Tourism brings in many benefits for Windsor such as more disposable income, encouraging the local council to keep the environment clean, increase in entertainment facilities, added vibrancy, higher GDI and much more. The total spend by tourists in the year 2008 was a staggering “£10,452,000,000” [2] and “with the addition of multiplier impacts, tourism was worth £55.3 million in 2008” [2].
The land-use map illustrates that many of the local shops are aimed at tourists. [3] Many of the shops are restaurants, pubs, and cafes and due to decline in tourism, some may close down. Socially, this would affect locals as they will have a loss in there entertainment facilities and economically the impact would be locals having to shut down as bigger companies can afford to stay and therefore Windsor many have a lower GDI(Gross Domestic Income).
In addition to this, I took some images at my visit in Windsor. I analysed them to see what the socio-economic impacts would be if there was a decline in the tourism industry. One of the images demonstrated the multiplier effect and its positive & negative forms. [4] If there are more tourists, more river cruise trips will be made. This will lead to a higher profited income meaning more disposable income, which will lead to a higher GDI resulting in development. However, this could work backwards as in less tourists would mean less trips made. This would the lead to less profits meaning, less disposable income resulting in a lower GDI and less development.
In addition to this, I collected some leaflets and brochures that are usually given to tourists in Windsor. [5] There was a variety of brochures from various companies. Entry costs were listed; for a family of four to travel the tour bus it would cost £39.00. Moreover, there was a range of activities available for tourists for example, a visit to Legoland® Windsor. A range of activities indicates development and management. If there were a decline in the tourism industry, the development and management would stop or degrade. However, the positive aspect of a decline would be that the traffic and pollution would decrease. On the other hand, all these businesses will lose money and become bankrupt. This will affect the publishing companies who have the job to publish these leaflets. This will result in the economy breaking down and the town of Windsor becoming bankrupt. It is highly unlikely that the government would help as currently there is a substantial debt over the UK and the current government is putting restrictions on how much the local council can spend to help their local area. This would result in Windsor not getting enough economical help that would the lead to many jobs being lost consequently meaning numerous homeless people. Then there would be a low quality of life for locals and poor community spirit. In addition, a low quality of life may lead to more health problems due to depression and stress. Funding the town of Windsor would also lead to a bigger burden on the government and social security on a national level.
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^ Questionnaire on Locals (see figure 2 for more details)
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^ The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, 2008, Final Report
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^ Land-use map (see figure 3 & 4 for more details)
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^ Annotated images (see figure 5 for more details)
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^ Collected leaflets & brochures (see figure 6 for more details)
