Tourism of York, England, and Seville, Spain - Assignment Example

Tourism of York (England) and Seville (Spain) Tourism of York (England) and Seville (Spain) Q1 Air Transport in York York has four international airports: Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Humberside and Robin Hood Don Caster that makes it easily and quickly accessible by tourists. The variety of the international airports conveniently link York city to the international tourists favouring tourism in the region. However, the cost of air transportation is relatively high as a disadvantage and lacks door-to-door service network. Air Transport in Seville Seville international airport is a few kilometres from the city centre. It is approximately 25 minutes’ drive from the city centre. The transportation system is relatively cheap and an affordable cost of 4sterling pounds and six sterling pounds for the same day return tickets. The cheapness of the fare charges means that air transportation is more convenient and merits in attracting more tourists to Seville. Rail Transport in York York constitutes one of the core hubs of the UK rail network. The national railway station or museum in itself is a tourist attraction feature. Rail transport has many services resulting from a number of lines passing through the city centre. The Grand central rail runs four trains daily in each direction between York and London. The higher number of operations enhances accessibility and access as an advantage. Rail Transport in Seville Seville’s Santa Justa train station situated on Avenida Kansas City offers quick railway transportation services to the city centre. The railway station is at a distance relatively nearer to the city centre making it easily accessible. Travellers’ book purchases the tickets at the station in the RENFE office situated in Calle Zaragoza behind Plaza Nueva. In addition, there exists an online platform enabling the potential tourists to book their tickets at their convenience. The mode of transportation, especially the high-speed train (AVE), is relatively expensive despite being effective and convenient in offering the transportation services. Road Networks in York and Seville Both the cities have good road connection systems with reliable transportation vessels that help the tourists in commuting. Proper infrastructural development in the road networks attract tourists to the cities. Q2 Main Organizations and Agencies in York Tourism and Seville The tourism agencies ensure that tourists receive the best treatment and accommodation services. The agencies in both the regions oversee all the related activities that revolve around the welfare and well-being of the tourists. The Seville agencies, unlike the York agencies, organize festivals and other events aimed at advancing and expanding the tourism in the city. Seville city is to a larger percentage controlled by the national government while the York city is under the control of city councils. In all tourism and instilling means and mechanisms of making it prosper is a primary goal. Relationships between regional and local structures in York and Seville In both the cities, regional and local structures are well established and they operate in a systematic manner without interference. The York region is the Headquarter of Yorkshire and it has a well-established system of administration, which ensures that the regional administrative units maintain an environment that favours tourism. Seville is also the capital of the Andalusia region, which ensures proper coordination between the local and regional structures. Public-private sector partnerships There exist partnerships between the public and the private sectors of the economy. The relationships are critical for the development of the tourism sector because they interrelate for mutual benefits. Most of the hotels and tourism guides in the two cities are private businesses, yet they help promote the tourism, which benefits both the public and the private sectors. Q3 Historic Buildings Including Cathedrals, Alcazar, Giralda and City Walls These historic sites are the main tourist attraction sites in Seville. They represent much of the culture of the people of Spain and their link to other regions of the country. They in resemble in both the UK and Spain because they are all iconic structures built long ago, and remain attractive because of the history they communicate to the visitors. In my opinion, their utilization is up-to-date because they are the main tourist attraction sites of the city of Seville. In York, the architecture forms the main tourist attraction, where the buildings communicate much of the history of the city to the visitors (Visit York 2014, p. 1). Townscape The two cities of York and Seville possess almost the same town plans. The buildings are more or less the same in design and height. They are preservative of the histories of the two cities. The two cities look even similar because similar transport and communication networks, which include the road, rail, water and air transport, serve them both. Galleries and Museums including Castle Museum and Museo de bell Arte Both York and Seville have the galleries and museums that act as preservative of the histories of the cities. Many tourists with interests in historic findings of the two cities will always have a place to visit. The advantage of such sites is more evident in the York city where there are more museums than there are in Seville. Q4 Visitor Numbers According to statistics of the Spanish Inbound Tourism Survey, Spain received the highest numbers of tourists since 1995 in February (Tallantyre 