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Banaras, Hardwar, Mathura and Brindavan have to be developed on Honkong, Singapur,Bankok and Dobai line to Cash in Religious tour and FAITH in India!
Religious tourism has emerged as a booming market in India, according to the Delhi based National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) which shows that of the 230 million tourist trips undertaken in India, the largest proportion is made up of religious pilgrimages. Undertaken by both rural and urban Indians, they outnumber leisure holidays in hill stations, getaways to sea beaches and even trips to metropolitan cities.
As many as 23 million people visited Tirupati, a temple town near the southern tip of India to catch a glimpse of a deity known as Lord Balaji. Tirupati's annual list of pilgrims is higher than the total number of travellers visiting Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata put together. In the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir 17.2 million devotees trek uphill for 15 km to pay respects to a female goddess called Vaishno Devi.
Dharamshala is a city in Himachal Pradesh in India that is not only famous for its aesthetics; it is also home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. Thousands of Tibetan exiles call this place their home and numerous monasteries and temples dot the scenic landscape. The city also offers various tourist attractions to religious travelers as well as common tourists. Dharamshala is the winter capital of the state and the local Governments holds the winter session in this city. Many hotels and restaurants have sprung up here in the last decade making it easier for tourists to enjoy the attractions that this beautiful city has to offer.
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Dharamshala, Religious Tourism In India
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Dharamshala is a city in Himachal Pradesh in India that is not only famous for its aesthetics; it is also home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso. Thousands of Tibetan exiles call this place their home and numerous monasteries and temples dot the scenic landscape. The city also offers various tourist attractions to religious travelers as well as common tourists. Dharamshala is the winter capital of the state and the local Governments holds the winter session in this city. Many hotels and restaurants have sprung up here in the last decade making it easier for tourists to enjoy the attractions that this beautiful city has to offer.
The Union Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja has said that it is an accepted fact that Religious Tourism has proven resilience to the pressures of Global Recession. Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Buddhist heritage Conference-2010, at Nalanda today she said, not being viewed as a luxury, but as travel with a purpose, its (religious tourism) elasticity and strength has withered the storm in the current economic scenario. She said, this has given the hope and courage and her Ministry strives to help millions of followers to achieve their life long desire to visit India and walk in the footsteps of the Great Buddha. She said, Buddhism is a world religion today. We are proud that it arose in and around ancient Magadha (Modern Bihar). Buddhism and the numerous sites related to the life and enlightenment of Lord Buddha are spread all over India forming a set of destinations by themselves. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Ajanta & Ellora, the Sanchi monuments, the Mahabodhi Temple, along with equally stunning sites like the Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Sarnath, Bhagalpur, Udaigiri & Ratnagiri are great attractions for the Tourist. Kumari Selja said, the Union Ministry of Tourism, with active involvement of concerned State Governments and Industry stakeholders, has taken up a number of initiatives to promote Tourism in these Buddhist sites steeped in culture and heritage. One of the promotional initiatives has been the launch of a special tourist train, 'The Mahaparinirvana' by the Indian Railways. The train, with an eight–day package, starts from Delhi and covers the important Buddhist sites of Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Varanasi, Kushinagar and Sravasti. She said, her Ministry has till date identified 29 mega destinations and circuits including Bodh Gaya–Nalanda–Rajgir circuit. She said, the Ministry intends to channelise quality investment in all the Mega Destinations and Circuits. Kumari Selja said that the Ajanta Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project is in an advanced stage of implementation. This project covers various cities with Buddhist sites in Maharashtra. It was undertaken with assistance from Japan Bank of International Cooperation. In addition to this, projects related to development of Buddhist Circuits in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with active assistance from Japan Bank of International Cooperation, are also in formulation. The Minister said, while the efforts to promote tourism are doubled, we must not lose sight of the impact of unorganised and uncontrolled growth of tourism on the environment and the ecology of the destinations. She said, the true potential of tourism lies in responsible practices, enabling an effective response to climate change. This is closely interlinked with inclusive growth through sustainable community participation. India, with its abundance of bio–diversity and natural locales, is an ideal destination for eco and rural tourism. She said, our endeavour has been to formulate such policy that encourages sustainable tourism while underlining creation of environmental, social, economic and climate responsiveness. Kumari Selja said, the Ministry has adopted the 'sustainable' tourism route in the innovative Rural Tourism Projects by strengthening the skilled rural communities in association with United Nations Development Programme. Another step in the direction of sustainable tourism would be adoption of 'Green Mission Initiative' as has been done in some States. She urged all the stakeholders in tourism sector to give a thought to emulating this novel idea in their respective domains. The Minister said, the relationship between sustainable tourism and economic growth is very intimate and delicate and requires immediate attention. She said, safety and security of tourists is an area of primary concern. Any adverse perception about safety and security of tourists would seriously affect tourist arrivals in the country. She said, she is of the firm view that security and safety of tourists is of paramount importance for sustained growth of the sector. The tourist inflow could be ensured only in a safe and secure environment. Kumari Selja said, in the Ministry of Tourism, all out efforts are being made to address this issue. The Minister announced that the centre will soon launch an all India help line for tourists. She said, tourists in distress will also be able to use it. The Minister said, while many destinations across the world reduced their marketing spends during recession, India continued with its promotional and marketing activities aggressively. The 'Incredible India' brand campaign and innovative programmes like "Visit India" campaign have contributed to revival of international tourism in the country. During December 2009, the foreign tourist arrivals in India saw a 21% increase over the same period in 2008. She said, the future looks bright and we expect buoyancy to return to the sector soon. The Minister said, introduction of "Visa on Arrival" for tourists coming from potentially source market countries free from security concerns has come into force from 1st January 2010 and presently, the Scheme is applicable for tourists from five countries, viz., Singapore, Finland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and Japan on a pilot basis for a period of one year. She said, we expect that this move will send positive signals to source markets and give a tremendous boost to inbound tourism. Kumari Selja said, tourism works in synergy. All components of the Sector have to work together harmoniously to deliver positive experiences to the travellers. She said, an integrated balanced growth of the Sector is essential to ensure India the pedestal that it deserves on the global tourism map. The Deputy Chief Minister, Bihar Shri Sushil Kumar Modi asked the Union Tourism Ministry to provide more funds for tourism projects in the state. He assured that such funds will be utilized properly. The two-day conference is being organized by ministry of tourism in collaboration with the state government of Bihar with an aim to promote Buddhist Circuits in India. The theme for the conference is "experience buddhism in the land of origin" More than 110 eminent monks and erudite scholars, reputed academicians, tour operators as well as Media representatives (mainstream media and travel journalists) from the relevant markets overseas are participating in the Conference through the Indiatourism Offices Overseas. The delegates have come from 18 countries including China, Japan, Malayasia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, France, USA and UK. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh are also being represented at the conference. AD/DB Religious Tourism has proven resilience to the pressures of Global Recession: Kumari Selja
CENTRE TO LAUNCH SOON TOURIST HELP LINE
INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST HERITAGE CONFERENCE-2010 BEGINS AT NALANDA
16:45 IST
Entrepreneurship and indigenous enterpreneurs in religious tourism in India |
| Kiran A. Shinde * |
| Geography and Planning, School of Behavioural, Cognitive & Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
| email: Kiran A. Shinde (kshinde@une.edu.au) |
*Correspondence to Kiran A. Shinde, Geography and Planning, School of Behavioural, Cognitive & Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| Keywords |
| religious entrepreneurs • entrepreneurship • religious tourism • pilgrimage • India • Vrindavan |
| Abstract |
This paper demonstrates how indigenous religious entrepreneurs drive religious tourism in a non-western context. Building on the case study of Vrindavan, an emerging religious tourism destination in India, it explains religious tourism as a natural progression of traditional pilgrimage economy, where entrepreneurship springs from socio-cultural and ritual exchanges and knowledge of religious protocols and procedures between indigenous religious functionaries and visitors. Using religious hegemony, social status and networks, religious entrepreneurs innovate, develop new products and expand the cultural economy of rituals and performances to suit the demands of the burgeoning tourism. The tendency to consider such entrepreneurship as  informal not only exempts them from most regulations and legal responsibilities but also undermines their contribution in maintaining the religious - the most important resource in religious tourism. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
Received: 5 June 2009; Revised: 13 December 2009; Accepted: 5 January 2010
Religious tourism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism, is a form of tourism, whereby people of faith travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes. North American religious tourists comprise an estimated $10 billion of this industry.[1]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Tourism segments
Religious tourism comprises many facets of the travel industry including:
- Pilgrimages
- Missionary travel
- Leisure (fellowship) vacations
- Faith-based cruising
- Crusades, conventions and rallies
- Retreats
- Monastery visits and guest-stays
- Faith-based camps
- Religious tourist attractions
[edit] Videos on Religious Tourism
- Discover the World of Religious Tourism Video [2]
[edit] Hindu Religious Tourism Centres in India
The major Hindu religious tourism centres in India are:-
- Thirupathi temple, Andhra Pradesh.
- Akshar Dham, Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat.
- Amarnath Temple, Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir.
- Somnath Temple, Gujarat.
- Vaishnodevi Temple, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
- Kailash Temple, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
- Sun Temple, Konark, Orissa.
- Chidambaram Temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.
- Mahabalipuram Temple, Tamil Nadu.
- Rameswaram Temple, Tamil Nadu.
- Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
- Badarinath Temple, Uthranchal.
- Naina Devi Temple, Bilaspur, Himachalpradesh.
- Sabarimala Temple, Pathanamthitta, Kerala.
- Guruvayoor Temple, Guruvayoor, Trichur, Kerala
- Kodungallor Temple, Trichur, Kerala
- Chettikulangara Temple, Mavelikkara, Kerala.
- Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Trivandrum, Kerala.
[edit] Statistics
Although no definitive study has been completed on worldwide religious tourism, some segments of the industry have been measured:
- According to the World Tourism Organization, an estimated 300 to 330 million pilgrims visit the world's key religious sites every year.
- According to the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, Americans traveling overseas for "religious or pilgrimage" purposes has increased from 491,000 travelers in 2002 to 633,000 travelers in 2005 (30% increase).
- According to the Religious Conference Management Association, in 2006 more than 14.7 million people attended religious meetings (RCMA members), an increase of more than 10 million from 1994 with 4.4 million attendees. [1]
- The United Methodist Church experienced an increase of 455% in mission volunteers from 1992 with almost 20,000 volunteers compared to 110,000 volunteers in 2006.
- The Christian Camp and Conference Association states that more than eight million people are involved in CCCA member camps and conferences, including more than 120,000 churches. [2]
- Religious attractions including Sight & Sound Theatre attracts 800,000 visitors a year while the Holy Land Experience and Focus on the Family Welcome Center each receives about 250,000 guests annually. [3]Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism, is a form of tourism whereby people of faith travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure (fellowship) purposes.
- 50,000 churches in the United States with religious travel programs
- One-quarter (25%) of travelers said they were currently interested in taking a spiritual vacation. [4]
[edit] In the News
- Destination of the World News [5]
- Forbes Traveler: Greatest Religious Tours [6]
- USA TODAY: 10 Great Places to Market Christianity's Holiest Day [7]
- CBS Early Show: Rest, relaxation, & religion [8]
- TIME Magazine: Spirit and adventure [9]
- USA TODAY: On a wing and a prayer [10]
- The New York Times: 21st-century religious travel, Leave the sackcloth at home [11]
- The Los Angeles Times: More agencies are serving the flock - religious travelers [12]
- Belief.net: Companies see increased interest in spiritual tours [13]
- Rocky Mountain News: In the footsteps of the faithful [14]
- The Grand Rapids Press: Spiritual journeys take off in the travel industry [15]
- Yahoo! Business Traveler: Keeping the Faith [16]
- Washington Post: Seeking answers with field trips in faith [17]
- Nassau Guardian (Bahamas): Religious niche being targeted by Bahamas Ministry [18]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- World Religious Travel Association (WRTA)
- World Religious Travel Expo
- Encyclopedia of Religion and Society – Religious Tourism
- South-East Asian Tourism Organisation A new South-east Asian based organisation looking at ways to use other initiatives to spread the benefits of tourism more widely.
The international tourism market is no longer about "one shoe fitting all." It is divided into specialized segments ranging from shopping to adventure sports and from animal safaris to nightlife. Each region of the world is seeking to exploit its strengths. India's competitive advantage lies in the area of religious tourism because its religious heritage and culture is unique.
Religious tourism has a big future in India. India is richly endowed with ancient temples and religious festivals. Religions originating in India, be it Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or Buddhism, have a vibrant culture and spiritual philosophy. Together, they present a viable, alternative way of life as compared to the materialism and confrontation prevalent in the West.
There is a revival of religious attitudes not only in India but the world over. The second and third generations of the Indian diaspora are actively seeking out their roots in religion.
The religions of Indian origin are also proving to be an attraction to many persons of non-Indian origin because these religions advocate a pacifist and inclusive approach to life. This is evident from the posts that can be read on the numerous blog sites devoted to religion. And there can be no better way to introduce these aspirants to Indian religions than to entice them to come to India and undertake and experience religious tourism themselves.
