Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international. International tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conservation and environmental education. The definition sometimes also includes being financially beneficial to the host community or making conservation financially possible. There are a range of different definitions, and the correct definition of the term was an active subject of debate as of 2009. The term is also used more widely by many organizations offering nature tourism, which do not focus on being beneficial to the environment.
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Tourism in Japan is a major industry and contributor to the Japanese economy. In 2019, the sector directly contributed 11 trillion yen, or 2% of the GDP, and attracted 31.88 million international tourists.
Cultural tourism is a type of tourism in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the cultural attractions and products offered by a tourist destination. These attractions and products relate to the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional features of a society that encompasses arts and architecture, historical and cultural heritage, culinary heritage, literature, music, creative industries as well as the living cultures with their lifestyles, value systems, beliefs and traditions.
Hallstatt is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut region, on the national road linking Salzburg and Graz.
Medical tourism is the practice of traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable at home. However, in recent years it may equally refer to those from developed countries who travel to developing countries for lower-priced medical treatments. With differences between the medical agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA), etc., which decide whether a drug is approved in their country or region, or not, the motivation may be also for medical services unavailable or non-licensed in the home country.
Heritage tourism is a branch of tourism centered around the exploration and appreciation of a region's cultural, historical and environmental heritage. This form of tourism includes both tangible elements, such as historically significant sites, monuments, and artifacts, as well as intangible aspects, such as traditions, customs, and practices.
Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Sustainable tourism should embrace concerns for environmental protection, social equity, and the quality of life, cultural diversity, and a dynamic, viable economy delivering jobs and prosperity for all. It has its roots in sustainable development and there can be some confusion as to what "sustainable tourism" means. There is now broad consensus that tourism should be sustainable. In fact, all forms of tourism have the potential to be sustainable if planned, developed and managed properly. Tourist development organizations are promoting sustainable tourism practices in order to mitigate negative effects caused by the growing impact of tourism, for example its environmental impacts.
Tourism carrying capacity (TCC) is an imperfect but useful approach to managing visitors in vulnerable areas. The TCC concept evolved out of the fields of range, habitat and wildlife management. In these fields, managers attempted to determine the largest population of a particular species that could be supported by a habitat over a long period of time.
Thai Indians are Thai people with full or partial Indian ancestry. But these ancestral ties are usually left out of statistics. About 65,000 Indian Thais have full Thai citizenship, but around 400,000 persons of Indian origin settled in Thailand mainly in the urban cities. Intermixing and interethnic marriages of the earlier migrants have led to a large indigenous Thai Indian community.
Tourism in Iceland has grown considerably in economic significance in the past 15 years. As of 2016, the tourism industry is estimated to contribute about 10 percent to the Icelandic GDP; the number of foreign visitors exceeded 2,000,000 for the first time in 2017; tourism is responsible for a share of nearly 30 percent of the country's export revenue.
Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres west of Morocco. Seven main islands and six islets make up the Canary Islands. They had 16 million visitors in 2023. Tourists seeking sunshine and beaches first began to visit the Canaries in large numbers in the 1960s. The Canary Islands are a leading European tourist destination with very attractive natural and cultural resources.
Industrial tourism is tourism in which the desired destination includes industrial sites peculiar to a particular location. The concept is not new, as it includes wine tours in France, visits to cheesemakers in the Netherlands, Jack Daniel's distillery tours in the United States for example, but has taken on renewed interest in recent times, with both industrial heritage sites and modern industry attracting tourism.
Tourism has a significant impact on destinations, influencing their economy, culture, environment, and communities. Tourism positively affects many parties in society but can also be detrimental in certain situations.
Overtourism is congestion or overcrowding from an excess of tourists, resulting in conflicts with locals. The World Tourism Organization defines overtourism as "the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitor experiences in a negative way". This definition shows how overtourism can be observed both among locals, who view tourism as a disruptive factor that increasingly burdens daily life, as well as visitors, who may regard high numbers of tourists as a nuisance.
A tourist tax is any form of tax aimed at generating revenue from tourists or the tourism industry.
Tourism in Estonia refers to the overall state of the tourism industry in the Baltic nation of Estonia. It is a key part of the country's economy, contributing 7.8% to its GDP, and employing 4.3% of its population. In 2018, tourism and other related services counted for over 10.8 percent of Estonia's exports. Tourism is increasing rapidly in Estonia: the number of tourist arrivals—both domestic and international—has increased from 2.26 million in 2006 to 3.79 million in 2019. Estonia was also ranked the 15th-most safest country to visit in 2017, according to safedestinations.com, scoring 8.94 out of 10 on their list. In a 2018 report published by the OECD, they concluded that most international tourists come from places like Finland, Russia, Latvia, Germany, and Sweden.
Touristification is a process by which a place changes as it becomes an object of tourist consumption. It leads to negative implications for the touristified place and has received both informal and formal opposition.
Beginning in April 2024, there have been protests in Spain against overtourism, specifically in the archipelagos of the Balearics and Canaries, and in the mainland cities of Barcelona and Málaga. These first three locations are the top three most-visited in Spain by tourists. Following the COVID-19 pandemic limiting tourists' opportunities to travel, the numbers of visitors to Spanish destinations has significantly increased year-on-year. Local governments and residents believe that, rather than sustaining the locations, the overtourism has contributed to a reduced quality of life and increased cost of living for residents.
