Introduction to World Tourism

According to the World Tourism Organization tourists are the 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 is mainly popular as a global leisure activity.

Tourism is a vital source of income for many countries and it generates income through the consumption of goods and services by tourists, the taxes levied on businesses in the tourism industry, and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism.

Some of the services offered by these industries include transportation services such as cruise ships and taxis, accommodation services such as hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, and other hospitality industry services such as spas and resorts.

The tourism requires having some of disposable income, time off from work and other responsibilities, proper transportation and accommodation facilities and legal clearance for traveling. More than all, sufficient health condition during the course of travel is required.

There are some countries which have legal restrictions on traveling abroad. Any projections of growth in tourism serve as an indication of the relative influence that each country will exercise in the future.

Tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the internet with the advent of e-commerce. Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries, apart from direct selling.

Space tourism is expected to be launched in the first quarter of the 21st century and the technological improvement is likely to make it possible for air-ship hotels, based either on solar-powered airplanes or large dirigibles.

There is also an underwater hotel project, such as Hydropolis in Dubai which is expected to be completed by December 2007.

From the year 2000 onwards, there was stagnation for almost 3 years in World Tourism industry. But now again there is an exponential growth since few years and this boom is expected to continue till another decade.

According to preliminary findings presented by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in January 2007, international tourist arrivals reached an all-time record of 842 million in 2006--an increase of 4.5 percent over 2005.

Tourism growth has occurred in all world regions but was strongest in Africa (+8.1%) and the Asia-Pacific region (+7.6%).

Some facts about World Tourism are given below.