too crowded, leading to unnecessary queue times and an unpleasant time for
the visitors.
1:2 Income
The income that an attraction makes is not based solely on the entrance fee
multiplied by the number of visitors, a good tourist attraction would have
other features such as a coffee bar, restaurant, and gift shop. Features like
these also enhance the visitor’s experience, encouraging numerous visits
throughout the lifespan of the attraction. For attractions where the entrance is
free, the only profit it will make is through these other features, so it is
important that they are of good quality.
1:3 Catchment area
Most tourist attractions in England have a ‘2 hour drive’ catchment area. A
good tourist attraction knows its market and will usually stick to the range of
people it knows may be interested in visiting its attraction. Internationally
known attractions, for example the Disney parks, have to market their
attraction in a different way than small, local attractions. The key to getting
the right people to come to the attraction is good market research. The
management of the attraction need to know whom their attraction will appeal
to and how far people are prepared to travel.
1:4 Repeat Visits
A good tourist attraction should have many repeat visitors, that is, visitors who
came to the attraction once and thought that it was so good that they have
wished to visit it again. Ways for an attraction to gain more repeat visitors is
by putting on shows, or variating the content of the attraction. For example
when Alton Towers theme park opens a new ride, people wish to visit again as
the last time they went, the ride did not exist. The Royal Armouries Museum
puts on new events and shows at different times in the year so people will re-
visit in order to see these new events.
1:5 Safety and Special Needs
Safety is one of the most important features of a good tourist attraction. The
attraction must always abide by the safety regulations and thorough safety
checks must be made on a regular basis. Not abiding by these rules could lead
to accidents and closure of the attraction. Good tourist attractions should also
provide and cater for people with disabilities and special needs as best as they
can by providing parking spaces, lifts and ramps, and alternative activities.
Disabled people and their carers do make up a reasonable enough percentage
of the total visitors to not be ignored.
1:6 Visitor Experience
The visitor’s experience of the attraction is the most important part of a good
tourist attraction. Visitors must find the staff pleasant, helpful, and well
trained. Food provided in cafes and restaurants must be of good quality and
reasonably priced. The entrance ticket must also be in an affordable price
range. Health and safety regulations must have clearly been applied
throughout the attraction. It must be well signposted and accessible. All these
factors contribute to the visit, and if all are well done, it increases the
likeliness of them visiting again and telling their friends about it, which will
increase the visitor numbers.
Summary
This report is about what makes a good tourist attraction and aims to determine how
a tourist attraction is successful, with different issues such as visitor numbers, the
amount of profit the attraction makes, the people who visit the attraction, whether
people re-visit the attraction, the safety of attractions, and catering for people with
special needs.
Aims
The aim of this report is to go through the different aspects of tourist attractions that
are used to make it successful and say what would make them a good tourist
attraction.
Objectives
To achieve the aim of the report, which was to say what would make a good tourist
attraction, the objective was to collect information on good and bad tourist attractions
to decipher what the most important points in the success of a tourist attraction were,
and then go into greater detail within the main body of the report.
Contents
Summary……………………………………………………………………...page 3
Aims…………………………………………………………………………..page 4
Objectives…………………………………………………………………….page 5
Introduction…………………………………………………………………..page 6
1.Features of a good tourist attraction………………………………………..page 7
1:1 Visitors…………………………..……………………………………….page 7
1:2 Income…………………………………………………………………...page 8
1:3 Catchment area…………………………………………………………..page 8
1:4 Repeat Visits……………………………………………………………..page 8
1:5 Safety and Special Needs………………………………………………..page 9
1:6 Visitor experience……………………………………………………….page 9
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...page 10
References……………………………………………………………………page 11
Introduction
‘Tourist attractions have an important role to play in world tourism since they often
provide the motivation force for travel, thereby energising the many components of
the tourism industry.’ (Youell, 1998) It is for this reason that good tourist attractions
are vital for the industry. This report will go into the elements of what makes a good
tourist attraction, and what makes it successful. The information in this report was
mainly obtained from knowledge learnt on the International Tourism Management
course, books and the Internet.
Conclusion
The main findings of this report were that in order to have a good tourist attraction,
the attraction must attract a reasonable amount of visitors to keep the business in
profit, the attraction should include features other than the main attraction, for
example a coffee bar, the attraction needs to be marketed in the right area and to the
right people, the attraction must be constantly updated so as to attract repeat visitors,
it must accommodate for people with disabilities and special needs, and the attraction
must be safe so there is no risk for visitors and members of staff. Visitors must find
the attraction pleasant and the staff must readily take on board any complaints that are
made.
Reference
Youell, R (1998) Tourism, an introduction, p33