International tourism receipts in 2005 
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 %.By 2020 Europe will remain the most popular destination, but its share will drop from 60% in 1995 to 46%. Long-haul will grow slightly faster than intraregional travel and by 2020 its share will increase from 18% in 1995 to 24%.With the advent of e-commerce, tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the internet. Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries, although tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.) can sell their services directly. This has put pressure on intermediaries from both on-line and traditional shops. It has been suggested there is a strong correlation between Tourism expenditure per capita and the degree to which countries play in the global context.Not only as a result of the important economic contribution of the tourism industry, but also as an indicator of the degree of confidence with which global citizens leverage the resources of the globe for the benefit of their local economies. This is why any projections of growth in tourism may serve as an indication of the relative influence that each country will exercise in the future. Space tourism is expected to "take off" in the first quarter of the 21st century, although compared with traditional destinations the number of tourists in orbit will remain low until technologies such as a space elevator make space travel cheap.[citation needed] Technological improvement is likely to make possible air-ship hotels, based either on solar-powered airplanes or large dirigibles.[citation needed] Underwater hotels, such as Hydropolis, expected to open in Dubai in 2009, will be built. On the ocean, tourists will be welcomed by ever larger cruise ships and perhaps floating cities.
As a result of the economic crisis of 2008, international arrivals suffered a
strong slowdown beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7% during the first eight months of 2008. The Asian and Pacific markets were affected and Europe stagnated during the boreal summer months, while the Americas performed better, reducing their expansion rate but keeping a 6% growth from January to August 2008. Only the Middle East continued its rapid growth during the same period, reaching a 17% growth as compared to the same period in 2007. This slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel industry also reports a slowdown, as room occupancy continues to decline. As the global economic situation deteriorated dramatically during September and October as a result of the global financial crisis, growth of international tourism is expected to slow even further for the remaining of 2008, and this slowdown in demand growth is forecasted to continue into 2009 as recession has already hit most of the top spender countries, with long-haul travel expected to be the most affected by the economic crisis.
Negative impacts Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2008) Attracting a high volume of tourists can have negative impacts, such as the impact of 33 million tourists a year on the city of New York, or the potential to impact fragile environments negatively,or the impact of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on the tourists themselves.The environment can be affected negatively by cruise ship pollution in many ways, including ballast water discharge, and by pollution from aircraft. At Wikiversity you can learn more and teach others about Tourism at: The School of Tourism Economic Research: Economic Impact of Travel and Touris
m. Travel Industry Association of America. 2004. Promoting Tourism in Rural America. USDA, National Agricultural Library, Rural Information Center. 2004. Rural Tourism. USDA, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. Rural Tourism Resources USDA, National Agricultural Library, Rural Information Center. Tourism: OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development A valuable resource for statistics and information on international trends in tourism and tourism policies. Travel and Tourism: An Overlooked Industry in the U.S. and Tenth DistrictPDF (595 KB). By Chad Wilkerson. Economic Review, Third Quarter 2003. Federal Reserve Board in Kansas.
strong slowdown beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7% during the first eight months of 2008. The Asian and Pacific markets were affected and Europe stagnated during the boreal summer months, while the Americas performed better, reducing their expansion rate but keeping a 6% growth from January to August 2008. Only the Middle East continued its rapid growth during the same period, reaching a 17% growth as compared to the same period in 2007. This slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel industry also reports a slowdown, as room occupancy continues to decline. As the global economic situation deteriorated dramatically during September and October as a result of the global financial crisis, growth of international tourism is expected to slow even further for the remaining of 2008, and this slowdown in demand growth is forecasted to continue into 2009 as recession has already hit most of the top spender countries, with long-haul travel expected to be the most affected by the economic crisis.
Negative impacts Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2008) Attracting a high volume of tourists can have negative impacts, such as the impact of 33 million tourists a year on the city of New York, or the potential to impact fragile environments negatively,or the impact of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on the tourists themselves.The environment can be affected negatively by cruise ship pollution in many ways, including ballast water discharge, and by pollution from aircraft. At Wikiversity you can learn more and teach others about Tourism at: The School of Tourism Economic Research: Economic Impact of Travel and Touris
m. Travel Industry Association of America. 2004. Promoting Tourism in Rural America. USDA, National Agricultural Library, Rural Information Center. 2004. Rural Tourism. USDA, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. Rural Tourism Resources USDA, National Agricultural Library, Rural Information Center. Tourism: OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development A valuable resource for statistics and information on international trends in tourism and tourism policies. Travel and Tourism: An Overlooked Industry in the U.S. and Tenth DistrictPDF (595 KB). By Chad Wilkerson. Economic Review, Third Quarter 2003. Federal Reserve Board in Kansas. 
