7BSP1327 Field Research

Introduction

Tourism is one of the major contributors to the global economy. Many countries across the globe depends on tourism industry as their highest GDP earners. Tourism as said earlier has been long accepted as an economic activity of attracting tourists and catering to the needs  which has grown strongly into the world’s largest industry and surpassing other sectors which includes the likes of steel, agriculture, automobiles and many others as such (Connell et al. 2017). The last decade has saw an unprecedented rise in the global tourism activities and the choices of destination that are available to the tourists continues to expand. The rise in competition among the different destinations, the offerings of the different destinations, special discounts to the visitors, arrangement of special events for the visitors and the presentation of the best possible infrastructure are some of the major factors that helps in the development of the tourism industry in the most effective manner. The successful promotion of a destination to the target market can help the business organization to develop the tourism industry in the most effective and organized manner. The development of the destination tourism can favour the growth of the secondary market and can help in the development of the local economy. Therefore it can be said that destination image plays an important and crucial role in the development of the tourism industry of a particular destination that is viable for long term tourism business.

The report here has presented the case of Liverpool in the United Kingdom as the destination image. Liverpool is a major city in the Merseyside of England and is best known for its culture, artistic works and football teams (Connell et al. 2017). The city lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire which makes it one of the must visit places of the country. The city won the European Capital of Culture title in the year 2008 and has been a symbol of artistic elements (Brocken 2021). The city can be said to be the mixture of a modern and traditional artistic culture and heritage properties. The city holds immense opportunities for the development and expansion of the tourism industry (Brocken 2021). The Government of the United Kingdom has stepped in to develop a new tourism policy in the year 2011 which has been important for the development of the tourism in the whole of the United Kingdom including that of Liverpool (visitliverpool.com 2021).

Tourism Industry

The tourism industry of the United Kingdom is one of the largest industries of the country and has a healthy contribution to the development of the economy of the country. The development of the tourism industry of the country has been dependent on the policies and regulations of the country which helps the business to develop the organization in an effective and organized manner (Connell et al. 2017). The Government of the United Kingdom has stepped in to develop a new tourism policy in the year 2011 which has been important for the development of the tourism in the whole of the United Kingdom including that of Liverpool (visitliverpool.com 2021). The new policy aims to fund the most ambitious marketing campaign of the organization in order to attract the visitors to the country and also develop the business efficiently. The pound 100 million campaign that was co-funded by the government and the private sector aims to attract more and more visitors to the country. A target of 4 million extra visitors has been set out by the government which can help in the further growth and increase in the development of the country (Brocken 2021). The establishment of the tourism industry council by the government of United Kingdom has been another development in promoting UK as a tourist destination. The council aims to develop England’s share in the global visitor market and offer compelling destinations of distribution. Such a developmental process is important for the development of the tourism in the most efficient and effective manner.

Liverpool has been one of the best cities that has experienced unparalleled growth in tourism over the last few years (visitliverpool.com 2021). The recession period of 2008 has had a serious impact over the development of the business but fortunately the city has withstand all the different challenges that came its way and has been able to provide a valued tourism service to the different visitors in the city. The city has registered a visitor economy that is worth around Pound4.9 billion and around 72,000 employees are directly or indirectly associated with the tourism industry in the country (visitliverpool.com 2021). The city has always been on the top five of the most visited cities in terms of tourism in the United Kingdom (Brocken 2021). Apart from this the port city is also famous for different cruiseliners which operate from the Liverpool port and is one of the major attractions of the city. Apart from this, the high quality hotels, presence of international level shopping centres as well as presence of the business in the most effective public transport systems provides all the necessary elements that are important for the development of Liverpool as not only one of the best tourism destinations of the UK and the Europe but also one of the best across the globe. The use of such elements can thus help the tourism industry to develop Liverpool as the destination image of the United Kingdom.

