Author: LILY

The chain of distribution is the group of businesses/organisations that will either transport, store or provide products/services to tourism customers/consumers. There are 4 elements to the chain of distribution which are; principles, wholesalers, retailers and consumers. The principles are accommodation providers, attractions and transport. The wholesalers are the tour operators which sell to either mass or specialist consumers. The retailers are the likes of the travel agents, such as Hays Travel, which can operate online, in the high street or through call centres. The consumers can either be for business purposes, leisure purposes, to visit friends/relatives or for other reasons. However, not all the stages are necessary, it is simply a guide rather than being compulsory for businesses/organisations to follow. Each business/organisation is different and they don’t always follow all the steps within the chain of distribution. (Tourism Teacher, 2023). 

For example, one of the steps not always needed would be the retailers and wholesalers. This is because it is now possible to book online and book all elements separately. Using online bookings rather than what wholesalers and retailers can have to offer has many advantages. One would be that customers can make comparisons by searching for the same product/service and selecting the cheapest and most convenient option for them, in comparison to a travel agent who would only have 1 offer at 1 price. More advantages include better personalisations, 24/7, the ability to book whenever (not following the opening times of travel agents), customers can add special offers and discount codes, it is easy to make cancellations and confirmations get sent straight to customers emails. Booking online involves a lot of personal responsibility, however it grants customers with much more flexibility. (Family Travel Genie 2024)

References:

Family Travel Genie (2024). Available at: https://familytravelgenie.com/is-booking-a-holiday-online-cheaper-than-using-a-travel-agent/ (Accessed 8 November 2024). 

Tourism Teacher (2023). Available at: https://tourismteacher.com/the-chain-of-distribution/ (Accessed 8 November 2024). 

Domestic tourism can be defined as travelling for business or leisure purposes in your own country. This needs to be for longer than one night away from the individual’s usual place of residence, but in the same country. Domestic tourism is extremely important for the country’s economy and it is key in allowing the country to improve infrastructure and generate employment. (Tourism Teacher, 2023).

Inbound tourism can be defined as “the act of someone travelling to another country other than that of where they live for the purpose of tourism”. Inbound tourism is also economically beneficial. Sometimes currency can be weaker in another country than a person’s home country, which increases the economic benefits for that country. (Tourism Teacher 2023). 

In the UK, in 2022, there was a significant difference in the amount of inbound tourists to domestic tourists. In terms of domestic tourism, the number of overnight visits made were 126 million which resulted in a total of 383 million nights. If we compare this to inbound tourism, we can see that the figures are much lower. There were 31.2 million visits made to the UK from overseas visitors. Although this is much lower than the number of domestic tourists, it is still an increase in the number of inbound tourists from 2020 and 2021. The number of nights that inbound tourists spent in the UK in 2022 was around 263 million, which is roughly 120 million lower than domestic tourists. The statistics for inbound tourists’ reasons for visiting in 2022 were as follows; 39% of people visited for a holiday, 38% came to visit friends or relatives, 16% visited for business reasons and 7% of inbound tourists visited for other reasons. (UK Parliament 2023).

References:

Tourism Teacher (2023). Available at: https://tourismteacher.com/domestic-tourism/ (Accessed: 20 October 2024). 

Tourism Teacher (2023). Available at: https://tourismteacher.com/inbound-tourism/ (Accessed: 20 October 2024). 

UK Parliament (2023). Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06022/SN06022.pdf (Accessed 20 October 2024). 

According to Butler’s life cycle, a destination moves through stages; exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation, after this does not always come decline, it can either be rejuvenation, decline or stability. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 114)

During the exploration stage there is little infrastructure because tourists are visiting independently to explore nature and culture. Tourism at this stage is small scale. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 115)

During the involvement stage, tourism becomes a more common thing because visitor numbers are making a small increase. This happens at a manageable growth rate. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 115)

During the development stage, tourism appears on a large scale. The destination develops to become more known as a tourist destination. Natural attractions are replaced by built attractions and there becomes more outside than inside development. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 115)

During the consolidation stage, tourist numbers increase, but growth rate slows. Tourism dominates the economy. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 115)

During stagnation, tourism exceeds capacity as it reaches its peak number of arrivals. This results in locals being pushed out by tourism and the destination relies on repeat visitors to support the economy. (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 116)

After these stages have occurred, decline is not always inevitable. One of three things can occur. A destination could decline, meaning it loses visitors, however it could also reach stability (a stable/manageable number of tourists) or reach rejuvenation, where the destination reinvents itself.   (McKercher and Prideaux, 2024, p. 116)

An example of a destination that has rejuvenated after threats of decline is Blackpool. The government invested £300 million into the regeneration of Blackpool. This regeneration project was announced by Michael Gove to boost tourism by delivering extra leisure facilities, which then created more jobs. During the time of announcement, the estimated number of jobs created would be over 1,000 and the estimated number of extra tourist visits was over 600,000 each year. Michael Gove stated that Blackpool needed a reinvestment to bring its energy back to life, the town has been overlooked and undervalues for several years. This is a perfect example showing decline is not always inevitable. (Gov, 2022). 

