Option E • Section 3
Tourism & Sport at the International Scale
Niche tourism, transnational corporations, development strategies and the geography of mega-events.
The varying power of countries to participate in global tourism and sport
Niche tourism strategies
Countries convert distinctive environments, cultures, heritage and creative industries into specialised tourism markets.
Hobbiton, New Zealand
Film locations, national branding and tour infrastructure turned a rural landscape into an international destination.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Global recognition generates jobs and revenue while visitor pressure tests conservation and local benefit sharing.
Enquiry 1 — Build a niche-tourism typology
Compare adventure, film, heritage, medical and ecotourism by resource base, target market, multiplier effect, leakage and vulnerability. Decide whether niche tourism remains niche once it succeeds.
The role of TNCs in international tourism
Airlines, hotel chains and booking platforms connect destinations to capital, technology, marketing and global demand.
Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and AirAsia move visitors; Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Accor and Hyatt build accommodation networks; Agoda and Booking Holdings, Expedia, Trip.com and Airbnb shape visibility and booking. Benefits include investment, employment, standards and training. Costs include leakage, market power, local competition, displacement and environmental pressure.
Enquiry 2 — Follow the Phuket value chain
Trace a tourist’s spending from flight and platform to hotel, food, activities and tax. Identify retained income and leakage for residents, workers, government and TNCs. Add coral, waste, freshwater and marine-pollution pressures, then judge the overall impact.
Tourism as a national development strategy
Tourism can earn foreign exchange, create work and fund infrastructure, but dependence creates exposure to external shocks.
Tourism dependence — Maldives
The island-resort model earns foreign exchange and employment, yet import dependence, leakage, freshwater limits, waste and climate risk constrain the multiplier effect.
Tunisia
Clinics, spas, airports and hotels diversify beach tourism, while dependence on European operators and security perceptions create vulnerability.
Enquiry 3 — Maldives development audit
Map economic, social and environmental benefits and costs. Model one shock—sea-level rise, tsunami, recession or pandemic—and evaluate diversification, regulation and resort resource management. Finish with a [10] judgement.
Hosting international sporting events
Political stability, economic capacity, infrastructure, culture and image shape who can host—and who benefits.
London Olympics — 2012
Regeneration in Stratford brought transport, parkland and housing, alongside high costs, displacement concerns and uneven access to legacy benefits.
Beijing Olympics — 2008
Infrastructure and global image gains illustrate soft power, but displacement, surveillance, environmental and venue-reuse questions complicate the legacy.
Enquiry 4 — Who gains from a mega-event?
Classify outcomes by economic, social, political and environmental dimension, identify winners and losers over time, and answer: “Evaluate the costs and benefits for one country hosting an international sporting event.” [10]