Paper Topic:

Rethinking anthenticity in tourism experience

AUTHENTICITY IN TOURISM

AN ARTICLE ANALYSIS

MAIN OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

According to forecasts by the World Tourism Organization (WTO international tourist arrivals will climb from the present 625 million a year to 1 .6 billion in 2020 ' reports The UNESCO Courier . These tourists are expected to spend over two trillion U .S . dollars , making tourism the world 's leading industry ' So far , Europe has been the most popular destination . France is the most visited country , with 70 million visitors in 1998 . However , by the year 2020 , China is

expected to take first place . International travel , though , remains the prerogative of a privileged few . In 1996 , only 3 .5 percent of the world 's population traveled abroad . The WTO forecasts that this figure will reach 7 percent by 2020 . This is the reason why it is important to understand what tourism really is and how it actually affect the present human society

The study of Ning Wang From the Zhongshan University entitled Rethinking Authenticity In Tourism Experience actually suggests a new approach in understanding tourism authenticity in the human society today . Ideally tourism is a win-win arrangement . The consumer escapes his normal routine and is pampered , entertained , or educated . But what is in it for the providers ? International tourism is a ready generator of foreign currency . Most countries need foreign currency to pay for goods and services that they must import

In fact , a WTO report stated : International tourism is the world 's largest export earner and an important factor in the balance of payments of many countries . Foreign currency receipts from international tourism reached US 423 billion in 1996 , outstripping exports of petroleum products , motor vehicles , telecommunications equipment , textiles or any other product or service ' The same report stated : Tourism is the world 's largest growth industry ' and it represented up to 10 per cent of the world 's Gross Domestic Product ' Little wonder that most countries , now including even some from the former Soviet Union , are in - or are scurrying to enter - the international tourist industry .Government revenue accrued from tourism is being used to improve infrastructure , provide higher standards of education , and meet other pressing national needs . Virtually all governments are concerned that their citizens have employment . The jobs generated by tourism help meet this need

To demonstrate the effect that tourism can have on a country 's economy consider the example of the Bahamas , a tiny nation of islands stretching across the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico between Florida , in the United States , and the island of Cuba . The Bahamas has no large-scale commercial agriculture and almost no industrial raw materials . But these islands do have warm weather , pristine tropical beaches , a small population of about a quarter of a million friendly people , and proximity to the United States - assets that have been combined to produce a thriving tourist industry . But what does it take to provide tourists a pleasurable and safe vacation

According to the study of Zhongshan , there had been...

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