Growth of Tourism (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Geography)

Growth of Tourism

• A leisure activity is something done for enjoyment in your free time

• Tourism is when a person travels to another destination for more than 24 hrs but less than one year

• Tourism can be split into:

  • Domestic - own country

  • International - another country

• Tourism can be considered a form of circular migration, as there is no intention of a permanent move, but can be for work, medical, educational or pleasure reasons

  • Seasonal workers are circular migrants who work in one place and return home after a short contract

  • Students at university return at the end of the term to their normal place of residence

  • Medical treatment encourages people to move to countries temporarily

  • Sport - many sports have gone global, through international competitions either as players or spectators

• Over the last 50 years mass tourism has expanded into a major global industry, which is still growing 

• An estimated 900 million people become international tourists every year (pre pandemic)

• Europe remains the regions with the greatest number of tourist arrivals, with France being the No.1 destination

• 53% of inbound tourism is for leisure (holiday), the second reason is for visiting friends and relatives

• The main reasons for the rise in tourism can be linked to:

  • Improved pay and leave allowances - most workers now work less than 40 hours a week and have paid annual leave

  • Improved disposable incomes - normally both partners work and this increases incoming money to the household

  • It is easier than ever to cross borders with agreements between countries

  • Transport is faster and cheaper than in the past

  • Communication - internet, social media etc. bring awareness of foreign destinations, booking of last-minute holidays etc. 

  • Increase in 'built attractions' such as theme and water parks

  • Attractions such as music festivals, sporting events etc

  • Many governments have invested heavily to encourage tourism or backed international events - Olympics

• Travel and tourism is the largest employer across the globe and represents 7% of the world's exports in goods and services

• It is the growing awareness of the attraction of the physical and human landscapes, along with rising living standards, have allowed greater numbers of people to experience more places domestically and abroad