Temples and Festivals
Within its distinct segment, religious tourism in India offers a variety to attract different kinds of tourists. In time, it has the potential to become a commercially viable endeavour. To begin with, there are pilgrimages to several world-renowned temples and shrines, such as Tirupati, Vaishno Devi and Sabarimala. For those seeking more enduring pilgrimages, there are the Char Dhams (four holy sites) at the four corners of the country and the twelve Jyotirlingas scattered across the land.
But traveling to temples and seeking the blessings of the gods is only one aspect of religious tourism and an aspect that may not interest many. Foreigners to India are fascinated by the gaiety and pomp that marks religious festivals. These can also be made nodal points for promoting religious tourism in India. Some fairs like the Kumbh at Haridwar and Pushkar camel fair already draw significant tourists, but much more can be done.
Durga Puja in Kolkata is a spectacle beyond compare. Myriad statues of Kali with her blood soaked tongue and garland of skulls in every nook and corner of the city will enthuse those not accustomed to such crowds. The Rama Lila in the hinterland of Uttar Pradesh is another experience that cannot be had anywhere in the world. The one at Ramnagar goes back two centuries without a break and can be showcased as a historical and social event as well.
Creation of Infrastructure and a Holistic Approach
While, in principle, religious tourism in India has immense potential to evolve as a niche segment, there are hurdles to be overcome. The first hurdle is the poor tourism infrastructure in general, and perhaps the even poorer infrastructure of religious centres. Adequate facilities for lodging, boarding and travel will have to be created.
What needs to be done is to create nodes near religious centers, where there is already a basic infrastructure present and plan day trips from there. For example, Chennai in South India can be a node for excursions to Madurai, Thanjavur, Trichnapalli and Pondicherry. Madurai is the home of the exquisite Meenakshi Temple, which is regarded as the holiest temple in India by many people.
The second aspect that will need to be taken care of will be to provide the tourists with a holistic religious experience. Tourists may not find it worthwhile to come all the way just for a pilgrimage.
A packaged trip that offers the different hues of religious tourism will have to be prepared. This would require blending the ritualistic part of the religious tours with informative, cultural and philosophical inputs.
Information on the mythological significance of the places of pilgrimage will need to be provided in advance so that tourists are better prepared. Traditional dances, music and theatre related to the religious shrine will have to be built into the itinerary. Discourses on the essence of the religious beliefs, workshops on yoga and ayurvedic practices can add immense value to religious tourism.
Religious tourism in India can provide an experience that cannot be had anywhere in the world. But for it to fructify, the seeds will have to be sown and the saplings will have to be nurtured.
New reality TV show to auction virgins
Melbourne: A Melbourne filmmaker has come up with the idea of a new reality TV show to auction off male and female virgins. The show will then be made into a documentary.
Justin Sisely has spent more than a year recruiting male and female virgins willing to auction themselves on camera. The "auditions" were held with posters calling for "Virgins Wanted" over an image of the Virgin Mary. The show will be filmed in US instead of Australia, as he will face prostitution charges there. The auction will take place in a brothel in Nevada, 'sin-city' Las Vegas.
Sisely will pay each virgin $20,000 and they will also receive 90% of the sale price, with the remaining 10 % going to the Nevada brothel where the auction will be held. Before the final auction, bids will be placed online.
Sisely said virgins previously selected had left the project and he was forced to find others willing to sell themselves. Each virgin will earn $20,000 in addition to 90% of the sale price, with the remaining 10% going to the Nevada brothel.
"The hardest part is telling the parents, they hate me," News.com.au quoted Sisely as saying. The participants had agreed to do the show mostly for the money. Like a 21-year-old from Sydney, who uses the pseudonym Veronica, said she signed up to the controversial project to earn money and to change perceptions about sex.
"Technically I"m selling my virginity for money, technically that would be classified as prostitution, but it"s not going to be a regular thing, so in my head I can justify that I"m not going to be a prostitute," she said. Another fellow 'John' said, "Money is a good incentive but I"m really more excited about the journey I"m about to go on."
The project has enraged many, with Family First Senator Steve Fielding branding it "absurd, ridiculous and disgusting".
Source: ANI
Ministry of Tourism compiles monthly estimates of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) and Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) on the basis of data received from major airports. Following are the important highlights, as regards these two important indicators of tourism sector, for April 2010.
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs):
· FTAs during the Month of April 2010 were 3.54 lakh as compared to FTAs of 3.48 lakh during the month of April 2009 and 3.61 lakh in April 2008.
· There has been a growth of 1.7% in April 2010 over April 2009 as compared to a negative growth of 3.5% registered in April 2009 over April 2008.
· Despite closure of airspace for more than a week in Europe due to volcanic eruption in Iceland, India registered a positive growth of 1.7% in FTAs in April 2010
· Growth rate in FTAs during April 2010 (1.7%) is lower than that observed during March 2010 (12.9%).
· FTAs during the period January-April 2010 were 19.18 lakh with a growth rate of 10.6%, as compared to the FTAs of 17.35 lakh and a negative growth rate of 11.7% during January-April 2009 over the corresponding period of 2008.
Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from Tourism in Indian Rupee terms and US $ terms
· FEE during the month of April 2010 were Rs.4518 crore as compared to Rs.4061 crore in April 2009 and Rs. 3773 crore in April 2008.
· The growth rate in FEE in Rupee terms in April 2010 over April 2009 was 11.3% as compared to growth rate of 7.6 % in April 2009 over April 2008.
· FEE in US$ terms during the month of April 2010 were US$ 1013 million as compared to FEE of US$ 811 million during the month of April 2009 and US$ 943 million in April 2008.
· The growth rate in FEE in US$ terms in April 2010 over April 2009 was 24.9% as compared to the negative growth of 14.0% in April 2009 over April 2008.
*****
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Asian markets fall back as euro fears persist!
US stocks dipped Tuesday as investors turned wary about a massive bailout plan for the eurozone announced a day earlier that had sparked euphoria on global equity markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.02 points (0.51 percent) to 10,730.12 in opening trades, after staging a 404-point gain Monday that was its biggest rally in more than a year.
The tech-studded Nasdaq composite dropped 14.84 points (0.62 percent) to 2,359.83 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 7.04 points (0.61 percent) to 1,152.69.
The Wall Street pullback followed losses on Asian and European stock markets in the wake of powerful rallies Monday triggered by the European Union and International Monetary Fund's rescue plan to protect the eurozone from debt crises.
The Dow had jumped 3.90 percent, the Nasdaq was up 4.81 percent and the S&P 500 index climbed 4.40 percent as the unprecedented European action temporarily eased market fears that Greece's sovereign debt crisis could spread to other eurozone members.
However, on Tuesday concerns mounted about Europe's potential impact on the global economic recovery.
"The optimism from the one-trillion-dollar euro-area financial rescue package is dissipating as the focus shifts to the difficult fiscal changes that debt-ridden eurozone nations will have to implement to move toward long-term sustainability," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said in a note to clients.
Patrick O'Hare said that markets were waking up to the reality "that trying to solve a sovereign debt problem by taking on more debt is a bit like a consumer trying to solve a debt problem by transferring debt balances to a credit card with a higher credit limit.
"That tactic buys some time, but it does not change the fact that one still has a debt problem."
Asian investors switched to sell mode on Tuesday as euphoria over a massive eurozone bailout gave way to doubt over debt-ridden countries' ability to reduce their deficits.
Regional Asian markets joined a global surge on Monday after Europe and the IMF agreed on the biggest financial system bailout since the 2008 banking crisis, but questions over its implementation capped gains.
Stocks and the euro had soared after the European Union and the International Monetary Fund announced a 750-billion-euro (one-trillion-dollar) package of loans, guarantees and credits to ease the immediate crisis.
Central banks from the United States to Japan also played a crucial part in efforts to stop the Greek debt crisis spreading, agreeing to intervene to ensure plenty of liquidity on money markets.
However, Asian markets pulled back Tuesday and the euro fell as investors focused on how the massive bailout will be carried out and the implications for the eurozone's underlying fiscal woes.
"Yesterday's gain seems to have reflected much of the cheer from the EU's bailout plan," Lee Kyoung-min at Woori Investment & Securities in Seoul told Dow Jones Newswires. "Investors will likely bet on stocks strongly when they are convinced that fundamentals in Europe wouldn't be hurt by those countries with debt troubles," he added.
Tokyo closed down 1.14 percent, or 119.60 points, at 10,411.10 and Sydney lost 1.13 percent, or 51.8 points, to end at 4,548.00.
China and Hong Kong were hit by worries Beijing may move to further dampen mainland credit after new data showed consumer prices rose faster than expected in April, while property prices continued soar and lending jumped. The figures seemed to show recent moves to rein in the economy were not having the desired effect leading to fears of interest rate hike.
"Investors are concerned that inflation pressure will be building up in the medium and longer term, which could prompt new tightening measures from the government," said Shen Yang, an analyst at Orient Securities. "But we think the chance of a rate hike in the near term is quite low."
Hong Kong fell 1.37 percent, or 280.13 points, to close at 20,146.51 and Shanghai lost 1.90 percent, or 51.18 points, to end at 2,647.57, a near one-year low.
The euro, which briefly jumped above 1.30 dollars on the rescue package Monday, lost steam against other major currencies in Asia and was at 1.2708 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade, from 1.2778 dollars in New York late Monday.
The single currency's prospects were also hit by a warning from Moody's Investors Service that it may downgrade Portugal and lower debt-laden Greece's rating to junk status, after a similar move by Standard & Poor's.
"The rescue package turned out to be bigger than expected, making credit fears recede for now," said Hideaki Inoue, a senior dealer at Mitsubishi UFJ-Trust and Banking Corp. "But worries still linger, leaving few people willing to buy the euro aggressively."
The debt crisis began as Greece teetered toward default, triggering fears that other weak economies such as Portugal, Spain and Italy may be next.
Oil was lower. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, fell 49 cents to 76.31 dollars a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June eased 41 cents to 79.71 dollars.
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Tamil Nadu's deputy chief minister MK Stalin informed the state assembly on Tuesday that DLF is keen to exit the proposed IT-SEZ project, which was to come on 26.24 acres at Taramani in Chennai. It has offered to return the land and also asked the state government to return the Rs 700 crore that it had paid earlier for the site. The government is yet to take a call on DLF's request.
"At Taramani in Chennai, an IT related SEZ was proposed on an extent of 26.64 acres and DLF was selected through the transparent open tender procedure. Though this firm had already remitted Rs 700 crore to the Government towards the cost of the land, they have been requesting return of this money as approval by the Central Government for the SEZ is getting delayed," Mr Stalin told the house.
It is learnt by ET apart from problems on securing clearance front from the Centre, there also seem to be differences between DLF and government agency, Tidco (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) over the terms and conditions of the agreement for the SEZ.
"As per the agreement, at least 2.5 million square feet of IT/ITes space needs to be developed in the SEZ . But DLF is not keen to develop this in an SEZ because existing units cannot be shifted to a new SEZ," Tidco chairman and managing director Sunil Paliwal said.
DLF, on the other hand did not wish to comment on the subject. When contacted, DLF Southern Homes MD KK Raman said, "We have no comments. We have several options." But he didn't elaborate on what these options are. Official sources said neither any decision has been yet on re-tendering the project nor about returning the amount paid by DLF. "Negotiations are still on," a senior official said.
DLF's project may have hit a wall but the SEZ project on 25.27 acres by another national player, Tata Realty and Infrastructure at Taramani was on track and is scheduled to be completed in a couple of years.
Stalin said "This project (Tata Realty) involves building a state-of-the-art SEZ for IT with an integrated international convention centre with about 40 lakh Sq. ft. of I.T. and I.T.E.S./commercial space, an Integrated International Convention Centre to seat 1,500 delegates and 275 Service Apartments and suites at an estimated cost of 2,410 crore of rupees. Construction works are in progress now,".
He was replying to an adjournment motion moved by the opposition alleging irregularities in the MoU signed by the Government with Tata for the IT-SEZ project. He told the house Tata was not chosen arbitrarily without following any procedure. It was chosen by Tidco through the transparent tender procedure. It was during the previous AIADMK regime, 123 acres of lands were given to the firms of its choice arbitrarily without any tender.
That way, through Government orders, 80 acres of land was given to Wipro, 50 acres to Satyam Computers, 50 acres to HCL, 20 acres to Cognizant, 25 acres to Mega Soft, 25 acres to Bench mark Soft, 50 acres to Advance software. Again, without floating any tender, AIADMK Government had signed an MoU with Lee Kim Tah Holdings, Singapore to develop a township at Siruseri IT park for allotting 104 acres of land at a price of Rs 15 lakhs per acre. '
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| Mamata Banerjee's hometown in Bay of Bengal?-Dateline India-The ... 21 Mar 2010 ... The advertisement was to announce the inauguration of luxury tourist train " Maharaja's Express"—the country's first ... The box had the outline of a map of India on which the train route from Kolkata to Delhi via Gaya, ... http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/the-sunday-et/dateline-india/Mamata-Banerjees-hometown-in-Bay-of-Bengal/articleshow/5707105.cms- 46k- -Cached- Similar Pages |
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Gold hits 5-month high on euro zone debt concerns!
The measures, unveiled on Monday, sparked a relief rally in assets seen as higher risk, such as the euro, stocks and industrial commodities. Gold slipped, but has recovered as the rally in other assets lost steam.
