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The
travel and tourism industry is the world’s biggest and fastest growing
industry and this unit
offers an understanding of it. Through the study of this unit you will have the opportunity
to: _
investigate the reasons for the rapid growth
in travel and tourism since the end of the Second
World War _
learn that the UK travel and tourism industry
is made up of a wide variety of commercial and
non-commercial organisations that interact to supply products and services to tourists _
learn about the present significance of the
industry to the UK economy _
investigate the wide ranging career
opportunities available in the industry, so that you can
identify the employment opportunities that match your aspirations, skills and abilities. The
unit supports the more detailed study of the travel and tourism industry that
you will carry
out through other parts of your Advanced VCE. tourism
cover the whole phenomenon of people travelling away from home, whether for business
or for leisure and the industry that supports this activity. To understand the
structure of
the industry you need to know the main types of tourism: _
domestic (UK residents taking trips or
holidays in the UK) _
inbound (overseas tourists visiting the UK) _
outbound (UK residents taking holidays outside
the UK). You
also need to know the main reasons why people travel, _
leisure _
business _
visiting friends/relatives. developments
since the end of the Second World War. You need to understand the main factors
that have led to the growth of the travel and tourism industry including: _
changing socio-economic circumstances (eg,
increase in car ownership, increase in leisure
time and disposable income, for many people) _
technological developments (eg, jet aircraft,
computerised reservation systems) _
product development and innovation (eg,
introduction of holiday camps, package tours, long-haul
destinations) _
changing consumer needs, expectations and
fashions. The
travel and tourism industry is continually developing to meet changing consumer
needs and
perceptions. The key features of today’s travel and tourism industry reflect
the dynamic nature
of the industry. These features include: _
it is predominantly private sector led _
the majority of enterprises are small and
medium-sized _
there is extensive use of new technologies _
it is vulnerable to external pressures (eg,
currency fluctuation, government legislation, climatic
changes, war and civil unrest) _
the positive and negative impact on host
communities (eg, economic, social,
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_
tourist attractions (eg, natural, built) _
accommodation and catering (eg,
serviced/self-catering) _
tourism development and promotion (eg, tourist
boards, tourist information, guiding services) _
transportation (eg, land, sea, air) _
travel agents, in terms of multiples,
independents and functions and products _
tour operations, in terms of mass market,
specialist and domestic and incoming. You
also need to understand the differences between commercial and non-commercial organisations
in terms of: _
defining and meeting objectives _
funding or revenue generation _
stakeholder or shareholder expectations. the
scale of the industry and its components. You can do this by investigating key
industry statistics
such as: _
consumer spending on travel and tourism in the
UK _
the number of people employed in the industry
and the types of jobs _
number of tourists coming into the UK _
number of UK residents taking holidays in the
UK (domestic tourists) and outside the UK
(outgoing tourists). variety
of enterprises of different sizes. As one of the fastest-growing sectors of the
UK economy,
there is a wide range of job opportunities for people with the right skills, knowledge
and personal qualities. UNIT
1: INVESTIGATING TRAVEL & TOURISM (ADVANCED) To
increase your knowledge of career opportunities in travel and tourism, you will
need to investigate: _
the range of employment opportunities (eg,
variety of industry sectors, full-time, parttime, temporary,
permanent, seasonal) _
the nature of employment (eg, unsocial hours,
a ‘people business’) _
personal and technical skills and qualities
required by employers _
how to find jobs in travel and tourism. obtain
information for their work or to provide accurate and up-to-date information to customers.
Researching involves: _
being clear about what you are trying to find
out _
knowing how to search for information _
deciding what is useful _
collecting and presenting relevant information _
drawing conclusions about your findings _
acknowledging your sources. You
need to use your research skills to build up your knowledge and understanding of
travel destinations.
Those already working in the travel and tourism industry expect you to know how
to carry out research, using a variety of sources including: _
primary sources (eg, people working in travel
and tourism, customers) _
secondary sources (eg, example gazetteers,
brochures, maps, atlases, guidebooks, textbooks,
the internet, newspapers and trade journals).
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purpose-built resorts (eg, Disneyland Paris,
Center Parcs) _
countryside areas (eg, forests, mountains,
lakes) _
historical/cultural destinations (eg, Pompeii,
Pisa, Madrid). Each
of these destination types has its own particular features. These can appeal to
visitors in different
ways and different combinations. Features include: _
climate (eg, sunshine hours, rainfall,
humidity) _
topography (eg, mountains, lakes, coastline) _
natural attractions (eg, waterfalls, cliffs,
forests) _
built attractions (eg, stately homes, ancient
monuments, theme parks) _
events (eg, carnivals, music festivals) _
food, drink and entertainment (eg, cafés,
restaurants, bars, nightclubs) _
types of accommodation (eg, self-catering,
serviced) _
types of transport (eg, buses, ferries) _
accessibility to travel and tourism gateways (eg,
airports, seaports, land bordercrossings). needs
of older people, who may prefer a quieter area. Similarly, the needs of a
backpacker travelling
independently, on a limited budget, will be different from those of someone on
an expensive, all-inclusive _
North America (USA and Canada) _
the Caribbean _
Australasia (Australia and New Zealand). Travellers
have a choice of transport types when deciding how to travel to their
destination. They
can choose to travel by: _
road (motorways, autobahns, major trunk
routes, Channel Tunnel) _
rail (high-speed lines, scenic railways) _
air (charter, scheduled flights) _
sea (ferry routes, cruises). _
airports _
seaports _
land border-crossings. As
somebody hoping to work in travel and tourism, you need to be able to identify
the main routes
and gateways that tourists can use when travelling in continental Europe and to
longhaul destinations. _
cost (eg, accommodation, transport, costs at
the destination) _
economic conditions (in the UK and the
destination, exchange rate fluctuations). Social
and political considerations: _
promotion (eg, by the tour operator, by the
destination) _
exclusivity _
over-commercialisation _
crime _
political instability/unrest _
media coverage (positive and negative) _
tourism management (positive and negative) _
the growth of independent travel _
the growth of short-break holidays. Environmental
and geographical considerations: _
accessibility _
climate _
pollution _
natural disasters.
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