UK Tourism Industry Future

This report analyzes the future of the UK tourism industry, examining its growth, challenges, and opportunities. It explores various factors influencing tourism demand, including economic stability, commodity prices, security concerns, political relations, transportation, climate change, and internal factors like economic and cultural policies. The report highlights current trends such as sports tourism, eco-tourism, domestic tourism, and cultural tourism. It then predicts future trends, focusing on the role of technology, local involvement, health tourism, sustainable practices, and evolving travel motivations. The conclusion emphasizes the need for proactive measures to address challenges and maintain the UK's competitiveness in the global tourism market.

THE FUTURE OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE UK
Over the past couple of decades, the tourism industry has been growing exponentially.
According to recently polled data the number of tourists travelling abroad grew by 4.6 % in 2015
to 1,184 million (World Tourism Organization UNWTO, 2016). Today tourism is a great foreign
exchange earner for some of the world’s countries and indeed runs the economies of others. In
2015 for instance, the tourism industry generated foreign revenue of up to US$ 1.5 trillion
worldwide (World Tourism Organization UNWTO, 2016). It has thus become increasingly
important to have an in-depth study and analysis of tourism trends, factors that influence tourism
demand and the travel market to come up with ways to predict the future of the industry.
In the United Kingdom, the tourism industry is of particular importance as one of the
leading revenue earners for the member states. Due to beautiful landscapes and numerous
historical monuments that traverse the United Kingdom, it is no wonder that the union is the 8th
largest tourist destination in the world. With the growing competitiveness in this particular
industry, it has become a key priority to be able to ascertain future trends and possible changes
that may affect tourism in Britain in the coming days. To do this, it is important to analyze
statistics and provide an outlook of the market thus far.
In an increasingly saturated marketplace, the development and promotion of tourism
destinations must be guided by analytical frameworks that focus on the concepts of
competitiveness (Hassan, S. S. (2000), Journal of travel research. 239-245). In the United
Kingdom, there are several factors that influence tourism demand. Most of these factors are
either socio- economic or environmental.
One of the main factors that have significantly influenced the number of tourists that visit
Britain is the economic stability of the union. The UK is one of the countries that have been hit
the most by the recent economic recession and in the period that it has taken to rebuild a stable
economy the tourism industry has been taking great hits. According the World Tourism
Organization (2015), the subsequent fluctuation in exchange rates has led to dwindling numbers
of tourists that view the United Kingdom as a preferable destination as compared to other
countries that offer better packages.
The prices of commodities also affect the way visitors perceive a tourist destination. If
prices are too high, most tourists will find cheaper destinations that offer the same products.
Complimentary goods such as prices of air tickets tend to be a determinant of how many tourists

will choose a particular destination over the rest of the available choices. The living standards in
the United Kingdom are also relatively high as compared to other competing nations such as
Spain. This can be seen as an obstacle to increasing the number of visiting tourists.
In an increasingly volatile world, there is also the issue of security. Terrorism risk tends
to intimidate the traveling public more severely than any other factors such as natural disaster
(Sonmez et al., 1999). In 2015, an increased global concern about safety and security was one of
the three major factors that influenced the flow of tourists (World Tourism Organization
UNWTO, 2016). The emergence of domestic as well as international terror cells and networks
influence a number of tourists that consider the United Kingdom as a viable tourist destination.
In recent years Britain has been considered a target for terror activities by extremist groups
within and outside its borders. This realization has gone a long way in dissuading potential
tourists from considering the UK as a holiday destination.
Different countries have different political structures and ideologies. The political
relationship between countries can be a factor that helps build or destroy the tourism industry of
a country. Tourist attitudes towards destination countries more often than not go hand in hand
with their government’s perceptions of these countries, and the United Kingdom is no different.
For example, the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 led to a strain in political ties between
Britain and Russia. This resulted in most of the Russian population viewing Britain negatively
and considering other alternative tourist destinations over the United Kingdom. The result was a
fall in the number of tourists that visited Britain from Eastern Europe.
The mode and means of transport also play a key role in the demand for tourism. While
most parts of the United Kingdom boast of a comprehensive and well-developed transport
network, some remote places might still be lacking in efficient means of transportation. Some of
these remote areas turn out to be potential tourist attraction sites but due to the lack of proper
ways to access them, their full potential is never realized.
There are also the changes in the climate. Nature-based tourism accounts for a large
segment of the tourism sector and with the threat of global warming, changes in the weather have
become increasingly unpredictable. Warm climates and sunny beaches that once appealed to a
large percentage of tourists are no longer a guarantee, and this has caused an adverse impact on
the growth of the tourism industry (Martin, M. B. G. 2005). The wet climate in parts of Britain
with tourist attraction sites has also been a dissuading factor.

