The central aim of this essay is to explore the relationship between British law and tourism. With reference to 5 Acts of Parliament and 5 court case examples, this essay has made an effort to show the way in which the law serves the tourism industry and the reasons why the industry needs to be governed. The essay concludes with a specific focus on the likely impact that tourism will have on future laws.
It is impossible to ignore tourism. It has grown into what is widely described as the world's largest industry and, for many destinations; it represents a vital source of income, foreign exchange and employment. More importantly, however, tourism is about people. In 2002 over 190 million tourists visited the UK contributing approximately £79.9 billion to its economy, and supporting an estimated 2,127,200 employees (staruk 08/2003). As a result of its tremendous growth, the travel and tourism industry has increasingly become the subject of regulations, not only from the UK Parliament but also from the European Union. The new Parliament in Scotland and the Assemblies in Wales, Northern Ireland and London also have powers to regulate the industry. In the UK we have two sources of law - legislation and case law. Legislation is made my Parliament and is the collective name for what is also known as Acts of Parliament. Case law is law made by the courts and is known as the common law or judicial precedent. The following essay aims to identify just a few Acts of Parliament which have had a direct bearing on the field of tourism.
The 1960's saw a boom in mass tourism. Going abroad on holiday was a new experience for the majority and so many tourism providers took advantage of consumers' lack of awareness. In the holiday market, consumers were considered easy prey' and so needed to be protected against mis-description of goods and services. It is for this reason that the Trades Description Act 1968 was established.
