International tourism

International tourism - one of the most profitable and rapidly growing sectors of the world economy. By the beginning of the third millennium, the share of international tourism accounted for 8% of the total world exports and 30-35% of the world exports of services

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), which is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of travel and tourism, the tourism industry shows the biggest increase among the world's economic sectors. In the past 16 years, revenues from international tourism are increasing by about 9%. In 2000, the revenue from it reached 476 billion dollars over the same period, the number of arrivals has grown annually by an average of 4.6% and in 2000 reached 698 million.

According to forecasts by the World Tourism Organization, international arrival by 2010 reach a level of 1 billion revenue in the global industry will grow by this time up to 1.5 trillion. U.S.

At the heart of the tourist boom that has swept the world in recent decades, are very specific economic, social and other reasons. First of all, it is the scientific and technological revolution, which is associated with a whole new level of productive forces. This is a global phenomenon of urbanization, forcing residents of large cities to seek rest in other regions and countries. Plays a significant role and the "transportation revolution" and in particular the rapid development of motorization and aviation. Globally, improving the quality and standard of living, increased duration of leave and earnings. In addition, the overall growth of the culture of the population causes an increase in cognitive needs of people.

It should be noted the important role of tourism in addressing social problems. In many countries it is through tourism creates jobs, supported by a high standard of living, are prerequisites for improving the balance of payments. The need for tourism development entails an increase in the level of education, the improvement of health services, the introduction of new means of disseminating information.

Tourism has a major impact on the preservation and development of cultural potential, leading to the harmonization of relations between countries and peoples, forcing governments, community organizations and businesses to participate actively in the conservation and improvement of the environment.

Scope of tourism services is one of the fastest growing industries in the Turkish economy. This is facilitated by a number of different reasons.

Turkey has a unique combination of various natural, historical and cultural values.

Many different civilizations, was located in Anatolia, left the surviving monuments. In Turkey, more monuments than Italy and Greece together, here are 2 of the 7 wonders of the world. Diverse natural resources of Turkey. The country with three sides by the seas. The length of the sea coastline, including the coast of the Marmara Sea and the Straits islands, is 8,333 kilometers, and the beaches are perfect for relaxing. Climatic conditions vary depending on the region. In the north it is moderate, the interior of the country, the climate is continental, and in the south - Mediterranean subtropical. The rich flora and fauna, rivers, mountains, hot springs - all contribute to the development of various types of recreation. Among other factors that attract tourists to Turkey, called the richness and variety of Turkish cuisine, folklore and hospitality of the population untouched compared to places of mass tourism nature along with modern infrastructure. However, besides the beautiful environment, favorable climate, rich cultural heritage tourists in Turkey attracts high quality services at relatively low prices

The tourism industry is beginning to attract the attention of the Turkish authorities in the second half of the 20th century. With 60 years in Turkey have developed a 5-year development plans. For it was formed at the same time responsible State Planning Organization.

In the first five-year development plans, the need for obtaining the benefits of tourism development. Plans scheduled to infrastructure development, increased seating. Already in the 60s was seen huge potential of Turkey in the field of tourism, the development of this industry makes special emphasis in the speeches by representatives of the authorities. But you can not say that at this early stage to allocate sufficient funds or to take all necessary measures for the development of the sector. Lack of budget and capital investment was the main obstacle to the creation of tourist potential of Turkey.

Limited financial resources and a variety of tourist resources will inevitably lead to the selection of priority tourism areas. In the early 1970s, the coast of the province of Balikesir province to Antalya (here today, including such popular destinations as Izmir, Kusadasi, Bodrum, Marmaris, etc.) was declared a priority area for investment, the Ministry of Tourism, in cooperation with other ministries, work began planning the development of the tourism sector in this part of Turkey, to narrow the gap between development plans and implement projects to life.

With the increasing demand for tourist services in the world of the Ministry of Tourism of Turkey launched a project for the development of resorts. For example, one of them was a project of the South of Antalya, which is supported by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. But all the same development of the tourism sector has been slow. A role in this played little funding.

The Mediterranean is the world’s number one tourist destination and the biggest tourism region in the world, which has been visited by 260 million tourists in 1990 and what is more, it is expected that this number will increase to 655 million by the year 2025. In the last 10 years Croatia and Turkey became two of the most popular Mediterranean destinations, and joined the trend of a growing number of European cities that are promoting the development of tourism in order to overcome the post-industrial crisis, or as in the case of Croatia, the post-war crisis. Consequently, today both countries see tourism as their economic future. However, to achieve continuous and sustainable development of tourism, three interrelated aspects should be taken into consideration: economic, social, and environmental. The main question that we tried to answer is in what ways tourism is contributing to the sustainable development of the local community - based on the case studies of Alanya in Turkey, and Dubrovnik in Croatia. Both communities have experienced rapid development of the tourism sector in the last 10 years, which still seems to rise continuously. As a result, various impacts have occurred. Some of them are positive and there is an obvious contribution to sustainable development, while some of the impacts have negative influence on sustainability. Alanya is characterized by the 3S or mass tourism, while Dubrovnik is a world heritage city, which is offering cultural tourism. Notably, mass tourism in Alanya and cultural tourism in Dubrovnik have different impacts on a place. Although Alanya has the opportunity to diversify their tourism, mass tourism is still the main tourism activity. Since mass tourism generally involves a large number of people visiting a small area, it can change an area dramatically. What is interesting about Dubrovnik is that its tourism has suffered a series of devastating events throughout history, such as a major earthquake in 1979 and war between 1991 and 1995, which has left the local tourist economy in tatters. However, cultural tourism in Dubrovnik has been proven as a more sustainable type of tourism than the mass tourism in Alanya, which can be mostly seen through the environmental impacts. In Dubrovnik, tourism is used to increase environmental awareness of the local population, and moreover, the city has recognized the financial values of cultural sites, which are used for the protection and preservation of the heritage.While Dubrovnik is putting a lot of effort to preserve its culture and heritage, Alanya’s main aim is to attract more tourists. For that reason, Alanya is much more sensitive than Dubrovnik concerning the possible threats to become an overdeveloped and overcrowded destination. The rich cultural and historical heritage make Dubrovnik a special and unique tourist destination, and therefore it is facing less risk than Alanya that it will be replaced by the other destinations in the near future. What is important for both communities is to be aware that positive consequences of tourism can arise only if, and when tourism is carried out and developed in a sustainable way. In order to achieve positive correlation between tourism and the local community, an involvement of the local population is essential. In Dubrovnik, the local population has been already involved in the implementation of the tourism, but the potential is still not completely used and there is much more to be done. On the other hand, the priority for Alanya perhaps should be a development of the alternative types of tourism with the special focus on the cultural tourism, which would enable Alanya to become a year-round tourist destination and provide more jobs for the local population, as well as greater income for the community. Moreover, earned money could be used for the protection of the environment and cultural heritage, and involvement of the local population in the planning process would arguably lead to more sustainable tourism.