Tourism in the commonwealth

摘要

Comprising 53 countries, the Commonwealth nis home to over 2 billion of the world’s popula-ntion, with the majority sharing common values, nheritage, language, fraternity and aspirations. nCountries within the Commonwealth are nendowed with great natural beauty and vibrant ncultures, with a large number of the world’s nmost fascinating tourist destinations contained nwithin. One in fi ve of all tourist arrivals take nplace within Commonwealth countries, with ntourism receipts hitting US$112 billion in 2004 nand expenditure reaching US$116 billion in nthe same year. There can, therefore, be little ndoubt as to the overall signifi cance of tourism nto Commonwealth countries, with many econ-nomies, especially those of an island setting, nhighly dependent on tourism for their source nof income and with tourism representing a nmajor component of the economy and acting nas the primary catalyst for development.