Tourist Case Study – Monaco
Monaco is a small and ancient principality located on the southern coast of France, near the Italian border by the Mediterranean Sea. This principality has been in the hands of the ruling Grimaldi family since the thirteenth century and the Prince Rainier is the current ruler. Although it only covers one square mile (two squared kilometers), it has a current population of 34,000, where only 16% are Monegasque (native population), 16% are Italian, and 47% are French. It is known for having more police per square meter than any other country in the world and for not having to pay any income tax. It is considered by many to be Europe’s most fascinating country. Today, holidaymakers are attracted to the many physical and human factors, which can be found in Monaco.
Certain attractive physical features may be found. Firstly, holidaymakers seem mostly attracted to Monaco’s beautiful Mediterranean climate, where the summers are warm and the winters are mild with an average of 300 sunny days a year. There are many attractive beaches, such as “Larvotto Beach” and the “Monte-Carlo Beach Club”, where the water is at a high temperatures through May till August, and where a chick crown is attracted to, as well as movie stars.
Monaco also contains a huge amount of human factors which attract tourists. For any people who are interested in Museums, Monaco has a wide selection. It is extremely famous for its “Oceanographic Museum”. This being one of the best aquariums in Europe (known to have the rarest fish in the seven seas), is one the main attractions in the principality, containing a total of 90 seawater tanks which hold 4,000 fish of which there are 350 different species. Giant skeletons of oceanic mammals are also on show, as well as the use of a meteorological station and a seismological observatory. A public terrace provides a beautiful panoramic view of the Italian Riviera.
For tourists looking more towards ‘collections’, the “National Museum” contains doll and automata collections dating from the 17th century, as well as the “Museum of Stamps and Coins”. Other museums such as the “exhibition the prince’s private collection of classic cars”, the “naval Museum”, the “wax museum of the princes of Monaco” and the “museum of Prehistoric Anthropology” may be of high curiosity for anyone interested in those particular areas. If you visit Monaco for more historic reasons, you will be sure to visit the “museum of Napoleon’s souvenirs”, where Napoleon’s personal knickknack such as socks, handkerchiefs, medals, uniforms and swords may be found.
One of the oldest parts of Monaco is known as “Monaco-Ville”, or “the old town”. If tourists are looking to understand the history of the principality better, then that is the place to go. It is found on top of a large piece of rock and is called “the rock”. It measures a large 60 meters in height (or 200 feet).
There are three main attractions which seem to dominate tourism: The royal palace, the casino, and the Grand Prix. The Palace, which sits on the “rock”, has been owned by the Grimaldi Family since the 13th Century. It has 15 rooms and the throne room can be visited. There is the changing of the guards. The “Casino”, was built by Charles Garnier, one of France’s best architects of this ire. It stands on a panoramic terrace, offering one of the grandest views along the Riviera. It is a place where every tourist insists on gambling in, not because the actual Casino is any different to any other one, but because it is situated in “Monaco”. Finally, Monaco’s largest success which takes place once a year in the last week of May: the Grand-Prix. It is where people from all over the world come to watch famous racecar drivers race to win. This is a huge sportive event for thousands of people and just the thought of an autograph would make anyone plan to see this.
Many other sportive events take place in Monaco, which also attract locals and holidaymakers. Monaco has its very own Stadium, the “Stade Louis II”, where many huge and famous football matches are played. It is a giant sports complex where a high level of international competition takes place, encouraging tourists from all over the place to support the games. As well as this, it is possible for holidaymakers to book to watch the “Tennis Masters” and “Open tennis championship” tournaments, which are huge sporting events for the History of Tennis where some the World’s best players come.
Many beautiful gardens are very appealing to tourists. These include the “Princess Grace Rose Garden”, where 4,000 rose trees stand being more than 150 different varieties. On the other hand, the “Exotic Garden” is composed of 7000 varieties of succulent and remarkable specimen of cacti. Tourists are known to have had admired them for their amazing shaped and colours (as they come from Africa and Latin America).
The “World Music Awards” are held in Monaco, attracting anyone with music interests or anyone who wants to try and see famous pop stars. The “Yacht show” is a huge event attracting all those tourists interested in boats. Last but not least, holidaymakers usually plan their holidays so as to leave enough time for “shopping”. There are shops such as: “Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Lanvin, Prada, Cartier, Bulgari and Fred”. It is hard to find other towns where all these sorts of shops are so close together.
Tourists can take part in various activities. They can ride in the “Azur Express tourist train”, which is a guided tour around Monaco or take the “Aquavision” which is a boat trip with Underwater vision. There are also “runs” which take place from time to time where people run around Monaco. And of course, there are always parties that over 18s can take part in.
Tourists bring both benefits and problems to Monaco. The prices in Monaco are extremely high and as it is a huge tourist area, when tourist come to Monaco, they spend a lot of money on the shops and restaurants, tourist sites, the casino and hotels. This gives Monaco a very high economy which enables the residents to live tax-free and to keep the people employed. People who are working there are also getting a lot of money to earn a living, they are well paid. Without the tourists coming to Monaco, the people living there would not be living in the same conditions; they would have to pay tax and to do this work extra time. The money is also going towards improving the environment and it is important for Monaco to keep up its high standards.
The tourists in Monaco also cause conflicts between them and the residents. For example at the Grand-Prix, the streets where it is happening will be crowded with people, the roads will be blocked making it inaccessible for public transport for the retired. There will be huge amounts of noise, not only from the screaming crowds, but the motor-cars, where the noise can be heard almost all over the principality. This also disturbs certain schools who happen to have major exams during that week.
During major football matches, there is a huge amount of traffic in Fontvielle (a neat industrial suburb) and therefore the residents nearby are not happy, also because the loudspeakers can be heard. It is no longer safe to go out during a football match as tourist take to getting drunk and starting fights with anyone who crosses their way. To manage the risk of getting hurt in a fight, police have now been sent all around Fontvielle to avoid the occurrence of fights and to arrest anyone who opposes to that rule.
Now, only cars with a driving plate indicating it is from either France or Monaco is aloud to drive past the royal palace. If this rule had not been put to use, tourists would have caused traffic jams by stopping in the middle of the road in front of the Palace to take pictures. This way, they can take a nice long walk and admire the scenery properly; in more depth. Monaco is very keen on its environment and it is often the case that tourists step on the grass, though it is not allowed. To solve this, more and more signs have been put up to try and stop the destruction or the flattening of grass.
In conclusion, it is clear that Monaco is a very tourist industry thanks to its good facilities and physical and human factors. Although conflicts and problems are caused, tourists also bring benefits to Monaco; they increase Monaco’s economy and it is due to this, that Monaco is the principality that it is.
