Definition:
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
Tourism is different from travel. In order for tourism to happen, there must be a displacement: an individual has to travel, using any type of means of transportation (he might even travel on foot: nowadays, it is often the case for poorer societies, and happens even in more developed ones, and concerns pilgrims, hikers …). But all travel is not tourism.
Three criteria are used simultaneously in order to characterize a trip as belonging to tourism. The displacement must be such that:
• It involves a displacement outside the usual environment: this term is of utmost importance and will be discussed later on;
• Type of purpose: the travel must occur for any purpose different from being remunerated from within the place visited: the previous limits, where tourism was restricted to recreation and visiting family and friends are now expanded to include a vast array of purposes;
• Duration: only a maximal duration is mentioned, not a minimal. Tourism displacement can be with or without an overnight stay.
Tourism is the world's largest industry. Over the twentieth century, it has proved itself a destructive force. Coastlines have been transformed from still, sleepy beauty spots to over-developed resorts crowded by multi-storey hotels, bars and casinos. When fashions and tastes change, these areas are left to decline as the mass tourists head elsewhere. In other scenarios local communities have sometimes been displaced, as the powerful drives for development and preservation of natural national parks have in equal measure ignored their rights. Despite all this, tourism is a largely unregulated industry.
In 2009, Malaysia made it into the top 10 most visited countries' list. Malaysia secured the ninth position, just below Turkey and Germany. In 2008, Malaysia was in 11th position. Both Turkey and Germany climbed one rank in arrivals, occupying seventh and eighth positions respectively, while France continued to lead the ranks in terms of tourist arrivals.
What is Sustainable Tourism
