ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of tourism as a subject of study and examines why tourism has emerged as a major leisure activity and addresses key themes around how tourism can be defined as an human activity. The chapter helps to distinguish between domestic and international tourism and examines why tourism has to be measured and the importance of tourism statistics. This helps to illustrate the scale and importance of tourism at a global scale and some of the reasons for its growth. A series of case studies illustrate contemporary themes such as the impact of terrorism on tourism growth along with other critical issues such as water equity and tourism in developing countries.
