a) Income Levels
In the last 30 years, disposable incomes around the world have shown upward trends, thus allowing more money for activities like leisure travel. Smaller families have meant higher allocations per person in family. More and more women are entering the work force and in real terms the cost of the travel has fallen. The dramatic rise of tourism in the last 50 years can be attributed in a large measure to the combined effect of more leisure time and rise in both real and disposable incomes.
b) More Leisure time
Increasing unionization of labour right from 1930 onwards has reduced the number of working hours per week. Changing managerial orientations towards human resources have increased the level of pay and paid vacation time in most developed countries. Added to that is the component of social tourism, in eastern European countries where the state often pays for the cost of holiday for certain classes of employees. All this has resulted in a larger number of people having longer periods of leisure which could be allocated to travel.
c) Mobility
Better transportation and communication services have made the world a smaller place, and have brought both exposure and awareness of distant lands to large sections of potential tourists across the world. Faster modes of travel have cut down on travel time, making it easier for people to economically plan and execute trips aboard.
d) Growth in Government Security Programs and Employment Benefits
The growth in government security programs and well entrenched policies of employee benefits mean that quite a large number of families may have long term financial security and may be more willing to spend money for vacations.
e) Growth of Business
Business travelers have always contributed to a large extent to the tourism. The increasing volume of transnational business and the attend an international travel has meant a spurt in the tourism business. Business travel is in fact such an important segment of the tourism market that many international airlines and hotel chains have targeted it as their key area of operation, developing a whole range of services to cater to the needs of the business travelers.
f) Tourism Motivation
Even if the people have the time, the money and the mobility to travel, tourism will not occur unless people have the motivation to take a trip. Motivation to travel may spring from a variety of needs. A variety of typologies developed for the tourists have classified tourists as those wanting to satisfy need for status and self–esteem, need for recognition as well as the need to know and understand, and the need for aesthetics.
