Tourism's Future - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 452

s immediate future, the Econ-
omist predicts that in 2011 the world travel
industry will lift itself out of post-crisis decline
as a 5 percent rise in international tourist arrivals
brings activity back above its 2008 level (accord-
ing to the World Travel and Tourism Council).
France will see the largest absolute rise in inter-
national visitors, even with a growth rate a shade
lower than China. The global airline industry,
after good pro tgrowthin2010,willseeearnings
slow in 2011, despite higher traf c. Boeing will at
last deliver its first 787 airliners

As for tourism '

Space tourism has already
arrived. Dennis Tito has the
distinction of being the rst
tourist to go into space.
Others have been visiting
land-based space
attractions for years. Space
shuttle launches were
scheduled to end in 2011,
but the Kennedy Space
Center continues to draw
thousands of visitors a
year. Photocourtesyof
KennedySpaceCenterVisitors
Complex.

three years late.
Facing claims for compensation due to delays,
Boeing will hope to work quickly through its 850-
odd order book for the next generation aircraft. 7

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Political

Historians will long debate exactly why the fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1989 kicked off such a dramatic
spread of the democratic movement. The record
will show that few individuals (experts or ordinary
people) foresaw the rapid transformations of the political systems that occurred in eastern and central
Europe during the past few decades. Of course, all is not as simple as it seems. Many other forces were
at work that allowed this rather focused eruption of democracy to occur. Indeed, it is highly likely
that this very visible political shift was symptomatic of a much more fundamental and underlying
desire by people all over the world to control more directly in the governing processes that affect their
lives. From a tourism perspective, these forces have led to the very powerful concept of resident-

responsive tourism . No longer can it be assumed that the residents of a tourism destination or region

will automatically accept all (or any) forms of tourism development that the industry proposes or
attempts to impose. Tourism development in the third millennium will actively have to seek the
support of the communities it affects most directly. To do this, those responsible for tourism will have
to involve a growing percentage of destination residents in the assessments of the costs and bene ts
associated with all forms of proposed (and even existing) facilities and activities. Unless a consensus is
reached that the net bene ts to the community are positive, it is questionable that tourism
development in the coming years will have the support necessary to proceed.

The Continued Growth of ``Super-Europe ''

To the surprise of many doubters, the European Union (EU) continues to grow, although admittedly,
not without some serious problems areas. In 2004, the EU undertook a major step forward
when it nearly doubled in geographic size with the long-awaited addition of ten new member
countries: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia,
and Slovenia. In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania further expanded this growing colossus. Currently,
the EU has 27 member countries that have transferred some of their sovereignty — or law-

making authority to the EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,

Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom ( europa.eu/index_en.htm ). Four more countries have applied to become members of
the EU: Croatia, Macedonia, Iceland, and Turkey. Furthermore, five other countries (Albania, Bosnia/

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