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| Tourism facts and key issues |
Facts | Key issues
Facts
- Tourism is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world.
- In 2000, there were nearly 700 million tourists, and in 2020, there will be around 1.6 billion.
- In 2000, across the global economy, travel and tourism accounted for around 11 per cent of world exports, goods and services, surpassing trade in food, textiles, and chemicals.
- Around 15 million people from the UK go on package holidays every year. That's roughly 30 holidaymakers jetting-off every minute of every day.
- Around 3.5 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from air travel, a share that is expected to increase as air travel does.
- The Mediterranean is the world's most popular holiday destination, and more than 11 million British people visit the region every year.
- In the Mediterranean, tourism development is the single biggest threat to remaining areas of pristine coastline.
- Each year, around 5,000 hectares - an area about half the size of Paris - are cleared for golf courses, each of which can consume more than 2.3 million litres of water every day.
- Nearly 80 per cent of international tourists come from Europe and the Americas, while only 15 per cent come from East Asia and the Pacific, and five per cent from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
- Sometimes, as little as 10 per cent of the money spent on a holiday remains in the destination economy.
- In the UK, 80 per cent of all holidaymakers are carried by four big tour operators.
- Holidays involving air travel can probably never be wholly sustainable
Key Issues
- Tourism often occurs in areas that are rich in wildlife, such as coastal regions.
- Tourism can generate money for countries, people and conservation, but it can also divide communities and destroy fragile habitats such as reefs and coasts.
- Often only a small percentage of the money that a tourist spends on a holiday remains in the destination economy or benefits local people and business. This phenomenon is known as 'leakage'.
- Although around 80 per cent of UK package holidaymakers believe that it is important that their holidays do not damage the environment, they are ultimately motivated by cost when choosing a holiday.
- Health and safety are primary considerations for tour operators and their customers alike, but 'responsible tourism' requires that the well-being of the environment and local people have equal importance in a quality product.
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WWF-UK > Research > Issues > Tourism > Facts and key issues
