Emerging issue in Tourism

The study involves a travel agency named Star Travel Ltd. that designs packages for tour at two major destinations in UK, thus promoting cultural and eco tourism. The destinations that it provides in its package are Londonderry for cultural visit and Alnwick for eco-tourism. Further this report also includes study of issues that are prevailing in urban and cultural travels. Another part of report deals in trends and development in visiting natural places and issues that are impacting development of eco- tours. Finally the report identifies impacts of eco- tourism on nature and wildlife.

TASK 1

1.1 Issues concerned with development of urban tourism

Urban tourism means taking holidays or vacations for the purpose of visiting historical places and interiors of the city. The tour is undertaken to explore interesting and natural features of the city (Timur and Getz, 2008). The cities to be visited are involved in marketing its key tourist areas and attractions at different stadiums, city block etc. Tourism has been considered as an important part and policy of urban development which helps in fulfilling competitive expectations of visitors and it also contributes in positive development of the economy. The main motive of urban tourism is to provide a unique and wonderful experience to the visitors by satisfying all expectations related to the journey along with food, accommodation and experience at the place (Arthur and Mensah, 2006).

Taking into consideration those cities of England which highly encourages people touring for leisure. According to a research it has been found that Norwich is the most visited place for urban visits where most of the people are concerned with taking leaves and visiting its cultural heritage and viewing its infrastructure and other buildings. Norwich is a city of England which is also considered to be the largest city after London. It has large number of places as its tourist attractions along with its culture, heritage, music and entertainment etc (Selby, 2004). It is known for its excellent architecture and recreational

Activities

People may visit a particular place again based on the previous experience of the destination. There are several problems and issues in urban areas that impact the development of tourism. These are:

Problems like traffic and mismanaged laws: There are many problems at urban places that may impact development of tourism in the city. Take the example of Norwich which faces problems of traffic due to presence of huge population in the city. (Law, 2002). This traffic problem may lead to frequent bottlenecks that may create dissatisfaction among visitors. Improper law enforcement for visitors and such traffic problems also develops a negative image in the minds of people which in turn affects the goodwill of the city. The public places must implement laws to sustain them as tourist attractions.

Pollution and uncontrolled environment: There are several other issues related to environment for instance the pollution in the city is declining the tourism. (Spirou, 2011). Due to huge and uncontrolled traffic, there are higher chances of air pollution. Further, proper implementation of laws is required that can keep a check on emissions etc. People residing in Norwich must have proper rules and laws guiding them to protect their environment, water bodies and other natural resources. The people must be convinced towards making efforts to keep their city clean and green

Lack of wealth investment and government funds: The government of England must show proper interest in the development of Norwich city and interior destinations it is important for government of the city to invest more wealth in improving conditions of heritage and tourist places, airports, roads etc (Rogerson and Visser, 2007). Improper roads and transport network may impact tourism industry of the city and the crowded and bumpy roads may also affect perception of people towards visiting the place again.

Quality of service to tourists: The city must be focussed upon providing better services to people who visit it. Food; accommodation and other facilities like entertainment, shopping, network availability are important issues to be concentrated upon (Colantonio and Potter, 2006). To develop urban tourism in cities like Norwich, industry must also focus upon service quality it has been providing to the individuals.

1.2 Issues considered with development of cultural tourism

Cultural tourism is referred to as that category of tourism which is related to a country’s culture and helps in understanding the history and the life of people of a particular area. Visiting the culture of any place involves visiting places concerning art, architecture, heritage, religion and different aspects of life in that particular area (Smith and Richards, 2013). Some cities also develop museums and natural parks which contribute in defining heritage of a particular place. People prefer to take vacations for visiting and exploring such places to learn about different culture and life style of the people. It is very important for travel agency to plan tours to best destination for people who are concerned with cultural tourism. Selecting Londonderry as the city to visit its cultural heritage would be the most beneficial in identifying various aspects to be considered.

Londonderry, also known as Derry is the second largest city in Northern Ireland. It has been named as the city of culture in 2013 which has been helpful in developing its image among tourists. Further it is also important to understand that government at Londonderry is making efforts to increase cultural tours in city (Correia, Kozak and Ferradeira, 2013). There are numerous issues impacting development of cultural travel in the city which involves:

Policy and politics: Effective laws are required to be framed for tourism industry and urban residents to contribute and support its development. It is important to see that officials properly manage heritage and tourist places, and ensure they are clean, safe and attractive to visit.

Representation impact: The representation of Londonderry on various issues and exemplifying itself to be the best place to visit is important to promote tourism in the city (Gibson and et.al., 2003). Developing better museums, theatres and facilities are important for the city to present its positive image to the visitors.