Spot gold hit a peak of $1,217.20 an ounce, its highest since early December, and was bid at $1,216.76 an ounce at 1107 GMT, against $1,201.90 late in New York on Monday.
"The euphoria we saw yesterday has almost ended. Gold has remained well supported on safe-haven demand, and we think it will drive further from here," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.
"Market participants are still concerned about the financial positions of a number of countries of the euro zone and their debt problems, despite last weekend's aid package."
U.S. gold futures for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $15.80 to $1,216.50 an ounce.
Gold rallied last week on concern that Greece's debt problems would be echoed elsewhere in the euro zone, but slid 2 percent on Monday after the rescue package sparked a relief rally across financial markets.
That recovery fizzled out on Tuesday. The euro lost 0.8 percent against the dollar, European shares fell 2 percent in early trade and oil prices slid below $76 a barrel.
The dollar rose against a basket of currencies as risk appetite waned. Usually this would weigh on gold, which can be bought as an alternative to the U.S. currency, but the usual strong link between the two has weakened in recent months.
"Gold has recently proven an ability to escape from its traditionally negative correlation with the greenback as long as bullish drivers emanate from its safe-haven status or its perception as an asset of last resort, features it shares with the U.S. currency," said Societe Generale in a note.
INVESTMENT FIRM
Investment in gold held firm, with holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, rising 3.652 tonnes to a record 1,192.150 tonnes on Monday.
Its holdings have risen 33.148 tonnes, worth some $1.275 billion at Monday's London afternoon fix price, in May so far.
But high prices weighed on Indian gold demand, dealers said, after physical offtake saw a slight pick-up in the previous session ahead of the key gold-buying festival of Akshaya Tritiya on May 16, dealers said.
Gold priced in Swiss francs hit a record high at 1,352.74 francs an ounce.
Platinum group metals declined in line with other industrial commodities after Monday's bounce. Platinum was at $1,677.50 an ounce against $1,693, while palladium was at $514 against $529.
"Given the current pressure on commodities and reduction in risk exposure, further consolidation can be expected short-term," said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.
Silver was bid at $18.39 an ounce against $18.44. Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust, rose 76.22 tonnes on
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Market
Monday.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/bullion/Gold-hits-5-month-high-on-euro-zone-debt-concerns/articleshow/5917603.cms
Irrationality of global capital markets
11 May 2010, 0556 hrs IST,Sumant Sinha,Global capital markets are not perfect. Nor are they rational, or even oftentimes effective. A quick look at the performance of the capital markets over the last 15 years just confirms this. In 1993, foreign investors pumped billions of dollars into short term, local currency, fixed income instruments in Mexico, otherwise known as Cetes. The logic was simple. Cetes were yielding more than 10% in pesos when short-term US treasuries were yielding 3% or less. Of course foreign investors were taking currency risk but as long as more of them kept piling into Mexico, the peso kept appreciating — making it a lucrative trade. In February 1994, the US Federal Reserve started increasing interest rates. Through the rest of the year smart locals kept pulling their funds out of Mexico while 'herd mentality' foreign investors kept piling in. In December, the Mexican Central Bank, in the face of a huge trade deficit, was forced to devalue the currency, and as a consequence, Cetes investors were forced to take a significant bath on their investments.
Similar episodes occurred later in 1998 after the Asian crisis during the devaluation of the Brazilian real, and again during the Russian GKO crisis. In each instance, the smart early investors "discovered" the trade, others then piled herd like into securities they understood little, and were eventually suckered into huge losses amounting to billions of dollars. The improbable run up of the Nasdaq to more than 5,000 in 1999-2000 , on the back of an "internet revolution" , after which it has been languishing at around 2,000 for the last 10 years is yet another example of this irrationality , but this time in one of the world's socalled "developed" capital markets.
Unfortunately the current global financial crisis takes the cake. After the US real estate crash of 1987, house prices started rising in 1995 and continued their upward movement for the next several years. By 2003, i.e., less than seven years later, the housing index had more than doubled and it was already becoming apparent that real estate was reaching unsustainable levels. Nevertheless from 2003 to '07, the index increased by another 50%. It was also accompanied by a frenetic period of activity in the mortgage market during which all sorts of risky structures were peddled to willingly gullible and increasingly leveraged consumers. These included backended principal and interest payments, ARMs, interest only, zero equity mortgages , etc. These mortgages were then repackaged and sold on to more highly paid but just as gullible investors and bankers in the US and other countries.
It should have been pretty clear to most capital markets players, and certainly to those in senior positions or in the risk departments , that given the steep run up in asset prices the market would correct, and would do so rapidly when it did. And yet, even though by mid-2008 real estate prices had declined only about 10% to 15% from their peaks, we had the cataclysmic collapse of Bear Stearns in March, followed by the near collapse of the entire global financial system. In hindsight, it is quite remarkable that a set of the most highly paid professionals in the world could have got it so insanely and totally wrong. And we are talking about highly sophisticated institutions, employing some of the best and brightest talent from all over the world. What made these investors take such really awful decisions which cost their investors so much? What in the world were they thinking?
It's almost as if the markets collectively get into a self-induced, mass hypnosis. To a point where reality is willingly suspended. As a result of such occurrences, faith in the efficiency of global capital markets has surely been shaken, if not lost entirely. The market has got it wrong so often and so spectacularly that one wonders whether all the research that is done and market theories that are espoused — random walk, efficient markets, technical analysis, etc, — are anywhere close to reality.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments--analysis/Irrationality-of-global-capital-markets/articleshow/5915395.cms
India Business News
India Business
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EARLIER HEADLINES
- Srei Infra sees loans rising 30 pct in FY11 - Reuters - Tue 11 May, 06:30 PM
- India urges Singapore to invest in Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor - ANI - Tue 11 May, 06:28 PM
- Pune's Tiana Group in industry, services pact with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation - ANI - Tue 11 May, 06:28 PM
- China steel ripe for consolidation - ArcelorMittal - Reuters - Tue 11 May, 06:20 PM
- Pawar: must protect farmers from cheap imports - Reuters - Tue 11 May, 06:20 PM
Consumer Goods News
Consumer Goods
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EARLIER HEADLINES
- Truck fares could head north as orders surge
- Indian Express - Tue 11 May, 02:22 AM - India tops global confidence index- Indian Express - Tue 11 May, 02:11 AM
- Bajaj Capital pins hopes on HNIs- Indian Express - Mon 10 May, 05:23 PM
- 'Indian consumers on a high'- Indian Express - Mon 10 May, 02:32 PM
- April car sales rise 39.5 pct, best in decade- Reuters - Mon 10 May, 01:30 PM
Economy News
Economy
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EARLIER HEADLINES
- Q+A: What does Ambani gas row ruling mean? - Reuters - Fri 07 May, 03:30 PM
- FY10 exports fall; targets 15 pct export growth - Reuters - Thu 06 May, 10:41 PM
- Indian consumers lead world - Indian Express - Thu 06 May, 04:08 PM
- Oil bounces above $80 on weak dlr, economic support - Reuters - Thu 06 May, 10:30 AM
- YES Bank taps SMEs for inclusive growth
- Indian Express - Thu 06 May, 02:11 AM
| Tuesday May 11, 02:49 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
3G auction at Rs 13,474 cr
By fe BureausDay 26 of the 3G auctions saw one provisional bid amount for pan-India spectrum at Rs 13,474 crore. This is 4.8% up or Rs 624 crore more than Saturday's bid of Rs 12,850 crore. The amount is 284% higher than the base price of Rs 3,500 crore. With this the gover-nment has earned Rs 54,378 crore or Rs 19,378 crore more than the budgeted Rs 35,000 crore. Mumbai with a bid of Rs 2,433 crore was the most sought after circle, followed by Delhi where the bid reached Rs 2,372 crore.
| Tuesday May 11, 02:54 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
NTPC plans Rs 55,000 cr investment in Orissa
By Dilip BisoiThe Central-sector generating company, NTPC , is going to invest Rs 55,000 crore in Orissa. The company is planning to set up two mega projects and ramp up the capacity of an existing plant with a total capacity of 9,320 mw.
" We are working on setting up a 4800 mw (8X800 mw) project at Darlipali in Sundergarh district and a 3200 mw ( 4X800 mw project at Gajamara in Dhenkanal district of Orissa," said NTPC's regional executive director (East II & North), IB Pandey. Besides, he added, NTPC is going to expand the capacity of the existing 460 mw Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS)at Talcher in Angul district by 1320 mw ( 2 X 660 mw).
The ED said the Gajamara project has received the land clearange for 2900 acres and the water linkage from the state government. The land acquisition process for the Darlipali unit is going to start soon, he added. The Darlipali project will source coal from Dulanga coal block in Sundergarh district allotted to NTPC.
Pandey said NTPC would participate in the bids for Bedabhal Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Orissa. The union ministry of power is going to invite Request for Qualification (RFQ) for the 4000 mw Bedabhal project once the land acquisition process is over. Bedabahal is one of the first six UMPP projects of the government of India.
Speaking about the performances of the NTPC plants in Orissa, the ED said the 3000 mw (6x500 MW) Talcher Super Thermal Power Station at Kaniha in Angul district and the TTPS have generated 27420.69 million units achieving an average 90.47 plant load factor (PLF) during 2009-10. According to him, NTPC has realized Rs 2032.73 crore, which is 100% of the total billings, in the region during 2009-10.
| Tuesday May 11, 02:15 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
Finmin mulls hike in FIIs' debt mkt limit
By fe BureausThe finance ministry is considering increasing the foreign institutional investment (FII) limit in the local debt market, finance secretary Ashok Chawla said on Monday.
Currently, FII investment in government securities and corporate debt is capped at $5 billion and at $15 billion, respectively.
"We are looking at that. But that is not just dependent on this issue; it is dependent on a number of factors," Chawla said on the sidelines of an Assocham seminar.
Chawla also said he did not expect any change in the government's market borrowing plan in the first half of the current fiscal year that started on April 1. The government is on track to borrow Rs 2.87 lakh between April and September.
However, higher-than-expected proceeds from the 3G mobile spectrum auction has raised speculation that the government's borrowing in the first half of 2010-11 could be lower. Chawla, though, said the auction money would not have any impact on the government's borrowing plans at this point of time.
On day 23 of the 3G auction, the government's revenue crossed the Rs 45,000-crore mark, as compared to Rs 35,000 crore estimated in the Union Budget 2010-11.
The finance secretary further said India would see minimal impact from the Greek debt contagion despite some likely capital outflows in the near term. "As far as India is concerned, the impact on us will be minimal. In fact, in the short run that is, purely in the short run it might help us in terms of India being regarded as a relatively safer haven," he said. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund on Monday agreed on a Euro 750 billion ($1 trillion) bailout package to prevent a sovereign debt crisis spreading through the euro zone.
"I think we are immune. We were immune when there was a much larger international financial crisis. The Greece crisis is much smaller in scale and magnitude to what the world has seen in the last one-and-a-half years," he said.
| Tuesday May 11, 02:25 AM | Source: Indian Express Finance |
India needs to step up fin inclusion plan: report
By fe BureausDespite heightened focus on financial inclusion, Indian banks still somewhat failed to bring the under- and un-banked into the mainstream banking fold. India has currently the second-highest number of financially excluded households in the world.
According to a report on Financial Inclusion for equitable growth by Ernst & Young, in association with Assocham, only about 30,000 out of 60,00,000 habitations in the country have at least one commercial bank branch. Approximately, 40% of India's population have bank accounts, and only about 10% have any kind of life insurance cover, while a meagre 0.6% have non-life insurance cover. People with debit cards comprise only 13% of population and those with credit cards only a marginal 2%.
The situation is worse in the case of people in the low-income group. Only 23.3% earning people with an annual income of less than Rs 50,000 have bank accounts. Overall, 44.9% people across the different income groups have bank accounts, according an estimate in 2007.
Some parameters which characterise financially excluded people include factors like lack of bank account and financial services, reliance on alternative forms of credit, lack of other financial products such as insurance, savings products and pension, lack of capacity and livelihood alternatives.
"Millions of people across the country are thereby denied the opportunity to harness their earning capacity and entrepreneurial talent, and are condemned to marginalisation and poverty," said the report.
TODAY - 11 May, 2010
The hot brides with oomph
Watch Malaika Arora and Jacqueline Fernandez sizzle on ramp in bridal wear adding oomph to Vikram' Phadnis' show 'Shagun'. Video
TODAY - 11 May, 2010
Indian version of TOEFL
With rising demands for English language skills, India comes up with its own version of the standardized tests TOEFL and IELTS. More
Watch stars sizzle on ramp 
More 35+ moms than teen moms 
Save your skin from sun 
India's answer tMarkets
| BSE Sensex | 17,141.53 | -189.02 | -1.09% |
| Nifty 50 | 5,136.15 | -57.45 | -1.11% |
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| Nikkei 225 | 10,411.10 | -119.60 | -1.14% |
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| Hang Seng | 20,146.51 | -280.13 | -1.37% |
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Market Update
Tue, May 11 - 5:13PM IST
After touching the most in nearly 10 months in the previous session, today the key benchmark indices ended the volatile session on a bearish note, on emergence of the profit-booking across the counter...
Market Movers
| Company | Price | Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Active | more | |||
| RNRL.BO | 50.15 | 0.00 | 0.00% | RIL NAT RES |
| TALWALKAR. | 192.15 | +29.55 | +18.17% | |
| Top Gainers | more | |||
| SKSUGAR.BO | 169.30 | +28.21 | +19.99% | SAKTHISUGAR |
| GREENPLYWA | 37.35 | +6.21 | +19.94% | GREENPLY-WARRANTS-15-4-2011 |
| Top Losers | more | |||
| ISPATCRP12 | 72.01 | -17.99 | -19.99% | ISPAT CRP 12 |
| INNOVTEC.B | 36.80 | -6.62 | -15.25% | INNOV TEC PA |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Active | more | |||
| RNRL.NS | 50.20 | +0.05 | +0.10% | |
| IFCI.NS | 52.65 | +0.80 | +1.54% | IFCI LTD |
| Top Gainers | more | |||
| HYDROS&_a. | 76.40 | +27.60 | +56.56% | HYDRO S & S IND. LTD |
| RICOAUT_a. | 34.95 | +8.45 | +31.89% | RICO AUTO INDUSTRIES LTD |
| Top Losers | more | |||
| ENGINER_a. | 470.55 | -1,858.95 | -79.80% | ENGINEERS INDIA LTD |
| PANORAM_a. | 193.50 | -89.50 | -31.63% | |
Top Stories
As of 2 hours ago
TRAI for lifting curbs on telecoms M&As
- ReutersThe telecoms regulator recommended ending restrictions on companies selling out, a move that will help paving the way for consolidation in the world's fastest growing mobile services market....
- Finmin mulls hike in FIIs' debt mkt limit- IE Finance
- ICICI private equity to launch $500 mn infra fund- Reuters
- Will India's slow pace of reform deter investors?- Reuters
- April wholesale inflation seen at 9.5%- Reuters
- Mercedes Benz tweaks models to overtake BMW- IE Finance
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An important factor to consider when managing finances is to understand what drives you, what you feel, what fears do you have, and how you react financially under different situations.
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LIVE BUSINESS NEWS
- India urges Singapore to invest in Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor- ANI
- Pune's Tiana Group in industry, services pact with Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation- ANI
- China steel ripe for consolidation - ArcelorMittal- Reuters
- Pawar: must protect farmers from cheap imports- Reuters
- INTERVIEW - Bharti sees recovery in India usage; consolidation- Reuters
- INTERVIEW - Jain Irrigation plans capacity boost- Reuters
- Godrej Consumer looks to raise $125 mln via PE - sources- Reuters
- Power sector helps drive jump in India CO2 emissions- Reuters
- INTERVIEW - U.S. Renewables plans 2 bln yuan China fund- Reuters
- Oil falls below $76 as EU concerns resurface- Reuters
The Union Home Ministry today clarified that the memorandum submitted by former Haryana Chief Minister and Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala to Home Minister P Chidambaram during a meeting between the two yesterday was related to an incident in Sirsa district of the state involving state Home Minister Gopal Kanda.
The ministry in a clarification issued here said no other subject was discussed during the meeting and no other memorandum was given by Mr Chautala to theUnion Home Minister.
There were reports yesterday that Mr Chautala met Mr Chidambaram and sought amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act.
Nagrota: The Army today denied reports of intrusion by Chinese military in Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir.
''There is no intrusion whatsoever (by Chinese military in Ladakh),'' General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Lt Gen B S Jaswal told reporters on the sidelines of Chief Minister Amar Abdullah's rally for ex-servicemen here, about 15 km from Jammu.
He, however, said some transgressions continue to be there due to the perception of boundaries by the troops manning the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on either side.
Reacting to a question if week intelligence or week policy has been promoting Chinese transgressions, he said, ''The Central government has a clear cut policy on China and we abide by that.
''There is no week policy and no week intelligence in case of China.''
Source: IANS
New Delhi/Islamabad: India once again has initiated to reinvent the relations with neighbouring country Pakistan as the foreign ministers of both countries announced Tuesday that they that will meet in Islamabad July 15 to discuss 'all outstanding issues' in a bid to take forward the peace process. India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna spoke to his Paki.... Read Story 
New Delhi: As it was already decided that the both Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan have to speak over phone to fix the next engagement between the two, has eventually come out. Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna will visit Islamabad on 15th July for talks. Indian foreign Minister S M Krishna has spoken to his Pakistani counter part Shah Mehmood Qureshi over ph.... Read Story 
Chandigarh: Decision on former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore's plea challenging his conviction for molesting teenager Ruchika Girhotra, will be taken on May 20, a local court has said. A plea seeking enhanced punishment for him will also be dealt the same day. After hearing the arguments continuously on day-to-day basis since May 3, Additional District and Sessions.... Read Story 
New Delhi: Municipal Commissioner K S Mehra today directed the Deputy Commissioners of all zones to start sealing drive against unauthorised cell towers who had not obtained permission from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Following formulation and subsequent implementation of the New Policy for Cell Towers, the unauthorised cell tower owners were given a time period .... Read Story India is a top most favorite holiday destination country around the world where everyone wants and loves to spend the holiday tours with the great accommodation facilities and tourism opportunities. India has everything which a person wants on their dream holiday. As everyone knows that when a person is not working then always think dream about the good holiday tours. In India many of the spectaculars locations and romantic destinations where everyone wants to spend holiday vacations with their family and children's. Holiday Deals India
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The Imminent Collapse Of Industrial Society
By Peter Goodchild
09 May, 2010
Countercurrents.org
The collapse of modern industrial society has 14 parts, each with a somewhat causal relationship to the next. (1) Fossil fuels, (2) metals, and (3) electricity are a tightly-knit group, and no industrial civilization can have one without the others. The decline in fossil-fuel production is the most critical aspect of the collapse, and most of the following text will be devoted to that topic. As those three disappear, (4) food and (5) fresh water become scarce; grain and wild fish supplies per capita have been declining for years, water tables are falling everywhere, rivers are not reaching the sea. Matters of infrastructure then follow: (6) transportation and (7) communication ? no paved roads, no telephones, no computers. After that, the social structure begins to fail: (8) government, (9) education, and (10) the large-scale division of labor that makes complex technology possible.
After these 10 parts, however, there are four others that form a separate layer, in some respects more psychological or sociological. We might call these "the four Cs." The first three are (11) crime, (12) cults, and (13) craziness ? the breakdown of traditional law; the ascendance of dogmas based on superstition, ignorance, cruelty, and intolerance; the overall tendency toward anti-intellectualism; and the inability to distinguish mental health from mental illness. There is also a final and more general part that is (14) chaos, resulting in the pervasive sense that "nothing works any more."
These are cascading dominoes; all parts of the collapse have more to do with causality than with chronology, although there is no great distinction to be made between the two. If we look at matters from a more purely chronological viewpoint, however, we can say that there is a clear division into two time periods, two phases. The first phase will be merely economic hardship, and the second will be entropy. In the first phase the major issues will be inflation, unemployment, and the stock market. The second phase will be characterized by the disappearance of money, law, and government. In more pragmatic terms, we can say that the second phase will begin when money is no longer accepted as a means of exchange.
The Triad
Modern industrial society is composed of a triad of fossil fuels, metals, and electricity. The three are intricately connected. Electricity, for example, can be generated on a global scale only with fossil fuels. The same dependence on fossil fuels is true of metals; in fact the better types of ore are now becoming depleted, while those that remain can be processed only with modern machinery and require more fossil fuels for smelting. In turn, without metals and electricity there will be no means of extracting and processing fossil fuels. Of the three members of the triad, electricity is the most fragile, and its failure will serve as an early warning of trouble with the other two. [Duncan (a), (b)]
Often the interactions of this triad are hiding in plain sight. Global production of steel, for example, requires 420 million tonnes of coke (from coal) annually, as well as other fossil fuels adding up to an equivalent of another 100 million tonnes. [Smil] To maintain industrial society, the production of steel cannot be curtailed: there are no "green" materials for the construction of skyscrapers, large bridges, automobiles, machinery, or tools.
But the interconnections among fossil fuels, metals, and electricity are innumerable. As each of the three members of the triad threatens to break down, we are looking at a society that is far more primitive than the one to which we have been accustomed.
Fossil Fuels
The entire world's economy is ultimately based on oil and other hydrocarbons. These provide fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, lubricants, plastic, paint, synthetic fabrics, asphalt, pharmaceuticals, and many other things. On a more abstract level, we are dependent on hydrocarbons for manufacturing, for transportation, for agriculture, for mining, and for electricity.
Oil is the lifeblood of our civilization. Even a bicycle, that ultimate symbol of an "alternate lifestyle," requires oil for lubrication, for paint, and for plastic components. The vehicle that delivers the bicycle runs on oil, over asphalt that is a form of oil. "Rubber" tires are often made of oil.
Oil is everything: that is to say, everything in the modern world is dependent on oil. As the oil disappears, our entire industrial society will go with it. There will be no means of supporting the billions of people who now live on this planet. Above all, there will be insufficient food, and the result will be terrible famine.
A good deal of debate has gone on about "peak oil," the date at which the world's annual oil production will reach (or did reach) its maximum and will begin (or did begin) to decline. The exact numbers are unobtainable, mainly because individual countries give rather inexact figures on their remaining supplies. The situation can perhaps be summarized by saying that at least 20 or 30 major studies have been done, and the consensus is that the peak is somewhere between the years 2000 and 2020. Within that period, a middle date seems rather more likely. [Campbell (a), (b); Gever; Simmons; Youngquist (a), (b)]
One reasonable description of past and future global oil production is Campbell and Laherrére's 1998 Scientific American article, "The End of Cheap Oil," which serves as a sort of locus classicus . Their main chart seems to indicate an annual rate of increase of about 4 percent from the year 1930 to 2000, and an annual rate of post-peak decline of slightly over 3 percent, which would mean that around 2030 oil production will be down to about half of the peak amount. [Campbell and Laherrère] The chart is based partly on the bell-shaped curves that M. King Hubbert used in the 1950s when making accurate predictions of American and global oil decline. [Hubbert]
More-recent predictions of the annual rate of post-peak decline tend to range from about 4 to 9 percent. [Foucher, Höök, Poston] Starting at a peak of 30 billion barrels in 2010, a decline of 9 percent would mean dropping to half of that amount in 7 years ? hardly enough time to blink. The most likely figure might be 6 percent, and even that is ominous, resulting in a fall to half of peak production in 11 years. These predictions of larger decline rates take into consideration the fact that advanced technology is used to maximize productivity, which in turn has the ironic result that when the decline actually occurs it is swift. It is not the gentle slope depicted in Campbell and Laherrére's article, but something that looks more like a cliff.
From a broader perspective it can be said that, as oil declines, more energy and money must be devoted to getting the less-accessible and lower-quality oil out of the ground. [Gever] In turn, as more energy and money are devoted to oil production, the production of metals and electricity becomes more difficult. One problem feeds on another. The issue can also be described in terms of money alone: when oil production costs about 5 percent of the economy, the latter begins a downward spiral. [Lardelli]
It should also be mentioned that the above-mentioned quest for the date of peak oil is in some respects a red herring. In terms of daily life, it is important to consider not only peak oil in the absolute sense, but peak oil per capita. The date of the latter was 1979, when there were 5.5 barrels of oil per person annually, as opposed to 4.5 in 2007. [BP]
In 1850, before commercial production began, there were about 2 trillion barrels of oil in the ground. By about the year 2010, half of that oil had been consumed, so about 1 trillion barrels remain ? which may sound like a lot, but isn't. At the moment about 30 billion barrels of oil are consumed annually, and that is probably close to the maximum that will ever be possible. When newspapers announce the discovery of a deposit of a billion barrels, readers are no doubt amazed, but they are not told that such a find is only two weeks' supply.
As the years go by, new oil wells have to be drilled deeper than the old, because newly discovered deposits are deeper. Those new deposits are therefore less accessible. But oil is used as a fuel for the machinery and for the exploration. When it takes an entire barrel of oil to get one barrel of oil out of the ground, as is increasingly the case with new wells, it is a waste of time to continue drilling.
The problem of the world's diminishing supply of oil is a problem of energy, not a problem of money. The old bromide that "higher prices will eventually make [e.g.] shale oil economically feasible" is meaningless. This planet has only a finite amount of fossil fuel. That fuel is starting to vanish, and "higher prices" will be quite unable to stop the event from taking place.
Much of modern warfare is about oil, in spite of all the pious and hypocritical rhetoric about "the forces of good" and "the forces of evil." [Klare] The real "forces" are those trying to control the oil wells and the fragile pipelines that carry that oil. A map of recent American military ventures is a map of petroleum deposits. When the oil wars began is largely a matter of definition, though perhaps 1973 would be a usable date, when the Yom Kippur War — or, to speak more truthfully, the vulnerability resulting from the decline in American domestic oil — led to the OPEC oil embargo.
Coal and natural gas are also disappearing. Coal will be available for a while after oil is gone, although previous reports of its abundance in the US were highly exaggerated. [Rebecca Smith] Coal, however, is highly polluting and cannot be used as a fuel for most forms of transportation; the last industrial society will be a bizarre, crowded, dirty, impoverished world. Natural gas is not easily transported, and it is not suitable for most equipment.
