The History and Revolution of Tourism Sector in the United Kingdom after World War II
Introduction
Undeniably, the end of the Second World War marked one of the most momentous periods in the history of tourism and travel industry. Several factors contributed immensely on the growth of tourism since the World War II. Variations of socio-economic situations such as the increased vehicle ownership, increased leisure time, and availability of more disposable income are some of the factors that promoted the growth of the Tourism industry in the UK. Speaking of innovations and technological advancements, the development of Jet Aircrafts, computerized booking systems, the internet, and extensive use of technology have also played a significant role in the growth and development of the tourism industry. Last on the contributory factors is the concept of product innovation and development. The introduction of camping holidays, cheap airlines, holiday packages, and long haul destinations largely contributed to the growth and development of the tourism industry. The UK public sector is involved in the provision of facilities, services, and as well, in meeting the needs of tourists and visitors. Additionally, the UK public sector facilitates and controls development activities in the public sector, and it as well provides funding for basic infrastructure, development, and regulation of tourist activities.
Historical development of Tourism, especially after 1960
Traditionally, early tourism was a preserve for trade, government administration, religious, and/or military purposes and was supposedly not meant for leisure purposes. Evidence from as early as 1500BC suggests that the Egyptians frequented pyramids both religious and leisure purposes. Equally, the Olympic Games became an occasion for leisure\, but it was originally intended for religious purposes. The rise of the Seaside Resort provides substantial evidence that people frequented entertainment places for satisfaction reasons. However, the history of modern tourism is traceable to the introduction of holiday packages that could only be afforded by the rich and mighty. Resorts and holiday camps offered entertainment and accommodation facilities to visitors (Mowforth, and Munt, 2008).
The end of the Second World War was characterized by an increased desire and pressing concerns for individuals seeking leisure activities. This was in part due to the need to re-unite with families and as well, in part due to the need of repatriate of soldiers involved in the war. With developments in infrastructure, improvements in transport facilities, and increasing level of disposable income, it became unquestionable that individuals were willing to tour places. The increased number of car owners meant that all regions within the UK were accessible (Horse, 2011). Conversion of military aircrafts for commercial purposes provided increased opportunities for people to tour places that could have otherwise been inaccessible due to high costs and distances. Equally, the introduction of commercial jet aircraft reduced the length of travel times and costs of travelling. It was possible for UK residents to travel to other exotic places with warm weather during times when the weather in the UK was not welcoming.
Concepts of Service, Leisure, and Tourism
The UK society was traditionally known to be an economy driven by production and manufacturing but the services and consumer industries have since grown to provide dominant economic contributions. As the society advanced, several industries underwent significant changes from the primary sectors to the highly advanced tertiary sectors (Horse, 2011). With the United Kingdom being one of the most developed economies in the world, the service sector contributes a substantial percentage of output in the entire economy. As mentioned earlier, the changing socio-economic situations of individuals after the Second World War was among the leading factors that influenced the growth of the tourism industry. Reduction in the average working hours from 50 hours per week to nearly 30-40 hours per week enabled people to spare some time for leisure activities. However, Critcher and Bramham (2004) argue that time available for leisure activities has been on the decline since the mid-1980s. Individuals not only work harder\, but they also have extended working hours (Critcher, and Bramham, 2004).
Speaking of tourism and travel in the UK, three main markets are identifiable as the main recipients of the UK travel and tourism industry. The inbound tourism market consists of tourists from overseas coming to the United Kingdom. Similarly, outbound tourism refers to UK tourists travelling to international markets. Last, internal tourism or domestic tourism entails the tourist activities of UK residents within the UK. Foreign exchange of currencies occurs during inbound and outbound tourism.
