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A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is significantly dependent on
revenues from tourism, or "a country, state, region, city, or town which is marketed or markets itself as a place for tourists to visit".[13] It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". Fátima town, for example, is a popular tourist destination in Portugal. Siem Reap town is a popular tourist destination in Cambodia, mainly owing to its proximity to the Angkor temples. The Loire valley, the third tourist destination in France, is a good example of a region marketed and branded as a place for tourists to visit, mainly known for its Châteaux of the Loire valley.
A tropical island resort is an island or archipelago that depends on tourism as its
source of revenue. The Bahamas in the Caribbean, Bali in Indonesia, Phuket in Thailand, Hawaii in the United States, Fiji in the Pacific, and Santorini and Ibiza in the Mediterranean are examples of popular island resorts.
France, the United States, and Spain were the three most popular international destinations in 2017. The total number of international travelers arriving in those countries was about 234 million,[14] contributing 8.9%, 7.7%, and 14.9%, respectively, to the total GDP of those countries.[15]
Although some years back, Africa was lean on tourism, the continent is currently regarded as the second fastest growing tourism region with over 67 million tourists visits to Africa in 2018. Ethiopia, with a growth rate of 48.6% in 2018, is at the top of the list of African tourist centers.[16] Other tourist locations in Africa include Cape Town, South Africa, Giza Necropolis, Egypt, The Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Zambia.[17]
From the tourism industry supply perspective, a destination is usually defined by a
geo-political boundary, and destination marketing is most commonly funded by governments. From the traveler perspective, a destination might be perceived quite differently.[18][19][20]
Economic impact and protection[edit]
Tourism generates substantial economic benefits for both host countries and tourists' home countries. Especially in developing countries, one of the primary motivations for a region to promote itself as a tourism destination is the expected economic benefit. According to the World Tourism Organization, 698 million people travelled to a foreign country in 2000, spending more than US$478 billion. International tourism receipts combined with passenger transport currently total more than US$575 billion – making tourism the world's number one export earner.[21]
Tourist attractions can:
contribute to government revenues; direct contributions are generated by
taxes on incomes from tourism employment and tourism businesses, and by direct levies on tourists, such as departure taxes provide employment support conservation of habitats, species and historic sites stimulate infrastructure investment contribute to local economies provide foreign currency earnings In the event of war, many tourist attractions are a special goal in order to cause lasting damage to the enemy or to finance the war. International attempts are therefore made to protect and preserve these economic and cultural foundations of a community, city or country. There is intensive cooperation between the United Nations, UNESCO and Blue Shield International on the protection of cultural goods and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, cooperation between organizations and state authorities is not enough to prevent destruction, robbery and looting. The founding president of Blue Shield International Karl von Habsburg summed it up with the words: “Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible”.[22][23][24]