Marketing and branding: The places which are most frequently visited and considered to be a tourist place also require proper marketing and branding to promote tourism. There are several people that earn their living through tourism industry therefore government of Londonderry needs to invest more amount in marketing its culture and heritage so as to attract people It is important for the city to develop better events and activities like sports, entertainment, music and arts (Gezici and Kerimoglu, 2010).

Regeneration and planning: This is another issue that can impact tourism development in a positive way. The government needs to involve for better planning to modernise the city and to equipt it full of facilities. Londonderry needs to ensure that it does not face issues due to its improper planning of taxes and inadequate development of places for tourism (Ritchie, Tung, and Ritchie, 2011).

Preserving heritage and culture: It is another issue that emerges for the city that demands people to support and contribute to government for preservation of their cultural heritage which will definitely promote tourism. The residents of the city along with the government need to revive its culture from time to time which helps to m builds better image in the mind of tourists.

Innovating and developing places visited: An issue may also arise where tourism industry of Londonderry invests amounts for the development of the city but is unable to identify, key areas of tourist attractions (Huang and Xiao, 2000). This further requires taking feedback from the visitors and understanding tourist’s perception towards places visited by them. This would give an idea about places to be developed and to be equipped with better facilities.

1.3Analysing impacts of urban and cultural tourism

There are several impacts of tours supported by cities of UK that require understanding various issues that foster and hinder development of this industry. Firstly considering the urban travel in Norwich it is clear that local people and government would surely be benefited in promoting frequency of visits to this city. Still various issues identified hinder development of these places making it in appropriate to be visited. The strength of urban tourism is that they promote economy of country by helping people involved in this industry earn their living. But this can be contradicted based on its impact on the city. (Sharma and Dyer, 2009). The increased number of visitors if not managed effectively, becomes a part of traffic congestion leading to disturbance to the entire city. Further if there is no proper management system in the city to manage such problems of traffic it is going to impact tourism industry on the other hand.

It can also be stated that increased number of people is a cause of pollution and if effective measures are not taken to keep a check on pollution then tourists will not visit such places again. Further authors like Edwards, Griffin, Hayllar, (2008) argue that improper government control and policies in Norwich will impact its overall tourism sector as the places would be no more attractive to visit and a place without laws become uncontrollable. From different arguments it is evident that people need to provide efficient service to visitors to satisfy them and to fulfil their expectations (Edwards, Griffin and Hayllar, 2008). This can be done by development of urban areas and investing funds by government for overall development of cities like Norwich.

There are authors like Smith, (2003) who have been arguing over the impacts of cultural tourism on the cities involved in its promotion. Cities like Londonderry is greatly involved in promotion of cultural visits that helps in development of many opportunities for people. It has further been argued that developing cultural tourism requires greater investments in terms of preserving heritage and other places of the city that could be visited by tourists. The cultural tourism also impacts management of city in ways that government requires efficient planning; resources to plan strategies and to promote tours and this can be helpful only if effective marketing is done (Smith, 2003). This can be contradicted in the sense that if Londonderry gets involved in effective marketing and branding its city then it would have a better and positive impact on the city. This would require the city to promote its activities, sponsor events and involve in positive actions that build up a good image of the city

The culture can also be promoted by sponsoring events like sports for which city is famous and by encouraging activities like music and arts that brings more visitors to place. The impact of cultural and urban tourism can be positive if it contributes large share in the economy of country ignoring its negative impacts of pollution, traffic and investments required (Jackson, 2008). The impacts become negative if government and people fully get involved in the development of tourism of the city ignoring other aspects. Due to these impacts they may lack more earning through investment and thus leads to lower tourists visiting destinations like Norwich and Londonderry. It also implies that developing specialized activities for which the city is better known, for example, sports events and music would be beneficial for getting better results on tourism for both the cities.

TASK 2

2.1 Key trends and developments in eco-tourism

Eco- tourism is an expanding form of tourism that has been growing rapidly. It is basically related with maintenance of natural environment and system and may have different purpose for different people. Some might go for an Eco-tour for exploring the nature, some for adventures and some may tour as a part of natural visits. The international Ecotourism society defines it as a travel that is done responsibly to all natural regions for the purpose of conserving environment and improving living quality of local people residing around. In order to study key trends and developments in natural visits, a destination can be selected to understand nature of ecotourism (Kiper, 2013). North Norfolk coast is a place that is famous for number of beaches and natural view and provides better scope of ecotourism in its region. It has a number of beaches and places that can be visited and it provides opportunities for visitors to explore coastal villages, nature reserves and also spotting wildlife .The beaches and natural flora and fauna of the city allow tour planners to suggest it as one of the most appropriate destinations for Eco-tourism.
There are several trends that are seen in eco-tourism at Norfolk coast which is also a reason contributing in their development. Some key trends include:

Consumer behaviour: The behaviour of people has been changing towards eco-tourism this has developing the overall industry. Due to increasing trend of travel, people are also getting attracted towards visiting such places in desire to explore the nature (Eriksson and Lidstrom, 2013). Places like Norfolk coast have taken greater popularity for environment tourism.

