Category: Tourism

Tourism is arguably one of the most productive sectors in the UK, estimated to account for about 9 percent of the country’s GDP (Papatheodorou, Rossell & Xiao 2010). The industry encompasses various areas that would directly tend to impact human life. For instance, with tourism and travel come things such as car rental agencies, tour agents, and hotels, among other facilities known to trigger significant impact on a country’s productivity.

In this regard, this dynamic sector has continued to play a key role in diversifying the global economy through investment and employment (Mihali et al. 2002). All these benefits have changed tremendously over the last several years, as a result of various contemporary issues currently witnessed by the human race.

For instance, increased application of electronic and other technologies on the sector is arguably one of the major contemporary issues that have brought greater impact on the hospitality industry. The purpose of this essay is to identify some of the emerging perspectives of the concept of photography as it is applied in tourism and travel sector.

In other words, this essay critically analyses the impact of photography as one of the commonly applied technologies in the sector. The characteristics as well as the consequences of photography as applied in the sector are also observed in this report. Other issues highlighted in the report include recommendation on the possible resolutions that can be used to address various problems associated with the contemporary issue addressed in the essay.

The increased use of modern technologies in the tourism and travel sector is a contemporary issue because the trend is pertinent in almost all social organisations of the modern world (Williams 2006). The incorporation of new age technology in tourism is characterized by the use of sophisticated tools and equipment in transforming the nature of the tourism sector (Buhalis 1998).

As it would be observed, business activities in this dynamic sector are no longer conducted in a conservative style, but this traditional element is rapidly being eradicated from the face of the earth, following the development of new technological systems (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008).

Information and communication are pivotal in today’s tourism and travel sector, and there is no doubt about that. In this regard, sophisticated cameras have completely dominated the tourism sector over the years, as a result of global advancements (Garrod 2009).

Today, the camera has become an integral part of the modern revolution in photography (Harper 2000: 718). Wilhelm et al (2004) observes modern aspects of technology to have revolutionised the tourism industry in a number of ways. Constant application of modern electronics in the tourism sector has triggered both transformative and negative impacts (Buhalis & Law 2008).

In this context, there are mixed arguments on the impact resulting from the application of modern technology in the identified sector. Modern technology may have played a significant role in promoting the tourism sector, but there are other people who are totally convinced that the trend does not necessarily guarantee the tourism sector a competitive advantage anymore (Doswell 2012).

In this regard, excessive dependence on technology in the industry has been both a threat and an opportunity to the players within (Buckley 2012). Key travel intermediaries such tour operators, agents, and conference organisers booking agents are among those who have benefitted from various modern technologies, considering the nature of their work which involves reaching the masses to inform them about various aspects associated with tourism and travel (Rayman-Bacchus & Molina 2001)

The concept of photography is applied in the tourism industry around the world in performing various tasks that are crucial for the success of the sector (Buckley 2012). Some of these important tasks include product development and marketing of tourism products (Doswell 2012).

The use of modern technology in the tourism sector has also been effective in ensuring that tourism clients receive a wider range of products and services that suit their needs (Sheungting, McKercher & Cheung 2010). These approaches have been made easy through the use of photographs and other forms of communication (Valkenburg, Schouten, & Peter 2005).

The advancement of digital cameras and other sophisticated digital media capture devices has tremendously transformed the advertising and attraction department of many tourism facilities (Rost, Jacobsson & Holmquist 2006). Image sharing between intermediaries to customer communications have proved to play an increasingly significant task in the marketing of tourism products.

Through these options, tourism agents are able to pass information regarding their products and services to potential customers via various mediums of communication. This way, potential customers and clients are able to access information regarding their choice of tourism treatment easily before setting off for the journey (Easterling 2005).

These approaches benefit both the tourism intermediaries and the customers in that; the intermediaries have the opportunity of accessing their customers directly, while the customers have the advantage of comparing various tourism facilities before they make up their minds. (Stockdale 2007). In other words, this direct interaction helps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness consumer services in the sector (Buckley 2012).

The advance of mobile phone technology has played a key role in improving the interaction between tourism intermediaries and their potential customers through photography (Doswell 2012). The possibilities presented by the modern technological era have improved our lives abundantly, in a manner no one could have anticipated over a century ago (Beirne & Curry 1999).

Most modern mobile handsets come with high resolution cameras, which are essential for effective interaction among people (Van House 2006). As a matter of fact, digital cameras have in the recent years been outsold by the cameraphones, (Van House et al. 2004).

The mobile phone culture is that, it brings the world to the fingertips of the users, thus enabling them to access the internet and chat directly with their friends and loved ones, no matter the distance separating them (Buckley 2012). These gadgets are known to offer standard operating systems on top of the in-built special features, thus providing much convenience in image processing and sharing (Davis et al. 2005).

The wealth of visual information accessible on the internet offers immense learning opportunities to potential tourists (Feighey 2003). People can easily access photography information about all tourism destinations in the world with just a click of a button on their mobile devices, and this enables them make more informed decisions on their tourism and travel plans (Stockdale 2007).

More importantly, fast and convenient e-Commerce opportunities are provided online to facilitate business activities in the sector (Law, Leung & Wong 2004). This way, customers can now book, pay for, and even make travel and hotel reservations over the internet, thanks to the rapid developments in modern technology (Chiam, Soutar & Yeo 2009).

Anyone in perception of getting the best hospitality facility does not necessarily need the services of a tourism agent, but they can just scroll their 3G phones to search the internet for tourism and/or travel-themed pictures and information which may guide them to the kind of services they require (Beirne & Curry 1999).

Online media usage has become popular nowadays, with the introduction of social network sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, which have attracted overwhelming numbers of users all over the world (Cho et al. 2007). Other significant platforms that have emerged over the last several years include Flicker and the Digital Darkroom, all of which are popular for their ability to offer reliable online photo services (Litvin, Goldsmith & Pan 2010).

Picture processing sites such as Flicker are accessible in the new generation of mobile phones, and this enhances interactions among people (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield 2008). These social networking sites have demonstrated a dramatic increase in the popularity of the tourism industry (Nov, Naaman & Ye 2009).

The photography technology has turned out to be an integral part of human life through which people can interact freely (Golder 2008). Online photo sharing through various social networking sites and platforms is turning out to be a common practice for many people across the world (Stockdale 2007).

As it would be observed, the internet happens to be the largest source of travel information used by the three topmost players of tourism affairs in the world: the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S (Guill & Surez 2005). Internet users all over the world can easily upload and share photos through these social platforms.

For instance, people are used of seeing elegant snapshots of tourists in holidays making rounds on the internet, after their owners have willingly displayed them for others to view and be able to comment on them where necessary (Brennen & Hardt 1999).

Photographs are intended to serve as souvenirs of historic moments in the past which people may like to remember for the rest of their lives (Thurlow & Jaworski 2010). In that respect, photos taken during a leisure tour to an exotic place are meant to help people tell their beautiful travel stories to others through the above thresholds of sociability, thus motivating them to have their own experiences on the well-trodden destinations (Chiam, Soutar & Yeo 2009).

This communication through photography has greatly helped in enhancing tourism activities and plans in the world (Mitchell 2005). The trend also comes with diverse benefits to various players and stakeholders in the industry (Van House 2006). For example, investors are able to save a lot of money in promotional activities and materials, since the management of marketing platforms over the internet are offered at a relatively low cost (Easterling 2005).

However, these interactions through the emerging culture of photography technology does not only make things easier and more enticing to the players in the tourism industry, but they also play a significant role in saving time for both consumers and tourism intermediaries (Law, Leung & Wong 2004).

Despite these benefits and opportunities, there are also challenges that are directly associated with the increased use of the photography in the tourism sector. For instance, the development of new technologies has encouraged a different kind of competition, whereby investors in the industry have started seeing acquisition of highly sophisticated tools as the only option that can guarantee them a sustainable competitive advantage in the market (Bonn, Furr & Susskind 1998).

Besides, modern photography has become more common that it is the starting point of every other new investor who wishes to try their luck in the hospitality sector (Buckley 2012) This has significantly increased the competition tension within the industry, thus turning it into an economical battle field, where only the strong survive (Beirne & Curry 1999).

Another concern here is that, internet-based photograph sharing has constantly raised many questions about privacy matters, which is viewed by many as a way of exposing one’s life (Miller & Edwards 2007). More importantly, photographs are said to speak more than words (Brennen & Hardt 1999) and in that case, their circulation on the internet has killed the spirit of adventure for some people who don’t see the value of visiting what they have already seen on pictures.

Different people have different tastes for life, and in that case, not all would like everything about a particular tourism destination, no matter its popularity (Dyer et al. 2007). This can be a serious blow on tourism facilities, since it is obvious that crucial tourism images and information must be made available on the internet from where it could be accessed freely by potential tourism consumers and clients (Law, Leung & Wong 2004).

Based on the above observations, the use of photography in the tourism sector is defined by both threats and opportunities. However, players in this competitive sector will need to apply various managerial strategies, to be able to stand out successfully as strong competitors in the market (Litvin, Goldsmith & Pan 2010).

This can be achieved through effective utilisation of the emerging information technology systems, coupled with innovative management strategies (Buhalis 1998). More importantly, investors in the sector will need to approach things in an innovative and creative manner, to be able to make wise business decisions based on the existing threats and opportunities (Doswell 2012).

Finally, re-engineering is also likely to play a significant role in helping investors in the industry deal with the consequences of modern technology (Buckley 2012). Through this idea, players in the tourism sector are able to see useful prerequisites that would enable them make full use of the many unexpected business opportunities presented by the use of modern photography technologies (Doswell 2012).

Tourism is a dynamic sector which has emerged a winner in the adoption and development of modern technological applications. The sector is constantly changing to fit in the demands of the ever-changing trends of life, such as the diverse economic as well as various social factors currently affecting the global populations.

The main section of this essay has extensively expounded on the influence of increased use of photography technology on the tourism sector, and the overwhelming impact of this contemporary issue on humanity. Competing arguments on the addressed issue of concern as drawn from past literature have also been discussed extensively in the paper to identify, highlight, and define the perception of different people regarding the issue.

The art of capturing, processing, and sharing information and photography over various social networking platforms has been observed in this essay, as one of the integral characteristics associated with the overwhelming developments in modern informational age. The impact of the trend on tourism suppliers, on one hand, and consumers, on the other hand, is also observed here.

The report concludes with a critical discussion on the possible outcomes arising from the issue, the course of action which has been generated to address it, and a deep account of the possible resolutions that needs to be applied in dealing with the issue. Based on the arguments presented on this essay, it is clear that photography really plays a significant role in transforming the tourism industry over the last few years.

References

Beirne, E & Curry, P 1999, ‘The impact of the Internet on the information search process and tourism decision making’, Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism, vol. 12 no. 25, pp. 88-97.

Bonn, M, Furr, H, & Susskind, A 1998, ‘Using the Internet as a Pleasure Travel Planning Tool: an Examination of the Sociodemographic and Behavioral Characteristics among Internet Users and Nonusers’, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Vol. 22 No 3, pp. 303- 317.

Brennen, B & Hardt, H 1999, Picturing the past: Media, history, and photography, University of Illinois Press, Illinois, USA.

Buckley, R 2012, Sustainable tourism: Research and reality: Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Buhalis, D 1998, ‘Strategic use of information technology in the tourism industry’, Tourism Management, vol. 19 no. 5, pp. 409-421.

Buhalis, D & Law, R 2008, ‘Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research’, Tourism Management, vol. 29 no. 4, pp. 609-623.

Chen, C 2006 ‘Identifying significant factors influencing consumer trust in an online travel site’, Information Technology &Tourism, vol. 8 no. 2, pp. 197- 214.

Chiam, M, Soutar, G, & Yeo, A 2009, ‘Online and Off-line Travel Packages Preferences: A Conjoint Analysis’, International Journal of Tourism Research, vol. 11 no. 8, pp. 31- 40.

Cho, H, Gay, G, Davidson, B & Ingraffea, A 2007, ‘Social networks, communication styles, and learning performance in a CSCL community’, Computers & Education, vol. 49 no. 2, pp. 309-329.

Davis, M, Van House, N, Towle, J, King, S, Ahern, S, Burgener, C, Perkel, D, Finn, M, Viswanathan, V, & Rothenberg, M 2005, MMM2: mobile media metadata for media sharing: CHI’05 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, ACM, New York.

Doswell, R 2012, Tourism: How effective management makes the difference, Routledge, United Kingdom, Elsevier.

Dyer, P, Gursoy, D, Sharma, B, & Carter, J 2007, ‘Structural modeling of resident perceptions of tourism and associated development on the Sunshine Coast, Australia’, Tourism Management, vol. 28 no. 2, pp. 409-422.

Easterling, D 2005, “The Residents’ Perspective in Tourism Research”, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, vol. 17 no. 4}, pp. 45-62.

