Definition of Tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. 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".

Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2011, there were over 983 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, representing a growth of 4.6% when compared to 940 million in 2010.International tourism receipts (the travel item of the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010. In 2011, international travel demand continued to recover from the losses resulting from the late-2000s recession, where tourism suffered a strong slowdown from the second half of 2008 through the end of 2009. After a 5% increase in the first half of 2008, growth in international tourist arrivals moved into negative territory in the second half of 2008, and ended up only 2% for the year, compared to a 7% increase in 2007.The negative trend intensified during 2009, exacerbated in some countries due to the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4.2% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and a 5.7% decline in international tourism receipts.

^{Tourism is important, and in some cases, vital for many countries. It was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations.}

 effect of medical tourism

 

 

World tourism statistics and rankings

Most-visited countries by international tourist arrivals

Rank	Country	UNWTO Region	International tourist arrivals (2011)	International tourist arrivals (2010)	Change 2010 to 2011
1	France	Europe	79.5 million	77.1 million	+3.0%
2	United States	North America	62.3 million	59.8 million	+4.2%
3	China	Asia	57.6 million	55.7 million	+3.4%
4	Spain	Europe	56.7 million	52.7 million	+7.6%
5	Italy	Europe	46.1 million	43.6 million	+5.7%
6	Turkey	EuroAsia	29.3 million	27.0 million	+8.7%
7	United Kingdom	Europe	29.2 million	28.3 million	+3.2%
8	Germany	Europe	28.4 million	26.9 million	+5.5%
9	Malaysia	Asia	24.7 million	24.6 million	+0.6%
10	Mexico	North America	23.4 million	23.3 million	+0.5%

 

International tourism receipts

International tourism receipts grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010. The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2011, with the United States by far the top earner.

Rank	Country	UNWTO Region	International tourism receipts (2011)
1	United States	North America	$116.3 billion
2	Spain	Europe	$59.9 billion
3	France	Europe	$53.8 billion
4	China	Asia	$48.5 billion
5	Italy	Europe	$43.0 billion
6	Germany	Europe	$38.8 billion
7	United Kingdom	Europe	$35.9 billion
8	Australia	Oceania	$31.4 billion
9	Macao (China)	Asia	$27.8 billion
10	Hong Kong (China)	Asia	$27.2 billion

International tourism expenditure

The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2011.

Rank	Country	UNWTO Region	International tourism expenditure (2011)
1	Germany	Europe	$84.3 billion
2	United States	North America	$79.1 billion
3	China	Asia	$72.6 billion
4	United Kingdom	Europe	$50.6 billion
5	France	Europe	$41.7 billion
6	Canada	North America	$33.0 billion
7	Russia	Europe	$32.5 billion
8	Italy	Europe	$28.7 billion
9	Japan	Asia	$27.2 billion
10	Australia	Oceania	$26.9 billion

Most-visited cities by international tourist arrivals

Top 10 most visited cities by estimated number of international visitors by selected year
Rank	City	Country	International visitors (millions)	Year	Notes
1	Paris	France	15.6	2011	Extrapolation, excluding outer suburbs visitors
2	London	United Kingdom	15.2	2011
3	Antalya	Turkey	10.5	2011	May include same-day visitors
4	New York City	United States	10.3	2011	Projection, may include same-day visitors
5	Singapore	Singapore	9.2	2010	Excluding Malaysian citizens arriving by land
6	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	9.0	2011	Only hotel guests
7	Hong Kong	Hong Kong (China)	8.7	2011	Excluding Mainland Chinese visitors
8	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	8.1	2011	Only hotel and hotel apartment guests
9	Istanbul	Turkey	8.1	2011	May include same-day visitors
10	Bangkok	Thailand	7.2	2010