GEOG @ GSAL: November 2008

Wednesday 26 November 2008

Tourism as a Development Strategy

Over the last few decades several countries have looked towards tourism as a means of
promoting development and economic growth. Tourism has grown to become the world’s
second largest industry, directly accounting for 3.8 percent of global GDP in 2005 according to
the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Experiences from various countries have shown
that tourism can have significant effects, both positive and negative, on an economy. It has
been noted that the very process of developing tourism and the consequences of this
development imposes social, cultural and environmental costs for the country.

TASK
Use 'Population, Resources and Development' by Jane Chrispen and Francis Jegede.
Read 10.3 The Role of tourism in development on page 157.
Make notes on 'The Core-periphery enclave model' from page 158.

Read 'The development of tourism in Goa' on pages 159-161.
Make notes on 'The development of tourism in Goa' on pages 159-161.
Answer questions 7, 8 and 9 on page 161.

Read 'Tourism and development in The Gambia' pages 164 and 165.
Answer questions 13, 14 and 15 on page 165.

Follow the link for further information on Mauritius:

http://www.odi.org.uk/IEDG/Publications/finalpage.pdf

Additional links on Toursim:

Tourism rises globally, but not to U.S. csmonitor.com
Schott's Almanac of New Tourism
Britons spurning foreign holidays as economy dips Environment guardian.co.uk
BBC NEWS Asia-Pacific Tourism slow as Olympics approach
Goodbye cheap flights, welcome back real travel... Travelog guardian.co.uk
BBC NEWS UK Magazine Benidorm - the new face of eco-tourism
Benidorm paints itself green Travel guardian.co.uk
BBC NEWS Europe Icy mood grips Kosovo ski resort
The True Meaning Of Tourist Trap (washingtonpost.com)
The tourist trap Society The Guardian

Economic Migration Turkish Gastarbeiter to Germany

The European labour market, after the Second World War, faced a shortage of labour due to the loss of young men of working age. To satisfy the growing demand for labour, many countries, including Germany, found the solution in recruiting migrant workers. In the 1950s and 1960s, many migrant workers from Turkey came to Germany for temporary work. The employers in Germany usually gave these migrant workers short-term contracts, in expectation that they would return to their country of origin once the contract ended. However, many workers had started families during their work term in Germany. With their families already rooted in Germany, these workers felt it would be too difficult to uproot their families, and decided to stay in Germany.

Staying in Germany, however, did not mean that these migrants were an integrated part of society. Since the German government still expected these workers to return home, there was no large-scale effort to encourage these migrant workers to integrate. German citizenship law, which is based largely on parentage rather than place of birth or residence, makes it difficult for migrant workers and their descendants to obtain citizenship. Out of a population of 80 million, there are approximately 7 million foreigners currently living in Germany. About 2 million are Turkish migrant workers or their descendants.

Questions related to this topic:

- What is the predominant age group and sex of the Turkish migrant workers? Does this change depending on the time period?

- What are the push and pull factors that encouraged the Turkish migrants workers to move to Germany?

- What type of employment do migrant workers typically engage in?

- In which parts of the country do migrant workers typically settle?

- How have their social and economic status changed since the 1950s?

- What measures have the German government taken to ensure the rights of Turkish migrant workers (as well as migrant workers from other country) and their families are protected?

Check the following links for information:

http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/migration/chapter9.html

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/10/feature/de0210204f.htm

http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=235
http://www.dw.de/turkish-guest-workers-transformed-german-society/a-15489210
http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2098464,00.html

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Theme Parks

Theme Parks are not a new phenomenon (e.g. zoos, water gardens and safari parks use wildlife and nature themes). However, attitudes change and people now show greater concern about the enclosure of wild animals and the increasing cost of meeting public expectation has seen their popularity deminish (Windsor Safari Park closed in 1990). At the same time a wave of modern theme park developments have been one of the great tourism success stories over the last 20 years (e.g the former site of Windsor Safari Park is now home to Legoland a 1.5 million annual visitor attraction).

What is a Theme Park?

According to Tucker 1991 " a theme park must be built around one or more fantasy or historical themes, charge some form of all inclusive entry fee, and offer a braod range of facilities and attractions to occupy a family for the whole day.

By definition theme parks are expensive to develop, run and maintain, consequently most are managed by large corporations, e.g. Tussauds, Disney and Universal.

The first theme park is reputed to be Santa Land (USA) established in 1946 ten years prior to Disney in LA and the first in the UK was Thorp Park (1969). It was not until the mid 1990s that attendances broke 10 million at a UK venue, however, by this time the growth rate of theme parks had slowed as the demand for more quality, more excitement and more expense (investment in the former) increased.

The majority of visitors to Theme Parks are day excursions rather than tourists, but market research has shown that for long-term success, they are essential for economic profitability of the larger parks. The crucial threshold that changes an attraction from a large theme park to an all incluseive integrated resort is the addition of accomodation and other entertainment facilities. Alton Towers is the first UK theme park to cross this boundary and puts it ahead of its competitors in the UK market. On a global scale Disney currently have the greatest market share of this market.

TASK (COMPLETE FOR NEXT LESSON)

1. Construct a Timeline of Theme Parks

The following linked article gives you an insight into the global market

http://www.hotel-online.com/Trends/ERA/ERARoleThemeParks.html

http://timelines.home.insightbb.com/timelines.htm

2. You are going to build a Case Study of one Theme Park. Using the links below and the Internet

present your study under the following headings:

a) Theme and attraction

b) Location and Setting

c) Ownership)

d)Cost

e)Market segment