International Tourism From A Globalization Perspective

Globalization, seen from the standpoint of the multiple areas of human activity, mixed with the social and cultural realities from across the world, is the process of interconnecting of the human,social and economic activities and values and the internationalization of the knowledge, customs,cultural values, technological advances through active exchanges across nations and societies.The same stages of the globalization process (inception, consolidation and fast growth) are largely reflected in the travel & leisure industry, either at a general level or customized to the specifics of the this industry. Globalization resulted into the internationalization of the demand for tourism and the creation of a global travel market in which the travelers are global citizens. Analyzing the tourism industry from a globalization point of view and looking at the over 1.2 billion international arrivals, one wonders whether the tourism phenomenon follows the overall globalization pattern or whether it’s just a side effect of it, impacting (and benefitting) only particular regions, countries and segments.