An introduction to travel and tourism

An introduction to travel and tourism

People travel for lots of reasons. They make journeys to and from school or work every day; visit friends and family; take day trips shopping or to football matches; go out for evening entertainment such as the cinema; and they go away on business or study trips. So, when does travel become tourism? When people travel to and stay in a place which is not where they live. For example, there is recreational tourism if you want to relax and have fun, maybe at the beach. There's cultural tourism: sightseeing or visiting museums to learn about history, art and people's lifestyles. With adventure tourism you explore distant places or do extreme activities. Ecotourism is about ethical and responsible trips to natural environments such as rainforests. Winter tourism is usually holidays in resorts where there is snow and people go skiing or snowboarding. Sport tourism is to play or watch different sporting events like the Olympics. Educational tourism is to learn something, possibly a foreign language, abroad. Nowadays there is also health tourism to look after your body and mind by visiting places like spa resorts; religious tourism to celebrate religious events or visit important religious places such as Mecca for Muslims; and gap-year tourism when young people go backpacking or do voluntary work between school and university.