The Historical Geography of the Time Square - Essay Example

? Many Organizations Develop Strategic Plans Thesis ment This paper intends to describe the broad aspect associated with the overall tourism industry. In this respect, an analysis pertaining to all the factors that describes Times Square as one of the most attractive tourist locations will be analyzed upon. At the same time, this paper will try to present the facts which can prove to provide corresponding results with the aspects of tourism presented in the New York Times by Anjela M. Blake. Introduction Times Square is considered to be a major junction of performers, tourists, spectators and locals that add to the diverse nature of the city and country along with the world. Times Square hold many attracting activities i.e. underground passages, penthouses and connects streetscapes among others. All these aspects are considered in planned and with spontaneous manner. The Time Square comprises stores, theatres and diners that are specifically intended to provide entertainment to the visitors. In the year1928, this place produced a total of 264 shows in 76 theatres. These theatres comprised an array of entertainment aspects that included old-world opera, new popular culture such as movies, vaudeville, musicals and jazz. Currently, Times Square is considered to be the most active theatre district around the world. This place is also home to Best Buy Theatre, Hard Rock Cafe, B.B. Kings, ABC, MTV and Madame Tussaud’s. In relation to the objectives of the essay, the essay will highlight the broader aspects of the tourism industry by way of analysis of the social, geographical, psychological and environmental aspects among others. Time Square, being the perfect example of the tourism destination, will provide great aid in this respect (Times Square District Management Association, 2013). Discussion In relation to the historical geography of the Time Square, it is located in Manhattan, New York City. This intersection is responsible for attracting mass visitors as it comprises of numerous events as mentioned in the above section. The history of Time Started way back in the year 1928 and throughout its years of existence it has been able to bring an array of entertainment facets. It has been able to re-introduce the aspects entertainment to a very large extent which in turn provided great aid to the overall tourism industry. From a geographical viewpoint, it can be said that this particular industry has been able to grow and expand to new heights as it has been driving tourists from all over the world. Tourism geography encompasses a broad range of interest activities that includes the geographies of tourism and the environmental impact of tourism among others. All these aspects determine the importance of this industry along with its impact on different nations. Geographies of tourism represent all those options where this industry broadly operates. However, there are few environmental impacts that are associated with this industry. Various factors such as construction of airports, and roads, introduction to new tourism facilities that includes marinas, restaurants, hotels, golf courses resorts and shops can very well create negative impacts in the overall tourism development. It can lead to gradual destruction of the environmental resources as well (Times Square District Management Association, 2013). According to the report provided by Cohen (1984), sociology has always been an integral part which has a close interrelation with the aspects of tourism. It can be said that the tourism industry mainly operates to serve the society and its people. In this respect, it can be believed that this industry fulfils the social needs of the people to a very large extent. Taking Time Square into concern, it can be very well affirmed that it revolutionized the world in a unique way. It showed a new direction to the entertainment aspects and made the people enjoy their lives by way of providing them with an array of public leisure services (Cohen, 1984; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). According to Dwyer & Spurr (2008), Tourism is considered to be a global force that drives economic along with regional development. Tourism development allows a mixed amount of benefits along with costs that are needed to be incurred at all levels. With the growing phase of tourism along with economics, it is paying a significant amount of input to the overall tourism industry. In relation to polices, planning processes and business practices, this industry has also been able to provide a lot of diversification. Times Square has been able to mesmerize the world and has been able to provide great aid in developing United States to a very large extent. It has been able to provide great economical support to the nation. The tourism industry has been able to contribute to building the world economy to a very large extent. With increasing number of tourists across the world, the scope of tourism industry is on a rise. Economic transitions between various countries can also be considered to be a crucial factor for economic growth. All of these aspects are needed to be delivered due importance otherwise it may lead to situation of leakage which may lead to numerous amount of criticalities. Time Square, being one of the most recognized venues for attracting tourists need