Company Profiles of HSBC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Company Profiles of HSBC - Essay Example Historical Background HSBC was reported to have been founded by â€Å"Thomas Sutherland, a Scot who was then working for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company† (HSBC Global Site, 2012, par. 2). Its establishment was disclosed to have been fuelled by the perceived need to finance increasingly expanding trade between Europe, China and India. As such, the first bank was noted to have been opened in 1865 in Hong Kong and in Shanghai, China one month after. In the UK, its official website disclosed that the roots of HSBC bank was traced from the establishment of Birmingham and Midland Bank which was founded by Charles Geach in Union Street in the city of Birmingham on the 22nd of August, 1826. Only in 1992 was it officially identified as part of the HSBC Group by joining as member. Historical facts revealed that in September of 1999, the Midland Bank was already renamed HSBC Bank to communicate to the public its corporate leadership as a global financial bank. Compan y Structure and Organization HSBC UK is governed and headed by its CEO, Brian Robertson. Three managing officers report directly to him under Personal Financial Services, Business and Commercial Segment, and Commercial Banking (The Official Board.com 2012 ). Main Products and Services The categories of HSBC’s products and services are initially classified into two broad categories: personal and business. Under personal products and services, there are four distinct offers: everyday banking; borrowing, savings and investing, and insurance. Under business products and services, HSBC provides professional advices regarding starting a business; and banking depending on stipulated capitalization ranging from turnover up to ?2m (business banking); turnover of ?2m to ?25m (commercial banking) and turnover in excess of ?25m (corporate and structured banking). Likewise, HSBC offers international banking services that range from maintaining international business accounts, insurance an d protection, internet banking, importing and exporting and even global cash management, among others (HSBC UK 2012) Areas of Operations HSBC UK operates more than 1,500 branches across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As revealed, HSBC UK scope of operations â€Å"extends to the full range of our commercial, corporate, premier and private banking services - as well as to subsidiary brands like First Direct, M&S Money and HFC Bank. The UK is also home to our global headquarters, 8 Canada Square. Located in the heart of Canary Wharf, 8CS is one of the country's tallest buildings, spanning 42 floors and employing more than 8,000 people across hundreds of different roles† (HSBC Bank plc, 2012, par. 2). Financial Structure The financial highlights sourced from HSBC’s financial interim reports for the period ended June 30, 2011 are summarized below, with comparative figures from June 30, 2010: Financial Highlights (?M) June 30, 2011 December 30, 2010 Net Inter est Income 3,622 3,710 Profit for the Period 1,435 979 Total Assets 857,288 798,494 Total Liabilities 824,760 766,137 Total Equity 32,528 32,357 Source: HSBC Bank plc, Interim Report 2011 ` From the financial highlights, it could be deduced despite the apparent 2.43% decline in net interest income of HSBC from the December 30, 2010 period to June 30, 2011, the profit for the same period exhibited a remarkable increase from

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position Term Paper

Am I A Good Match for My Current Nursing Position - Term Paper Example And when it comes to instrumental values, I hold dependability and trust very close to my heart. I highly value these structures which I set for myself in terms of my career aspirations and my personal growth. I firmly believe that these are the value structures which are adopted by people in the nursing field. I also believe that personal development is the key to improve self-knowledge, identity, talents as well as enhancing the quality of life.   For me, nursing is not a career but a way of life. I thrive hard to be the best that I can be through my personal development and dedication in my line of duty. I firmly believe that my skills are a good match with your current position through my progress, my recent strength quest analysis and my interviews with my supervisors. Summary of Strengths Quest Findings:   Through my strength quest activity, I come to a final conclusion that I have the abilities that it needs to be in my current position and it increases my confident that I am good match for my current nursing position. The strength insight reports reflect my development, positivity, empathy, input and individualization. In the developer section, it mentions that one of my strength is that I engage myself in group activities and projects which is extremely important in my line of work. It states that I find purpose or meaning in the simple things that money cannot buy. Nursing is all about giving, rising up to the challenge and communicating with other people comfortably. It also mentions that I have a playful spirit to tackle serious challenges and opportunities. In the positivity section, I did quite well. It states that I acknowledged newcomers or outsiders to my world easily  and that