Investigate and evaluate the effect of tourism in the seaside towns of Cromer and Southend-on-Sea.

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Thomas Southcott                                                                   page /                   

Geography Coursework

              Introduction

        

Tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry. Every country in the world is putting significant amounts of money into tourism. It increases the amount of income coming into the area. IT means there will be better Facilities, such as shops, transport etc… Employment rises. Roads are better looked after, and the economy becomes greater.

Yet tourism also has its disadvantages. It produces more litter in the initial and surrounding areas. It creates a lot of pollution from transport and manufacturing of goods. It can make an area overcrowded and it can also encourage crime.  

Aim: To investigate and evaluate the effect of tourism in the seaside towns of Cromer and Southend-on-Sea.

        Hypothesis:

  1. Tourism increases the amount of litter in commercial areas
  2. Tourism increases the amount of car congestion
  3. Commercial areas will be more populated than residential areas
  4. There would be more older aged tourists than middle aged tourists
  5. Tourism will be writhe near amusements or entertainment
  6. There will be more retail near the coast than inland
  7. Residents will feel tourism is good for the economy

 

        I will prove these hypotheses correct or incorrect by using the data I have collected and presented. I will look at the data and I will check the results to see if there is a lot of litter in a certain area for example. The information I have gathered will help me understand why my hypotheses are correct or incorrect.

History of Southend:

        Prittlewell was the original settlement from which the borough of Southend grew. In 1892 the town achieved the status of a Borough and formed its first Town Council. Further expansion occurred in 1913 when the fishing village of Leigh - famous now for its seafood and attractive conservation area - became part of the borough, and in 1914 Southend was granted the status of a County Borough. The northern bank of the Thames upon which Southend-on-Sea is located (see Fig 1) has been populated from distant times. From about 3,000 BC to 1st Century AD people of the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age inhabited the district. There was afterwards successive occupation by Romans, Saxons and Danes. Evidence of all these Ages is exhibited at the Museum, Prittlewell Priory.

History of Cromer:

        Cromer used to consist of two towns Shipden-juxta-mare, which fell into the sea, and Shipden-juxta-felbrigg, which became Cromer (the location can be seen in FIG 1.1) in 1801 with a population of 673. Pre 1877 Cromer was a fishing village, fishermen mainly fished for Cod and Crab. The village became famous for its Crab and people started spending money in the village.

          1877 and railways arrived in Cromer making it easier for people to get to Cromer. This helped to accelerate the development of Cromer. In 1887 the Beach Station opened and the line was extended to Sherrigham (Town not that far away). Tourism rapidly increased and fishermen started to rent their cottages to tourists.

        1894 a sea wall was built to help protect the coast from the sea; promenade was also built so people could walk along the coast. 1895 and large hotels opened or expanded increasing the quantity and quality of the accommodation in Cromer. 1901 The pier was built in Cromer to replace the fishermen’s jetty. 1911 and the town is at its tourism peak. 66,000 people visited Cromer by train alone each day, since when numbers have declined.

What is there at Southend?

        Southend has the largest Pier in Europe. This would bring lots of tourists to the area that want to sight see. Southend also has a very mildly successful football team that would bring tourists in the form of opposing supporters. Southend also has lots of amusements along the seafront. This would attract lots of younger tourists to the area.

What is there at Cromer?

        At Cromer there is a pier (see fig 1.2) that has been there since 1901 and has survived both World Wars. There are also lots of Hotels in Cromer. This shows us that Cromer has lots of tourists that stay for a couple days or may. There aren’t many amusements in Cromer. This shows us that Cromer has lots of elderly tourists and not very many younger tourists.    

   

 

 

                                

Secondary Information

Resident Population and Age

The resident population of Southend-on-Sea, as measured in the 2001 Census, was 160,257, of which 48 per cent were male and 52 per cent were female.

Resident population (percentage)

Source: 2001 Census, ONS

      Sequence of Events

To complete my coursework there were certain steps that I had to make. These included designing and carrying out questionnaires, and EQI’s. These required me to think of questions to ask and criteria for my EQI.

  • Think of hypothesis to prove right or wrong about tourism the hypothesis must be applicable for both of the locations that I am looking at.
  • Design a Questionnaire to ask people in both Southend and Cromer. The questions must somehow relate to my hypotheses
  • Design an EQI to carry out in both Southend and Cromer. Again the criteria must relate to my hypotheses.
  • Actually carry out the Questionnaire and EQI in Southend and Cromer
  • Plot my findings into tables and graphs and analyse them
  • Find secondary information on the Internet
  • Write out my introduction, method and analysis
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