to source all of its resources in such a way that leakage is avoided According to (Dwyer & Spurr, 2008; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). In relation to the aspects of political economy, the tourism industry has been able to play a very crucial role according to Bianchi (2002). The political economy of tourism is still to establish itself as a distinct field. This field i.e. political economy encompasses various entities such as people, places and governmental bodies among others. All of these entities play a crucial role in determining the political and economic scenario in the overall tourism industry. Time Square on the other hand, can be considered to bind itself with the broad aspects of the political economy. It caters to the people belonging from different places around the world. This venue is mainly financed and run by the local New York City government along with various business partners (Bianchi, 2002; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). In relation the aspects of psychology, it can be said that the tourism industry has played a crucial role while dealing with the psychological aspects of the individuals. In this similar context, it can be said that the Time Square has been able to fulfil this aspect to a very large extent such as entertainment comprising public shows, musical programs, movies and theatres, stores, food courts and other modes of entertainment among others. It can be said that the Times Square re-introduced the American culture which helped in changing their lives to a very large extent. All of these aspects were responsible for catering to the psychological along with entertainment needs of the people. This attraction provided the opportunity of to live their lives in a cheerful manner. On a broader context, Time Square has been able to cater to the needs of the "allocentric" as well, those tourist seeking for new experiences in life. Time Squares fulfils these aspects to a very large extent by way of proving the tourists with an array of entertainment services (Gotham, 2007; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). In relation to the understandings provided by Platou (2007), the tourism industry is known to invest enormous sum of money in the fields of construction along with design considering the importance of architectural aspects in this particular industry. Different functions along with designing of different concepts constitute the structure of the overall tourism industry. In relation to the Times Square, the aspect of architecture is given the prime importance. For this reason, this attraction has been able to represent the latest architectural along with infrastructural development that attracts mass visitors/tourists (Platou, 2007; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). In relation to the words of Gotham (2007), as the concept of tourism grows all over the world, there will be a lot of development that can be related to the concepts of Anthropology. The growth is concurrent to the global impacts along with global importance in the overall tourism industry. As anthropological study, deals with different aspects of human behaviour, and social and psychological factors among others, it can be said that the anthropological study of tourism is growing in a fast manner. This factor can be provided with the maximum amount of weightage as Times Square fulfils the aspects associated with human behaviour to a very large extent. In relation to this factor, this attraction has introduced numerous modes of entertainment for the public that has been able to serve the psychological along with the behavioural aspects of the visitors. In relation to the concept of backstage versus front stage, it can be said that both the terms indicates different groups that perform in the front stage and the backstage as well. It can be very well related with the anthropological aspects along with the various programmes in the Times Square, as there are front and backstage performers who play an active part in most of the shows (Gotham, 2007; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). Taylor (1996) through the medium of literature has very well-defined the significance of Times Square. The attraction has been featured end number of times in various literatures published throughout the world. This aspect has been able to create all round importance for the rising popularity of this particular attraction. Literature not only helped in increasing the popularity of the venue but also led to rising attractiveness of all the public events in Times Square. In relation to the overall tourism industry, literature has also been able to create all round diversity in popularizing its prospects. Despite other strategies such as advertisement and other promotional tools, literature has provided great aid in popularizing these events to a very large extent (Taylor, 1996; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). According to eTurboNews (2013), the concept of art very well relates itself with the overall tourism industry. Art in tourism represents the various entertainment aspects that are intended to provide amusement to the visitors. Correspondingly, Times Square is also able to fulfil this particular aspect, as there are numerous displays of modern art. Musical shows along with theatres and others very well display modern