BTEC National Travel
and Tourism
Unit 1 Investigating Travel
and Tourism
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Unit 1 Learning Outcomes
1. Know the components of travel and tourism,
and how they interrelate
2. Know the roles and responsibilities of travel
and tourism organisations within the different
sectors
3. Understand how recent developments have
shaped the present day travel and tourism
industry
4. Understand the trends and factors affecting the
development of travel and tourism
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Icebreaker
1. Make a list of all the travel and tourism organisations that you can
think of
2. Try and group them into similar categories, e.g. transport, attractions,
accommodation, etc.
3. Think of ways in which some of the organisations work together
4. Have a go at coming up with your own definition of ‘travel and
tourism’
5. Make a list of the reasons why people travel in this country and
abroad
6. Write down who you think owns the travel and tourism organisations
on your original list
7. Make a list of the jobs available in two of the organisations you have
listed
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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What is ‘travel and tourism’?
'...the activities of persons travelling to and staying in
places outside their usual environment for not more than
one consecutive year for leisure, business and other
purposes‘ (World Tourism Organisation)
‘Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of
people to destinations outside the places where they
normally live and work, and activities during their stay at
these destinations; it includes movement for all
purposes, as well as day visits or excursions’ (Tourism
Society)
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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What is ‘travel and tourism’?
Both definitions clearly show that people we think of as
tourists are:
• Away from their normal place of residence (although
they will be returning home)
• On a visit that is temporary and short-term
• Engaged in activities which would normally be
associated with travel and tourism
• Not necessarily staying away from home overnight; they
may be on a day-trip or excursion
• Not always away from home for holiday purposes; they
could be on business or visiting friends and relatives
(VFR), but would still qualify as tourists
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Types of tourism
There are three main types of tourism:
• Domestic tourism: when people take holidays, short breaks and
day trips in their own country, e.g. a family from Birmingham
enjoying a two-week holiday in a farm guesthouse in North Wales
• Inbound/incoming tourism: when people enter a country from their
own country of origin or another country which is not their home, e.g.
Monsieur and Madame du Pont from Paris sampling the delights of
Edinburgh as part of a driving tour of Scotland
• Outbound tourism: when people travel away from the country
where they normally live, e.g. the family from Birmingham deciding
to give North Wales a miss this year and taking a week's holiday at
Disneyland Paris instead
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Textbook activity 1.1
Carry out a survey of the rest of your group to find out
how many people took their last holiday abroad
(outbound tourism) and what proportion stayed in the UK
(domestic tourism). Draw a bar chart showing the results
you collected. Ask the members of your group to tell you
which components of the travel and tourism industry they
used on their last holiday.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Why do people travel?
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Leisure tourism
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Business tourism
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Textbook activity 1.2
Business tourism is often considered to be
‘high value’ tourism. Why do you think this
is? Can you think of ways that travelling
for business reasons has changed in
recent years and what factors are likely to
affect business travel in the future?
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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CD-ROM activity CD1.1
Investigates
the different
types of leisure
tourism
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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CD-ROM activity CD1.2
Investigates
the different
types of
business
tourism
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Components of travel and
tourism
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accommodation
Transport
Attractions
Tour operations
Travel agents
Tourism development and promotion
Trade associations and regulatory bodies
Ancillary services
All of these components are provided by a large number of different
businesses and public agencies working in tourism, which together
make up the travel and tourism industry as shown in the following
slide.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Components of travel and
tourism
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Textbook activity 1.3
Working in a small team, carry out some research into
which components of the travel and tourism industry are
found in your local area. Use the diagram in Figure 1.4
(slide 13) as your starting point. Make a note of the
names of the companies or organisations represented,
their purpose and how they interrelate with other
components of the travel and tourism industry, giving
examples that include domestic, inbound and outbound
tourism.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1, P2
and M1
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Accommodation
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Types of accommodation
• Serviced – when a service is provided
along with an overnight stay, e.g. hotels,
guesthouses, youth hostels, B & Bs, etc.