Feighey, W 2003, ‘Negative Image? Developing the Visual in Tourism Research’, Current Issues in Tourism, vol. 6 no. 1, pp. 76-85.

Garrod, B 2009, ‘Understanding the relationship between tourism destination imagery and tourist photography’, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 47 no. 3, pp. 346-358.

Golder, S 2008, Measuring social networks with digital photograph collections: Proceedings of the nineteenth ACM conference on Hypertext and hypermedia’, ACM, New York.

Guill, M & Surez, S 2005, ‘Explaining the global digital divide: Economic, political and sociological drivers of cross-national Internet use’, Social Forces, vol. 84 no. 2, pp. 681-708.

Harper, D 2000, Reimagining visual methods: Galileo to Neuromancer, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage, London.

Law, R, Leung, K & Wong, R 2004, ‘The impact of the Internet on travel agencies’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 16 no. 2, pp. 100-107.

Litvin, S, Goldsmith, R, & Pan, B 2010, ‘Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management’, Tourism Management, vol. 29 no. 3, pp. 458-468.

Mihali et al. 2002, Tourism and economic development issues, Channel View Publications, United Kingdom.

Miller, A & Edwards, W 2007, Give and take: a study of consumer photo-sharing culture and practice: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, ACM, New York.

Mitchell, W 2005, What Pictures Want: The Lives and Loves of Images, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Nov, O, Naaman, M & Ye, C 2009, Motivational, structural and tenure factors that impact online community photo sharing: Proceedings of the 3rd Int’l AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, San Jose, USA.

Papatheodorou, A, Rossell, J & Xiao, H 2010, ‘Global economic crisis and tourism: Consequences and perspectives’, Journal of Travel Research, vol. 49 no. 1, pp. 39-45.

Rayman-Bacchus, L & Molina, A 2001, ‘Internet-based tourism services: business issues and trends’, Futures, vol. 33 no. 7, pp. 589-605.

Rost, M, Jacobsson, M, & Holmquist, L 2006, Push! photo: Informal photo sharing in ad-hoc networks: Extended abstracts of UbiComp, Citeseer, New Jersey.

Sheungting, L, McKercher, B, & Cheung, C 2010, ‘Tourism and online photography’, Tourism Management, vol. 32 no. 4, pp. 725-731.

Soper, A 2007, ‘Developing Mauritianness: National identity, cultural heritage values and tourism’, Journal of Heritage Tourism, vol. 2 no. 2, pp. 94-109.

Stockdale, R 2007, ‘Managing customer relationships in the self-service environment of e-tourism’, Journal of Vacation Marketing, vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 205-219.

Subrahmanyam, K & Greenfield, P 2008, ‘Online communication and adolescent relationships’, The Future of Children, vol. 18 no. 1, pp. 119-146.

Thurlow, C & Jaworski, A 2010, Tourism Discourse: Language and Global Mobility, Palgrave MacMillan, London.

Van House, N 2006, UBICOMP’06 PICS Workshop, Distant closeness: Camera phones and public image sharing, University Of California, Berkeley.

Valkenburg, P, Schouten, A, & Peter, J 2005, “Adolescents’ Identity Experiments on the Internet”, New Media & Society, vol. 7, no.3, pp. 383-402.

Van House, N, Davis, M, Takhteyev, Y, Good, N, Wilhelm, A, & Finn, M 2004, From “what?” to “why?” the social uses of personal photos: Proc. of CSCW 2004, Citeseer, New Jersey.

Wilhelm, A, Takhteyev, Y, Sarvas, R, Van House, N & Davis, M 2004, CHI’04 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, ACM, New York.

Williams, A 2006, ‘Tourism and hospitality marketing: fantasy, feeling and fun’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 18 no. 6, pp. 482-495.

Executive Summary

The tourism industry in Amsterdam has become important for the economic development of the city. It attracts millions of people who may have different lifestyles, interests, and values. It is characterized by extreme competitiveness among businesses.

The growth of this economic sector can be attributed to the cultural heritage of Amsterdam and entertainment opportunities that it can offer. This area of economy is still open to new entrants.

Introduction

This report is aimed at examining the peculiarities of tourism industry in Amsterdam. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the way in which various external and internal factors can shape it. Much attention should be paid to political, social, economic, technological, and other forces. Moreover, one should concentrate on the competitive environment of this industry.

In this context, the term tourism industry can include various organizations such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other businesses. Contemporary Amsterdam attracts people who have different values, priorities, or interests (Dunford 2003, p. 53). This popularity of this city gives rise to the development of a very competitive tourist industry (Statistics Netherlands 2012). These are the main issues that should be examined.

Industry Analysis

Industry overview and major trends

This paper will be focused on hospitality institutions that operate in Amsterdam. Among them, one can distinguish hotels, restaurants, cafes, resorts, and other organizations that provide services to travelers. In the global context, its role is not very important since it constitutes only a small fraction of the national economy. Nevertheless, it does contribute to the development of global economy.

For instance, in 2010, the city was visited by 5.3 million tourists (Research and Statistics Economic Development Department, 2011, p. 1). They brought extra revenues to airlines, and travel agencies that could be located in various countries. Overall, researchers believe that there are positive trends in the development of the Amsterdam tourism industry.

In particular, they look at such indicators as the number of tourist arrivals or bed nights¹ (Research and Statistics Economic Development Department, 2011, p. 1). Even during the economic recession, these indicators were growing. For example, the number of tourist arrivals grew by more re 10 percent during the period between 2007 and 2009 (Research and Statistics Economic Development Department, 2011, p. 1).

Therefore, tourism industry in this city is resistant to the effects of global recession. This is one of the main aspects that should be taken into account.

The city of Amsterdam and tourism

Amsterdam can be viewed as the commercial and technological centers of the Netherlands. According to various rating agencies, this city is one of the most comfortable ones (Hobbes 2009, p. 115).

This means that it has necessary infrastructure, educational organizations, recreational facilities that are important for the wellbeing of an individual. Furthermore, the city hosts numerous attractions such as Van Gogh Museum, canals, Hermitage Amsterdam, cannabis coffee shops, and so forth. Therefore, this city can appeal to tourists with different values and attitudes.

There are two important effects of globalization on this city. In particular, one can speak about the growing number of in-coming travelers and intensification of trade. Currently, the population of Amsterdam is 802,938 people. In turn, the Amsterdam Area has 11 percent of the national GDP² (Statistics Netherlands 2012). The economy of Amsterdam as well as the Netherlands is formal.

This means that businesses are monitored and regulated. The main consequence of this regulation is that the rights of clients are better protected. These are the main aspects that can be singled out.

PESTL Model

The external environment of the industry can be examined with the help of PESTL model that can throw light on political, legal, economic, technological and ecological forces.

Political and legal environment

The government of the Netherlands can be described as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. This country does not face any risk of civil conflict or political instability. The strong protection of property and civic rights is the main political and legal factor that will contributes to the growth of hospitality industry (Musterd 2003, p. 88).

For instance, it can lead to the increased flow of direct investment into various hotels, restaurants or other hospitality institutions. There are other forces that strengthen the confidence of investors and customers.

Among them, one can single out transparency of the legal system and extremely low levels of corruption (Taekema 2011, p. 7). Moreover, economists focus on such an indicator as ease of doing business. Amsterdam is ranked 26th in this rankings (Amen 2013, p. 186). Therefore, the representative of the tourism

Industry can find this legal and political environment very attractive.

Economic forces influencing the tourist industry in Amsterdam

The growth in this industry is determined by the increasing globalization and the growing number of travelers. Hospitality institutions can be affected by various economic factors. Much attention should be paid to the purchasing power of clients who come from other European countries and the United States. Therefore, the tourism industry in Amsterdam can be influenced by many other industries.

The Netherlands is regarded as a country where entrepreneurs can easily find credit for their businesses. Moreover, the country is an advanced economy with very low inflation rates (Banach 2008, p. 58). One can say that the tourism industry in Amsterdam is very competitive. This is why it is difficult for a single company to gain leadership. They have to provide services with the best ratio of price and quality.

Socio-cultural environment and tourism industry in Amsterdam

There are several social and cultural forces that can be important for the development of tourism in Amsterdam. Although, Dutch is the only official language, local people can also speak German, English, and French. Therefore, tourists do not find it difficult to communicate with local people. It should be noted that religion does not play a strong role in the social or cultural life of the country.

Moreover, the cultural norms adopted in the Netherlands as well as Amsterdam tolerate different forms of religious worship. This issue is also of great importance to leisure travelers. Finally, one should remember that the country has legitimized the use of cannabis, and this policy led to the growth of drug tourism in Amsterdam (Dunford 2003, p. 53).

Technology and the tourism industry

Technology has been critical for the hospitality institutions in Amsterdam because with its help they can better attract clients. For instance, many hotels and restaurants develop their own websites in effort to attract clients from various countries. Amsterdam can also be viewed as a place where technological innovation is encouraged.

As a rule, the emphasis is placed on the adoption of technologies which can reduce the pollution of water, air, or soil (McDonald 2011). This issue is particularly relevant if one speaks about transportation. This policy makes the city more appealing to tourists. Overall, Amsterdam has a well-developed infrastructure which includes information technologies, sea transportation, and advanced medical care.

Ecological and environmental challenges

The main environmental challenge is the increased risk of floods. It affects various types of businesses including hospitality organizations. They have to spend extra costs on flood insurance (Botzen 2013). This environmental challenge can become more important in the future, especially if sea level rises.

Competitive environment and Five Forces Analysis

The competitive environment of this Industry can be analyzed with the help of 5 Forces Model which helps to examine the internal and external environment of an industry.

The threat of new entrants

Hospitality institutions that are based in Amsterdam should remember that in this industry the threat of new entrants is high. This situation can be explained by the fact that the capital requirements are lower in comparison with other industries. Furthermore, there are no legal barriers that can prevent other companies from entering this market.

The threat of substitute products

The threat of substitute products is very low in this industry. Amsterdam offers a unique combination of various cultural sites and entertainment opportunities. Therefore, it is not likely that the tourists can go to a different location.

The bargaining power of suppliers

In the tourist industry, there are businesses that act as suppliers. One should focus on the role played by travel agencies. These organizations provide information about various hotels in Amsterdam, restaurants, airline companies, and so forth.

In other words, they can shape customers’ opinions. Secondly, it is important to speak about the suppliers providing foods and beverages to the hospitality industry. Yet, their bargaining power is not very high because they have to compete with one another. Moreover, hospitality organizations are important for their profitability.

The bargaining power of buyers

The bargaining power of clients is very strong because they do not have to face any switching costs. They can choose among different hotels, restaurants, airlines, and so forth. Furthermore, the services offered by local hospitality organizations are not very differentiated. This is why buyers can profoundly influence the performance of the tourism industry in Amsterdam.

Intensity of competition

The tourism sector in Amsterdam is characterized by intense competition. It should be kept in mind that there are many businesses which can offer similar services to clients. This is why they have to improve their services or even lower prices in order to attract customers. This is how they try to differentiate themselves among consumers.

Ethical Dimensions

The representatives of the tourist industry in Amsterdam have to make sure that their customers are not exposed to any risks. This issue should be considered by the managers of coffee shows where clients can purchase cannabis (Owens 2009).

Similarly, Amsterdam is a popular destination for people who are interested in sex tourism. Therefore, the organizations should take precautions to safeguard their privacy and confidentiality.

Key findings

Overall, the examples provided in this paper can be used to identify the main traits of the tourist industry in Amsterdam. One should focus on the following aspects:

1. intense competition among various hospitality organizations;
2. the diversity of cultural sites and entertainment opportunities;
3. the presence of legal safeguards that protect investors and clients;
4. attractiveness to people who may have various values and lifestyles;
5. well-developed infrastructure.

Although, this industry is very competitive, it can still offer opportunities for clients and new businesses. This is the main argument that can be put forward.

Appendixes

(Research and Statistics Economic Development Department, 2011, p. 1).

References

Amen, M 2013, Cities and Global Governance: New Sites foar International Relations, Ashgate Publishing, New York.

Banach G 2008, Policies in the European Union Unfair for Certain Countries?, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.

Botzen, W 2013, Managing Extreme Climate Change Risks Through Insurance, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Dunford, M 2003, The Rough Guide to Amsterdam, Rough Guides, Boston.

Hobbes, J 2009, World Regional Geography, Cengage Learning, New York.

Research and Statistics Economic Development Department 2011, City of Amsterdam: Fact Sheet. Web.

McDonald, G 2011, Frommer’s Amsterdam Day by Day, John Wiley & Sons, Boston.

Musterd, S 2003, Amsterdam Human Capital, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.

Owens, L 2009, Cracking Under Pressure: Narrating the Decline of the Amsterdam Squatters’ Movement, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.

Statistics Netherlands. (2012). Greater Amsterdam economically powerful region. Web.

Taekema, S 2011, Understanding Dutch Law, Eleven International Publishing, Amsterdam.