The problem of the loss of fossil fuels will, of course, be received in the same manner as other large-scale disasters: widespread denial, followed by a rather catatonic apathy. The centuries will pass, and a day will come when, like the early Anglo-Saxons, people will look around at the scattered stones and regard them as "the work of giants."
Global Energy and Electricity
Global production of energy for the year 2005 was about 500 exajoules (EJ), most of which was supplied by fo ssil fuels. This annual production of energy can also be expressed in terms of billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) [BP; Duncan (a), (b); EIA (c)] In 1990 this was 59.3 bboe and in 2005 it was 79.3, an increase of 34 percent.
However, the use of electricity worldwide rose from 11,865.4 terawatt-hours in 1990 to 18,301.8 in 2005 [BP], an increase of 54 percent. Since the use of electricity is rising much more quickly than the production of energy, it is uncertain whether in the future there will be sufficient energy to meet the demand for electricity. If not, there could be widespread brownouts and rolling blackouts. [Duncan (a), (b)] When electricity starts to go, so will everything else.
Alternative Energy
Alternative sources of energy will never be very useful, for several reasons, but mainly because of a problem of "net energy": the amount of energy output is not sufficiently greater than the amount of energy input. [Gever] With the problematic exception of uranium, alternative sources ultimately don't have enough "bang" to replace 30 billion annual barrels of oil ? or even to replace more than the tiniest fraction of that amount.
At the same time, alternative forms of energy are so dependent on the very petroleum that they are intended to replace that the use of them is largely self-defeating and irrational. Petroleum is required to extract, process, and transport almost any other form of energy; a coal mine is not operated by coal-powered equipment. It takes "oil energy" to make "alternative energy."
The use of unconventional oil (shale deposits, tar sands, heavy oil) poses several problems besides that of net energy. Large quantities of conventional oil are needed to process the oil from these unconventional sources, so net energy recovery is low. The pollution problems are considerable, and it is not certain how much environmental damage the human race is willing to endure. With unconventional oil we are, quite literally, scraping the bottom of the barrel.
More-exotic forms of alternative energy are plagued with even greater problems. Fuel cells cannot be made practical, because such devices require hydrogen derived from fossil fuels (coal or natural gas), if we exclude designs that will never escape the realm of science fiction; if fuel cells ever became popular, the fossil fuels they require would then be consumed even faster than they are now. Biomass energy (from corn, for example) requires impossibly large amounts of land and still results in insufficient quantities of net energy, perhaps even negative quantities. Hydroelectric dams are reaching their practical limits. Wind and geothermal power are only effective in certain areas and for certain purposes.
Nuclear power presents significant environmental dangers, but the biggest constraints involve the addition of new reactor capacity and the supply of uranium. Peak production of uranium ore in the United States was in 1980. Mainly because the US was the world's largest producer, the peak of global production was at approximately the same date. [Energy Watch Group, Storm van Leeuwen] Statements that uranium ore is abundant are based on the falsehood that all forms of uranium ore are usable. In reality, only high-quality ore serves any purpose, whereas low-quality ore presents the unsolvable problem of negative net energy: the mining and milling of such ore requires more energy than is derived from the actual use of the ore in a reactor. The world's usable uranium ore will probably be finished by about 2030, and there is no evidence for the existence of large new deposits of rich ore. Claims of abundant uranium are generally made by industry spokespersons whose positions are far from neutral, who have in fact a vested interest in presenting nuclear energy as a viable option. [Storm van Leeuwen] One must also beware, of course, of the myth that "higher prices" will make low-grade resources of any sort feasible: when net energy is negative, even an infinitely higher price will not change the balance. For all practical purposes, the nuclear industry will come to an end in a matter of decades, not centuries.
The current favorite for alternative energy is solar power, but proponents must close their eyes to all questions of scale. The world's deserts have an area of 36 million km 2 , and the solar energy they receive annually is 300,000 EJ, which at a typical 11-percent electrical-conversion rate would result in 33,000 EJ. [Knies] As noted above, annual global energy consumption in 2005 was approximately 500 EJ. To meet the world's present energy needs by using solar power, then, we would need an array (or an equivalent number of smaller ones) with a size of 500/33,000 x 36 million km 2 , which is about 550,000 km 2 ? a machine the size of France. The production and maintenance of this array would require vast quantities of hydrocarbons, metals, and other materials ? a self-defeating process. Solar power will therefore do little to solve the world's energy problems.
The Problem of Infrastructure
Most schemes for a post-oil technology are based on the misconception that there will be a technological infrastructure for such future gadgetry, similar to that of the present day. Modern equipment is dependent on specific methods of manufacture, transportation, maintenance, and repair. In less abstract terms, this means machinery, motorized vehicles, and service depots or shops, all of which are generally run by fossil fuels. In addition, one unconsciously assumes the presence of electricity, which energizes the various communications devices, such as telephones and computers; electricity on such a large scale is only possible with fossil fuels.
To believe that a non-petroleum infrastructure is possible, one would have to imagine, for example, solar-powered machines creating equipment for the production and storage of electricity by means of solar energy. This equipment would then be loaded on to solar-powered trucks, driven to various locations, and installed with other solar-powered devices, and so on, ad absurdum and ad infinitum. Such a scenario might provide material for a work of science fiction, but not for genuine science.
The technological infrastructure will no longer be in place: oil, electricity, and asphalt roads, for example. Partly for that reason, the social structure will also no longer be in place. Without the technological infrastructure and the social structure, it will be impossible to produce the familiar goods of industrial society.
Without fossil fuels, the most that is possible is a pre-industrial infrastructure, although one must still ignore the fact that the pre-industrial world did not fall from the sky as a prefabricated structure but took uncountable generations of human ingenuity to develop. The pre-industrial world also did not include feeding 7 billion people. For both reasons, we cannot suddenly step back into Jane Austen's day, when the population was a mere billion. The next problem is that a pre-industrial blacksmith was adept at making horseshoes, but not at making or repairing solar-energy systems; those who expect to conquer the future with space-age technology will have to pray that nothing goes wrong with toys that were invented at a time of abundant petroleum and the machinery that went with it.
Other Minerals
Global depletion of minerals other than petroleum and uranium is somewhat difficult to determine, partly because recycling complicates the issues, partly because trade goes on in all directions, and partly because one material can sometimes be replaced by another. Figures from the US Geological Survey, however, indicate that within the US most types of minerals are past their peak dates of production. Besides oil, these include bauxite (peaking in 1943), copper (1998), iron ore (1951), magnesium (1966), phosphate rock (1980), potash (1967), rare earth metals (1984), tin (1945), titanium (1964), and zinc (1969). [USGS] The depletion of all minerals in the US continues swiftly in spite of recycling. Rare-earth minerals pose a special problem because so much of the more-advanced technology is dependent on them, and because nearly all of them now come from China. [Adams]
Iron ore may seem infinitely abundant, but it is not. In the past it was ores such as natural hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ) that were being mined. For thousands of years, also, tools were produced by smelting bog iron, mainly goethite, FeO(OH), in clay cylinders only a meter or so in height. Modern mining must rely more heavily on taconite, a flint-like ore containing less than 30 percent magnetite and hematite. [Gever] Iron ore of the sort that can be processed with primitive equipment is becoming scarce, in other words, and only the less-tractable forms such as taconite will be available when the oil-powered machinery has disappeared — a chicken-and-egg problem. With the types of iron ore used in the past, it would have been possible to reproduce at least the medieval level of blacksmithing in future ages. With taconite it will not.
Grain
Annual world production of grain per capita peaked in 1984 at 342 kg. [Earth Policy (a)] For years production has not met demand, so carryover stocks must fill the gap, now leaving less than two months' supply as a buffer. Rising temperatures and falling water tables are causing havoc in grain harvests everywhere, but the biggest dent is caused by the bio-fuel industry, which is growing at over 20 percent per year. In 2007, 88 million tons of US corn, a quarter of the entire US harvest, were turned into automotive fuel.
Fish
The world catch of wild fish per capita peaked in 1988 at 17 kg; by 2005 it was down to 14 kg. [Earth Policy (b)] The fishing industry sends out 4 million vessels to catch wild fish, but stocks of the larger species are falling rapidly, so the industry works its way steadily down the food chain. Janet Larsen notes in particular that "over the past 50 years, the number of large predatory fish in the oceans has dropped by a startling 90 percent. Catches of many popular food fish such as cod, tuna, flounder, and hake have been cut in half despite a tripling in fishing effort."
The losses in the production of wild fish are made up by aquaculture (fish farming), but aquaculture causes its own problems: inshore fish farms entail the destruction of wetlands, spread diseases, and deplete oxygen. Although her study is otherwise excellent, Larsen omits the fact that millions of tonnes of other fish must be turned into food every year for use in aquaculture. The FAO, with its usual pro-industry stance, labels these as "low-value/trash fish." [UN Food and Agricultural Organization]
Fresh Water
Fresh water is declining in many countries around the world, particularly Mexico, the western US, North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, and Australia. If a population crash does not occur in the next few years, by the year 2025 about 2 billion people will be living with extreme water scarcity, and about two-thirds of the world will be facing water shortages to some extent. [UN Environment Program] In Saudi Arabia and the adjacent countries from Syria to Oman, the annual water supply per capita fell from 1,700 m 3 to 907 m 3 between 1985 and 2005. In the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, most fresh water is supplied by desalination plants.
The diversion of water for agriculture and municipal use, combined with the effects of global warming, is causing rivers to run dry. The Colorado, the Ganges, the Nile, and the Indus are now all dry for at least part of the year before they reach the sea. In previous years, this was also true of China 's Yellow River ; whether better management will prevail remains to be seen. The Amu Darya, once the largest river flowing into the Aral Sea, now runs dry as its water is diverted for the cultivation of cotton. [Mygatt]
Most countries with water shortages are pumping at rates that cannot be maintained. The shallower aquifers could be replenished if pumping were reduced, but the deeper "fossil" aquifers cannot be rejuvenated when their levels are allowed to fall. Among the latter are the US Ogallala aquifer, the Saudi aquifer, and the deeper aquifer of the North China Plain. [Brown]
Agriculture uses more than 70 percent of the world's fresh water and is mainly responsible for the depletion of aquifers of both types. [UN Environment Program] World grain harvests tripled between 1950 and 2000, but only with increases in irrigation. The US depends on irrigation for a fifth of its grain production; in parts of the grain-producing states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas the water table has fallen more than 30 meters, and thousands of wells have gone dry. [Brown] The situation is worse in China, where four-fifths of the grain harvest depends on irrigation. The fossil aquifer of the North China Plain maintains half of China's wheat production and a third of its corn. As a result of the depletion of water, Chinese annual grain production has been in decline since 1998.
All this excess use of water is leading to political strife. While the seas have long been generally subject to international laws, it is only in recent decades that there have been major international problems with the world's fresh water. Because of falling water levels, new wells are drilled to greater depths than the old, with the result that the owners of the old wells are left without water. The result is a cycle of competition in which no one wins.
A similar competition exists with the world's rivers. Sixty percent of the world's 227 largest rivers have numerous dams and canals, and there are not many other rivers that are free from such obstructions. [UN Environment Program] Most countries sharing a large river with others are in the midst of violent struggle or about to become so. For example, India's Farakka Barrage, completed in 1975, diverts water from the Ganges into its Indian tributary, thereby depriving Bangladesh of water. [Dan Smith] Egypt and Sudan signed a treaty in 1959 allocating 75 percent of the Nile's water to the former and the remainder to Sudan , with no provisions for the other countries through which the river flows, and Egypt has threatened military action against any of those countries if their irrigation projects reduce the flow. [Elhadj]
It is not only military strength that settles issues of water distribution: countries with more water can produce more grain and thus influence the economies of less fortunate countries. It takes a thousand tonnes of water to produce a tonne of grain. In the short term it may therefore seem more sensible for water-poor countries to stop depleting their water by producing grain, and instead buying it from water-rich countries. [Brown, UN Environment Program] Between 1984 and 2000, at a cost of about $100 billion, Saudi Arabia foolishly tried to produce its own grain but then gave up and switched to importing it. Buying grain has its own negative side-effects, however, in terms of national security, foreign exchange, and lost local employment. [Elhadj] The biggest question of national security may be: What will happen when the grain-exporting countries themselves start running out of both grain and water?
Arable Land
With "low technology," i.e. technology that does not use fossil fuels, crop yields diminish considerably. David Pimentel explains that the production of so-called field or grain corn (maize) without irrigation or mechanized agriculture is only about 2,000 kilograms per hectare. That is less than a third of the yield that a farmer would get with modern machinery and chemical fertilizer. [Pimentel; Pimentel and Hall; David Pimentel and Marcia H. Pimentel]
Yields for corn provide a handy baseline for other studies of population and food supply. At the same time, corn is an ideal crop for study because of its superiority to others: it is one of the most useful grains for supporting human life. For the native people of the Americas, it was an important crop for thousands of years. [Weatherwax] Corn is high-yielding and needs little in the way of equipment, and the more ancient varieties are largely trouble-free in terms of diseases, pests, and soil depletion. If it can't be done with corn, it can't be done with anything. Of course, in reality no one would live entirely on corn; the figures here serve merely as a basis of comparison with other crops in a mixed diet.
