The aim of this paper is to answer three questions: How important is tourism in Conway, what problems and benefits does it bring to Conway, and how can tourism be best managed

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Geography Coursework                Alice Schurov

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to answer three questions: How important is tourism in Conway, what problems and benefits does it bring to Conway, and how can tourism be best managed in the future? To answer these questions, we travelled to North Wales and visited Conway town. I constructed a plan of action, questionnaire, made photographs and sketches and collected leaflets to help me approach the questions.  

Conway is a small town situated just off the border of Snowdonia national park and therefore surrounded by some of the most stunning scenery in the United Kingdom. Snowdonia is the second largest National Park out of the eleven in England and Wales. The National Park covers 832 square miles of the most beautiful scenery in North Wales and attracts an estimated 6-10 million visitors enjoy activities in Snowdonia National Park. Because access in National Parks is restricted, Conway Town and its surroundings are clean and unspoilt. Conway is located in good reach of the A547 and the A55, providing good links to the town. There is also a railway from London to Holyhead. There are twelve different buses, which travel to Conway town from all over the Conway area. There are several airports located not far from Conway, providing easy access to the district.

I have drawn up a table to show airports close to Conway:

Many tourists visiting the region are drawn to Conway and its beautiful castle. Wales is known throughout the world for its dramatic mountain scenery and its once thriving woollen industry. But Wales is also renowned for its castles – there are almost 400 of them in various states of repair and dating from various periods in history and scattered all over the country. The most spectacular of the Welsh castles are those constructed by King Edward I during the 13th Century during his conquest of Wales – a collection of dramatic and rather formidable fortresses of which Conway Castle is one of the most beautiful. Conway’s castle is a key part to the small seaside town, adding to the unique and pleasant atmosphere. Walking down the streets or along the castle walls, tourists are almost spiritually brought back to the times of the knights and sieges reigning over the town back in the days when it was built.

Conway’s tourist industry is thriving; tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing industries. It is an important factor in the economy of most developed countries today. In Britain it employs more than two million people and is the chief source of income in many places. Conway chiefly relies on tourism to obtain income, create jobs and as a result to improve the locals’ standard of living. Tourism has grown rapidly over the last fifty years, mainly as a result of globalisation (the ease of people moving around the world). This is because many more people can afford holidays, as today; people earn more money and receive holiday pay. Working hours have become more flexible and it is much easier to take leave from work outside the traditional holiday times of Easter, Christmas and mid-summer. This means that workers can take holidays whenever is more convenient for them. People have more holiday allowance from work today. On average people in the UK have three weeks of holiday a year. Consequently, many people in the UK can and will go on holiday more than once a year. People’s lifestyles and interests have changed, they are more eager to explore new places or go on more active holidays. Conway and its surroundings are ideal for such people, as it has beautiful scenery to offer and there are plenty of activities in Snowdonia National Park ranging from mountain hikes to rock climbing and various other more extreme activities. There has been a large increase in the availability of cheap flights from budget airlines. This allows people to travel to more destinations and often go away for long weekends. There has also been an increase in package holidays, which also makes holiday booking and planning much cheaper and easier. The Internet has made it easier for people to gather more information about various destinations and book flights at short notice. The Internet also allows tourists to hire cars or accommodation in advance, wherever they may be staying.

In recent years tourism has become one of the most important growth sectors of the United Kingdom’s economy. It is responsible for almost 9% of all jobs in Wales and brings in over £1.3 billion each year. The whole of the North Wales Coast is a major tourist area, attracting millions of visitors annually. Because of this, the local economy has starting depending upon tourism in order to earn its livelihood. During the summer the number of people staying within Conway County Borough, increases dramatically due to high levels of tourism. 15% of all tourist accommodation in Wales is within Conway. It has been suggested that tourists spend around 13.3 million days in Conway altogether each year and Conway spends around £380 million per year on tourism. Many of the jobs are seasonal but tourism does help to create permanent jobs, if indirectly in the service trades. There is much more demand for various products so manufacturing industries have benefited too. There are improved transport links. But consequently, expectations from tourists have risen, contributing to a higher demand for new and improved facilities.

Here is the plan of action I drew up before we went to visit Conway:

Plan of Action

The three questions I must answer are:

  1. How important is tourism in Conway?
  2. What problems and benefits does it bring to Conway?
  3. How can tourism be best managed in the future?

To answer each question fully, I will consider each question in detail, obtain evidence and construct a questionnaire to ask locals. Once I have collected my information and statistics in Conway, I will research each question on the Internet, which should help provide answers to questions such as ‘how much money tourism brings in’

This plan of action, however, is focused on what I will do in Conway and how I will obtain my information.

How important is tourism in Conway?

  • Tourism strongly affects employment and the economy in Conway
  • To research this further, I will ask at the job centre, observe the places people work in the town and perhaps buy a newspaper with job vacancies.
  • I will observe the ways in which tourism has affected the appearance of Conway
  • The appearance of houses and shops and what impact this has on employment and economy.
  • I will draw sketches of the presentation of shops and analyse the effect this has on tourism.
  • In Conway I made a street plan showing all the shops along the high street, I late analysed whether they were high order or low order and whether they were tourist - orientated
  • I will observe buildings that have been restored (including Conway Castle)
  • I will collect a few leaflets to find further information about landmarks and historic tourist attractions.
  • I will also ask at the tourist information office for any further information on sites of interest. e.g. Conway Castle.
  • I will also visit tourist attractions, such as Conway Marina, which attracts tourists all year round.
  • I took photographs of the marina and made a sketch.

What problems and benefits does tourism bring to Conway?

  • Tourism brings money
  • Tourism brings employment
Join now!
  • In my questionnaire I will ask whether the locals are employed and whether their jobs are to do with tourism.
  • I will also investigate further into how seasonal the employment is (whether most people only have jobs in the summer months and not in the winter)
  • Buildings have been refurbished
  • Lots of new shops and businesses have been opened
  • I will also ask about the amount of new shops and businesses that have been opened or are going to be opened in the near future in my questionnaire.
  • Tourism brings lots of traffic to ...

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