This project will deal with tourism in the United Kingdom. Therefore, I will do a study of the behaviour of the tourists and what kind of tourism we can find and what facilities are provided.

First of all, I will introduce and give a definition about « tourism » and the  « United Kingdom ».

To have the right idea about this subject we have to give a definition.

What is the United Kingdom? The UK is divided in four countries : Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.

What is exactly the definition of tourism?

It is tourists, who were classed as temporary visitors staying at least 24 hours and less than three months, whose purpose could be classified as leisure : - Relaxation and physical recreation

- Touring, sightseeing and culture

- Visiting friends and relatives

- Business travel

- Specialist motives (study, sports, health...)

But as we know the tourist industry is a group of several facilities, services.

To understand the real effect or impact of tourism on the economy, on the market, we have to distinguish between the different flows of tourists.

Domestic tourism represent the people who live in the UK and travel in the UK. It represents 54 per cent of the population.

But the percentage breakdown of domestic tourist trips shows that there is a bias of holiday trips towards the more rural countries. In effect, this means that tourism is more important to Scotland and Wales than in England. And since the Northern Ireland Peace Initiative at the end of 1994, this region has enjoyed a boom from domestic tourists(1).

The area the most visited in England in 1994 was the West Country with a percentage of 21.8 per cent, compared with 11.7 per cent for East Anglia and Southern England.

The reason of this fact is maybe because of the different size of the districts. For example the West Country is a large region of five counties and has got also a long coastline.

Also, in august 95, visitors to Northern Ireland has increased by 45 per cent and also the increase was driven by the Peace Initiative and a specially hot summer.

However the tendency of domestic holiday trips are the short breaks. Indeed, in 1994, it represented more than 50 per cent for short breaks, compared with 6 per cent for outbound holidays(2).(chart 1)

Source : The Business of Tourism, J.Cristopher Holloway, 1989

Outbound tourism represent the people who live in the UK, but take their holidays abroad. It represents 46 per cent. The main destination are France, Spain, Greece and the United States, which is 65 per cent of the total of all the destinations.

Therefore, France and Spain are the main market for the UK outbound tourism. Indeed, in the 1980s and up to 1988, Spain was the most popular destination. But since then, France had increased its market shares, thanks to best facilities (roads, hotels...)and also since 1994, the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Also the cross-channel ferries have improved a lot with turn-round time frequency and prices, to attract a bigger share of the outbound and inbound market. Although, short breaks (between one and three nights) represent only 6 percent of outbound tourist trips by volume. So the people who live in the UK and who visit France for short breaks are usually from London or the south of England because of the Eurotunnel. France represent 40 per cent of the total of the short breaks UK outbound tourism(4).(chart 2)

Inbound tourism represent foreigners who visiting the United Kingdom.

In 1995 it was 24 million of foreigners visitors who came to the UK. And the main markets were Ireland and France(1).

Concerning Northern Ireland, in 1995, it was 1,6 million of tourists, therefore an increase of 20 per cent.

Scotland is one of the major destination for inbound holidays trips. If we compare Scotland and Wales, we can say that Scotland has a more world-wide heritage, a larger international airport facilities and, also for Americans,

good golf courses.

Source : The business of Tourism, J.Cristopher Holloway, 1989

Indeed the main tourists are from the United States. And in 1994 American residents accounted for 18.1 per cent of all inbound tourism spending in the UK. In second position in terms of visit, we have France, but French people spent definitely less than the three others main countries.(3)

1- Tower of London (3 million visitors)

2- Saint Paul Cathedral

3- Edimburg Castle

As we see in this part, we can notice the different behaviour of the different nationalities and why they focus on a destination. But tourism is also a group of many facilities.(5)

1 UK Tourism and Travel, 1993

2 British home tourism survey, English Tourist Board,1992

3 UK Tourism and Holiday Travel, 1989

4 The UK Tourist Outbound, Devas,Esmond, 1991

5 Geographie Touristique des Iles Britanniques, D.Lanote, 1996

The movement of people and goods is vital to the quality of life enjoyed by the Society. And the development of transport network had permitted the increase of mass tourism. An increase in traffic due to the growth of tourism has put extreme pressure on the transport systems that already exist. The extent of this pressure varies widely within a region, country or continent. However the nature of the problems are common. Policy makers and strategists can identify the impacts of their decisions within four categories :

-congestion ; particularly on roads and airports

-environment ; most forms of transportation impact on the environment

-seasonality

-safety and security ; it is the requirement of any modes of transportation(6)

Tourism is inconceivable without transport. Air, sea, Eurotunnel provide the main forms of passenger transport for the UK travel industry.

* Airlines

Since April 97 a full cabotage is possible. That is means, that a British airline can carry passengers between two French cities, provided they join a flight originating outside France. It is call also « Open Sky ». This act permits to improve the tourism market.

First of all we have to split the airline industry into two parts : the scheduled and the charter services.

