ABSTRACT
The late twentieth century and the new millennium have witnessed the continued
growth of interest in how people spend their leisure and non-work time. There is
also a growing interest in what people ‘consume’ in these non-work periods,
particularly those times that are dedicated to travel and holidays. At a global scale
this interest is becoming an international phenomenon known as tourism, which is
based on the use of leisure time to visit different places, destinations and localities
that often (but not exclusively) feature in the holidays and trips people take in their
leisure time. For example, in 2002 the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
estimated that travel and tourism as economic activities generated US$4421.1
billion, which is expected to grow to US$8613.8 billion by 2012. This is a 4.5 per cent
increase in the demand for travel and tourism per annum, which is far in excess
of the scale and pace of growth in the economies of most countries. At a global
scale, the economic effects of travel and tourism are estimated by WTTC to be
responsible for 198 098 000 jobs, which is equivalent to 7.8 per cent of world
employment (or 1 in every 12.8 jobs). This number is expected to grow to
249 486 000 jobs by 2012.
