The post-war Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry.

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The post-war Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry.

  1. Changing Socio-Economic Circumstances.

The car-owning society.

Car ownership- changes over time.

Car ownership has changed dramatically since 1953 in which 3 million cars were owned in the UK, meaning 14% of the population owned cars. But by 1997, 22 million cars were owned in the UK; therefore 68% of the population owned cars.

I found the information for this graph at:  

The graph demonstrates how the number of cars owned in the UK increased from 1979 in 1950 to over 23899 in 2001. Latest data from the department for transport shows that car ownership in 2002 was over 24543 thousand. In another 10 years time I predict that cars owned will be over 26000 and will be continuously increasing.

     

     The increase of car ownership can be based on many factors.

  • One of these main factors is the increase of disposable income. This occurs due to the increase of pay. After people have paid bills and for other necessities, people have more disposable income to spend on cars and other such as leisure and consumer goods.

  • Another issue to consider about the increase of car ownership is that there are flexible ways of borrowing money. Loans enable people to buy cars. Years ago borrowing money was very hard and wasn’t as easy as it is today. This explains the gradual increase of car ownership.

  • In the UK, cars have become relatively cheaper due to automation. This means cars have become more affordable for many people. Also this suggests that productivity has increased as well if the price is cheaper. Meaning there are more offers on cars on the market.

  • I feel car ownership has increased due to how flexible it is. Unlike buses and other public transport, you don’t have a timetable and therefore you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. Having a car is also very convenient due to the flexibility.

  • Unlike public transport, there is no control of route or pace when owning your own car. This gives people the freedom to plan their own journey and go at any pace they would like to. Another reason for the increase of vehicle ownership which relates to public transport is that it is very far reaching. It is not direct and doesn’t reach all destinations possible. This is what makes owning a car such as luxury and a necessity in most people’s lives.

  • Owning a car gives you a personal experience. You can then choose who you want to be with and everything is up to you. When on a bus or train, you endure unpleasant experiences and you have no choice. Having your car gives you the liberty to choose what you do and who you choose to be with.

  • Motorways give car owners the choice to travel easily and quickly to far destinations. It is so simple but yet offers a much efficient journey. The following map shows the motorway network in the UK and M6 Toll. I got the map from:

         

          It shows how easy it is to get around the UK on the motorway                   system.

Conclusion.        

There is a definite clear relationship between the increase of car ownership and the increase of the travel and tourism industry, especially domestic. People who have a car gives them the chance to go to leisure parks, go for a meal at a pub or visit amusement parks. The choices are endless when you have the freedom to go to places when you want, with who you want. Cars give people this freedom.

 

Increased leisure time.

There are many factors that suggest why leisure time has increased since the 19th century. These are the points to consider why:

  • Labour saving technology such as washing machines, microwaves and dishwashers mean that today in the 20th century, these inventions release time for more leisure activities and gives people more spare time to do what they want. 50 years ago people were tied down by doing the washing and cleaning by hand and cooking meals from the bare ingredients. This meant there was generally little time for anything especially leisure time.

  • In 1938, the holidays with pay was introduced by an act of parliament. This gave people entitlements to holidays, which was very new to people. This gave the working class more free time and was paid for.

The hours worked per week have decreased, giving people more leisure time. This can be shown in a graph.

 

I got the information for this graph from Social Trends.

The graph illustrates a steady decrease in the average hours worked per week since the 1920`s. The information from census shows that from 1920 to 2001 the average hours have decreased by 10.11 hours. This proves that decreased working hours mean that leisure time is increased. I predict that in 20 years time working hours will decrease to 33 hours.

  • In the 21st century, more and more people work flexible time. The flexible patterns of work include part time and working shifts, such as working nights, which means people have free days to do what they want. People therefore have more time for leisure, which links to the increase of Travel and Tourism since the 1920`s, making it the fastest growing industry.

  • The UK population is split up into many categories. Young people who go to school have holidays in which they have time to what they want. This leads to an increase in leisure time. Secondly, working people have an average of 6 weeks holiday in which they can do as they wish. But the main distribution to the increase leisure time is the retired people. Many people are sick of working and are always looking for an early retirement. This adds to the increase of leisure time. Also in the UK, there is a large population of people over 55 which are retired. This means they have everyday to do what they want. This increases leisure time and therefore travel and tourism.

Conclusion.

The increase in leisure time has a clear relationship with the increase in travel and tourism. This is because more people therefore have time to visit places and do what they want. Travel and tourism benefits from this greatly as people spend money and visit new places with the increased time they have for leisure. This therefore shows why there is a link between the increased leisure time and the ever increasing industry of travel and tourism.

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Increasing Disposable Income.

People work to earn money. This money firstly, is used to pay for the essentials and basic needs we have. This is income. These necessities are:

  1. Lighting, water, electricity, heating and gas. These are services which everyone needs and income needs to be spent on.
  2. Clothes, food and drink which are basic essentials people need.
  3. Rent and mortgage.
  4. Furnishings.
  5. Communication such as phones or letters.
  6. Transport.

  • Minus all these factors from the income, what money is left over ...

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