A hard-working (i.e. farming) adult burns about 1 million kilocalories ("calories") per year. The food energy from a hectare of corn grown with "low technology" is about 9 million kilocalories. [Pimentel] Under primitive conditions, then, 1 hectare of corn would support only 9 people.
Even those figures are rather idealistic. We are assuming that people will follow a largely vegetarian diet; if not, they will need even more land. We need to allow for fallow land, cover crops, and green manure, for inevitable inequities in distribution, and for other uses of the land. We must account for any rise in population. Finally, most other crops require more land than corn in order to produce the same yield. On a global scale, a far more realistic ratio would be 4 people to each hectare of arable land.
The average American house lot is about a tenth of a hectare, including the land the house is sitting on. Those who expect to get by with "victory gardens" are unaware of the arithmetic involved. Perhaps some of the misunderstanding is due to the misconception that humans live on "vegetables" in the narrow sense of the word (e.g., in the sense of "green vegetables"). In reality, it is not "vegetables" but grains that are the foundation of human diet. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors took various species of grass and converted them into the plants on which human life now depends. Wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, oats, sorghum, millet — these are the grasses people eat every day. It is members of the grass family that are used in raising the pigs and cows that are killed as other food. A diet of green vegetables would be slow starvation; it is grains that supply the thousands of kilocalories that keep us alive from day to day.
In the entire world there are 15,749,300 km 2 of arable land. [CIA] This is 11 percent of the world's total land area. The present world population (in 2010) is about 6.9 billion. Dividing the figure for population by that for arable land, we see that there are about 440 people per km 2 of arable land. On a smaller scale that means about 4 people per hectare. Only about a third of the world's 200-odd countries are actually within that realistic ratio of 4:1. In other words, we have already reached the limits of the number of people who can be supported by non-mechanized agriculture.
The UK, for example, has a population-to-arable ratio of slightly more than 10 people per hectare. What exactly is going to happen to the 6 people who will not fit onto the hectare? But many countries have far worse ratios.
Overpopulation
The world's population went from about 1.7 billion in 1900 to 2.5 in 1950, to nearly 7 billion in 2010. It has been said that without fossil fuels the population must drop to about 2 or 3 billion. [Youngquist (a)] The above figures on arable land indicate that in terms of agriculture alone we would not be able to accommodate the present number of people.
Another calculation about future population can be made by looking more closely at the rise and fall of oil production. The rapid increase in population over the last hundred years is not merely coincident with the rapid increase in oil production. It is the latter that has actually allowed (the word "caused" might be too strong) the former: that is to say, oil has been the main source of energy within industrial society. It is only with abundant oil that a large population is possible. It was industrialization, improved agriculture, improved medicine, the expansion of humanity into the Americas, and so on, that first created the modern rise in population, but it was oil in particular that made it possible for human population to grow as fast as it has been doing. [Catton] If oil production drops to half its peak amount, world population must also drop by half.
Of course, this calculation of population on the basis of oil is largely the converse of the calculation on the basis of arable land, since in industrial society the amount of farm production is mainly a reflection of the amount of available oil.
If we look further into the future, we see an even smaller number for human population, still using previous ratios of oil to population as the basis for our figures. But the world a hundred years from now might not be a mirror image of the world of a hundred years in the past. The general depletion of resources might cause such damage to the structure of society that government, education, and intricate division of labor will no longer exist. In a milieu of social chaos, what are the chances that the oil industry will be using extremely advanced technology to extract the last drops of oil? Even then we have not factored in war, epidemics, and other aspects of social breakdown. The figure of 2 to 3 billion may be wildly optimistic.
Overpopulation is the overwhelming ultimate cause of systemic collapse. All of the flash-in-the-pan ideas that are presented as solutions to the modern dilemma — solar power, ethanol, hybrid cars, desalination, permaculture — have value only as desperate attempts to solve an underlying problem that has never been addressed in a more direct manner. American foreign aid has always included only trivial amounts for family planning [Spiedel]; the most powerful country in the world has done very little to solve the biggest problem in the world.
The reasons for this evasion of responsibility are many, including the influence of certain religious groups with the misnomer of "pro-life"; the left-wing reluctance to point a finger at poor people, immigrants, or particular ethnic groups; the right-wing reluctance to lose an ever-expanding source of cheap labor (and a growing consumer market); and the politicians' reluctance to lose votes in any direction. [Kolankiewicz]
Overpopulation can also be seen in terms of the distribution of resources: there is some validity to the argument that imposing family planning on poor countries is unfair if rich countries consume far more resources per capita. That argument, however, can be countered by the statement that overpopulation in one country leads to immigration, which in turn leads to overpopulation in another country; the onus of responsibility therefore lies on poor countries, not rich ones. It is also countered by the simple statement that people should not have children if they have no means of feeding them. And in any case, spreading the misery out universally can hardly be considered a solution, no matter how anyone tries to juggle the figures.
Overpopulation can always be passed off as somebody else's problem. It is the fundamental case of what Garrett Hardin calls "the tragedy of the commons" [Hardin (a), (b)]: although every oversize family knows the world will suffer slightly from that fecundity, no family wants to lose out by being the first to back down. Without a central governing body that is both strong and honest, however, the evasion is perpetual, and it is that very lack of strength and honesty that makes traditional democracy an anachronism. For all that might be said against their politics and economics, it is the Chinese who have made the greatest effort at dealing with excess numbers, although even their efforts can hardly be considered a success.
Discussion of overpopulation is the Great Taboo. Politicians will rarely touch the issue, although we no longer hold our breaths waiting for such people to speak the truth about anything. Even the many documents of the United Nations merely sidestep the issue by discussing how to cater to large populations, in spite of the fact that such catering is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
To speak against overpopulation is an exercise in futility. How likely is it that the required massive change in human thinking will ever take place? For such a thing to happen, it would be necessary for a large percentage of the human race to become literate, to read books, and to understand difficult scientific abstractions, scholarly entanglements which are neither comic nor tragic but simply unpropitious. Yet that is precisely the opposite of how most people behave. To broach the topic of overpopulation is only to invite charges of racism and elitism. Instead of dreaming of ways to reduce a population of several billion to a reasonable number overnight, therefore, it might be more sensible to think in terms of the medical system of triage: let us save those who can be saved.
Like so many other species, humanity expands and consumes until its members starve and die. The two basic, reciprocal problems of human life have still never been solved: overpopulation and the over-consumption of resources. As a result, the competition for survival is intense, and for most people life is just a long stretch of drudgery followed by an ignoble death. It is ironic that birth control, the most important invention in all of human history, has been put into practice in such a desultory manner. There is still no intelligent life on earth.
In view of the general unpopularity of family-planning policies, it can only be said euphemistically that nature will decide the outcome. Even if his words owe as much to observation of the stages of collapse as to divine inspiration, it is St. John's Four Horsemen of war, famine, plague, and death who will signify the future of the industrial world. Nor can we expect people to be overly concerned about good manners: although there are too many variables for civil strife to be entirely predictable, if we look at accounts of large-scale disasters of the past, ranging from the financial to the meteorological, we can see that there is a point at which the looting and lynching begin. The survivors of industrial society will have to distance themselves from the carnage.
The need for a successful community to be far removed from urban areas is also a matter of access to the natural resources that will remain. With primitive technology, it takes a great deal of land to support human life. What may look like a long stretch of empty wilderness is certainly not empty to the people who are out there picking blueberries or catching fish. That emptiness is not a prerogative or luxury of the summer vacationer. It is an essential ratio of the human world to the non-human.
Famine
Humanity has struggled to survive through the millennia in terms of balancing population size with food supply. The same is true now, but population numbers have been soaring for over a century. Oil, the limiting factor, is close to or beyond its peak extraction. Without ample, free-flowing oil, it will not be possible to support a population of several billion for long. Famine caused by oil-supply failure alone will probably result in about 2.5 billion above-normal deaths before the year 2050; lost and averted births will amount to roughly an equal number.
In terms of its effects on daily human life, the most significant aspect of fossil-fuel depletion will be the lack of food. "Peak oil" basically means "peak food." Modern agriculture is highly dependent on fossil fuels for fertilizers (the Haber-Bosch process combines natural gas with atmospheric nitrogen to produce nitrogen fertilizer), pesticides, and the operation of machines for irrigation, harvesting, processing, and transportation.
Without fossil fuels, modern methods of food production will disappear, and crop yields will be far less than at present. Crop yields are far lower in societies that do not have fossil fuels or modern machinery. We should therefore have no illusions that several billion humans can be fed by "organic gardening" or anything else of that nature.
The Green Revolution involved, among other things, the development of higher-yielding crops. These new varieties could be grown only with large inputs of fertilizer and pesticides, all of which required fossil fuels. In essence, the Green Revolution was little more than the invention of a way to turn petroleum and natural gas into food.
Over the next few decades, therefore, there will be famine on a scale many times larger than ever before in human history. It is possible, of course, that warfare and plague will take their toll to a large extent before famine claims its victims. The distinctions, in any case, can never be absolute: often "war + drought = famine" [Devereux], especially in sub-Saharan Africa, but there are several other combinations of factors.
Although, when discussing theories of famine, economists generally use the term "neo-malthusian" in a derogatory manner, the coming famine will be very much a case of an imbalance between population and resources. The ultimate cause will be fossil-fuel depletion, not government policy (as in the days of Stalin or Mao), warfare, ethnic discrimination, bad weather, poor methods of distribution, inadequate transportation, livestock diseases, or any of the other variables that have often turned mere hunger into genuine starvation.
The increase in the world's population has followed a simple curve: from about 1.7 billion in 1900 to about 6.1 billion in 2000. A quick glance at a chart of world population growth, on a broader time scale, shows a line that runs almost horizontally for thousands of years, and then makes an almost vertical ascent as it approaches the present. That is not just an amusing curiosity. It is a shocking fact that should have awakened humanity to the realization that something is dreadfully wrong.
Mankind is always prey to its own "exuberance," to use Catton's term. That has certainly been true of population growth. In many cultures, "Do you have any children?" or, "How many children do you have?" is a form of greeting or civility almost equivalent to "How do you do?" or, "Nice to meet you." World population growth, nevertheless, has always been ecologically hazardous. With every increase in human numbers we are only barely able to keep up with the demand: providing all those people with food and water has not been easy. We are always pushing ourselves to the limits of Earth's ability to hold us. [Catton]
Even that is an understatement. No matter how much we depleted our resources, there was always the sense that we could somehow "get by." But in the late twentieth century we stopped getting by. It is important to differentiate between production in an "absolute" sense and production "per capita." Although oil production, in "absolute" numbers, kept climbing — only to decline in the early twenty-first century — what was ignored was that although that "absolute" production was climbing, the production "per capita" reached its peak in 1979. [BP]
The unequal distribution of resources plays a part. The average inhabitant of the United States consumes far more than the average inhabitant of India or China. Nevertheless, if all the world's resources were evenly distributed, the result would only be universal poverty. It is the totals and the averages of resources that we must deal with in order to determine the totals and averages of results. For example, if all of the world's arable land were distributed evenly, in the absence of mechanized agriculture each person on the planet would still have an inadequate amount of farmland for survival: distribution would have accomplished very little.
We were always scraping the edges of the earth, but we are now entering a far more dangerous era. The main point to keep in mind is that, throughout the twentieth century, oil production and human population were so closely integrated that every barrel of oil had an effect on human numbers. While population has been going up, so has oil production.
Future excess mortality can therefore be determined ? at least in a rough-and-ready manner ? by the fact that in modern industrial society it is oil supply that determines how many people can be fed. An increase in oil production leads to an increase in population, and a decrease in oil production leads to a decrease in population.
In round numbers, global oil production in the year 2008 was 30 billion barrels, and the population was 7 billion. The consensus is that in the year 2050 oil production will be about 2 billion barrels. The same amount of oil production occurred in the year 1930, when the population was 2 billion. The population in 2050 will therefore be the same as in 1930: 2 billion. The difference between 7 billion people and 2 billion is 5 billion, which will therefore be the total number of famine deaths and lost or averted births for that period.
We can also determine the number of famine deaths and lost or averted births on an annual basis. From 2008 to 2050 is 42 years. The average annual difference in population is therefore 5 billion divided by 42, which is about 120 million.
Many of those annual 120 million will not actually be deaths; famine will cause a lowering of the birth rate. [Devereux, Ó Gráda] This will sometimes happen voluntarily, as people realize they lack the resources to raise children, or it will happen involuntarily when famine and general ill health result in infertility. In most famines the number of deaths from starvation or from starvation-induced disease is very roughly the same as the number of lost or averted births. In Ireland's nineteenth-century famine, for example, the number of famine deaths was 1.3 million, whereas the number of lost births was 0.4 million. The number of famine deaths during China's Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) was perhaps 30 million, and the number of lost births was perhaps 33 million.
The "normal," non-famine-related, birth and death rates are not incorporated into the above future population figures, since for most of pre-industrial human history the sum of the two — i.e. the growth rate — has been nearly zero. If not for the problem of resource-depletion, in other words, the future birth rate and death rate would be nearly identical, as they were in pre-industrial times. And there is no question that the future will mean a return to the "pre-industrial."
