Human & Physical Factors Affecting the Growth of Tourism (DP IB Geography)

Revision Note

Growth of Urban Tourism Hotspots

  • A tourist hotspot is an area that attracts a large number of tourists. It may also be called a honeypot

  • Various factors determine whether an area is a hotspot:

    • Climate - hot and sunny weather in summer can lead to seasonality of tourism

    • The culture of an area, such as clothing and food, may encourage more people to visit

    • Natural landscapes such as mountains, rainforests and coasts

    • Government investment and planning may lead to the creation of new sporting arenas

    • Sporting events such as the Olympics

  • To be a successful hotspot, it is most likely that the location would have a range of the following:

    • Accommodation, which reflects the demand 

    • A wide range of transport options

    • Public utilities which meet the needs of visitors

    • Investment from governments

  • Hotspots may be:

    • Seasonal - tourism peaks at particular points in the year

    • Diurnal - tourism may peak at specific points of the day

New York: An urban tourism hotspot

Map illustrating New York City tourism with key statistics such as over $40 billion in spending, 56.5 million visitors in 2022, and 410,000 employed in tourism.
New York - An urban tourism hotspot
  • The primary resources include historical monuments, vibrant cultural scenes and museums

  • Secondary resources have developed across New York to provide for tourists, including hotels, restaurants and modern museums

  • Some challenges caused by tourism in New York City include:

    • The Brooklyn Bridge was closed twice in 2018 due to overcrowding

    • Overselling of access to the Statue of Liberty

    • Over 400ft queue of people who wanted access to the Empire State Building in June 2019

    • Tourism is seasonal in New York due to the climate, with a low season in February

    • In 2020 tourism declined by 65% due to COVID-19

New York tourism strategy

Strategy

Features of the strategy

Infrastructure development

The city is advertised towards a wide range of tourists with its variety of transport and over 120,000 rooms available in hotels

Marketing campaigns

NYC & Company's marketing campaigns, like "NYC Homecoming", provided a week of concerts in Central Park to encourage tourism. COVID-19

It's Time For New York City - a multimedia campaign to attract domestic and international tourists

A multimedia campaign, SavorNYC which has a monthly food theme

Cultural events

New York Fashion Week and the Tribeca Film Festival

Sustainability initiatives

Green certification programmes exist in partnership with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Bike sharing with Citi Bike 

Zero Emission buses

Digital innovation

Smart tourism apps such as ‘sit or squat’ monitor the cleanliness of toilets in the city

RiseNY offers replica visits on the first subway trip from 1904, interactive galleries and flight simulation

Collaboration with stakeholders

The city collaborates with businesses, hotels, and attractions to ensure a coordinated approach to managing and promoting tourism sustainably

  • New York's tourism strategy also aims to:

    • Increase the number of international travellers

      • They will spend longer in the city, which will increase visitor spending

    • Create multicultural content hubs which celebrate the diversity of the communities that make up New York

    • Launch a Halal travel guide for the city

    • Decrease seasonality 

      • New York City hotel week encourages tourism in the winter and offers a discount on hotel rooms

    • Invest over $20 billion in the city’s major airports

    • Diversify tourism through Gansevoort Peninsula, which is Manhattan’s first public beach 

    • Increase transport  

      • A new railway station opened in 2021 to relieve pressure from Penn Street Station

    • Regenerate public spaces

      • The HighLine was developed from a disused railway track

    • Increase economic impact

      • Market New York is a grant project which provides funding for projects 

Growth of Rural Tourism Hotspots

Yosemite: A rural tourism hotspot

  • Yosemite National Park is located in California

  • It has been a protected area since 1864

  • The primary resource is the landscape and ecosystems

  • Secondary resources have been built around these primary resources

 

Map of Yosemite National Park showing major attractions, roads, and rivers. Text boxes state the park covers 1200 miles, was protected in 1864, and gets over 4 million visitors yearly.
Yosemite Park
  • There are various tourist attractions:

    • Glacier Point

    • Yosemite Falls

    • Sequoia trees

    • El Capitan and the Half Dome

    • Diverse ecosystems

  • Accommodation is plentiful and diverse

  • Campsites, hotels and lodges are all available

  • Transportation is available through shuttle services

  • Private cars can be used in the area with a permit

Management of Yosemite National Park

Strategy

How it helps 

Annual Visitor Cap

Prevents overcrowding and possible environmental damage 

Ecosystems can be managed to limit footpath erosion, such as that on the Mist Trail

Shuttle services

Reduces individual car traffic and lowers emissions 

Partnerships with local communities

Ask a climber’ program has been introduced for visitors to learn about Chinese-American history in the park

Working with accessibility groups to ensure that sites are accessible to all

Habitat restoration

Programmes have been set up to protect endangered species such as the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog

Ecosystem studies

Scientific research is carried out in the area to adapt to climate change

Fire management

Controlled fires are used to maintain the ecosystem

Visitor education

Many programs and exhibits take place to show how different groups of people have contributed to the area, such as Buffalo soldiers, Yosemite Indians and women

Sphere of Influence of Sporting & Tourist Facilities

  • A sphere of influence is the area from which a facility or an attraction draws its supporters 

    • Small playgrounds have small thresholds; only local people will visit

    • Sports centres have a large threshold. They provide opportunities for a large number of people to participate in central locations; people will visit from a much wider area

  • The range is the maximum distance people will travel to use a facilities

  • The minimum number of people needed for a facility to be viable is known as the threshold population

  • The larger the population of a city, the more opportunities there will be for sports franchises to operate

  • This is known as a sports hierarchy 

Hierarchy of Sports Facilities in Different Settlements in a Higher-Income Country

Community size

Possible facilities

Possible activities

Village up to 1000 people

Mobile library

Community hall

Exercise classes such as yoga, cricket, and bowling

A small country town with up to 6,000 people

As above, plus a swimming pool, tennis courts, and football pitches

As above, plus court games like netball and basketball

Town

As above, plus golf courses

As above but with dedicated areas for golf and other specialist sports

City

Athletic grounds

Sports stadiums

As above, plus grounds of sports teams such as football and rugby

Capital city

National sports centres

As above but for national teams

Triangular diagram showing the distribution of facilities from the urban-rural fringe to the central area, including categories like local clubs, bowling, and cinemas.
Sphere of Influence 

Factors affecting the sphere of influence 

  • Transport - good transport links increase the sphere of influence

  • Competition with other facilities

  • Services provided by a facility

  • Local population characteristics, including wealth

Urban areas

  • Urban areas are important for tourism for a variety of reasons, including:

    • They can be an entry point for other tourist destinations, such as New York, which is used as a gateway for cruise holidays

    • They have a wide range of accommodations which can suit all budgets, from hostels to 5-star hotels

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember that the hierarchy of sports examples is based on traditional Western examples and that a sports hierarchy may differ depending on income

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Briley Habib

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