Specialist travel: Travel which offers the kind of experience the customer wants.

 Adventure Tourism - Travel which takes place in the natural

environment, often in exotic locations. It involves physical activity that
can include adrenaline sports such as mountain biking, rock climbing,
hiking etc.

 Cultural Heritage Travel – Travel to places which represent

stories of people and events of the past and present. They are
historical and educational as the tourist is learning and
experiencing different cultures relevant to the place. In the UK,
The National Trust looks after historic buildings and gardens,
industrial monuments and countryside sites for the preservation of
British heritage and the enjoyment of visitors.

 Health Travel - Travelling to improve health and well-being. Common

examples include spa weekend retreats, yoga or meditation breaks. Health
tourism also includes people who travel abroad to have specific
treatments carried out (either cosmetic or for a significant health
problem) because the country offers cheaper and more advanced
facilities.

 Education -Travel for educational purposes is usually made through

educational establishments like schools, colleges and universities.
The purpose of the trip can be specific, such as field trips or data
collection or for more general purposes. Individuals also travel for
the chance to learn new skills abroad e.g. short language courses or
cookery courses.

 Volunteer Work – Combining an holiday with an activity aimed at

supporting the development of local communities. It often involves
working for a charity in a developing country. Activities can include
teaching English in schools, wildlife conservation and community
development projects. Volunteer travel is becoming increasingly popular,
especially among young British students that have the opportunity to
travel on their gap year (a year off taken between A-Levels and university).

 Dark Tourism - Linked to heritage tourism but is related to places

that are connected with death, tragedy and the macabre (horribly
gruesome). War graves and cemeteries commemorating WW1, e.g.
the Somme battlefield in France, or prison camps of WW2, such as
Auschwitz, are major dark tourism destinations.

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 Ecotourism - Its focus is on providing simple, quality tourist
facilities in natural locations. Ecotourism facilities, such as
lodges are often built using methods and materials that do not
spoil the natural environment or local communities. Ideally, they
are locally managed and make use of local products and services.

 Conservation – Combining a holiday with an activity aimed at

protecting the environment and wildlife. Conservation tourism
supports wildlife conservation (protection) programmes and provide
learning opportunities about nature, current threats and how to
help wild animals and where they live. They use locally owned
businesses and guides in communities near wildlife reserves. Like
ecotourism, facilities have low impact on the environment and waste is reduced where
possible.

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 Topic A.3 Principles of sustainable tourism

Understand the concept of sustainable tourism, including why this is important and how it
can be achieved.

Definition: meeting the needs of present tourists and local communities while
protecting the natural, historical and cultural environment for the future.

Principles (What they aim to do): The main principles of sustainable tourism can be
understood in terms of their impact on the economy, environment and communities.

Sustainable Tourism should:

Environmental  Make the best use of natural resources as possible e.g.

Factors (Planet) recycling, using renewable energy.
 Protect the environment.
 Protect natural heritage and wildlife.
 Have very little impact on the surrounding countryside.
Social/cultural  Be good for the country and the local people.
Factors (people)  Help people get together and get on with each other.
 Improve the local quality of life i.e. health and well being.
 Protect living cultural heritage and traditions.
Economic Factors  Make money for the local people.
(Money)  Make jobs for local people.
 Help improve the lives of people who are poor.
 Improve the development infrastructure and economic
development of a region.

Benefits:
 It helps to protect the environment.
 It reduces the amount of energy used, e.g. electricity, petrol.
 It reduces the amount of waste created.
 It creates links with the local community.
 It makes businesses more competitive.
 It improves the image of businesses.
 It saves business money.

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Topic A.4 The importance of the travel and tourism sector to the
UK economy
Key Words
The Travel and Tourism industry is very important to the UK
GDP/Gross Domestic
economy.
Product – the value of

You will need to be able to look at data and graphs and answer the country’s economy.
questions on the following:
Infrastructure – refers
 Direct employment: Jobs that are created by the travel and
to the basic permanent
tourism industry, e.g. Travel Agent, Air Cabin Crew, Hotel
facilities, utilities and
Manager. People who are in direct employment will meet or
services needed for
help the tourists as part of their job.
modern society to
function, e.g. roads,
 Indirect Employment: Jobs that are created to supply and
support travel and tourism organisations, e.g. the baker who buildings, water supplies
supplies bread to a hotel; the builders who make the hotels. etc.
They will not meet or help the tourists themselves but will be
meeting or helping those who do.

 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the value of a country’s economy, a measure of all
goods and services over a specific time i.e. how much money it makes in a year.