Nevertheless, it will often be hard to separate "famine deaths" from a rather broad category of "other excess deaths." War, disease, global warming, topsoil deterioration, and other factors will have unforeseeable effects of their own. Considering the unusual duration of the coming famine, and with Leningrad [Salisbury] as one of many precursors, cannibalism may be significant; to what extent should this be included in a calculation of "famine deaths"? It is probably safe to say that an unusually large decline in the population of a country will be the most significant indicator that this predicted famine has in fact arrived.
These figures obliterate all previous estimates of future population growth. Instead of a steady rise over the course of this century, as generally predicted, there will be a clash of the two giant forces of overpopulation and oil depletion, followed by a precipitous ride into the unknown future.
The Passage
What seems the best general concept of human society later in this century is not easy to formulate. The only keyword that seems applicable is "survivalist," although for various reasons even that name is rather clumsy. With a slightly optimistic view of the future, one can say that a few people will succeed, and that such people will generally be those who have the skills to do so, even if there will be other people who stay alive by sheer chance. The greatest "resource" of all will be the knowledge inside one's own head. People with the information and skills required for supplying themselves and their community with food and shelter, however, can certainly be called survivalists, even if there should be a better label.
The trouble with the term "survivalist" is that it is often more suited to people who have been brought up on purely fictional accounts of Armageddon, as churned out by Hollywood film studios. The pleasure derived from watching such depictions of violence is not as innocent as it seems. Watching a movie is only one step removed from watching gladiators in an amphitheater hacking each other to pieces. In both cases our moral sensibilities are dulled: we fail to disapprove of the behavior we are observing. In both cases, also, the underlying message is that violence is the quick road to success. In the real world of the future, however, such forms of behavior might be of questionable value in the long run. The problem with cycles of revenge is that there is often no obvious distinction to be made between the "good" and the "bad." Bloodshed will be no more a lasting solution in the future than it was in Viking times. We must not forget that even in the Dark Ages there were many who sought a better way of life.
We must also keep in mind that as the centuries unfold the human world will always be much smaller than it is today. It may seem odd to speak of the social implications of hematite versus taconite, for example, but what we are really examining is a human population that will be shrinking considerably from its present numbers and living a less complicated life. The world will not be smaller in the sense of "the global village" with its rapid communication and transportation, but smaller in almost the opposite sense: that each person's life will be lived within a smaller geographic range than today, and that the total of human numbers will be small. That smallness will be repeated mile by mile, league by league: people will be counted in groups of hundreds rather than billions, and the kingdoms of the distant future will be the size of our present counties.
Other than the numbers and the technology, that future way of life may remain somewhat of a mystery for now. We might think of the Dark Ages of Europe, as previously mentioned. But then we must also consider scenarios of the past that are more pleasant ? for example, the first people to cross the Bering Strait, many thousands of years ago, discovered two entire continents entirely uninhabited by humans. What they found must have been an absolute paradise, or so it may seem us in our crowded day. Of course the difference between AD 1000 and 10,000 BC is obvious: at the earlier time, there was an excellent ratio between population and resources.
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Tourism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes.The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and 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".[1] Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. International tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (euro 642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8%.[2]
As a result of the late-2000s recession, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months.[3] This negative trend intensified during 2009, exacerbated in some countries due to the outbreak of the AH1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and an estimated 6% decline in international tourism receipts.[4]
Tourism is vital for many countries, such as Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Spain and Thailand, and many island nations, such as The Bahamas, Fiji, Maldives and the Seychelles, due to the large intake of money for businesses with their goods and services and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships and taxis, hospitality services, such as accommodations, including hotels and resorts, and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, various music venues and the theatre.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Definition
Theobald (1994) suggested that etymologically, the word "tour" is derived from the Latin 'tornare' and the Greek 'tornos,' meaning 'a lathe or circle; the movement around a central point or axis.' This meaning changed in modern English to represent 'one's turn.' The suffix -ism is defined as 'an action or process; typical behavior or quality' whereas the suffix -ist denotes one that performs a given action. When the word tour and the suffixes -ism and -ist are combined, they suggest the action of movement around a circle. One can argue that a circle represents a starting point, which ultimately returns back to its beginning. Therefore, like a circle, a tour represents a journey that is a round trip, i.e., the act of leaving and then returning to the original starting point, and therefore, one who takes such a journey can be called a tourist.[5]
Hunziker and Krapf, in 1941, defined tourism as people who travel "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity."[6] In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destination outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes."[7] In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home.[8]
The United Nations classified three forms of tourism in 1994, in its "Recommendations on Tourism Statistics:[9]
- Domestic tourism, which involves residents of the given country traveling only within this country.
- Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling in the given country.
- Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling in another country.
[edit] Terminology
Vacation, in English-speaking North America, describes recreational travel, such as a short pleasure trip, or a journey abroad. Most of the rest of the English-speaking whose of recent British or European descent, rarely say going on holiday, except Australia. People in Commonwealth countries also use the phrase, going on leave.
Canadians often use vacation and holiday interchangeably referring to a trip away from home or time off work. In Australia, the term can refer to a holiday or a public holiday.
[edit] World tourism statistics and rankings
[edit] Most visited countries by international tourist arrivals
In 2008, there were over 922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9% as compared to 2007. In 2009, international tourists arrivals fell to 880 million, representing a worldwide decline of 4% as compared to 2008. The region most affected was Europe with a 6% decline.[4]
The World Tourism Organization reports the following ten countries as the most visited from 2006 to 2009 by the number of international travelers. When compared to 2006, Ukraine entered the top ten list, surpassing Russia, Austria and Mexico,[3] and in 2008, surpassed Germany.[10] In 2008, the U.S. displaced Spain from the second place. Most of the top visited countries continue to be on the European continent.
In 2009, Malaysia made it into the top 10 most visited countries' list. Malaysia secured the ninth position, just below Turkey and Germany. In 2008, Malaysia was in 11th position. Both Turkey and Germany climbed one rank in arrivals, occupying seventh and eighth positions respectively, while France continued to lead the ranks in terms of tourist arrivals.[11]
Rank | Country | UNWTO Regional Market | International tourist arrivals (2009)[11] | International tourist arrivals (2008)[11] | International tourist arrivals (2007)[11] | International tourist arrivals (2006)[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  France | Europe | 74.2 million | 79.2 million | 80.9 million | 77.9 million |
| 2 |  United States | North America | 54.9 million | 57.9 million | 56.0 million | 51.0 million |
| 3 |  Spain | Europe | 52.2 million | 57.2 million | 58.7 million | 58.0 million |
| 4 |  China | Asia | 50.9 million | 53.0 million | 54.7 million | 49.9 million |
| 5 |  Italy | Europe | 43.2 million | 42.7 million | 43.7 million | 41.1 million |
| 6 |  United Kingdom | Europe | 28.0 million | 30.1 million | 30.9 million | 30.7 million |
| 7 |  Turkey | Europe | 25.5 million | 25.0 million | 22.2 million | 18.9 million |
| 8 |  Germany | Europe | 24.2 million | 24.9 million | 24.4 million | 23.6 million |
| 9 |  Malaysia | Asia | 23.6 million | 22.1 million | 21.0 million | 17.5 million |
| 10 |  Mexico | North America | 21.5 million | 22.6 million | 21.4 million | 21.4 million |
[edit] International tourism receipts
International tourism receipts grew to US$944 billion (€642 billion) in 2008, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 1.8% from 2007.[2] When the export value of international passenger transport receipts is accounted for, total receipts in 2008 reached a record of US$1.1 trillion, or over US$3 billion a day.[2]
The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2009. It is noticeable that most of them are on the European continent, but the United States continues to be the top earner.
| Rank | Country | UNWTO Regional Market | International Tourism Receipts (2009)[11] | International Tourism Receipts (2008)[11] | International Tourism Receipts (2007)[11] | International Tourism Receipts (2006)[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | North America | $94.2 billion | $110.1 billion | $97.1 billion | $85.8 billion |
| 2 | Spain | Europe | $53.2 billion | $61.6 billion | $57.6 billion | $51.1 billion |
| 3 | France | Europe | $48.7 billion | $55.6 billion | $54.3 billion | $46.3 billion |
| 4 | Italy | Europe | $40.2 billion | $45.7 billion | $42.7 billion | $38.1 billion |
| 5 | China | Asia | $39.7 billion | $40.8 billion | $37.2 billion | $33.9 billion |
| 6 | Germany | Europe | $34.7 billion | $40.0 billion | $36.0 billion | $32.8 billion |
| 7 | United Kingdom | Europe | $30.1 billion | $36.0 billion | $38.6 billion | $34.6 billion |
| 8 |  Australia | Oceania | $25.6 billion | $24.8 billion | $22.3 billion | $17.8 billion |
| 9 | Turkey | Europe | $21.3 billion | $22.0 billion | $18.5 billion | $16.9 billion |
| 10 |  Austria | Europe | --- | $21.8 billion | $18.9 billion | $16.6 billion |
[edit] International tourism expenditures
The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten biggest spenders on international tourism for the year 2009. For the fifth year in a row, German tourists continue as the top spenders.[11]
| Rank | Country | UNWTO Regional Market | International Tourism Expenditures (2009)[11] | International Tourism Expenditures (2008)[11] | International Tourism Expenditures (2007)[11] | International Tourism Expenditures (2006)[11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | Europe | $80.8 billion | $91.0 billion | $83.1 billion | $73.9 billion |
| 2 | United States | North America | $73.1 billion | $79.7 billion | $76.4 billion | $72.1 billion |
| 3 | United Kingdom | Europe | $48.5 billion | $68.5 billion | $71.4 billion | $63.1 billion |
| 4 | China | Asia | $43.7 billion | $36.2 billion | $29.8 billion | $24.3 billion |
| 5 | France | Europe | $38.9 billion | $43.1 billion | $36.7 billion | $31.2 billion |
| 6 | Italy | Europe | $27.8 billion | $30.8 billion | $27.3 billion | $23.1 billion |
| 7 |  Japan | Asia | $25.1 billion | $27.9 billion | $26.5 billion | $26.9 billion |
| 8 |  Canada | North America | $24.3 billion | $26.9 billion | $24.7 billion | $20.6 billion |
| 9 |  Russia | Europe | $20.8 billion | $23.8 billion | $21.2 billion | $18.1 billion |
| 10 |  Netherlands | Europe | $20.7 billion | $21.7 billion | $19.1 billion | $17.0 billion |
[edit] Most visited cities
| Top 10 most visited cities by estimated number of international visitors by selected year | |||||||||||
| City | Country | International visitors (millions) | Year/Notes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | France | 15.6 | 2008 (Excluding extra-muros visitors)[12] | ||||||||
| London | United Kingdom | 14.8 | 2008[13] | ||||||||
| Bangkok |  Thailand | 10.21 | 2008 (External study estimation)[14] | ||||||||
| Singapore |  Singapore | 10.1 | 2008[15] | ||||||||
| New York City | United States | 9.5 | 2008[16] | ||||||||
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 8.94 | 2008 (External study estimation)[14] | ||||||||
| Hong Kong |  Hong Kong, China | 7.94 | 2008 (Excluding visitors from mainland China)[17] | ||||||||
| Dubai |  United Arab Emirates | 7.58 | 2008[14][18] | ||||||||
| Istanbul | Turkey | 7.05 | 2008[19] | ||||||||
| Shanghai | China | 6.7 | 2007[20] | ||||||||
[edit] History
Wealthy people have always travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings, works of art, learn new languages, experience new cultures and to taste different cuisines. Long ago, at the time of the Roman Republic, places such as Baiae were popular coastal resorts for the rich. The word tourism was used by 1811 and tourist by 1840.[21] In 1936, the League of Nations defined foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months.[5]
[edit] Leisure travel
Leisure travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom – the first European country to promote leisure time to the increasing industrial population.[citation needed] Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, the factory owners and the traders. These comprised the new middle class. Cox & Kings was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758.[22]
The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place names. In Nice, France, one of the first and best-established holiday resorts on the French Riviera, the long esplanade along the seafront is known to this day as the Promenade des Anglais; in many other historic resorts in continental Europe, old, well-established palace hotels have names like the Hotel Bristol, the Hotel Carlton or the Hotel Majestic – reflecting the dominance of English customers.
Many leisure-oriented tourists travel to the tropics, both in the summer and winter. Places of such nature often visited are: Bali in Indonesia, Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia, the various Polynesian tropical islands, Queensland in Australia, Thailand, and Florida and Hawaii in the United States.
[edit] Winter tourism
Major ski resorts are located in the various European countries (e.g. Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland), Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Chile and Argentina.
[edit] Mass tourism
Mass tourism could only have developed with the improvements in technology, allowing the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time.
In the United States, the first seaside resorts in the European style were at Atlantic City, New Jersey and Long Island, New York.
In Continental Europe, early resorts included: Ostend, popularized by the people of Brussels; Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) and Deauville (Calvados) for the Parisians; and Heiligendamm, founded in 1797, as the first seaside resort on the Baltic Sea.
[edit] Adjectival tourism
Adjectival tourism refers to the numerous niche or specialty travel forms of tourism that have emerged over the years, each with its own adjective. Many of these have come into common use by the tourism industry and academics.[citation needed] Others are emerging concepts that may or may not gain popular usage. Examples of the more common niche tourism markets include:
[edit] Recent developments
There has been an upmarket trend in the tourism over the last few decades, especially in Europe, where international travel for short breaks is common.[citation needed] Tourists have high levels of disposable income, considerable leisure time, are well educated, and have sophisticated tastes.[citation needed] There is now a demand for a better quality products, which has resulted in a fragmenting of the mass market for beach vacations; people want more specialised versions, quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays or niche market-targeted destination hotels.
