Introduction to Tourism

1 The nature and characteristics of the tourism industry

Introduction

Tourism is an activity which cuts across conventional sectors in the economy. It requires inputs of an economic, social, cultural and environmental nature. In this sense it is often described as being multi-faceted. The problem in describing tourism as an ‘industry’ is that it does not have the usual formal production function, nor does it have an output which can physically be measured, unlike agriculture (tonnes of wheat) or beverages (litres of whisky). There is no common structure which is representative of the industry in every country. In France and Italy, for example, restaurants and shopping facilities are major attractions for tourists; in Russia they are not. Even ...