Introduction

DEFINITION OF TOURISM
TOURISM
It comprises the activities of persons traveling to and
staying in places outside their usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited.

Tourism: general definition
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business
and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within
the place visited.
Tourism is different from travel. In order for tourism to happen, there must be a
displacement: an individual has to travel, using any type of means of transportation
(he might even travel on foot: nowadays, it is often the case for poorer societies, and
happens even in more developed ones, and concerns pilgrims, hikers …). But all
travel is not tourism.
Three criteria are used simultaneously in order to characterize a trip as belonging to
tourism. The displacement must be such that:
· It involves a displacement outside the usual environment: this term is of
utmost importance and will be discussed later on;
· Type of purpose: the travel must occur for any purpose different from being
remunerated from within the place visited: the previous limits, where tourism
was restricted to recreation and visiting family and friends are now expanded
to include a vast array of purposes;
· Duration: only a maximal duration is mentioned, not a minimal. Tourism
displacement can be with or without an overnight stay. We shall discuss the
particularity of in transit visits, from a conceptual and statistical point of view.

Various types of possible tourism around the world are discussed in this article.

Pilgrimage Tourism - Pilgrimages have created a variety of tourist opportunities in medieval period and even in today’s modern tourism, they stand as an important stream of tourism.

Health Tourism – Even though health tourism existed long before, it gained importance during eighteenth century. This tourism is associated with spas, places with health-giving mineral waters, treating diseases from gout to liver disorders and bronchitis. As a number of doctors have highlighted the benefits of bathing in sea water, and sea bathing, even this has become a part of health tourism.

Winter Tourism – Winter sports contribute to winter tourism. Many water sports holiday packages are available at places in many countries apart from Ski and Snow festival tours organized annually. Skiing is extremely popular in the mountainous areas. Ski festivals have variety of events like ski and sled competitions, ski and snow board lessons, performances and recreational activities. Majority of the event participants are from countries with a warm climate.

Mass tourism - Mass travel is possible with improvements in technology allowing the transport of large numbers of people in a short period of time to places of leisure interest. Through this, greater numbers of people enjoy the benefits of leisure time. The increase in the speed of Railways, the better Sea travel options, and the increase in the number of improved Air travel services, the mass travel has grown and developed internationally.

Niche Tourism - Physical activity or sports-oriented niche tourism includes adventure tourism such as the mountaineering and hiking (tramping), the backpacker tourism, the sport travel for golf and scuba diving or see a sports event and extreme tourism for people interested in risky activities. There are many types of niche tourism. Some of them are given below.
The Learning-oriented niche tourism includes audio tourism and audio walking tours.The Bookstore tourism involves the travelers visiting independent bookstores. The Creative tourism includes attending cultural festivals, events, and workshops. The Educational tourism is to attend classes and learn certain faculties. The Ancestry tourism is to visit and learn about the birth places. The Hobby tourism is to gather more information about hobbies and this involves garden tours, amateur radio DX-peditions, or square dance cruises.The Music and Dance tourism involves focusing on cultural and arts activities with more emphasis on music and dance.

The Heritage tourism involves visiting places to know about the heritage and culture of those places.

There are many sub-types in nature and environment oriented tourisms, such as the Coastal tourism, the Eco tourism, the Garden tourism, and the Rural tourism or the Agritourism. The Lifestyle-oriented niche tourism types include the Gay tourism, the Gourmet tourism, the Wine tourism, the Health tourism, the Medical tourism, the Inclusive tourism or the Accessible Tourism for people with disabilities, the Mystical tourism involving Meditation, yoga, and rituals.

Other miscellaneous types of niche tourism are given below.

The Dark tourism includes travel to sites associated with death and suffering, such as the scene of the Hindenburg airship disaster, or to the sites of disasters (Disaster tourism).

The Free Independent Tourism involves a sector of the market in which the tourists select their own accommodation and transport, rather than using the established tourism booking system.

The Pop-culture tourism is the tourism by those that visit a particular location after reading about it or seeing it used as a location in a film.

The Perpetual tourism involves those individuals who are always on vacation, some of them for tax purposes to avoid being resident in any country.