Introduction to travel and tourism

WHAT IS THE TOURISM SECTOR?

The tourism sector is a coming together of various suppliers of services to offer people a complete tourist experience. It is made up, therefore, of providers of transport, board and lodging together with a range of activities designed to satisfy the tourist’s needs.

Normally the tourism sector comprises both the government (public sector) and the business community (private sector). They combine to give the tourists a satisfactory holiday.

The public sector is usually involved with:
• Policy making;
• Statistical analysis;
• Planning and development;
• Licensing and regulation;
• Marketing;
• Training and human resource development.

Sometimes the public sector gets involved in the actual provision of services for the tourist. In many countries National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) are established to plan, organize, direct, coordinate and monitor the sector as a whole.

The private sector provides all the services which the tourist might require. These providers of services are commercial operations and try to make a profit from the tourist.

Some of the services provided by these commercial enterprises include:

• 
  Transport (air, sea and land)
  
• 
  Accommodation
  
• 
  Food and beverages
  
• 
  Entertainments/activities, as well as many others
  
  
  

In general, the public sector plans and guides tourism development and the private sector provide the end product.

GROWTH OF TOURISM

The onset of better wages, more leisure time, an increase in the desire to travel improvements in transportation systems and facilities for tourists have combined to make tourism the world’s largest industry. In 1993, international tourist arrivals worldwide grew to 500 million and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) forecasts that this number will increase to 650 million by the end of the century. These figures are easily measured as international travelers complete formalities upon entering or leaving a foreign country. While figures for domestic tourism are not so easily measured, it is certain that domestic tourists can be measured in billions.

At present, the tourism industry directly employs more than 204 million people throughout the world which makes it the largest single employer. This means that one person out of every nine is employed in tourism (World Travel and Tourism Council estimate for 1994) and of course many more are indirectly employed in the sector. Tourism is ranked first among world exports of goods and services, ahead of oil, motor vehicles or electronic equipment. Forecasts suggest that tourist arrivals will grow at about 3% per year, thereby doubling in size over the next 20 years (WTO 1994).
Earnings from international tourism are called ‘invisible exports’. These earnings come about as a result of selling a country’s tourism product to visitors from abroad. Countries earn much needed foreign exchange in this way and governments now place great importance on the tourism sector.