Tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing industries. In 1960, there were about 25.3 million tourist arrivals. Three decades later this had grown to 425 million. In 1997, it was 613 billion.
The World Tourism Organization predicts that it will reach 1.6 billion by 2020. In 1999, travel and tourism generated 11% of global GDP. Also the tourism industry provides 8% of total world employment. Rising affluence in many countries is one major contributing factor for this development.
Also, people are tired of seeing the same old places and this has led to the promotion of new tourist destinations in far-flung corners of the globe. Eager to get their hands on a chunk of the tourism pie, many countries are going all out to promote themselves and attract tourists. Travel and tour operators now offer attractive and economical packages. Airfares have also come down significantly. The concept of off-season tourism has also caught on.
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Tourism itself has diversified into heritage tourism, beach tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, medical tourism, etc., to cater to different tastes. All this has created a massive spurt in global tourism. Long periods of political stability also emboldened people to venture out and explore the world. Television, movies and other kinds of media fostered curiosity about other parts of the world by showing attractive images of such places.
Creative ad campaigns like ‘Incredible India’ and ‘Truly Malaysia’ have also done their bit to boost global tourism. Global tourism fosters an understanding of different cultures. This helps to promote peace among nations and peoples. It can also improve the economy of poor countries which in turn raises the living standards of their people.
But global tourism has some downsides too. Unchecked tourist arrivals can impact the environment or socio-cultural fabric of a place. A once peaceful Goa has become a den of vices like rape, child abuse and drugs because of tourism. A sustainable approach will ensure that such negative consequences will be minimized.