They have reached 476 billions in 2000. They represent today the number one item in world trade. Reasonable and conservative forecasts by the World Tourism Organization indicate that this trend will continue and that tourism will grow steadily for the foreseeable future. International arrivals are expected to increase to more than 1 billion in 2010 and attain over 1.5 billion by 2020. The question is whether the power of this industry can be effectively harnessed in the fight against poverty.
Available evidence provides a positive answer.
Demonstrating the existence of a competitive advantage in their favour , the growth of international tourism receipts in LDCs was significant during the 1990s. These selected but critical statistics clearly indicate the important position tourism has already achieved in the very poor countries. Our strong conviction is that, against the background of a fast-growing international tourism industry, the potential for tourism in LDCs far exceeds present performance. For many of them, tourism development represents one of the few options they have in their hands to diversify their economy and to replace a declining traditional agriculture. Cross-country evidence demonstrates that tourism in LDCs is a labour intensive activity offering small scale opportunities.