 Tourist numbers and the value of tourism spend:

– Inbound tourism – the number of inbound tourists and their associated spend
(how much the tourists spend while they are here).
– Domestic tourism – the number of overnight trips and the associated spend
(how much the tourists spend while they are there).

 Economic multiplier effect: - direct spending by tourists, circulated throughout the

economy on indirect products and services. When tourists spend money, this provides
income to the company or people it is spent with. These companies then spend it on
other goods and services, e.g. you go to a hotel, and you pay for your room and food.
The hotel then uses its money to buy more food supplies, to pay for sheets to be
washed, maintenance of the hotel and business services like accountancy (someone to
keep a track of their money for them). The staff will also be paid. They will then
spend money.

 The Multiplier Effect also applies to jobs,

because of the money made by those in
Direct Employment, it makes jobs for people
in Indirect Employment, this is as a result of
the Multiplier Effect

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 Infrastructure development – when a country gets more tourists they need more
facilities. As the country makes money from tourism they will improve things like the
transport network, water supplies, waste disposal, health facilities, leisure facilities; if
tourism numbers go down the country will not have as much money to spend on these
things.

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26
Learning aim B: Know about the industries, and key organisations,
within the travel and tourism sector, their roles and
interrelationships

Topic B.1 Industries in the travel and tourism sector

There are many different industries in the Travel and Tourism sector that are helped by
working with each other.

Tour operators:
Companies that organise package holidays. They work with hotels, airlines and other
transport companies and produce brochures advertising the holidays they have put together.
They sell these holidays through travel agents or directly to customers, online or by
telephone. There are different types of tour operators;

 Domestic Tour Operators, these companies put together UK holidays for people living
in the UK, e.g. Shearings, Haven Holidays.

 Outbound Tour Operators, these companies put together holidays for UK residents
wanting to go on holiday overseas, e.g. Tui Holidays, Thomas Cook.

 Inbound Tour Operators, these companies provide for overseas tourists who want to
travel to the UK, e.g. Pathfinders, GTI Travel.

They all provide package holidays: these include accommodation, travel and transfers, but
sometimes also include excursions and other services.

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Travel agents
These are people who provide expert advice, arrange and book
trips, excursions and package holidays or individual components to
book holidays for customers on behalf of tour operators and
advise customers on the type of and availability of holidays.

There are 3 main types of travel agents;

 Multiples – companies with a number of branches/shops
throughout the country, e.g. Tui Holidays and Thomas Cook.

 Independents – Small privately owned business with fewer than 5 outlets or shops, e.g.
Giles Travel.

 Online – Companies that only operate on the internet, e.g. Expedia and Travelocity.

What Travel Agents do

They provide – information; foreign exchange (swapping British money for Foreign Money);
sales and booking services for package holidays, accommodation, flights, transfers and
ground transport, excursions, tickets, insurance, ancillary services.

Advantages of booking with a Travel Agent Disadvantages of booking with a Travel

Agent
 You can buy everything you need for  It can be more expensive if you just
your holiday in one place in a high want to book a flight as there is a
street shop. service fee included.
 You speak to someone face to face,  Choices may be limited for excursions,
who help you to find the best deal. return tickets or hotels the agent has
 You speak to someone who knows chosen
where the best places are, what the  Cost – often excursions offered by
best products are and can give you agencies are more expensive than at
expert advice. the destination.
 You know you can complain and get  Some tour operators offer incentives
money back if something goes wrong for agents to meet targets; as a
result, customers may be sold things
they do not need.

Online Travel Services.

Some travel agencies now operate only on the internet to save
costs of running a high street shop. These allow customers to
access information about airlines, hotels, car-rental companies,

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cruise lines and last-minute travel packages. Customers can then make their own bookings
online.

Advantages of Online Travel Services Disadvantages of Online Travel Services.

 Easy for the customer to book their  No expert help, no one to talk to for
holiday when they want. advice.
 Customers can compare products and  Limited choice of itinerary.
costs of services of lots of holiday  Lack of security online can lead to
providers. credit card theft or identity theft.
 Easy to make up the holiday that  Customer has to sort out their own
matches your own needs. problems if something goes wrong.
 You find out instantly what is available,  It is easy to miss things when you book
making it easy to get last minute deals. yourself e.g. transport to and from the
airport, insurance etc.

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Passenger transport:
Role
To take people from one place to where they want to travel.
To ensure that journeys are safe and passenger transport is safe.

Types
Road – Most domestic tourism takes place using road transport.
People taking day trips usually go by car. Coach Holiday companies
also plan their holidays using major road routes. Holidaymakers can
book the coach to travel from home to their destination (where they want to go).

