Tourism is travel for
recreational, leisure or business purposes. The
World Tourism
Organization defines
tourists as people who
"travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for
more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive
year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the
exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited".
Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2008,
there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a
growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. International tourism receipts
grew to
US$944 billion
(
euro 642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to an
increase in
real terms of
1.8%.
As a result of the
Late-2000s
recession, international
travel
demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with
growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2%
during the boreal summer months, and this negative trend
intensified as international tourist arrivals fell by 8% during the
first four months of 2009. Thereafter this declining trend was
exacerbated in some regions due to the outbreak of the
influenza AH1N1 virus.
Tourism is
vital for many countries, such as the U.A.E
, Egypt
, Greece
and Thailand
, and many
island nations, such as The Bahamas
, Fiji
, Maldives
and the
Seychelles
, due to the large intake of money for businesses
with their goods and services and
the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated
with tourism. These service industries include
transportation services, such as airlines,
cruise ships and taxis,
hospitality services, such as
accommodations, including hotels and resorts, and entertainment
venues, such as
amusement parks,
casinos,
shopping
malls, various
music venues and the
theatre.
Definition
Hunziker and Krapf, in 1941, defined tourism as people who travel
"the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel
and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to
permanent residence and are not
connected with any earning activity." In 1976, the Tourism Society
of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term
movement of people to destination outside the places where they
normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each
destination. It includes movements for all purposes." In 1981, the
International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined
tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and
undertaken outside the home.
The
United Nations classified three
forms of tourism in 1994, in its "Recommendations on Tourism
Statistics: Domestic tourism", which involves residents of the
given country traveling only within this country; Inbound tourism,
involving non-residents traveling in the given country; and
Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country.
The UN also derived different categories of tourism by combining
the three basic forms of tourism: Internal tourism, which comprises
domestic tourism and inbound tourism; National tourism, which
comprises domestic tourism and outbound tourism; and International
tourism, which consists of inbound tourism and outbound tourism.
Intrabound tourism is a term coined by the
Korea Tourism Organization and
widely accepted in Korea. Intrabound tourism differs from domestic
tourism in that the former encompasses policymaking and
implementation of national tourism policies.
Recently, the tourism industry has shifted from the promotion of
inbound tourism to the promotion of intrabound tourism, because
many countries are experiencing tough competition for inbound
tourists.
Terminology
Vacation, in English-speaking North America, describes
recreational travel, such as a short pleasure trip, or a journey
abroad. Most of the rest of the English-speaking whose of recent
British or European descent, rarely say
going on holiday.
People in
Commonwealth
countries also use the phrase,
going on leave.
Canadians often use
vacation and
holiday
interchangeably referring to a trip away from home or time off
work. In Australia, the term can refer to a vacation or a
public holiday.
World tourism statistics and rankings
Most visited countries by international tourist arrivals
The
World Tourism
Organization reports the following ten countries as the most
visited in between 2006 and 2008 by number of international
travelers.
When compared to 2006, Ukraine
entered the
top ten list, surpassing Russia
, Austria
and Mexico
, and in 2008
surpassed Germany
.
In 2008
the U.S.
displaced
Spain
from the second place. Most of the top
visited countries continue to be on the
European
continent.
|7|| ||Europe||align="right"|25.4 million||align="right"|23.1 million||align="right"|18.9 million
|10|| ||North America||align="right"|22.6 million||align="right"|21.4 million||align="right"|21.4 million
| Rank |
Country |
UNWTO
Regional
Market |
International
tourist
arrivals
(2008) |
International
tourist
arrivals
(2007) |
International
tourist
arrivals
(2006) |
| 1 |
|
Europe |
79.3 million |
81.9 million |
78.9 million |
| 2 |
|
North America |
58.0 million |
56.0 million |
51.0 million |
| 3 |
|
Europe |
57.3 million |
58.7 million |
58.2 million |
| 4 |
|
Asia |
53.0 million |
54.7 million |
49.9 million |
| 5 |
|
Europe |
42.7 million |
43.7 million |
41.1 million |
| 6 |
|
Europe |
30.2 million |
30.9 million |
30.7 million |
|
| 8 |
|
Europe |
25.0 million |
22.2 million |
18.9 million |
| 9 |
|
Europe |
24.9 million |
24.4 million |
23.5 million |
|
International tourism receipts
In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist
arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. International
tourism receipts grew to
US$944
billion (
euro 642 billion) in 2008,
corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8% on 2007. When
the export value of international passenger transport receipts is
accounted for, total receipts in 2008 reached a record of
US$1.1 trillion, or over
US$3 billion a day.
