Social and Economic Significance of Tourism in Britain - Case Study Example

Social and economic significance of tourism in Britain Despite of the events of 11th September 2001 and the subsequent outbreak of the `war on terrorism', and economic slumps in several key European countries, UK with 30.5 million arrivals, maintained her tourism market at comfortable levels. Next only to France, Spain and Italy in Europe. In Europe, London and Paris continue to be the outstanding tourist magnets, or urban `honeypots'. London has an array of traditional attractions - the British Museum, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Madame Tussauds, to name some of them. In the new millennium the British Airways London Eye, a giant Ferris-wheel attraction, and the Tate Modern art gallery have been added to the list. Generally, the River Thames through London has been opened up for tourism. No other city can match London or Paris for sheer visitor numbers nee visitors attraction. The tourist destination spots add not only glory to the city and the country, but tourism is now being widely recognised as an engine of significant social and economic growth. Today, socially and economically, a good many of Britain’s rural and urban communities brace on tourism. This realisation has also undone the traditional thinking of segregating the domestic tourists from the foreigners. In 2005, the British took 86.6 million domestic holidays in Britain, spending £14.5 billion. This expenditure, for example, ignited the chain reaction of demand, provision and investment, as much to benefit the local population, as to the visitor. This underlines the social and economical significance of the tourism industry. The London 2012 Olympic Games are estimated to give a boost of £3bn to the tourism industry. Researchers believe that the country could outperform global tourism growth by one and a half times in the four years before and after the Olympic games. Researcher and an independent tourism policy expert Kurt Janson opines : “If tourism to the UK follows the trend of previous Olympic host destinations (Seoul 1988 and Athens 2004), there is the potential to generate £3 billion in additional inbound tourism expenditure and 75,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.” According to the findings a market worth £14.2 billion today would rise to £24 billion in 2016 creating 75,000 more tourism jobs for the economy. (Travelodge, Sep 2007) Visitor attraction: a case study of Stonehenge Located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury, Stonehenge (literally ‘the hanging stones' ) is a prehistoric monument. Britannia describes Stonehenge as “surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance”. (Britannia) So mysterious is the great and ancient stone circle of Stonehenge, one of the wonders of the world and a World Heritage Site; that till date it is speculated whether it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities, or an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar, or it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago. Yet another stream believes it to be a prehistoric site for human sacrifice. Historic significance of the Stonehenge Whatever may have been the objective, certainly, it wasn't constructed for any casual purpose. It was built between 3000BC and 1500BC, in three clear phases. It has been estimated that these three phases of the construction required more than thirty million hours of labour. The first stage was a circle of timbers surrounded by a ditch and bank. The ditch would have been dug by animal bones, deer antlers were used as pick-axes to loosen the underlying chalk. Radio carbon dating of the animal bones remains excavated from the ditch suggests the age of the first henge to be over 50 centuries ago, i.e. about 3,100 BC. Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It is believed that the standing stones were erected around 2200 BC and the circular earth bank and ditch surrounding these standing stones constitute the earliest phase of the monument i.e. 3100 BC. According to another opinion, the Stonehenge complex was built in several construction phases spanning at least 3000 years, there is also evidence for activity both before and afterwards on the site, extending its time frame to 6500 years. Archaeologists have found four large Mesolithic postholes, close to the site, dating back to around 8000 BC. These days, tourists park their cars in that area. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment and may have had ritual significance. They are unique to the history of Britain, although similar sites have been found in Scandinavia. 56 pits, in a circular shape were dug at the outer edge of the enclosed area. Each of them is around 1 m in diameter. The pits may have contained standing wooden structures. Provisions Presently there is provision for an enquiry service. Tourist Information Centre provides an accommodation booking service. On the retail side, there is provision for a gift shop stocking a range of quality products. Tickets for events and theatres, buses and ferries, and rail appointed and other suitable opportunities are sold at the TIC windows. There is provision for coach drivers’ rest room in Millstream Coach Park. They are also provided with an updated Coach Drivers’ Guide. Opening hours are clearly displayed. Local maps, emergency and help services are also available. Stonehenge is a world renowned tourist attraction with around 700,000 visitors a year. The monument is visited either as a specific destination or part of a tour, or as a stopping point on an outward or return holiday journey. Refreshment, interpretative and parking facilities at the site are presently inadequate and the site is bereft of new tourist facilities and attractions in the vicinities. This proves to be a major hindrance in tourist attraction. It must be understood that the development of new tourist attractions is normally difficult to be permitted here, so as to protect the special qualities of the landscape within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs AONB and the Landscape Settings of Salisbury and Wilton. However, the government has approved a policy which allows