Footnotes

1. Please, refer to the Appendixes, Picture 1.
2. Appendixes, Picture 2.

Miami Beach is a nice relaxing place especially when you are tired, depressed or stressed. Some of the features that make the white sand beach an incredibly calming place are the sounds and the sights are covering the ocean as well as the scenic and beautiful landscape.

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Miami Beach serves as Florida’s coastal resort city, with an average high of 81 degrees Fahrenheit and an average low 71 degrees Fahrenheit.

It sprawls across a land of approximately 2,054 square miles and has a population of 87,779 as per 2010 census. The beach is presided over by a mayor and commissioners.

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In conclusion, Miami Beach is one of the best places to visit because it is relaxing. Features such as never-ending ocean’s cool, soothing waters, the warm air, gentle sunrays, bright blue sky, and the cool ocean breeze make Miami Beach an interesting place to visit.

It has fabulous views of the ocean, sand, and sky. Encounter with people, melodic-birds, and water (ocean activities) are some of the features that make Miami Beach wonderful. One gets an excellent opportunity to sightsee, catwalk, sunbathe, dine, engage in walking tours and group tours.

Located between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean with a series of both man-made and natural islands, Miami serves as one of America’s most interesting beach resorts.

The essay needed a revision as it lacked the colorful and vivid descriptions of the Miami Beach. This resort deserves a better presentation as it is one of the most exciting ones in the United States and welcomes tourists from all over the country and even from other countries.

To achieve this goal and to make the description of the resort more colorful, some descriptions of the landscapes, sightseeing places, and resort features were added.

People are always interested in exciting and unforgettable things to do on their vacation and attraction sights to visit, that is why some paragraphs were included in the essay that would make people want to visit Miami Beach and try all that fun stuff you can experience there.

This paper was revised to give more specific and precise information about Miami Beach. A description of the climate and weather conditions was included for the people to get the sense of the resort they are going to.

A comparison of this beach with other beaches was included for the people to be able to visualize the place and make an informed decision about going on vacation to Miami Beach.

Since the most important thing on vacation is the relaxation itself, the essay had to underline the full extent of the relaxing atmosphere one can experience in Miami. The description of amazing views, the most beautiful landscape and scenery you can expect from the Pacific Ocean coast.

Attraction sights are what Miami Beach is famous for, so it cannot be overlooked in the essay about this resort.

All in all, the revision of the essay was done mostly to make it more catchy and memorable and also, to encourage people who read it to visit this amazing place!

Executive Summary

The tourism industry has flourished worldwide due to increase in tourist attraction centres. Among the top tourist destinations are cities like Las Vegas, London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona.

In 2010 Barcelona managed to become one of Europe’s most important tourist destinations with millions of overnight stays and accommodations in hotels. Among other Spain cities tourism destinations, Barcelona, being the capital city of the Catalan region is ranked in the second position.

This report focuses on Barcelona as a tourist destination and evaluates tourism development in the country, as well as present scenario in Barcelona, tourism products, visitor demand and behaviour and stakeholder relationships.

The purpose of this report is to highlight how prominent cities such as Barcelona came into existence as the leading tourist destinations and the concepts that enabled them to achieve success.

Stakeholders in the local tourism system

Turisme de Barcelona

The ‘Turisme de Barcelona’ is a Consortium which has the responsability to promote Barcelona as a tourist destination.

It was founded in 1993 between the private sector represented by an amalgamation of the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping and the Barcelona Promotion Foundation, and local government represented by the Barcelona Municipal Council.

The Consortium is described as a public private union since it involves the partnership between two parties from the two different sectors. The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, represents the prvate sector as it is not run by the government or public officials.

According to Jackson and Morpeth (1999), ‘Turism de Barcelona’ was developed so as to add input to the city’s potential to generate revenue. It was intended to enhance the budget of Barcelona.

This was one of the stated objectives for the Consortium and the mission statement was also directed towards making this goal achievable. It states that the Consortium is aimed at boosting tourism attraction in Barcelona as well as strengthening the city’s position globally.

Tourism is not an industry that can be built through the efforts of a sole entity (Butler, 2006). That is why the officials of Barcelona had to form a collaboration with other interested parties so as to work together towards the improvement of the toourism sector.

The collaboration also makes the decision making process a consultative activity. When decisions are made through a consultitative process such as what is carried out in the Consortium, then conflicts are easily avoided (Aas et al., 2005).

Since tourism involves services such as transport and accommodation which enable tourists to have a good time, the city of Barcelona required to link stakeholders involved in these activities.

Travel (2011) therefore pointed out that ‘Turisme de Barcelona’ links stakeholders who operate hotels, restaurants and public transport’.

Strategy formulation and communications are also handled by specialized units of the consortium. These staff units are composed of experienced teams from the tourism industry and this diversity gives ‘Turisme de Barcelona’ competence in operational matters.

Furthermore, the president of the general council is Barcelona’s mayor and this highlights the influential nature of the consortium. In total, the divisions that constitute the consortium are eight.

Stakeholder relationships

‘Turisme de barcelona’ is not an all inclusive association since not every kind of stakeholder is part of it. Only those entities that possess critical importance or those considered as primary stakeholders become part of the consortium.

Some of the characteristics that qualify parties to be considered as primary stakeholders include the nature of the existing relationships. Primary stakeholders are only those who have official relationships that are bound by contractual agreements.

The formal relationships of the primary stakeholders are between them and either the community, government or directly with the tourism industry. These parties are considered as crucial players since their contractual relationships make their involvement in tourism economically constrained.

There are many secondary stakeholders involved in the tourism sector. In Barcelona, this sector cannot do without the participation of experts and pressure groups (Horner and Swarbrooke, 2004).

These groups influence policy formulation as they maintain a position of logic and reasoning in every argument. The media also create the much needed awareness and exposure of tourism operations in Barcelona (Cooper et al., 2008).

Secondary stakeholders such as the media, volunteers and experts are however not consulted during decision making in the consortium even though their interests in tourism activities are very high.

Their exclusion from decision making in the city’s tourism decisions is because their relationships with the city officials are not formal.

The exclusion of secondary stakeholders from decision making appears to be a recipe for disaster as far as conflict management is concerned (Laws, 1995; Pender and Sharpley, 2005).

The interesting thing in Barcelona is that even amidst the exclusion of secondary stakeholders in decision making, there have never been major conflicts.

This is unusual in places where interest groups are not involved in the decision making process. The system works in Barcelona because the consortium puts into consideration the interests of all stakeholders during decision making.

‘Turisme de Barcelona’ has over the years overcome the potential threat of conflicts by making clear its objectives and mission. Through the media, the consortium creates awareness about their activities and strategies.

This makes the public and stakeholders aware of the direction which the consortium is taking, which reduces conflicts. The consortium effectively communicates with its public through its website which is informative and easy to use.

The website is available for all stakeholders to access and its simplistic approach allows for a two way communication process thereby allowing feedback to be received.

The large numbers expected and received in Barcelona cannot come without some level of environmental degradation (Douglas, Douglas and Derret, 2001; Shaw and Williams, 2004). Large crowds of revellers always bring about a negative environmental impact.

This is because people who assemble within the small radius are posed as guests who use products and facilities to their satisfaction. A smaller number of individuals are left to clean up the mess caused by the tourists.

Resources such as land and vegetation are also affected as people trounce on them. (Butcher, 2007). These issues necessitated ‘Turisme de Barcelona’ to develop a corporate social responsibility system which includes activities which conserve the environment (Valls and Sarda, 2009).

The most evident of these activities include the promotion of recycling initiatives and saving energy especially in public transportation.

The success of the CSR framework is evident from the 2011 achievement where Barcelona was the first city to be awarded the Biosphere certification because of its responsible and sustainable tourism management structure.

Conclusion

In summary, the tourism industry worldwide has flourished due to the increase of tourist attraction centres. Barcelona has great potential for attracting tourists as it offers a wide array of destinations that are appreciated and visited by many tourists.

The tourist numbers in Barcelona are however not expected to continue increasing in subsequent years because of limitations such as space constraints and the stagnation phase which the city is already experiencing.

Cruise tourism as well as business and cultural attractions are identified as the major sources of success for the city. Barcelona also flourishes because of the commitment of ‘Turisme de Barcelona’ in avoiding conflicts and managing stakeholder relationships amicably.

The approach towards environmental conservancy is also a major boost to Barcelona’s image in the global tourism sector.

Reference List

Aas, C, Ladkin, A & Fletcher, J 2005, “Stakeholder collaboration and heritage management”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 28–48.

Butcher, J 2007, Ecotourism, NGOs and Development, Routledge, London.

Butler, R (ed) 2006, The Tourism Area Life Cycle. Volume 2: Conceptual and theoretical issues, Channel View Publications, Cleve don.

Cooper, C, Fletcher, J et al. 2008, Tourism: Principles and Practice, 4^th edition. Pearson Education, Harlow.

Douglas, N, Douglas, N and Derret, D (Eds) 2001, Special interest tourism: context and cases, John Wiley, Brisbane.

Horner, S. & Swarbrooke, J 2004, International Cases in Tourism Management. Oxford-Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

Jackson, G & Morpeth, N 1999, “Local Agenda 2001 and Community Participation in Tourism Policy and Planning: Future of Fallacy”, Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-38.

Laws, E 1995, Tourist destination management: issues, analysis and policies, Routledge, London.

Shaw, G and Williams, A 2004, Tourism and Tourism Spaces, London, SAGE

Pender, L & Sharpley, R (eds) 2005, The management of tourism, SAGE, London.

Travel, M 2011, World hotels eyes Barcelona as business travel booms. Web.

Valls, B & Sarda, R 2009, “Tourism expert perceptions for evaluating climate change impacts on the Euro-Mediterranean tourism industry”, Tourism Review, Vol. 64, No 2, pp 41-51.

Phillip Island has become a popular touristic destination due to the significant biodiversity of the area. Ironically, tourism is having a negative impact on the island’s biota. The island’s landscape is changing due to human activities and it can sometimes pose significant threats to biodiversity. The island is especially popular due to the large population of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) and koalas. However, these species are also in danger. It is possible to trace the implications of the landscape change as regards populations of penguins and koalas.

As has been mentioned above, Phillip Island is a very popular touristic destination. The result of this popularity is a significant change of the landscape as new roads, new facilities (hotels, restaurants, residential areas and so on) have appeared (Martin & Handasyde 1999). Admittedly, this negatively affected development of the biodiversity as it was associated with deforestation. Ecosystems of vast areas were damaged and many species had to migrate to other areas (or even become extinct). For instance, koalas did not have enough food and living space, and their population decreased significantly. More so, a lot of their food trees were by the roads and this increased mortality of koalas as they were killed in road accidents (Martin & Handasyde 1999). Ironically, tourists who came to see koalas were the major reason of death of these animals.

The problem of the decrease of koalas’ population was solved with the help of a program of sustainable land use. Thus, a specific reservation park was established and koalas were safe there. More so, some animals from the park are often released into the wild, which also contributes to the increase of population of these animals.

As for the population of penguins, it is one of the largest in Australia. Little penguins prefer Phillip Island due to a limited number of predators and abundance of food (Giling, Reina and Hogg 2008). Giling, Reina and Hogg (2008) also note that anthropogenic structures (like the breakwater) have attracted these animals due to increased safety (no predators and still abundance of food). At the same time, these structures are also associated with numerous hazards for penguins. Numerous lights and significant noise produced in the area negatively affects reproduction of penguins. Apart from that, people often walk out their dogs in the area and many penguins are killed or injured by dogs. People’s activities such as climbing, fishing and swimming also contribute to mortality and a significant degree of injury among penguins. Thus, many penguins die in fishing nets or they can be injured by boats. Therefore, it is clear that the existing infrastructure, use of land and people’s behaviour can lead to improper development of penguins’ population in the area.

It is important to launch some programs similar to the ones utilised to safe koalas’ population. Thus, it is necessary to impose certain restrictions and ensure that penguins have safe areas where people will not reach them. Apart from leaving some areas with anthropogenic structures for penguins, it is also possible to ensure availability of intact habitat as some coastal areas should be left as well.

Hudson and Lee (2010) stress that development of tourism is very important as this sector of economy brings significant funds (millions of dollars). However, it is important to develop this industry in a more sustainable way. The land use should be sustainable and it is essential to make sure that facilities for people occupy limited areas and the rest of the land is used as parks and intact habitats. The parks should be similar to the habitats of species to make sure that biodiversity of the area will remain intact.

It is also important to educate people and promote sustainable tourism (Hudson & Lee 2010). Thus, tourists should become more responsible and the tourism should be more sustainable. People should understand that they can enjoy the intact wildlife if they leave as few traces as possible. These trace include a variety of things (roads, hotels, and so on; garbage, damaged species and so on). Phillip Island can also become a platform for development of sustainable tourism strategies that can be later transferred to other areas of Australia. Clearly, the continent has exceptional biodiversity that attracts many tourists, but unsustainable land use often leads to decrease of populations of many species. Therefore, sustainable approaches should be used to maintain biodiversity of the entire continent.

