Tourism has developed into truly worldwide activities that know no political, ideological, geographical, or cultural boundaries. For a long time, tourism was disparate and fragmented, but with maturity has come a sense of professional identity. It has formed lobbying groups such as the World Travel and Tourism Council, which includes airlines, hotel, and travel agents among its members and countries on making the case for tourism‟s economic value to the host countries. The future prospect for tourism is brighter than ever. Actually, tourism is one of the top five exports for over 80% of countries worldwide (Weaver and Lawton, 2006).
Tourism has become more than just another industry; it has developed into an important part of the economic foundation of many countries. The positive benefits of tourism activities in periods of economic stagnation or decline have not gone unnoticed. Tourism activities have demonstrated a general upward trend in numbers of participants and revenues over the past 50 years. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a general introduction to tourism industry includes (1) definition of tourism, (2) (3) classification of tourists