Gov (2022). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/levelling-up-investment-unlocks-300-million-blackpool-regeneration (Accessed: 20 October 2024)

McKercher, B. and Prideaux, B. (2024) Understanding Tourism Concepts and Theories. 2nd edn. Oxford: Wolvercote. 

To start with, Chessington World of Adventures will need physical infrastructure. Physical infrastructure is about the quality, the distribution, the mix  and availability of physical facilities and amenities. Chessington has a variety of physical infrastructure available, one type being accommodation. They have a range of different themed accommodation and they also offer basic budget accommodation. As well as this there are many surrounding hotels. Around the resort they also have a number of restaurants and food facilities, these also range from preference and budget. As a part of physical infrastructure, transport is a necessary factor to ensure that they receive a number of tourists. People can arrive by trains, cars, buses and electric cars (Chessington have charging points). 

As a theme park, Chessington needs to have lots of health and safety infrastructure in place. As well as having their own safety procedures in place, they have a large number of local/close by hospitals. Some examples include; Meadows West Park Hospital, Tolworth Hospital, Leatherhead Hospital and many other options. This will provide a sense of safety and security for tourists. Chessington follows the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, they have risk assessments, the park is covered by public liability insurance and the park is duel enforced by Public Liability Insurance.

Chessington also needs communication infrastructure. This means having facilities such as Wi-Fi so that tourists can transfer and receive information effectively. Chessington offers free Wi-Fi and their very own mobile app meaning tourists/visitors can receive any information they may need during their visit. On the app customers can view live queue times, upcoming events and they can find useful contact information for any concerns they might have. 

Finally, Chessington needs to have entertainment infrastructure. For entertainment, Chessington has a range of rides for all age groups and they also have seasonal events (Christmas, Easter, Halloween).

Building a communications infrastructure | PMI. Available at: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/building-communications-infrastructure-9040(Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

What health and safety procedures do you have in place? – official Chessington World of Adventures Resort website: Best price guaranteed for Theme Park. Available at: https://support.chessington.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001620451-What-Health-and-Safety-procedures-do-you-have-in-place- (Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

Chessington World of Adventures Resort: UK Theme Park & Zoo. Available at: https://www.chessington.com/ (Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

Chessington Hospitals | Thomson Local. Available at: https://www.thomsonlocal.com/search/hospitals/chessington-surrey (Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

 Physical Infrastructure | PHCPI. Available at: https://www.improvingphc.org/improvement-strategies/inputs/physical-infrastructure(Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

Rides & Attractions at Chessington World of Adventures Resort. Available at: https://www.chessington.com/explore/theme-park-zoo/rides-attractions/ (Accessed: 08 October 2024). 

Tourism is so difficult to define because, universally, industries cannot come to an overall agreement. Some argue that tourism is simple just spending a period of time away from a persons usual home and workplace. During this time taking part in activities that could be for pleasure, relaxation or recreation. However, even though tourism consists of these very few things, it can over lap with other categories, for example, individuals travel for business reasons, sports reasons, leisure reasons and sometimes even medical reasons. Tourism has become, internationally, one of the most important economic activities. Tourism is also organised with much other infrastructure. Alternatively, there can be differing explanations. Some sources highlight the importance of the use of hotels, restaurants and transport (all known as physical infrastructure) for something to be considered tourism. According to some, the ‘tourism’ industry will provide indirect jobs and activities, for example, tourists need to eat food at places like restaurants, so this provides transport companies with jobs/tasks. Due to the large scale of indirect jobs and tasks linked to tourism, it gives us difficulty defining tourism in one particular way. There are many categories that tourism can be divided into, for example, we have; inbound tourism, outbound tourism,, niche tourism, mass tourism and domestic tourism. Tourism is actually “a phenomenon with no universally accepted definition”. However, there is a widely used definition implemented by the World Trade Organisation, “in order to qualify as a tourist one must travel and remain in a place outside of their usual residential environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or other purposes”. 

overall, this puts into perspective how the definition of tourism cannot reach a final conclusion, some consider the infrastructure, some consider the indirect contribution and some simply just consider the simple movement of an individual from their place of home/work to another destination. 

Tourism (2024) Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/tourism (Accessed: 03 October 2024).

Stainton, H. (2023) What is tourism? A definition of tourism. Tourism Teacher. Available at: https://tourismteacher.com/definition-of-tourism/ (Accessed: 03 October 2024).

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