by: Dr. Peter E. Tarlow |
Yet despite the fact that the world’s largest peacetime industry is a major source of jobs, tax revenue, and often urban revitalization, there is still a need for the tourism industry’s leaders to educate government officials and the public. Travel and tourism are more than a mere part of economic development, to a great extent tourism is economic development. This month’s edition of Tourism Tidbits addresses not only the direct impact that tourism has on a locale’s economy but also the secondary impact throughout an entire economic system.
– Tourism is the world’s largest peacetime industry. For those people who like facts and figures, according to Harvard University, with the decline of travel due to the Covid Pandemic tourism produced 10.4% of the world’s GDP and 7% of the world’s exports. It is estimated that the tourism industry’s direct global contribution during the pandemic year of 2021 was just under six billion US dollars. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts that by 2030 the tourism industry will have created 126 million new jobs.
A word of caution: Because travel and tourism are composite industries, being comprised by such sub-industries as attractions, food consumption, lodging and transportation, the numbers will vary depending on which part of the industry is counted.
– Tourism is a major source of revenue around the world. For example, according to the Travel Association of America, in the United States the tourism industry produces over $600 billion dollars in revenue and over $100 billion in taxes paid to local, state, and federal governments.
– Tourism, on a national scale, not only generates employment but also may be a major renewable export source. Tourism attractions do not disappear; thousands/millions of people can see the same attraction. These people may also become a major source of foreign exchange, adding needed hard currencies to local economies. Government and industry leaders must recognize, however, that for tourism to be a renewable resource it must be developed in a sustainable/responsible manner. That means that where ecologies are fragile, numbers and activities must be tightly controlled, pollution must be prevented, and local cultures protected.
– Tourism adds to the local economy in a variety of ways. Included are hotel and restaurant expenditures and taxes; conventions and meetings; taxes paid on transportation; attractions of foreign capital, especially in hotel construction; and creation of additional jobs in such areas as public services and infrastructure renewal.
– Tourism and economic development work in unison. Think about what makes a place a good tourism center. What are the essential ingredients for tourism? How different are these from what a community requires for economic development? Here are a few of the essentials that tourism needs.
– Good environment. No one wants to visit a place that is clean or unhealthy. Tourism cannot survive without a clean and safe environment. In a like manner communities that do not provide pleasant surroundings and a clean environment have a very hard time attracting business.
– Tourism requires friendly people and good service. No matter what the attraction may be a tourism center that lacks good customer service and friendly people will fail. In the same way, communities that offer poor service not only do not attract newcomers to their community, but in the end have a difficult time holding on to their local population, young people and businesses.
– Tourism requires a secure community. Often government officials and even police departments fail to recognize their economic impact. Police departments and other essential government agencies such as fire and first aid are major players in adding to the desirability of a community. First responders (police, fire, health) that take pro-active roles are also essential ingredients in a community’s economic development.
– Tourism requires good restaurants, hotels and things to do. Those are the same factors that are essential to any community seeking economic development.
– People who consider moving a business or industry to a community visit the community first as tourists/visitors. If they are not treated well when visiting the community there is very little chance that they will move their business and family to your location.
– Government and community leaders may also want to consider that tourism adds prestige to a community. People like living in a place which others consider worthy of visiting. This increased national or community pride also can become an important economic generating tool. People sell their community best when there is a great deal to see and do in it, when it is safe and secure and when customer service is not merely a motto but a way of life. Community festivals, traditions, handicrafts, parks, and natural settings all add to the desirability of a locale and its ability to sell itself to potential outside investors. Quality of life is also reflected in a community’s museums, concert halls, theatres, and uniqueness.
– Tourism is an important economic development tool for emerging and minority communities around the world. Because tourism is based on the appreciation of the other, tourism industries have been especially open to giving disadvantaged groups around the world opportunities that have often been denied to them by other economic sectors. In this respect, tourism should not been viewed only at the surface level.
– Tourism provides large numbers of entry level jobs, and often means the difference between a smaller community’s business success and failure. For example, tourists may add additional money to the local economy by shopping yet place no additional demands on the local schools. In nations where there is a decline in manufacturing, the tourism industry can be an essential method to reinvigorate local economies.
The bottom line is that tourism should not be seen as merely an economic tool but the essence of what good economic development is all about.
The author, Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, is President and Co-Founder of the World Tourism Network and leads the Safer Tourism program.
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