Tourism's Economic Impact - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 302

Hot Springs, Fairy Caves,
the Colorado River, a ski
resort, dude ranches, and
easy access via Interstate
70 provide Glenwood
Springs, Colorado, with a
vibrant tourism economy.
PhotocourtesyofHotSprings
LodgeandPool.

The estimates of total tourist arrivals by region show that by 2020, the top three receiving regions
will be Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Paci c (397 million), and the Americas
(282 million), followed by Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. East Asia and the Paci c, South Asia,
the Middle East, and Africa are forecasted to record growth at rates of over 5 percent, compared to the
world average of 4.1 percent. The more mature regions of Europe and the Americas are anticipated to
show lower-than-average growth rates.
Europe will maintain the highest share of world arrivals, although there will be a decline from
60 percent in 1995 to 46 percent in 2020. By 2010, the Americas will lose its number-two position to
the East Asia and Paci c region, which will receive 25 percent of world arrivals in 2020, with the
Americas decreasing from 19 percent in 1995 to 18 percent in 2020.
Long-haul travel worldwide will grow faster, at 5.4 percent per year over the period 1995 to 2020,
than intraregional travel, at 3.8 percent. Consequently, the ratio between intraregional and long-haul
travel will shift from around 82:18 in 1995 to close to 76:24 in 2020. 5

COMPARING INTERNATIONAL
AND DOMESTIC EXPENDITURES

Despite the glamour of international tourism (that is, tourists traveling outside of their country of
residence), for many (if not most) countries, domestic tourism (tourists traveling in their country of
residence) is more important. As shown in Table 14.2, the UNWTO estimated (based on preliminary
figures) that international travel involved receipts of US$852 billion in 2009. In contrast, the World
Travel and Tourism Council estimated that in 2007, both international and domestic travel together
generated about US$1,851.2 billion. As can be seen from these estimates of the magnitude of
international and domestic travel, the latter is much greater than the former. This fact surprises many
people who primarily think of tourism as being exotic, international travel.

Employment

The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that in 2010, employment in the total (direct and
indirect) travel and tourism economy was 235,785,000 jobs, or 9.1 percent of total employment, which is 1