Live 8, G8 summit, WTO negotiations: many recent events have been dedicated to encouraging development. Closer still to the tourism industry is the surtax on airline tickets that has been voted by the French Parliament to finance the battle against AIDS that is ravaging Africa above all. This “Tobin tax” on tourism demonstrates the temptation to make this growing sector a powerhouse for the development of less advanced countries. Today, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry represents nearly 3.5 billion euros and 5 billion in 2013. For many countries, tourism figures on the podium of their sources of revenues. Some, small islands in particular, are fully dependent on this economic activity that nears 60% of their gross national product. And developing countries nibble away at the market shares of world tourism each day.
With the forecasted explosion in the number of tourists, the tourism industry may have to answer increasingly often concerning its impact on the environment and the life of local populations. How can mass tourism and the potentially harmful effects of this growth be managed? Overexploitation by...
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