The developments in technology and transport infrastructure, such as jumbo jets, low-cost airlines and more accessible airports have made many types of tourism more affordable. WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time.[23] There have also been changes in lifestyle, such as retiree-age people who sustain year round tourism. This is facilitated by internet sales of tourism products. Some sites have now started to offer dynamic packaging, in which an inclusive price is quoted for a tailor-made package requested by the customer upon impulse.
There have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as the September 11 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations, such as in Bali and several European cities. Also, on December 26, 2004, a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, hit the Asian countries on the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives. Thousands of lives were lost and many tourists died. This, together with the vast clean-up operation in place, has stopped or severely hampered tourism to the area.
The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism, but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited by tourists.
[edit] Sustainable tourism
"Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems." (World Tourism Organization)
Sustainable development implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987)[24]
[edit] Ecotourism
Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and (often) small scale. It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights.
[edit] Pro-poor tourism
The potential tourism has to help the very poorest in developing countries has been receiving increasing attention by those involved in development and the issue has been addressed either through small scale projects in local communities and by Ministries of Tourism attempting to attract huge numbers of tourists. Research by the Overseas Development Institute suggests that neither is the best way to encourage tourists' money to reach the poorest as only 25% or less (far less in some cases) ever reaches the poor; successful examples of money reaching the poor include mountain climbing in Tanzania or cultural tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos [25]. For tourism to successfully reach the poor efforts must be made for tourists to use local currency, for locals to develop relevant skills and to ensure that exclusive contracts do not dominate the sector [26].
[edit] Recession tourism
Recession tourism is a travel trend, which evolved by way of the world economic crisis. Identified by American entrepreneur Matt Landau (2007), recession tourism is defined by low-cost, high-value experiences taking place of once-popular generic retreats. Various recession tourism hotspots have seen business boom during the recession thanks to comparatively low costs of living and a slow world job market suggesting travelers are elongating trips where their money travels further.
[edit] Medical tourism
When there is a significant price difference between countries for a given medical procedure, particularly in Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe and where there are different regulatory regimes, in relation to particular medical procedures (e.g. dentistry), traveling to take advantage of the price or regulatory differences is often referred to as "medical tourism".
[edit] Educational tourism
Educational tourism developed, because of the growing popularity of teaching and learning of knowledge and the enhancing of technical competency outside of the classroom environment.[citation needed] In educational tourism, the main focus of the tour or leisure activity includes visiting another country to learn about the culture, such as in Student Exchange Programs and Study Tours, or to work and apply skills learned inside the classroom in a different environment, such as in the International Practicum Training Program.
[edit] Creative tourism
Creative tourism has existed as a form of cultural tourism, since the early beginnings of tourism itself. Its European roots date back to the time of the Grand Tour, which saw the sons of aristocratic families traveling for the purpose of mostly interactive, educational experiences. More recently, creative tourism has been given its own name by Crispin Raymond and Greg Richards,[27] who as members of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS), have directed a number of projects for the European Commission, including cultural and crafts tourism, known as sustainable tourism. They have defined "creative tourism" as tourism related to the active participation of travellers in the culture of the host community, through interactive workshops and informal learning experiences.[27]
Meanwhile, the concept of creative tourism has been picked up by high-profile organizations such as UNESCO, who through the Creative Cities Network, have endorsed creative tourism as an engaged, authentic experience that promotes an active understanding of the specific cultural features of a place.[citation needed]
More recently, creative tourism has gained popularity as a form of cultural tourism, drawing on active participation by travelers in the culture of the host communities they visit. Several countries offer examples of this type of tourism development, including the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and New Zealand.
[edit] Dark tourism
One emerging area of special interest tourism has been identified by Lennon and Foley (2000)[28][29] as "dark" tourism. This type of tourism involves visits to "dark" sites, such as battlegrounds, scenes of horrific crimes or acts of genocide, for example: concentration camps. Dark tourism poses severe ethical and moral dilemmas: should these sites be available for visitation and, if so, what should the nature of the publicity involved be? Dark tourism remains a small niche market, driven by varied motivations, such as mourning, remembrance, macabre curiosity or even entertainment. Its early origins are rooted in fairgrounds and medieval fairs.[30]
[edit] Growth
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that international tourism will continue growing at the average annual rate of 4 %.[31] With the advent of e-commerce, tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the internet.[citation needed] Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries, although tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.) can sell their services directly. This has put pressure on intermediaries from both on-line and traditional shops.
It has been suggested there is a strong correlation between tourism expenditure per capita and the degree to which countries play in the global context.[32] Not only as a result of the important economic contribution of the tourism industry, but also as an indicator of the degree of confidence with which global citizens leverage the resources of the globe for the benefit of their local economies. This is why any projections of growth in tourism may serve as an indication of the relative influence that each country will exercise in the future.
Space tourism is expected to "take off" in the first quarter of the 21st century, although compared with traditional destinations the number of tourists in orbit will remain low until technologies such as a space elevator make space travel cheap.[citation needed]
Technological improvement is likely to make possible air-ship hotels, based either on solar-powered airplanes or large dirigibles.[citation needed] Underwater hotels, such as Hydropolis, expected to open in Dubai in 2009, will be built. On the ocean, tourists will be welcomed by ever larger cruise ships and perhaps floating cities.[citation needed]
[edit] Latest trends
As a result of the late-2000s recession, international arrivals suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008. Growth from 2007 to 2008 was only 3.7% during the first eight months of 2008. The Asian and Pacific markets were affected and Europe stagnated during the boreal summer months, while the Americas performed better, reducing their expansion rate but keeping a 6% growth from January to August 2008. Only the Middle East continued its rapid growth during the same period, reaching a 17% growth as compared to the same period in 2007.[33] This slowdown on international tourism demand was also reflected in the air transport industry, with a negative growth in September 2008 and a 3.3% growth in passenger traffic through September. The hotel industry also reports a slowdown, as room occupancy continues to decline.[33] As the global economic situation deteriorated dramatically during September and October as a result of the global financial crisis, growth of international tourism is expected to slow even further for the remaining of 2008, and this slowdown in demand growth is forecasted to continue into 2009 as recession has already hit most of the top spender countries, with long-haul travel expected to be the most affected by the economic crisis.[33] This negative trend intensified as international tourist arrivals fell by 8% during the first four months of 2009, and the decline was exacerbated in some regions due to the outbreak of the influenza AH1N1 virus.[2]
[edit] Human right
On 15 April 2010, the European Union (EU) declared traveling for tourism to be an inalienable human right. Antonio Tajani, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, stated that "Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life." The EU plans to introduce legislation to assist its citizens in their traveling needs and have a system fully operational by 2013.[34]
[edit] See also
- Historical archive on tourism
- Tourism in present-day nations and states
- Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
- World-Point Academy of Tourism
- World Tourism rankings
- World Travel Monitor
[edit] References
- ^ "UNWTO technical manual: Collection of Tourism Expenditure Statistics" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. 1995. p. 14. http://pub.unwto.org/WebRoot/Store/Shops/Infoshop/Products/1034/1034-1.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ a b c d "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer June 2009". UNWTO World Tourism Barometer (World Tourism Organization) 7 (2). June 2009. http://unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTO_Barom09_2_en_excerpt.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ a b "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer June 2008" (PDF). World Tourism Organization. June 2008. http://www.tourismroi.com/Content_Attachments/27670/File_633513750035785076.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Volume 6 No. 2
- ^ a b "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer January 2010". World Tourism Organization. January 2010. http://unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTO_Barom10_1_en_excerpt.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-18. Volume 8 No. 1
- ^ a b Theobald, William F. (1998). Global Tourism (2nd ed.). Oxford [England]: Butterworth–Heinemann. pp. 10. ISBN 0750640227. OCLC 40330075. http://books.google.com/books?id=9dvK2ajv7zIC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=league+of+nations+tourism+1936&source=web&ots=CnKfwbh5-5&sig=ejVyw3fgxy5kUwuksgiQTe_8aQU&hl=en#v=onepage&q=league%20of%20nations%20tourism%201936&f=false.
- ^ Werner Hunziker and Kurt (1942). Grundriss der allgemeinen Fremdenverkehrslehre. OCLC 69064371. ; cf. Hasso Spode in Günther Haehling (ed.): Tourismus-Management, Berlin 1998
- ^ Beaver, Allan. A dictionary of travel and tourism terminology, pg. 313.
- ^ International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism. "The AIEST, its character and aims". http://www.aiest.org/org/idt/idt_aiest.nsf/en/index.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Recommendations on Tourism Statistics
- ^ "UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2009 Edition". World Tourism Organization. 2009. http://www.unwto.org/facts/menu.html. Retrieved 2009-10-04. Click on the link "UNWTO Tourism Highlights" to access the pdf report.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "UNTWO World Tourism Barometer Interim Update, April 2010". World Tourism Organization. April 2010. http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTO_Barom10_update_april_en_excerpt.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ Estimation extrapolated from Paris's tourism office : Key figures
- ^ "Key Visitor Statistics - 2008". Official website. Visit London. 2009. http://www.visitlondonmediacentre.com/images/uploads/London_-_Key_Visitor_Statistics_2008_-_Media_Factsheet.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ^ a b c Bremner, Caroline (10 January 2010). "Trend Watch: Euromonitor International's Top City Destination Ranking". Euromonitor International. http://www.euromonitor.com/Euromonitor_Internationals_Top_City_Destination_Ranking. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ "Record Year For Tourism Receipts In 2008". Singapore Tourism Board. 10 January 2009. http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/new/new03a.asp?id=9603. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ "International Visitors to NYC 2008". Official website. NYC & Company. 2009. http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.article&id=78912. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
- ^ "Cumulative Sameday and Overnight Visitor Arrivals Summary by Country/Territory of Residence - Jan - Dec 2008". Official website. Hong Kong Tourism Board. 22 January 2009. p. 3. http://partnernet.hktb.com/pnweb/primg/Tourism%20Stat%2012%202008.pdf. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
- ^ "Dubai tourist numbers drop 5.7%". eTurboNews. Press Trust of India. 1 February 2010. http://www.eturbonews.com/14165/dubai-tourist-numbers-drop-57. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "Istanbul Hotel Market". Colliers International. 2009. p. 4. http://www.colliers.com/Content/Repositories/Base/Markets/Istanbul/English/Market_Report/PDFs/Colliers_Turkey_Review_2009_1_ENG.pdf. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ Source: Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Commission. Travelmole.com
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary: tour". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=t&p=16. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ "Cox & Kings Website". http://www.coxandkings.co.uk/aboutus-history.aspx.
- ^ Swine flu prompts EU warning on travel to US. The Guardian. April 28, 2009.
- ^ "Sustainable Tourism". Ecotourism.org. http://www.ecotourism.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/eco_template.aspx?articleid=95&zoneid=2. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (2009) Value chain analysis and poverty reduction at scale [1] London: Overseas Development Institute
- ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (2009) Value chain analysis and poverty reduction at scale [2] London: Overseas Development Institute
- ^ a b Wurzburger, Rebecca; et al (2009). Creative Tourism: A Global Conversation: How to Provide Unique Creative Experiences for Travelers Worldwide: As Presented at the 2008 Santa Fe & UNESCO International Conference on Creative Tourism in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press. ISBN 9780865347243. OCLC 370387178.
- ^ Quinion, Michael (26 November 2005). "Dark Tourism". World Wide Words. http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-dar2.htm. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ Lennon, J. John; Foley, Malcolm (2000). Dark Tourism. London: Continuum. ISBN 0826450636. OCLC 44603703.
- ^ Cooper, Chris; et al (2005). Tourism: Principles and Practice (3rd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education. ISBN 027368406X. OCLC 466952897.
- ^ "Long-term Prospects: Tourism 2020 Vision". World Tourism. 2004. http://www.world-tourism.org/market_research/facts/market_trends.htm.
- ^ "airports & tourists". Global Culture. 2007. http://global-culture.org/blog/2007/01/27/airports-tourists/.
- ^ a b c World Tourism Organization (October 2008). "UNWTO World Tourism Barometer October 2008" (PDF). UNWTO. http://unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTO_Barom08_3_en_Excerpt.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-17. Volume 6, Issue 3
- ^ Laidlaw, Katherine (19 April 2010). "Vacationing a human right, EU chief says". National Post. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2923469. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
[edit] Further reading
- Holder IV, Floyd William (2009). An Empirical Analysis of the State's Monopolization of the Legitimate Means of Movement: Evaluating the Effects of Required Passport use on International Travel. (M.P.A. thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos. OCLC 564144593. Docket Applied Research Projects. Paper 308.
- Wilkerson, Chad (2003). "Travel and Tourism: An Overlooked Industry in the U.S. and Tenth District". Economic Review 88 (Third Quarter): 45-72. ISSN 0161-2387. OCLC 295437935. http://www.kc.frb.org/publicat/econrev/Pdf/3q03wilk.pdf.
[edit] External links
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