BOOM IN THE TOURISM SECTOR 

The global tourism industry is booming presently. Number of domestic as well as international arrivals has grown four times. The tourism industry is worth US$500 billion and is expected to grow by 300% in next five years. Overseas travel to the United States was 23.7 million, a 57% increase since 1990. Until last year, travel and tourism was the third largest export for the United States.  

People from all over the world including Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia are becoming more and more drawn towards traveling. At the same time, the number of Indians traveling has also increased. Some tourists come from Middle East countries to witness the drenching monsoon rains, a phenomenon never seen in desert climates. Tourism also in a major way contributes to the economy indirectly through its association with other sectors such as horticulture, agriculture, poultry, handicrafts and construction.  

The below mentioned tables show the rise in numbers of international tourists in United States and the income from international tourism -  

Number of International Tourists 

Income from International Tourism 
 

The tourist trade degraded in certain areas, but global evidence is insufficient to judge the aggregate capacity of coastal areas to support tourism. As coastal areas are degraded, however, the types of tourism supported can become more limited.

Due to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the Iraq war, the global tourism faced a major downfall.  

But Tourism is booming is again and global tourism is facing an upward swing.