Lakshman Ratnapala published his analysis of global tourism trends in Inter Press Service on Feb. 4:
“Asia to Drive Strong Growth in Global Tourism”
Global tourism, which stood at a mere 25 million international travelers in 1950 has, over the past decades, experienced such phenomenal growth and diversification that today it has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world.
The resilience of the global travel industry to face calamities is well known.
With both technology and travelers’ habits changing, the Asian millennial traveler will make a very large chunk of the world travel demographics.
The tourism industry has achieved remarkable growth, from 278 million in 1980 to 528 million in 1995, 1,017 million in 2013 and to an unprecedented 1,138 million in 2014, an increase of 4.7 percent over the previous year.
Modern tourism is closely linked to development and encompasses a growing number of new destinations. These dynamics have turned tourism into a key driver for socio-economic progress.
According to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the business volume of tourism today equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, food products or automobiles…”
Read the entire article here. Lakshman is Emeritus President & CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).