Tourist Destination Assignment
Qualification - BTEC Higher National Diploma in Travel and Tourism Management
Unit number and title - Unit 9 Tourist Destination
QCF Level - Level 4
Unit Code: T/601/1748
Introduction
This unit introduces learners to the main UK and worldwide tourist destinations in terms of visitor numbers and income generation and their location. Learners will look into the cultural, social and physical features of those destinations and the issues and trends that affect their popularity, as part of the essential selling skills and knowledge needed by managers within the travel and tourism sector.
Through studying visitor numbers, statistics and other relevant data, learners should be more aware of past issues affecting tourism, enabling them to appreciate the impact they can have ona destination and its continued popularity.
Aim:
The aim of this unit is to enable learners to gain understanding of UK and worldwide destinations, their cultural, social and physical features, their characteristics and issues affecting their popularity
Purpose of this assignment
This assignment gives a learner the opportunity to exhibit understanding of UK and worldwide destinations, their cultural, social and physical features, their characteristics and issues affecting their popularity
About TUI Group
TUI Group is the world's number one tourism business. TUI Group broad portfolio consist of tour operators, 1,800 travel agencies and leading online portals, six airlines more than 130 aircraft, over 300 hotels with 210,000 beds, 13 cruise liners and countless incoming agencies in all major holiday destinations around the globe. This integrated offering will enables the group to provide over 30 million customers with holiday experience in 180 regions.
Scenario
You are working in the Product and business development teamat TUI Group as a Business Development Analyst. Product development team operates around the globe making sure that the right kind of holidays is provided to excite new customers, whilst keeping the loyalty of existing customers. Business Development seeks out new business opportunities across the board - from defining product to increasing sales - whilst Product Development focuses on identifying and developing new travel experiences.
The new product manager has recognized that there are challenges in the tourist destinations UK and worldwide. He wants you to produce an information pack to enable him make good decisions and planning that might be pursued to further improvement of their holiday.
Unit content:
LO1 Understand the scope of key UK and worldwide tourist destinations
Main destinations: by income generated, visitor numbers and tourism statistics
Tourist destinations: major tourist destinations selected from UK, Europe and the rest of the world
Generators: source of tourists
LO2 Understand the cultural, social and physical features of tourist destinations
Cultural: resources e.g. museums, monuments, churches, megaliths, festivals, food, drink, music
Social: social groups e.g. national, regional, religious; needs of different customer groups; impact of tourism on resources and the local community; carrying capacity; sustainability; local and national government policies; alternatives to mass market
Physical: landscape e.g. geology of lakes, mountains, coastline, profile of beaches, flora and fauna, preferences of landscape; effects of people and the need for conservation e.g. urban infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, transport networks
LO3 Understand how the characteristics of destinations affect their appeal to tourists
Economic characteristics: economic growth and development; the process of economic development in countries e.g. pre-industrial society, industrial to a service economy; components of gross domestic product; provision of consumer goods; exportation of primary products; fluctuation of process in export markets; dependency on industrial countries; tourism as an economic alternative
Physical characteristics: physical conditions e.g. poor urban infrastructure, lack of clean water supply, inadequate sanitation, lack of utilities, poor transport network
Social characteristics: e.g. population pressures, infant mortality, life expectancy, migration from rural to urban living, levels of poverty, construction and roles of family units, quality of life, incidence of disease, literacy levels, role of women and children
Political characteristics: forms of government e.g. absolutist, democratic, emergent democracy, tribal, theocratic; corruption, international links; use of tourism as a political tool e.g. Cuba, Burma
Destinations: selected from UK, Europe and the rest of the world, leading destinations, developing destinations
Appeal: popularity, change in visitor numbers, types of visitor e.g. business, pleasure, visiting friends and relatives; change, product life cycle.
LO 4 Understand issues likely to affect the popularity of tourist destinations
Issues: e.g. climate, global warming, Arctic flows, ocean current, natural disasters, natural phenomena; sustainability; political e.g. use of tourism as a political tool, human rights, growth of nationalism and religious fundamentalism; terrorism; economics; trade links, sports links, linguistic links, ethical, role of the media, conflict with agriculture
Popularity: visitor numbers, statistics, economic data; tourist generation e.g. factors determining demand, reason for growth; world distribution - domestic and international
Task 1 (LO1 AC 1.1, 1.2)
You should prepare a formal written report to be given to the product development team for further discussion. Firstly you have to analyse the main tourist destinations at least top five destinationse.g. UK, Europe and the rest of the world and to include the main generators in the world in terms of visitor numbers and income generation.For example by identifying the number of visitors, nights and spending by purpose and by country of visit using the recent data available (AC1.1).You should thenanalyse statistics to determine tourism destination trends and predict future trend (AC1.2). Submit written report with data and text tables (approx. 1000)
Task 2 (LO2, AC2.1, 2.2)
You are working as an assistant product development manager at TUI Group. Your brief includes building product knowledge and understanding of customer requirements through regular overseas visits to review the current programme and identify new products; working closely with internal customers promoting product knowledge awareness and providing training on programme particularly in the Travel Centre.
