Analyzing Visitor Attractions: Management and Sustainability Issues

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of visitor attraction management, focusing on the overlap of different attraction types, the importance of visitor attractions, and the needs and motivations of various visitor segments. It evaluates the impacts of tourism on visitor attractions in the United Kingdom, examining social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors. The report also analyzes the effect of tourist motivation theories on management strategies and discusses the processes and potential issues involved in the development of visitor attractions. Furthermore, it explores different visitor management strategies and evaluates management techniques in relation to sustainability, offering insights into enhancing the tourism industry while preserving cultural heritage and environmental resources. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Visitor Attraction Management
1

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Discuss the overlap of visitor attractions in relation to particular types of attraction. 4
1.2 Analyse the importance of different visitor attractions...............................................5
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................7
2.1 Evaluate the needs and motivations of different visitor types.........................................7
2.2 Evaluate impacts of tourism on visitor attractions in the United Kingdom.....................8
2.3 Analyse the effect of different theories of tourist motivation on the management of
visitor attractions....................................................................................................................9
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................11
3.1 Discuss the processes and the potential issues involved in the development of visitor
attractions.............................................................................................................................11
Task 4.......................................................................................................................................14
4.1 Analyse different visitor management strategies...........................................................14
4.2 Evaluate management techniques in relation to sustainability......................................15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................17
Reference List..........................................................................................................................18
2

Introduction
Visitors’ attraction is one of the key factors that help to increase the interest of a particular
site. In this scenario, the impact of nature, development and the related management’s factors
are going to be discussed in order to have the understanding of the visitors’ attraction for a
particular area. It has been justified by various researchers, that depending upon the visitors
attraction for a particular site, the tourism factor can be increased. Hence, this assignment is
going to highlight the nature of the visitors, impact of various theories of tourists’ motivation
and the factor that helps to increase the tourist attraction. Besides this, this task is also going
to highlight the managerial skills that should be followed in order to improve the potential of
the tourism industry in the country. The appropriate strategies and the procedures that the
managers should follow in order to improve the visitors’ attraction will be analyzed
thoroughly.
3

Task 1
1.1 Discuss the overlap of visitor attractions in relation to particular types of
attraction.
The places which are famous for attracting
tourists all over the world are known as
attractions. An attraction can have a local
appeal or an international appeal. There
can be different tourist attractions in a
town or a city. Tourist destinations can be
categorised into different types. There are
four main categories in which tourist
destinations can be divided. Natural
attractions, purpose-built attraction,
heritage attraction and events are the four
different types of attractions (Horner and
Swarbrooke, 2016). When in London, a
tourist gets ample options to visit various
tourist destinations or attractions. Some of
the well-known tourist attraction in
London is the Big Ben, the Westminster
Abbey, the National Maritime Museum,
the Parliament, the Queen’s House,
Greenwich Park and the list goes on.
Natural Attractions
In order to protect flora and wildlife of an
area or to preserve the natural beauty,
natural attractions are built. Natural
attraction are built by nature but is
maintained by people. Sanctuaries and
national parks are built to preserve the
endangered species. In order to enjoy
natural and scenic beauty, these natural
attractions are visited by the tourist.
Heritage Attractions
Some buildings and monuments were built
thousands of years ago. These
constructions are known as heritage
attractions. When tourists visit these
heritage sites they acquire a great deal of
knowledge about the past. There are two
purposes which are served by the heritage
sites. One, immense amount of
information is provided by these heritage
sites about the lifestyles and the culture of
the past((Huang et al., 2015). This
information is used for conducting various
researches and archaeological studies. The
second purpose is that, the heritage sites
provides the tourists with mesmerizing
structures and views. The Greenwich Park
and the Queen’s House are all heritage
sites in Britain. Previously, the Queen’s
House was a private residential property.
But now it has been opened to the tourists
for the people to witness the grandeur of
the English culture. Now the tourists can
pay a visit to the Queen’s House.
4

UNESCO has declared the Greenwich
Park as a World Heritage site. Previously
it was a site for natural attraction. People
who come to visit London pay a visit to
the heritage sites along with the various
other attractions.
Purpose-built Attractions
Purpose-built attraction is the next type of
the attraction or tourist destination. A
place sometimes may be devoid of natural
attractions(Lockwoodet al., 2016). This
would hamper the tourism industry. Thus
to enrich the tourism industry of a
particular area, purpose-built attractions
are constructed by the government. The
main reason for the construction of these
purpose-built attractions is to attract
tourists. They are also built for amusement
and fun. The London Tower and the
Buckingham Palace are purpose-built
attractions. Many a times, these purpose-
built attractions provide the visitors with
ample knowledge about the style of
architecture of a certain community or a
country.
Events
Events are the last type of attractions.
Many tourists usher in a particular city of a
country due to the presence of events.
Olympiads, theatres and museums are the
places which come under the events
category. The National Maritime Museum
is an event. Tourist pays a visit to the
events to witness the artefacts of the past.
Some of the events are built for
educational purpose. The British Museum
is a heritage site as well as an event.
1.2 Analyse the importance of different visitor attractions.
Tourists visit the attractions for various
purposes. In different categories,
attractions can be divided. There are
mainly four different kinds of attractions
namely natural attractions, purpose-built
attractions, events and heritage attractions.
The purpose of building attractions is not
just to increase the revenue generation of
the tourism industry and attract
tourists(Antónet al., 2017). Revenue
generation, revitalizing an area,
conservation and preservation, are some of
the varied functions which a tourist
attraction site plays. The reason for
building natural attractions is various.
People who are fond of scenic beauty and
nature, visits the natural attractions. But
this is not the only purpose to build natural
attractions. Natural attractions are also
built to preserve and conserve the flora and
fauna of a particular area. In many areas of
metropolitan areas the ecological balance
is getting distorted due to many species are
becoming extinct. Sanctuaries and national
5

