Tourist information and guiding services

Tourist information centres
Regional tourist boards
Guided tours on open top buses
tour guides
VisitBritain

Tourist information centres are located in:
City centres
town centres
historical towns
popular tourist destinations

Local tourist information centres: Library Solihull

1. give advice about accommodation, car hire, visitor attractions, restaurants, transport.
2. provide maps of town and region they serve
3. Funded by local authority
4. located in centre of towns or cities
5. information as to what is on - theatres, concerts
6. sell souvenirs

Guiding Services
e.g. guided tour of a castle, stately home, city

Aim
To make the tour as informative and interesting as possible

Cities like London, Stratford upon Avon, Bath have touris on open top buses. The tour guide gives a running commentary which usually includes interesting stories about people and places on the route. Often head sets are provided for non-English speaking visitors.

Some guides are volunteers who have a special interest in the history of a place


Blue Badge Guide Scheme
The Blue Badge is the British national standard guiding qualification, every guide has the same background of national core knowledge combined with in-depth local knowledge
Blue Badge Guides have a wide range of languages (40!), specialities and interests, and can guide on foot, in cars, on coaches, on trains and on boats.

Professional, qualified tourist guides for sightseeing.

Products offered by Tourist Information Centres

1. information leaflets
2. maps
3. brochures
4. audio tapes

Services

1. coaches
2. help and advice
3. speaking foreign languages
4. booking accommodation and catering
5. car hire

Coach companies

Case Study Johnsons - Henley in Arden


• Family owned – independent
• Build a close relationships with customers
• Have a good reputation based on high quality and service
• Highly regarded by competitors

Characteristics of service provided:
• Door to door holidays
• Uniformed drivers
• Modern fleet
• Caring attitude
• Award winning company

Services provided

• School runs
• Educational visits
• Day trips
• Short break holidays
• Coach holidays in Europe
• Door to door holidays

Components in the travel industry

G Guiding and tourist information services
O On line travel services
T Transportation
A Attractions
T Travel Agents
T Tour operators

How can you reduce the negative impacts of tourism?

1. Manage visitor numbers
2. Park and ride systems
3. Better signposting
4. Using off peak car parking charges
5. Managing traffic
6. Code of conduct for visitors

££££ ECONOMIC

+ve
Creates jobs
Regeneration of area
Local businesses profit
Bringing money into area
Better public transport systems

-ve
Tourism can take away from traditional jobs
Loss of local services – shops turn to gift shops etc.
Lots of seasonal work which is low paid
Prices for goods are raised which means higher prices for locals.


ENVIRONMENTAL

+ve
Derelict areas improved such as old barns in rural areas
Town centres pedestrianised
Flowers and landscaping

-ve
Litter
Noise
Air pollution
Congestion traffic
Disturbing wildlife
Loss of wildlife habitats
Altering landscapes
Physical erosion of footpaths
Overcrowding
Wear and tear on the countryside
Sea pollution in seaside areas

SOCIAL IMPACTS
How it affects people and their lives:
+ve
Refurbished buildings, conversions, B&B’s etc
Friendly people like interacting with tourists
Better social life
Better facilities
Better infrastructure and transport

-ve
Local residents putting up with drunken or loud behaviour from tourists
Congestion on local roads – leading to delayed journey times for local people

Explain the appeal of a UK town or city....

Explain the appeal of a UK town or city you have studied to inbound tourists

London
Main appeal is the cultural (Tate Gallery), and historical buildings (Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Palace of Westminster) and to see the heritage of Britain. Many overseas visitors come to the UK to see Buckingham Palace.
There are many visitor attractions such as Millennium Wheel, Madame Tussauds, the London Dungeon all in very close proximity.
There is a wealth of arts and entertainment opportunities in London including the National Theatre, Tate Gallery, Her Majesty’s Theatre, and concert venues such as Wembley stadium, Royal Albert Hall.
Transport links in the capital are excellent with three major international airports, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead. This means that the capital is easily accessible. The public transport is excellent with surface and underground rail networks, buses etc.
There is a wide range of accommodation available ranging from top 5* hotels like the Savoy Hotel and Ritz Hotel, through smaller hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfast and youth hostels.
London is also famous for its shopping (e.g. Harrods, Knightsbridge, Oxford St, etc)
There are also many famous sports venues close to the capital city – Wimbledon (tennis) Twickenham (Rugby) and Wembley (football)

There are many guided tours, city sightseeing tours which offer overseas visitors audio tape guides in different languages. London has a diverse range of plates to eat including specialist restaurants from all over the world which cater for every culture.


What does Birmingham have to offer?
Shopping: Bull Ring, Mail Box
NEC / NIA: entertainment venue
ICC - conference venue
Theatre: Repertory theatre, Hippodrome Theatre, Alexandra Theatre
Museum and Art Galleries: Art Gallery, Thinktank museum
Visitor attractions - Cadbury World, Sea Life Centre
Wide range of Hotels, Raddison, Crowne Plazza
Jewellery Quarter

Exam on Monday 9th June - final preparations!

I've added to the section on Theatre on the blog. Please check it out!

Make sure you learn all of the jobs in both the leisure and tourism section.
Learn how leisure provision has changed in the local area over the past 20 years
Be able to discuss links between components in the leisure industry
Be able to discuss links between leisure and tourism
Learn your case studies!


Think social, economic and environmental advantages and disadvantages of tourism

Case Studies for Tourism
Case study of a city - use Birmingham - you know it well!!!
Case study of a seaside - Blackpool
Case study of a national park - Peak District. Remember the Year 9 Geography field trip to Dovedale!!!
Coach company - Johnsons, Henley in Arden


Case studies for leisure:
Leisure Centre - Tudor Grange
Health club - David Lloyd Monkspath
Childrens play - Wacky Warehouse, Olton Tavern, Brueton Park
Theatre - Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Cinema - Cineworld, Touchwood
Museum - Thinktank
Visitor Attraction - Drayton Manor, Cadbury World

Bingo

Jan 06
Bingo halls are part of the leisure industry and many people choose to spend some of their leisure time there.
Explain the appeal of playing bingo at a bingo hall.


Stacey Dutch
Firstly you can play all year round as it is inside. It is competitive as everyone wants to win the money. Furthermore it is cheap and you can win your money back and a lot more. Also it is socialising with other people as you have the opportunity to meet new people. Although it is quiet when playing bingo it is lively and fun for everyone after. Also it caters for most people. It is appealing as it is enjoyable, fun and exciting.