Travel and tourism in Europe: Bridging the past, present and future. (Research Paper Sample)

Travel and Tourism in Europe: Bridging the Past, Present and Future
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Institution
Travel and Tourism in Europe: Bridging the Past, Present and Future
Abstract
Introduction: The tourism industry has both economic and social impact on the lives of people globally. The study aims to investigate the trends in tourism in the European nations over the last few years and possible growth in future.
Literature Review: Tourism has a great benefit to society because it improves the socio-economic development through the creation of jobs, exporting of income, and infrastructure development for many destinations globally. The major five destinations in Europe include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Discussion: The hospitality and tourism industry has emerged and developed in various countries owing to the demand for tourism services/activities globally. However, various factors affecting the advancement of the sector in the EU exist.
Conclusion: The research has revealed that tourism activities in the region have increased considerably owing to various factors such as friendly regional policies and unique destinations that are attractive to tourists from other areas, especially emerging nations such as China.
Keywords: Tourism industry, destinations, behaviour, European Union, market share.
Introduction
Background
Tourism is an occurrence that has witnessed increased economic and social significance but, has characterised human behaviour for more than a century (Butler, 2015). The tourism and hospitality industry has brought a significant economic transformation in the European Union (EU) as well as other parts of the world. United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2017) noted in 2016 that the EU had approximately 40.5% market share of worldwide international tourist arrivals. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (2017), the total contribution (induced + indirect + direct) of the hospitality and tourism industry to the EU’s GDP was about 10.2%. However, there was a strong difference in arrivals between countries with Croatia, Malta or Cyprus having 20% in each while Netherland, Poland or Romania having about 5% each. Additionally, the significance of travel as a factor of growth in the economy has been depicted in various nations by recent research (Brida, Cortes-Jimenez & Pulina, 2016; Perles-Ribes et al., 2017; Ohlan, 2017; Salmani, Hossein & Somayeh, 2014; Seghir et al., 2015).  
The major function of the tourism industry in any country is to serve travelers. Camilleri (2017) asserts that its success depends on the affirmative inter-relationships of all the industries in the economy. Tourism has illustrated an important territorial dimension having uneven spatial distribution between and with nations of the world, and delivering a localised effect (e Silva et al., 2018). According to the European Commission (2010) report, tourism is the greatest wealth generator and employment in both developing and developed economies in the world generating over 5% of the EU GDP. Consequently, it has a great role in the EU economy since it is the third-largest socio-economic undertaking after trade and distribution and construction industries in the region (European Commission, 2010).