2014, p.1). Most of the victors preferred Seville because of its attractions and strategic location. The survey revealed that Seville saw an increase in the number of tourists by about 2.9 per cent, which represented about thirty four million visitors. In comparison, the information gained from a tour guide of York City’s website indicates that the numbers of tourists rose to about seven million tourists. There is a similarity in the trends in the population of visitors, with both cities registering rises (The Independent 2014, p.1). Visitor Profiles The population of visitors to the York City are more domestic than they are foreign. Most of the tourism in York is domestic, with many of the UK citizens attracted by the history of the city coupled with its beauty. On the contrary, several Seville visitors are foreign. Seville is famous all over the world for its cultural and historic heritage, which makes it a preferred destination in Spain. The accessibility of the city by sea, rail, air and road renders it more strategically located. Markets The information the markets for Seville indicate that there are both foreign and domestic players. The more dominant segment of the market is foreign market. The market ranges from the Nordic countries, Russia and Britain. The United Kingdom is the largest foreign market for tourism in Seville because it accounts for about 4.3 per cent of the foreign market. On the contrary, tourism in York is more domestic than it is foreign. Seven million tourists visited the city with about 57 per cent of the total being domestic. Q5 Strategic Linkages and Alliances Seville is more advantaged by virtue of its location, history, cultural and infrastructural privileges. The city of Seville has the history of the most preferred destination for religious festive seasons such as Easter. Similarly, the city of York has infrastructural developments that make transport easier. The visitors to both cities can move to the peaceful neighbouring cities freely, a factor that contributes to their tourism growth. However, the two cities differ in tourist attractions. Most of the attractions in York are architectural, while the city of Seville combines a variety of factors, which include culture, history, architecture, religious functionality among others. Co-Branding A study of the co-branding aspects of tourism in both Seville and York indicate that a part of their prominence relates to the co-branding efforts that exist between the admiration of the two cities and other players in the same industry. Such players include tour guide companies, and the hotel and catering department. There are many classic hotels in the two cities, which makes the visitors to prefer them to other destinations. Cross-Promotion There are concerted efforts in both cities to market the tourism activities. The cities rapidly promote their tourism over the internet. The administrations of the two cities undertake a wider competitive advertising. However, Seville is the strategic tourist location of the Andalusia region. It therefore follows that the tourism in the region focuses primarily promoting Seville. Q6 Track Record There is a similarity in the record of accomplishment of the two cities, with both of them indicating a rise in the number of visitors. According to the Spanish Inbound Tourism Survey, the number of tourists who visited Seville rose by 2.9 per cent. The York City also experienced a rise in the number of visitors, though the difference is in the peak months. Seville’s peak month is April, during the Easter holidays while that of York is around July and August. Venues The city of Seville has a number of venues that are used as the attraction sites for the visitors. For instance, there are places like the cathedral, which ranks third in world by size, the Giralda tower, the palace of the king, Maestranza bullfighting venue, Barrio of Santa Cruz as well as the Flamenco Passion. There are a large number of venues for tourist attraction and promotion centres. A look at the York city indicates that there are venues such as the Castle Museum, the Yorkshire Museum, Chocolate Story, the t, Chocolate Story, the, York Minister, the Clifford’s Tower as well as Jorvik. Most of the sites in Seville are historic while those in York are architectural (Visit York 2014, p. 1). Transport Network Both cities have good transport networks, where each of them is accessible by rail, air, road and a waterway. There is not much to differentiate in the transport links of York and Seville. The appropriateness of the transport systems makes the two cities preferred by tourists. Bibliography Tallantyre, S Aug 22, 2013, Tourist numbers in Spain highest since 1995, The Local. Retrieved on December 13, 2014 from, http://www.thelocal.es/20130822/foreign-tourists-flock-to-spain-in-july The Independent September 22, 2014, A wealth of new discoveries are waiting in glorious York, The Independent. Retrieved on December 13, 2014 from, http://www.independent.co.uk/commercial/visityork/a-wealth-of-new-discoveries-are-waiting-in-glorious-york-9737122.html Visit York 2014, Browsing Venues. Retrieved on December 13, 2014 from, http://www.visityork.org/thedms.aspx?dms=11&groupid=2&catid=12&York+Historic+Buildings Visit York 2014, York Big Attractions Group Visitor Monitor 2013. Retrieved on December 13, 2014 from, http://mediafiles.thedms.co.uk/Publication/YK/cms/pdf/2013%20summary%20of%20visitors%20to%20attractions.pdf Visit York 2014, York Museums. Retrieved on December 13, 2014 from, http://www.visityork.org/seeanddo/thedms.aspx?dms=11&groupid=2&catid=14&areaid=409&msg=York+Museums Read More