visitor attraction question

Visitor attractions have many impacts on the area where they are situated.
Using a visitor attraction you have studied, analyse the economic and environmental impacts that is has on the area.
Name of visitor attraction Alton Towers

I have chosen Alton Towers as a visitor attraction I have studied. It has many economic and environmental impacts from millions of tourists each year going to Stoke on Trent to visit it.

Firstly, an economic effect that Alton Towers has on its surrounding area, is that more jobs/ employment becomes available, to the people living near this attraction. Jobs such as, ticket office, security, café services, shops, cleaners and ride operators are needed everyday to keep Alton Towers up and running. If staff did not work at Alton Towers then it would have to close, so therefore this would affect many other jobs that are connected with tourism; such as transport, restaurants and accommodation. For example many people catch coaches to and from Alton Towers daily, therefore a high amount of coach drivers wages comes from this, if Alton Towers closed then coach drivers and many other types of transport such as taxi’s would loose profit. Also, accommodation would be affected as thousands of tourists each year stay at hotels and B&Bs in the area so that they can visit Alton Towers. If the attraction closed there would be a drop in tourism, so this would affect the local people.

An advantage of environmental impact from tourism at Alton towers is that more tourists means more income. Therefore, some of this money goes towards the local area. This is an advantage as more things can be improved, such as the country lanes, as they are small and narrow, which means congestion and crashes could be prevented. The area is carefully landscaped and conservation is of more importance due to the attraction.

There are many environmental disadvantages. For example, thousands of tourists go to Alton towers each day, this means that cars, coaches and many other forms of transport will be on roads and motorways going to and from Alton towers. This therefore causes congestion on the local roads, which could cause problems for locals who are trying to travel to places, as it may take them longer, to get to their chosen destination. Also, more transport on the roads means more air pollution and noise pollution. Another disadvantage could be that, more tourists’ means more litter will be dropped on the ground. This makes the surrounding area look untidy which could upset locals, and put tourists off visiting there again.