Tourism

For other uses, see Tourism (disambiguation). "Tourist" redirects here. For other uses, see Tourist (disambiguation).

Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel.^[1] UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes".^[2] Tourism can be domestic (within the traveller's own country) or international. International tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.

Tourists at the Temple of Apollo, Delphi, Greece

Between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, tourism numbers declined due to a severe economic slowdown (see Great Recession) and the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.^[3][4] These numbers, however, recovered until the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the growth.^[5] The United Nations World Tourism Organization has estimated that global international tourist arrivals might have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US$0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.^[6]

Globally, international tourism receipts (the travel item in the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2005, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010.^[7] International tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone of 1 billion tourists globally for the first time in 2012.^[8] Emerging source markets such as China, Russia, and Brazil had significantly increased their spending over the previous decade.^[9]

Global tourism accounts for c. 8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.^[10] Emissions as well as other significant environmental and social impacts are not always beneficial to local communities and their economies. Many tourist development organizations are shifting focus to sustainable tourism to minimize the negative effects of growing tourism. This approach aims to balance economic benefits with environmental and social responsibility. The United Nations World Tourism Organization emphasized these practices by promoting tourism as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, through programs such as the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017.^[11]

Tourism has reached new dimensions with the emerging industry of space tourism, as well as the cruise ship industry.

Etymology

The English-language word tourist was used in 1772^[12] and tourism in 1811.^[13][14] These words derive from the word tour, which comes from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare - "to turn on a lathe", which is itself from Ancient Greek tornos (τόρνος) - "lathe".^[15]

Definitions

In 1936, the League of Nations defined a 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.^[16]

In 1941, Hunziker and Kraft 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."^[17][18] In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes."^[19] In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home.^[20]

In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics:^[21]

• Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given country traveling only within this country
• Inbound tourism,^[22] involving non-residents traveling in the given country
• Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country

Other groupings derived from the above grouping:^[23]

• National tourism, a combination of domestic and outbound tourism
• Regional tourism, a combination of domestic and inbound tourism
• International tourism, a combination of inbound and outbound tourism

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 contrast, traveller is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the cultural values underpinning these distinctions and their implications for class relations.^[24]

The first sunrise seen from the torii gate on the sea, which is considered a sacred place (Ōarai in Japan)

There are many varieties of tourism. Of those types, there are multiple forms of outdoor-oriented tourism. Outdoor tourism is generally categorized into nature, eco, and adventure tourism (NEAT). These categories share many similarities but also possess definite and unique characteristics. Nature tourism generally encompasses tourism activities that would take place outside. Nature tourism appeals to a large audience of tourists and many may not know they are participating in this form of tourism. This type of tourism has a low barrier to entry and is accessible to a large population. Ecotourism focuses on education, maintaining a social responsibility for the community and the environment, as well as centering economic growth around the local economy. Weaver describes ecotourism as sustainable nature-based tourism.^[25] Ecotourism is more specific than nature tourism and works toward accomplishing a specific goal through the outdoors. Finally, we have adventure tourism. Adventure tourism is the most extreme of the categories and includes participation in activities and sports that require a level of skill or experience, risk, and physical exertion.^[25] Adventure tourism often appeals less to the general public than nature and ecotourism and tends to draw in individuals who partake in such activities with limited marketing.

It is important to understand that these definitions may vary. Perceived risk in adventure tourism is subjective and may change for each individual.

Examples of these tourism types include...

Nature tourism

• Hiking, walking, camping

Ecotourism

• Guided tours focusing on educating, summer camps, outdoor classes

Adventure tourism

• White water rafting, ice climbing, mountaineering

Tourism products

According to the World Tourism Organization, a tourism product is:^[26]

"a combination of tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural, and man-made resources, attractions, facilities, services and activities around a specific center of interest which represents the core of the destination marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience including emotional aspects for the potential customers. A tourism product is priced and sold through distribution channels and it has a life-cycle."

A tourist map shows the functional zones of a city.^[27] Tourism products cover a wide variety of services including:^[28]

• Accommodation services from low-cost homestays to five-star hotels
• Hospitality services including food and beverage serving centers
• Health care services like massages
• All modes of transport, its booking and rental
• Travel agencies, guided tours and tourist guides
• Cultural services such as religious monuments, museums, and historical places
• Shopping
• Additional travel services like airport parking, airport hotels and travel insurance

International tourism

International tourist arrivals per year by region

International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".^[29] The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time.^[30]

In 2010, international tourism reached US$919B, growing 6.5% over 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7%.^[31] In 2010, there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals worldwide.^[32] By 2016 that number had risen to 1,235 million, producing $1.22 trillion USD in destination spending.^[33] The COVID-19 crisis had significant negative effects on international tourism significantly slowing the overall increasing trend.

International tourism has significant impacts on the environment, exacerbated in part by the problems created by air travel but also by other issues, including wealthy tourists bringing lifestyles that stress local infrastructure, water and trash systems among others.

