The Appeal of UK Destinations
Word Count: 1764 Author: Kimi Ural Created: 2014
Destination 1: London Cultural City
London is a cultural city in the south east of England. There are many places designed for disabled people that the accessibility is easier for them. For example: The British Museum which has special parking slots for customers with a blue badge. They have audio exhibits and free entry for the museum however, special exhibitions require tickets. The London Zoo is also accessible for disabled customers in wheelchairs or with blind dogs but a call needs to be made for the blind dogs to get in.
The Buckingham Palace is also a popular place to visit for disabled customers because everything is easily accessible through the special parking places and the ability to pre book the wheelchair visit online that assistances can help them getting up the 6 stairs at the main entry. The inside of the building is easily accessible for the wheelchair user without help needed.
London has got some natural features for example: The Epping Forest which is a beautiful forest with grassland and wetland areas and the Highgate Wood which is another forest where visitors can even see the wildlife habitats. This will attract mainly elderly habitual tourists through the peace and silence but also some traditional because they are confident with forests though their long existence. And young discoverers because they may want to take pictures and take a closer look at the wildlife in the forests. Because there are parks in every country this will mostly attract domestic tourists.
Also built attractions to attract high street, followers and style hound customers such as the London Eye are offered. This will attract inbound and outbound tourists, The London Dungeons and Madame Tussauds which will attract domestic customers through its popularity at all ages.
London has got a wide range of facilities such as famous restaurants like “Jamie Oliver`s Diner” and “Fifteen London” which will mainly attract High street and style hound visitors which can be inbound and domestic tourists. There are accommodations such as hotels for example: The mandarin oriental hotel which is a 5 star hotel, therefore more expensive with a cost of £800 per night. A cheaper way to stay in the city would be the Britannia which only costs £60 per night.
The local transport in the city is easy through the regular busses and especially the underground in London which makes is quick and cheap to get from one side of the city to the other which is great for students.
Destination 2: Blackpool Coastal Resort
Blackpool is a coastal resort in the north west of England which will mainly attract domestic tourists but also a few inbound tourists. It is easily accessible by car on the M55, by coach, taxi and bus which could be the number 42 from Lancaster or 68 and 61 from Preston.
It is easy to get around in Blackpool through the local transport such as the busses and the trams. Blackpool has got ramps everywhere where stairs are that wheelchair users or mothers with prams can access everything just as well as everyone else.
Blackpool has got natural features such as the beach where visitors can go swimming, built sand castles or ride a donkey. It is a great place to visit for families and couples, it will mainly attract functional and habitual tourists.
Blackpool tower is a built attraction which will attract traditional tourists at all age through its popularity. The Sandcastle Water Park is another built attraction which is great for children and young adults through the fun waterslides.
There is a wide variety of facilities in Blackpool such as eating out places where visitors could go to the Michael Wan`s Mandarin which is a restaurant of the higher class which attracts high street tourists with a good income. There are many accommodation choices in Blackpool such as the stay in one of the hundreds hotels which can be in `Hotel 33` which is a 3 star hotel for only £23 per night.
The pleasure Beach is a theme park for entertainment purposes for everyone at all age such as families, couples and student groups.
Destination 3: Snowdonia countryside area
Snowdonia is a region in the north-west of Wales and the first to become a national park in wales. It is a calm and peaceful place to relax which will mainly attract habitual tourists.
Snowdonia Is easily accessible by train for example virgintrains, bus via National Express or by car on the M56 and A55.
The local transport in Snowdonia is just as simple as the accessibility through the local train stations such as Betws Coed, Pont Pant, Dolwyddelan, Roman Bridge and Blaenau Festiniog which cross the park. Local busses and bike hires such as Bird Rock Cycle Hire are available too.
Snowdonia is a natural feature itself, half of the land is over 300 meters. it’ the highest mountain with 1,085 meters where tourists can either stare at this giant beauty or go on an adventure including rock climbing which attracts inbound and domestic cosmopolitans who are most likely to be adults between the age of 17-36.
Snowdonia mainly has got self catering accommodation such as The Oakley, Porthmadog or artist` inspiration which would fit into the discoverer customers expectations of living independently in mind and action.