for the construction of an appropriate tourist/visitor development for the Stonehenge World Heritage Site. But, this policy does not imply the automatic acceptability of any particular scheme; the other policies of this plan need to be taken into account during the consideration of any development proposals. Outside these areas, new tourist facilities and attractions in the countryside will be strictly limited and will only be permitted where they are related to the heritage and landscape features of the plan area. They should be small in scale and sympathetic to the character of the surrounding area. Uses which require extensive tracts of land and the construction of many buildings and/or other structures, for example theme parks and holiday villages, are not considered appropriate for this area, whereas limited visitor facilities (such as refreshments, interpretation centres, museums and exhibitions) associated with existing historical, archaeological or landscape attractions may be acceptable. Provided that any such proposal is not detrimental to the surrounding built environment or the high quality landscape of the area. Accommodation for the perspective visitors is another big issue. Most of the accommodation in Salisbury is long established and ranges from hotels to guest houses and bed and breakfast establishments. Elsewhere there are a few small hotels in the villages. At present there are no 4 or 5 star hotels in Salisbury, although the city does have a number of hotels which are awarded highly commended, with 4 crowns certified by the English Tourist Board. Now the Local Planning Authority has agreed to support proposals to upgrade tourist accommodation. Plans for improving Stonehenge pursue an expensive solution with a new visitor center in a greenfield development remote from the site have been mooted. Irony is that any attempt to provide for more facilities can amount to a distraction from Stonehenge. Management and other issues Public Accounts Committee in its report to the House of Commons in April 1993 has called parts of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site as a “national disgrace”. The existing visitor centre, with its filthy car park, tiny shop and loos, and the Stones fenced, is called a 'national disgrace'. The road into the Southwest England is waiting for improvements since more than a decade. This single road runs right by the stones and across miles of ritual landscape and latent archaeology. This endangers the archaeology. Throughout the 20th century improvement of the surroundings to Stonehenge has been on the agenda. But everything, from road to further creations has ended into acrimonious debates only. On the north side, large area belongs to the ministry of Defence and that does not want the traffic of several hundred thousand visitors passing through this land. The three requirements - management plan, visitor centre and better road are deemed essential and urgent to make it a better attraction. On these and more issues, the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan & the Stonehenge Master Plan are there and both aim to improve the environment of the Site and make it more pleasant for visitors. However, observers have found two plans as fundamentally incompatible. Stonehenge 'Master Plan', dealing with the roads and visitor centre, was announced in September 1998. No originator or author is named for the document, Stonehenge The Master Plan. it makes it clear that the road scheme proposed would have a severe impact on the archaeology of the site with a significant number of sites and/or their settings destroyed. In November 1998 i.e. two months after the Master Plan the Stonehenge WHS (world heritage site) Management Plan Group was convened and the Stonehenge WHS Management Plan was published in Spring 2000 and was adopted by key stakeholders. The Management Plan and the Master Plan differ in all crucial respects. Viz. principal aims, structure and method, status , respect for planning and policy constraints and for the World Heritage Convention, objectives for visitor access and dealing with the road. (The Stonehenge Estate - a 30-year vision for conservation and access - Keith Rowe ,The National Trust) In view of these key issues, the world heritage site is less like to contribute to, or even absorb the possible growth in British tourism industry in coming years. The National Tourism Agency VisitBritain had expected that both the volume and value of inbound tourism will grow by around 4% during 2007, with 33 million visitors expected to spend £16bn. There have been some minor jolts, created by some temporary reasons, but overdue issues are fast chasing their deadlines. Certainly, the problems can not endure the time like the Stonehenge. Market A recent survey commissioned by Salisbury District Council from the Southern Tourist Board highlighted the fact that single business travellers to Salisbury made up a large proportion of mid-week and out-of-season visitor nights. The business and conference tourist market is growing and the Council recognises the need for hotels to cater for these demands, with the provision of conference facilities and associated services such as adequate parking. It is recognised that there is a need to provide a new large, high grade hotel in the city of Salisbury, to serve the group travel trade market and business conference market. However, due to the nature of the historic and built environment in the city centre, few acceptable schemes may come forward. There is also a lack of suitable sites in close proximity to the city centre, and around the periphery of the city there are significant landscape constraints. However, small scale development could offer the opportunity to extend the range of holiday accommodation available and could be located within or adjacent to settlements which offer a range of facilities. To understand the market expansion potential, we make a comparison with the Urquhart Castle, which currently receives approximately 200,000 visitors per year. Experts believe that the Stonehenge brownfield site has the potential for some four times of the same. At 700,000 per year, it is already close to it, besides year on year increases. Further