In conclusion, it is possible to note that Phillip Island is a popular touristic destination as people want to see koalas and little penguins in their natural or urban settings. The development of these animal’s populations can be seen as an example of hazards humans’ activities pose as well as opportunities that exist. Hence, people can use the land in a more sustainable way and they have to make sure that there are areas of intact habitats as well as reservation parks or restricted areas. The infrastructure to support tourism should be sustainable as it is clear that various facilities often contribute to decrease of population of many species.

Reference List

Giling, D, Reina, RD & Hogg, Z 2008, ‘Anthropogenic influence on an urban colony of the little penguin Eudyptula minor’, Marine and Freshwater Research, vol. 59, pp. 647-651.

Hudson, K & Lee, D 2010, ‘Biodiversity and tourism: a valuable relationship‘, Social Alternatives, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 39-43.

Martin, RW & Handasyde, KA 1999, The koala: natural history, conservation and management, UNSW Press, Sydney.

Changing the business field is an important activity that requires extensive work to be successful. In the hotel industry, different types of clients have different expectations of the hotel’s features. Business people are more likely to become frequent customers than tourists, as they usually pay regular visits to the cities where their clients or partners reside. Therefore, while planning the transformation from a tourist hotel to a business hotel, the managers have to explore the areas that need major changes, such as services provided, training, and facility transformation, and to develop a comprehensive plan of changes for each section.

Services

Tourists rarely spend a lot of time at the hotel. They are usually far more preoccupied with visiting the local attractions or going to the beach, so they only return to their hotel room to sleep at night. Business travelers, on the other hand, will usually spend more time in the facility preparing documents, presentations, and performing other work-related actions. Therefore, the needs of these two client populations are different. For instance, before welcoming business travelers to the hotel, the managers have to ensure that the building has secure wi-fi access and low levels of noise outside so that business travelers could work in a stress-free environment. Room service is also essential, as business travelers might not have time to visit a cafe or grocery store and are therefore more likely to order a meal to be delivered straight to their room. High-quality breakfast should be included with every booking: business travelers usually wake up on time for an early morning meal and will be disappointed if it is not provided as part of their stay.

Training

People who travel for business also have different expectations when it comes to customer service. They usually value efficiency more than friendliness, and their requests to the administrator are usually practical. For example, whereas tourists would like to have more information about famous sights or recreational areas nearby, business people are more likely to inquire about transportation and good places to have lunch with colleagues. For a hotel in transition, it is essential to provide additional training to employees, as well as to regularly update them on the information that the guests might require. The optimization of electronic processes would also be necessary to ease the booking, check-in, and check-out processes for busy customers.

Facility Transformation

It is important to understand that business travelers usually stay at the hotel for less than one week. Moreover, they tend to be interested in single rooms rather than expensive suites. To be able to welcome a high flow of business people, it may be a good idea to transform suites and family rooms into single rooms. Building separate conference rooms are crucial for the hotel to be efficient. Initially, these rooms could become the places of group sessions. Gym and swimming pool are also examples of structures that are useful to business people, and the hotel’s management will need to develop solutions to incorporate these areas into its transformation plans.

Overall, to transform from leisure to business hotel, the company will have to address the needs of the business populations by answering to the quality and content interpretations. This would allow the hotel to attract business customers, thus generating more income and increasing its performance.

Introduction

To make a proper assessment for Kuwait’s community tourism industry, it is essential to understand clearly the thought of community tourism, which is a new concept in today’s tourism world. It can be explained as a motto that allows all criteria of the industry of tourism or a viewpoint via which tourism goods are serviced are formulated. In other words, community tourism emphasized new dimensions of associations between the host entity or nation and the tourists regarding the different natural beauties, domestic assets and skills as well as the native version of the community or the location.

Having such integration in terms of social and environmental sense, the strategic view of community tourism is achieving more and more popularity for deriving advantages to home communities and livings. Analyzing such aspects of community-related tourism, Kuwait as one of the well-known middle-east countries can be selected to implement that concept by demonstrating its history and heritage, natural resources, arts, cultural events and sites and other practical amenities. Further, the community tourism would not only be able to glorify the country’s natural attractions for economic enrichment but also emphasize its cultural flows, society empowerment and related sartorial development. Moreover, the term would meet several macro-level objectives of tourism culture like contribution in maintaining the natural assets including forests, cultural focal, water or monuments, involvement in domestic fiscal development by raising the portion of members, influencing to personal mobility as an optional factor.

Finally, to serve the visitor ecologically and collectively responsive item while the basic focus can be drawn upon local area, the success will depend on the accommodation of several critical analyses of processing. To keeping special caution on comparative advantage, it is essential to handle carefully the logistics and economic thoughts of domestic communities with purpose of generating profits rather than tendency to acquire benefits from number of integrated parties like government projects. for maintaining forestry, tourism, special zones, tourist authorization and movement, agro-sites and functionalities, trade and commerce, global rules and regulations, international monetary market, item boundaries etc. Thus, this new edge of tourism idea can promote the scopes at social points for local public who would prefer to take part in the local tourism industry of Kuwait as ranging from developing the accommodation and meal aspects in a pastoral homestead to generation of income-based tourism support of that zone.

Therefore, this managed tourism will consider the thoughts of traveling by comprising those areas like surroundings, older travel, special concern, research collection, ecologists, botanists, nature fans, individual tourists, home and abroad patrons etc. To the deeper concern, community-based tourism will consider the selected country’s eco, cultural, leisure, geographic, audacious, health, heritage, agriculture fields of tourism. Thus, this report would incorporate insights based on that kind of country, which would summarize various integral parts of general tourism industry involving accommodation, shopping, visiting historical and important sites including cultural learning, sports tourism, traveling comfort as vital elements of tourism products. With elaborated rating of those elements regarding their existence and consumption pattern in Kuwait along with a final assessment of marketing of those items for community prospect and welfare.

Country overview

Kuwait is an independent Arab Emirate located at coastal Gulf of Persia, which is surrounded by Saudi Arabia and Iraq consequently from the south, north and finally from west. The country name has been derived from a very small Arabic word as “fortress built close to water”. Having a total population of 3.1 million and landscape of 17818km, Kuwait is identified as a tiny country operated by a legitimate kingdom with parliamentary government module.

The country posses the biggest 5^th reserve of oil as the 3^rd topmost per capita income nation globally. Furthermore, in the year 2007, the Council of World Travel and Tourism Council had assumed a 15% escalation about Kuwaiti tourism that has the potential to produce $13.7 billion of worth for the community development of the country.

The total budget status of Jazeera Airways to the country’s aviation sector with its current declaration of Dubai as one of the major functional centers has been expected to gather more spectators to the nation. As a country of pearl and spice producers to the important global oil exporters, Kuwait has experienced several interesting modifications with its updated and cosmopolitan community participants along with the inherent heritage and civilizations.

Along with present tourists attraction centers, currently the Failaka Heritage community, which is being operated by Safir Hotels & Resorts, has the potential for emphasizing the overall tourism sector of Kuwait. Thus, the FIDP or Failaka Island Development Project will introduce 4000 cabins and chalets to that area using 12 hotels, a marine dock for accommodating about 300 boats.

Among some of the Kuwaiti exhibitors like Ibis Somlyay, Ibis Sharq, Mashaer Haj, Umra construction service, Switch software, Refad Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Resort etc. Safir is one of the most prominent participants of ATM 2007 for taking part at DICEC or Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center.

With an optimistic occurrence of a 9% amplification of external visitors during the 1^st 6 months of 2006, Kuwait can also be expected to visualize the RTE or Reed Travel Exhibitions as a symbol of high portion of tourism marketing. Enlightening the local economies, sartorial earnings and possibility for the creation of more employment opportunities, Kuwait occupies the likeability to beat approximately 350 expert travel traders from the zone for attending such events.

The country is generally completely residential by offering a bunch of attractive services and excitements for hosting the outsider visitors all around the year. Additionally, it serves the warm hospitality with its limited but effective hotel service. The presence of two major professional tourism service associations and touristy enterprises is facilitating the information accessibility of several tourists from different rules and regulatory issues to general news of lodging, visiting or meal.

Finally, with a glorious past of sophisticated culture and heritage, world-class shopping, modern transportation service and the warm, cordial, friendly and helpful collective nature act as influential catalysts for having a pleasant journey to Kuwait.

Application of community tourism in Kuwait context

Regarding Kuwait’s issue for implementing the scopes and strategies of community-oriented tourism, first it is essential to consider the local community that can be identified from the geographic standpoint as group of people habituating in the single locality. Thus, at a harmonized version, the local Kuwaiti group ought to be consulted and frequently informed for-

• The effect of tourism can be highly realized at the domestic target zones.
• Social inhabitants and recognition can contribute sufficiently to the hospitality environment of the country.

In this regard, Arnstein’s participation hierarchy will be appropriate as below-

In other words, the philosophy of community tourism can also be highly appreciated for building a strong tie between the country resources and proposed actions as the following diagram-

Some other implementation strategies and benefits are-

Optional view

It includes four possible criteria as below-

• Marketing and selling of existing tourism products to the present consumer groups for attracting more tourists’ like- individual travelers of other regions.
• The second option can find latest markets with visitors for the country’s present tourism items while customer base may evolve local visitors and tourists.
• The next option will introduce newer items like- cultural renovation in terms of local music, food or dance style to the present customers.
• The final dimension will mostly be risk-oriented as will emphasize developing newer items for newer customer segments like- promoting a historical site, which has merely been destroyed.

Ecotourism benefits

According to National community-based ecotourism development society has notified some strategies as below-

• Community system of Kuwait can get straight profit from ecotourism earning.
• Monetary and lawful mechanisms can assist, not restrict such development.
• Improvement of information channeling between the community segments with other social segments.
• Frequent chase of national market,
• Development of supportive organizations like hotels, restaurants, airlines or transportation industry of the country within some backward regions as the focal vision of active support as a whole.

A short evaluative measure can be placed to judge the community involvement effort in Kuwait context below-

All of those issues can be focused on through the following flow chart-

By this, local Kuwaiti will be able to contribute to bottom-up in short-ranged tourism for development of economic, public and political ties for environmental and psychographic issues of the region.

Assessing tourism products

The general tourism products regardless of any nation can be fallen down into basic three parts. Thus, the overall classification can be shown as follows-

Demand generators and supporters

The first criteria involve demand generators considering attractions, occasions or historical features regarding cultural versions, amusement and past time functions. Such components can further be grouped into two parts as below-

Primary demand generators

The primary demand motivator factors involve a number of individual items that are basic reasons for which people of different countries make a visit to other country or regain. In case of Kuwaiti community tourism, such factors as historical places, monuments, buildings, towers, graveyards, natural locations, scenarios, green sights, treks and trails, national parks, outsider recreational services including games and sports, museums, fairs, festivals, etc.

Kuwait posses a glorious past of approximately 400 years with a continuous flow of development and prosperity that would never be misplaced of the heritage. Furthermore, the country occupies many chronological, modern, eye- catching and notable tourist centers for serving everyone’s pure entertainment. Some of them are as below-

Museums

National museum. The national museum is situated in Kuwait city located on Arabian Gulf Street clearly stuck between the parliament house and Seif palace that has been designed by Michel Ecochard. In 1983, two buildings among four were constructed and the planetarium had been started on 16 February 1986.

This museum is considered as a mirror image of national dignity explaining the socio-cultural, monetary, religious and political lifestyle of the local population. Because of the nude and scorch by the invaders of Iraq, it is now placing the Dar Al-Ather Al-Islamiyah Al-Sabah album of Islamic sculpture, which is recognized as one of the most widespread accumulations taking into account from premature Islam to 18^th century.

A versatile range of academic and fine-art activities involve in such collection while a single entails the vast and exclusive evaluation of history of Islam. Additionally, it has been structured with conventional mud house for showing the historical Kuwaiti lifestyle including all the symptoms like ancient Souk, ship construction and collection of pearl, ethnographic work of art as with archeological symbolism from excavations of Failaka island.

Al-Badr house. It is also known as Bayt Al-Badar, which is an early house situated later to Al-Sadu as formed between 1938 and 1948. During 1968, this historical architecture had been adjusted to antique museum for the showcase of ancient home culture while in 1976 this had been converted into a provisional adobe for the national museum. It is treated as an idol of aged Kuwaiti ritual embodied by the economic and community situation of the general society that can be admired with its better architectural and domestic foundational ingredients for keeping it in better strength over the periods.

Sadu house. All the ancestries of Kuwait are entangled with the combination of desert and sea while the Bedouins would like to leave a seasonal life. From that point of view, a conventional technique of vital essence was Sadu weaving which an arithmetical modeled hand is made of natural fiber. Spun, tinted and colored wool can be found in nomadic society as the innovator of this.