Basis

Tourism typically requires the tourist to feel engaged in a genuine experience of the location they are visiting. According to Dean MacCannell, tourism requires that the tourist can view the toured area as both authentic and different from their own lived experience.^{[34][35]: 113 [better source needed]} By viewing the "exotic," tourists learn what they themselves are not: that is, they are "un-exotic," or normal.^{[35][better source needed]}

According to MacCannell, all modern tourism experiences the "authentic" and "exotic" as "developmentally inferior" to the modern—that is, to the lived experience of the tourist.^{[35]: 114 [better source needed]}

History

Ancient

See also: Travel literature

Travel outside a person's local area for leisure was largely confined to wealthy classes, who at times travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings and works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures, enjoy pristine nature and to taste different cuisines. As early as Shulgi, however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building way stations for travellers.^[36] Travelling for pleasure can be seen in Egypt as early on as 1500 BC.^[37] Ancient Roman tourists during the Republic would visit spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae. They were popular among the rich. The Roman upper class used to spend their free time on land or at sea and travelled to their villa urbana or villa maritima. Numerous villas were located in Campania, around Rome and in the northern part of the Adriatic as in Barcola near Trieste. Pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in the second century AD. In ancient China, nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, all five Sacred Mountains.

Medieval

A Japanese tourist consulting a tour guide and a guide book from Akizato Ritō's Miyako meisho zue (1787)

By the post-classical era, many religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam had developed traditions of pilgrimage. The Canterbury Tales (c. 1390s), which uses a pilgrimage as a framing device, remains a classic of English literature, and Journey to the West (c. 1592), which holds a seminal place in Chinese literature, has a Buddhist pilgrimage at the center of its narrative.

In medieval Italy, Petrarch wrote an allegorical account of his 1336 ascent of Mont Ventoux that praised the act of travelling and criticized frigida incuriositas (a 'cold lack of curiosity'); this account is regarded as one of the first known instances of travel being undertaken for its own sake.^[38][39] The Burgundian poet Michault Taillevent [fr] later composed his own horrified recollections of a 1430 trip through the Jura Mountains.^[40]

In China, 'travel record literature' (遊記文學; yóujì wénxué) became popular during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).^[41] Travel writers such as Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Xu Xiake (1587–1641) incorporated a wealth of geographical and topographical information into their writing, while the 'daytrip essay' Record of Stone Bell Mountain by the noted poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101) presented a philosophical and moral argument as its central purpose. ^[42]

Grand Tour

See also: Grand Tour

Prince Ladislaus Sigismund of Poland visiting Gallery of Cornelis van der Geest in Brussels in 1624

Modern tourism can be traced to what was known as the Grand Tour, which was a traditional trip around Europe (especially Germany and Italy), undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, mainly from Western and Northern European countries. In 1624, the young Prince of Poland, Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa, the eldest son of Sigismund III, embarked on a journey across Europe, as was in custom among Polish nobility.^[43] He travelled through territories of today's Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, where he admired the siege of Breda by Spanish forces, France, Switzerland to Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic.^[43] It was an educational journey^[44] and one of the outcomes was introduction of Italian opera in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.^[45]

The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s and generally followed a standard itinerary. It was an educational opportunity and rite of passage. Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent, and from the second half of the 18th century some South American, US, and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition was extended to include more of the middle class after rail and steamship travel made the journey easier, and Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" a byword.

The Grand Tour became a status symbol for upper-class students in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, Johann Joachim Winckelmann's theories about the supremacy of classic culture became very popular and appreciated in the European academic world. Artists, writers, and travellers (such as Goethe) affirmed the supremacy of classic art of which Italy, France, and Greece provide excellent examples. For these reasons, the Grand Tour's main destinations were to those centers, where upper-class students could find rare examples of classic art and history.

The New York Times recently described the Grand Tour in this way:

Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post-Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and the roots of Western civilization. With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent.

— Gross, Matt., Lessons From the Frugal Grand Tour." New York Times 5 September 2008.

The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, laid in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance, and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of the European continent.

Emergence of leisure travel

English postcard of the old town of Alsfeld in Germany, with tourists on the market square

The Slatina Spa in Slatina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is famous for its characteristics and had attracted tourists since 1870s.

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.^[46] Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, factory owners and traders. These comprised the new middle class.^[46] Cox & Kings was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758.^[47]

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, Hotel Carlton, or Hotel Majestic – reflecting the dominance of English customers.

A pioneer of the travel agency business, Thomas Cook's idea to offer excursions came to him while waiting for the stagecoach on the London Road at Kibworth. With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway, he arranged to take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street station to a rally in Loughborough, eleven miles (18 km) away. On 5 July 1841, Thomas Cook arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling per person; this included rail tickets and food for the journey. Cook was paid a share of the fares charged to the passengers, as the railway tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have been issued at his own price.^{[clarification needed]} This was the first privately chartered excursion train to be advertised to the general public; Cook himself acknowledged that there had been previous, unadvertised, private excursion trains.^[48] During the following three summers he planned and conducted outings for temperance societies and Sunday school children. In 1844, the Midland Counties Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him, provided he found the passengers. This success led him to start his own business running rail excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway fares.^[49]

In 1855, he planned his first excursion abroad, when he took a group from Leicester to Calais to coincide with the Paris Exhibition. The following year he started his "grand circular tours" of Europe.^[50] During the 1860s he took parties to Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, and the United States. Cook established "inclusive independent travel", whereby the traveller went independently but his agency charged for travel, food, and accommodation for a fixed period over any chosen route. Such was his success that the Scottish railway companies withdrew their support between 1862 and 1863 to try the excursion business for themselves.