scale of the travel and toursim industry
SCALE OF THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY Travel and tourism industry is a multi-billion pound industry in the UK. ... However, because the industry is so diverse and divided into different components that are likely to change, it is often difficult to calculate its exact input to the national economy. ... The British Tourist Authority (BTA) and the English Tourism Council (ETC) estimate that the value of tourism in the UK in 1998 was £61,201 million, making the industry the fourth largest earner of foreing exchange. ... 6 The table bellow shows how impotant the tourism industry has become to the UK economy; althought the role of tourism has remained relatively unchanged over the last 25 years. ... 9 in 1997) The industry continues to grow as towns, cities and resorts increase their efforts to attract visitors from overseas and from other parts of the UK. The industry also caters for British residents who travel overseas for leisure or business purposes. ... The travel and tourism industry also contributes to the national economy via central and local government taxation, including company tax and value added tax (VAT). On a local scale, travel and tourism enterprises also contribute to local government finances through the payment of business rates. ... It is harder to assess the role which the travel and tourism makes to the balance of payments, because tourists are normally paying for services rather than for material goods. ... Tourist Statistics The huge size of the travel and tourism industry could be acceptable if we consider the number of trips taken by UK residents and incoming tourists as well as the volume of spending.