Leisure and Tourism Impacts on the Environment - Essay Example

The Nature of Leisure and Tourism Impacts on the Environment: The Merlin Entertainments London Eye in Perspective Introduction In contemporary time,when man lives in constant quest for personal and professional development, man’s increasingly complex and intricate agenda of activities have a profound effect to the environment. One of the challenges in life is balancing antithetical forces to achieve equilibrium. Majority of people from all walks of life are apprehensive to indulge in one particular activity and focus all their time, energy and resources on that. Work and play, for instance, need to be balanced to maximize the benefits people would derive from both. Work is necessary to earn income to support man’s basic needs and to accord one of the privileges for leisure. Play, on the other hand, which is a form of leisure, provides man with a medium to release tension and stress; to enhance physical and mental activity; to entertain and to restore vitality. Going to tourist spots and entertainment centers are forms of leisure that man indulges in. However, it the man’s pursuit to seek leisure, he either unconsciously or subconsciously, neglect that certain irresponsible activities have devastating effects to the environment: specifically leisure and tourist spots in the United Kingdom. London is known for various historical landmarks and beautiful tourist spots that lure visitors to enjoy the spectacle of sight seeing, entertainment, and delve into various leisure activities. One of the famous tourist spots is the Merlin Entertainments London Eye which provides visitors with a spectacular view of London from all directions in a cantilevered observation wheel. The Merlin Entertainment Group manages the operations and upkeep of the London Eye to ensure that it achieves organizational goals and at the same time provide full entertainment and leisure to its clientele. In this regard, this essay aims to evaluate the range of environmental problems created by the expansion of leisure and tourism on a global scale and sustainable tourism operations, specifically on Merlin Entertainments London Eye. Further, the discourse would interpret the environmental benefits that can be created by effective environmental management within activity development and destination management. Finally, recommendations and appropriate management techniques would be proffered to resolve or reduce the adverse impacts of leisure and tourism activities in the area. The Nature of Leisure and Tourism on Merlin Entertainments London Eye A handbook on leisure and tourism define these terms as follows: leisure is “a range of activities that people do in their spare time when they are not at work or school” (Handbook, 1) while tourism “refers to temporary travel away from home for one night or more with the intent to return home.” (Handbook, 1) The official website of the London Eye proffered the concise description of this leisure and tourist spot, to wit: “at 135m high, The Merlin Entertainments London eye is the worlds tallest cantilevered observation wheel. During the graceful 30 minute flight, customers can see up to 40km from their fully enclosed, state of the art glass capsules. Since opening in 2000, it has welcomed over 25 million visitors and has won 75 awards for design and engineering, tourism, customer service as well as numerous peoples choice awards. In a short period of time, it has become a 21st century symbol for modern Britain and a global icon.” (The Merlin Entertainments London Eye, par. 1) As part of London’s strategic objectives to strengthen tourism is the provision for high quality customer service and a more accessible and affordable tourist experience. According to Bargain Travel (par. 5), “the national tourism agency is working with Visit London and the Department of Culture Media and Sport to develop a strategy that will ensure the monies invested in the tourist destinations will bring revenue into the country…”. In this regard, the nature of leisure at the London Eye are as follows: (1) it provides a venue for sight seeing using the London Eye as an extraordinary and award winning engineering structure and design; (2) the structure itself is one of a kind which provides a variety of services to the visitors (telephone, food kiosks, toilets, cash dispensers, drinking stations, location advisory, among others); (3) it accommodates average of 3.5 million customers yearly, or an average of almost 10,000 customers per day; (4) The London Eye has the capacity to carry and entertain 800 passengers per revolution; (5) “Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop” (Merlin: Interesting Facts, par. 6); (6) an annual display of fireworks every New Year’s Eve; (7) diverse activities and events commemorating relevant dates are held in the London Eye, such as the Halloween Tricking and Treating on the last week of October until November, a pop-up restaurant, Valentine activities (river cruise, red rose flight, etc.), to name a few; and (8) a venue for social responsibility through initiating programs such as working with charities, Flight for Sight Program, and redevelopment of the South Bank area, among others. On the other hand, a boost on tourism is achieved through the sheer number of customers visiting the London Eye: averaging 3.5 million visitors annually. As identified in the Handbook on Leisure and Tourism (24), “the main impacts of tourism are social, environmental and economic” with the advantages and disadvantages summarized in the table below: Impact Advantages Disadvantages Social More jobs and facilities Strangers in the area, drunks, rowdy behaviour Economic More jobs in tourism Loss of traditional employment, increase in cost of living, increase in cost of houses Environmental The solution to the environmental problems is sustainable tourism. The aims are: Not to harm the environment To be acceptable to the local community To be profitable for businesses To satisfy the visitor The Countryside Code and Waterways Code help sustainable tourism All forms of transport damage the environment including walkers eroding paths. Overcrowding makes it difficult for locals, visitors create litter problems, traffic congestion, air pollution and noise pollution. Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Main Impacts on Tourism, Handbook on Leisure And Tourism, p. 24 Range of Environmental Problems As shown in the above table, tourism has tremendous impact in the environment depending on how management ensures safety and security in the London Eye area. As proffered in the official website, the Merlin Entertainments Group employ around 180 personnel to oversee the day-to-day operations of the London Eye. In one of the site’s provision for security and safety, management has specifically enumerated things which can and cannot be brought inside the London Eye for precautionary measures. As indicated, the following items cannot be taken on board the London Eye, to wit: “large bags/suitcases or rucksacks motorcycle helmets skateboards and rollerblades tripods (unless agreed in advance with the London Eye press office team) baby buggies which are fixed and can not be folded down. They can be left at our Buggy area facility in the ticket hall, although only for the duration of the flight. prohibited items include sharp objects or anything which may be considered a security risk including penknives, scissors, metal nail files, toy or replica guns. If such objects are found or declared they will be checked in and returned to you after your flight providing the item is legal in the UK. food and drink that is not provided by the London Eye. Restrictions apply to some types of film and photography equipment” (Merlin: Safety and Security, par. 2) This safety strategy would ensure that tourists and visitors would remain secure within the London Eye premises; and keep their facilities in safe and secure condition. Due to the amount of investment of £48 million that British Airways has spent (London SE1, par. 3), it is just appropriate that ways and means should be devised to ensure that revenues gained from this tourist destination would suffice to support its overhead and allot for ample net income for future investments. Recommendations According to the Handbook on Leisure and Tourism, “managing the impact of tourism on the environment, communities and the economy so that tourism has positive effects for the benefit of future generations entails” taking into account four main points, as follows: “It must not affect the environment adversely It must be acceptable to the community It must be profitable for business It must satisfy the visitor” (p. 30) In this regard, to ensure that the London Eye maintains and sustains the positively friendly effects on the environment, the following measures must be undertaken: To ensure that the environment is kept safe: (1) strict compliance to the safety and security rules; (2) keep the area free from litter; (3) increase security by checking and monitoring visitors’ baggage and things brought into the facility; To make it acceptable to the community: (4) offer discounts and price package to visitors; (5) intensify promotions and advertising offering discounts, gift vouchers and other amenities; (6) offer travel to and from the destination; (7) intensify social responsibility programs and events; To retain profitability: (8) monitor competitiveness of pricing strategy; (9) ensure cost effectiveness through no duplication of responsibilities; (10) review forecasted budgets against actual expenditures and make appropriate and immediate adjustments, if required; To satisfy the visitors: (11) keep the facilities in top form and quality; (12) offer assistance at all times; (13) be friendly, accommodating, and helpful to tourists; (14) give them the best amenities that the London Eye can provide through updates on information and events. Conclusion Leisure and tourism have both positive and negative effects on the environment. In most cases, there is a positive effect in terms of gross domestic product and additional employment, as required. The number of tourists to most likely visit and increase spending could benefit the economy. The negative effects should immediately be addressed in terms of strategic courses of action which would counter any negative impact to the environment; be acceptable to the community, as a whole; be profitable to the organizer and to management to ensure sustainability; and to ultimately satisfy the guests’ purpose for their visit. As part of London’s strategic objectives to strengthen tourism is the provision for high quality customer service and a more accessible and affordable tourist experience. Works Cited Bargain Travel. London Olympics Affect On Tourism. Apr. 2008. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. Handbook on Leisure and Tourism. Leisure and Tourism. N.D. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. London SE1. £18 million loss for London Eye. 24 Oct. 2004. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. The Merlin Entertainments London Eye (Merlin). About Us. 2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. < http://www.londoneye.com/AboutUs/Default.aspx> ----------------------------------. Interesting Facts. 2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. < http://www.londoneye.com/ExploreTheLondonEye/InterestingFacts/Default.aspx> ---------------------------------. Safety and Security. 2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. < http://www.londoneye.com/VisitorInformation/SafetyAndSecurity/Default.aspx> Read More