The
World Tourism
Organization reports the following countries as the top ten
tourism earners for the year 2008. It is noticeable that most of
them are on the
European continent, but the
United States continues to be the top earner.
| Rank |
Country |
UNWTO
Regional
Market |
International
Tourism
Receipts
(2008) |
International
Tourism
Receipts
(2007) |
International
Tourism
Receipts
(2006) |
| 1 |
|
North America |
$110.1 billion |
$96.7 billion |
$85.7 billion |
| 2 |
|
Europe |
$61.6 billion |
$57.6 billion |
$51.1 billion |
| 3 |
|
Europe |
$55.6 billion |
$54.3 billion |
$46.3 billion |
| 4 |
|
Europe |
$45.7 billion |
$42.7 billion |
$38.1 billion |
| 5 |
|
Asia |
$40.8 billion |
$37.2 billion |
$33.9 billion |
| 6 |
|
Europe |
$40.0 billion |
$36.0 billion |
$32.8 billion |
| 7 |
|
Europe |
$36.0 billion |
$38.6 billion |
$33.7 billion |
| 8 |
|
Oceania |
$24.7 billion |
$22.3 billion |
$17.8 billion |
| 9 |
|
Europe |
$22.0 billion |
$18.5 billion |
$16.9 billion |
| 10 |
|
Europe |
$21.8 billion |
$18.9 billion |
$16.6 billion |
International tourism expenditures
The
World Tourism
Organization reports the following countries as the top ten
biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2008. For
the fifth year in a row, German tourists continue as the top
spenders.
| Rank |
Country |
UNWTO
Regional
Market |
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2008) |
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2007) |
International
Tourism
Expenditures
(2006) |
| 1 |
|
Europe |
$91.0 billion |
$83.1 billion |
$73.9 billion |
| 2 |
|
North America |
$79.7 billion |
$76.4 billion |
$72.1 billion |
| 3 |
|
Europe |
$68.5 billion |
$71.4 billion |
$63.1 billion |
| 4 |
|
Europe |
$43.1 billion |
$36.7 billion |
$31.2 billion |
| 5 |
|
Asia |
$36.2 billion |
$29.8 billion |
$24.3 billion |
| 6 |
|
Europe |
$30.8 billion |
$27.3 billion |
$23.1 billion |
| 7 |
|
Asia |
$27.9 billion |
$26.5 billion |
$26.9 billion |
| 8 |
|
North America |
$26.9 billion |
$24.7 billion |
$20.5 billion |
| 9 |
|
Europe |
$24.9 billion |
$22.3 billion |
$18.2 billion |
| 10 |
|
Europe |
$21.7 billion |
$19.1 billion |
$17.0 billion |
Most visited cities
History
Wealthy people have always traveled to distant parts of the world,
to see great buildings, works of art,
learn new languages, experience new cultures
and to taste different
cuisines.
Long ago,
at the time of the Roman Republic,
places such as Baiae
were
popular coastal resorts for the rich. The word
tourism was used by 1811 and
tourist by 1840. In
1936, the
League of Nations
defined
foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for
at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the
United Nations, amended this definition in
1945, by including a maximum stay of six months.
Leisure travel
Leisure
travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United
Kingdom
the first European country to promote leisure time to the increasing industrial
population. Initially, this applied to the owners of the
machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, the factory owners
and the traders. These comprised the new
middle class.
Cox
& Kings was the first official travel company to be formed
in 1758.
The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place
names.
In
Nice
, France
, one of the
first and best-established holiday resorts on the French
Riviera
, the long esplanade along the seafront is known to
this day as the Promenade des Anglais; in many other
historic resorts in continental
Europe, old, well-established palace hotels have names like the
Hotel Bristol, the Hotel Carlton or the Hotel
Majestic reflecting the dominance of English
customers.
Many leisure-oriented tourists travel to the tropics, both in the
summer and winter.
Places often visited are: Cuba
, the
Dominican
Republic
, Thailand, North Queensland
in Australia and Florida
in the United States
.
