ABSTRACT
Tourism is widely recognised as the world’s largest industry. The figures on the size and significance of tourism are staggering. For example, according to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO 1996), in 1995 world tourist arrivals reached 567 million with estimated international tourism receipts of US$60 billion. By 2000 world tourism arrivals were estimated to have reached 698.3 million with receipts from international tourism climbed to US$476 billion (WTO 2001). Although international arrivals for 2003 were estimated to have fallen by 1.2 per cent in 2003 to 694 million, some 8.5 million less than in 2002 and the biggest drop ever in international tourism arrivals, a substantial rebound was expected in 2004 (WTO 2004a, 2004b).