Internal factors such as economic policies, cultural factors, and foreign policies also play
a great role in influencing tourism. Tourists will choose destinations with lenient economic
policies such as those that govern foreign exchange over those with stringent measures. The
United Kingdom in its part has been revising most of its policies as far as foreign revenue goes to
keep up with competing tourism markets. The incorporation of several diverse cultures within
the British population also goes a long way in promoting the United Kingdom as a desirable
tourist destination. Britain is home to people from different religious, social and racial
backgrounds and as such might be an attractive destination in comparison to other competing
countries.
The foreign policies that are in place can cause a negative as well as a positive impact as
far as the tourism industry goes. While these policies may favor some countries, other countries
tend to have poor diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom. For instance, it was not until recently
that
Britain established formal ties with Cuba. In this particular scenario, tourism between the
two countries may have been strained, and the notion of Cuban nationals considering the United
Kingdom as a tourist destination was almost ridiculous. On the other hand, Britain has enjoyed
the privilege of being a member state of the European Union for the better part of the last three
decades and as such has enjoyed a tremendous boost in tourist numbers from fellow member
states of the union. This shows the positive impact that good diplomatic ties can have on the
tourist industry.
Current trends in Tourism
The growth of tourist arrivals in the year 2016 is predicted at between 3.5% and 4.5%
(World Tourism Organization UNWTO, 2016). Due to the dynamic nature of the tourism
industry, it is important to understand current as well as future trends in the sector so as to be
able to predict the future of the industry at large. The development of technology and a growing
sense of environmental awareness are the main factors that drive the changes in these trends.
With the emergence of different types of tourism such as sport and eco-tourism people no
longer travel to new destinations just for leisure purposes. Sports tourism, for instance, has been
a popular trend over the past couple of years with a large number of people traveling to particular
destinations for the purpose of sporting activities. A good example of such a scenario is the ATP
world tour that is a tennis tournament involving players traveling to compete in different world

locations including London. Such tournaments play a great role in the tourism industry by
encouraging people to travel to different places to watch and support players and in the process
enjoy the hospitality of the host nations.
The United Kingdom has been a major contributor to the world of sports by offering key
facilities such as stadiums and also nurturing some of the best sporting talents. One of the key
sporting attractions that promote tourism is the English Premier League that attracts a large
number of tourists annually. There are also other key sporting activities such as golf and motor
GP racing that attract millions of sports enthusiasts to the country.
International tourism now represents 7% of the world’s exports in goods and services, up
from 6% in 2014, as tourism has grown faster than world trade over the past four years. Due to
this growth there has been an increase of exposure among the young people commonly referred
to as “milennials”. Most of these young people are looking for new adventures, new learning
opportunities or simply ways to stay up to date with the changing world. As a result, the tourism
industry has had to evolve so as to be able to keep up with the demands of the different age
groups that often travel for various reasons.
Another emerging trend in the tourism sector is eco-tourism. Eco-tourism can be
described as the act of traveling to new destinations for environmental related purposes and also
in a bid to understand different natural sceneries. The ever growing threat of environmental
degradation has gone a long way in promoting environmental awareness and pushing for the
need to know more about nature and find ways for environmental conservation. In the United
Kingdom, the potential for eco-tourism is tremendous due to the different types of climate
experienced in various locations. The fact that the British Isles is a string of island also presents a
unique opportunity for visiting tourists to experience the unique flora and fauna of the land
across different habitats.
In recent years, domestic tourism has also become a familiar phenomenon with citizens
of a particular country opting to travel to local destinations for leisure purposes. As a country
gets richer, the upper and middle class have holidays too, and they first prefer cheap, domestic
holidays (Bigano et al., 2006). This has led to a shift in tourism policies to be able to
accommodate the shift in market structure and demand. The United Kingdom is one such
country that has experienced an upward surge in the number of people that travel to local

