Can travelling change the world? Unless you are a celebrity like Madonna, or a famous politician like Bill Clinton, it’s sometimes hard to see whether responsible choices have significant effect at all. But let’s put this in another perspective: What will happen, if all those millions of people that trot the globe every year change their behaviour, consume more responsible and respect the environment. Wouldn’t that make a difference?

Travel Industry – booming business because of you?
There are millions of people worldwide who travel every year, with different goals, different destinations and different budgets: People who are backpacking, those who go on business trips, enjoy a safari or a health treatment holiday, go camping, visit family or friends or participate in language studies. Without all these travelers, the travel industry, which is an important source of income and jobs, wouldn’t exist.

Some facts
In 2009, the total revenues from international tourism in 80 countries worldwide amounted to over 1 billion US dollars. In fact, tourism exports account for as much as 30 per cent of the world’s exports of commercial services. Globally, as an export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and automotive products. For many developing countries, it is one of the main sources for foreign exchange income and the number one export category, creating much needed employment and opportunities for development (source: UN World Tourist Organisation Tourism).

Read the full posting originally on Traveljockey