As a matter of fact, we can notice that four of the eight largest airlines registered in the UK are chartered airlines.

The scheduled sector of the UK airlines industry is dominated by :

-British Airways

-British Midland

- Air UK

-Virgin Atlantic

It is 88.1 per cent of the total passengers carried by scheduled Airlines.

As regards the chartered sector of the UK airline industry, the main airlines are :

-Britannia

-Monarch

-Air 2000

-Airtours International

It represents 70.9 per cent of passengers carried by Charter Airlines(1)

*Ferry operators

In the UK and elsewhere the tour operators, and ferry companies themselves, have responded to the demand by developing and marketing more flexible « self-drives » packages.

Ferry companies have been notable for their creative marketing ; new ships have been introduced with new standards of comfort, offering faster loading and unloading facilities ; new services have been introduced to serve new district.

The main harbours of the UK are Porthmouth which have links with Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg, Saint Malo, Guernsey and Jersey, Dover and Liverpool.

At the end of 1994, there were 113 ferry vessels operated by the 16 major Ferry operators providing domestic services and services between the continent and Ireland. All this links are spread in different companies.(7)

And the major competitors in the UK ferry industry are P&O European Ferries which is the largest UK ferry operator, although it does not compete on the UK Eire routes. Stena Sealink, part of the largest ferry operators in Europe, Stena Line AB, competes in all three sectors of the UK market, with both conventional and high-speed craft.(8)

P&O European Ferries does not operate with high-speed craft on any of its routes.

By the way, ferry operators, have to be competitive. Indeed, since few years, the market had changed, because of the Eurotunnel. The market became oligopolistic

*Eurotunnel

Eurotunnel opened its gates in may 1994. In 1996, for the first time the number of the Eurotunnel passengers had exceed the number of the ferry operators.

It carry three types of traffic :

-cars and coaches on passenger shuttles operated by Eurotunnel

-heavy goods vehicles carrying freight in separate freight shuttles, again operated by Eurotunnel

-passengers trains and freight trains operated by the national railways on the both sides of the Channel. And Eurostar is a passenger train service which runs services between London and Paris or Brussels, with connecting services to many others services.(9)

The advertising campaign of June 1997 was a good way to boost the passengers flows, with a return ticket which had cost less than £50 (but special conditions). It is a good value for money if you consider that, to cross the Channel, it takes only 35 minutes.(10)

As we can see in this part, transport is an important point. Without any transport, the tourist cannot go in a tourist place. But the problem remains the effects of roads and traffic on the environment.

What is distribution?

The term chain of distribution is used to describe the methods by which a product or service is distributed from its manufacturing source to its eventual consumers. Traditionally, this is achieved through the intercession of a number of intermediaries who buy the products and sell them to others links in the chain. The intermediaries may be wholesalers, buying large quantities to others, or they may be retailers, representing the penultimate link in the chain, buying from the wholesaler and selling to the consumer. So this distribution system can be divided in three parts.

1)The Tourist Board

following the development of Tourism Act 1969, three national boards were formed in England, Wales and Scotland (the major focus here is on England and Wales). Subsequently, regional tourist boards were established by each national board. In England, 12 regional tourist boards were created and funded by the English Tourist Board (ETB), the local authorities and private contributions.(11)

We can split the tourist board into two parts : the British Tourist Authority (BTA), and the English Tourist Board (ETB).

Their resources span virtually all subjects relating to the tourism industry in the UK plus world-wide tourism statistics. Subjects covered include economic, social and historical aspects of tourism, trends and forecasts, marketing and development of the tourism product. They Have market research statistics and surveys, legislation and collections of BTA/ETB publications.(1)

- The BTA

The most direct way of reaching the overseas visitor is to advertise the product. BTA offers range of opportunities for every sectors of the industry from car hire to language school, from hotel B&B. There are two major ways of advertising in BTA publications : the annual British guide and the monthly magazine « In Britain ».

-The ETB

In an other hand, the ETB is a statutory body created by the development of Tourism Act (1969) to develop market England’s Tourism. Its main objectives are to provide a welcome for people visiting England, to encourage people living in England, to take their holidays there, and to encourage the provision and improvement of tourist amenities and facilities in England.

2)Travel agents

Travel agents from the retail sector of distribution chain, buying travel services at the request of their clients, and providing a convenient network of sales outlets catering for the needs of a local area. They do not normally charge for their services, receiving instead commission from the principals for each sales they negotiate.(e.g. Thomson, Thomas Cook).

