also increased along with the
departure as well as arrival areas being extended. The airport was awarded to be the best airport
in London by Which? Magazine for six ties in a row (Enoch, 2016). There is an onsite train
station which is not very far from the passenger terminal. And due to this, it does not take long
for the passengers to reach the airport.
Key attributes of the destination
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and is among the oldest cities in the
world. The city is situated in southeastern England with the river Thames running 50 miles
upstream. London is a polycentric city with various districts that don’t have any hierarchy among
them. London is considered too be one of the most powerful, most desirable, most visited and
most influential cities in the world. In terms of economic performance, the city is ranked 30th and
is also one of the largest financial centers. The city is also the home to a lot of world class
institutions such as Imperial College London and London School of Economics. People
belonging to different backgrounds and cultures with nearly 300 languages spoken by them.
London is also considered to one the third most populous city in the whole Europe and accounts
for nearly 13.4% population in the United Kingdom. The city is governed by the Mayor of
London as well as the London Assembly.
There are many attractions, both natural as well as man-made in London like Kew
Gardens, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Hyde Park etc. Tower Bridge is a
suspension bridge in London and one of the major attractions in the city (Joo and et. al., 2017). It
is also considered to be one of the iconic symbols of the city, owned as well as maintained by the
Bridge House Estates. It is 244 meters in length and is split into to parts that are equal. London
Eye, a man-made attraction is one pf the most popular tourist destination in the city. It is the
fourth largest Ferris wheel across the world. The London Eye weighs more than 100 tons and
with nearly 3.5 million people visiting it each year. Hyde Park is a major park in Central London

and is considered to be one of the royal parks of the city. There is a grand entrance to the park
which is known as Apsley Gate, which is corner next to Apsley House.
There are numerous options available for tourist accommodation in the city because it is
among the most visited destinations in the nation. There are hotels, spas and resorts for people
with a limited budget as well as for the ones who prefer a luxury stay. Tourists can easily make
bookings on the website of the hotel as well as resort of their choice. Many international hotel
and resort chains have their operations in London. The tourists can also choose at an Airbnb or
various other options available. These options are cheap and not very heavy on the pocket being
one of the most opted for by tourists who are looking for a cheaper stay (Li and Tong, 2016).
The hotels and resorts are spread across the city with some of them being close to all the
essential facilities and tourist attractions like the train station, airport etc. while others are located
in the outskirts of the city offering a relaxed experience to the guests away from the hustle and
bustle of the city. The hotels and resorts offer a variety of deals and packages which the guests
can choose from before making a booking.
Apart from visiting the attractions, there are several other things that the tourists can do
once they are in London. They can visit museums as there are a lot of them and many of them do
not charge any fee. Some of these include Tate to the City Museum and the Historical Museum.
Many of the museums have a great collection of fossils which makes it sound interesting and fun
for children. There are also a large number of food stalls that serve a variety of dishes from local
food to international cuisine dishes. These places are mostly crowded on weekends so it is
advisable for the tourists to visit them on weekdays, if possible. The city of London is also
known for its famous theatre scene, tickets to which are cheap and there is always something
playing at night. St. Paul’s Cathedral and Convent Garden are among the most visited places in
the city by tourists.
One of the most iconic buildings in Britain, the Buckingham Palace is among the most
popular tourist attractions. The palace was built in the year 1837 and has been the residence to
the Royal Family (McEwan, 2019). Before visiting the destination, it is important for the tourists
to read all the details and gain knowledge about the different ways of commuting in the city.
They are also recommended to keep a map of the city handy with them at all times. Spending 3
to 5 days is the best option for the tourists to be in London because in this time frame they will

be able to visit all the major attractions. The best time to visit London is between March and
May because during these months the temperature is mild and the weather is also pleasant. So,
the tourists will be able to enjoy their visit completely. Apart from summer, spring is also the
prime tourist season.
Key challenges affecting the destination
(Covered in Infographic)
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be said that travel geography is an important aspect for any
nation because it helps in enhancing the overall level of tourism. London, is one of the most
visited destinations among the world and has various attractions like Kew Gardens, London Eye,
Tower Bridge etc. There are six key airports, some of which are national while others are
international. All these airports are connected through train stations which makes its easier for
the passengers to commute to and from the airport.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Chen, B.Y. and et. al., 2017. Measuring place-based accessibility under travel time uncertainty.
International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 31(4). pp.783-804.
Clifton, K.J. and et. al., 2016. Representing pedestrian activity in travel demand models:
Framework and application. Journal of transport geography. 52. pp.111-122.
Derudder, B. and Witlox, F., 2016. International business travel in the global economy.
Routledge.
Enoch, M., 2016. Sustainable transport, mobility management and travel plans. Routledge.
Joo, D. and et. al., 2017. Considering Tobler's first law of geography in a tourism context.
Tourism Management. 62. pp.350-359.
Li, R. and Tong, D., 2016. Constructing human activity spaces: A new approach incorporating
complex urban activity-travel. Journal of Transport Geography. 56. pp.23-35.
McEwan, C., 2019. Gender, geography and empire: Victorian women travellers in Africa.
Routledge.
Muralidhar, V. and et. al., 2016. Association between travel distance and choice of treatment for
prostate cancer: does geography reduce patient choice?. International Journal of
Radiation Oncology* Biology* Physics. 96(2). pp.313-317.
Rodrigue, J. P., 2016. The geography of transport systems. Taylor & Francis.
Online
Facts and figures. 2020. [Online]. Available through:< https://www.stanstedairport.com/about-
us/london-stansted-airport-and-mag/facts-and-figures/>.
LHR: 10 Interesting Facts and Figures about London Heathrow Airport. 2020. [Online].
Available through:< https://londontopia.net/travel/lhr-10-interesting-facts-figures-london-
heathrow-airport/>.
Passenger numbers at London City Airport up by 6.4 per cent in 2018. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.internationalairportreview.com/news/79621/passenger-number-6-
4-per-cent/>.