For many people, it may come as a surprise that tourism is one of the foundations for economic developement — not only in America — but throughout the world. And as they say, tourism has been booming!
My daughters are becoming far better traveled than I could ever hope to be… and it is fun to listen to their stories. Kristin documented her experiences in Iraq for which I am grateful. Karen passed along some data from the ‘World Tourism Organization’ that is amazing! International tourism has increased 166% since 1990 with over 806 million folks visiting somewhere in 2005. The world is indeed becoming a smaller place. Here’s how the world tourism market share divides up:
Although African Tourism has doubled since 1990 it has only slightly exceeded the world growth trend. Most of the Tourism to Africa lands in Egypt and South Africa. Hard-to-get-to-regions like Australia are still growing in tourism… but still occupy a very small share of the market.
It is not surprising that the top spot in international tourism is France with Paris easily the top city. After all, Paris has often been referred to as a living museum. What is interesting has been the growth in tourism to China and Hong Kong. Although the top 12 countries represent nearly 400 million visitors, this only represents roughly half of all international tourism.
The world is getting to be a smaller place… so, where would you like to go?
Travel to Australia?
Travel To South Africa?
Travel to Japan?
Roger Freberg