ABSTRACT
In many countries tourism is regarded as an important business sector to enhance economic growth. Worldwide it certainly is: in 1998, 625 million tourists spent US$445 billion in the world economy. The amount of tourists is expected to increase to 673 million in 2000, and up to 1.6 billion in 2020. In 1999, according to predictions of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism will account for 11 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and for 200 million jobs – 8 per cent of world employment. In 2010 tourists will spend US$2 trillion creating a total of 255 million jobs.