Besides the natural features there’s also build attractions for entertainment and leisure such as underground adventures which are for the whole family were the customers climb down into a mine, perfect for young and old. The beacon climbing centre is an indoor climbing area for young children which attracts domestic couples with a young child and kindergarten groups. The shop Bondant Welsh food mainly attracts inbound tourists through its traditional offers of Welsh food.
How does London Attract Different Groups and Individuals?
- London may attract domestic and inbound school groups for a day trip through the educational side of London to see the British Museum and Shakespeare’s Globe. This meets their needs because the students can see everything visually in the museums and therefore remember it better.
- A domestic family might be attracted to London to spend a all inclusive weekend in the capital with activities for the kids and spar visits for the parents in the hotels such as Aguamarina Golf Hotel or Sharm Grand Plaza Resort which are high standard hotels and offer everything they look for.
- A single cosmopolitan inbound tourist may be attracted to the capital to tick the place off on his list of countries. London meets the customers needs through the cheap accommodation stays such as the Pearl Hotel which allows the customer to stay for £14 per night.
- A domestic hen/stag group may be attracted to London to go to one of the several nightclubs such as Fabric or studio 338. The London nightclubs meet their needs because of the popularity and exclusive atmosphere.
- A domestic and inbound group of anime fans may go to London to go shopping in Tokyo Toys which meets their needs through the wide collection of anime and manga articles to a fair price.
- An elderly inbound couple may go to London to see its cultural and historical side. London meets their needs through offering tours to the Big Ben, the Buckingham Palace or one of the several museums.
How does London Attract Inbound/Domestic Visitors and meet their needs?
London attracts inbound visitors through the popularity of the capital and the opportunities the city offers. London is keep growing and trying to think of new activities they could offer their customers and buildings they could built to attract them. Since 2003 the capital grew a lot and opened more opportunities for visitors to meet different individuals needs which they successfully archived over the last years. In 2003 the capital had 24.715 million inbound visitors where in 2013 the had 32.813 million visitors through the new attractions and activities which is a massive improvement. Another statistic shows that the customers spend money on the new activities because of the average spend per visit which was £475 in 2003 and £640 in 2013. London meets their inbound visitors needs which can be proved through the excellent recommendations the customers make after their visit. For example the restaurants such as Hakkasan, Launceston Place, The Harwood Arms, Veeraswamy and La Fromagerie have the rating 5 out of 5 from the majority of customers. The hotels in London such as Covent Garden Hotel, The Savoy, Charlotte Street Hotel, Dorchester and Claride`s also have a rating from 4 to 5 out of 5.
London attracts domestic visitors through for example the huge festivals and concerts they offer such as Lovebox, Calling Festival and British Summer Time which attract young and old domestic visitors who look for entertainment and fun, for example style hounds. In 2006 the average domestic visitors spend was at £81 where in 2012 it has gone up to £106 which shows that more and more domestic customers come to London to attend one of the several festivals and recommend it to their friends and family because their needs were met so that the customers are satisfied.
How can London Improve its Appeal?
London can improve its appeal through electrifying their rail transport which will improve their appeal through the faster transportation from one place to another. It will also be quieter which will stop the amount of noise the trains make and greener which will make it more appealing for environmentally aware customers. The majority of train stations in London are accessible for almost everyone, however there are some which need improvement such as lifts and ramps that it is easier to access for wheelchair users, customers with prams and elderly people who cannot use stairs. Also they could make the train station more child friendly because the gabs between the ground and the trains are quit big and therefore dangerous for little children but also for some disabled customers.
Also some hotels in London need improvement because they do not offer a great value for the money the customer puts into it. Therefore I recommend that the hotels in London should at least meet the standard expectations such as a clean bed and room and a warm welcome by the staff.
London could advertise what they offer more because a lot people do not know what there is to do in London except shopping and the Big Ben therefore the city gets a majority of high street tourists but not as many functional or habitual visitors.
All in one London still is a really famous and to most visitors appealing city with activities and attractions for young and old, different price range for poorer and richer visitors and appealing to customers from a single person over school groups to even hen or stag parties.
