Budget Travel - What impact does budget airlines have on the tourism industry???

What do your think about the impact of budget airlines have on the tourism industry??? Does budget airline really boost the tourism industry overall???

Welcome to FlyerTalk toon!

I think so. The budget airlines (referred to in the industry as "discount carriers") have certainly made taking a "long weekend" easier. For those with limited budgets/vacation time, the discount airlines have allowed people to travel further from home on a similar time frame and budget than if they had driven to their normal "close to home" vacation spot. Orlando and Las Vegas are prime examples of markets that have really benefitted from the discount carriers.

Hi,

Its true that budget airlines make it more affordable for people to travel around. But however with more people taking the budget airlines, does it actually affect the business of the normal airline. I feel that the industry is like "gaining on one side but losing on the other end".

I've read in economy newspapers that a simple Ryan Air or Easy Jet route to a certain place can increase it's real estate properties by 30%.

So I believe the impact is huge.

Hi,

Its true that budget airlines make it more affordable for people to travel around. But however with more people taking the budget airlines, does it actually affect the business of the normal airline. I feel that the industry is like "gaining on one side but losing on the other end".

Are you asking about the effects of LCCs on the tourism industry, or the aviation industry? :confused:

To over simplify: there are plenty of towns and cities who would willingly subsidise a carrier such as FR to offer flights to/from their airports. But the EU is a mine field of legislation, and until recently this wasn't allowed as it broke free trade rules. It does happen sometimes but there are a lot of restrictions: and for [URL=http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=2314]Charleroi (http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=5506[/URL) - there was a huge hoohah over this one.
So yes, a LCC can bring enormous economic benefits to a region, and this includes bolstering and even 'creating' a tourist industry.

As to what effects a LCC has on an established airport served by more established, even state funded carriers... that's another question. I do know that Iberia fought bitterly to prevent companies such as Ryanair getting slots at AENA airports. One of FR's first footholds in Spain was San Javier Airport in Murcia, which is run by the military. Nevertheless, the aviation industry works in an international capitalist environment, real competition from LCCs has forced IB to noticeably improve their product, in fact LCCs have given the aviation industry a huge kick up the backside. Perhaps they've speeded up the process - companies like Debonair and Sabena have gone bust - but it is unlikely they would have survived anyway.
Again, these are very VERY simplistic answers to a very simplistic question.

There is an effect, but people differ on how to quantitate it. I hadn't thought about the influence on real estate, but it certainly makes sense.

Trends from the UK:

1. Budget airlines can support real estate growth. This is especially true of RyanAir which flies to small airports - when you can fly to Bergerac in France, it is far more attractive to buy a second home there.

2. Budget airlines support tourism - hence the large subsidies that some cities pay to Ryanair and Easyjet to launch services, and the keeness of (for example) the King of Morocco to sign an 'open skies' deal with the EU, allowing Easyjet and Ryanair to start.

3. Budget airlines lead to a drop in the quality of tourist visiting a destination, primarily because it reduces the cost of getting there. This is seen more often in stag / hen parties by UK groups, which now decimate Prague, Talinnn, Budapest etc on Friday and Saturday evenings.

I believe that there are probably many places on which the LCC industry has had a negative impact - fewer tourists rather than more. This includes many parts of the British Isles and especially the Channel Islands. On the island of Alderney (where I have family) the consensus seems to be one of "The budget airlines have destroyed our tourism industry".

With the exception of London and one or two other places the UK isn't really much of an international tourist destination. Our seaside resorts are largely unknown outside the British Isles - you just don't get people coming here from abroad to have beach holidays in Clacton or Cromer or Skegness. Nor do you get many people coming here to have city breaks in Exeter or Chester or Inverness.

In the past, UK tourists used to have seaside holidays in Clacton or Cromer and city breaks in Exeter or Chester. These days they hop on budget flights and have their holidays and city breaks in other countries... but the empty beds in our own cities and resorts are not taken up by visitors from abroad.

Well, everyone thinks that low cost air travel equals low budget travellers.

Well, I have here a study where they enquired low cost passengers at the Lisbon Airport. These are the short sized results:

53,4% had superior studies (degree)

21,4% were highly positioned professionals

52,1% came for a city break

87% were highly satisfacted with the service

So, among others, they concluded that a low cost passenger is NOT someone used to low quality patterns. They prefer to save money on the airline ticket and spend it more on accomodations. Low cost carriers are essential do develop urban destinations like Lisbon. Low cost carriers make tourist destinations. Low cost carriers conquer passengers from regular carriers and atract others to city and short breaks. Low cost carriers atract tourists from revelant tourist segments.

And i absolutely agree with this.