3)Tour operators

They purchase separate elements of transport, accommodation and other services, and combine them into a package which they sell directly or indirectly to the consumer.(1)

Brokers are most actively involved in the distribution system in the field or air transport, although, they may also bulk-purchase these products in quantity. They are able to negotiate lower prices and in turn sell individual air seats or hotel rooms to consumers or travel agents at a mark-up that allows them an acceptable level of profit (e.g. Kuoni).(org 1)

Case Study : Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook is the oldest travel agent, and the well known in Britain. Indeed, since the years 1840, this firm had an international reputation with franchised offices in over one hundred countries. Following the company's acquisition by the Westdeutshe Landesbank and a number of significant competitive changes in its main markets, Thomas Cook needed to go back to basics understand where and how to create value for its business travel, leisure travel, foreign exchange and traveller's check businesses. In fact we can find Thomas Cook everywhere, thanks to the several offices like for example in the Midlands Bank. Thomas Cook has got also many partnership, like with the Tour Operator Sun World. This travel agency, know also how to adapt its networks of distribution to meet the needs. Therefore Thomas Cook has expended its internet site allow on-line sales of product such as holidays, flights and currency. The best pilot is to put it out fairly, quietly and see how the customer reacts when they will see it. Cook's is also continuing its programme with interactive kiosks and is waiting to roll them out.(12)

Thomson Touch Point

The Touch point system is very easy. You did your own booking through the screen. After all, you just have to call with BT of course...and you can have the confirmation of your reservation. But the results of this experience are not persuasive. Moreover Thomson didn't reveal the level of bookings achieved, it suggested numbers had been lower than expected.

Source : The Business of Tourism, J.Cristopher Holloway, 1989

Touch point has received 2.5 million "views" during its six months trial. However BT want to expand it range of services, particularly the travel service. BT has introduced a travel channel with information about weather, snow reports, destination and foreign office advice. The British Hotel Reservation Centre offers Hotel details through the kiosks, and British Airways will be continuing to publicise details of world offers on Touch point.(13)

As a conclusion, we can say that the United Kingdom distribution system of travel agencies and Tour operators is one of the most advanced and efficient, thanks to the prematurely of tourism in this country. Indeed it exist a large network which permit to obtain any facilities or services that you wish like transport, accommodation

The accommodation sector has got a large range of types. We could spend a night in a hotel, a camping, a Bed and Breakfast...But hotels and guest houses remain the most commercial way to spend a night in the UK.

The main protagonist of the Britain accommodation and especially the hotel industry, is Trust house Forte. It is the largest hotel operator, with 350 hotels and almost 30.000 rooms. The Trust house Forte has diversified its activities, to win new markets. It deals also with restaurants, through catering chains like "Little Chef" and "Kardomah". It provides also catering for British Airways. But, by the way London is the main place for bed spaces. Indeed the capital dominates with 20 per cent of hotel bed-spaces, followed by the principal region long-stay holiday region which is the West Country with a percentage of 18.6 per cent.(14)

Guernsey is an island quite tourist, therefore it have to provides enough bed during the high season. Indeed, it is the second largest island of the Channel Islands. Tourism is one of the principal income, in effect it employ 2.500 persons and has an accommodation capacity of 2.7 million bed nights for are resident population of 60,000 inhabitants. The 9,000 bed spaces are all spread in the following categories :

- hotels 70.3 per cent

- guest houses 7.3 per cent

- self catering accommodation 22.4 per cent

And as you can guess, mass tourism is a problem for the environment management. In fact we can identify different sort of problems : - traffic congestion,

- natural and heritage preservation,

- degradation of scenic area,

- soil contamination,

- industrial development.

So an environmental policy is necessary. This policy have to be in collaboration with the hospitality sector and the state. Because, in fact it is this sector, which cause all the impacts on the environment. The changes implemented may have direct or indirect effects on the environment. Such as :

- recycling paper, tins, bottles,

- recycling packaging,

- run diesel, lead free vehicles,

- offering advice to guests on cycle hire,

- double glazing,

- roof insulation.

This action constitutes a first step in the development of research into the environmental awareness, action, and performance of the hospitality sector. But through hospitality association we could encourage hospitality businesses towards a practices more sustainable.

To conclude this chapter, as we can see, hospitality sector is an inseparable part of tourism. There is a good diversification of this sector with hotel, guest house, camping...And that is a good point for the tourist, who can choose what he want. But however, in a tourist place like Guernsey, some problems could happened especially when the site is overcrowded and suffer of seasonallity. In this case we have to choose a tourism more sustainable that hospitality sector have to follow the rules to decrease all kinds of pollution.(15)

We can see in this part all that tourism can provides. Without all this, the term tourism will not exist. Indeed there are several effects of tourism. It can increase, in an area, economic, social and environmental benefits. But each year the development of all the facilities are better. For example Eurotunnel was a total change in the behaviour of the British people. In the hospitality sector we can also notice that it provides more services and try really to meet the needs with special facilities for conferences or convention.

In the case of the distribution, it will be, more and more easy to travel, to book your own ticket flight...by new amenities like multimedia (CD ROM, Internet...). This the first stage to reach by the tourist. The second one will be the motivation ; which kind of tourism he will choose.