Scientific center of Kuwait. It is the biggest aquarium in the Middle East by the KFAS or Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of the Sciences in the projected year 2000. The basic three divisions of the center are:

• Aquarium where the spectators can on the ocean living and original habitants,
• Subversive routes high assortments of aquatic life.
• Living habitats of the shoreline areas and dessert of cape Arabia

Science club of Kuwait. It is located on the Ring Road- 6 that is being operated by a conglomerate of interested amateurs. It has posses a number of amenities along with the updated technical hardware and components involving with Aujiary observatory. Simply, it targets the objective of arranging a casual surrounding where enthusiasts regardless the age can be competent for practicing and renovating their scientific leisure pursuits.

Landmarks

Kuwait towers. It is one of the most popular landmarks of the country, which is located at Arabian Gulf Street on a peninsula to the east corner of the town in Dasman. The highest portion of the most giant tower that is merely 187 meters in height has a spinning observation spot along with an eatery with the accessorily of alacrity lifting. The lower portion turns around every 30 minutes serving the tourists with a charismatic view of the country. Here, the use of zoom lens cameras is strictly restricted. The central tower is a 147-meter high aquatic tank, on the other hand, the final tower pedals electricity in the city center, which is about 113 meters tall.

The liberation tower. It represents the liberty of Kuwait that indicates unforgotten symbol of the nation’s rebirth. It is positioned as the world’s 5^th tall most telecommunication tower, which is located in Kuwait city. It had been instated by Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as the newest Amir on 10 March 1996. Its structure is about 372 meters, which is merely 40 meters larger than the Eiffel tower that has been named according to the cosmopolitan partnership, which was responsible for the country’s freedom from 7 months Iraqi profession at Gulf war period. It has today become a logo of independent Kuwait.

The construction utilizes stoneware tiles from the top to the baseline to the foremost mezzanine phase that is merely 308 meters from the floor. The entire tower can be fazed into 3 operational criteria as community communication center, moving observation phase and eatery at 150 meters and lastly, neighboring plant and tool zone. It has 18 elevators for placing 21 travelers by each.

Mosques. Ras Salmiya mosque looks like a pyramid while Abdullah Al-Salem’s Fatima mosque is dignified symbol of recent Kuwaiti architecture. The grand mosque is a perfect sign of conventional Islamic fashions followed by latest technology responsible for maintaining the local and Islamic inscription.

Green island. It is a simulated island in the Arabian Gulf including a tower for tourists, aquatic channeled and children palace with tiny cascade bearing, other entertainment benefits, open Roman plays restaurants etc.

Entertainment resorts and parks. Some amusement parks offer playground for the children while some others contain active child charms for all the time. Some most common are:

• Al-Shaab Leisure Park. It offers various sports and rides for all along with wave and ice-skating rinks, pictures, theaters and small eateries.
• Hawally park. It is situated in Hawally as a fun point for delivering games, restaurants and bookshops.
• Aquapark. It is constituted of 74000 square meter areas.
• Entertainment city. It is the oldest and the biggest fun park located at Al-Dora in North Kuwait. It provides amusement services based on 3 themes- International, Arab, and Future world.
• Chalets. A type of holiday lodging that is rented in several areas like coastal southern portion of Kuwait.
• Messilah rural community of water. It is one of the most important pleasure points with its bamboo and fire-resistant constriction in Arabian Gulf.
• Sea clubs. Most of this kind of Kuwaiti club serves a bunch of services inclusively shorelines, tennis grounds, gyms, karate, inside and outside swimming lakes etc. Some sea clubs are Bida, Shaab; B’neid Al-Gar etc. are operated by KTEC mostly owned by government.
• Yacht club. Placed in Salmiya, it delivers boat trips, repair related activities, and year-based boat exhibition, contest and battle of speedboats with additional playing field for kids and conference hall.
• Zoological park. It is situated on Airport road in Omarrya covering 180000 square meters of zoo and park for accommodating different animals like reptiles, birds, giraffes, tigers etc.
• Musical fountain. It occupies 4^th place over the world’s such criteria placed at Ring road- 1. It proposes exceptional and pleasant combination of glow and sound. Several cultural groups and children’s activities are served.

Kuwait natural islands

The country owns 9 natural islands which would be considered as interesting tourists spots described below.

• Warbah island. It consists of the farthest northern zone of the country with some tidal arroyos as well as tall wave covers like most other islands.
• Bubyan island. Its width is 30 kilometers and breadth – 40 kilometers covering total landscape of 1400 square kilometers as the biggest among all other natural islands. Its ground is plane, low down with deltaic sludge.
• Failaka island. It is bordered by various morph in sedimentary parts. It has approximately 5000 inhabitants having significant cultural activities for attracting outsider’s attention. Moreover, it contains many aspects of modern development attributes. By analyzing its past tourism experience, it can be visualized that prior to the Iraqi clash, tourists tended to visit here from Salmiyah through ferry vessels being passengers of many public transportation agencies for spending a past time. In its tourist’s compound, it is about 5 million square meters established at the southern corner of the island serving merely better quantity of pools, playfields and eating zones.
• Awhah island. It is situated to the south side of Failaka covering 0.25 square meters of crude sand along with a coral reef boundary.
• Kubbar island. It is of 0.75 square kilometers formulated by coral reefs, which naturally look very much beautiful and prolific.
• Miskan island. It is situated North West zone of Failaka with sheer shoreline to the east and mild beaches to the western part. It poses the potential to become a factor of visiting Kuwait because of many categories of turtles and birds in that spot.
• Oaruh island. It is famous for the reproduction place of turtles as well as birds situated at the southernmost corner of the sea.
• Umm An-Nami and Umm Al-Maradim island. The first one is sited at the west corner of As-Sulaibikhat Bay suitable for the living of biological functioning while the second one is situated at the eastern part of An-Nuwaisib which can be a significant visiting area for observing the migratory birds.

Diving of pearl. Today, yearly pearl diving celebration is occurring which can act as one of the major primary demand generators as a tourism product for deriving memories for the thrill to the visitors and hardship to the participant as a symbol of their older generations. Those occasions are compliment to people for devoting their lives to this thrill. New divers need to take huge preparation, training, sailing and adequate knowledge about the related instruments. Conventionally, boats or ships were made ready by coasting them to the sea for caulking splinters through fiber dipped in swindler oil.

Then, a handmade Noora tarnished above the hull upon the waterside. For this practice, the divers wear the same dress like past. The special wazar has put on with necessary T-shirts and swimsuit along with dieng, fotam and hajer as for creel for neck, clip for nose and toe security.

During the diving period, he or she is being protected with a rope bonded with ship. It has prepared to surface, grouping the rope that has always been managed by the assistant for pulling it after by the diver’s own self. Finally, this festival generally ends up with cultural dance and song presentation.

However, it has been treated as an incorporated social ritual for leaving wealthy traditional value for enjoying to the current generations. Pearl fishery is commonly known as ‘ghaus’ while the related workforces are called ‘ghawawis’. Currently, such custom is maintained and supported by HH of Kuwait Amir where at each session of June, community youths acknowledge about this through as an active role in annual festival for securing its existence.

• Yatching: Since Kuwait is admired as a heaven of sailors, there always exists a comfortable breeze. Little sailing boats to giant yachts are available and the Yacht club occupies 300 service cabins. Other clubs own marinas for arranging sailing functions like KUSA races covering Kuwait and Bahrain route.
• Diving: Here, scuba diving is popular mostly occurs on the island along with offshore reefs. General courses are PADI and SSAC where Al-Boom experts provide certificate by CMAS and NAUI for trip management.
• Water sports: Vessels and equipment are sold for longer amusement with available trading houses in Kuwait. Some popular items are windsurfing, speed boating, water and jet skiing on beach side.
• Island trips: A short boat journey to an island can be an enjoyable single-day memory bunching with picnic, swimming, fish-catching etc. by hiring a dhow.
• Fishing: Other than hamout and zubaidi, many types and sizes of fishes are available in different water areas of Kuwait.

At the same time, tourists can easily do fishing with strong extended casting bars from main bars and the last of piers through the utilization of normal rods, hooks, lines and rope baskets for grabbing fry from the water side with nets clutched by some people from the vessel by utilizing multi-fastener lines and trawls. Here, some specialized individuals can also use hand-made traditional instrument. Thus, in many shops in the country, both general and exclusive kinds of fishing traps and tackles can be found.

Sports tourism: Some sporting events including hand-gliding are restricted in Kuwait for the objective of ensuring national security. Other most popular sporting items are:

• Archery. Kuwait’s NAC or National Archery Center is located at the door of Hunting and Equestrian Club, which is the individual institution that can be used by any person of using the advantage in return for a so-called fee.
• Bowling. The country occupies four lanes for bowling at Hunting and Equestrian Club, Holiday Inn and Safir International Hotel and Siler Towers.
• Basketball. Basketball is one of the most preferred sporting items in Kuwait that is generally played majority of the sporting clubs. Here, Kuwait Sports Club, which arranges sports and games at their venue.
• Motor sports. Although after the independence, period has shown a limited fascination of car rallies because of the desert’s holding of few undisclosed weapons, the 6^th Ring road. Science Club ACMA, Amateur Club and Motorbike Association organize races of drug each Thursday while races of bikes occur from May to October and car racing occurred throughout the year with an entry fees of KD1.
• Ice-skating. The reformulated local Ice Skating Rink has been established near the Shamiya gate, Ring road. It contains Olympic volume ground for skating along with an additional distribution center for selling skating wear and instruments. Operating a tiny café, tourists can visit this center from 9am to 9pm daily excluding Saturday.
• Equestrian games. The sophisticated Hunting and Equestrian Club is located at Ring road- 6. This club contains race trails, gymnasium and riding sections, swimming pool, a bowling ground, eatery, squash and tennis grounds and interior sporting ground.

Contributing demand generators

This includes such aspects, which are not basic causes for making a trip in Kuwait but can add special memories at that journey like transportation system or cultural aspects of the nation. All of those factors are examined below.

Transportation. Since Kuwait has somewhat extended transportation network of 2000 kilometers of roads highways and other communications for conducting all of the cities, the major mode of transportation can be mentioned as:

• Bus. KTC or Kuwait Transport Company directs the public bus transportation by delivering services to people against charges of 50 fills for intercity travel and 300 fills for outsider and longer travel regarding metropolitan zones while those buses maintain specific ways with air-conditioner, limited terminals and minimum fare of 150 fils.
• Taxis. Three forms of that service feature orange colored private service for waysides, definite routes for putting up traveler at a single time while carrier travelers for shifting from area to area. The final one involves radio-operated call-service that is generally used by corporations via phones. But the specialized taxi service to carry the tourists from airport to different other districts.
• Renting cars. Tourists can also conduct them on daily or monthly basis.
• Driving. It is merely easy for a foreigner to drive in Kuwait for the better-qualified highways along with English and Arabic traffic signals. System of left sided driving, travelers can use their global driving license for renting and driving. Such license will be legitimated up to the tourist’s entrance permission and will be insured by Al-Ahliah Insurance or Gulf Insurance Company at a monthly expense of KD 2. Also home license can also be valid by the traffic section of police with the preparation of residential visa along with an additional requirement of holding original country license by the accomplishment of some essential documents like license for driving, photographs, investigation letter from the employed company, tenancy agreement, proof of blood group and passport. Simultaneously, the KT club delivers tour documents and global certificate for listing and driving permission with the storage of route maps and motor trimmings.
• KPTC. Kuwait Public Transportation Company poses expertise in unit transport issues internal and external location of the nation that has been founded in 1962 by Amiri ruling. It delivers numerous services involving purchasing and selling of buses and other water vessels, foundation of transport-based industries, speculation and renting tasks. It holds moreover 400 buses for maintaining strong network inside all of the zones characterized by flexibility and 50% traveler discounts by the top emphasize specialization in generating service through the technically acknowledged professionals.
• Airways of Kuwait. It provides customized services to the clients with versatile tastes and needs as offering premium items for demanding first-in-class services and economy items for the value conscious customers for the purpose of linking Kuwait with GCC nations and others.