Tourism estimates from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimate direct contributions from the travel and tourism industry to increase by 4.3% within the next 10 years in addition to creating employment opportunities for approximately 99,000,000 people with an estimated increase of 2% per annum within the next 10 years (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2012). In the UK, the estimated direct contribution figure accounted to 2.3% of the total UK GDP in 2011 and is expected to increase at the rate of 4.1 % within the next 10 years (2012-2022). In terms of employment, the Travel and Tourism sector provided a direct support of 938,500 jobs representing 3% of total employment in the UK. At an expected increase rate of 2.2%, the UK travel and tourism industry is expected to support 1,189,000 jobs by 2012. The WTTC estimated that visitor exports from travel and tourism contributed 5.1% of the total exports in 2011 with the figure set to increase by 4.0% pa within the next 10 years. On the other hand, investment from travel and tourism related activities are also estimated to increase at the rate of 3.0 per annum (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2012).
The above statistics are estimates since it is rather difficult to measure contributions from tourist related activities. This can be attributed to a number of factors that make it difficult to measure tourism commonly referred to as the inadequate state of measuring tourism statistics. The Tourism Intelligence Unit (TIU) at the National Statistics argues that Tourism is a demand side activity and hence, the analysis of its economic contribution or value is entirely dependent on information on the spending of visitors. The difficulty associated with measuring tourism arise from the difficulties associated with determining the proportion of output that tourism industries can account for in terms of expenditure by visitors, both in demand and supply sides. The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) developed by the UN World Tourism Organization, Eurostat, and OECD provide the ideal measure for treating the difficulties associated with measuring tourism (World Travel & Tourism Council 2012).
Traditional tourism and package holidays
The introduction of traditional tourism can be traced to the annual cycle of festive events, the grand tour, and the industrialization period. The first package holiday in 1855 that was organized by Thomas Cook was only preserved for the rich and affluent\, and it involved a 2-week tour of Germany, France, and Belgium. Equally, Henry Ford introduced models that gave rise to private motoring. With time, holiday camps, accommodative resorts, and paid holidays became a popular concept among various workers in the UK. By the early 1960s, consumers spending on holiday packages in both domestic and international destinations had increased substantially thereby reducing the average costs for holiday packages. Other factors that contributed to the growth of holiday packages included the increased number of tour operators, reduced travel costs, and personal demands (Greenley, and Matcham, 2009). Undeniably, the increased motivation from tourists heightened their demand and desire to visit particular places of attraction. Depending on what they perceived would satisfy their needs, tourists were willing to travel to particular destinations if such destinations offered holiday packages to satisfy their needs (Greenley, and Matcham, 2009; Oliver, 2004)).
Emergence of mass tourism
Mass tourism occurred based on the concepts of modern social and economic system characterized by increased wages to workers and as well, the extended ability of workers to purchase large quantities of commodities produced from mass production. After the end of the World War II, there was dramatic production and consumption. To accompany the mass production of products were the increased diversity of attractions and activities that comprised of mass tourism. The increased number of tourists seeking the consumption of packaged, highly standardized, and inflexible tourism products characterized this phenomenon. For instance, the introduction of cheap automobile became affordable for normal consumers to afford their own transport means. Additionally, the rate of wages for normal workers was increased thereby expanding their capabilities to consume the mass produced products.
Fordism and Post-Fordism
As mentioned above, Fordism refers to the period characterized by mass production, improved worker remuneration, and increased consumption of mass produced goods. Fordism tourism comprises of mass tourism whereby consumers increasingly consume tourist products and package holidays. There is also inflexibility and rigidity in the consumption of tourist products and labour market structures. Even though there is a variety of activities and attractions that make up mass tourism, Fordist tourism is characterized by a mass number of tourists that consumer highly standardized, inflexible, and packaged tourism products (Williams, & Shaw, 2004). Other significant characteristics of Fordism include the availability of undifferentiated products, large economies of scale in the consumption of tourist products, staged authenticity, collective consumption, and McDonaldisation. McDonaldisation in the concept of Fordist tourism refers to the act bringing efficiency to the tourism industry through the division and rationalization of structures to achieve efficiency.