market expansion shall be directly proportional to the expansion of the facilities and attractions. Visitor attraction: a case study of the Tower of London As against the Stonehenge, The Tower of London is hassle free. Although all other characteristics match perfectly. Viz. Use of stones from far flung areas, encircling ditch, mystery and history. The Tower of London too is a historic monument and being in central London neither transportation is a problem, nor the visitors center. It is situated on the north bank of the River Thames. Located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. Often identified with the White Tower, the Tower of London is very rich in comprehendible history. The original stark square fortress built by William the Conqueror in 1078. It has a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. Primarily meant to be a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison (particularly for high status and royal prisoners, such as the Princes in the Tower and the future Queen Elizabeth I). The Tower also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Its use as a prison led to the coining of the phrase "sent to the Tower" (meaning "imprisoned"). The Tower of London was found in 1078 when William the Conqueror ordered the White Tower to be built inside the SE angle of the City walls, adjacent to the Thames. In those days the protection of the people of the City of London from the Normans as well as of London from outside invaders was of prime importance to the crown. Thus, William ordered the Tower to be built of Caen stone, which he had specially imported from France. Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester was appointed as the architect. The Tower of London finds a mention in Shakespeare’s writings. Shakespeare’s play Richard III, ascribed an earlier origin to the Tower of London and have stated that it was built by Julius Caesar. This supposed Roman origin is a myth, however, as is the story that the mortar used in its construction was tempered by the blood of beasts. In the 12th century, King Richard the Lionheart enclosed the White Tower with a curtain wall and had a ditch dug around it and the same was filled with water from the Thames. In the 13th century Henry III, employed a Dutch moat-building technique to this trench. King Henry III greatly strengthened the curtain wall, extending the city wall to the east, in order to stretch out the circuit. History says that the citizens of London protested a lot to it. The contemporary monastic chronicler Matthew Paris even talks about the supernatural warnings. Yet, Henry III transformed the Tower into a major royal residence and had palatial buildings constructed within the Inner Bailey. The fortification was completed between 1275 and 1285 by Edward I who built the outer curtain wall, completely enclosing the inner wall and thus creating a concentric double defence. He filled in the earlier made ditch and built a new one around the new outer wall. The Tower remained a royal residence until the time of Oliver Cromwell, who demolished the old palatial buildings. Besides the royalty, even the royal animals lived in the premises of the Tower. William of Malmesbury reported the latter king had lions, leopards, lynxes and camels among other animals there. (Blunt, Wilfred (1975). The Ark in thellkkl Park: The Zoo in the Nineteenth Century. London: Hamish Hamilton, 15-16.) Its probably started in year 1235, when Henry III received a wedding gift of three leopards (or may be lions) from Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1264, they were moved to the Bulwark, which was duly renamed the Lion Tower. It is located near the main western entrance. It was opened as an occasional public spectacle in the reign of Elizabeth I. A lion skull found here was radiocarbon dated to between 1280 and 1385, making it the earliest medieval big cat known in Britain. The menagerie , as it is called, was open to the public by the 18th century. Entry ticket was of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. (Blunt, Wilfred (1975) pg 17). An illustrated scientific catalogue of the stock was created by Alfred Cops, who took over as the menagerie's last director, in 1822. Soon afterwards the animals were moved to the London Zoo and the menagerie couldn’t last. The last of the animals left in 1835, and most of the Lion Tower was demolished thenceforth, although Lion Gate are intact. The Tower was also inhabited by Ravens, known as the Tower raven. At least six ravens in residence at the Tower for centuries. Charles II ordered for their removal following complaints from the Royal Astronomer, John Flamsteed. But execution of his order was abandoned when Charles was told of the legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower, the Monarchy, and the entire Kingdom would fall. This superstition saved the ravens and instead observatory was shifted to Greenwich. So much are the ravens associated with the Towers, that when all but one of them perished during the Second World War aerial bombing raids, a new set of ravens was in place before reopening the Tower to the public. Till date there are eight ravens, cared for by the Ravenmaster. When the bird flue broke out they were kept indoors. Now they are once again free to roam about the grounds (with clipped wings) . The Stonehenge is known and rumoured for altar stone and possible human sacrifice. And if one sees the Tower from the River Thames, Traitors Gate comes to the picture at water-level. Important prisoners, often accused of treason, were taken to the Tower from this watery gate only. The first prisoner to the Tower of London was Bishop of Durham Ranulf Flambard in the 12th century. Flambard effected various improvements to the design of the Tower. He escaped from the White Tower by climbing down a rope, which had been smuggled into his cell in a wine casket. The Tower prisoned many a historic personalities including several Kings and noblemen of Scotland, Ireland, France, Henry VI of England, Queen Elizabeth I (for two months in 1554) ; writers and poets like the Duke of Orleans and Sir Walter Raleigh. The last state prisoner to be held in the tower was Rudolf Hess, deputy leader of the German Nazi Party (for four days, 17-21 May 1941). Despite of having been such a high profile prison, there was only one torture chamber in the White Tower. The Tower as such, had no permanent torture chambers. Prisoners were taken to the basement of the White Tower for torture, else they were tortured in their cells only. Various implements of torture were abundant. The list included the Scavenger’s daughter, a kind of compression device, and the Rack, also known as the Duke of Exeter's Daughter. However, there is no display of any torture devices at the Tower anymore. A number of criminals and other political-religious prisoners were executed. The local of execution and consequent burial signifies their status and profile. Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex. A lot of history is buried in the burial grounds of the Tower.The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy on 14 August 1941 by firing squad. Although the Tower is no longer a royal residence, it officially remains a royal palace, and as such, is guarded by the unit forming the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. The Tower matches with the Stonehenge in folklore as well. It is said that the Tower of London is the most haunted building in England. The ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII, has allegedly been seen walking around the tower carrying her head under her arm. Other ghosts include Henry VI, Lady Jane Grey, Margaret Pole, and the Princes in the Tower. Similarly, the Bloody Tower (or the Garden Tower), named after a legend that the Princes in the Tower were murdered here, is also allegedly haunted by the latter. The Tower today is principally a tourist attraction. Besides the buildings, the British Crown Jewels, a fine armour collection from the Royal Armouries, and a remnant of the wall of the Roman fortress are on display. The tower is manned by the Yeomen Warders who are a tourist attraction in themselves. The Ceremony of the Keys is performed every evening by the warders. It too has a huge tourist attraction. Market and potential An iconic London site such as the Tower of London is an economic powerhouse attracting more than two million visitors per year. The Tower is run by Historic Royal Palaces, a charity that receives no government funding. The estimated spend per visitor to the Tower is £13.66. The Tower employs 217 people full time, plus 21 seasonal staff, and it generates a minimum of 536 full-time equivalent jobs in ancillary retail and hospitality outlets. It is estimated that five million people a year use Tower Hill and the riverside wharf. They include visitors to the Tower, people passing through, and workers from nearby offices. There are three most significant local views of the Tower. These are from Tower and London Bridges and The Queen’s Walk. They are subject to the new management plan. London's historic environment and its world famous sites contributed at least £2.6 billion to the economy in 2005 and provide 1.8 million educational visits for Londoners every year. The capital also has more than 1,200 historic green spaces with sports facilities in 404 historic parks. However, the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games are both an opportunity and a challenge for brand UK. Future plans on Tower of London Touted as the most famous and well preserved historical buildings in the world, The Tower of London was on the verge of being declared an endangered world heritage site. A UNESCO interim report released on 8th January, 2007 said “ The 900-year-old Tower of London, one of Britain's top tourist attractions, will be added to the list of endangered world heritage sites unless the threat from encroaching skyscrapers is resolved. Local planners had not done enough to ensure that views of and from the fortress would not be obstructed by surrounding development, including a 1,016-foot building known as the 'Shard of Glass' that would be Britain's tallest when completed in 2010.” Operational issues Although being listed as an endangered heritage site can in fact help secure additional funding and support, citing the Tower would be an embarrassment for Britain. The Tower would have been the only world heritage site building in the developed world to be declared "at risk". The government swung into action and unveiled proposals in a move to prevent the historic Tower of London from being put on a blacklist of endangered world heritage sites. Plans to throw buffer zones around antiquities such as Durham Cathedral and Stonehenge to prevent ugly developments being built nearby were published. It goes to the credit of the Management Plans for the site that finally the World Heritage Committee at its 31st Session in Christchurch, New Zealand decided not to put the Tower of London on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Conclusion: UNESCO didn’t report any danger to the Tower itself. However the danger was because of inadequate protection for its settings. This reveals the future of Historic sites. The history needs protection not only in the morbid forms, but also in the settings. Reference: Kurt Jonson- http://www.travelodge.co.uk/press/article.php?id=260 Britannia - http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html 1- http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~brianj/bluestones59.html Atkinson, R J C, Stonehenge (Penguin Books, 1956) Chippendale, C, Stonehenge Complete (Thames and Hudson, London, 2004 Wace (Egerton 3028) Prophetiae Merlini ("The Prophecies of Merlin"), Historia Regum Britanniae Also- John Jay Parry and Robert Caldwell. "Geoffrey of Monmouth" in Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, Roger S. Loomis (ed.). Clarendon Press: Oxford University. 1959. Public Accounts Committee, Report to the House of Commons (April 1993). Stonehenge The Master Plan, ( English Heritage), September 1998 Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan, English Heritage, 2000 Tower of London Adrian Tinniswood, "A History of British Architecture: Buildings of the Middle Ages" (p.2), 2001-01-01 Blunt, Wilfred (1975). The Ark in thellkkl Park: The Zoo in the Nineteenth Century. London: Hamish Hamilton, 15-16. ISBN 241-89331-3. Read More