Tourism istravel forrecreational,leisur, orbusiness purposes. TheWarld Tourism Organization definestourists as fowk "travelin tae an stayin in places ootside thair uisual environment for nae mair nor ane consecutive year for leisur, business an ither purposes".[1]
Tourism haes acome a popular global leisur activity. Efter slowly recovering frae the contraction resultin frae thelate-2000s recession, whaur tourism suffered a strang slowdoun frae the seicont hauf o 2008 throu the end o 2009, an the ootbreak o theH1N1 influenza virus,[2][3] internaitional tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone 1 billion tourists globally for first time in history in 2012.[4] Internaitional tourism receipts (the travel item o thebalance o payments) grew taeUS$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, correspondin tae an increase inreal terms o 3.8% frae 2010.[5] In 2012,Cheenae acame the lairgest spender in internaitional tourism globally wiUS$102 billion, surpassinGermany anUnited States. Cheenae anemergin mercats significantly increase thair spendin ower the past decade, wiRoushie anBrazil as noteworthy examples.[6]
