About 25,000 people a day in a town with a population of 17,000! That's like over 10 million people visiting London in a day.
On busy days up to 100,000 visitors may be in Lourdes!
Study the table below in your groups and then respond to the questions on the Evidence Log:
| Destination | Population | Visitors per year | Bed spaces | Visitor beds per head of local population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lourdes | 17,000 | 6,000,000 | 34,000 * | 2.0 |
| Blackpool | 145,000 | 10,000,000 | 35,000 * | .24 |
| New York | 8,200,000 | 50,000,000 | 90,000 ** | .01 |
As would be expected, there is a range of accommodation available in and around the town of Lourdes. This includes hotels, apartments and gites (cottages), B&B and hostels.
There are about 33,700 beds spaces in Lourdes
- 208 hotels with 26,400 beds
- 5 residences with 360 apartments – 1,400 beds
- 11 campsites – 2,400 beds/spaces
- 3,500 beds in hostel types of accommodation and religious accommodation (shown in the image below)
Investigate a town in the UK with about 17,000 inhabitants. Summarise what accommodation is available in the town.
Use the link to the Lourdes Tourist Office below to investigate the range of accommodation available. Comment on the facilities provided for people with disabilities and explain why they are important. Record your findings on the Evidence Log.
The activities undertaken by religious tourists to Lourdes may be quite different from those undertaken by tourists on a beach or other conventional form of holiday.
Using the images above and information from the website below, think about the activities in which religious tourists might be involved.
Compare the likely activities of a religious tourist to those on a beach holiday and record your opinions on the Evidence Log.