Cultural aspects. The cultural outlay of Kuwait incorporates food, singing, dancing, institutional effort, hospitality and overall behavioral pattern of the community that can be interesting catalysts of making a trip there. Such as:

• Artistic talents. Free Atelier has been established in the country in 1960 for generating technological and expert knowledge to the scholars and enthusiasts on the Arabian Gulf location. Other business global art galleries are placed at Salhiya and Salmiya zones. Thus, people who are keen on Arabic thoughts are operated by well-known Italian, Spanish or French performers like Calderon, Marian would discover such stores not only amazing but also worthy for getting charges for per order.
• Musical communities and plays. The most attractive and famous playing theaters can be observed at Shamiya, Kaifan and Dasma region of Kuwait. Beginning that sort of institutional journey in 1959, 1960 throughout the creation of some efficient theater parties including Arab theater as prominent one, this time dimension is proving that phase of quality and popularity of that. Players of Kuwait has been established in 1952 that is now modified enough to present 9/ 10 dramas, musical shows per session. Similarly, Kuwaiti singers and Kuwait Folk Club can also external gain with their efforts.
• NCCAL festival. The year wise Al-Qurain conventional festival has been recognized as a great moderator in the Arabic center for academic for the last 15 years including cultural as well as creative achievement since it calls many individuals related to those valuable fields simply enlisting melodious events, demonstrations, symposiums, theater plays, creative workshops and trips to the national heritages.
• Hospitality. In Kuwait, visitors are attained with great cordiality as a graceful host with an expectation of similar mannerism from the guests.
• Greetings. It is an interesting tradition of Kuwaitis to greet by hand shaking with kisses in cheeks regulated for male and female by asking questions regarding other’s health, work life or kith and kin for deliberating intimacy.
• Tea. It is common form of entertaining any guest at home, office or other places with a cup of tea or coffee like black and green tea, chai, lemon or peppermint.
• Food. It is the impartial part of Kuwaiti culture. Machboos is one of them made by chicken, mutton and fish as a mixture placed in higher amount that is a very popular item of offering guests for sharing the food. Kasba is another popular rice dishes in Kuwait while its another name is Majboos composed of various ingredients like rice, spices, vegetables and fleshes. Mandi is an ancient dish of historical Kuwait named as Haneeth made by basmati rice, chicken or red meat with spices commonly served at wedding ceremony while Arab cuisine is a traditional food item for the entire Arabic world.
• Music and dances. Ardha is one kind of folkloric dance carried out by the tribal Bedouins in Persian Gulf that was historically been performed prior to going to the war. Today, it is done for festivals like Jenadriyah. Sawt is a form of music mixed town music performed as “Zaffan” and “Samra”. Finally, Fijiri is a voiced music basically, performed by the pearl divers.

Demand supporters

Accommodation: A number of qualified hotels in Kuwait can serve the purpose of better lodging.

• JW Marriot Hotel. Established in the central Kuwait city, it is communicated with Salhia shopping center and other business corners with adequate benefits of 5-star deluxe cabins, well-furnished suites and bathrooms, 5 restaurants with global cuisine, Elite health Club, insider swimming pool, gymnasium, 29 successive nights discount offer also applicable on meal, drinks and laundry. General amenities enlist costs free parking, lift, elevators, home service for disabled, smoke-free zone, A/C, internet access, free Wi-Fi LAN, etc.
• Le Meridien Hotel. Being a 4-star hotel, it is located at Dasman having 67 suits and cabins with Gulf scenario, 4 eateries and café for delivering sea and Japanese items. Fishing, golfing and riding on horse, check out and in, baggage storage, rental service, shuttling airport, newspapers, pets accommodation, porch, exchange of currency, commercial center, child sitting, room breakfast, cleaning, room breakfast, conference facility, beauty store, iron facility, Sauna and other types of general services.
• The Palm Beach Hotel and Spa. It has 25000 m of land of gardens with 124 rooms, ATM and other general services.
• Plaza Athenee Hotel. It is a deluxe and comfortable accommodation center with 63 rooms, security deposit carton, plan hotel, massage, Jacuzzi along with other mentioned services.
• Safir Internationals. Recognized by the Amiri ruling with local trading companies, it delivers many essential attractive efforts.
• Four Points by Sheraton Kuwaiti. Located at trading and financial heart, it has 160 berths with metropolitan skyline, HP internet facility, DVD or CD, Assef restaurant, closure to Arabian Gulf, airport transportation for entrance and departure time etc.
• Holiday Inn Downtown Kuwait.Situated in capital city, it occupies 169 tourist rooms with 24 floors, Lebanese department together with shisha inside the hotel’s Laylaki café.
• Sheraton Hotel and Tower. It contains merely 300 guest rooms.
• Movenpick Hotel. Located at Shuwaikh FTZ it can be featured with 100 cabins with a closure to the airport.
• Others. Radisson SAS, Le Meridian Tower Hotel and other small lodges.

Restaurants. Kuwait delivers a natural broad-based experience by the eastern and western astute palate. Dining service ranges from McDonald’s burgers to Iranian and Lebanese dishes. The broadly categorized restaurants present Chinese, Indian, Mexican and more than 100 cultural meals available at luxury hotels to small eatery. Here, liquor is prohibited while Turkish coffee is the most popular beverage. Many local shops offer frozen, canned and sealed goods with fresh fruits, meats and vegetables available at Fahaheel and Shuwaikh.

Shopping. Kuwait has adequate number of shopping centers and malls of which mostly are directed by co-operative ownership that is started early in the morning and continue till late at night for selling foods and other necessary goods which are somewhat subsidized or at regulated price.

Private supermarkets run for the day-long with furniture, toys, apparel, fragrances and other deliveries with possibly higher price than the co-operatives. Some famous ones are Salhiya plaza, Zahra complex, Laila Galeria, Hawally’s Al-Othman complex with other shopping avenues known as souks at major districts for serving not only shopping items but also eye care centers, tourism centers, amusement parks of kids.

• Gold souks. Those souks are popular in Kuwait for selling and buying golds in vital shopping corners of the country while the jeweler designs are mostly Indian as most popular in the country, Arabic and Italian ranging from 18 to 22 carat.
• Conventional open air and holiday market. Besides the modern markets, several conventional markets are still booming. It encompasses capital city’s labyrinths of closed roads and footpaths inline slams and stores while each is expert in some definite criteria like apparel, hardware or spices. Ladies selling can also be seen at Souk Al-Hareem with attractive chip shopping motivated by strong bargaining. Traditional open markets can be found in Jahra and Fahaheel with a coming initiative reformulation and redesigned. Friday markets stand up from morning till evening with old furniture, mats, antiques, and livestock at Al-Raj in the same cities.

Infrastructure. It is composed of the country’s multi-phased highways, worldwide airline communication are rising significantly with modern buildings, houses and other infrastructural structures. At Safat, major university compound and another larger port exist. On the other side, Salmiya is the major residential area with a huge cosmopolitan mix although the overall situation is not as better as many other GCC countries. Because of this reason, the local government had incurred huge amounts of dollars for the development of roadway schemes during the year 2003.

Recently, telecom sector has improved significantly, capital city can accomplish up to 12 top class resorts and lodges. Its IMMS or Infrastructure Management Maintenance System ignores oil-worthy nation’s structural development while about 47% of the total earning of Kuwait comes from its energy division.

Human resources

This segment generally involves the mentionable and contributive community groups at present and past as Bedouin, Diwaniya, Falconary, etc. A short overview of such community participants is presented below.

• Diwaniya: It is the common trait of all Kuwaiti while the original word is dewans that were the workplace of Amir for meeting their subordinates, understanding their troubles and so on. Presently, it is the assembling place of people where all kinds of topics have been discussed that is a social way of being close to the relatives through the transformation of thoughts that generally takes place outside of the original home as a merely larger part of this surrounded by family atmosphere.
• The Bedouin: This segment of society was well-known for their attendance, respect, conceit, bravery and patience with an extraordinary image with their camels, goats, lambs, restricted enlarged larger family and honorable tribal commitments. Their lifestyle seems to be interesting for any new comer who can observe their black tents, stock of meet by the holding livestock, ‘sadu’ activities as one of their potential source of earning. Today, modern the Bedouins have adopted many elements of modern culture with the government’s support of enhancing their educational and expertise preparation through retaining their origin and heritage.
• Falconry: It is a fundamental aspect of dessert living which has two subgroups including Peregrine and Sakar while the untamed groups prepare for tracking and hunting for migrating in autumn at the beginning of November and the untamed groups perform both dessert supplementary cultivation and hunting where tourists can obtain greater excitement.
• General community traits: Other than tribes or the specialty groups, the general Kuwaiti community poses some specific characteristics that are influential factors to develop a successful community tourism market. The country combined with cordial entertainment and hospitality, manner of a warm welcome, offering tea or coffee as an integral part of hospitality along with celebration of different social and cultural events with their individual system of attendance and dishes.

Differential advantages

After analyzing all the inventories of the divisional Kuwait tourism market, it is tactical to find out the reasons why people tend to make a trip in Kuwait among various established and enriched tourism centers around the world with an additional assessment of development of alternative options from many of those sectors. These can be examined by the following discussion.

• The collection of National museum is an exclusive evidence of the nation’s geocentric and historic changes, which will give the spectators a memorable visionary to the reference record house, artifact as well as presentation of Hadeeth ad-Dar while the spectators can seize a touch of the past, traits and rituals.
• Al-Badr house represents exceptional albums of domestic handicrafts.
• Visiting of sadu house will generate experience of accustomed to traditional weaving and geometrically designed clothing.
• The Scientific Center is special since its discovery zone permits the children of blazing of extra energy for creating logical examinations as well as the theater of IMAX for offering various 2D and 3D cinemas.
• Visitors will be vigorously delighted of visiting the Liberation tower as it is ranked as the 5^th longest telecom tower globally which is merely 40 meters higher compared to Eiffel tower.
• The Kuwaiti Aqua Park is notable as it incorporates several aquatic rides for both aged and children sections with swift escalation of water. Apart from this, it is especially dedicated for only women each Tuesday.
• At Messilah Water Village, spectators can get pleasure from Ethmedo Volcano, aquatic theaters and water slopes as the first initiator in Kuwait.
• Regarding chalets, Khiran resort offers bundle of advantages involving studio compounds, 240- berth complete serviced water vessel, yatch center, pools, superstore, coffee houses etc.
• Every Kuwaiti sea club provides extra time for children and women segments like Ras Al-Ardh.
• The foreigners would feel comfort by visiting some Kuwaiti theater houses since those show high graded dramas, songs and pantomime in English language.
• In relation to the global sea pollution, the country around seas is reasonably fresh while marine lives can flourish easily.
• The island trip can be exceptionally memorable by making a short excursion or family trip with a hired dhow with relatively small amount of KD.
• Here, the ice-skaters can enjoy Olympic range skating ground with special rink for females and children, training facility along with other functional facilities.
• Kuwait shopping souks and open markets are also distinctive with their own heritage value and characteristics of purchasing traditional apparels, antiques, ornaments etc.
• Regarding the food culture, Kuwait has word wide fame for preparing different kinds of cooked fish and crustaceans because of perfect season and reasoning of price. Several other local dishes also act as influential variables for drawing tourist attention towards the country including matchbooks, mandi, kabsa etc. while Kabsa is mostly preferred for its wide range of tasty ingredients like cloves, cardamom, black olive and pepper, nutmeg, bay plants, camel, beef, lamb, poultry or mutton fleshes, shrimp and rice etc.
• The NCCAL festival discloses artistic works as with museum on marine heritage where distinguished parties show the historical overview of the nation linking with the sea. The placement of theater shows often developed upon the concept of architectural design and logical values.
• The Ardha dance is of higher value to the new spectators since it represents the ancient Bedouin cultural values. Although it has been performed during wartime in the past, today it is widely appreciated for festival issues for making a local charm. However, tourists will find that men are the special performer of such dancing by using bamboos, swords through the accomplishment of beats and speeches.
• Sowt or Sawt music is special attraction of Kuwaiti culture, which is performed through an accomplishment of mirwas and ud.
• The traditional pearl diving song named Fijiri can be enjoyed by the visitors for its traditional background and style.
• Failaka Island is one of the most eye-catching tourist corners of the state since it represents the earliest stone aged history via glorified 17^th century to the present achievements.
• Umn Al-Naml Island occupies unique image for the discovery of a large collection of Islamic anthropology and architecturally valued items. On the other hand, Qaruh and Kubbar are situated at the south corner of Gulf having the possibility of gaining visitor’s interest in sea bird watching.
• Since the existing infrastructure of the country has not reached the point to compete with international competitive level, such advantage can be resolved because the combined effort of private and public sectors are going to develop such criteria through an extension of international airport through new agreement.
• Along with providing the general services, Kuwaiti deluxe hotels are resorts that provide exclusively some of the customized services at a large extent for which any tourist would be intended to be accommodated in such lodging zones. For example, extended IT and technological services involve room laptop with Wireless or Wi-Fi LAN as well as general internet surfing, instant ATM or currency mechanism, recreation and leisure services orient high class restaurant, adjacent shopping malls, hot and cold water swimming tub, service center, instant barer and beauty consultancy, gymnastic practice and so one.
• Kuwait is exceptionally famous for holding upon its cultural values by emphasizing many of its historical practices including oysters of pearl collection that can be learned as worthy folklore of the country that has been remained unchanged for more than hundred years.
• Visitors can get fresh fun by observing the country’s distinctive ship construction where dhows. Those are gigantic vessels made of wood with a great specialty. In this period of fabulous tankers, dhows construction is a careful art with extra patronization.
• Finally, the finest differential advantage of Kuwait’s tourism industry can deeply be realized with its community relationships, that is, different cast of social being considering Bedouin, Falcon or general Kuwaiti trends, attitudes, rituals and behavior can create high degree of differentiation for outsider guests of the country.
• Completion of matrix:
• The overall tourism products can be enlisted with their subtitles for the purpose of rating them in order to complete the required matrix as-

Distinctiveness matrix

Quality matrix

Infrastructure matrix

Motivator matrix

Capacity matrix

Other considerations

SWOT analysis

After tabulating the inventories because of perceptual rating, the entire situation can be evaluated now. It can be better done through a SWOT analysis. SWOT is placed for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as shown below.