Advantage of Road Travel Disadvantages of Road Travel

 Cars can stop whenever they want.  Fuel is expensive.
 They can take more luggage.  There is a lot of traffic which slows
 There are not many toll roads (ones you down.
you have to pay to travel on) in the UK.  It is hard for inbound tourists who
 You can listen to your own music - as have to get use to driving on the
loud as you want! opposite side of the road.
 These days navigation is easy if you  You have to concentrate to avoid
have a satnav device. accidents, (there are more road
accidents than other forms of travel).
This is tiring for the driver.

Rail – Travelling by rail is a popular form of transport for both long and
short journeys. Train stations are found in central locations that link
regional (one area), national (the whole country) and international
(across different countries) rail networks. Popular routes are usually
between major cities and will run often, and most at high speeds.

Advantages of Rail Travel Disadvantages Of Rail Travel

 Very comfortable (especially first  It is expensive.
class).  Prices can be very confusing.
 You can get almost everywhere by rail.  Changes can be difficult for foreign
 You can sleep, read and work while travellers.
travelling.  Sometimes you have to change train a
 There is a very good safety record.. few times to get to where you want to
 You can buy food and drink, there is a go. This can be difficult with a lot of
toilet and some have a restaurant. luggage or children.
 Most now have charging facilities and  Can be very busy and noisy.
WiFi.  Trains can be cancelled and delayed.

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Air – This is the fastest way to travel long distances and is provided by lots of different
airlines. Some offer domestic routes (inside the country) and most offer international
routes (to different countries).
 Scheduled Airlines – these are also known as full
serviced airlines. This means that the price of the
ticket includes a baggage allowance, food, drinks and
entertainment on board e.g. Virgin, British Airways.
 Low-Cost scheduled airlines – the ticket price is low
but extra fees are charged for each service, for
items such as pre booked seats, luggage allowance, food and drinks and priority
boarding, e.g. Easy Jet and Ryanair.
 Charter Airlines – these flights are only there for holiday schedules and therefore do
not run all through the year or as often.

Advantage of Air Travel Disadvantages of Air Travel

 Comfortable – especially in first class.  Very expensive – especially first class.
 Allows you to travel much further  Fairly cramps seating in economy.
around the world.  Flights can be delayed due to weather.
 Can eat, sleep, read, walk about on the  You have to check in 2 hours before
journey. You can also buy snacks, hand making it quite time consuming.
drinks and meals on board.
 High safety record.

Sea –Travel by ferry is an important form of transport; around one in seven visits to the UK
are made by ferry. The main routes to the UK run from the south coast ports to France,
The Netherlands and Spain; west coast ports to the
Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and east
coast ports to Scandinavia. Passengers can travel by
foot but normally they arrive by car or coach. Due to
airlines improving, ferry companies have had to improve
the quality of products and services they provide.
Most offer a range of food, entertainment,
accommodation for journeys over 2 hours and shopping facilities.

Advantage of Sea Travel Disadvantages of Sea Travel

 Very comfortable and you can book  Very slow to reach destination.
bedrooms on some ferries.  You can suffer from sea sickness.
 Lots of fun things to do – casinos,  They can be delayed due to bad
swimming pools, cinemas. weather,
 Can sleep. eat, rest and walk about on
the journey. You can also buy snacks,
drinks and meals on board.
 Fairly safe, although they do sink so
many people can be killed.
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Types of Transport

Transport Definition Examples

Regional transport (specific Local transport that Metrolink
regions in a country) covers large areas or
specific regions in the
country. Tourists may use
regional transport to get First Buses
around their destination
and to visit other local
attractions in the region.

National Transport Transport that can get National Express Coaches

someone from one part of
the country to another.
National transport
networks are often used National Rail Network
for domestic tourism and
business tourism.

Global / International Transport networks that Virgin Atlantic

transport travel outside country
borders to connect to
international destinations.
Eurostar

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Accommodation:

Accommodation Definition
sectors
Serviced Accommodation with facilities and services that can be
Accommodation included in the price of a room e.g. housekeeping,
meals, concierge, room service, gym and entertainment.
Non-serviced The product is accommodation only e.g. bed. Additional
Accommodation (room facilities may be available like tea and coffee making.
only)
Self-Catering Accommodation which includes a kitchen so you can
Accommodation cook for yourself.

Types of Serviced Accommodation

 Hotels - Provide private services for guests. They can
be large and small and go from a small budget to a large
budget. Many have a 1-5 star rating (1=low budget
5=Luxury) so the tourist has an idea on the quality of
the hotel. The majority serve breakfast and dinner, and
they usually have an alcohol licence. Normally people stay
in hotels for short, irregular amounts of time.
 Motels - They are specifically set up close to a major
road or city centre for convenience of motorists.
Payment for the hotel may not be required until check-
in. Meals are provided by a separate restaurant facility.
 Guest Houses/Bed and Breakfast - These are small private businesses often run by
families usually in a private house. Stays can vary from one night to a few days.
Sometimes business people will use them for longer/regular stays. The range of
services is limited; breakfast is available however other meals may not be provided.