Social media: Social media has been another reason that is contributing in the development of eco-tourism industry. The marketing and promotions taken over this media has been responsible in developing interests among people to move to Norfolk for eco-tours. Further advantages and relishing experiences portrayed on these websites are a reason that brings more people towards eco-tourism and convince them to visit such places (Oslo Statement on Ecotourism, 2014).

Experience and leaning: Experience is another factor which drives people towards Eco-tourism. It may count for beautiful beaches, villages, nature and wildlife that may support Norfolk in developing eco-tourism. The people may visit this place not just for experience but also for the purpose of learning through nature. This is important for tour planners to define all possible adventures that could be made available to them and could convince them to tour this place. The various environment lovers and researchers also plan tours to Norfolk Coast for eco-tourism which will help them getting better experience and learning (Wegner, 2010).

Adventures: There are different types of adventures available in Norfolk for people that are basically divided into hard and soft types of adventures. Hard adventures are those involving extreme and risky activities. Further soft adventure is done for leisure purpose and involves exploring places and risk free activity. Adventures greatly develop interest among tourists to opt for such type of tours that can give them a life time experience (Turner, Berkes and Turner, 2012).

Development of economy: The increasing popularity of eco-tourism through various trends and publicity also involve indirect benefits to the society and national economy as it provides significant contribution in economy that helps local residents to earn their livelihood.

Contributing to conservation: These trends that influence people in choosing Norfolk coast and other places as destinations for eco-tourism are helpful in developing the overall industry. This development indirectly contributes towards conservation of nature and its resources (Sakellari, 2014). The people visiting these places are highly motivated and convinced through nature that drives them to contribute towards the conservation of environment and to develop awareness among people towards importance of preserving natural beauty of the earth. The government of UK therefore contributes and encourages eco-tourism for the development of overall industry as well as contributing a hand in nature conservation.

2.2 Issues impacting development of nature tourism

People have large interests in visiting natural places that provide them better experience and contribute to the development of overall industry. It is evident that encouraging tourism is important for the city to foster growth of economy and better promotions for Norfolk. Though visiting natural places has been considerably increasing its importance due to fascinating trends, still there are some issues that have been impacting development of eco-tourism (Sinclair and Jayawardena, 2003). These issues are:

Safety of wild life: The major issue that has been impacting growth of nature tourism is its negative impacts on wildlife. The people touring Norfolk coast and related places can view variety of animals wandering. Some people may go for activities like hunting and fishing for their own entertainment but this may be a threat to those animals. This issue has been increasing day- by –day thereby restricting development of such nature tours.

Environmental impacts: Apart from threat to the wildlife, there are some impacts on environment too (Kiper, 2013). In ways of developing Tourism in Norfolk coast, there are certain infrastructural developments in providing facilities to travellers like building hotels, amusement parks, roads etc that may harm natural resources. This is therefore a significant issue that hinders development of nature tourism. Also the increasing number of people at Norfolk would increase their requirements and may cause pollution problems that are again another point of concern.

Improper transport facilities: Another issue that needs to be considered impacting development of industry is inefficient transport facilities (Gale and Hill, 2012). The people might be willing to travel to remote locations of Norfolk coast that are not accessible through transport networks even by road. The government either needs to develop a better network otherwise they will miss a chance of developing a new region for sightseeing and tourism purpose. People may require better connection to different locations that they think has better scope of tourism development (Zeppel, 2006).

Lack of sufficient facilities: Apart from transport facilities and other requirements, there are some more facilities that are expected from arranging a better tour package to Norfolk. It may not be possible to arrange all the facilities like food, accommodation, communication network availability etc. that are significant for people at remote locations gone to visit such places. This might be an issue acting as a barrier to the development of this nature tourism.

Lack of government investments: This is also a factor hindering the growth of overall tourism industry that requires government and all relevant stakeholders to invest some amount in encouraging travels to Norfolk coast. They may invest in promoting visits, bringing better facilities and other features that are important for the development of overall industry (Wearing and Neil, 2009). Government is also expected to invest more in order to promote this place for an economic perspective.

Managing sustainability: People while travelling to different locations may require to consider that their travel do not harm the nature in any way and is a sustainable tour. There are various issues that fail in maintaining this sustainability. The loss of habitat due to development of infrastructure, lower availability of people at such remote locations, depletion of natural resources, cutting down trees, danger for limited species and culture etc. are some issues impacting development of natural tourism (Wegner, 2010).

