We all Travel, We all love to Travel, We all love to Explore Places and We love to meet new people and love to learn about their Culture and Values.
But… Have you ever wondered what is tourism? tried to search a generic definition of it? Well… Tourism is an activity that is very generic in nature and as such has no standard definition. Many people and many organizations have defined tourism in various ways. Some of the common yet important definitions can be found here!
Tourism is defined as “The inter-relationships arising from the interaction of a) tourists, b) the suppliers, c) the government of the host destination & d) the residents of the host area destination, in the process of affecting and catering to tourists”.
Tourism as a product can be defined as “An amalgam of three main components a) Attractions of the destination b) The facilities of destination & c) The accessibility of it”.
One of the early definitions given in 1910 by an Austrian economist, ‘HERMAN SCHULLARD’ is… “Tourism is the sum total of operators, mainly of an economic nature, which directly relates to entry, stay and movement of foreigners inside and outside of a certain, country, city or region”.
How does Tourism impact life of common people and what benefits it could bring to a country, tourists and the citizens? The Importance of Tourism depends on several factors which are given below.
The tourism industry aids and supports foreign exchange reserves. It benefits our country in generating foreign currency. Every year a large number of tourists visit India and other places. They visit places; stay and shop in our country. All this contributes to a significant amount of foreign currency generation. Despite the global recession, Indian tourism grew 6.9 % to approximately $42 billion during previous decade. The Current Global COVID-19 crisis is a different kind of pandemic which surely did good amount of harm to the International Travel and Tourism Market, Yet The lockdown and other restrictions are lifting in many countries and the tourism market seems to be back on track by the end of 2021 significantly.
Tourism is a continual source of income for public & private sector. The government charges various forms of tax that is called government revenue. The income generated through these taxes is the public income. The profit earned by a seller, by selling items like local artifacts, handicraft items, etc., to the tourists is called private income. Tourism also helps in employment generation. It created jobs specifically in the hotel industry and hospitality industry, service sector, entertainment and transportation industry.
Have you ever noticed how the look and status of a place change when it is declared a Tourist Place? Actually, tourism aids and encourages infrastructure development by making way for dams, roads, connectivity, airport improvements and any other activity that helps a tourist in visiting a place in a much better way!
Tourism is a wonderful method for cultural exchange. It also encourages societal progress as tourists and citizens learn to show respect, tolerance and love for each other when they visit new places.
Tourism helps explain the beauty, art, history and culture of our country. Different people visiting any country take beautiful cultural concepts along with them and spread those concepts to others while visiting other places in the world. Similarly… the local skills, languages and art, get wide exposure through tourism. i.e., Chokhi Dhani in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Tourism has been of great importance for education always. Study tours, short time courses, educational exchange programs, all these are a part and parcel of International Tourism resulting in better knowledge about host countries. Even sports exchange programs can be considered under this.
Tourism also has spillover benefits such as preservation of environment, which covers up an area of historical sites and cultural values. PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) and WTO (World Tourism Organization) have laid down laws for its preservation and conservation. India has given a new lease of life to endangered species of animals by making laws on forbidding the hunting of lions, deers, peacocks, and many other birds and animals. India has also set up a separate ministry of environment and forests to monitor the use of land from the environment point of view.
