A Weekend Away: Understanding the Tourism Industry

Despite a living in a culture that values hard work, we all need a break from time to time. Whether we travel for work or need a weekend away to de-stress and unwind, vacations and holidays are an important part of living a healthy live. While we are taking a break from work and life when we spend a weekend away in the city or in the country, we are actually stimulating that city or town’s economy just by giving ourselves a break.

What is Tourism?

For people living in the modern age, there has never been a time when vacations and time away from home hasn’t been a part of our lives. Tourism has, indeed, been an engine of constant growth in the world’s economy for thousands of years – even when it wasn’t a thriving economical phenomenon in the United States and beyond. Tourism is a collection of activities, services, and industries provided for those traveling to another city or country. It can mean entertainment or a family visit, and many other reasons.

How Do People Travel?

In the beginning, people were only able to travel so far unless they were willing to spend days or weeks in order to get to their destination. The first mode of travel from place to place within a country was the stagecoach. Soon this developed into travel via train with the expansion of railroad systems in the United States. From there boats and ships were used, which evolved into the automobile and eventually into air travel at the start of the 20th century. Ships helped people travel abroad, and air travel dramatically sped up this process.

The Best Destinations

The primary motivator for tourism is to visit the attractions in various large cities and countries. Popular examples are DisneyWorld and DisneyLand, or Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. These attractions tend to focus on natural resources, culture and entertainment. Natural resources are often natural landmarks such as the Grand Canyon, and entertainment such as the many shows and casinos that can be found in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Ethnicity is another major reason that people travel, which means that people travel to visit family and friends.

People travel according to their budgets, as well as accessibility to modes of travel and the amount of time they can reserve. Some use their time away from work to plan a vacation, while others can travel more freely. However, regardless of whether you travel annually to Italy or take a weekend in the city over, your trip will help to stimulate the economy and do a great service to the area that you are visiting.

Benefits of Tourism

While the most popular type of vacation for the U.S citizen is a trip to the beach, New York City is the most popular tourist spot for both residents and non residents of the United States. Of these millions of tourists that frequent the major city each year, Chinese tourists are responsible for an annual flow of nearly 30 billion dollars. Seeing the whole city from the Empire State Building is just one thing to do in New York City as there are so many incredible city landmarks.

The tourism industry is the largest source of employment the world over, and it is a great driver for economic growth. In the United States alone, tourism provides over 6 million jobs. It is important to realize that tourism does stimulate the economy of a city or country’s locals, and is a valuable part of its growth.