6 Transport for Tourism TR 3009

7 Transport and Communications, Aspects of Britain, 1992

8 Transport for Tourism, Page, Stephen, 1994

9 Transport for Recreation, Transport Geography Study Group, 1982

10 Cross-Channel Marketing Strategy, BTA, 1991

11 The business of Tourism, J.Cristopher Holloway, 1989

12 La Gazette Touristique, n 42, Dec 97

13 La Gazette Touristique, n 43, Jan 98

14 Visitors to Britain : Hotel and catering, EDC, 1970

15 Environmental awareness in Guernsey, Tourism Management, 1993

A tourist's choice of destination reflects the relative appeal to that individual of its attractions over those offered by competing places : - the scenery

- the beaches

- the historic buildings

- relax or sporting activities.

That is why, tourist flows are spread in different places because of different motivations.

First of all let is give a definition of cultural tourism. We can define it as "visits by persons from outside the host community motivated wholly or in part by interest in the historical, artistic, scientific or lifestyle / heritage offerings of a community, region, group or institution"

It is tourism that is centred around events, cultural festivals, museums, art galleries and heritage attractions. In the world heritage attractions, we can distinguish the world heritage sites and the others one.(16)

World Heritage sites are natural or historic places which are protected by the UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ). There are fourteen UNESCO in the United Kingdom :

- Hadrian's wall

- city if Edimburg and Bath

- the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution at Iron bridge

- the palace and abbey of Westminster

- the Tower of London

-Bleinheim Palace and the prehistoric monuments of Avebury and Stonehenge

-St Kilda Island

Some of them are breathtaking sites, and should be developed more.(17,18)(map 1)

*Hadrian's wall

Hadrian's wall (122 AD) was a Roman defensive barrier guarding the northern frontier of the province of Britain and it extended 118 km, from Wallsend (Segedunum) on the River Tyne to Bowness on the Solway Fifth. Ordered by the roman emperor Hadrian, the wall was begun by the governor of Britain, Aulus Platorius Nepos. Considerate sections of the wall and its stone forts still exist, forming one of the largest Roman defensive barrier remains in modern Britain.(19)

*The Iron bridge Gorge near Telford.

The heart of the Industrial Revolution was forged here in the spectacular Iron bridge Gorge in Shropshire, on the banks of the River Severn. Over 250 years ago, events took place which change the world and shaped our modern age. Source of the world's first iron rails, wheels and boats and site of the first cast iron bridge from which the present town gets its name.the Iron bridge Museum trust was established in 1967 and the first site opened to the public, six years later. Many more sites have opened since and today the Iron bridge Gorge museum comprises not one but six separate museums covering a total of eighty acres, which can avoid crowds.(20)

Source : Geographie des Iles Britanniques, D.Lanote,1996

*The Giant Causeway

The Giant Causeway Centre explains the history of these 38.000 unusual stone columns which attract visitors from all over the world. If you want to be quiet, to visit the World Heritage Site, it better to visit out of season. There are plenty of way marked walks. Alternatively, there is a minibus shuttle to the Causeway, to protect the environment and to avoid traffic congestion. There is a car park charge, a National Trust shop and a Tea room. A small charge is made for National Trust guided walks. Once again, everything is providing, to protect the site.(21)

*Stonehenge Conservation and management project.

The Central Archaeology Service has been closely involved in supporting the English Heritage Stonehenge Conservation and Management project. In march 1994, English Heritage received plans of thirteen possible route for an upgrading of the Amesbury to Berwick Down section of the A 303, which currently traverses the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, and passes extremely close to the monument itself. For each proposed route the CAS Carried out an assessment of its direct impact on recorded archaeology.

The objective of the project were :

- to compile a database of the known recorded archaeological sites

- to digitise the information to produce a graphical database of the results

- to compile information on the totals of worked flint recovered from surface collection and on results of all evaluation work carried out in the vicinity, and to define those areas of grass land that had remained out of cultivation in the last twenty years

- to devise a method whereby the significance of the information contained within the databases could be judged and "scored" in order to produce map showing the zoning of the data into areas of high medium, and low archaeological sensitive and importance.

Data on the totals of worked flint came primarily from surface collection undertaken during the Stonehenge Environs project, completed in 1990, and from evaluations carried out on sites for the proposed new visitor centre or along the proposed route for the new road. A database was assembled of all occurrences of evaluation work, including geophysical survey, surface collection, anger survey, and test pitting. Using aerial photographs from the past twenty years, areas of grassland that had remained uncultivated throughout that period were identified.

The databases and maps are important tools in helping English Heritage to formulate new strategies for the future management of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. Integral to this process is the need to redefine the current boundary to take greater account of the surrounding archaeological landscape and particular relationship of the monuments to themselves and Stonehenge. To further this aim, the CAS are now looking at the question of inter visibility between Stonehenge and its surrounding archaeological landscape using Digital Evaluation Models.(22)

As we can see, tourism management and other technics, in a World Heritage Site, is very important to protect the environment and our culture.