I am comfortable having a conversation with a stranger. It mentions that I am carefree, cheerful and easygoing. It also states that I have the ability to pull together massive informations, ideas or facts for later use. These are also important factors to become a great nurse. As a nurse one should be able to put on a cheerful face, have the zeal to learn more and be practical in life. In the Empathy section, what makes me stand out is my ability to detect impending conflict sooner than most people. I also have the gift for helping people in resolving their difference which makes me resolve others differences politely and courteously. It also mentions that I have the ability to calm those who are struggling with the uncertainty of change. This is very crucial in a nursing field as we have to deal with people suffering from various diseases on a daily basis. In the input section, what makes me stand out is my courage to express my doubts about certain ideas, theories or concept which is a pivotal instrument to gain knowledge. I also have the ability to put aside my emotions and calmly absorb information. I also enjoy the act of reading and collecting information. In the individualization section, what makes me stand out is my ability to identi fy talents, skills, knowledge, motivations of an individual. It also mentions that I am a willing person to help others around me and that I find life’s joy through helping someone in need. Supervisor’s View of an Effective Leader: In my interview with my supervisor, I found out her view about what leadership skills constitute to become an effective  leader. Leadership is not about having the power to control others or dominating other people.

HRM Case Study on You Never know Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HRM Case Study on You Never know - Essay Example Many deserving people are fighting to get a basic job which will at least pay their mortgage and on the other hand, people who cannot even read properly, let alone develop strategies for a company, get great jobs. Why is this? It all boils down to the resume. If someone has carefully crafted their resume by making even their simplest and easiest tasks show up as if they have climbed Mount Everest, it is obvious that it will impress the company. On the other hand, there are also those who are so gullible that they will not show up their most important experiences clearly so that they become overshadowed in the resume and don’t earn them as much credit as they deserve. The fault can also be ascribed to companies for not being thorough in their selection. More often than not they may drop a very worthy candidate’s resume in the bin just because the font was not right or his English Language might be a little weak. I personally know a case from â€Å"Reckitt & Benkiser† who rejected a girl candidate for their Management Trainee program because her father was a retired employee of â€Å"Unilever†. They might have had this assumption that she will pass on secrets to a rival company. Everyone does not make their own resume. As a business student I know that there might be a handful students who â€Å"really† know how to do this job well and everyone will come up to them to get their resume made. Either this, or there may be people who hire professional help to get their resumes made. This practice happens in abundance because companies look for, and hire, only those candidates who have a snappy line in their resume which will catch the eyes of the company. Writing a goal has never been tougher. Simply writing â€Å"to get a good job in a multinational company to make a career† is never enough. You have to write â€Å"explore my horizons in the prestigious working environment this company offers and make my time in this

Syntax and Semantics Essay Example for Free

Syntax and Semantics Essay In programming language theory, semantics is the field concerned with the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages. It does so by evaluating the meaning of syntactically legal strings defined by a specific programming language, showing the computation involved. In such a case that the evaluation would be of syntactically illegal strings, the result would be non-computation. Semantics describes the processes a computer follows when executing a program in that specific language. This can be shown by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program, or an explanation of how the program will execute on a certain platform, hence creating a model of computation. Semantics reveals the meaning of syntactically valid strings in a language. For natural languages, this means correlating sentences and phrases with the objects, thoughts, and feelings of our experiences. For programming languages, semantics describes the behavior that a computer follows when executing a program in the language. We might disclose this behavior by describing the relationship between the input and output of a program or by a step-by-step explanation of how a program will execute on a real or an abstract machine. Semantics is concerned with the interpretation or understanding of programs and how to predict the outcome of program execution. The semantics of a programming language describe the relation between the syntax and the model of computation. Semantics can be thought of as a function which maps syntactical constructs