Page 49 - Introduction to Tourism

weak world economy), causing a 1.6 percent

decline in arrivals compared to 2002.

Preliminary arrival data from UNWTO for 2007

shows international arrivals continued to show

strong growth for the fourth year in a row,

increasing to 898 million for a 6.1 percent gain
over 2006.

BENEFITS AND COSTS OF TOURISM

Tourism brings both economic and noneconomic
benefits and costs to host communities. Some

of the considerable economic impacts and

benefits were described in the preceding section.

There are additional areas of benefit that have

not received much research attention. These

relate to the benefits occurring to the traveler,

such as the contribution of pleasure travel to rest

and relaxation, the educational benefit, the

understanding of other people and cultures, and

the physical and mental well-being of

the traveler.

There is no question that tourism delivers

benefits, but tourism is not perfect. Even

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