Tourism in Scotland

Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk of visitors to Scotland. In 2002 , for example, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending £3.7bn. In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending £806m. In terms of overseas visitors, those from the United States made up 24% of visits to Scotland, with the United States being the largest source of overseas visitors, and Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (6%), following behind.

Scotland is generally seen as clean, unspoilt destination with beautiful scenery which has a long and complex history, combined with thousands of historic sites and attractions. These include prehistoric stone circles, standing stones and burial chambers, and various Bronze Age, Iron Age and Stone Age remains. There are also many historic castles, houses, and battlegrounds, ruins and museums. Many people are drawn by the culture of Scotland.

The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasingly being seen as a cosmopolitan alternative to Scotland's countryside, with visitors year round, but the main tourist season is generally from April to October inclusive. In addition to these factors, the national tourist agency, VisitScotland, have deployed a strategy of niche marketing, aimed at exploiting, amongst other things, Scotland's strengths in golf, fishing and food and drink tourism. Another significant, and increasingly popular reason for tourism to Scotland - especially by those from North America - is genealogy, with many visitors coming to Scotland to explore their family and ancestral roots.

source from : www.wikipedia.org

The Parthenon Temple

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy, and is one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. The Greek Ministry of Culture is currently carrying out a program of restoration and reconstruction.

The Parthenon replaced an older temple of Athena, called the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon, that was destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480 BC. Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon was used as a treasury, and for a time served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire. In the 6th century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin. After the Ottoman conquest, it was converted into a mosque in the early 1460s, and it even had a minaret. On 28 September 1687 an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures, with Ottoman permission. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the British Museum in London, where they are now displayed. The Greek government is committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece, so far with no success.

source from : www.wikipedia.org

Tourism

The Giza Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt.

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited". Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2007, there were over 903 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 6.6% as compared to 2006. International tourist receipts were USD 856 billion in 2007. Despite the uncertainties in the global economy, arrivals grew at around 5% during the first four months of 2008, almost a similar growth than the same period in 2007.

Tourism is vital for many countries such as Egypt, Thailand and many island nations such as Fiji, due to the large intake of money for businesses with their goods and services and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation services such as cruise ships and taxis, accommodation such as hotels and entertainment venues, and other hospitality industry services such as resorts.

source from : www.wikipedia.org

Boutique hotel

The 110-room Madison Hotel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee is a typical high-end boutique hotel.

Boutique hotel is a term popularised in North America and the United Kingdom to describe intimate, usually luxurious or quirky hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain/branded hotels and motels by providing personalized accommodation and services / facilities. Sometimes known as "design hotels" or "lifestyle hotels", boutique hotels began appearing in the 1980s in major cities like London, New York, and San Francisco. Typically boutique hotels are furnished in a themed, stylish and/or aspirational manner. Although usually considerably smaller than mainstream hotels, often ranging from 3 to 100 guest rooms, some city-centre boutique hotels may have several hundred. Boutique hotels are always individual and are therefore extremely unlikely to be found amongst the homogenity of large chain hotel groups. Guest rooms and suites may be fitted with telephony and Wi-Fi Internet, air-conditioning, honesty bars and often cable/pay TV, but equally may have none of these, focusing on quiet and comfort rather than gadgetry. Guest services are often attended to by 24-hour hotel staff. Many boutique hotels have on-site dining facilities, and the majority offer bars and lounges which may also be open to the general public.

Despite this definition, the popularity of the boutique term and concept has led to some confusion about the term. Boutique hotels have typically been unique properties operated by individuals or companies with a small collection. However, their successes have prompted established multi-national hotel companies to usurp the term and/or try to establish their own brands in order to capture a market share. The most notable example is Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide's W Hotels, ranging from boutique-style hotels like the W Union Square NY to the W 'boutique resorts' in the Maldives.

There is some overlap between the concept of a small boutique hotel and a bed and breakfast.