Winter tourism
Major
ski resorts are located in the
various European countries (e.g.
Austria, Bulgaria
, Czech
Republic
, France, Germany, Iceland
, Italy
, Norway
, Poland,
Sweden
, Slovakia
, Spain, Switzerland
), Canada
, the
United
States, Australia, New Zealand
, Japan
, South Korea
, Chile
and
Argentina
.
Mass tourism
Mass tourism could only have developed with the improvements in
technology, allowing the
transport of
large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of
leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to
enjoy the benefits of leisure time.
In the
United
States, the first seaside
resorts in the European style were at Atlantic
City
, New
Jersey
and Long
Island
, New
York
.
In
Continental Europe, early resorts
included: Ostend
,
popularized by the people of Brussels
; Boulogne-sur-Mer
(Pas-de-Calais) and
Deauville
(Calvados
) for the Parisians
; and Heiligendamm
, founded in 1797, as the first seaside resort on
the Baltic
Sea
.
Adjectival tourism
Adjectival tourism refers to the numerous niche or specialty travel
forms of tourism that have emerged over the years, each with its
own adjective. Many of these have come into common use by the
tourism industry and academics. Others are emerging concepts that
may or may not gain popular usage. Examples of the more common
niche tourism markets include:
- Agritourism
- Culinary tourism
- Cultural tourism
- Ecotourism
- Heritage tourism
- LGBT tourism
- Medical tourism
- Nautical tourism
- Religious tourism
- Space tourism
- War tourism
- Wildlife tourism
Recent developments
There has been an upmarket trend in the tourism over the last few
decades, especially in Europe, where international travel for short
breaks is common. Tourists have higher levels of
disposable income and greater leisure time
and they are also better-educated and have more sophisticated
tastes. There is now a demand for a better quality products, which
has resulted in a fragmenting of the mass market for beach
vacations; people want more specialised versions, such as
Club 18-30, quieter resorts, family-oriented
holidays or niche market-targeted
destination hotels.
The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such
as
jumbo jets,
low-cost airlines and more accessible
airports have made many types of tourism
more affordable. WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on
planes at any time. There have also been changes in lifestyle, such
as retiree-age people who sustain year round tourism. This is
facilitated by
internet sales of
tourism products. Some sites have now started to offer
dynamic packaging, in which an inclusive
price is quoted for a tailor-made package requested by the customer
upon impulse.
There
have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as the September 11 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations, such as
in Bali
and
several European cities. Also, on December 26, 2004, a tsunami, caused by
the 2004
Indian Ocean earthquake
, hit the Asian countries on
the Indian
Ocean
, including the Maldives. Thousands of lives were lost and many
tourists died. This, together with the vast
clean-up operation in place, has stopped or
severely hampered tourism to the area.
The terms
tourism and
travel are sometimes used
interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition
to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms
tourism and
tourist are sometimes used
pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or
locations visited by tourists.
Sustainable tourism
"Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all
resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs
can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential
ecological processes,
biological
diversity and life support systems." (
World Tourism Organization)
Sustainable development
implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (
World Commission on Environment and
Development, 1987)
Eco-tourism
Recession tourism
Recession tourism is a travel trend, which evolved by way of the
world economic crisis. Identified by American entrepreneur
Matt Landau (2007), recession tourism is defined
by low-cost, high-value experiences taking place of once-popular
generic retreats. Various recession tourism hotspots have seen
business boom during the recession thanks to comparatively low
costs of living and a slow world job market suggesting travelers
are elongating trips where the dollar travels further.
Medical tourism
When
there is a significant price difference between countries for a
given medical procedure, particularly in Southeast Asia, India
, Eastern Europe and where there are different
regulatory regimes, in relation to particular medical procedures
(e.g. dentistry), traveling to take
advantage of the price or regulatory differences is often referred
to as "medical tourism".
Educational tourism-EduTourism
Educational tourism developed, because of the growing popularity of
teaching and learning of knowledge and the enhancing of technical
competency outside of the classroom environment. By definition,
EduTourism is travel for the purpose of formal or informal
education and life long learning in unique natural, historical
& multi-cultural environments. It refers to any tourism program
or product offering in which participants travel to a location with
the primary purpose of engaging in a learning experience.