show of art (eTurboNews, 2013; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). Brock University (2010) defined tourism to be as one of the topmost international industry holding superior economic importance. This industry is mostly driven by individual’s desires to experience fresh environments, which can be a tropical beach, a natural environment or even a constructed environment in an old city. Times Square fulfils these aspects to a very large extent. It has been offering mass visitors with high amount of travelling options to the visitors as well. This way, individuals get to explore new environments (Brock University, 2010; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). According to a report provided by New Geography (2013), New Yorkers are considered to be extremely possessive towards their city. Every one of its eight million people thinks that New York belongs to them only. This factor plays a very important role in the sub urbanization of New York. In addition, the aspects of chain stores and box shops can be said to induce mixed reactions. Suburbanization however, plays a very crucial role in relation to the aspects of political context (New Geography, 2013; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). On the other hand, Chain store production has been said to weaken local economies to a very large extent. In addition, it has also eroded the moral character of the community, broken civic along with cultural life to a very large extent. According to Mitchell (2000), all these factors prove that chain stores and box shops are destroying a sense of culture and place which is resulting in degradation of the overall society. Considering all these aspects, it is felt that upliftment of the concept of chain stores in the United States can possibly degrade the overall society along with the economy in a drastic manner. From a commercial viewpoint, it can be stated chain stores results in delivering lot of competition to the local business. This factor has resulted in causing lot of debatable conflicts in the overall American context. It has also resulted in increased amount of in differences among the large chain store owners and the various local business undertakings. Considering all these aspects, it is felt that the overall trade and commerce may be adversely affected if these conflicts continue to persist. It is felt that chain stores are not helping the city to grow and evolve with a changing economy and tourist expectation. However, consumers are benefitted to a certain extent as they are able to find multiple products at a single platform. Chain stores may not act as a developmental force in the coming years as there are lot of speculations which regards its aspects. Moreover, chain stores have never been seen to work for the interests of chaining the economic trends. Thus, all of these factors combined provide weightage to the fact that Chain stores may not act upon in a responsible manner to bring positive changes in New York (Mitchell, 2000; Times Square District Management Association, 2013). Conclusion From the overall analysis, it has been learned that the tourism industry is considered to be one of the most booming sectors in the world. Moreover, the analysis also provided great aid in learning that Times Square as a popular tourist attraction is able to attract mass visitors and is one of the best examples of the tourism sectors. It comprises various entertainment features that are indeed to provide great amusement to the people. The essay also helped in learning the broader aspects of the tourism industry by way of analysis of the social, geographical, psychological and environmental aspects among others. The studies relating to Times Square and the overall tourism industry provided corresponding results with that of New York City tourism history. References Bianchi, R. V. (2002). Towards a new political economy of global tourism. Channel View Publications, 265-299. Brock University. (2010). Department of tourism and environment (TREN). Retrieved from http://www.brocku.ca/social-sciences/undergraduate-programs/tourism-environment Cohen, E. (1984). The sociology of tourism: approaches, issues and findings. Annual Review Social, 373. Dwyer, L., & Spurr, R. (2008). 1. Economics and tourism. STCRC centre for economics and policy, 1-11. eTurboNews. (2013). The arts and tourism. Retrieved from http://www.eturbonews.com/25593/arts-and-tourism Gotham, K. F. (2007). Authentic New Orleans: Tourism, culture, and race in the big easy. United States: NYU Press. Mitchell, S. (2000). The impact of chain stores on community. Retrieved from http://www.ilsr.org/impact-chain-stores-community/ New Geography. (2013). The accelerating suburbanization of New York. Retrieved from http://www.newgeography.com/content/002157-the-accelerating-suburbanization-new-york Platou. (2007). Architecture in tourism. WKO, 1-11. Taylor, W. R. (1996). Inventing Times Square: commerce and culture at the crossroads of the world. United States: JHU Press. Times Square District Management Association. (2013). Advertising & sponsorships. Retrieved from http://www.timessquarenyc.org/advertising-sponsorships/index.aspx#.UpXUZNIW1vY Times Square District Management Association. (2013). History of times square. Retrieved from http://www.timessquarenyc.org/visitor-tips/history/index.aspx#.UpXU2dIW1vY Read More