parks are built to preserve the flora and
fauna which also serve as natural
attractions. In UK, the Dartmoor is one
such example of a natural attraction which
has been built to conserve and preserve the
flora and the fauna. These national parks
and natural attractions are sometimes
dirtied by the tourists. Many get involved
in to poaching activities which is
considered illegal(Mandarić and Milićević,
2016).
Heritage sites serve dual purpose. Many
tourists visit the heritage sites to enjoy the
mesmerising structures and views. In
addition to this, information about the rich
heritage and culture of the past is imparted
through these monuments. This
information is very helpful in the
archaeological studies. A huge amount of
revenue is collected from the tourism
industry. The visitors are the main
contributors of this revenue. The
government of a country invests a lot in
the preservation of the heritage sites and
the monuments. Preservation process
keeps the inflow of the tourist’s
continuous. The heritage sites attract a lot
of tourists. The shops near the heritage
sites also do a considerable amount of
business due to the presence of the
heritage sites. People who visit these
heritage sites engages themselves in
buying the local handicraft products and
souvenirs’ and many other products as
well. The heritage sites also open up
employment opportunities(Vanhove,
2017). People do the work of tourists
guides in the sites where heritage buildings
are located. The tourists generally hire a
tourist guide to get information about the
heritage site and nearby places which can
be of interest. But many people who visit
these heritage sites often litter the place
with food wrappers. Some even scribble
unwanted words on the walls of the
monument. One of the famous heritage
sites in UK is the Windsor Castle. Tourists
from all over the world visit the purpose-
built attractions.
The Buckingham Palace and the Alton
Towers are examples of purpose-built
attractions. When a particular city or town
lacks natural and heritage attractions,
purpose-built attractions are constructed.
These attractions do bring in a lot of
tourists. But many a times, building a
purpose-built attractions leads to accidents
and overcrowding in an area. Building an
event as an attraction also brings in a lot a
lot of revenue for the tourism industry.
Well-known events like Olympics, the
Academy Awards and national games
attract tourists from all over the world. The
sale of tickets results into revenue
generation. The local business is also
enhanced due to the presence of the
6

events. There is a negative impact to this
as well. Environmental litter and
overcrowding is caused due to these
events.
7

Task 2
2.1 Evaluate the needs and motivations of different visitor types
People visit the tourist attractions and the destinations in order to spend some quality and
leisure time. People also move to other countries in order to do business and some kind of
commercial work. According to the motivation and needs, tourists can be classified into
different types. The different types of tourists are given below:
Incentive Tourists: When people get coupon or inexpensive holiday packages they tend to
visit the attractions or places. Normally such opportunities are not missed by the people. This
kind of tourists is known as incentive tourists (Williams et al., 2016) People either get hold of
the inexpensive packages through travel organization or they participate in some activities,
which makes them win the coupons.
Business Tourists: When people visit other countries for business purpose, these kinds of
tourists are called as business tourists.
Health Tourists: People cross borders in order to get better medical facilities and treatments.
In many countries, superior medical facilities are not available. In order to cure severe
ailments, people visit other countries. These people are known as health tourists.
Adventure Tourists: Some places like high mountains and valley are famous for adventure
activities like trailing and hiking. People who visit other places to quench their thirst for
adventure are known as adventure tourists (Bond et al., 2016).
Education Tourists: When tourists visit other countries in order to complete their education
and obtain degrees are known as education tourists.
Religious Tourist: People visit various places so that they can gain religious experiences.
Many countries have ample number of tourist destinations(Nyaupaneet al., 2015).People like
to visit these religious places because here they can attain spirituality.
Youth Tourists: Youth tourists are the people who visit places all around the world with
fewer budgets and less expenses
Special Interest Tourists: Tourists who have different desires to visit a pace are called as
special interest tourist. Tourists can be interested to pay a wildlife visit, watch an event and
many more.
8

