The UK as a destination
In pairs try to remember the names of the websites you have used to help you complete work in the past. How many other sources of reference materials can you think are available for the tourism industry
To achieve a pass grade you must: use appropriate reference sources to provide information on the UK as a destination.
In order to provide accurate and timely information on UK destinations, you will need to know how to use reference materials. A great deal of material is widely available from the industry, but this is usually restricted to brochures and catalogues. The internet also provides varied information but check for inaccuracies.
All the grading criteria for this unit requires you to list any materials you have used and how you have used them. You will find it useful to build up a list of useful reference materials, identifying where you found them (for example writing down the web address, book title or name and date of newspaper or magazine articles.
- a searchable atlas that can be zoomed to help you find destinations – select ‘world atlas’ from the home page. – a mapping software with real satellite images
The internet can provide you with a wide range of reference materials. There many websites that cover all the different components of the UK travel industry, including transport, accommodation, regions, towns, and attractions. The internet is also valuable for statistical data
– this is the website of the British Tourist Authority – the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is the Government department with responsibility for tourism and the support of museums, galleries, the historic environment and other important historic and cultural aspects of the UK
The value of travel brochures lies largely in the specific information they contain about travel to, features of and the accommodation at specific destinations. It is important to bear in mind that brochures are written to sell destinations to customers. They may play down or ignore negative aspects about a destination such as travel time from airports or poor seasonal weather.
Why might it not be wise to completely trust information contained in a brochure? What is the purpose of a brochure? What different means could you use to check the accuracy of the information provided in brochures?
To compare the brochure description of accommodation and resorts with independent reviews use:
Organisations such as Star UK, Visit Britain and the Office of National Statistics provide useful statistical data: provides summaries of key tourism facts and data
– the UK Civil Aviation Authority website includes airport and airline statistics. – the Department for Transport website provides statistical data concerning all aspects of transport in the UK. – this is a national consumer survey focusing on domestic tourism
Transport timetables not only provide a valuable source of information with regard to departure and arrival times, but they also provide useful data about routes and possible connections between different transport types. Activity – think of the methods of transport available in the UK, and some of the main operators.
Usually fall into two categories The first are usually free and compiled by either the regional tourist board in cooperation with local travel and tourism providers. The second category is made up by published destination guides produced by commercial publishers, including the AA and Lonely Planet.
Travel trade press and newspapers Sunday newspapers including The Sunday Times, The Observer and The Telegraph all have dedicated travel sections Most of the daily newspapers including The Daily Mail and The Express have their own dedicated travel sections seven days a week,
Television programmes for the travel and tourism industry fall into three categories: 1. Travel sales – for example Sky Travel Shop ( 2. Programmes with a ravel and tourism element such as 3. Specific holiday programmes such as ‘Holiday’ which has now ended but may be found on you tube.
See student shared drive for details of assessment P1.