to the computational model. This approach is called syntax-directed semantics There are several widely used techniques ( algebraic, axiomatic, denotational, operational, and translation) for the description of the semantics of programming languages. †¢Algebraic semantics describe the meaning of a program by defining an algebra. The algebraic relationships and operations are described by axioms and equations. †¢Axiomatic semantics defines the meaning of the program implicitly. It makes assertions about relationships that hold at each point in the execution of the program. Axioms define the properties of the control structures and state the properties that may be inferred. A property about a program is deduced by using the axioms. Each program has a pre-condition which describes the initial conditions required by the program prior to execution and a post-condition which describes, upon termination of the program, the desired program property. †¢Denotational semantics tell what is computed by giving a mathematical object (typically a function) which is the meaning of the program. Denotational semantics are used in comparitive studies of programming langauges. †¢Operational semantics tell how a computation is performed by defining how to simulate the execution of the program. Operational semantics may describe the syntactic transformations which mimic the execution of the program on an abstract machine or define a translation of the program into recursive functions. Operational semantics are used when learning a programming language and by compiler writers. †¢Translation semantics describe how to translate a program into an other langauge usually the language of a machine. Translation semantics are used in compilers. Much of the work in the semantics of programming languages is motivated by the problems encountered in trying to construct and understand imperative programs programs with assignment commands. Since the assignment command reassigns values to variables, the assignment can have unexpected effects in distant portions of the program. Syntax In computer science, the syntax of a computer language is the set of rules that defines the combinations of symbols that are considered to be correctly structured document or fragment in that language. This applies both to programming languages, where the document represents source code, and markup languages, where the document represents data. The syntax of a language defines its surface form.[1] Text-based computer languages are based on sequences of characters, while visual programming languages are based on the spatial layout and connections between symbols (which may be textual or graphical). Documents that are syntactically invalid are said to have a syntax error. Syntax refers to the ways symbols may be combined to create well-formed sentences (or programs) in the language. Syntax deï ¬ nes the formal relations between the constituents of a language, thereby providing a structural description of the various expressions that make up legal strings in the language. Syntax deals solely with the form and structure of symbols in a language without any consideration given to their meaning. Syntax – the form – is contrasted with semantics – the meaning. In processing computer languages, semantic processing generally comes after syntactic processing, but in some cases semantic processing is necessary for complete syntactic analysis, and these are done together or concurrently. In a compiler, the syntactic analysis comprises the frontend, while semantic analysis comprises the backend (and middle end, if this phase is distinguished). Syntax versus semantics The syntax of a language describes the form of a valid program, but does not provide any information about the meaning of the program or the results of executing that program. The meaning given to a combination of symbols is handled by semantics (either formal or hard-coded in a reference implementation). Not all syntactically correct programs are semantically correct. Many syntactically correct programs are nonetheless ill-formed, per the languages rules; and may (depending on the language specification and the soundness of the implementation) result in an error on translation or execution. In some cases, such programs may exhibit undefined behavior. Even when a program is well-defined within a language, it may still have a meaning that is not intended by the person who wrote it. Using natural language as an example, it may not be possible to assign a meaning to a grammatically correct sentence or the sentence may be false: †¢Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. is grammatically well-formed but has no generally accepted meaning. †¢John is a married bachelor. is grammatically well-formed but expresses a meaning that cannot be true. Statement In computer programming a statement is the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language. A program written in such a language is formed by a sequence of one or more statements. A statement will have internal components (e.g., expressions). Many languages (e.g. C) make a distinction between statements and definitions, with a statement only containing executable code and a definition declaring an identifier. A distinction can also be made between simple and compound statements; the latter may contain statements as components.