And as a conclusion we saw that there is a large scale of cultural products, therefore a lots of visitors, that is why a tourism cultural management is necessary. And also to ameliorate his efficiency, a cultural site could have a partnership, to attract the maximum of visitors on the site. Indeed, visitors who did not come in the aim of cultural tourism can be sensitive to this kind of action.

The partnership, usually, is done between the cultural site and an other sector of tourism ; for example an hotel. The cultural site have to develop[ a policy and to communicate what it can offer to the tourists. The actions could be :

- package with the hotel,

- a full day-pass, like this visitors can come and go when they want, and can go shopping, sightseeing...

- develop operating schedules that co-ordinate as much as practical with common retail hours.

Its have to develop this kind of actions to ameliorate the visiting conditions of the tourist. But we do not forget also to ameliorate the environment of the visitors.(23)

16 Cultural Tourism and business opportunities, Tourism Management, vol 16,1995

17http://www.unesco.org

18http://www.icomos.org

19http://fly.highwaay.net

20http://www.north_net.com/magazine/ironbrg.htm

21http://www.uk-guide.com
http://www.uk-guide.com

22http://www.amherst.edu

23 Tourism and heritage attractions, Pentice, Richard, 1993

More and more the tourist looking toward a tourism more simple and sustainable instead of beaches overcrowded by mass tourism. The tourist development aimed for is more economically productive, more socially responsible, more environment conscious. It have to be more in harmony with the environment, the individual and the society.

The English Tourist Board has worked a lot for the development and the expansion of rural tourism. The ETB aim, is to develop the countryside through tourism. But it is true that the tourist do not buy rural products, but more the benefits that it can bring, for example peaceful, tranquillity, large space to relax.

And what we call Green Tourism? It is hard to give a definition. We can associate the natural environment, but also historic houses. So, therefore, it is a trip to , or overnight stay in, a countryside area which is either agricultural or natural and has a low density of population. And there is some association like the National Trust which manage many places for a sustainable tourism.(24)

a) The National Trust

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or National Beauty is a charity which holds countryside and buildings in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the benefit of us all. Like it is a charity, the budget depends on the generosity of the people and depends also on more than two million subscribing members.

* Historic

The National trust was founded in 1895 by three Victorian philanthropists, three imaginative people foresaw an increasing threat to the countryside and historic buildings of England : Miss Octavia Hill ; Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. That is how the National Trust was born in an association none lucrative.

The first acquisition was the gift of four and a half acres of cliffland in North Wales. Today the Trust is the largest landowner, and the acquisition are gifts or they can purchase natural beauty or historic buildings. After the World War II, the practice of compulsory acquisition became widespread, and the Trust had to consider special protection for its property. The Acquisition of Land (Authorisation Procedure) Act of 1946 gave the Trust the ultimate right of appeal to a joint committee of both, Houses of Parliament if a public authority proposed to take its inalienable land by the use of compulsory powers.

More than a century later they now care for over 240.000 hectares of beautiful countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it is more than 300 buildings and gardens of historic and artistic importance. One of the Trust's greatest achievements has been its ability to maintain an acceptable balance between opening its properties to the public yet now allowing their essential character to the undermined by the pressure of the visitors.(25)

The National Trust is :

- 165 Historic Houses

- 19 Castles

- 48 Mills / Industrial

- 49 Churches / Chapels

- 9 Prehistoric / Roman Sites

- 12 Farms

- 114 Other Buildings.

Total number of members ( Feb. 97 ) 2.396.346

Total number of visitors ( 96/97 to properties open at a charge ) 11.745.746

Total Staff ( FT, PT, seasonal, volunteers ) 42.000

So, it is more than 11 million people visit the Trust's houses and gardens in a year. However preservation is the first task which must always take precedence over public access, while without preservation access becomes for ever impossible.(26)

As a conclusion, the National Trust's Care, about countryside as well as buildings and contribute to the maintenance of the patrimony. But also it contribute to the functioning of National Parks

b) National Parks

A National Park is a large area of countryside where extra special care is taken to conserve beauty and interest for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Between 1951 and 1957, ten National Parks were created, the Broads Authority achieved comparable status in 1989 and the New Forest is a National Park in all but name. Most are upland areas with breath taking scenery. Each, however, has its own distinctive identity, a combination of its own distinctive identity, a combination of its landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage. Although National Parks area special value to the whole nation, they neither belong to the nation nor are they set aside as parks purely for recreation. National Parks are held as national treasures. Each is unique and fragile.(map 2)

* Historic

The movement to protect outstanding landscapes from development and exploitation started in 1872, in the USA with Yellowstone National Park. The late XIX and early XX centuries saw the formation of a number of societies in

Britain devoted to safeguarding open land and its associated wildlife, for example the National Trust (1894) and the Council for

Map 2

Source : The Land of Britain, L.Dudley,1962

the preservation of the Rural England (1926). Therefore the UK had a realisation since 1930 because of the Industrial Revolution. Further in the 1930s, the government commissioned John Dower, a civil architect, to write a report on how the National Park idea will work for this country. Dower's report was accepted in 1949 and the government passed the National Park and access to the Countryside Act. And between 1951 and 1957, ten National Parks were created :

- Peak District - North York Moors

- Lake District - Yorshire Dales

- Snowdonia - Exmoor

- Dartmoor - Northumberland

- Pembrokeshire Coast - Breacon Beacons

A last one was created in 1989 which is Broads Authority.(27)

* How it works?

