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

Revision Note

Author

Expertise

Geography Content Creator

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

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

Yosemite Park

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

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

spheres-of-influence

Sphere of Influence

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

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

Did this page help you?