ABSTRACT
In the past four decades leisure time has increased substantially in many countries. A recent study of the American population, for example, shows that while the number of ‘market hours worked’ per working age adult remained stable between 1965 and 2003, the amount of leisure time has increased substantially by 7.9 hours for men and by 6.0 hours for women (Aguiar and Hurst 2006). Alongside increases in leisure time more generally, time spent on travel for leisure (i.e. holidays) has also increased. Statistics by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation highlight the phenomenal growth that tourism has experienced since the 1950s. The year 2009, following the financial meltdown of 2008, was the second time in which growth of international tourist numbers has been negative (the other one was after September 2001), since such statistics have been collected. In 2009, international arrivals decreased from over 900 million to about 880 million (UNWTO 2010).