2.2 Evaluate impacts of tourism on visitor attractions in the United Kingdom
The tourism and the travel industry are one of the most revenue generating sectors in the
economy. Outbound and inbound are the two types of tourism (Swarbrooke and Page, 2012).
The economic growth of the country is enhanced by inbound tourism. Employment is also
enhanced due to this kind of tourism. Cross-cultural good will and perspective is encouraged
by outbound tourism. Four factors in the society have major impacts on the growth of tourism
sector and on visitor attraction as well. The four factors are environmental impacts, social and
cultural impacts, transit impacts and economic impacts. The impact of the four factors on
tourism has been done below:
Social and Cultural Impacts: Tourism is a growing industry all over the world. The positive
effects of the socio-cultural impacts is that it helps in conservation of cultural heritage,
exchange of cultures happens, people take pride in local culture and the quality of life gets
improved. The negative implications of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism are it leads to
overcrowding. There is commoditization of culture, rise in crimes and loss of authenticity
occurs among the local people.
Economic Impacts: UK’s tourism industry gathers a considerable amount of revenue which
helps in the economic growth of the country. There is a rise in income and employment.
Foreign money gets inside the economy of UK. Other sectors also benefits from the tourism
industry. The negative effects of economic factors are money leaks out from the country at
the national and local level, prices of goods increase due to inflation and the economy of the
country gets too much dependent on the tourism industry.
Environmental Impacts: Due to tourism, the government of UK invests a lot of funds in the
preservation of nature as it attracts the visitors. The infrastructure is improved and awareness
gets increased among the tourists and the locals regarding conservation of nature (Mason,
2015). There is an increase in the levels of carbon footprint due to the tourism industry.
Damages are done to the flora and fauna. The cleanliness is often hampered due to tourist and
over-usage of natural resources.
Transit Effects: There is a positive transit effect on tourism. This is done by the help of the
tourists, who contribute to the economic growth of the country. A correct supply chain is
prepared for the direct impacts(Connell et al., 2015). When an individual or the members of
9

his or her family plan for a leisure trip, a lot of expenditure goes into holidays, trips and
travelling. This amount of expenditure is quite high when compared to other kind of travels
and business travels.
2.3 Analyse the effect of different theories of tourist motivation on the management of
visitor attractions
There are several theories, which are directly concerned with the tourist motivation factors.
Before going to further discussion, the main motives behind tourism should be understood.
Needs, motives and motivation are the key factors behind the influencing factors, which
drives people for tourism.
Figure 1: Different theories of motivation
(Source: Kraftchick,et al., 2014)
Good motivation theory:
This is one of the key theories, which drive people for tourism. Attraction for a particular site
also helps to improve the tourism motives. Hence, the manager of the tourism site should
come out with innovative factors, which is helpful to improve the motivation for tourism. The
scenic beauty of the sites, the natural views and the resources available in the tourist spot are
the key factors motivates people to visit those sites for numbers of times also increases their
attraction (Chenet al., 2016).
Push-Pull factors theory:
Globalization, Economic crisis, political factors, civil wars has huge impact upon the tourism
fields (Pomfret and Bramwell, 2016). Most of the time, it has been seen that tourist prefers
10

those place to visit where proper sustainability has been maintained. Therefore, the main aim
behind the push pull theory is to indicate all these factors for particular site and to judge the
impact of all these factors upon increasing the visitors’ attraction.
Travel career pattern theory:
Visitors’ attraction for a particular site is depended upon the several factors of career pattern
theory. According to various researchers, there are significant gap in the travel patterns of the
customers. Hence it can be justified that while there is enough scope for the visitors to have
their desired pleasure from the site, they becomes interested for the visiting those sites. This
theory differentiates between the travelling choices for group of people and they invest more
to enjoy their holidays.
11

Task 3
3.1 Discuss the processes and the potential issues involved in the development of visitor
attractions.
Some tourist attractions get visitors in seasonal basis and some destinations or tourist
attractions gets to see visitors all around the year. It is very important to develop a certain
tourist attraction so that the inflow of the tourists remain constant. There are some steps
involved which helps in the development of visitor attraction. The steps and processes are as
follows:
 Exploration: The attraction is visited by very few tourists. Thus the area remains
clean and tidy and the number of facilities are quite less. It is very important to
explore the facilities in particular tourist attraction. If the facilities are more,
automatically tourist will come in (Sharpley and Telfer, 2015).
 Involvement: Local people needs to get involved in providing facilities to the tourist.
This will increase the goodwill of the attraction and more tourist will be visiting that
area.
 Development: It is very important for the host country to advertise its tourist
destinations. Advertising the area will result in gaining recognition of the destination
among the potential tourists.
 Consolidation: In the consolidation stage, the tourist destination or attraction
continues to attract various tourists. There may be growth in the number of tourist
coming in but the numbers gets fewer than previous. In such a scenario, tension arises
between the tourists and the host.
 Stagnation:The facilities that were earlier provided by the visitor attraction may
narrow down or become less this results in less number of tourist coming in.
 Rejuvenation:Some investments and some methods of modernization may be taken
up to improve the facilities that were once provided to the tourist. This may again
increase the number of tourists (Mowforth and Munt, 2015).
 Decline:If the process of rejuvenation is not taken up seriously, the attraction might
lose its position as a good destination. This would adversely have an impact on the
jobs which are related to the tourism sector
12