The holiday period is, as everyone knows, conducive to tourism. However, contrary to the received idea according to which homo occidentalis would only have one desire, to stay warm in his cocoon and his slippers, long-distance travel has grown exponentially in recent decades.
The figures testify to this eloquently.
In 1950, only 25 million tourists crossed the border of their country.
They are 500 million in the 1990s, more than 1 billion in 2012 and 1.3 billion in 2017, according to figures provided by the World Tourism Organization.
Europe then welcomed 671 million people, or half of the flow of travellers.
Revenues from mass tourism are growing in proportion: 2 billion dollars in 1950, 104 billion in 1980, 495 in 2000 and 1260 in 2015, i.e. 10% of world GDP!
The ten most visited cities in the world are then, in order: Paris, London, New York, Antalya (in Turkey), Singapore…
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