The International Airport of Heathrow

Question: Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of hospitality and tourism products and services. Identify and explain the roles played by tourism and hospitality organisations in the development of tourism industry. Explain approaches and processes of tourism planning. Answer: The International Airport of Heathrow The Heathrow airport is found in the Western side of Central London. It has a central waiting area in terminal five. The airport is used by over eighty airlines that fly to around 185 destinations in eighty-four countries. The airport has Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Anglican, Free Church, and Catholic chaplains. It also has a prayer room where people with different faiths can go and also counseling rooms found inside all its five terminals. It also hosts the St. Georges multi-church congregations in an underground chamber (Bowman Simons, 2011). Accommodation Corinthian Hotels It is situated in the heart of the London city. The hotel is closer to River Thames. The hotel is just a distance away from Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Westminster. The hotel is also near the city and Mayfair. The hotel is praised for its stylish suites, imaginative penthouses and fine rooms that offer the state of art twenty first century luxuries. It also within a walking distance to the Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the houses of parliament, the National gallery, West end theaters and other beautiful areas (Aitken, 2011). Shopping areas The Blue Water Mall The Blue Water Mall is located out of the town center in a place called Stone. It is 28.6km Eastern of Londons Centre. It has a park that occupies 240 acres (97ha). It is also said to have a sales floor area of about 154,000m (1,600,000ft) that is above two levels. This makes the mall to be ranked as fourth biggest shopping center inside Britain. Its floor plan is known to take a triangular shape that has 330 stores, three anchors, forty restaurants and cafes. The mall also boasts of a thirteen-cinema screen. Museum The Imperial War Museums It is a national museum organization with five of its branches around England. Three of these are in London. The museum keeps photographs, archives of official and personal documents, video and film material, and all oral history records. In addition, it also has a large art collection, a large library and also some examples of military aircraft and vehicles, artifacts and some other equipments (Balmer Raphael, 2015). Religious Building The Westminster Abbey It is located in London inside the city of Westminster, just next to the palace of Westminster. It has been one of the notable religious buildings and also a customary situates of burial as well as a coronation place for the England royals. It has two towers known as the Western towers that were built between the year 1722 and 1745 by a person known as Hawksmoor Nicholas. He built it using Portland stone, Purbeck marble used on the walls and floors (Trowels, 2013). The Westminster Abbey It is located in the Westminster city. The Abbey is a living pageant of Englands history like Queens, Kings, soldiers, statesmen, priests, villains, poets, and heroes. The Abbey receives over one million tourists and visitors who come to have an experience of the wonderful seven hundred year old building. Visitors who come to Westminster are provided with Audio guides, which are available in eleven languages that are French, German, Russian, Portuguese, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, Japanese, and Polish. These audio guides are free and come with individual entry tickets. The Westminster tour takes around one hour. To visit Westminster, all adults are required to pay a fee of twenty Euros while the children pay a fee of nine dollars. However for children under the age of five years, they are not required to pay any fee. The Westminster has facilities like: bathrooms, designatedwheelchairs, level access lifts or ramps, which take you to a restaurant. It has communication facilities like hearing loop system (McAlpine, 2015). It caters for special dietary needs of those who come to visit. Those who have disabilities like the lame are able to access the building due to availability of trained staff when it comes to handling people with disabilities. The building also has a drop-off point outside its main entrance for guests who come in vehicles to park. The building has routes for different visitors. There is a route, which is suitable for those using wheelchairs, which are often provided freely by the Westminster. It has attraction facilities like the audio commentaries, giftshops, patrontoilets, indoors and outdoors. It has catering facilities like event catering, restaurants, picnic sites, and vegetarian options when it comes to their menu. The building also has event facilities and conference rooms and meeting rooms. The payment options available include; creditcards, traveller cheques, and debit cards that are all accepted when a visitor wants to pay. The life of the Westminster is known for revolving around morning prayers, worshipping, the Eucharist and the Evensong. Its services are always open to the public (Nicholson Wright, 2016). Roles Played by the Culture, Sports and Media Department in Britain This department of the United Kingdom government has many responsibilities when it comes to sports and culture in Britain and also some other aspects related to media throughout Britain like regulation of internet and broadcasting. It also has an important role in the leisure, creative industries and tourism. (Mason, 2015). The departments other major duties include preparation of ancient monuments export authorizing of the customary commodities, managing of the governments painting collections as well as listing of all historic buildings within the United Kingdom. This is also the department that is tasked with overseeing state royal funerals and ceremonial occasions, organizing of Britains annual Remembrance Dayceremonies, provision of humanitarian aid when disasters occur. The department also has policy control over three statutory corporations and also other two broadcasting authorities, which are independent of the governments policy influence. These bodies include; Historic Royal