Starter: Write down your favourite UK (Domestic)tourist location. Say why this is so.

Key Idea: Effective management strategies are the key to the continuing prosperity of tourist areas in the UK. Learning objectives: To understand how tourism contributes to the UK economy To establish the key external factors affecting UK tourism To understand the Butler tourist resort life-cycle model Learning outcomes: You will complete a series of notes on the growth of UK tourism, make an analysis of a composite line graph and make definitions of types of tourism in the UK. Make an analysis of the external factors that affect tourism in the UK Study the Butler Model – Tourist area life cycle model and apply it to a case study - Blackpool

Visit Britain Visit Britain NE England

The growth of tourism in the UK. Almost all UK tourism used to be domestic, as only the rich or privileged were able to go abroad. Domestic holidays can be cheap or expensive – we could camp or hotel. Domestic tourism grew quickly in the 1950’s and 1960’s when our growing economy gave higher pay and more time off work. The UK seaside resorts peaked in mid 1970’s with 40 million visitors annually. Then they entered decline as package holidays abroad increased. Between the world wars, wealthier people began to go abroad. Then, aided by cheap package tours and guaranteed weather, lower income travellers did the same. Benidorm was cheaper than the UK!

Britain has long been a key tourist destination from abroad. Around 35 million visitors arrive each year and London is one of the worlds favourite cities. Facts: The UK is popular due to its countryside, historic landmarks, famous churches and cathedrals and its castles and palaces. London is popular due to its theatres, shops and museums. It attracts half of all our tourist visitors from abroad. In 2012 the total contribution of tourism to the economy was £106 billion and it employed (directly and indirectly 2.4 million people. The Tower of London was the most visited paying attraction at 2.4 million and the British Museum was the most visited free attraction at 5.5 million. In the West Midlands the top paying attraction was Cadbury World at 663,000 and free attraction was MAC – Birmingham arts centre with 900,000 visitors.

What external factors might affect the UK tourist industry? Share ideas as a whole class 1. Terrorism – The attacks on the London Underground on 7th July 2007 saw a reduction in visitors 2. Exchange rates and Banking crisis – the value of the pound to other currencies affects numbers of visitors. If it is low then numbers will rise. The banking crisis of 2008 meant people had less money to spend and holidays suffered. 3. Major events – big events attract e.g. the 2012 Olympics 4. World Economy – in times of recession people cut back on luxuries and tourism falls. Its not all bad because UK citizens are likely to use UK holiday bases 5. Weather – Bad weather will discourage tourists e.g. the really wet summer of 2007.

The Butler Model Tourist area/resort life cycle model – The Butler Model The model is a way of looking at the evolution of tourism over time. Like all models it is a simplification of reality. It looks at how resorts grow, develop and adapt to change. It is possible to use actual examples and compare them with the model.

Within the 6 stages the following happens; 1) EXPLORATION - people looking for something different in a holiday find a place that is special in terms of its culture, natural beauty, history or landscape. There may be no tourist services available and local people will not be involved in tourist money making activities. 2) INVOLVEMENT - local people start to notice that there are increasing numbers of people coming to their local area. They start businesses to provide accommodation, food, guides, and transport. 3) DEVELOPMENT - Big companies start to see the emerging potential of the area as a tourist resort and therefore start to invest money in the region. They build large hotel complexes and sell package holidays. This makes the numbers of tourists swell dramatically and massively expands the number of job opportunities for people in the local region, in both tourist related jobs and in construction and services. 4 ) CONSOLIDATION - The local economy is probably dominated by tourism at this stage, and many local people will make their money from this type of industry. However, this can remove people from other industries such as farming and fishing and these industries can suffer as a result. There will be continued building and expansion of the resort BUT some of the older buildings will start to become unattractive and a lower quality client base might result.

5) STAGNATION - competition from other resorts, rowdiness and a loss of the original features (e.g. if it had a great beach but that is now crowded and full of rubbish) can cause the resort to stop growing. The number of people going levels off then starts to decline, threatening local businesses and services. 6) DECLINE OR REJUVENATION? From the stagnation point onwards there are 2 basic possibilities: Decline in various forms or rejuvenation (regrowth of the resort) Decline can be slow or rapid, and regular visitors are replaced by people seeking a cheap break or day trippers. Rejuvenation involves a cash injection from either a private company or the government, to create a new attraction within the original resort to boost its popularity - such as the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool. The growth of Blackpool