Unit 1: Role of Attractions

Role of the Attractions

 Tourist attractions draw visitors to a destination by providing

opportunities for relaxation, amusement, entertainment and education.
They are a dynamic component of the T&T industry and continually
changing and evolving.
 The importance of such visitor attractions within the travel and tourism
industry should not be underestimated.

Activity
 For each of the countries named, research and name one major
Natural and one major Built Attraction:
Country Natural Attraction No. of Visitors Built Attraction No. of Visitors
Cambodia
Mexico
India
Ireland
Yours
Role of the Attractions
 Visitor attractions can be classified as follows:
• Natural attractions (example mountains,
forests, coastline, lakes/waterways, landscape
features)
• Built attractions (example theme parks,
museums, heritage centres, sports facilities,
family entertainment centres, cinemas, cultural
attractions, animal parks, historic sites,
shopping centres).
 Popular tourist destinations will contain a range of
attractions. Every attraction, regardless of the size
and scale of operation, will attempt to appeal to as
many visitors as possible in order to maximise
profits and to generate funding to support its
further development. In this way, attractions will
over time introduce new facilities in an attempt to
remain profitably in business.
Role of the Entertainment Venues

 Attractions are an extremely important part of the

tourism industry and are the driving force behind much
of the development that has taken place in a variety of
destinations. It can be argued that tourist attractions
are the most important component in the tourism
system. They are the main motivators for tourist trips
and are at the core of a destination’s tourism product.
 Without attractions there would be no need for many
other tourism services. Indeed, tourism as such would
not exist if it were not for the attractions. A great many
tourist attractions have strong entertainment
connections, being areas that are used primarily for an
audience to be engaged or captivated.
 These include sports stadiums, theatres, and
museums, all of which could be considered to be
tourist attractions. Indeed many entertainment venues
are seen as tourist attractions.
Role of the Entertainment Venues

 An important characteristic of many entertainment venues is the fact that they

offer products, services and facilities that appeal to different types of customer.
For example, Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England is famous for being
the home of the Grand National Steeplechase. However, the race course
generates revenues from hosting a variety of events apart from horse racing.
The race course grandstands can be used for business tourism events such
as conferences, seminars, exhibitions and various types of meetings.
 The venue caters to weddings and other types of private functions as well.
Aintree’s International Equestrian Centre was launched in 2007 as part of a
£35m redevelopment program. This new facility, primarily used for show
jumping and equestrian events, also has the dual purpose of being 37002m of
exhibition space with an additional area of
11002m allowing space for catering or storage.
 Since its opening in 2007, this exhibition
space has been used for an array of high-
profile and important events such as music
concerts attracting over 45,000 visitors to
see acts such as Pink, Deacon Blue, Amy
Winehouse, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes.