Tourism

Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for 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 2006, there were over 846 million international tourist arrivals.

Tourism is vital for many countries such as Egypt, Thailand and many island nations such as Fiji, 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 cruise ships and taxis, accommodation such as hotels and entertainment venues, and other hospitality industry services such as resorts.

Definition

Paris and France have remained, respectively, the most visited city and country[2][3] in recent years. The Eiffel Tower is the 18th most visited attraction in the world.
Rio de Janeiro, the most visited destination in Brazil.Hunziker and Krapf, in 1941, defined tourism as "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."[4] In 1976 the Tourism Society of England defined it as "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 International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism[5] defined Tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment.

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 3 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. Some national policymakers have shifted their priority to the promotion of intrabound tourism to contribute to the local economy. Examples of such campaigns include "See America" in the United States, "Malaysia Truly Asia" in Malaysia, "Get Going Canada" in Canada, "Wow Philippines" in the Philippines, "Uniquely Singapore" in Singapore, "100% Pure New Zealand" in New Zealand and "Incredible India" in India.

World tourism statistics and rankings

Most visited countries

The World Tourism Organization,[1] recognizes ten countries as the most visited in 2006 by number of travellers. Most are on the European continent.

Rank/ Country/ Continent/ International tourist arrivals (2006)

1 France Europe 79.1 million
2 Spain Europe 58.5 million
3 United States North America 51.1 million
4 People's Republic of China Asia 49.6 million
5 Italy Europe 41.1 million
6 United Kingdom Europe 30.1 million
7 Germany Europe 23.6 million
8 Mexico North America 21.4 million
9 Austria Europe 20.3 million
10 Russia Europe 20.1 million

International tourism receipts

The World Tourism Organization,[1] recognizes the following 10 countries as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2006. It is noticeable that most of them are on the European continent.

Rank/ Country/ Continent/ International Tourism Receipts (2006)

1 United States North America $85.7 billion
2 Spain Europe $51.1 billion
3 France Europe $42.9 billion
4 Italy Europe $38.1 billion
5 People's Republic of China Asia $33,9 billion
6 United Kingdom Europe $33.7 billion
7 Germany Europe $32.8 billion
8 Australia Oceania $17.8 billion
9 Turkey Asia/Europe $16.9 billion
10 Austria Europe $16.7 billion

Most visited attractions

National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C..
Great Wall of China, China.
Colosseum, Rome, Italy.
Taj Mahal, Agra, India.Forbes Traveller released a ranking of the world's 50 most visited tourist attractions in 2007, including both international and domestic tourists.[6] The following are the Top 10 attractions, followed by some other famous sites included within the list of the 50 most visited:[7] It is noticeable that 4 out of the top 5, and 6 out of the top 10, are in the North America continent.

World's ranking/ Tourist attraction/ City and country/ Number of visitors (millions)

1 Times Square New York City, United States 35
2 National Mall & Memorial Parks Washington, D.C., United States 25
3 Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, USA 16.6
4 Trafalgar Square London, United Kingdom 15
5 Disneyland Anaheim, CA, United States 14.7
6 Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada & N.Y., USA 14
7 Fisherman's Wharf & Golden Gate Natl. R. Area San Francisco,CA, United States 13
8 Tokyo Disneyland & Tokyo DisneySea Tokyo, Japan 12.9
9 Notre-Dame de Paris Paris, France 12
10 Disneyland Paris Paris, France 10.6
Other famous destinations
11 The Great Wall of China Badaling, China 10
18 Eiffel Tower Paris, France 6.7
31 Grand Canyon Arizona, United States 4.4
36 Statue of Liberty New York, United States 4.24
37 The Vatican and its museums Rome, Italy 4.2
39 The Colosseum Rome, Italy 4
47 Giza Pyramids Cairo, Egypt 3
50 Taj Mahal Agra, India 2.4

History

Wealthy people have always traveled to distant parts of the world to see great buildings or other works of art, to learn new languages, to experience new cultures, or to taste new cuisine. As long ago as 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.[8] In 1936 the League of Nations defined foreign tourist as someone travelling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. It successor, the United Nations amended this definition in 1945 by including a maximum stay of six months.

Pre twentieth century

The history of European tourism can perhaps be said to originate with the medieval pilgrimage. Although undertaken primarily for religious reasons, the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales quite clearly saw the experience as a kind of holiday (the term itself being derived from the 'holy day' and its associated leisure activities). Pilgrimages created a variety of tourist aspects that still exist - bringing back souvenirs, obtaining credit with foreign banks (in medieval times utilizing international networks established by Jews and Lombards), and making use of space available on existing forms of transport (such as the use of medieval English wine ships bound for Vigo by pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela). Pilgrimages are still important in modern tourism - such as to Lourdes or Knock in Ireland. But there are secular equivalents - Graceland and the grave of Jim Morrison in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

During the 17th century, it became fashionable in England to undertake a Grand Tour. The sons of the nobility and gentry were sent upon an extended tour of Europe as an educational experience. The 18th century was the golden age of the Grand Tour, and many of the fashionable visitors were painted at Rome by Pompeo Batoni. A modern equivalent of the Grand Tour is the phenomenon of the backpacker, although cultural holidays, such as those offered by Swan Hellenic, are also important.

Health tourism

The Great Bath at the Roman Baths, in Bath, were one of the world's first health tourism sites. Health tourism has long existed, but it was not until the eighteenth century that it became important. In England, it was associated with spas, places with supposedly health-giving mineral waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis. The most popular resorts were Bath, Cheltenham, Buxton, Harrogate, and Tunbridge Wells. Visits to take 'the waters' also allowed the visitors to attend balls and other entertainments. Continental Spas such as Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary) attracted many fashionable travellers by the nineteenth century.

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 a member of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) has directed a number of projects for the European Commission, including cultural tourism, crafts tourism or sustainable tourism. They have defined "creative tourism" as tourism related to the active participation of travelers 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.

Leisure travel

Leisure travel was associated with the industrialisation of 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 were the first official travel company to be formed in 1758. Later, the working class could take advantage of leisure time.

The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place names. At 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 tourists do leisure tourism in the tropics both in the summer and winter. It is often done in places such as Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Thailand, North Queensland in Australia and Florida in the United States.

Winter tourism

Winter sports were largely invented by the British leisured classes, initially at the Swiss village of Zermatt (Valais), and St Moritz in 1864. The first packaged winter sports holidays took place in 1902 at Adelboden, Switzerland. Winter sports were a natural answer for a leisured class looking for amusement during the coldest season.

The Fun Ski & Snow Festival, which has been organized annually by Korea tourism organization since 1998 and participated by about 10,000 tourists from Asia, is one of the most successful winter tourism products in Asia. The festival provides a variety of events such as ski and sled competitions, ski and snow board lessons, performances and recreational activities. Majority of the event participants are foreign visitors who come from countries with a warm climate that have no snow. The event offers them opportunities to enjoy winter and winter sports in South Korea. In addition, southern South American countries making up the Patagonia region in Chile and Argentina attract thousands of tourists every year. Skiing is extremely popular in the mountainous areas.

Mass tourism

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia, Spain.
Saint Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Baalbeck, Lebanon.Mass travel could only develop with improvements in technology allowed the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, and greater numbers of people began to enjoy the benefits of leisure time.

In the United States, the first great seaside resort, in the European style, was Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Long Island.

In Continental Europe, early resorts included Ostend (for the people of Brussels), and Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) and Deauville (Calvados) (for Parisians).

In Britain

The pioneer of modern mass tourism was Thomas Cook who, on 5 July 1841, organized the first package tour in history. He arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling per person for a group of 570 temperance campaigners from Leicester to a rally in Loughborough, eleven miles (18 km) away. Cook was paid a share of the fares actually charged to the passengers, as the railway tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have been issued at his own price. There had been railway excursions before, but this one included entrance to an entertainment held in private grounds, rail tickets and food for the train journey. Cook immediately saw the potential of a convenient 'off the peg' holiday product in which everything was included in one cost. He organised packages inclusive of accommodation for the Great Exhibition, and afterwards pioneered package holidays in both Britain (particularly in Scotland) and on the European continent (where Paris and the Alps were the most popular destinations).

He was soon followed by others (the Polytechnic Touring Association, Dean and Dawson etc.), with the result that the tourist industry developed rapidly in late Victorian Britain. Initially it was supported by the growing middle classes, who had time off from their work, and who could afford the luxury of travel and possibly even staying for periods of time in boarding houses.
The Bank Holidays Act 1871 introduced a statutory right for workers to take holidays, even if they were not paid at the time. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the tradition of the working class holiday had become firmly established in Britain. These were largely focused upon the seaside resorts.

The spread of the railway network in the 19th century resulted in the growth of Britain's seaside towns by bringing them within easy distance of Britain's urban centres. Blackpool was created by the construction of a line to Fleetwood, and some resorts were promoted by the railway companies themselves - Morecambe by the Midland Railway and Cleethorpes by the Great Central Railway. Other resorts included Scarborough in Yorkshire, servicing Leeds and Bradford; Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, catering for the inhabitants of Bristol; and Skegness, patronised by the residents of the industrial East Midlands. The cockneys of London flocked to Southend-on-Sea, mainly by Thames Steamer, and the South Coast resorts such as Broadstairs, Brighton, and Eastbourne were only a train ride away, with others further afield such as Bournemouth, Bognor Regis and Weymouth.

For a century, domestic tourism was the norm, with foreign travel being reserved for the rich or the culturally curious. A number of inland destinations, such as the English Lake District, and Snowdonia appealed to those who liked the countryside and fine scenery. The holiday camp began to appear in the 1930s, but this phenomenon really expanded in the post-war period. Butlins and Pontins set this trend, but their popularity waned with the rise of overseas package tours and the increasing comforts to which visitors became accustomed at home. Towards the end of the 20th century this market has been revived by the upmarket inland resorts of Dutch company Center Parcs.

Cox & Co, the forebear of Cox & Kings, were in existence from 1758 and largely entwined with the travel arrangements for the British Army serving around the Empire. While acting as 'agents' for various regiments, they organised the payment, provision, clothing and travel arrangements for members of the armed forces. In the 19th century their network of offices contained a banking and also travel department. The company became heavily involved with affairs in India and its Shipping Agency had offices in France and the Middle East.

Other phenomena that helped develop the travel industry were paid holidays:

1.5 million manual workers in Britain had paid holidays by 1925
11 million by 1939 (30% of the population in families with paid holidays)
NGOs and government agencies may sometimes promote a specific region as a tourist destination, and support the development of a tourism industry in that area. The contemporary phenomenon of mass tourism may sometimes result in overdevelopment; alternative forms of tourism such as ecotourism seek to avoid such outcomes by pursuing tourism in a sustainable way.

International

Iguazu Falls, Argentina-Brazil border.
Niagara Falls, United States-Canada border.
Waterfalls on Una River ,Bosnia and HerzegovinaIncreasing speed on railways meant that the tourist industry could develop internationally. To this may be added the development of sea travel. By 1901, the number of people crossing the English Channel from England to France or Belgium had passed 0.5 million per year. Shipping companies were anxious to fill cabin space that was under-utilized.

For example, P&O found that the majority of their passengers for India and the Far East joined the ship at Marseilles. Consequently, they marketed holidays based upon sea trips from London to Lisbon and Gibraltar. Other companies diverted their older ships to operate cruises in the summer months.

However, the real age of international mass travel began with the growth of air travel after World War II. In the immediate post-war period, there was a surplus of transport aircraft, such as the popular and reliable Douglas Dakota, and a number of ex military pilots ready to fly them. They were available for charter flights, and tour operators began to use them for European destinations, such as Paris and Ostend.

Vladimir Raitz pioneered modern package tourism when on 20 May 1950 his recently founded company, Horizon, provided arrangements for a two-week holiday in Corsica. For an all inclusive price of £32.10s.-, holiday makers could sleep under canvas, sample local wines and eat a meal containing meat twice a day - this was especially attractive due to the continuing austerity measures in post-war United Kingdom. Within ten years, his company had started mass tourism to Palma (1952), Lourdes (1953), Costa Brava (1954), Sardinia (1954), Minorca (1955), Porto (1956), Costa Blanca (1957) and Costa del Sol (1959).

These developments coincided with a significant increase in the standard of living in Britain. Further, the contribution of affordable air travel in combination with the package tour enabled international mass tourism to develop. The postwar introduction of an international system of airline regulation was another important factor. The bilateral agreements at the heart of the system fixed seat prices, and airlines could not fill blocks of empty seats on underused flights by discounting.

Spain and the Balearic Islands became major tourist destinations, and development probably peaked in the 1980s. At the same time, British tour operators developed the Algarve in Portugal. The continuing search for new, cheaper, destinations spread mass tourism to the Greek Islands, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, and more recently Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina .

For someone living in greater London, Venice today is almost as accessible as Brighton was 100 years ago. Consequently, the British seaside resort experienced a marked decline from the 1970s onwards. Some, such as New Brighton, Merseyside have disappeared. Others have reinvented themselves, and now cater to daytrippers, the weekend break market or business conferences.

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. As well, people are likely to take more than one short break holiday each year.

The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such as Jumbo jets and low-cost airlines, have made many types of tourism more affordable. There have also been changes in lifestyle, such as retiree-age people who sustain year round tourism. This is facilitated by internet purchasing 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, 2001 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations such as Bali and European cities. Some of the tourist destinations, including the beach resorts of Cancún have lost popularity due to shifting tastes. In this context, the excessive building and environmental destruction often associated with traditional "sun and beach" tourism may contribute to a destination's saturation and subsequent decline. Spain's Costa Brava, a popular 1960s and 1970s beach location is now facing a crisis in its tourist industry. On December 26, 2004 a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake hit Asian countries bordering the Indian Ocean, and also the Maldives. Tens of 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.

Eco-tourism

Sustainable tourism is becoming more popular as people start to realize the devastating effects poorly planned tourism can have on communities. Receptive tourism is now growing at a very rapid rate in many developing countries, where it is often the most important economic activity in local GDP.

Grey nomads
Retirees who travel for much of the year, generally in their own continent an by vehicle, are often called "grey nomads". They often drive Recreational vehicles

Medical tourism

When there is a significant price difference between countries for a given medical procedure, or where there are different regulatory regimes between countries in relation to particular medical procedures (eg abortion) traveling to take advantage of the price or regulatory differences is often referred to as "medical tourism".

Creative tourism

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, Spain, Italy and New Zealand.

Adventure tourism

Also tourists are looking for an adventure when they travel, see the destination more like a local would experience it. [Private tour guides] are an excellent way to get fast insight into a country and also help locals earn an income.

In recent years, second holidays or vacations have become more popular as people's discretionary income increases. Typical combinations are a package to the typical mass tourist resort, with a winter skiing holiday or weekend break to a city or national park.

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.[10]

Growth

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 %.[11] By 2020 Europe will remain the most popular destination, but its share will drop from 60% in 1995 to 46%. Long-haul will grow slightly faster than intraregional travel and by 2020 its share will increase from 18% in 1995 to 24%.

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.[12] 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.

Some futurists expect that movable hotel "pods" will be created that could be temporarily erected anywhere on the planet, where building a permanent resort would be unacceptable politically, economically or environmentally.

Negative impacts

Attracting a high volume of tourists can have negative impacts, such as the impact of 33 million tourists a year on the city of New York,[13] or the potential to impact fragile environments,[14] or the impact of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on the tourists themselves.[15] The environment can be affected negatively by cruise ship pollution in many ways, including ballast water discharge, and by pollution from aircraft.

Source of Article:

Wikipedia. (2008). Tourism. Retrieved June 5, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism

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UNWTO