TOURISM

Tourist Destinations



Tourist Destinations

Introduction

Countries that have the most visited sites enjoy economic benefits by focusing more on tourism development. Tourism's significance is greatly notable in generating revenues for a country, as it attracts investments. The social, economic and the physical impacts of tourism are of great importance for a country that has so many sites to offer. Economic factors consider the balance of payments, employment and the income; the social factors look into the cultural and lifestyle aspects and the physical factors speak about the impacts that tourism plays on the natural and unnatural (man-made) environments, (Allen,1988).

Tourism, for a few countries is the only means of earning big revenues, because of the effects it has on their educational, employment, cultural and social sectors. It plays an important part as being a source for strengthening the relations among the countries. Tourism brings about a large deposit of income as a payment for the services provided. It comprises 30% of the entire world exports, pertaining to the services, (Getz, 2005). It creates great opportunities for employment in the service sector of the nation's economy as the service industries such as; hotels, transportation, shopping malls and amusement parks are also benefitted. The tourism industry in London accounts for more than 6 billion Pounds. London has a great historical value with rich culture, which attracts people not only from within England, however people from as far as the Far East Asia are also attracted by the fabulous beauty and the fashion capital of the United Kingdom.

The paper focuses on tourist destination in the United Kingdom that attracts tourists, both domestic and international. For this paper, London is being focused on. The importance of the capital city in terms of tourism for the development of the economy is discussed.

Discussion

London as a Tourist Destination

The United Kingdom ranks at number seven among the greatest and biggest tourist destinations of the world. There were seventeen billion dollars spent by the tourists, in 2010 that totaled to twenty nine million visitors. United Kingdom is mostly visited by the American tourists who in 2010 spent two billion Euros. UK with the Tower of London attracts many from different parts of the world, (Barke, 1996).

London, of all the cities in the world, is the most visited in terms of both domestic and international tourists. It is easily comparable with the destinations of the Far East, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, for that matter. London outperforms many European cities, such as Paris. In 2010, alone London was visited by more international tourists than the other parts of Wales, England and Scotland. This capital city dominates the British tourism industry through various sites, such as the British Museum that attracts more than 5 million visitors on an annual basis. Various attraction sites appeal to different tourists. The Hotel market of the capital is entirely different from that of the remaining part of the United Kingdom. It is characterized by higher room service rates and profitability for that matter, (Law, ...