Introduction

The city Swansea, situated on the South Wales coast, aims to attract visitors with its beautiful bay, valleys and hills to stimulate the local economy. Each year tourists bring in hundreds of millions of pounds and help to create thousands of jobs for local people. There are many businesses and facilities, like bars and restaurants, that are used by local people but they might not exist without the extra income from visitors and tourists. With the decline in traditional industries, the region begins to realize the importance of tourism for the economic development.

Original article by Rob Green (article only available for subscribers)

Essay by Renske Bijl
Master in Tourism Destination Management student 2008/2009

Tourism is a major global economic force that with the emerge of globalization is leading to rapid increases in visitor numbers. The development of the tourism industry in Swansea, on the South Wales coast, is of great influence on the local economic development. The Swansea Bay economy is boosted by around 250 million pounds every year by tourists and visitors. It is no wonder that tourists are seen as such an important part of the region’s future welfare.

Both the public and private sector invested money to make the city a year-round destination and to attract even more visitors. In recent decades the heavy industry and manufacturing has declined, so the economy is becoming more dependent on the service industry like bars, hotels and restaurants. Tourism expert Terry Stevens says the area is well placed to capitalize on a young, wealthy tourist. Despite the heavy investments in facilities, the region lacks quality accommodation. People are increasingly looking for high-quality weekend breaks, so work needs to be done to encourage this kind of investments.

Attracting more high-spending visitors would provide benefits for everybody. In Swansea Bay there are around 3.500 jobs directly related to tourism and another 1.300 that are supported by tourism. The money that is spent in the region filters through the local economy. There are businesses and facilities that are used by the local people, but are heavily supported by visitors. A lot of bars and restaurants would probably not be present without the extra income from visitors and tourists. With the decline in the traditional industries, the region starts to realize the importance of tourism development for the economic development.

A well-known problem that appears in the tourism industry is how to develop the industry while also ensuring that the local quality of life is maintained. Planning rules in Swansea have to encourage the right kind of developments to attract the right kind of investment. The increasing importance of tourism is rising, both locally and globally. Destinations have to be globally competitive and at the same time tourism products are more likely to succeed when it is adapted to a locality or culture. Local people in Swansea depend heavily on the tourism development in their region, tourism is everybody’s business. Swansea council’s cabinet member for culture, recreation and tourism, Gerald Clement, states that it is necessary to work closely with local tourism operators to be successful. As a long as there is local involvement in the tourism industry, tourism in Swansea is everybody’s business and everybody will benefit from it.

Reference:

Milne, Simon and Ateljevic, Irena (2001) ‘Tourism, economic development and the global-local nexus: theory embracing complexity’, Tourism Geographies