On the other hand, Post-Fordist consumption refers to the shift in the forms of tourism consumption away from the large scale and rigid, Fordist modes towards more flexible forms of post-Fordist patterns. The shift to post-Fordism is a rather complex and embedded process that involves making macro-level changes in both consumption and consumption systems (Williams, & Shaw, 2004). Post-Fordist tourism involves the creation of more specialized, individual, and niche markets that seem to be tailor made to suit the changing needs and demands of tourists. Flexibility in the forms of production is also a common feature in this Post-Fordist tourism. Other major characteristics in post-Fordist tourism include increased product differentiation, small-scale production and consumption of tourism products, desired authenticity, de-McDonaldisation (elimination of hierarchies, division of labour, and specialization), and the realization of individualized consumption (Williams, & Shaw, 2004).
Market segmentation
Understanding the needs, desires, and preferences of customers is one of the most essential concepts in marketing. Developing a marketing plan calls for the identification of the customers from several points of view that can aid in the development of marketing strategies (Kotler, and Keller, 2010). During this process, management activities such as the identification, anticipation, and satisfaction of customer requirements are essential elements of the marketing mix. Nonetheless, not all marketing strategies can be directed all consumers and as such, there is the need to identify a particular target market to market your tourism products. A target market is identifiable based on different aspects such as the demographics, income, age, psychographic, usership, type of purchase, and location among others.
Market segmentation from the tourism perspective would entail the identification of a particular market category and designing a marketing strategy to guide the promotion of tourist products to the identified market (Kotler, and Keller, 2010). It will entail a combination of several products particularly the elements of the marketing mix. These elements include product description, price, the place (location), and promotion. Market segmentation of tourism products will be highly dependent on concepts of the buying process and information sources of the product sold.
The changes in the service and tourism sectors
Several major changes have occurred in the service and tourism sectors and this includes changes such as technological development, costumer (tourist)'s tastes and behaviours, modes of consumption, and change in factors considered when selecting a tourist destination. Other factors that have undergone substantial change include the modes of transport, access to tourist information, modes of booking (preferably online booking), modes of payment, and access and profiting from tourism offers and opportunities. Government involvement in tourism has also increased involvement in tourism given the major role it plays in the improvement of GDP and employment creation (Office for National Statistics, 2011). Last, the number of tourist attractions keeps on increasing every year and these features vary according to the client tastes and preferences.
Current trends
The UK travel and tourism industry has continued to grow and develop in different ways depending on the influencing factors. First, the technological and infrastructural factors have increased the level of efficiency and marketing purposes for many firms in the industry. For instance, central reservation systems and highly advanced computer databases have made it easy for clients to make reservations and payments at the comfort of their homes. Highly developed financial systems have also contributed to the growth of the industry. Technology has influences travel channels to tourist destinations. Second, demographic, economic, and social trends among households influences consumption packages for many a consumer. For instance, incomes and family sizes influence tourist destinations (Delle Fave, 2006). Third, political factors and travel advisory boards provide information to tourists concerning the stability and political situations of regions of choice. For instance, British government implements travel bans to countries prone to terrorist attacks. This is done to guarantee safety to UK citizens. Lastly, environmental and cultural factors also determine the tastes and preferences of tourists including their visitor destinations.
Conclusion
The travel and tourism industry in the UK experienced momentous growth after the Second World War. Many a factor contributed to this growing trend and these factors included changes in socio-economic situations (increased vehicle ownership, increased leisure time, and availability of more disposable income), innovations and technological advancements, and development of Jet Aircrafts. Other factors included computerized booking systems, the internet, and extensive use of technology. Speaking of the history of tourism in the UK, introduction of holiday packages, resorts and holiday camps gave rise to growth of the tourism were substantial factors that gave rise to the growth of modern tourism in the UK. As such, the society transformed from being dependent on production and manufacturing to being dependent on services. Statistics of tourism estimates from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) shows that direct contributions from the travel and tourism industry are likely to increase by 4.3% within the next 10 years. To this purpose, it will contribute immensely towards the strengthening of GDP and provision of employment in the UK economic sector. Current industry trends shows sustainability due to increased growth and development.
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