What is Tourism?

What is Tourism?
Although many of us have been “tourists” at some point in our lives, defining what tourism actually is can be difficult. Tourism is the activities of people traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for leisure, business or other purposes for not more than one consecutive year.
Tourism is a dynamic and competitive industry that requires the ability to adapt constantly to customers’ changing needs and desires, as the customer’s satisfaction, safety and enjoyment are particularly the focus of tourism businesses.
Tourism encompasses:
Outbound Tourism
Outbound tourism is what you may be most familiar with. It involves the people going from British Columbia to other provinces, territories or countries. For example, going to Hawaii for a holiday is considered outbound tourism.
Inbound Tourism
The tourists coming to BC from other places are called inbound tourists. BC competes in a global market to attract tourists from the United States, Japan, Germany and many other countries. The industry also implements marketing campaigns aimed at attracting travellers from other parts of Canada, as well as from within British Columbia.
Domestic Tourism
Approximately half of the tourists in BC each year are actually from within the province. BC Stats and Destination BC consider those travelling beyond their usual environment (typically more than 80 km from home) for business or for pleasure to be tourists.
Tourism Sectors
There are different ways to measure the size of the tourism industry, as tourism does not conform to the usual ways that industries are defined, such as manufacturing, forestry and other industries. Tourism constitutes a wide variety of sectors that provide diverse products and services to visitors. However, these businesses also provide products and services to local residents.
Introduction - What is Tourism? Online Lesson
Since the beginning of time humans have traveled. Food, water, safety or acquisition of resources (trade) were the early travel motivations. But the idea of travel for pleasure or exploration soon emerged. Travel has always depended upon technology to provide the means or mode of travel. The earliest travelers walked or rode domesticated animals. The invention of the wheel and the sail provided new modes of transportation. Each improvement in technology increased individuals' opportunities to travel. As roads were improved and governments stabilized, interest in travel increased for education, sightseeing, and religious purposes. One of the earliest travel guides was written by Pausanias, a Greek, which was a 10 volume Guide to Greece, for Roman tourists in 170 A.D..
Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries that delivers a travel experience, including transportation, accommodations, eating and drinking establishments, retail shops, entertainment businesses, activity facilities and other hospitality services provided for individuals or groups traveling away from home. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) claims that tourism is currently the worlds largest industry with annual revenues of over $3 trillion dollars. Tourism provides over six million jobs in the United States, making it the country's largest employer.