Strengths

Some strong points are:

• Promotion of traveling and commercial investment in 2004 has been resulted in diversification marketing in the local economy for generating more capital and service opportunities for local people.
• The FDI acts as other major catalysts for patronizing tourism industry with an extra scope of 100% free ownership to the outsider groups within this industry for generating more and more transportation, eatery and lodging support.
• Quality, distinctiveness and motivation are highly appreciated for demand generator factors because of many reasons. One of the prominent is government active support to the artistic intellectuals for the vision of higher education and artwork assistance.
• Cultural proliferation is being created at a higher rate because of large variety of imported commodities traded in both co-operative and private markets that can ascertain the volume of predicted sales by considering all sorts of customer segments with expertise and branded organizations.
• Enlargement of marine functioning performed by an expert marine company with the national reconstruction of Failaka project has increased its tourist attractiveness as a commercial, multi- viewed island.
• Transportation services have scored well for their motto of developing strong ties with the domestic society and vendors.
• The higher economic growth and per capita GDP make various tourism inventories available to the large extent of local community.

Weaknesses

Despite having many stronger issues, the industry also poses some weak aspects:

• Some restrictive policies and laws are creating hindrance to the smooth pave of global tourism.
• Geographically, the country is smaller than many other GCC nations which somewhat restricts it from gaining full competitive advantage in cultural and geographic sectors.
• Among the sports-tourism variables, car rallies are not re-founded at an original speed because of the risk possibility of some undisclosed weapons in some of the desserts.

Opportunities

The home country’s tourism industry poses a large number of optimistic view since the sector earns about $4999 million in 2006-07 fiscal year with an annual growth rate of 3.7% and average contribution of 7.3% in the economy, some potential opportunities regarding this can be shown as:

• Administrative support for the improvement of existing fleet for meeting the rising demand,
• Government attempt for building sophisticated local tourism plan.
• Steps for reformulation of rigid rules and regulation for huge investment regarding the plan for 20 new lodgings has established with adequate package subsidy, furnishing offshore lands, recent trading and open zones for polishing the country’s destination positioning. Moreover, Failaka Island is becoming the most significant natural site of Kuwait for the investment of $3.3 billion with a prior expertise of 115 concerned companies.
• According to Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, this sector is predicted to guide a dependence of more than 20 neighboring companies in Arabian tourism market 2009.

Threats

Some threatening factors are:

• Over modernization, can be a focal issue for structural change of many ancient communities.
• Approximately 79% of nationalists go outsider for spending their leisure, which would significantly reduce the portion of total revenue.
• Existence of over-rules and formalities would be liable for decreeing flexible minded spectators.

Conclusion

After getting a proper list for assessing the Kuwait tourism inventory, it is logical to go through the marketing assessment of that. This may start from selecting target customer segments as can be referred to local population of regardless all aged individuals ready to enjoy different patterns of fun and excitement according to their choice.

For example, youths would mostly prefer to have a trip of sports tourism, artifacts, island picnic, boating or fishing while mid-aged group would prefer mostly enjoying through shopping, visiting theaters, or just simply spending their time by good accommodation at hotel suits. Old-aged personnel are generally most interested in historical aspects, heritage and dining experience.

However, it is essential to prepare individual pricing, distribution and promotional strategies for attracting each group of potential national and domestic visitors. For further clarification, a listing of market-related SWOT factors along with positioning map and BCG growth trend in a matrix would be most helpful for the proper visualization of the overall Kuwait tourism industry from expansion to distribution.

Bibliography

Arabian Travel Market, Arabian Travel Market ‘Central’ To Kuwait’s Tourism Plans, 2009. Web.

Alberta Tourism, Community Tourism Planning Process: Inventory Assessment Stage, 2009. Web.

Cooper, Chris, et al, Tourism Principles and Practice, 4^th edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN: 9780273684060, 2004.

Heraklion, Amoudara, Book of Abstracts, 2006. Web.

Nations online, Kuwait, 2009. Web.

Griffin, W. Ricky, Management, 8^th Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston New York, ISBN: 0-618-35459x, 2006.

Gwillim Law, Governorates of Kuwait, 2008, Web.

Kotler Philip, & Armstrong Gary, Principles of Marketing, 12^th edition, Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, ISBN: 81-203-2825-6, 2007.

McIntosh Robert, Tourism: Principles, Practices and Philosophies, 5^th edition, ISBN: 978-0471830382, 2000.

Places online, Map of Kuwait: Detailed map, Road maps of Kuwait and Directions, 2009. Web..

Places online, Kuwait City: Attractions and Travel Guide, 2009. Web.

Skinner Steven, & Ivancevich John, Business for the 21st Century, Homewood, Boston, ISBN: 0-256-09222-2, 2006.

Stoner, J. A. Finch, Freeman Edward, & Gilbert Daniel, Management, 6^th edition, Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, ISBN: 81-203-0981-2, 2006.

The Mountain Institute, Community Based Tourism for Conservation and Development: A Resource Kit, 2003. Web.

Wisansing Jutamas, Towards Community Driven Tourism Planning: A Critical Review of Theoritical Demands and Practical Issues, 2009. Web.

Executive Summary

The tourism industry of Abu Dhabi has grown steadily within the past two decades. This development has catalyzed by the region’s rapid economic development. The economic position is encouraging more people to support the industry. Domestic tourism has improved significantly in this country. Similarly, foreign tourists have been selecting Abu Dhabi as a preferred destination. Unfortunately, some negative issues have emerged in the recent past. These concerns have been observed to affect the industry’s profitability. Such changes are attributable to a number of factors such as the changing economic developments, environmental issues, and political forces. The unrest experienced in countries such as Syria continues to affect the industry. The emergence of new technologies and changing consumer needs are driving forces in the industry.

Abu Dhabi’s children/family tourism subsector is still underdeveloped. This gap can therefore be addressed using powerful initiatives aimed at supporting the needs of different family members. With such gaps in the industry, new malls focusing on the needs of children should be considered. This is the case because the country has ignored the subsector for many years. This move will play a positive role towards supporting the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. The mall will be aligned with the four aspects of the vision. These aspects include “economic, environment, social, and culture” (Fuller, 2013, para. 3). The children will engage in a wide range of exercises and eventually overcome various health conditions. They will eventually become healthy adults capable of supporting the country’s economic goals. This discussion gives a detailed analysis of the issues surrounding the nation’s tourism industry. The paper proposes new measures that can make transform Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry.

External Environment

Macro-Environment: PEST-D Analysis

Political Factors

Abu Dhabi is a leading tourism destination because of the current political climate experienced in the nation. This political stability has made it possible for many companies such as Al Abbas Group and Airlink International UAE to engage in successful business operations. Such firms have managed to offer holiday tours and support systems to more clients (Fuller, 2013). The uprisings experienced in the Middle East appear to threaten the tourism industry.

Economic Factors

This country has good economic indicators. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been growing positively. More people in the nation are getting better salaries. This development encourages more people to support domestic tourism. The changes in the global economy have led to fluctuating oil prices (Blanke & Chiesa, 2013). These aspects are expected to affect Abu Dhabu’s tourism industry.

Social Factors

The global population is growing rapidly. People are focusing on the best approaches to lead better lifestyles. In Abu Dhabi, cultural heritage and tourism are embraced as critical social factors (Prabhu & Subramanian, 2015). This issue explains why the industry might achieve its goals within the next few years. Children tourism is also becoming a common practice in this industry.

Technological Factors

Technology has been changing very fast especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Governments are promoting the use of 4G and 3G networks. Modern companies such as Google are making it easier for more people to use Google Maps (Fuller, 2013).

Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis

The Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis below gives a detailed analysis of Abu Dhabi tourism industry.

Threat of New Entrie

This industry is characterized by many competitors and newcomers (The Government of Abu Dhabi, 2016). The sector attracts many players such as tour services and internet providers. The sector will attract more players in the future.

Competitive Rivalry

Competition is high in Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry. The country has many firms such as Al Tayer Travel Agency, Al Hamed Enterprises, and Amadeus Gulf LLC that compete for customers in this industry (Fuller, 2013). Many people have to choose the best services from the providers of tourism services.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

The industry relies on different providers of services such as internet connections. Tourism firms must also collaborate with different oil companies in order to realize their objectives (Blanke & Chiesa, 2013). This process explains why the bargaining power of suppliers is low.

Bargaining power of buyers

The increasing number of companies in the industry makes it easier for the targeted customers to select the best providers. The buyers are sensitive to the offered prices. The customers can substitute the existing products. This analysis shows conclusively that the bargaining power of customers is extremely high (The Government of Abu Dhabi, 2016).

Threat of Substitute Services

The increasing number of service providers shows conclusively that the customers can select from a wide range of available services (Fuller, 2013). This force explains why different companies should work hard to attract more clients.

Driving Forces

Several driving forces will dictate the future of Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry. These forces are capable of reshaping the success of many companies in the industry. A proper understanding of such forces can make it easier for more firms to emerge successful (Nyarko, 2010). The first force driving this industry is globalization. This factor qualifies as a driving force because it dictates the manner in which people travel and do business globally.

The second driving force is political development. Political forces dictate the manner in which people travel for tourism or other personal goals. This issue qualifies as a driving force because the political forces experienced locally and globally can affect the industry significantly (Blanke & Chiesa, 2013). The political stability in Abu Dhabi has the potential to promote domestic tourism.

The other undeniable driving factor is technology. This qualifies as a driving force because it reshapes the manner in which people communicate and share information. Technology will influence the industry by providing new opportunities to support the diverse needs of more tourists (The Government of Abu Dhabi, 2016).

Social factors continue to remain a powerful driving force in the industry. In Abu Dhabi, more people are embracing the best practices to support the region’s cultural heritage. Such social forces will therefore play a positive role towards supporting this industry (Prabhu & Subramanian, 2015). Future players in the industry should use sustainable strategies to protect the natural environment.

Strategic Group Map

A proper strategic group map can be used to analyze the position of kids-friendly entertainment within the wider area of tourism in Abu Dhabi (Nyarko, 2010). That being the case, the targeted parameters include the availability of tourism products and the quality of services. These parameters can be used to analyze the major strategies implemented to address the recreational needs of more children. The created strategic group map is presented below.

From the above analysis, it is notable that the industry is focusing on the best measures to implement kids-friendly entertainment. This approach is being undertaken in order to support the needs of more children. However, the quality of such services is something demanding. This is the case very few regions are characterized by such tourism services. Additionally, few resources are available to the targeted children (Nyarko, 2010). New measures should be undertaken in order to support this subsector.

Key Success Factors

The following key success factors (KSFs) can be used to describe Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry. The focus is on children entertainment sub sector. The KSFs selected below have the potential to guide different players in the sub-sector (Diaa, 2016). The KSFs can be used to support the growth of the sub-sector.

Industry Profile and Attractiveness

The above analysis indicates that there are key factors that can make it easier for newcomers to emerge successful in this industry. More families are getting better incomes than ever before. The emergence of modern technologies is a new opportunity that continues to make this industry more attractive. The region’s economic and political positions experienced in Abu Dhabi will attract more companies (Diaa, 2016). Improved infrastructure and availability of new resources characterize this industry.

Family tourism is supported under the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. More companies and providers of tourism services are finding the industry more attractive. The current players in the industry have been able to make profits. More children are visiting different theme parks (Kids and family attractions, 2016). The industry will remain profitable and competitive.

Idea Generation and Development

Proposed Idea

The current situation shows clearly that family tourism has been embraced in Abu Dhabi. The number of theme parks focusing on the needs of more children has increased in the country. More companies have emerged in Abu Dhabi in an attempt to deliver such services to more children. Similarly, the number of malls focusing on the needs of adults is on the rise. Such malls have transformed the manner in which people purchase different products in the country. These malls promote both foreign and domestic tourism in the country (Diaa, 2016).

However, there are no malls focusing on the needs of children. The proposed idea for this exercise is constructing a mall that targets children only. This approach will ensure the needs of more kids in the country are met. Several factors explain why this idea is viable. To begin with, more parents are getting good salaries. The mall will therefore attract these parents and encourage them to bring their children (Kids and family attractions, 2016). The mall will be characterized by a wide range of services and products. The children should be allowed to play video games and sample a wide range of entertainment options. The mall should use several activities to attract more children.

