Tourism Business as the World’s Largest Industry and Employer

Vital Roles of Government in Tourism
The roles of government are vital to tourism. First, govern­ments generally set the policy of their country, state, or locality toward tourism. They also regulate the different components of the industry on the day-to-day basis. Second, they perform re­search and analysis that result in statistics on the tourism industry. Third, they are often involved in the development of tourism in their areas. This is especially true in the developing countries, but it occurs in industrialized areas as well. Fourth, governments are actively engaged in promoting a flow of tourists to their regions with advertising or public relations techniques.
In many countries, tourism is so important that its interests are represented at the ministerial level of government. Even in countries where the tourist industry has less economic importance, there is usually a tourist bureau with official or semi-official status. In the United States there is a Travel Bureau in the Department of Commerce.
One of the ways in which countries or regions can promote tourism is by relaxing the kind of regulation that usually comes under the heading of 'red tape'. Travel is made easier when there are no visa requirements and when the entry formalities are sim­ple.
National policy can also discourage tourism. In some cases, this may work to prevent the country's nationals from travelling out­ward. Any country can discourage incoming tourism simply by not providing accommodation and catering services, setting visa and entrance requirements that severely restrict entry, or by restrict­ing the length of time a traveler can stay in that country.
Governments at all levels are also involved in day-to-day regu­lation of the tourist facilities within their jurisdictions. The regu­lation generally begins with the construction of facilities when the builders have met the provisions of the local building code. It e: tends to various kinds of licensing requirements once the business is in operation. Catering establishments must be inspected periodically in most localities to ensure that they maintain standards of cleanliness.
One of the principal purposes for the existence of either official or semi-official tourist bureaus is to gather travel statistics. The arrival cards that are a customary feature of international travel are the basis for many of the statistics. Departure cards are also required in several countries in order to get more accurate figures on the length of the tourist's stay. These forms are also known as embarkation and disembarkation cards.
Research in tourism involves: checking on tourist expendi­tures, finding out the purpose of the trip or the tourist's reaction to his vacation, determination of the social impact of tourism on the area.
Many countries have become involved in the development of tourism through direct financial investment. In some cases, build­ers and operators are allowed to run their facilities for as long as ten years without paying taxes. In other cases, taxes can be re­duced or payment can be postponed until the operation is return­ing a profit. Of course, governments are not acting merely out of generosity in giving out such benefits, since their own revenues increase in the long run as a result of the money brought in by tourism. Even where government investment is not direct, there must be an indirect investment in the form of building or improv­ing the infrastructure. The infrastructure consists of those things that are necessary before development can take place — roads, sewers, electricity, telephone service, airports, and water supply. Another way in which government encourages tourism is through training programs for service personnel. Many governments insti­tute such programs in order to have people available to fill the jobs generated by tourism.
Before a government undertakes tourist development, it usu­ally attempts to determine the market potential — the number or percentage of travelers it can hope to attract. This is followed by studies of the social impact and very often of the environmental impact — what tourism will do to the natural surroundings. The research is followed by the actual planning and development that include improvement of the infrastructure, financial arrange­ments, and construction of the superstructure.
Promotion