A Concussion is No Laughing Matter Essay examples -- Exploratory Essay

A Concussion is No Laughing Matter It’s something we see it in cartoons all the time; one character gets bonked on the head and stars are suddenly floating in the air with the cartoon having a dazed look. However, only seconds later the cartoon is back up and back in action. This may seem funny on the latest saga of Tom and Jerry or Coyote and Roadrunner, but it’s not so funny in real life. Seeing stars, feeling dazed, and losing consciousness may be a type of brain injury called a concussion. A concussion, simply put, is a temporary loss of normal brain function caused by a sudden jolt or blow to the head. Concussions and other types of brain injuries are fairly common. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, â€Å"every 21 seconds, someone in the United States suffers from a brain injury.† Most doctors consider concussions as a mild form of brain injury because they are usually not life threatening (cdc.gov). Even so, the effects of concussions can be serious. Any blow to the head can warrant a concussion. Sport accidents, falls, fights, and car accidents are th... A Concussion is No Laughing Matter Essay examples -- Exploratory Essay A Concussion is No Laughing Matter It’s something we see it in cartoons all the time; one character gets bonked on the head and stars are suddenly floating in the air with the cartoon having a dazed look. However, only seconds later the cartoon is back up and back in action. This may seem funny on the latest saga of Tom and Jerry or Coyote and Roadrunner, but it’s not so funny in real life. Seeing stars, feeling dazed, and losing consciousness may be a type of brain injury called a concussion. A concussion, simply put, is a temporary loss of normal brain function caused by a sudden jolt or blow to the head. Concussions and other types of brain injuries are fairly common. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, â€Å"every 21 seconds, someone in the United States suffers from a brain injury.† Most doctors consider concussions as a mild form of brain injury because they are usually not life threatening (cdc.gov). Even so, the effects of concussions can be serious. Any blow to the head can warrant a concussion. Sport accidents, falls, fights, and car accidents are th...

Light and Sight in The Good-Morrow Essay -- Good-Morrow Essays

Light and Sight in The Good-Morrow John Donne’s poetry deals with themes of creation and discovery. In his work "The Good-Morrow," these issues are discussed through the use of poetic symbols. Donne gives major emphasis to the sense of sight as a way of discovering pure love. The first stanza contains images of sleep and, more generally, the ways in which one’s eyes can be closed to the world. Donne uses phrases like "not weaned" (2), "childishly" (3), and "dream" (7), to suggest the idea that when one’s eyes are closed, there is more than light that is denied from the sense of sight. In the visual example given, his imagery goes beyond that which is normally associated with the absence of light. Figuratively speaking, the narrator is talking about the light which comes from being knowledgeable about the ways of the world. In this sense, to have a "dream" of someone is to look at an illusion (7). This presents an interesting paradox. When talking about issues of blindness and sight, one necessarily assumes that some kind of light is present. Sight only comes into play when one is either denied vision or given the privilege of vision in the material world. To the speaker, a world without the presence of light has no concept of basic form. The last two lines of the first stanza deal with this issue. Those lines state,"If ever any beauty I did see,/Which I desired, and got, ‘twas but a dream of thee." (6-7) Though the speaker is in a place where there is no light, within the world of the sleeping dream, shades of "beauty" have come to him, and he has mistook them for the true light of beauty introduced in the next stanza. Throughout stanza two, images waking into the daylight world replace the dark images of slee... ...Through the act of looking, the outside world can be viewed as a direct manifestation of the power of true love. The opening line of this stanza reads,"My face in thine eye, thine in mine appears," (15) Giving the reader an image showing the circular reflection of a face within an eye suggests the form of a world existing within the gaze of the speaker. The reflected image is actually a world of potential, filled with hope of love, that creates a light all its own. The last lines of the poem allude to this,"If our two loves be one, or thou and I/Love so alike that none do slacken, none can die." (20-1) The speaker, and perhaps Donne himself, is given the power of life eternal through the love he finds in his partner’s eyes. Their "two loves" are truly "one" if by the grace of their emotions for each other, they can imagine a life together where,"none can die†

Tourism: An Attractive Industry For Economic Development