EduTourism benefits the local economy and enhances the general
population at the same time as educating and enriching the lives of
the individuals who participate in these programs. In educational
tourism, the main focus of the tour or leisure activity includes
visiting another country to learn about the culture, such as in
Student Exchange Programs
and Study Tours, or to work and apply skills learned inside the
classroom in a different environment, such as in the International
Practicum Training Program.
Creative tourism
Creative tourism has existed as a form of
cultural tourism, since the early
beginnings of tourism itself. Its European roots date back to the
time of the
Grand Tour, which saw the
sons of aristocratic families traveling for the purpose of mostly
interactive, educational experiences.
More recently,
creative tourism has been given its own name by Crispin Raymond and
Greg Richards , who as members of the Association for Tourism and
Leisure Education (ATLAS), have directed a number of projects for
the European
Commission
, including cultural and crafts tourism, known as
sustainable tourism. They
have defined "creative tourism" as tourism related to the active
participation of travellers in the
culture
of the host community, through interactive workshops and informal
learning experiences.
Meanwhile, the concept of creative tourism
has been picked up by high-profile organizations such as UNESCO
, who
through the Creative Cities
Network, have endorsed creative tourism as an engaged, authentic experience that
promotes an active understanding of the specific cultural features
of a place.
More recently, creative tourism has gained popularity as a form of
cultural tourism, drawing on active participation by travelers in
the culture of the host communities they visit. Several countries
offer examples of this type of tourism development, including the
United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and New
Zealand.
Dark tourism
One emerging area of special interest tourism has been identified
by Lennon and Foley (2000) as "dark" tourism. This type of tourism
involves visits to "dark" sites, such as battlegrounds, scenes of
horrific crimes or acts of
genocide, for
example:
concentration camps.
Dark tourism poses severe ethical and moral
dilemmas: should these sites be available for visitation and, if
so, what should the nature of the publicity involved be. Dark
tourism remains a small
niche market,
driven by varied motivations, such as mourning, remembrance,
macabre curiosity or even entertainment. Its early origins are
rooted in fairgrounds and medieval fairs.
Growth
International tourism receipts in
2005
The
World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will
continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 %. With the
advent of
e-commerce, tourism
products have become one of the most traded items on the internet.
Tourism products and services have been made available through
intermediaries, although tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.)
can sell their services directly. This has put pressure on
intermediaries from both on-line and traditional shops.
It has been suggested there is a strong correlation between tourism
expenditure per capita and the degree to which countries play in
the global context. Not only as a result of the important economic
contribution of the tourism industry, but also as an indicator of
the degree of confidence with which global citizens leverage the
resources of the globe for the benefit of their
local economies. This is why any
projections of growth in tourism may serve as an indication of the
relative influence that each country will exercise in the
future.
Space tourism is expected to "take
off" in the first quarter of the 21st century, although compared
with traditional destinations the number of tourists in orbit will
remain low until technologies such as a
space elevator make
space travel cheap.
Technological improvement is likely to make possible air-ship
hotels, based either on
solar-powered
airplanes or large
dirigibles.
Underwater hotels,
such as Hydropolis
, expected to open in Dubai
in 2009,
will be built. On the ocean, tourists will be welcomed by
ever larger cruise ships and perhaps
floating cities.
Latest trends
As a result of the
Late-2000s
recession, international arrivals suffered a strong slowdown
beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7%
during the first eight months of 2008. The Asian and Pacific
markets were affected and Europe stagnated during the boreal summer
months, while the
Americas performed
better, reducing their expansion rate but keeping a 6% growth from
January to August 2008. Only the
Middle
East continued its rapid growth during the same period,
reaching a 17% growth as compared to the same period in 2007. This
slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the
air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008
and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel
industry also reports a slowdown, as room occupancy continues to
decline. As the global economic situation deteriorated dramatically
during September and October as a result of the
global financial
crisis, growth of international tourism is expected to slow
even further for the remaining of 2008, and this slowdown in demand
growth is forecasted to continue into 2009 as
recession has already hit most of the top spender
countries, with long-haul travel expected to be the most affected
by the
economic crisis. This
negative trend intensified as international tourist arrivals fell
by 8% during the first four months of 2009, and the decline was
exacerbated in some regions due to the outbreak of the
influenza AH1N1 virus.
Gallery
See also
References
External links
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