TUI Group seeks out new business opportunities across the globe and has recently recruited new staff joining the product development team.
You have been asked to select at least two tourist destinations where TUI Group is seeking new business opportunities such as UK, Europe, Thailand, Spain, Mexico, Egypt, Turkey, China, Jamaica, Cuba, Kenya, India, Brazil and Nepal. In your presentation you have to firstly analyse the cultural, social and physical features of the tourist destinations explaining their appeal to tourists (AC 2.1) and secondly, you will also create atext table where you compare features of developing and leading tourist destinations given above. Oral presentation supported by PowerPoint slides to be given to the Travel Centre staff attending the training workshop (2.2) (approx. 800). Your assessor may provide an observation record to confirm whether this has been achieved.
TASK 3 (LO3, AC3.1, 3.2)
You are working as a Business Development Analyst and you have been asked to create a data and text table where you will compare the appeal of current leading tourist with that of currently developing tourist destinations to be presented to marketing department to assist them in marketing activity (AC3.1) (approx. 300) and provide amanagementreportwhere you evaluate how characteristics of a tourist destination affect its appeal with reference to either Cuba, North Korea or Burma (AC3.2)(approx. 500).
TASK 4 (LO, AC4.1, 4.2)
You have recently joined TUI Group Strategy and Sustainable development team. The natural aim of the business is to prosper and grow leading to more career opportunities and offering customers with ever-better travel experiences. TUI travel aims to grow the business in a responsible manner. At TUI Travel Sustainable Development goes hand in hand both at a team level as well as community's level.
Group Strategy sets the overall future strategic direction and priorities, liaising with the businesses to understand their markets and needs. Senior leaders have to make sure this is delivered within their core business. TUI Group work to ensure that their plans don't undermine their commitment to making a positive impact to the societies, environment and communities in which they operate.
TUI Group Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct adopts the principles of the UN Global Compact Initiative and formulates minimum standards in five major areas: TUI's basic values, respect and honesty, adherence to the law, ethical standards and business methods, and social responsibility.
TUI Group's approach to sustainability
As the world's largest integrated leisure tourism business, we are proud of the positive role our industry plays around the world. The travel and tourism sector accounts for 9% of the world's GDP and 6% of its exports*. It is responsible for one in 11 jobs globally* and is the main source of foreign exchange in one-third of developing countries**.
There are also significant challenges. Travel and tourism accounts for around 5% of global carbon emissions** - half of which is attributable to aviation. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions which is a key challenge for TUI.
Our vision is to make travel experiences special whilst minimising environmental impact, respecting culture and people and bringing economic benefits to communities.
* United Nations World Tourism Organisation, 2014
** United Nations Environment Programme, 2014
Views from CEO, TUI Group
Future proofing our business
TUI is the world's leading tourism business - and leaders have to take responsibility. Our society increasingly expects respected brands and companies like TUI to demonstrate leadership for a sustainable future.
TUI has been recognised as a leader in sustainable tourism. We have worked hard to embed environmental and social considerations into business operations, because we believe it is vital to our company's future.
We believe a clear focus on sustainability differentiates us from the competition and generates value. Our listing in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the ninth year in succession is endorsement of our sustainability strategy, and is a spur to our unbroken commitment to environmental, economic and social objectives. We also achieved joint first place in the FTSE 350 with a ‘perfect 100' score for climate change reporting and transparency from the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index in the UK.
Our business case is clear. Sustainability delivers a range of benefits: cost efficiencies, quality improvements and the enhanced engagement of our stakeholders, including customers, colleagues, suppliers and destination governments. It future-proofs our business and the global industry.
We are looking forward to continuing this record as TUI Group. Both TUI Travel and TUI AG had a strong history and good reputation in this area, and the joining of our businesses can only enhance and improve our sustainability performance. In short, sustainability is an integral component of a modern, efficient, forward-thinking tourism company.
Fritz Joussen, CEO, TUI Group
Your brief as The Executive Assistant for Sustainability is to develop, coordinate, and administer programs and advise policies within the area of sustainability at TUI Group. Your line manager has asked you to write a management report summary to be presented to a senior sustainability executiveanalysing issues that affect the popularity of tourist destinations (AC 4.1) (approx. 500 words) and secondly to produce a draft magazine article that could be published in Travel and Tourism Gazette where you discuss the potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide tourist destinations where TUI group operates with reference to Europe, Turkey ,Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Egypt, and Thailand. (AC4.2).