• Self-catering – when tourists cater for
themselves, e.g. cottages, camping,
holiday centres and villages, caravanning,
second homes, etc.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Accommodation grading
schemes
Accommodation grading schemes are a way that tourist
boards can classify accommodation according to the
quality of facilities and standards of service on offer in a
particular establishment. Customers use these schemes
when selecting where to stay, with the expectation that
their accommodation will be a fair reflection of the grade
that it has been given.
In the UK, the national tourist boards have used different
schemes in the past based on crowns, stars, keys and a
variety of other symbols. There are also schemes on
offer from the motoring organisations.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Textbook activity 1.4
Carry out some research into the
accommodation grading scheme used by
your national tourist board and design an
illustrated brochure for visitors that
explains the different categories on offer.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Transport
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Types of transport
• Road – private car, coach, taxi,
bus, bicycle
• Rail – regional services, intercity routes, high-speed
services, steam trains
• Sea – ferries, cruise ships,
barges, yachts
• Air – scheduled services,
charter flights, ‘no frills’
carriers, air taxis
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Road travel
• Most popular type of transport used by
tourists in Britain
• Dramatic growth in car ownership since
the 1950s
• Congestion and pollution are problems in
urban and rural areas
• Historic cities and National Parks have
introduced traffic control measures, e.g.
park-and-ride schemes, cycle hire, etc.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Rail travel
• Under-investment over many decades in
Britain’s rail network
• Government is now investing over £60 billion to
develop a bigger, better and safer railway
system
• Network Rail maintains the infrastructure – track,
signalling, bridges, tunnels, etc.
• Train Operating Companies (TOCs) run the
trains, ticketing, rail enquiries, etc.
• Examples of TOCs include Virgin Trains, GNER,
Arriva Trains, First Great Western, etc.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Textbook activity 1.5
Produce a PowerPoint® presentation on one of
the UK’s train operating companies (TOCs),
giving details of its history, services,
performance standards, fare structures and
customer service arrangements. Describe how
the company works with other components of
the travel and tourism industry, formally and
informally.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for
P1 and P2
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Sea travel
• Sea travel in UK tourism is dominated by the ferry
companies, which operate services between the UK and
Ireland, Scandinavia and the near continent, e.g. France,
Belgium and the Netherlands
• There is fierce competition on the cross-Channel
services between ferry companies and the Channel
Tunnel
• Cruising from UK ports is growing in popularity
• 1.2 million British people took a cruise in 2005
• Major cruise companies include Cunard, Ocean Village,
Thomson Cruises and P&O
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Air travel
• Rapid growth in international tourism over the
last 50 years is closely linked to the growth in air
travel
• Deregulation of air travel has increased
competition between airlines and helped to keep
fares low on an expanding network of routes
• Britain has a number of world-class airlines, e.g.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, easyJet,
bmi, etc.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Types of air travel services
• Domestic – air travel within a country, e.g. a
flight from Manchester to Stansted
• International – flights between different
countries, e.g. London Heathrow to New York
• Scheduled – services that run to a published
timetable (includes low-cost airlines)
• Charter – services linked to package holidays,
where tour operators contract with an airline for
a specific route for a season, e.g. Newcastle to
Alicante between Easter and the end of October
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Textbook activity 1.6
Carry out some research on low-cost airlines to find out
which companies fly from the following UK airports:
Edinburgh, Cardiff, Birmingham, Stansted and
Manchester. Choose one of the companies and find out
more information on its route network, sample prices,
additional services, fare structures, aircraft fleet, etc.
Describe the interrelationships the airline has with other
components of the travel and tourism industry, giving
examples that include domestic, inbound and outbound
tourism.