ABSTRACT Tourism is widely recognized as an important catalyst for economic growth. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism industry is amongst the biggest industries that make substantial contribution to the economy in terms of its contribution to the GDP, the revenue generated, increased employment and other benefits. The success of the tourism industry begs the question what are the characteristics that make it an attractive industry for economic growth. In order to respond to this question, this analysis will explore on the various tourist attraction sites including natural and cultural attractions, heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment and events. This will include examining how these attractions contribute to economic development. UK will be used as the case study. INTRODUCTION Tourism is widely recognized as an important catalyst for economic growth. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism industry is amongst the biggest industries that make substantial contributions to the economy in terms of its contribution to the GDP, the revenue generated, increased employment and other benefits (Business tourism 2003). Take for example the UK, the 6th largest destination in the world attracting over 32 million overseas visitors yearly (Williams et al., 2010). UK’s tourism industry is the 5th largest industry and contributes to a large proportion of the GDP. In 2007, the industry was valued at ?114 billion representing 8.2% of GDP and employing over 2.65 million people (Williams et al., 2010). In 2009, the industry was valued at ?115.4 billion of the UK economy, hence representing 8.9% of UK GDP (Williams et al., 2010). The tourism industry is further anticipated to grow yearly at 2.6%, a growth rate similar to that of retail and construction industries (Williams et al., 2010). Indeed, tourism increasingly continues to become an attractive industry for economic growth with an increasing number of visitors. This begs the question what are the characteristics that make tourism an attractive industry for economic developmentThis analysis is thus intended on exploring on these characteristics with a focus on the factors that lead to economic development. Before giving an overview of the fundamental aspects of the economics of tourism, we will first define what we understand by the term â€Å"tourism† WHAT IS TOURISM? The term â€Å"tourism† was first defined by Hunziker and Krapf (1942), the main pioneers of tourism research. They defined tourism as a sum of relations and phenomena that resulted from travelling and staying of non-residents. In this context, a stay does not result into permanent residence of the individual and is not in any way connected to permanent or temporary earning activity. This conceptual definition was for a considerable time generally accepted but had certain flaws. For example, a visit to the hospital could be considered as a form of tourism. Furthermore, under this conceptual definition, non-residents were only identified with foreigners; hence domestic tourism had no place in it. In the later years, a more succinct definition of tourism was put forth by the British Tourism Society. Based on the work of Burkart & Medlik (1974), the British Tourism Society adopted the following definition. Tourism is deemed to be inclusive of any activity concerned with short-term movement of people to destinations other than their neither main continuous domiciles nor place of work (Burkart & Medlik 1974. Within this conceptual definition, activities involving a stay or a visit to the destination are included. It also allows for domestic and day visits as well. This definition still applies up to date. Another conceptual definition that deserves special attention is that put forth by Gilbert (1990). Gilbert (1990) posits that tourism is a part of recreation that involves travelling to other destinations for a short term-period with the aim of satisfying a consumer need. This definition places tourism in the overall context of recreation. Recreation according to Cooper et al. (1993) refers to the pursuits engaged in during leisure time. However, it should be noted that tourism is not only confined to activities carried out during leisure time. Part of the tourism (business tourism in particular) takes place during working time including conventions and business meetings. TOURIST SECTORS Tourism comprise of five main sectors: THE ATTRACTION SECTOR: – this sector comprise of the natural and cultural attractions, heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment and events (Anon 2004). THE ACCOMMODATION SECTOR: – this sector comprise of the hotels, motels, apartments, villas and flats, guest houses, holiday villages, campsites, marinas, touring caravans and condominium timeshares (Anon 2004). THE TRANSPORT SECTOR: – Consists of the airlines, railways, shipping lines, car rental operators, and bus and coach operators (Anon 2004). THE TRAVEL ORGANIZER SECTOR: – the sector covers tour operators, travel agents and incentive travel organizers among others (Anon 2004). THE DESTINATION ORGANIZATION SECTOR: – this includes regional and national tourist offices, local tourist officers and tourism associations (Anon 2004). In order to answer the question: what are the characteristics that make tourism an attractive industry for economic development, we will explore on the attraction sites discussed above. This will also include exploring on business tourism and its contribution to economic development. CULTURAL AND HERITAGE ATTRACTIONS Cultural and heritage attractions play a significant role in the tourism industry. Most