In the United States, New York remains the center of the boutique hotel phenomenon, as the original Schrager-era boutique hotels remain relevant and are joined by scores of independent and small-chain competitors, mainly clustered about Midtown and downtown Manhattan. The French Quarter and Garden District, New Orleans have several dozen boutique hotels, most of which are located in old homes or inns. These usually provide an ambience based on 19th-century antiques, artwork with New Orleans themes, vintage or reproduction furniture and decor and/or interesting historical associations. Miami and Miami Beach also have a large number of boutique hotels, mostly found along the beachfront streets Ocean Drive and Collins Drive. Most of these are in buildings from the heyday of the Art Deco period. Their attractions include the Art Deco ambiance, beach access, nouvelle and Latin cuisines and tropical-themes interior decor.

The concept of boutique or design hotels has spread elsewhere outside the US. A good example is Thailand where many boutique or design hotels are sprouting, especially in resort locations, such as Phuket and Hua Hin. Boutique hotels are even now appearing in such places as Indonesia, Shanghai, Iceland, Peru and Turkey. Boutique and design hotels are becoming increasingly popular in Far Eastern cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and even Beijing.

source from : www.wikipedia.org

hotel and tourism

Historical Tokatlıyan Hotel in Beyoğlu.

Contemporary hotel management in Istanbul started in the second half of the 19th century. Along with the efforts of minorities and levantines of Istanbul and with the partnership of Wagons-Lits company, Hotel Pera Palace was opened in 1892. Shortly after, a series of hotels including Tokatlıyan's hotel and the Bristol hotel were opened in Beyoğlu district.

While the new hotels were being opened in the Beyoğlu district, Sirkeci quarter within the old city quickly adapted to the new tendency and the old inns in the neighbourhood were gradually transformed into hotels in the beginning of the 20th century. The other districts of the city followed the trend and the number of hotels in Istanbul was more than 50 in the year 1910.

Similar progress applied for the cities İzmir and Ankara in the following years, while the development of hotel management was relatively slow in the rest of Anatolian cities.

In the Republican era, in 1950s, openings of hotels of various types gained speed. The most important event of this period was the opening of Istanbul Hilton in 1954. As a result of the development of transportation and domestic/outbound tourism numerous new hotels were opened in 1960s. The same situation applied for 1970s and 1980s as well, along with the openings of 5 star hotels such as Sheraton or Etap Marmara (later Ceylan Intercontinental and The Marmara hotels, respectively).

In 1990s and 2000s, along with the rapid progress of different types of tourism, such as conference, health and religious tourism sectors, a new wave of hotel openings took place in the city. Among the hotels opened in this era, Conrad Hilton, Maslak Sheraton, Four Seasons Hotel and Ritz-Carlton et al. could be mentioned. There are several ongoing and planned hotel projects for the years to come.

source from : www.wikipedia.org

Historical Tokatlıyan Hotel in Beyoğlu.

Contemporary hotel management in Istanbul started in the second half of the 19th century. Along with the efforts of minorities and levantines of Istanbul and with the partnership of Wagons-Lits company, Hotel Pera Palace was opened in 1892. Shortly after, a series of hotels including Tokatlıyan's hotel and the Bristol hotel were opened in Beyoğlu district.

While the new hotels were being opened in the Beyoğlu district, Sirkeci quarter within the old city quickly adapted to the new tendency and the old inns in the neighbourhood were gradually transformed into hotels in the beginning of the 20th century. The other districts of the city followed the trend and the number of hotels in Istanbul was more than 50 in the year 1910.

Similar progress applied for the cities İzmir and Ankara in the following years, while the development of hotel management was relatively slow in the rest of Anatolian cities.

In the Republican era, in 1950s, openings of hotels of various types gained speed. The most important event of this period was the opening of Istanbul Hilton in 1954. As a result of the development of transportation and domestic/outbound tourism numerous new hotels were opened in 1960s. The same situation applied for 1970s and 1980s as well, along with the openings of 5 star hotels such as Sheraton or Etap Marmara (later Ceylan Intercontinental and The Marmara hotels, respectively).

In 1990s and 2000s, along with the rapid progress of different types of tourism, such as conference, health and religious tourism sectors, a new wave of hotel openings took place in the city. Among the hotels opened in this era, Conrad Hilton, Maslak Sheraton, Four Seasons Hotel and Ritz-Carlton et al. could be mentioned. There are several ongoing and planned hotel projects for the years to come.

source from : www.wikipedia.org