Liverpool Tourism Industry and Visitor Economy

As mentioned earlier, Liverpool has been one of the best tourism centres across the United Kingdom. The unique features of Liverpool tourism combined with the amazing destinations of the city makes it one of the most visited places of the country (Brocken 2021). The blend of culture, people, infrastructure, art, sports and economic foundation makes Liverpool the best example to serve as the destination for the development of the tourism industry. The strategic development of the city is the development of the tourism culture of the city is based on the development of a number of different kinds of policies and procedures that have been developed by the UK government to promote and market UK as a tourist destination. One of the most common terms of the tourism process is Visitor Economy (Brocken 2021). The development of visitor economy is based on the development of a number of different types of aims that are important for the development of the tourism industry. Some of the aims of the tourism industry are as follows;

1. Promotion of Liverpool as the destination image through the development of a single integrated marketing agency that can be important for the development of the brands in the most effective and organized process.
2. Placing the visitor economy at the heart of the marketing strategy of the company
3. Using the personal connectivity of the visitors and encouraging them to visit again in the city
4. To further integrate and align Transport and Visitor Economy policy and market opportunities
5. Development of the visitor economy in a responsible and sustainable process which is also equally important for the development of the tourism industry in Liverpool city
6. Improvement of the performance and productivity of the different forms of primary and secondary business organizations associated with the tourism industry in Liverpool

Product and Destination Image

Liverpool as a destination is very famous across the United Kingdom as well as Europe as because the city has been one of the most visited regions in the UK and always stays within the top 5 most visited places of the country. There are close to 65 million people who visits Liverpool across the year and the visitor economy of the region is valued approximately at pound 4.3 billion (Grimmer & Vorobjovas-Pinta 2019). The recession period of 2008 has had a serious impact over the development of the business but fortunately the city has withstand all the different challenges that came its way and has been able to provide a valued tourism service to the different visitors in the city (Connell et al. 2017). The city has registered a visitor economy that is worth around Pound4.9 billion and around 72,000 employees are directly or indirectly associated with the tourism industry in the country. The presence of high quality hotels, presence of international level shopping centres as well as presence of the business in the most effective public transport systems provides all the necessary elements that are important for the development of Liverpool as a tourism destination (Grimmer & Vorobjovas-Pinta 2019). The Liverpool tourism industry has the reputation of being a job supportive economy as many other industries are dependent on the tourism industry of the city for their development. Some of them includes the likes of accommodation, food and beverages, drinks, shopping, transportation, sports as well as cruise industry (visitliverpool.com 2021). The development of Liverpool as the destination image is thus totally feasible and acceptable (Kim and Hall 2020). The development of the city as the product and destination image is developed through the development of the industry in an effective and organized process that can be beneficial for the interest of the stakeholders of the industry (visitliverpool.com 2021).

Stakeholders of the Tourism industry

Stakeholders are the most important part of the tourism industry. The Liverpool Tourism industry is by no means different from other tourism industries as it also consists of different types of stakeholders that support the development of the industry in the most effective and organized manner (Kim and Hall 2020). Stakeholders can help the industry to identify the right trends and accordingly change and develop their way of marketing. The development of the stakeholders in the tourism industry in Liverpool can thus be said to be one of the most important areas that needs to be addressed in the development of Liverpool as the destination image of the United Kingdom. The different stakeholders of the Liverpool Tourism industry consists of the likes of visitors, locals and the industry itself. The critical examination of the product provisions are presented below. The product here refers to Liverpool while the different product provisions refers to the likes of Accommodation, events and visitor attractions of Liverpool. The provisions have been discussed in detail below;

Accommodation 

Liverpool is one such city of the United Kingdom that prides itself on the presence of a large number of luxury big brands to different types of independent hostels, small living apartments, cheap hotels and many more as such. Part from this there are also self-catering apartments as well as B&B’s, inns and Guest Houses (liverpoollep.org 2021). The presence of so many different options presents the best opportunity for the city to become the best tourist destination for visitors from both domestic and international countries. Some of the best hotels in Liverpool are Seel street hotel by Epic, Hope street hotel, Titanic Hotel, Holiday inn express, Liverpool Marriott and many more as such (liverpoollep.org 2021). Apart from this some common yet magnificent B&B’s and Inns in Liverpool are namely the likes of Knowsley Hall, Peel hay, Edendale house and many more as such. The presence of so many options as well as locational advantages of the hotels and other accommodations makes the destination image of Liverpool more attractive and elegant in nature.  

