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To reduce carbon and mange climate change each year Alton Towers budget for environmentally focused initiatives such as LED lighting, solar PV, variable speed drive and manage water efficiency at the attraction. There are many things that Alton Towers are currently doing to manage climate issues, these include: investing in onsite renewable assets and diverting waste from landfill where possible through recycling and generating energy from waste.

The attraction is also helping to reduce plastic pollution and are currently focusing on removing single use plastic from the park. An example includes in 2018 where they phased out plastic straws. By having these initiatives in place in can help benefit the environment as it raises awareness of the environmental issues. In addition to this, some tourists are motivated to visit certain attractions if they’re doing their bit for the environment in which case this means that Alton Towers may attract more tourists.

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Alton Towers contributes to the local community through employment. Alton Towers approximately employs 2,500 local people. In 2019, Alton Towers made £1.74 billion, this has a positive impact on the local area due to money being spent at the attraction gets spent in the local area as people’s wages. This is called the multiplier effect. However, most jobs at Alton Towers are seasonal and people become unemployed at other times of the year.

Alton Towers also contributes to the local economy through local procurement and supporting other local businesses in the area through generating consistent flow of tourists.

The more money that Alton Towers generate will benefit the local area and will contribute to the local GDP, with more money, the local area can improve their infrastructure which could include new buildings such as hotels, roads and railways which will benefit the local people in terms of accessibility and jobs.

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Alton towers has been discussing a 10-year plan that boosts tourism in Staffordshire by having Alton Towers open year long. By having the theme park open year long, this would generate more jobs and more permanent positions. However, I also think that if Alton Towers were to be open all year, they could reduce the number of tourists who enter as customers biggest complaint is that the queues are long which ruins the day.

Additionally, there are other local attractions nearby the park including Wildlife Park. Awesome Walls and Wetley Moor Alpaca’s, I think that Alton Towers could work alongside these attractions and offer a combined ticket price. This would encourage visitors to spend more than one day in the local area. By the attraction being open all year round it will create more jobs for the local area in particular full-time positions. This will also improve the cost-of-living standards in the area as people will have more disposable income.

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Alton Tower uses technology for various reasons, technology enables the business to reach more customers, serve more customers and to improve communication. Visitors can book online before they visit, scan their ticket in the form of a QR code once they get there. In addition to this, in 2019 Alton Towers worked in Coca-Cola to pilot self-driving robots to deliver drinks to customers.

Although, technology intrigues customers and makes things more convenient for them the negative impact of this is with Alton Towers employing local people but using technology instead of using people to do some jobs e.g., selling tickets and scanning tickets as you enter the park, less people will be needed as technology will take their place. This will have a negative impact on local employment in the area.

However, a positive impact that technology has had on the local community is that now people are able to book their tickets online, there are less vehicles queueing in the village to purchase tickets on the day, this would have a positive impact as it would avoid traffic congestion in the area.

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In 2015 there was a crash on one of the most popular rides at the attraction whereby 4 people were injured. Due to this the park was closed due to an ongoing investigation.

However, in the months that followed it was reported that visitor numbers to the attraction fell drastically. This meant that local businesses that benefited from the theme park from knock-on trade suffered. Therefore, if something similar was to occur in the future again, it would negatively impact on the local businesses that rely on tourism from tourists visiting Alton Towers. It would mean that their profits would be down which would effective the local economy.

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Alton Towers put on fundraising events throughout the year including bake sales for specific causes to McMillion coffee mornings, and family fun nights to memorabilia auctions to raise vital funds to supporting Merlin’s Magic Wand and other charities and campaigns. Alton Towers Resort also makes local donations to support charities and community engagement projects in Staffordshire, provide overnight experiences to local hospices and their child beneficiaries in end-of-life care and deliver educational and training programmes including Princes Trust. Events put on by Alton Towers is a positive as they are involving the local people and encouraging local people to input into the tourism vision. By supporting the local community like this both the brand and attraction will be seen in a positive light.

Alton Towers will see Drayton Manor as a competitor. At Drayton Manor they do wedding packages. This is something that Alton Towers do not currently offer. I think that this is something that they should consider as there is an increase in people wanting to host their weddings at unique venues.

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The secret to enhancing customer experience at your attraction | Blog (notlost.com)

Impacts of Tourism Revision Notes B.pdf (goldington.beds.sch.uk)

Popular wedding venue types UK 2019 | Statista

Alton Towers could become a year-round attraction | blooloop

Alton Towers rollercoaster crash: villagers wait for trade to return | UK news | The Guardian

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Helping reduce plastic pollution

An estimated 26 million tonnes of plastic pollution ends up in the oceans each year. As advocates of marine conservation, we're focusing even more on removing single use plastic from our business and actively seeking out environmentally responsible businesses throughout our supply chain.

In 2018, we phased out plastic straws within all Merlin's owned attractions worldwide. We'll continue to review the use of plastic within our business, seek innovative partnerships to raise awareness of plastic misuse, and promote recycling through our attractions.

Employee participation

Every year we take part in 'We Care about our Planet' events to support our commitment to sustainability. These include collecting plastics and other waste, encouraging staff to cycle, walk and even skateboard to work and driving awareness about environmental initiatives amongst our staff and guests. Our SEA LIFE aquariums host 'beach cleans' to clear litter and help prevent materials entangling and poisoning creatures that live on or near the beach.

Reporting

We're required to report on our carbon dioxide emissions annually. Our target is to reduce our carbon emission intensity by 2.0% year on year. Full details of our reporting can be found in the Responsible Business section of our Annual Report and Accounts.

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Helping reduce plastic pollution An estimated 26 million tonnes of plastic pollution ends up in the oceans each year. As advocates of marine conservation, we're focusing even more on removing single use plastic from our business and actively seeking out environmentally responsible businesses throughout our supply chain.