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Development of tourism worldwide

Tourism is not only a short vacation on a beach in Turkey or visiting an art museum. The definition published by the World Tourism OrganizationUNWTOWorld Tourism Organization is very broad. According to this, tourism is the movement of people from their usual place of residence to other places for personal or professional reasons.

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Na ilustracji wykres liniowy the number of tourists in the world. Na osi X przedziałka od zera do tysiąca dwustu, co dwieście, w milionach. Na osi Y lata od 1950 do 2013. Linia na wykresie przedstawia szybki wzrost liczby turystów na świecie w latach tysiąc dziewięćset pięćdziesiąt – dwa tysiące trzynaście. Obecna liczba turystów wynosi miliard dwieście milionów.

The international mass tourism is a rather modern phenomenon. In 1950, barely 25 mln people worldwide travelled for turistic purposes from their countries. In 2013 there were already over 40 times more people travelling – almost 1,1 mld.
Tourism became the largest and fastest growing sector of the economy, offering employment for about 9% of people and creating about 9% of the world GDP.

The reasons for such development of tourism were countless and they influenced each other. In highly developed countries legislation guaranteed increasingly long paid leave. The weekly working hours became shorter. The expansion of the automotive industry and the development of passenger aviation allowed for faster movement.

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Na ilustracji wykres kołowy, zaznaczono na nim jakimi środkami przemieszczają się turyści. Pięćdziesiąt trzy procent koła obejmuje transport samolotowy, air transport, czterdzieści procent – drogowy, road transport, pięć procent – wodny waterborne transport, dwa procent – kolejowy, railway transport.

Information and communication technologies make it easy to gather information that is necessary or useful for people to travel. The knowledge of foreign languages became popular, particularly the knowledge of English. Political changes have led to increased freedom of movement and reduced border crossing procedures. International trade and economic cooperation and business travel have increased.

State of tourism in the world today

The chart below shows the structure of international tourism according to its purpose.

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Na ilustracji wykres kołowy The structure of the international tourism according to its purposes. Zaznaczono na nim różne cele podróży. Wypoczynek, leisure – pięćdziesiąt dwa procent, odwiedziny znajomych i rodziny, względy religijne i zdrowie, Visiting family and friends, religious reasons, health – dwadzieścia osiem procent, cele służbowe, Business trip – trzynaście procent, inne, undefined – około siedem procent.

There are two main groups of factors, which influence the decision to visit the given place: the advantages and the development. Advantages are the attractions both natural (e.g. mountains, climate), and human‑made (e.g. castles, music festivals). Tourist facilitiesTourist facilitiesTourist facilities allows the use of the attractions thanks to access roads, tourist accommodation, tourist offices, etc. The ditinction between them is fluid, e.g. in case when a hotel with its amenities becomes an attraction.

The Poles travelling abroad

Larger‑scale foreign trips of Poles began after the changes in 1989. Passports could be kept at home, the Polish zloty became convertible – the value of foreign currencies was made realistic. The income increased. The requirement for entry visas for Poles was gradually abolished. Poland’s accession to the European Union and the Schengen Agreement was a great change. Important role played also the low‑cost airlines.

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Na ilustracji wykres skumulowany warstwowy, Travels abroad from Poland. Oznaczono na nim państwa, do których najchętniej podróżują Polacy. Wykres ma regularny przebieg, wartości rosną od sześciu milionów w dwa tysiące piątym roku, potem nieznacznie spadają, aby w dwa tysiące jedenastym roku gwałtownie wzrosnąć do trzynastu milionów. Przez cały czas pierwsza dziesiątka najpopularniejszych państw nie uległa zmianie. Tworzą ją kraje europejskie, a jeździ tam ponad dwie trzecie polskich turystów. Są to: Austria, Austria w 2005 6 mln, w 2013 ponad 12 mln. Słowacja, Slovakia w 2005 5 mln, w 2013 ponad 12 mln. Grecja, Greece w 2005 5 mln, w 2013 12 mln. Hiszpania, Spain w 2005 5 mln, w 2013 11 mln. Francja, France w 2005 4,5 mln, w 2013 10,5 mln. Czechy, Czech Republic w 2005 4,5 mln, w 2013 10 mln. Chorwacja, Croatia w 2005 4 mln, w 2013 9 mln. Włochy, Italy w 2005 3,8 mln, w 2013 8 mln. Wielka Brytania, Great Britain w 2005 3,5 mln, w 2013 6 mln. Niemcy, Germany w 2005 3 mln, w 2013 4 mln. Inne, other w 2005 1 mln, w 2013 3 mln.

The travelling purposes in Poland are similar to the world's average. Half of them are tourist and leisure trips. The Poles go abroad more often for occupational reasons and, on the other hand, they visit their families and friends less often. About 15% of people, who travel for tourist purposes, choose to travel abroad.

Keywords

tourism, tourist advantages, tourist accommodation, tourist development, leisure

Glossary