of the world heritage sites have a cultural significance that transcend national boundaries and of importance to the present and future generations. Currently, there are 890 world heritage sites reflecting a rich diversity of the world’s cultural heritage (Endresen 1999). In the United Kingdom, sites as diverse such as the Giant’s Causeway, City of Edinburgh, Blaenavon Industrial landscape, and Manchester City help make up the UK’s heritage (UNESCO 2009). In this context, Manchester city, one of the most vibrant cosmopolitan cities has a thriving art and cultural scene that attracts a large number of visitors. The city’s attraction centres include the sports stadiums, museums and galleries, and music venues (UNESCO 2009). The rich cultural heritage, vibrant arts scene and the multicultural population in UK makes it a very attractive tourist destination. Museums which showcase the best of Britain’s culture and history attract millions of international and domestic visitors. Britain’s culture and heritage is estimated to attracting ?4.5 billion worth of spending by inbound visitors annually (UNESCO 2009). NATURAL LANDSCAPE SITES Another popular attractive site in the tourism industry is the natural landscape. Natural landscapes such as Stonehenge, the most famous and mysterious landmark in the UK, attracts a vast number of tourists (Mieczkowski, 1990). Built over 650 years ago and consisting of a ring of monolithic stones, the landmark is a very popular attractive site. Scenic landscapes such as the Wye Valley, an internationally protected landscape straddling the border between Wales and England also attracts a large number of visitors (Mieczkowski, 1990). This area that covers parts of Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire is widely recognized for its gorgeous scenery and dense native woodlands as well as for its wildlife and archaeological remains (Mieczkowski, 1990). NATIONAL AND WILDLIFE PARKS National parks also play a huge role in the tourism industry. Britain’s finest national and wildlife parks, zoos and animal attractions such as the Animalarium attract a large number of visitors (Mathieson & Wall 1982). The national parks offer a variety of activities ranging from walking, exploring on the rich and cultural heritage to pursuing other activities such as cycling, rock climbing, and absailing among others (Mathieson & Wall 1982). An estimated 110 million people are estimated to visit national parks in England and Wales annually (UNESCO 2009). ENTERTAINMENT AND EVENTS Entertainment and events also play a major role in the tourism industry. Majority of the concerts and music festivals taking place in the UK attract more than 7.7 million visitors, domestic and overseas combined (ICTHR 2010). The significant amount of revenue generated from entertainment and events is used in boosting the UK’s economy. A great majority of these tourists are UK residents who travel outside of their regions to attend events and see their favourite artists perform live in another region within the UK (ICTHR 2010). London dominates as the destination for live music tourism in the UK. Music tourists at the capital outnumber the local music fans. Its dominance can be attributed to the high number of domestic music tourists attending concerts. With a population of more than 7 million people, the region is host to the O2 Arena, the most successful concert venue in the world (ICTHR 2010). London region is also a host to Wembley stadium and Royal Albert Hall as well (ICTHR 2010). Its parks, mainly Victoria Park, Hyde Park and Clapham are home to a growing number of music festivals (ICTHR 2010). BEACHES AND COASTAL AREAS Beaches and coastal areas are also a huge attraction site for tourists. Tourism in the south of Wales, for example, is primarily focused on the coastal areas in order to attract its visitors. The Welsh tourist industry which is worth ?3.5billion and makes a significant contribution to Wales’ GDP relies largely on its excellent coastal scenery in attracting tourists (Williams, et.al, 2010) BUSINESS TOURISM Another important, yet least acknowledged component of the tourism industry is business tourism. It is one of the most lucrative components of the tourism industry with various benefits that stimulate the growth of the economy. In the UK, business tourism is a wide sector encompassing Conferences and meetings – the British Conference Market Trends Survey 2001 estimates this to be worth around ?7.3 billion annually (Business report 2003). Exhibitions and trade fairs: – these are listed as the 5th largest marketing medium in the UK attracting 11% of the media expenditure and are estimated at ?2.04 billion annually (Business report 2003). Incentive travel: – the value of inbound incentive travel market is estimated to be around ?165 million annually (Business report 2003). Corporate events: – estimates for this segment are between ?700 million and ?1billion annually (Business report 2003). Outdoor events: – a rough estimate of the outdoor events is around ?1billion annually (Business report 2003). In the past few decades, business tourism has grown significantly exceeding the overall tourism growth rate. According to the International Passenger Survey 2001, business tourism accounted for 29.7% of all overseas visitors to the UK and 31.7% of the inbound earnings (Business report 2003). From what can be discerned, investment in business tourism can significantly stimulate the growth of the economy. It may lead to regeneration of urban and inner cities as evident with Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and Manchester (Business report 2003). Its resilience during the great recession makes it even more an attractive industry for investment. The business tourism proved resilient, being less affected by economic downturns and by disasters such as the Foot and Mouth Epidemic unlike leisure tourism (Business report 2003). With the above in mind, it is worthy examining some of the main elements that make attractions to be appealing to many. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS It is important to recognize that tourists’ attractions are not all equal. Some may have more potential to draw visitors than others. The main elements that set attractions apart include quality, uniqueness, authenticity, drawing power and activity options. QUALITY: – high quality is a key principle for tourism development. This means offering smooth customer oriented operations and procedures and ensuring that attractions have a pleasing appearance and that they are visitor friendly (Merchant 2005). This includes asking these questions Is the attraction visitor friendly .How does it rate in terms of the appearance, hospitality, operations and resource protection AUTHENTICITY: – authenticity refers to originality. For example, if it is a cultural heritage attraction, authenticity would imply letting the distinctive local flavour of the community to shine in ways that create a â€Å"sense of place†(Merchant 2005). We can consider: Whether the attraction reflects the natural and cultural heritage of the community UNIQUENESS: – this is the â€Å"edge† that sets attraction apart from competition. It involves asking the fundamental question: Is the attraction unique Take for example, The London Eye which is sitting on the South Bank of River Thames. Hanging like a gigantic wheel, this landmark is instantly recognizable. It is currently the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe standing 135 metres high and supported by a giant A-frame which juts the spindle (UNESCO 20090. This makes it unique from other Ferris wheels which use two A-frames and axle support method. DRAWING POWER: – this is a measurement on the power to attract a large number of visitors (Merchant 2005). ACTIVITY OPTIONS: – this is an important characteristic of attractions (Merchant 2005). It involves assessing whether the attraction site offer a varied and changing set of activities. CONCLUSION Indeed, tourism is an attractive industry for economic development. Major attraction sites including the scenic landscapes, cultural and heritage sites, national and wildlife parks, landmarks, theme parks, gardens and museums, beaches and coastal regions, and entertainment among others attract a large number of visitors. There is no doubt that the industry contributes to a large proportion of the GDP and is responsible for employing millions of people. This makes it an important industry for investment. (2,070 words) REFERENCES Anon, 2004. Economic characteristics of the tourism sector, http://v5.books.elsevier.com/bookscat/samples/9780750666374/9780750666374.PDF {Accessed 21st January 2012} Burkart, A.J. and S. Medlik, 1974. Tourism. Past, Present and Future. London: Heinemann. Cooper, C., J. Fletcher, D. Gilbert and S. Wanhill, 1993. Tourism. Principles & Practice. London: Pitman Publishing. Business tourism partnership report, 2003. Business tourism briefing: an overview of the UK’s business tourism industry. London http://www.businesstourismpartnership.com/pubs/briefing.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Endresen, K., 1999. Sustainable tourism and cultural heritage: A review of development assistance and its potential to promote sustainability http://www.nwhf.no/files/File/culture_fulltext.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Gilbert, D.C., 1990. â€Å"Conceptual issues in the meaning of tourism†. In: C.P. Cooper (ed.), Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management, Vol. 2. London: Pitman Publishing. Hunziker, W. & k. Krapf, 1942. Grundriss der Allgemeinen Fremdenverkehrslehre. Zurich: Polygraphischer Verlag International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR), 2010. The contribution of music festivals and major concerts to tourism in the UK. London: Bournemouth University. http://www.ukmusic.org/assets/media/UK%20Music%20-Music%20Tourism.pdf{Accessed 22nd January 2012} Mathieson, A. and G. Wall, 1982. Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. London: Longman. Merchant, R., 2005. Tourism attraction characteristics. Community tourism handbook: Minnesota Extension. http://nercrd.psu.edu/entrepreneur_what_works_wksp/Handouts/MerchantCharacteristics23.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012} Mieczkowski, Z., 1990. World Trends in Tourism and Recreation. New York. UNESCO, 2009. World heritage sites. http://www.unesco.org.uk/world_heritage_sites {Accessed 20th January 2012} Williams, et.al, 2010. An assessment of UK heritage coasts in South Wales: J A steers revisited. Journal of Coastal Research. http://www.griffith.edu.au/conference/ics2007/pdf/ICS087.pdf {Accessed 20th January 2012}