<snip> On the island of Alderney (where I have family) the consensus seems to be one of "The budget airlines have destroyed our tourism industry".<snip>
Well that is certainly unfortunate :(

As someone who visited one of the seaside resort towns northwest of York many moons ago (name ecapes me now I'm too busy right now to Google for a name but it starts with an S IIRC), I can say it was a downright charming destination ^

OTOH, I suspect I too may well have flown to the beaches of Portugal or Spain if the price on an LCC were the same as train / bus fare to this charming seaside destination. And of course vacations seem more exotic when a passport and a foreign language is involved :)

EmailKid

whens the paper due?

Interesting topic

....
With the exception of London and one or two other places the UK isn't really much of an international tourist destination. Our seaside resorts are largely unknown outside the British Isles - you just don't get people coming here from abroad to have beach holidays in Clacton or Cromer or Skegness.....

Without contradicting anything you've said, I think you may have overlooked the English as a Foreign Languge industry which is another part of tourism.

Coastal towns such as Margate, Brighton and Portsmouth are heaving with students from Europe who come for the summer to learn and improve their English.

I've never been to Alderney, but if transport options to get there are easier and cheaper than before, the town might like to consider opening up opportunities for language students. (There's been a huge problem with language schools operating as visa factories and this year many have been closed - places are extremely limited right now. There's a HUGE demand - especially now). If the town are friendly to students - rather than shunning them - it could do very well as students tend to recommend the experience to friends and family.

I've never been to Alderney, but if transport options to get there are easier and cheaper than before, the town might like to consider opening up opportunities for language students. (There's been a huge problem with language schools operating as visa factories and this year many have been closed - places are extremely limited right now. There's a HUGE demand - especially now). If the town are friendly to students - rather than shunning them - it could do very well as students tend to recommend the experience to friends and family.

Getting OT, but I hope I'm allowed this little discourse.

Alderney is an island, not a town. It has a population of 2000, and can be circumvented by car in about ten minutes. Its airport has three runways (two grass, one asphalt), the longest is 880m long. Alderney is currently served by a fleet of Islander and Trislander aircraft; I believe the runway may be long enough for Twin Otters and DO228s, but I don't believe it could take anything larger. The fact that you have to use small aircraft means that the overheads per passenger are much higher, so offering low-cost flights is out of the question.

Alderney is a great place for family holidays (got some lovely beaches). It's a great place for walking, sailing and birdwatching. It's got some fantastic restaurants. But it hasn't got the infrastructure to cope with language holidays, and being so remote and inaccessible I don't think it's the sort of place where students would want to be stuck for a typical two-week course.

Getting OT, but I hope I'm allowed this little discourse.

Alderney is an island, not a town. It has a population of 2000, and can be circumvented by car in about ten minutes. Its airport has three runways (two grass, one asphalt), the longest is 880m long. Alderney is currently served by a fleet of Islander and Trislander aircraft; I believe the runway may be long enough for Twin Otters and DO228s, but I don't believe it could take anything larger. The fact that you have to use small aircraft means that the overheads per passenger are much higher, so offering low-cost flights is out of the question.

Alderney is a great place for family holidays (got some lovely beaches). It's a great place for walking, sailing and birdwatching. It's got some fantastic restaurants. But it hasn't got the infrastructure to cope with language holidays, and being so remote and inaccessible I don't think it's the sort of place where students would want to be stuck for a typical two-week course.

A tiny fraction might, and considering how many there are, that might suit the island (and the students) nicely. But you can see already that I know NOTHING about Alderney, so you already know the worth of my opinions on this subject ;) :) .

I took a Spanish friend of mine to Scotland when we were 16/17 - had a rail pass and went to Inverness, Aberdeen, Drumnadrochit, Nairn, Stirling etc.. she learnt MUCH more in the two weeks there than in the month she spent in London. People were kinder and more patient, and took the time to listen. We've both loved Scotland ever since.

A tiny fraction might, and considering how many there are, that might suit the island (and the students) nicely. But you can see already that I know NOTHING about Alderney, so you already know the worth of my opinions on this subject ;) :) .

I took a Spanish friend of mine to Scotland when we were 16/17 - had a rail pass and went to Inverness, Aberdeen, Drumnadrochit, Nairn, Stirling etc.. she learnt MUCH more in the two weeks there than in the month she spent in London. People were kinder and more patient, and took the time to listen. We've both loved Scotland ever since.

As a tourism student, I would say that the UK, especially Scotland has a great tourism industry. In 2003 there were 18.1 million tourists to Scotland, and this figure is growing. With a number of festivals such as The Edinburgh festival, West end festival (Glasgow), the Burns festival (Ayrshire region), there really is a lot for us as a country to be proud of.

I do research work on behalf of Visit Scotland as part of a scholarship and as the Scottish Parliament state, "Tourism is everyones business". With the scenario planning commitee at Visit Scotland, there is a lot to look forward to in the future.

Anyhow, back to the original question! I do believe that Low cost airlines have rejuvenated areas that were in dire need of tourism, such as the Prestwick area etc. :D