This activity is designed to provide evidence for P1, P2
and M1
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Airports
• UK airports handled 228 million passengers in
2005
• Traffic at the 5 main London airports –
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London
City – totalled 133 million passengers
• Heathrow was the UK’s busiest airport with 68
million passengers
• Traffic at UK regional airports is growing rapidly
– the result of the increasing numbers of flights
offered by the low-cost airlines, e.g. Ryanair,
flybe, easyJet, Jet2, bmibaby, etc.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Attractions
• Visitor attractions can play a large part in a
destination’s success.
• They attract visitors and encourage them
to stay at a destination longer, thus
increasing visitor spending.
• The UK officially has 6500 visitor
attractions – they are important to both the
domestic and inbound tourism market.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Visitor attractions can be either natural or purpose built
(man-made).
For this section you need to research the following:
Natural attractions
Heritage attractions
Purpose-built
attractions
Events
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Natural Attractions
The UK has an abundance of fine landscapes.
Domestic and overseas visitors are attracted to the beautiful
coastline, the rugged mountains, peaceful lakes and the
picturesque valleys.
Many areas are now AONB or SSI’s – these include the
National Parks – map exercise
www.visitbritain.com
www.naturalengland.org.uk
www.discoverireland.com
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Activity – evidence for P1 – add to
display board
On an outline map of the UK mark the position of the
Existing National Parks in England, Wales and Scotland
Plus the location of the proposed Mourne National Park in
Northern Ireland.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Heritage Attractions
Many of Britain’s most popular attractions are heritage
attractions, depicting life at a particular point in time in the
past.
Museums, Galleries etc are examples of such attractions.
Research the following two heritage attractions as examples for your display board.
Remember to give details about what they are and what they offer the tourist.
 Jorvik Viking Centre in York – www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk
Ulster American Folk Park – www.nmni.com/uafp
You can also look in Wikipedia
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Purpose built attractions
As the name suggests these are tourist attractions that are
man made.
Examples include theme parks, zoological centres,
entertainment venues etc.
Research example:
Local – Aquarium in Portaferry – www.exploris.org.uk
National – Alton towers or the London eye
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Events
Events attract tourists to an area as well as serving the needs
of local people.
They come in all shapes and sizes – the Olympics, to local
and regional examples such as the St Patrick’s Carnival.
There are lots of examples to research.
Edinburgh Festival – Notting Hill Carnival – Glastonbury
St Patrick celebrations.
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Tour Operations
• Tour operators are the holiday companies
that many of us use when booking a UK or
overseas trip.
• The role of the Tour operator is to put
together all the different components that
make up a holiday and sell them as
packages to the consumer.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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They make contracts with hoteliers, airlines and other
transport companies to put the package together.
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In the case of foreign package holidays, the majority of
customers use the services of a travel agent.
However, developments in technology have meant that
growing numbers of people are using the internet, digital
tv or teletext.
Companies that sell direct claim that the money they save
on paying travel agents is passed on to the customer
meaning a cheaper holiday.
The big 4 tour operators include Thompson, MyTravel,
Thomas Cook and First Choice Holidays. – however
these companies have merged recently.
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In 2007, Thomas Cook and MyTravel merged and First
Choice and Thompson also merged to effectively create two
super tour operators.
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The graph above clearly shows an increase in online tour
operations in recent years since 2002. – customers are able to
visit these websites and design their own holiday.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Types of tour operators
•
•
•
•
Mass-market operators
Specialist operators
Domestic operators
Incoming tour operators
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Mass –market operations (outbound)
These operations sell high volumes of holidays and include
best known names Thomas Cook Group, the company formed by the merger of travel
giants Thomas Cook and MyTravel, began trading on June 19 2007.
Tour operator First Choice merged with the tourism division of
German company TUI which includes Thomson Holidays.
The deal, which has to be approved by shareholders, will see the
creation of a new company - TUI Travel.
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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Research – Choose one of the tour operators
History of the company
Its roles and responsibilities
Products that it sells
Destinations it travels to
Researching on the internet and in brochures should give you
All the info you need
BTEC National Travel & Tourism 2007 specifications (c)Travel and Tourism Publishing Ltd.
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