Tourist Destination Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tourist Destination - Assignment Example Since the commencement of civilization, human beings have travelled from one place to the other. It was the basic necessities of life such as water, food, resources that acted as the early motivators of travelling. Nevertheless, the idea to travel for leisure and pleasure emerged after quite a few hundred years. One of the early travel guides, Guide to Greece was written by Pausanias during 170 A.D for the Roman tourists (PRM, n.d.). The surge in leisure travelling activities occurred due to the development of technology. Earlier travellers used to travel either by walking or rode domesticated animals. Slowly with the passage of time, the invention of different transportation mediums, improved road condition and stabilized government has played a critical role in the robust growth of this industry. With each new development of technology and infrastructure, the scope and opportunities of travelling has increased. In this assignment, a report will be produced on the tourist destinatio ns of the United Kingdom and it will be compared with the tourist destinations from Kenya. In addition, the report will evaluate some of the characteristics of the tourist destination of the UK and it will be evaluated and how these characteristics have an impact on the appeal to tourists. Furthermore, the study also proposes to analyse the issues that impacts the popularity of the tourist destinations. Last, the study seeks to discuss about the potential for responsible tourism to enhance the host community at worldwide destinations. On the basis of the findings of the discussion of the aforementioned points, the report will ultimately draw a conclusion to the study. Overview of the Global Tourism Industry The tourism industry is considered as one of the prime sectors in the global economy. It is often dubbed as the largest single industry. The tourism activity also acts as a major source of employment for a number of developing as well as developed countries and is a source of ear ning foreign exchanges. Often, tourism is referred to as a ‘double edged’ activity as it has both positive and negative impacts on the society and the environment. The positive contribution of tourism appears in the form of socioeconomic achievements, increased regional popularity and development of the infrastructure. However, along with that due to its fast and sometime uncontrollable growth it becomes the major cause of environment degradation, traditional cultures and loss of local identity. Moreover, although physical and biological resources are the factors that attracts the tourists but along with that the tension created by the tourism activities on the frail ecosystem aggravates and accelerates their depletion. Paradoxically, the success of the tourism industry of a country is directly proportional to the degradation of the environment. As far as the development of the national economy is concerned, tourism certainly constitutes opportunity for the economic dev elopment of a nation, overall growth of the country and economic diversification. The tourism industry constitutes around 5-6% of the global GNP (Gross National Product). According to reports of World Tourism Organization (WTO), it is currently the largest industry of the world with annual revenue of staggering $3 trillion dollars (biodiversity, 2012). The industry provides around 6 million jobs in the United States alone