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Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism
The role of attractions It is important to realise that tourist attractions are a dynamic component of the travel and tourism industry and, as such, are continually changing and evolving. Tourist attractions draw visitors to a destination by providing opportunities for relaxation, amusement, entertainment and education. The importance of such visitor attractions within the travel and tourism industry should not be underestimated. Visitor attractions can be classified as follows: Natural attractions (example mountains, forests, coastline, lakes/waterways, landscape features) Built attractions (example theme parks, museums, heritage centres, sports facilities, family entertainment centres, cinemas, cultural attractions, animal parks, historic sites, shopping centres). Popular tourist destinations will contain a range of attractions. Every attraction, regardless of the size and scale of operation, will attempt to appeal to as many visitors as possible in order to maximise profits and to generate funding to support its further development. In this way, attractions will over time introduce new facilities in an attempt to remain profitably in business.
The role of entertainment venues Attractions are an extremely important part of the tourism industry and are the driving force behind much of the development that has taken place in a variety of destinations. It can be argued that tourist attractions are the most important component in the tourism system. They are the main motivators for tourist trips and are at the core of a destination’s tourism product. Without attractions there would be no need for many other tourism services. Indeed, tourism as such would not exist if it were not for the attractions. A great many tourist attractions have strong entertainment connections, being areas that are used primarily for an audience to be engaged or captivated. These include sports stadia, theatres, and museums, all of which could be considered to be tourist attractions. Indeed many entertainment venues are seen as tourist attractions.
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