Overview of tourism
For tourism refers to the activities of those who visit and stays in places other than that of habitual residence for not more than one consecutive year recreational, business or otherwise. This multi-faceted industry involves many people and covers many different economic activities. We can distinguish various forms of tourism on the basis of the following elements:
- the purpose of the visit [e.g. Leisure and recreation, including holidays, culture,
health, visits to friends and relatives as well as business and professional
including conferences and meetings];
- duration of stay (one weekend, a business trip or holiday, traditionally the longest);
- nature of travel (domestic or foreign destination);
- type of destination (country, city, mountain);
- travel distance (long-distance and short journeys);
- characteristics of the tourists themselves (e.g., youth, families, etc.)
For many holidays have ceased to represent luxury and have become more and more a necessity. This trend is likely to persist. Typically, the tourism sector encompasses a number of different components, which in particular:
- accommodation;
- attractions;
- travel organizers and intermediaries.
Despite not being part of the tourism sector, passenger transport is an essential component as it is undoubtedly the indispensable prerequisite of any tourist activity.
With eight million people directly employed in the tourism sector of the European Union direct contribution offered by tourism in terms of jobs is quite remarkable, especially in economies where this sector has a strong weight. Tourism also has important repercussions on employment in related services. It is regarded as one of the main sources of employment for the years.
Tourism is a major economic activity globally and has considerable repercussions on economic growth, balance of payments, employment and regional balance at the level of individual countries and regions. As shown in the graph, you can consider tourism as consisting of a wide variety of manufacturers, distributors and brokers. While in the past the boundaries between the various categories of the market were well clear, vertical and horizontal integration in the sector has made these much more blurred boundaries.