There is four bodies wish manage the National Park :

- The State : In 1968 a commission selected the sites to protect, gave facilities, and so. create the National Parks. The State created also some Natural discovery area which concerning more than 1000 km of coastline in England, especially in Cornwall and Kent. This commission give advises also to the government in the ecosystem protection and manage all the private propriety.

- The local collectivity : They manage the planning and the ground occupation. They manage the access and the welcome on the sites. And also they created the Country Park which put the emphasis on the leisure and consumers welcome.

- The National Trust created in 1895 which manage more than 300.000 hectares.

- Private owners : They have got an important role because the protection is without a control from land. The grounds remain in every cases private propriety.(5)

Tourism in this National Park is very important, indeed it is one of the most visited in the United Kingdom. Tourism industry contribute a lot at the local economy also, in this case. Therefore, a lots of tourist come to visit the Park each year, and they are more and more. That is why the management of sceneries protection is essential, to maintain the qualities of the National Park. Tourism in Cumbria provides approximately 42,000 jobs. For the Lake District National Park (LDNP), it employ around 50 per cent of the local population, who they are working in areas like hotels, catering and the distribution trade. That is mean that there is a good local economy thanks to the National Park. They are employed in direct or indirect jobs. So, to manage such an area, the LDNP have to adopt policies which is the National Park Local Plan. It consist for the tourist, to enjoy the National Park, and to develop the local economy. But policies have to protect and to safeguard natural beauty.

Visitor Survey

In 1994, a survey was done about the visitors, on the National Park. And it estimated at least, 16,9 million recreational visitor days were spent in the LDNP in 94. Also the main reason, why visitors come to the LDNP is the quality of the landscape and the scenery. What could surprised, is the high rate of repeat visits to the park.

But the most important thing it is that we do not have to forget to prevent environmental degradation. Limiting the number of people and cares on the site is necessary. A quarter of visitors complain because of the places overcrowded, traffic congestion. So the issue could be, developing public transport and integrating transport policies.

We have to put the emphasis on the visitor spending which have a direct repercussion on the local economy. But the problem is, that visitors usually stay one day. The opportunity is to encourage people to stay one night more on the National Park by developing facilities, amenities...The National Park have to work with local producers to promote crafts and foods unique to the area.

So, what are the acts did by the LDNPA (Lake District National Park)? The LDNPA is responsible for providing a diverse range of services for visitors and the local community.

So they did different acts :

- The National Park visitor centre at Brockhole, which receive each tear 155,000 people. Main visitors are family groups and schools.

- Information centre Network. It is a place where you can find all the facilities you want (places to visit, accommodation)

- Events. There are over 1,000 events from guided walks and bike rides to craft days.

- Car parks. Usually close to an information centre.

We recognise that the environment is the mainstay of Cumbria's tourism industry and that both, the industry and the visitors have a part to play in safeguarding the future of the landscape. But another alternative to Green tourism ; to be more in contact ; is farm tourism.(28)

So first of all, what could be farm tourism? Farm tourism can be the sell of farm product to the management of a country style farm hotel. Precisely it is working farms, irrespective of type of size, where the primary activity is agriculture and where tourism is a supplementary income for farmers.(29)

Wales is a ideal place to develop farm tourism, indeed, it is a country with natural beauty which lure a lot of tourists, and in an other hand it has got a high level of people who work in agriculture.

Rural or farm tourism can solve many problems, in the local economy, like for example, to avoid depopulation of the countryside, or maintains some farming in marginal areas, or to avoid the death of a village. There is a need to attract higher levels of visits and expenditure. For this the development of an accommodation based product is necessary, such as farm based accommodation will catch the tourist for a more long period, to strengthen the economy.(30)

We can notice that farm tourism in Wales is catching on, indeed it is 15 per cent of the 30,000 farms which adopt this system, which combine two different economies.

The Welsh Tourist Board has played an important role in the development of rural tourism. They had put the emphasis on five majors points :

- to establish a strong and distinctive image for rural destinations in Wales.

- to develop well defined products with clear or unique selling points.

- to develop new businesses in rural areas and increase the profitability of existing tourism operators.

- to encourage the establishment of new tourism operators in areas with a shortage of capacity.

- to encourage the improvement of quality of rural products.(31)

As we can see, farm tourism can be a solution to re-boost the economy of a marginal rural area the opportunities in this sector are numerous,

- growth in foreign market

- day visitor market

- growth in short break market

- emergence of rambler's groups wanting cheap overnight accommodation.

So this kind of tourism is catching on and it is a good alternative to mass tourism for example.

