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READING PASSAGE 5
The Context, Meaning and Scope of Tourism
A
Travel has existed
since the beginning of time, when primitive man set out, often traversing great distances
in search of game, which provided the food and clothing necessary for his survival. Throughout the course of
history, people have travelled for purposes of trade, religious conviction, economic gain, war, migration and
other equally compelling motivations.
In the Roman era, wealthy aristocrats and high government officials also
travelled for pleasure. Seaside resorts located at Pompeii and Herculaneum afforded citizens the opportunity to
escape to their vacation villas in order to avoid the summer heat of Rome. Travel, except during the Dark
Ages, has continued to grow and, throughout recorded history, has played a vital role in the development of
civilisations and their economies.
B
Tourism in the mass form as we know it today is a distinctly twentieth-century phenomenon. Historians
suggest that the advent of mass tourism began in England during the industrial revolution with the rise of the
middle class and the availability of relatively inexpensive transportation. The creation of the commercial
airline industry following the Second World War and the subsequent development of the
jet aircraft in the
1950s signalled the rapid growth and expansion of international travel. This growth led to the development of
a major new industry: tourism. In turn, international tourism became the concern of a number of world
governments since it not only provided new employment opportunities but also produced a means of earning
foreign exchange.
C
Tourism today has grown significantly in both economic and social importance. In most industrialised
countries over the past few years the fastest growth has been seen in the area of services. One of the largest
segments of the service industry, although largely unrecognised as an entity in some of these countries, is
travel and tourism. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (1992),Travel and
tourism is the
largest industry in the world on virtually any economic measure including value-added capital investment,
employment and tax contributions,. In 1992’ the industry’s gross output was estimated to be $3.5 trillion, over
12 per cent of all consumer spending. The travel and tourism industry is the world’s largest employer the
almost 130 million jobs, or almost 7 per cent of all employees. This industry is the world’s leading industrial
contributor, producing over 6 per cent of the world’s national product and accounting for capital investment in
excess of $422 billion m direct indirect and personal taxes each year. Thus, tourism has a
profound impact both
on the world economy and, because of the educative effect of travel and the effects on
employment, on society itself.
D
However, the major problems of the travel and tourism industry that have hidden, or obscured, its
economic impact are the diversity and fragmentation of the industry itself. The travel industry includes: hotels,
motels and other types of accommodation; restaurants and other food services; transportation services and
facilities; amusements, attractions and other leisure facilities; gift shops and a large number of other
enterprises. Since many of these businesses
also serve local residents, the impact of spending by visitors can
easily be overlooked or underestimated. In addition, Meis (1992) points out that the tourism industry involves
concepts that have remained amorphous to both analysts and decision makers. Moreover, in all nations this
problem has made it difficult for the industry to develop any type of reliable or credible tourism information
base in order to estimate the contribution it makes to regional, national and global economies. However, the
nature of this very diversity makes travel and tourism ideal vehicles for economic development in a
wide variety of countries, regions or communities.
E
Once the exclusive province of the wealthy, travel and tourism have become an institutionalised way of life
for most of the population. In fact, McIntosh and Goeldner (1990) suggest that tourism has become the
largest commodity in international trade
for many nations and, for a significant number of other countries, it
ranks second or third. For example, tourism is the major source of income in Bermuda, Greece, Italy, Spain,
Switzerland and most Caribbean countries. In addition, Hawkins and Ritchie, quoting from data published by
the American Express Company, suggest that the travel and tourism industry is the number one ranked
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employer in the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, France, (the former) West Germany,
Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica,
Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. However, because of problems of definition,
which directly affect statistical measurement, it is not possible with any degree of certainty to
provide precise, valid or reliable data about the extent of world-wide tourism participation or its
economic impact. In many cases, similar difficulties arise when attempts are made to
measure domestic tourism.
