Tourism is an activity of movement of people that deserves praise of all human being. It can further be called as activity of movement of people (visitors) and activities of the provider (the person or agency which supplies various services and products to the visitors) during the course of the travel. Tourism is temporary movement of people to destinations outside of place of where they normally live and work and their activities during their stay at these destinations. Further tourism can also be called as not only the activities of provider to a visitor but it is also a process involving people and is about people, i.e. knowing people better. It is not only a short time process but is a long term relationship between consumer and provider. This means that the knowledge, skill and attitude are important factors in providing standard services and products matching his requirements. Hence tourism can be called as the process of organised travel. Tourism is theory and practise of travelling. Tourism is a structured break from routine life. It involves a separation from everyday life and offers an entry in to another moral and mental state, where expressive and cultural needs become more important. Hence it may be identified with recreation or renewal of life. It can be considered as a modern ritual in which people “get away from it all”; particularly the usual work world (which include the home as well as the work place) There is an important point in this connection that tourism involves shorter periods in contrast to longer periods of ordinary life. There are basically three phases in tourism (a) the beginning (when the tourist separates/moves out of his home). (b) the middle (the period of his movement when he comes across new places for experiencing change) and (c) the end (the process of his returning to home after the end of the tour).
Definition of Tourism.
Tourism is an activity and is very generic in nature and as such defies a common and a standard definition. Many people and many organisation have defined tourism in various ways. Some of the common yet important definition are given below.
1) Tourism is defined as “the inter-relationships arising from the interaction of a) tourists, b) the suppliers, c) the government of the host destination and d) the residents of the host area destination, in the process of affecting and catering to tourists”.
2) Tourism as a product can be defined as “An amalgam of three main components a) Attractions of the destination b) The facilities of destination and c) The accessibility of it”
3) One of the early definitions given in 1910 by an Austrian economist, ‘HERMAN SCHULLARD’ is ‘Tourism is the sum total of operators, mainly of an economic nature, which directly relate to an entry, stay and movement of foreigners inside and outside of a certain, country, city or region”.
Importance of Tourism
Economic Progress –The tourism industry aids and supports the foreign exchange reserves. It benefits our country in generating foreign currency. Every year a large number of tourists visit India and other places. They visit places; stay and shop in our country. All this contributes to a significant amount of foreign currency generation. Despite global recession, Indian tourism grew 6.9 % to approximately $42 billion in the year 2010.
Source of Income – Tourism is a continual source of income for the public & private income. The government charges various forms of tax that is called government revenue. The income generated through these taxes is the public income. The profit earned by a seller, by selling items like local artifacts, handicraft items, etc, to the tourists is called private income. Tourism also helps in employment generation. It created jobs specifically in hotel industry, hospitality industry, service sector, entertainment and transportation industry.
Development of Infrastructure – Have you ever noticed how the look and status of a place changes when it is declared a tourist place? Actually, tourism aids and encourages infrastructure development by making way for dams, roads, connectivity, airport improvements, and any other activity that helps a tourist in visiting a place in a much better way!
Societal Progress – Tourism is a wonderful method for cultural exchange. It also encourages societal progress as tourists learn to show respect, tolerance and love for each other when they visit new places.
Cultural Heritage – Tourism helps explain beauty, art, history and culture of our country. Different people visiting any country take beautiful cultural concepts along with them and spread those concepts to others while visiting other places of the world. Similarly, the local skills, languages and art get a wide exposure through tourism.