Types of Non Serviced Accommodation

 Self-Catering Accommodation – These include apartments (a flat that you hire),
Villas/Cottages (a house that you hire) and chalets (a small house type building you
hire). These all include bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room area. They will also
have a bathroom. They are hired or let out for a week at a time. They can be rented
from an agency or directly from the owner. You would pay one price for the week no
matter how many people are staying. You would do your own cooking.

 Youth Hostels - These are cheap to stay in. You can sleep in dormitory style
accommodation (a large room for males or females with rows of beds), in a shared
room or in a private room. Some have cooking facilities. These are aimed at young
people and people who want to go on holiday by walking from place to place with all
their things in a rucksack (backpackers). People usually only stay for 1 or 2 nights.

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 Camping and Caravan Sites – provide pitches
(an area of ground) for visitors to bring their
own tents or caravans. Some have caravans
that are there all the time and people hire them
for their holidays. You can pay for water and
electricity to hook up to your caravan. They
will have a bathroom and toilet block that you
can use. Some have shops and entertainment on
site.

 Holiday Parks – you can hire self-catering accommodation. It is usually basic with a
kitchen, bedrooms, living area and a bathroom. Many will have on site entertainment or
sports facilities, shops and activities for families. Some are in the countryside; others
are based by the coast.

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Visitor Attractions:

Type of Definition Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

attractions
Natural A natural feature of Peak District Dorset coast Sherwood
attraction the environment that National Park Forest
is interesting to
tourists.
Some natural areas
have been built to
help protect the
environment.
Purpose A man-made London Eye Alton Towers Twycross zoo
built attraction that has
attraction been built to attract
tourists.

Heritage Attractions Windsor Castle Lincoln Cathedral Stonehenge

attractions associated with
history and/or
culture.
These can include:
1. Historic buildings
or historic
coastlines that
were NOT built
for tourists in the
past however,
they do attract
tourists due to
their history.
2. Places that
contain pieces of
history. E.g.
museum.
Heritage tourism may
also help protect
traditions and
historic features.

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Purpose of Visitor Attractions:
 Entertainment – many purpose built visitor attractions are designed to give people a
fun experience.
 Education – some purpose built visitor attractions are there to educate people about
the past, present or future.
 Leisure and recreation – the natural environment creates a place for outdoor
activities e.g. climbing. Some leisure places are built for relaxation or healthy
activities e.g. spa.
 Conservation – these are attractions designed to protect the natural environment.
They can also provide education and enjoyment.

Visitor Attractions provide a range of products and/or services. These fall into two
categories:
 Primary products – the main reason you go to a visitor attractions, e.g. rides at a
theme park.
 Secondary products - these include information and interpretation for people who
cannot speak English, rides, exhibits, events, tours and guides, educational talks,
hospitality and catering and souvenirs.

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Arts and Entertainment:

Special Events - These are non-permanent attractions that interest both tourists and local
residents. They happen periodically. This could be every year, or every few years.
Some of these happen in the same place each time, e.g. the Robin Hood Pageant, whereas
others change place each time, e.g. The Olympics. They include:

 Mega Events – these attract people from all over the world. They are attended by
large numbers. They get international television and newspaper coverage e.g. The
Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.

 Hallmark events – These are events that are linked to the character and culture of
the country, e.g. The Chelsea Flower Show.

 Major Events – These attract large numbers and TV and newspaper coverage, e.g.
Formula One Grand Prix.

 Local Community Events – These are aimed at local people for their social, fun and
entertainment value. They are supported by local councils to encourage people to
take part in sports and arts activities, and for cultural tolerance and diversity, e.g.
Notting Hill Carnival.

Festivals – These are ‘special events’, as they are short term and occur once a year.
Festivals celebrate a wide range of interests or activities, including music, literature, arts
and crafts, food, comedy or film. Festivals will usually have entertainment activities
alongside the main event, and a variety of products and services. These include;
 Markets
 Food and drink stalls/rides
 Shopping
 Crafts
 Maps and programmes
 Toilets
 Health and hygiene facilities
 Security
 Stewards.

Theatre – A theatre is a building with a stage where people pay for tickets to be
entertained. Many towns have theatres offering a variety of entertainment these include;
 Drama
 Comedy
 Plays
 Musicals
 Opera
 Ballet
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