Starter Activity

Look at the data below

What trends do you notice?
2006

2007

% Change
2006-2007

% World
Tourism

Africa

40.9

44.2

+7.9

4.8

Americas

135.7

142.1

+4.7

16.1

Asia & Pacific

167.8

184.9

+10.2

19.8

Europe

460.8

480.1

+4.2

54.4

Middle East

41.0

46.4

+13.4

4.9

World

846

898

+6.1

100

International tourist arrivals (millions)

Why is Tourism economically important to

countries around the world?

Learning Objective:
Students should understand the economic
importance of tourism to countries in
contrasting parts of the world.

Why Tourism?
Globally tourism is big business. Both rich and
poor countries are keen to promote it because it
can be a big boost to employment, as well as a
major source of foreign exchange.
Tourism brings many spin-offs, which include:
increases in the number and variety of service sector jobs
improvement in infrastructure and public services
support for local industries (construction, food processing
and handicrafts)
increase in local and government tax revenues

Make a note of this information in your books

Plotting the Economic Benefits

Task: Add the following annotations around your outline map of the world. Draw an
arrow to the relevant part of the world

Tourism is the worlds

largest industry, worth
$500 billion dollars in
2007.

For 83% of
countries, tourism is
one of the top five
sources of foreign
exchange

Caribbean countries
get half their GDP
from tourism

In 2006 tourism in
France generated 35
billion Euros and
created 2 million jobs

Poorer countries tend to be

more dependent on the
income from tourism than
richer ones. E.g. tourism
contributes 3% of the UKs
GNP, compared to 15% of
Kenyas

The top six tourist destinations

are France, Spain, USA, China,
Italy and the UK

Tourism provides 17%

of Gambias GDP.
Thats very high for
Africa where tourism
often accounts for
less than 10% of GDP

Tourism is very
important to the
Maldives, making up
almost 30% of its
GDP

Approximately 80% of
Barbados national
income comes from
tourism

Tourist Numbers

Country

Annual tourist income

($millions) (2005)

Country

Numbers of tourists
(millions) (2005)

USA

66,547

France

76.0

Spain

33,609

Spain

55.6

France

32,329

USA

46.1

Italy

26,915

China

41.8

China

20,385

Italy

36.5

Germany

19,158

UK

30.0

UK

17,591

Germany

21.5

Austria

11,237

Mexico

20.6

Hong Kong

10,117

Turkey

20.2

Greece

9,741

Austria

20.0

Draw two bar charts to show this information then:

Comment on any similarities and differences between the top 3 countries in each table
Compare the balance of richer and poorer countries in the two tables

The Tourist Tree

Stick your copy of the
tourist tree into your
exercise books
What does it show?
One of the things it shows
is called the multiplier
effect. What do you think
this might mean?
How does it show that
tourism in poor developing
countries can
Increase the countrys
income
Lead to better public
services and higher
quality of life for its people

Benefits of Tourism in Poorer Countries

Complete the fill in the gaps activity
Many people are _________ to serve tourists such as _______,
souvenir shop assistants and _____ ________.
Tourists spend their holiday money in pounds sterling, ___ _______
or Euros. This foreign exchange is essential to poorer countries. It
can be used to ____ goods and services _______.
Many governments ____ visitors to help pay for the extra services
they use such as ______ ________, drainage, ________ and roads.
Extra jobs are created indirectly. For example, ______ buy some
produce from ______ suppliers to feed the visitors
Many small ___________ have been started up to serve the tourists
themselves and supply the services they demand. These include
taxis, _____ and restaurants, ________and maintenance workers.
Word Box:

water supply
employed

abroad
businesses
waiters
hotels
bars
tour guides builders US dollars
buy tax electricity local

Benefits of Tourism in Poorer Countries

Answers
Many people are employed to serve tourists such as
waiters, souvenir shop assistants and tour guides
Tourists spend their holiday money in pounds sterling, US
dollars or Euros. This foreign exchange is essential to
poorer countries. It can be used to buy goods and services
abroad.
Many governments tax visitors to help pay for the extra
services they use such as water supply, drainage, electricity
and roads.
Extra jobs are created indirectly. For example, hotels buy
some produce from local suppliers to feed the visitors
Many small businesses have been started up to serve the
tourists themselves and supply the services they demand.
These include taxis, bars and restaurants, builders and
maintenance workers.

Exam Questions Plenary

Give two reasons why tourism is an
important economic activity
(2 marks)

Contrast the economic importance of

tourism in rich and poor countries
(2 marks)