Tourism and protected areas: benefits beyond boundaries

Today's tourism represents an indisputable social and economic component of most societies. Its growth was impressive during the second part of the 20th century and all indicates that it will steadily continue in the future, as developing countries achieve better
standards of living. Yet, more important than this growth has been the diversification of destinations that has taken place during the last 30 years or so, both in geographical terms as well as in terms of the type of destinations favoured by tourists. This is illustrated by
international tourist arrival figures for 2003, during which the traditional destinations of North America and Europe experienced, respectively, a decrease and a stagnation, while many destinations in Latin America, South Asia and even the Middle East saw an important
growth in their international arrivals, in spite of uncertainties resulting from wars, epidemics and economic instabilities in the main generating markets.

Từ khóa: social economi, international tourist, nature-based tourism, Tourism and protected areas: benefits beyond boundaries, kinh tế xã hội, du lịch sinh thái