destinations with the growth of the economy and a substantial increase in the middle-class
population.
Traveling for cultural exposure has also become increasingly common with the
realization that people from different parts of the world have different practices and the need to
know what these practices are. According to the official British tourism site (Welcome to Great
Britain, 2016) travelling for cultural purposes is indeed an emerging trend and with the prospects
of exploring the rich British history the market value in relation to tourism could be enormous.
Future Trends
The future of tourism is heavily reliant on the development of technology and innovation.
International tourist arrivals are expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.3% to reach 1.8 billion
by the year 2030 (UNWTO Tourism Towards, 2016). Based on the current trends, it is possible to
be able to predict what the future holds for the tourism sector. For instance, in recent years
people have become increasingly involved in social media platforms, and soon these platforms
may become a cornerstone to the evolution of tourism by providing ways of marketing
destinations and creating awareness to the general population. Furthermore, most of these social
media platforms are not geographically bound by political borders and hence may prove to be an
efficient tool in the realization of making the world a “global village”.
Another trend that is likely to become common in the future is the direct involvement of
locals in tourist ventures with the aim of creating an environment where the locals mix freely
with the tourists. This is particularly important in helping the tourists to understand better the
culture and social structures of the destinations they visit and will, in turn, promote cultural
awareness integration and a milestone towards achieving the goal of globalization
Today there is also an increasing desire to indulge in healthy lifestyles, and with a
growing number of aging tourists, it will become important for tourist resorts and destinations to
offer affordable health packages to appeal to this segment of tourists.
With the increasing awareness of the negative impact of tourism on the environment and
wildlife, green (eco) tourism will also become more popular especially among the millennials
alongside the growth of technology. In the recent past, different tourism affiliated organizations
have gone a long way in creating awareness on issues such as poaching and environmental
degradation.

This is bound to lead to a more responsible approach regarding conservation of nature
and change people’s perspective on the need to travel.
Climate change has become a central issue in world policy making, and the tourism
industry has already seen the effects of these changes. There has been a tremendous amount of
exposure to the effects of climate change, and this is bound to influence decision making in the
future as it pertains to tourism. For instance, tourists will tend to go for more eco-friendly means
of transport as opposed to traditional modes that are destructive to the environment.
There is also bound to be a change in the reasoning and decision making as far as
traveling goes. Based on the current trends of tourism where there are forms of tourism that
involve activities other than leisure such as sporting activities, the tourist of the future might not
travel at all unless there is an added purpose for traveling beside site seeing that adds value. The
tourism industry is already seeing this as an emerging trend and has incorporated leisure-themed
parks in business districts to give tourists a taste of both worlds.
Conclusion
The tourism industry in the United Kingdom although the 8th largest in the world faces
many challenges which if not addressed efficiently have the potential to counter- productive. It
is, therefore, important to come up with measures to ensure that this sector has the means to keep
competing at a world level and increase productivity, to ensure that tourism remains a top foreign
exchange earner and a cornerstone in the growth of the economy. To do this, the major players in
the tourism industry should pay attention to the factors that influence tourist attractions,
understand the problems that the industry faces and come up with viable alternatives. External
factors that play a role in influencing decision making such as economic and political factors
should also be taken into account.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Berrittella, M., Bigano, A., Roson, R., & Tol, R. S. (2006). A general equilibrium analysis of
climate change impacts on tourism. Tourism management. 27(5). pp. 913-924.
Hassan, S. S. (2000). Determinants of market competitiveness in an environmentally sustainable
tourism industry. Journal of travel research. 38(3). pp. 239-245.
Martín, M. B. G. (2005). Weather, climate and tourism a geographical perspective. Annals of
tourism research. 32(3). pp. 571-591.
Sönmez, S. F., Apostolopoulos, Y., & Tarlow, P. (1999). Tourism in crisis: Managing the effects
of terrorism. Journal of Travel Research. 38(1). pp.13-18.
Online
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), (2016). [Online]. Available through:
<http://www2.unwto.org/>. [Accessed on 9th November 2016].
Welcome to Great Britain, 2016. Available through:
<https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/culture>. [Accessed on 9th November 2016].