Mountain range
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Tourism in Europe is an important contributor the European GNP. Tourist attractions include the Colloseum, Eiffel Tower and the Parthenon.
Contents |
Italy
With more than 43.7 million tourists a year, Italy is the fourth highest tourist earner, and fifth most visited country in the world, behind France (76.0 million), Spain (55.6 million), United States (49.4 million), and China (46.8). People mainly come to Italy for its rich art, cuisine, history, fashion and culture, its beautiful coastline and beaches, its mountains, and priceless ancient monuments, especially those from the Greek civilization and Roman civilization. Tourism is one of Italy's fastest growing and most profitable industrial sectors, with an estimated revenue of $42.7 billion.
France
France attracted 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007 (surpassing its population), a 3.8% increase compared to 2006, making it the most popular tourist destination in the world. This 81.9 million figure excludes people staying less than 24 hours in France, such as northern Europeans crossing France on their way to Morocco, Spain or Italy in summer.
France offers mountain ranges, coastlines such as in Brittany or along the Mediterranean Sea, cities with a rich cultural heritage, châteaux (castles) like Versailles, and vineyards. Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income (4% from French tourists travelling inside France and 2% from foreign tourists), and contributes significantly to the balance of payments.
Spain
Tourism in Spain was developed during the last years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, when the country became a popular place for summer holidays, especially for tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Scandinavia. Since then Spain has been the second most visited country of the world after France. In 2007 almost 60 million foreign tourists were received, according to the World Tourism Organization, which has its headquarters in Madrid. Spain's tourism spending annually is over £46 Billion ($68 Billion), the highest tourism spending in any nation worldwide except the USA with $74 Billion.
See also
