As an industry, the impact of tourism is manifold. Tourism industry nourishes a country’s economy, stimulates development process, restores cultural heritage, and helps in maintaining international peace and understanding.

Tourism at present is India’s third largest export industry and the forex earnings is estimated to be about Rs.9186 cores (approx Us $3928 million) in 1995-96.

Employment potential

The most significant feature of the tourism industry is the capacity to generate large scale employment opportunities even in backward areas, specially to women, both educated and uneducated. Another important feature of tourism is that it contributes to national integration of the people who live in different regions of the country with diverse cultures and languages. 

What about energy, manufacturing or agriculture?

A survey of 400 policy and opinion makers in 20 countries placed these and three other industries ahead of tourism in global economic contribution, but recently gathered statistics tell a different story.

As a contributor to the global economy, tourism has no equal.

• Tourism employs 204 million people worldwide or one in every nine workers, 10.6 percent of the global workforce.
• Tourism is the world’s leading economic contributor, producing an incredible 10.2 percent of the world’s gross national product.
• Tourism is the leading producer of tax revenues at US$655 billion.
• Tourism is the world’s largest industry in terms of gross output approaching  US$304 trillion 
• Tourism accounts for 10.9 percent of all consumer spending, 10.7 percent of all capital investment and 6.9 percent of all government spending.

Furthermore, despite economically and politically induced setbacks threats of terrorism from a variety of global hot spots, recession in Europe, and economic upheaveal in Japan, and the once Communist Eastern Block, the future of tourism is brighter than ever.

Expectations for growth tourism are 6.1 percent, 23 percent faster than the world economy. Travel and Tourism will create 144 million jobs worldwide between now and the year 2005 (112 million in the fast growing Asia pacific.) “In the 21st century” says Geoffrey Lipman, President of the world Travel and Tourism Council, “there will be a surge of Asian travellers in markets around the world, and Asian countries will be the premium destinations."

If tourism is such a major contributor to the world’s economic well being, then the question arises, why has tourism received so little attention from domestic policy makers and crafters of international trade agreements? 
 

Asia 
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There is no obvious answer. One explanation is that tourism is a multicomponent industry, many parts of which are inextricably linked to other economic sectors such as airlines to transportation; souvenir shops, concession stands and restaurants to retail or service; hotels and other accommodation to commercial development.

“Broadening the Mind.” A survey of the World Travel and Tourism published in the “Economist” offers the following rationale. The size of the travel and tourism business is difficult to comprehend for at least three reasons. First there is no accepted definition of what constitutes the industry, any definition of what runs the risk of either overstating of understating economic activity. Second, tourism is a business, many of whose activities (like tour guides and souvenir sales people) and much of whose income (tips) are well suited to practitioners of the underground economy. In countries with foreign exchange controls (which are always evaded) every official figure on expenditure will be wrong.  Third, international travel is bedevilled by astounding differences in the data of different countries. While efforts are underway to bring uniformity to data connection and analysis worldwide, it will likely to be sometime before a consensus is reached and the scope and impact of the tourism industry. However at least two organizations are dedicated to the task of giving travel and tourism its due as the world’s largest industry.

The Brussel based World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) us a coalition of 65 Chief executive officers from all sectors of the industry. Its goal as stated in WTTC reports is  “to convince governments of the enormous contribution of travel and tourism to national and world economic development, to promote expansion of travel and tourism markets in harmony with environment and to eliminate barriers to growth of the industry.”

The World Tourism Organization (WTO), on the other hand, is an agency of the United Nations Development Programme, WTO’s membership comprises 113 of the world’s government and boasts over 170 affiliate members from the travel and tourism industry. It is the only inter governmental organization open to the operating sector. Its mission is the promotion and development of travel and tourism as a means of stimulating business and economic development, and forecasting peace and understanding between nations.

People in general now view tourism as a way of life rather than a luxury item reserved for the affluent and the elite. Tourism has emerged as the largest service industry globally in terms of gross revenue as well as foreign exchange earnings. The present annual global income from tourism (international and domestic) is nearly US$13 trillion, an amount more than the GNP of all countries except the United States.

According to the World Tourism Organisation  (WTO), the number of international travellers has risen to more than 500 million per annum, which means that one out of every ten inhabitants of this planet is a tourist. With rapid developments in the field of transport and communications, the global tourism industry is likely to double in the next decade. 

WTO forecasts that there will be 702 million international arrivals in the year 2000, that arrivals will top one billion in the year 2010 and that by 2020, international arrivals will reach 1.6 billion nearly three times the number of international trips made in 1996 which was 592 million. 

The 21st century will see a higher percentage of the total population travelling, especially in developing countries, and people will be going on holidays more often, sometimes two, three or four times a year. Travellers of the 21st will also be going farther and farther. The “Tourism 2020 vision” forecast predicts that by 2020 one out of every three trips will be long haul journeys to other regions of the world. Long-haul travel is expected to increase from 24% of all international tourism in 1995 to 35% of all international traffic arrivals by the year 2020. 

Tourism is the industry of industries and has a great multiplier effect on other industries. Tourism serves as an effective medium for transfer of wealth because here income earned in places of “residence” is spent in place  “visit”. It is the highest generator of employment. A total of 212 million persons are now being employed globally through direct and indirect opportunities generated by this industry. This means that out of every nine persons, one person earns a living from tourism. For every million rupees of investment 13 jobs are created in manufacturing industries, 45 jobs in agriculture and 89 jobs in hotels and restaurants. Tourism is therefore considered to be an important area for intensive development for all governments. As the fastest growing foreign exchange earner, specially in developed countries, it is being given priority attention. 

Tourism 
is the 
highest 
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of 
employment
 
 
 
 
 

When we think of tourism, we think mainly of people who are visiting a particular place for sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, taking a vacation and having a good time. ‘They may spend their leisure time engaging in various sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides, touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment. Furthermore, we may include in our definition of tourism people who are participating in a convention, a business conference, or some other kind of business or professional activity, as well as those who are taking a study tour under an expert guide or doing some kind of scientific research or study.

These visitors use all forms of transportation, from hiking in a wilderness park to flying in a jet, to travelling by rail or going on a cruise. Any attempt to define tourism and to describe fully its scope, we must consider the various groups that participate in and are affected by this industry. Their perspectives are vital to the development of a comprehensive definition. Four different perspectives of tourism can be identified:

The tourist: The tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and satisfactions. The nature of these will largely determine the destinations chosen and the activities enjoyed.
The business providing tourist goods and service: Business people view tourism as an opportunity to make a profit by supplying the goods and services that the tourist market demands.
The government of the host community or area: Politicians view tourism as a wealth factor in the economy of their jurisdictions. Their perspective is related to the incomes their citizens can earn from this business. Politicians also consider the foreign exchange receipts from international tourism as well as the tax receipts collected from tourist expenditures, either directly or indirectly.
The host community: Local people usually see tourism as a cultural and employment factor. Of importance to this group, for example, it is the effect of the interaction between large numbers of international visitors and residents.

Thus tourism may be defined as the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors.

Tourism is a composite of a activities, services, and industries that delivers a travel experience, namely transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, shops, entertainment, activity facilities, and other hospitality services available for individuals or groups that are travelling away from home. It encompasses all providers of visitor and visitor-related services. Tourism is the entire world industry of travel, hotels, transportation, and all other components, including promotion that serves the needs and wants of travellers. Finally tourism is the sum total of tourist expenditures within the borders of a nation or a political subdivision or a transportation-centered economic area of contiguous states or nations.