Ethics and tourism
The substantial growth of tourism
activity clearly marks tourism as one of
the most remarkable economic and
social phenomena of the past century.
The number of international arrivals
shows an evolution from a mere 25
million international arrivals in 1950 to
over 700 million in 2002, corresponding
to an average annual growth rate of
6.6% [World Tourism Organization,
2005]. In addition to the numerical
growth of tourism, there has been an
increasing geographic spread of tourism
to encompass almost all the reaches of
the globe.
Simultaneously, there has been a
diversification of thetourism product
from the traditional sun, sea andsand
offering to a product that can be
potentially more intrusive, or more
beneficial for those living in the tourism
destination. Tourism’s expansion has
meant the industry now represents the
leading source of foreign exchange in at
least 38% of countries, and ranks in the
top five industries for exports in 83% of
countries [WTO, 2005].
However, in addition to the oftcited
economic indicators displaying the
dominance of the tourism industry, there