The Post-war Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry

The Post-war Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry

1. Changing Socio-Economic Circumstances.

The car-owning society.

Car ownership- changes over time.

Car ownership has changed dramatically since 1953 in which 3 million

cars were owned in the UK, meaning 14% of the population owned cars.

But by 1997, 22 million cars were owned in the UK; therefore 68% of

the population owned cars.

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I found the information for this graph at: www.dft.gov.uk

The graph demonstrates how the number of cars owned in the UK

increased from 1979 in 1950 to over 23899 in 2001. Latest data from

the department for transport shows that car ownership in 2002 was over

24543 thousand. In another 10 years time I predict that cars owned

will be over 26000 and will be continuously increasing.

The increase of car ownership can be based on many factors.

· One of these main factors is the increase of disposable income. This

occurs due to the increase of pay. After people have paid bills and

for other necessities, people have more disposable income to spend on

cars and other such as leisure and consumer goods.

· Another issue to consider about the increase of car ownership is

that there are flexible ways of borrowing money. Loans enable people

to buy cars. Years ago borrowing money was very hard and wasn't as

easy as it is today. This explains the gradual increase of car

ownership.

· In the UK, cars have become relatively cheaper due to automation.

This means cars have become more affordable for many people. Also this

suggests that productivity has increased as well if the price is

cheaper. Meaning there are more offers on cars on the market.