Is Tourism Considered an Import or an Export?

Is tourism import or export? Tourism is now one of the fastest growing sectors of the economies of many countries, especially for the developed regions. What is the majority of their income of the tourism industry comes from? In fact, their income is came form importing and exporting tourism. However, is tourism solely export or import? Our group holds the view that tourism is both import and export. Exporting tourism means that tourists from other places travel to the host country and consume goods and services. In addition, according to book ‘Tourism Principles and Practice (second edition)’, it is said that international tourist expenditure can be seen as an invisible export from the other countries. To explain, let us take Macau as an example. Macau, as an international city with its fast-developing tourism industry, attracts tourists all around the world. At the day when tourists first arrive Macau until they leave, they will have fundamental needs of transportation, accommodation and food and beverages. When tourists go to different scenic spots, they will need transportation and they may buy souvenirs. Moreover, some of them will visit the casinos for entertainment, and eventually they will need to eat and to have a place to stay (e. g. hotel). As they are enjoying all these services, Macau is exporting tourism for Macau provides these services. On the other hand, importing tourism means that people from the host country travel to the other places and consume goods and services there. In fact, import of tourism is exactly the opposite of export of tourism. Domestic citizens of the host country travel to other places and surely they will also need accommodation and transportation. Therefore, we are importing tourism from other places. In conclusion, according to the above information provided, our group strongly agrees that tourism should include both import and export. Furthermore, import and export should be maintained in an equilibrium state.