WHAT IS TOURISM?

When we think primarily of people who are visiting a particular place for sighseeing, visiting friends and relatives, taking a vacation, and having a good time. They may spend their leisure time engaging in various sports, sunbathing, talking, singing, taking rides, touring, reading, or simply enjoying the environment. If we consider the subjcet, we may include in our definition of toursm people who are participating in a convention, a business conference, or some other kind of business of professional activity, as well as those who are taking a study tour under an expert guide or doing some kind of scientific research or study. These visitors use all forms of transportation, from hiking in a wilderness park to flying in a jet to an exciting city. Tranportation can include taking a chairlift up to Colorado mountainside or standing at the rail of cruise ship looking acrosss the blue Caribbean. Whether people travel by one of these means or by car, motor coach, train, taxi, motor-bike, bicycle, they are taking trip and thus are engaging in tourism. Any attempt to define tourism and to describe its scope fully must consider the various groups that participate in and are affected by this industry. Their perspectives are vital to the development of a comprehensive definition. Four different perspectives of tourism can be identified:  

1. The tourist. The tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and satisfactions. The nature of these will largely determine the destinations chosen and the activities enjoyed. 
2. The business provides tourist goods and services. Business people see tourism as an opportunity to make a profit by supplying the goods and services that the tourist market demands. 
3. The government of the host community or area. Politicians view tourism as a wealth factor in the economy of their jurisdictions. Their perspective is related to the incomes their citizens can earn from the business. Politicians also consider the foreign exchange receipts from international tourism as well as the tax receipts from international tourism as well as the receipts collected from tourist expenditures, either directly or indirectly. 
4. The host community. Local people usually see tourism as a cultural and employment factor. The importance of this group, for example is the effect of the interaction between large numbers of the international visitors and residents. This effect may be beneficial or hramful, or both. Thus, tourism may be definied as the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments, and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors.

 Tourism is a composite of activites, services, and industries that delivers a travel experience: transportation, accomodations, eating and drinking establishments, shop, entertainment activity facilities, and other hospitality services available for inviduals or groups that are traveling away from home. It encompasses all provides of visitor and visitor related services. Tourism is the entire world industry of travel, hotels, transportation, and all other components, including promotion that serves that needs and wants of all travelers. Finally, tourism is the sum total of tourist expenditures within the borders of a nation or a polical subdivisions or a transportation-centered economic area of contiguous states or nations. This economic concept also considers the income multipliers of these tourist expenditures. 
                                                                                         Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosphies (1995)