The photographs above were taken recently on the seafront at Brighton. Brighton is one of the most famous seaside towns in the UK and has been a tourism destination for about 200 years.
Imagine that as you stood in the area where the photographs were taken, time begins to move backwards! What do you think would happen?
The first thing that would happen would be that the crazy golf course would disappear. The cars would start to look older and eventually we would see horses and carts instead. Further back in time, sunbathers would be wearing more clothes and sitting rather than lying on the beach. Some would be in formal clothes and hats!
Even further back in time, the pier would not exist. We would also see the grand hotels being built with ‘well-to-do’ people coming and going. If time goes backwards for about 300 years we would probably see nothing apart from the beach and a track leading to it.
This would be tourism development in reverse!
All tourism destinations have developed continuously over time; in the case of Brighton over 200 years.
At some point in the past the Brighton seafront would have looked something like the scene below.
Building new attractions and facilities such as hotels and new forms of transport help destinations to keep providing something new for tourists, so that they are encouraged to return.
That’s what this unit is all about. You will be studying how tourist destinations have developed over time, and more importantly how they plan to develop in the future.