CHANGES IN TOURISM CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Globalization has increased interdependence among countries, economies and people. It does not involve only giant corporations but also small and medium sized businesses, together with family-run firms. This process has led to the creation and operation of the global tourism market where destinations, which are expected to compete on equal basis regardless of the country of origin, function interactively. Globalization has opened a whole new world of development opportunities. 922 million people travelled abroad in the year 2008, by the year 2020 this number is expected to increase to 1.6 billion. The tourism turnover is US$ 3,500 billion and accounts for 10 percent of the global trade. Tourism has become huge business and is run by great trusts.