Palaces, Office of Communications, Channel, Four Television Corporation. The public broadcasting authorities under this department include the Sianel Pedwar, S4C Authority together with the British Broadcasting Corporation. The department is also responsible for other non-departmental public entities like the Arts Council England, British Library, British Film Institute, with many more others. The department is also the main sponsor of some advice-giving non-departmental public entities like the Treasure Valuation Committee, Reviewing Committee on the Export of Objects of Cultural Interest and Works of Art and Theatres Trust. (Park, 2011). Visit Britain This is the official tourist board of the United Kingdom. It plays a very important part in raising Englands profile worldwide, building the countries tourism product, increasing the value and volume of tourism exports and at the same time developing the countries visitor economy. The department achieves this by partnering with many different stakeholders around the country and also outside its borders. It provides the different industries based in Britain with research to help the industries build their tourism business. It encourages inspirational marketing that is relevant so as to target better product development (Hitchens, 2016). Visit Scotland It is a national tourism organization that is charged with the main responsibility of promoting Scotland as the best destination for visitors. It gives Scotland a real worldwide presence in the global marketplace. This greatly benefits the whole of Scotland. Visit Scotland core objective is to contribute to the tourism 2020 strategy goal of growing its tourism revenues by one billion Euros by that time. Visit Scotland has adopted several strategies for achieving this. (Park, 2011). Principles of Destination Management Plan These Principles are for individuals and organizations that have an interest in working together so as to realize some more benefits in their areas so as to be able to attract more visitors. It is all about agreeing on the future and current priorities and activities involved in a more systematic way by using the principles of destination management plan. These principles are very important as they help in (Mason, 2015); Establishing emerging destinations management organizations or those that have become loose. The principles help separate organizations that have relevant duties and interests like the local authorities, the private sector, heritagebodies, community groups and tourism associations. They help committee members or individuals that have an interest in the process of destination management at different stages. There are five main principles involved when it comes to planning, they include: Agreeing to Plan Together All good plans always require good planning for them to be successful. It is always important to at least spend some time to discuss, think and agree about a certain idea or ideas when it comes to developing a destination management plan. We must know all the things that are required so as to come up with a very tangible and appropriate plan. When planning we should always ask ourselves some very vital questions like; What the plan is all about, why should we do it, whether this plan is appropriate for that particular area, who will be involved and what really needs to be put into it. 2) Gathering of Evidence All the destination management plans are always good when they are evidence based rather than just building them based on assumptions or on some limited knowledge and opinion. It is important to always be aware of all information that may have been collected by individuals, previous visitor economy plans, research and strategies available for different sectors. We can also use the national data at the present. Putting together information about a particular smaller area within the destination. 3) Setting the Direction After gathering enough and adequate evidence about a particular destination in terms of performance we now use the evidence to identify the desired goals that we want for the visitors economy in the future. We formulate the best way of achieving this goal. These goals must however be guarded by an element of realism meaning they can be attained within the planned period. 4) Identifying the Action It is important to identify very clear actionable plans when it comes to implementing the destination management plan. These action plans must be guided by plans strategic objectives. These actions must relate to the way these management plans are framed, prioritized and selected. The major aim of the management plan is to coordinate actions among the different stakeholders. However, individual organizations are the ones accountable for the quality of their products as destination management plan can only raise awareness influence and encourage improvements that are supposed to be made. 5) Measuring Progress and Keeping it going Every Destination Management Plan must be seen as a living entity that must always be kept fresh and relevant by constantly using it. This may call for structure to be put in place to support the Destination Management Plan with ongoing communication and reporting.programme of reviewing, a process for assessing DMP impact and its renewal. References Aitken, T. (2011). One Hundred One Beautiful Towns of Great Britain. Averbuck, A. (2015). Lonely Planet Europe (Travel Guide). Balmer, D., Raphael, A. (2015). Good Hotel Guides 2016 Great Britain and Ireland. Bowman, M. W., Simons, G. (2011). London's Airports: Useful Information on Gatwick,Luton,Stansted,City and Heathrow. Higgins, C. (2015). Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain. Hitchens, F. E. (2016). Aircraft Museums of the United Kingdom. Knightley, L. (2016). London 2016: A Travel Guide to the Top Twenty Things to do in London,England: Best of London,United Kingdom,Great Britain. Mason, P. (2015). Tourism Impacts,Planning and Management. McAlpine, F. (2015). Stuff Brits Like: A Guide to What's Great About Great Britain. Nicholson, L., Wright, A. (2016). National Geographic Traveller: London,4th Edition. Park, R. (2011). Hidden Scotland: Tartan Tourism. Runcie, I. (2013). The Number 11 Bus Tour of London. Trowels, T. (2013). Treasures of Westminster Abbey. Weaver, S. (2015). The History of Graet Britain.