Viability

This idea will ensure more parents shop while at the same time supporting the needs of their children. The use of innovative products and technologies will empower more children. This recommendation is necessary because the number of entertainment parks targeting children only offer inadequate services. The proposed idea will ensure more children have access to different gaming and entertainment options. The malls will be characterized by playing grounds and recreational facilities (Kids and family attractions, 2016).

Resources and Capabilities

The resources presented below will be used to support the implementation of the proposed idea.

Estidama Framework: Sustainability and Impact

The Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 was published by the government in 2007. The purpose of this vision is to promote economic development in the United Arab Emirates. The ultimate goal of the vision is to ensure all stakeholders produce long-term goals (Diaa, 2016). Tourism is included part of the vision agenda aimed at preserving Abu Dhabi’s culture and heritage.

Proposed Idea: Abu Dhabi 2030 Strategic Framework

Description and Conclusion

The proposed idea of a mall strictly for children will emerge successful. This idea is sustainable because the mall will be situated in a major city. The targeted clients are children. The clients might not have adverse effects on the natural environment. The mall will embrace the best initiatives to promote the CSR concept. The idea is also feasible since more people are focusing on the best strategies to support family tourism. The current economic performance will ensure the mall realizes its goals (Diaa, 2016). The mall is therefore aimed at promoting the country’s cultural heritage.

References

Blanke, J., & Chiesa, T. (2013). The travel & tourism competitiveness report 2013. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

Diaa, S. (2016). Abu Dhabi’s tourism industry to face challenges in 2016.Gulf News. Web.

Fuller, E. (2013). Asia: Global tourism’s driving force. Web.

Kids and family attractions.(2016). Web.

Nyarko, Y. (2010). The United States Arab Emirates: Some lessons in economic development. Working Paper, 1(1), 1-13.

Prabhu, N., & Subramanian, K. (2015). The impact of sports tourism on the UAE: A case study of the Indian Premier League (IPL). African Journal of Hospitality and Leisure, 4(1), 1-8.

The Government of Abu Dhabi. (2016). The Abu Dhabi: Economic Vision 2010. Web.

How is this property marketed?

Product

This organization offers clients the opportunity to observe a unique interior design. Moreover, customers can enjoy the fairy-tale atmosphere created by decorators and architects. In particular, visitors can stay in a hotel that is made solely of ice, snow, and metal.

Place

The hotel is located in Quebec City. It should be noted that this metropolitan area attracts many people who take a close interest in winter tourism (Brokaw, 2008). Therefore, one can argue that this place can be of great interest to many customers.

Price

The prices for the services can vary considerably. In particular, a person, who wants to take a tour of this hotel, will need to pay about $15. However, the night stay will cost $ 170. This policy is essential for attracting buyers who may differ in terms of their income level.

Promotion

This place is promoted in several ways. In particular, potential customers can learn about it via the Internet. Moreover, much attention should be paid to booklets that are offered to tourists who go to Canada and Quebec (Hill, 2002). Apart from that, the services of this hotel are advertised on television. Thus, this organization applies various marketing techniques.

People

At first, one should mention engineers, designers, and builders who were involved in the construction of this hotel. These stakeholders play a critical role because they create a unique image of this place. Moreover, they ensure that customers are not exposed to any dangers. At the same time, one should focus on the work of the personnel interacting immediately with clients.

Physical evidence

This company offers such tangible assets as beds, sleeping bags, hot drinks, and so forth. Additionally, clients can observe various ice sculptures. Moreover, they can buy souvenirs.

Process

The functioning of this hotel includes several processes. At first, one should mention construction, the delivery of food, drinks, or furniture, and the work of service personnel. Furthermore, much attention should be paid to the work of decorators who need to find a new approach to interior and exterior design.

What is actually being sold here?

As it has been said before, this organization sells the unforgettable image of this hotel. It is the core offering available to clients. However, there are some supplementary services. For instance, this company hosts wedding ceremonies for clients. Moreover, much attention should be paid to the tours conducted in this place.

Clearly identify the market segments that the Ice Hotel is targeting

The market of this hotel can be segmented with the help of different approaches. In particular, one can distinguish the following criteria:

Demographic

The visitors can be both males and females. As a rule, they are young adults who are aged between 18 and 40.

Psychographic

The customers of this hotel value new experiences, and they are willing to try innovative lifestyles. Furthermore, the purchasing decisions of these people are supposed to highlight their individuality.

Geographic

These buyers can live in various parts of North America. Additionally, one should consider people who may come from European countries such as France or the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, one can argue that this place can attract people from various regions of the world (Kokker, 2004).

Benefits

Overall, these buyers seek such benefits as novelty and uniqueness of services or products. As a rule, they do not focus on such criteria as the degree of comfort or price.

Behavior

The behavior of these customers is driven by the need for new experiences and the desire to widen their horizons. Therefore, they do not want to stay in conventional hotels.

Identify the positioning strategies being employed by the Ice Hotel and discuss their effectiveness

One can argue that this hotel tries to offer unique services to a broad group of customers. This approach can be described as differentiation. It means that a company wants to distinguish itself from many competitors. For instance, they can focus on such aspects as design, quality, reliability, and so forth. In turn, the organization focuses on the interior and exterior design of the hotel. One can argue that this approach is rather efficient. It should be mentioned that there are many luxury hotels. However, the managers of this organization succeeded in finding a feature that could attract many customers. This approach can appeal to people who can differ in terms of their income level and cultural background. It is possible to say that the services of this hotel will remain popular in the future.

Is the marketing of the Ice Hotel successful?

The marketing strategies of this hotel are rather successful. More than a million tourists have visited this place since the time of its first opening in 2001 (Hike Bike Travel, 2014). It should be kept in mind that this hotel operates only for three months per year. Furthermore, there are other nice hotels located in different regions of the world (OECD, 2010, p. 154). However, this ice hotel remains the most popular one. Thus, the managers of this organization have been able to create a well-recognized brand.

Is there value in the purchase?

This organization makes a valuable offer to its customers. In particular, the workers of this hotel enable the clients to enjoy a remarkable interior design that produces a long-lasting impression on the viewers. This example indicates that the managers of hospitality organizations should focus on marketing and positioning strategies. In particular, they need to demonstrate that their services are unique in some way (Vickers, 2005, p. 110). It is the primary task that should be considered.

Reference List

Brokaw, L. (2008). Frommer’s Montreal & Quebec City 2008. New York, NY: Wiley.

Hike Bike Travel. (2014). A Tour of the Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel) in Quebec City. Web.

Hill, T. (2002). Canadian Politics, Riding by Riding: An In-depth Analysis of Canada’s 301 Federal Electoral Districts. New York, NY: Prospect Park Press.

Kokker, S. (2004). Lonely Planet Quebec. New York, NY: Lonely Planet.

OECD. (2010). OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Sweden 2010. New York, NY: OECD Publishing.

Vickers, G. (2005). 21st Century Hotel. New York, NY: Laurence King Publishing.

Tourism Services

The national organization that promotes tourism in Switzerland is called Swiss National Tourist Office. Its official website. This website was designed in order to attract tourists from all around the world to see the beautiful mountain landscapes and visit amazing ski resorts of the country. The website has a section called “Sustainability,” where all the eco-friendly innovations employed in Davos and in Switzerland resort facilities are described. Among the above-mentioned facilities and services, there are solar and wind power stations, solar powered boats and other types of vehicles (“Sustainability” par. 1).

Required Visas

Switzerland is one of the members of the European Union, and its territory is included into the Schengen area. There are several types of visa required for the Canadian residents willing to travel to Switzerland. Tourism visa is given to the individuals visiting Switzerland for leisure; to obtain this visa, one must include the accommodation information for every night they will spend in Schengen zone (Schengen Visa Switzerland 2).

The so-called visitors’ visa is for the individuals meeting their family members, who live in Switzerland (Schengen Visa Switzerland 2). This kind of visa requires an invitation from the person, whom the traveler intends to visit in Switzerland. There is also a business visa, which is given to the people going to Switzerland to attend a fair or a conference, meet with business partners, etc. (Schengen Visa Switzerland 2). If one desires to find employment in Switzerland during their stay, they will require a work permit, which the visitor also needs to apply for.

Tourism Education

There are a number of things that one must know before going to Switzerland. First of all, it is a rather small country. It is possible to travel from its southern to its northern borders in under three hours by train. Switzerland’s rail transportation system and public transport connections are excellent; therefore, a tourist will not have any problems moving around.

Hiring a car would be pointless. In case of visiting several cities in a row, it s recommended that a traveler should plan their trip so that it could end in Zurich, because this city has the airport that provides the best fly out options. Another very important thing to know about Switzerland is that there are four different national languages, three of them (French, German and Italian) being very popular (“Visiting Switzerland: 10 Things to Know before You Travel” 3). This occurs due to the fact that Switzerland borders France, Germany and Italy; as a result, many citizens adopted the neighbors’ languages. Three star hotels in Switzerland provide the services equal to those at five star hotels in other countries (“Visiting Switzerland: 10 Things to Know before You Travel” 6). Euro is the official currency in Switzerland, but Francs are preferred in the local markets, so it would be handy to have both currencies in cash (“Visiting Switzerland: 10 Things to Know before You Travel” 7).

DMO’s of the Destination

SBB is one of the largest destination management organizations in Switzerland. It works with a great deal of destinations not only around the country, but also in the rest of Europe. Its website. This organization provides an SBB mobile application for tourists and visitors, which makes the raveling experience easier. Another major travel organization is called City Tourist; its website. This organization promotes the Davos resort and offers an impressive amount of information divided into thematic sections so that every tourist could choose the kind of activities that they would enjoy the most.

Tourism attractions

Cultural Significance

Davos is one of the most culturally significant cities of Switzerland. It is known as the host of various political and business meetings of the world’s leaders such as the G8. Besides, Davos is the location of a variety of beautiful ski resorts, as well as a range of breathtaking tourist sites and entertainments in Switzerland. Moreover, the cultural significance of Davos is represented by a number of world renowned museums with unique collections of artworks. On top of all that Davos is known to hold the Spengler Cup hockey tournament annually.

Natural

Davos is a mountain resort, and its main natural attractions are mountain chains, which offer a beautiful panorama on the area. A traveler may take a mountain excursion from Davos Dorf to Weissfluhjoch. The excursion includes a ride in a cable railway, so the viewers can enjoy the landscape (“Davos Attractions and Activities” par. 3). This attraction is called Panoramaweg, which means “panorama way”; thus, its title informs the travelers about its main purpose, which is to introduce the guests to the astonishing natural beauty of the location. Other excursions offer walks across the Duncan and the Sertig valleys.

Manmade

Davos also has an impressive amount of manmade attractions. One of the oldest artificial attractions in Davos is Davos Platz representing old buildings including a Rathaus and a church that date back to the medieval times (“Davos Tourist Attractions” par. 2). Another world renowned place of attraction in Davos, the Kirchner Museum contains a large collection (over one thousand works) of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Apart from Kirchner Museum, Davos also has the Mining and the Local Museums, which accordingly feature the collection of ores, mining tools and minerals and a collection of old fashioned working tools attributed to different professions such as a shoemaker, a doctor or a barber. Another group of manmade attractions specific to Davos includes all the ski resorts located in the area. They incorporate a number of services, which make them the most favored skiing places for the tourists from all around the world.

Analysis of Destinations

When analyzing the destinations and places of attraction in Davos, one must mention four main factors, i.e., their scope, ownership, permanency and drawing power. Ski resorts are traditionally viewed as the primary places of attraction in Davos. The same, in fact, can be said about the rest of Switzerland, as this country is famous for its resorts. Museums, architecture and sporting events can be characterized as secondary places of attraction, which qualify as something a tourist must visit traveling to Switzerland.

When it comes to ownership, museums and places like old architecture masterpieces, e.g., medieval churches are viewed as the property of the state and are considered national attractions. At the same time hotels and ski resorts are private for-profit organizations. Attractions such as landscapes and mountain chains are available throughout the year. Cable care excursions, hikes and walks are conducted in winter and summer. As far as the events in Daos are concerned, ice hockey tournaments can be considered interesting for tourists. Ski resorts, however, remain the most popular and the most frequently visited areas, seeing that they attract people from all around the world. Museums and sport events attract local or regional visitors for the most part.

Success Illustrated

The resorts of Davos are available in any season. In winter they attract skiers, and in summer hikers come to Davos for a hike high in the mountains and a breath of fresh alpine air.

Works Cited

“Berghaus Alte Schwendi, 1682m.” My Switzerland. n. d. Web.

“Biking in the Sertig Valley.” My Switzerland. n. d. Web.

“Davos Attractions and Activities.” Swiss Vacations. n. d. Web.

“Davos Tourist Attractions.” Planet Ware. 2015. Web.

“Mule Trekking.” My Switzerland. n. d. Web.

“Schengen Visa Switzerland.” EDA. 2014. Web.

“Sustainability.” My Switzerland. n. d. Web.

“Visiting Switzerland: 10 Things to Know before You Travel.” Infinite Legroom. 2014. Web.