Environmental preservation is very important and we have to develop it. One of the most important sign of development of environmental preservation is the "Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit" of 1992, and the Local Agenda 21. Underlying the Earth Summit agreements is the idea that Humanity has reached a turning points. Agenda 21 was established as a method of global action taking us into the XXI century, those involved range from, government organisations, and independent sector groups.

The different goals of LA 21 are :

- to raise awareness of environmental and sustainability issues among citizens.

- to maximise the support and involvement of Local committees and business.

- to reduce the consumption of all natural resources.

- to minimise level of pollution.

- to protect our culture, historic cultural heritage. (e.g. New Castle).

It is a need of education to adopt, to preserve the environment. The New National Curriculum for England and Wales provides a framework for education, about environment.(32)

So as we can see, we have to take care about natural beauty and rural environment, and to develop a sustainable tourism.

24 Green Tourism in the Countryside, Tourism Management, Dec 1990

25 The National Trust, 1993

26 http://www.nthp.org

27 Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Education file, 1997

28 Lake District National Park Authority, Education file, 1994

29 What the future for our Countryside? A rural development policy, 1993

30 Farm Recreation and Tourism in England and Wales, Tourist Board, 1992

31 Development of Farm Tourism in Wales, Tourism Managent, March 1992

32 Business and Tourism Management, Award Handbook, 1996/1997

First of all, business tourism denotes the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their normal environment for the purposes of business. But also it can includes all activities, same-day travel and staying overnight, which the main reason is business.

Business tourism generates a big activity, indeed the world-wide business travel market is estimated at 750 million trip with a spending of US $ 320,000 million. Regarding the UK, there are 19 million business tourism trips taken each year, and the total spending for business tourism in the UK reach £13,5 billion per annum. The growth of this kind of tourism is impressive. Since the 1980s and despite also the general tendency of the world economic situation. One of the strength of business tourism is that it is less seasonal and the peaks and troughs of demand are less marked than for holiday tourism. And business people are the main source of demand for hotel accommodation, indeed this kind of people will fill beds during the week and not during the week end like every holiday makers during off peak season.(33)

Business tourism is a very large sector. We can split it into three parts.

- the main component is general business travel which is 85 per cent of all business tourism

- the second one is incentive travel which is worth £300 million and is growing at a rate of 10-15 per cent each year.

- the last component is meetings and conference travel, which is 12 per cent of the total business tourism market.

Indeed the growth of the meetings and conference travel follow the growth of the quaternary sector which group transaction of information, commerce, professional administrative and higher level occupations. Therefore tourism meetings has been growing faster than business tourism as a whole. But what it could be surprising is that two thirds of conferences have between 11 and 100 participants, with 70 per cent having less than 50 delegates. This kind of meetings are quite important in this sector.

Also conferences can be an important source of revenue for hotels. Meetings and conference guest also contribute more to a hotel profit than general business travellers.

Cardiff is a very important city for business travel in volume, concerning Wales. The fact is than some companies such as Bosh, Toyota and Hoover are settled in this area. Cardiff is also the main conference centre, but also, we can notice Birmingham, Manchester and the Docklands of London.

Today, more than half of all air passengers on domestic routes travel for job-related reasons ; business travel represents one-fourth of all travel. Some travel to meet prospective clients, while others travel to attend meetings or conventions. Business travel has become a very important market for the accommodation industry, to the point where many deluxe hotels cater exclusively to the specific needs of these travellers. Business travel, with the exception of convention travel, is generally unrelated to the perceived qualities of the region or its promotion. Business needs rather than tourist attractions dictate trips. Convention travel, in contrast, is more likely to be influenced by characteristics of an area. Unless size of convention facilities is a limiting factors, the competitiveness of convention sites reflects what the area can offer, and attendance may be related to holiday potential. Indeed, both convention and business travel can bring additional pounds to an area if vacation time is added to business and convention trips. It is believed that one -fourth of business / convention travellers combine their business trips with some pleasure travel, and one on three take other house hold members with them on these type of trips. Their travels patterns also differ from pleasure travel in that parties are smaller, distances travelled are longer, and nights stayed away from home are fewer. Moreover, business travellers are more likely to use the services travel- related industries than are pleasure travellers.(34)

The outlook for business travel in the United Kingdom remains positive, and the volume of the business travel is expected to continue to increase. Employment opportunities should be excellent as a result, since hotels will feel the need to hire convention specialists and co-ordinators for meeting.

Travel agencies also have become increasingly involved in meeting the specific needs of the business traveller. Generating a larger percentage of commercial accounts, has become important in the overall operation of the average travel agency. Airline co- operate entire departments, that devote their service to the promotion and administration of meeting and convention traffic.

