ABSTRACT
The economic impact of tourism is an important consideration in state, regional and community planning and economic development. Economic impacts in a region originating from tourism activities are also significant factors in marketing and management decisions for the businesses involved. Communities therefore need to understand the relative importance of tourism to their region, including tourism’s contribution to economic activity in the area. Economic benefits and costs of tourism reach virtually everyone in the region in one way or another. The tourism industry generates substantial economic benefits for both host countries and tourists’ home countries at the same time. Especially in developing countries, one of the primary motivations for a region to promote itself as a tourism destination is the expected economic progress. Tourism also involves some economic costs, including the direct costs incurred by tourism businesses and government costs for infrastructure to better serve tourists. On the other hand, there are many hidden costs to tourism, which can have unfavorable economic effects on the host community, such as high inflation, import leakages, exported profits of foreign earners, external costs and overdependence. The purpose of this chapter is to present detailed information about all the economic impacts of both international and domestic tourism and how to measure the economic results of this phenomenon.