Events

Liverpool is host to a number of different events that are divided into paid and free events. Some of them are as follows;

• Mersey River festival (attendance-more than 350,000)
• River of Light (attendance-close to 110,000)
• Africa Oye (attendance-80,000)
• International Music Festival (attendance-more than 120,000)

• Open Championship (attendance-more than 240,000)
• Southport Flower Show - (attendance-more than 54,000)
• Merseyside Derby- (attendance-more than 50,000)
• Musical Fireworks- (attendance-more than 35,000)

All the above mentioned events present a scope for Liverpool to showcase its cultural aspects in an effective and organized manner which can be important for the development of the tourism industry of the city in the most organized manner. The different such events presents a proper opportunity to the tourism industry of the city to target the right set of individuals and ensure developmental process in the most efficient and effective manner.

Visitor Attractions 

Liverpool as a destination city of the United Kingdom is always at the top of the visitors. It has been always on the top 5 most visited places of the United Kingdom which clearly proves its capability and value that it provides the persons visiting the country (liverpoollep.org 2021). Some of the major attractions of Liverpool are as follows;

1. Anfield Stadium (Home of Liverpool F.C) - the home ground of the famous European club is a must visit for the people visiting Liverpool (in 2021). It will help people to walk through the history of the club and people will be able to watch the rich history of the club.
2. Royal Albert Dock- Royal Albert Dock is located at the Liverpool Port and is a place where history and modern day infrastructure combines and makes up a cultural centre in the city of Liverpool.
3. Liverpool cathedral- One of the great cathedrals of the city and undoubtedly one of the best in the United Kingdom. It presents the visitors a mediaeval feeling that is surely something which makes the place a must visit (in 2021).
4. Museum of Liverpool- One of the largest in the United Kingdom, it helps to unfold the history of the city as it contains artefacts and different other historical and cultural heeds of history that are quite important for the visitors.
5. Beatles Statue- A favourite selfies and photographic zone as the taller than life like statues of the immortal permanent four of the Beatles group. Visiting these place can help to arose the nostalgia of Beatles musical journey for another time.

Destination Management Plan for Liverpool Tourism Industry

Liverpool has set out a shared and ambitious vision for the development of a visitor economy as well as the growth of Liverpool as the destination for visitors. The following strategy sets out a developed, clear and effective vision for the development of visitor economic strategy. The following strategy helps in the development of the different kinds of growth that can increase the competitiveness of the city region and maximize the growth of the wealth in an effective manner (visitliverpool.com 2021). Some of the major target for the development of Liverpool as a destination city for the visitors and making all the possible arrangements for the development of value for the stakeholders are as follows;

1. Assisting in the growth of the business development process
2. Maintenance of ranking as the top 5 most visited places in the United Kingdom for international as well as national visitors
3. Increase in the number of tourism supported jobs
4. Development of the visitor economy in a responsible and sustainable process which is also equally important for the development of the tourism industry in Liverpool city
5. Improvement of the performance and productivity of the different forms of primary and secondary business organizations associated with the tourism industry in Liverpool

References and Bibliography

Brocken, M., 2021. Beatles Heritage Tourism in Liverpool. Fandom and the Beatles: The Act You've Known for All These Years, p.255.

Connell, J., Page, S.J., Sheriff, I. and Hibbert, J., 2017. Business engagement in a civil society: Transitioning towards a dementia-friendly visitor economy. Tourism Management, 61, pp.110-128.

Grimmer, L., & Vorobjovas-Pinta, O. (2019). From the sharing economy to the visitor economy: the impact on small retailers. International Journal of Tourism Cities.

Kim, M.J. and Hall, C.M., 2020. Investment crowdfunding in the visitor economy: the roles of venture quality, uncertainty, and funding amount. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(20), pp.2533-2554.

Kim, M.J. and Hall, C.M., 2020. What drives visitor economy crowdfunding? The effect of digital storytelling on unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, p.100638.

Liu, Y.D., 2017. Quality of life as event legacy: An evaluation of Liverpool as the 2008 European Capital of Culture. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 12(3), pp.653-670.

Liverpool Enterprise Partnership. 2021. Visitor Economy Destination Management Plan. [online] Available at: <https://www.liverpoollep.org/growth-sectors/visitor-economy/dmp/> [Accessed 19 April 2021].

Liverpoollep.org. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.liverpoollep.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/wpid-digest-of-tourism-statistics-12-2013.pdf> [Accessed 19 April 2021].

Liverpoollep.org. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.liverpoollep.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Tourism-Data-Summary-August-2018.pdf> [Accessed 19 April 2021].

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