To conclude this part, we could see that tourism can be very large, with different kind of tourism, and that holiday makers choose their destinations, because of different motivations. As we can see, the most important point, is to know how to manage the tourist sites, for example for the cultural or the green tourism. The future of tourism depends on , how we can manage tourism, now, to create a more sustainable place.(29)

33 Marketing for Tourism, J.Cristopher, 1992

34 Business Tourism, Tourism Management, vol 16, 1995

The development of tourist activity is quite big and each year grow up. That is mean that tourism become an economy more and more important.

To analyse the economic impact of tourism, is to analyse the place it has got in the international business and the national economy. The appearance of mass tourism had engender many facilities and amenities to develop this sector. But the evaluation of the economic repercussion of tourism is not easy, because tourism is a non concrete good.

At the level of a national economy, or even a district, the effects of tourism are evaluated thanks to the repercussions on different aims like for example :

- contribution at the economic growth.

- price stability.

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) had group the effects into three parts :

- the effects on the development strategy and the global effects on the national economy (e.g. inflation effects, effects on the rural sector)

- external effects (e.g. environmental effects)(35)

Therefore governments often encourage tourism. The reasons for their enthusiasm vary, ranging from the lack of any viable alternative when an existing industrial or primary sector declines, or because jobs in the tourism sector are relatively quick and cheap to create while the influx of affluent visitors stimulates the general economic development of the region, bringing in convertible currency.

The employment sector is one of the sector which is essential. The jobs which are created to provide services directly to the tourists are augmented as other people are employed indirectly, in the firms which provide supplementary services such as cleaning and maintenance to hotels, and car hire firms. In turn, the additional spending power which results reduces a third set of jobs providing for the needs of these employees.

The employment potential of tourism compared with other industries has been criticised on several grounds.

- that much employment is seasonal

- the local population is often to small to fill the vacancies.

- in many areas there are insufficient workers with specific technical and managerial skills.

- outsiders are attracted in by high wages and the opportunity to live and work in pleasant or exotic surroundings.

But the economic impact is not the only one. We can notice, also one of the most important which is the environmental impact.(36)

The relationship between tourism and the environment is often one of the paradox. Tourism has the secondary effect of conserving, as well as conflicting with, aspects of natural and artificial environments. Tourism can focus attention on the importance of natural and cultural resources as tourist attractions and be a powerful force in protecting these resources from other forms of economic development. On the other hand, development associated with tourism itself can impact and alter the very resources upon which tourism depends. The potential benefit of tourism is the environmental improvement which can be associated with tourism development. Tourism, with forms of development, can bring with it modern technologies such as sewage, treatment facilities which can protect an even enhance environmental quality.(33)

But every community have to plan tourist facilities very carefully. Without proper planning and controls, a community can suffer from increased auto air pollution, congestion, litter and higher prices. With careful development, tourism costs communities less than any other form of economic development. Indeed, tourism development can and does impact the environment in a several ways, including damage to soils and vegetation pollution of water resources, disturbance and loss of wildlife and wildlife habitat, littering and vandalism, and damage to historical or cultural sites and buildings. While these environmental impacts of tourism are important, there can be more insidious, and perhaps more detrimental effects of tourism development. Tourism development can introduce incremental changes to the environment and landscape that after the basic character, integrity, or uniqueness of an area.

The issues to avoid the environmental effects of tourism could be the following objectives and methods in the control of tourist impacts.

- provide incentives for local ownership of tourist facilities

- retain economic benefits of tourism locally

- train residents to work in tourism at all levels

- educate residents about tourism concepts, issues and benefit

- maintain the authenticity of dance and handicrafts

- ensure residents have access to tourist facilities

- subsidise local or disadvantaged users

- inform tourists about local customs

- inform tourists about the local environment and ecology

- encourage the types of tourists who will respect local traditions

- control drugs, crime, and prostitution

- visa required

- flight restrictions

- hotel reservation required

- weekly charter flights arrivals

- pre-booking for entry to remote areas

- onward (or return) ticket required

- separate currency for visitors

- visitors services taxed (usually at a higher rate)

- hotel or transport rates set high to exclude certain market segments, or low to encourage large numbers of visitors

- certain areas restricted to residents for privacy or security

- tourists restricted (or encouraged to stay in) designated areas

- road signs to attract passing visitors

- deliberate absence of signs to discourage casual visitors

- interpretative labels to direct visitors around sites

- notices restricting visitors to paths

- clustering amenities around entry points to discourage dispersal, especially in fragile environments

- siting a new attraction away from resources already at or near capacity

- brochures, advertisements and advertorial features highlighting the other attractions of a place.(37)

Tourism is a relatively new industry, it is encouraging that business and government leaders are conscious of the harmful consequences that can result for destinations, and that they are seeking ways to mitigate these effects while ensuring that the benefits of tourism are spread more widely. But there are no universal solutions, what is needed is a framework within which the many effects of tourism for everyone in a destination area can be assessed. It has demonstrated that the effects of tourism vary according to the type of visitors attracted to an area, and their activities while there.

35 The impact of tourism environment, OECD, 1980

36 Effects of tourism, Law, cristopher, 1993

Copy Right 1999(c)