2.3 Impacts of Eco- tourism on nature and wildlife environments

There are various impacts of eco-tourism on nature as well as wildlife that are important to be understood for approaching towards betterment. The impacts of natural visits on nature are mostly negative:

Pressure on environmental resources: Due to increasing number of people visiting places of UK like Norfolk, the impact on environment rises. The people arriving at such locations require several facilities for which government need to make certain developments so as to enable more people to visit. This has been indirectly a cause of degradation of natural resources (Buckley, 2004).

Deforestation: This is another impact that eco-tourism has on nature that is causing deforestation. Due to development of infrastructure, buildings, roads, transport networks, major impact is laid on trees that are laid down for this purpose. This has been a significant reason for disturbing the balance of nature and life cycles (Eriksson and Lidstrom, 2013). Cutting down trees is a big environmental issue faced by major areas of the world this t require Norfolk also to emphasize on saving these trees from being cut or planting them back to manage ecological balance.

Soil erosion: After trees are being cut down for the development of tourism, next consequence in line is soil erosion. When trees are continuously being cut down, they make the soil loose. After this, soil is worn out continuously making the land to lose its fertility and closing down further scope of land for farming and agriculture purpose.

Water and noise pollution: These are another consequences being faced by Norfolk in promoting and developing nature tourism in its area. The people travelling to this place make use of land, water and other natural resources that indirectly affect them (Sakellari, 2014). The ignorance of travellers pollutes water making it unfit for use. Further large number of visitors and vehicles are emitting smoke and noise that are cause of noise and air pollution.
Further there are some other impacts on wildlife of Norfolk causing threat on them. These can be:

Migration from forests: Due to rapidly developing business of hotels and resorts that are contributing in better service for tourists, the wild animals are getting scared and migrating from their lands losing their natural habitat. This also makes them enter in urban cities that may again be a threat to people residing in cities (Sinclair and Jayawardena, 2003).

Disturbing breeding and feeding patterns: The tourists attempting to see wild animals may impact their feeding and breeding patterns. People taking photographs and also approaching towards hunting may harm them and disturb their breeding causing loss of many species. The waste food by visitors may be eaten up by these animals that may also affect their health.

Financial donations: Further there are lot of positive impacts of tourism on wildlife that enables government in developing it (Brida, Osti and Faccioli, 2011). The fascinating wildlife creatures may be very influencing for people and leading them to be a part of contribution for development of wild life in Norfolk. People involve in donating significant financial funds to the forest conservation in desire to safeguard these wild animals.

Increasing awareness for conservation: The development of Eco-Tourism is also responsible for creating a better awareness among people to understand the importance of conservation of these animals by securing their rights and protecting them from negative impacts of tourists like hunting and fishing (Mbaiwa, 2003).

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

All places that have prospective to develop tourism must involve themselves in building up this industry. There are different destinations all over the world that can be visited for the purpose of cultural as well as environmental tourism. This report is based on the study of various issues that can be considered in urban tourism. These include various problems like traffic, pollutions etc that hinders development of this industry. Later part of report includes issues with cultural tourism that brings out consequences like lack of financial sources for development of heritage and culture. Places like Londonderry are most likely to be visited due to its distinctive culture. The government of such cities can ensure that they contribute in preserving their heritage that will enable more visits and will be a significant contribution to their economy.

Other part of report is concerned with understanding key trends and issues in eco-tourism. This has been a key trend in people now- a-days and help them to determine places that are capable of providing them best experience and adventure facilities. Destinations like Norfolk coast is selected in this study to understand impact of such tours on nature and wildlife that describes the negative impacts of promoting such tours. Further it can also be seen that allowing people to visit these places helps in developing awareness among them in making contributions& for conservation of nature and wildlife.

REFERENCES

• Arthur, A. N. S. and Mensah, V. J., 2006. Urban management and heritage tourism for sustainable development: The case of Elmina Cultural Heritage and Management Programme in Ghana. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal.
• Brida, G. J., Osti, L. and Faccioli, M., 2011. Residents' perception and attitudes towards tourism impacts: A case study of the small rural community of Folgaria (Trentino – Italy). Benchmarking: An International Journal.
• Correia, A., Kozak, M. and Ferradeira, J., 2013. From tourist motivations to tourist satisfaction. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.
• Edwards, D., Griffin, T. and Hayllar, B., 2008. Urban Tourism Research: Developing an Agenda. Annals of Tourism Research.
• Gezici, F. and Kerimoglu, E., 2010. Culture, tourism and regeneration process in Istanbul. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.

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