A History of Tourist Economy Development and Contemporary Lines of Scientific Research into Tourism

Abstract

This article deals with the development of scientific research in the field of tourism economy. It dwells on the concept of tourism economy as a science which studies the system of economic relations in the sphere of production, distribution and consumption of tourist services. Research into tourism economy was triggered by the rapid development of tourism in the second half of the twentieth century. An active collection of statistical data on tourism also contributed to the development of tourism economy. The first to attract scientific attention were the issues concerning the impact of tourism on the economy at both global and national levels. Another research-relevant point concerns the concept of tourist multiplier that allows assessment not only of direct but also of indirect tourism influence. The authors claim that the multiplier-effect is conventionally assessed according to input-output models. The new paradigm of research into the economic results of tourism activity is based on the general equilibrium models. The article considers the subject content of one of the first foreign journals on tourism economy, Tourism Economics, as well as the activities of the International Association for Tourism Economics (International Association for Tourism Economics — IATE). The authors point out that intensive research is conducted concerning effective demand and effective demand forecasting, with the research results effectively used in tourism policy making. The authors analyse the lines of foreign and Russian scientific economic research in the sphere of tourism, and conclude that the issues of market grouping and development, as well as price formation are central to scientific research. The authors also propose that one of the highly promising lines of research is an analysis of the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the development of the tourist market and the tourism economy. The authors emphasise the importance of measuring the performance in the tourism sector, noting, however, that tourism performance indices are insufficiently studied. Competitiveness in tourism is seen by the authors as one of the major areas of economic research, and the article provides information on the index of competitiveness of travel and tourism in different countries (Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index — TTCI) in recent years. The article describes the most poorly explored cross-disciplinary directions of tourism economy, in particular, those viewed from a psychological, social, sociological and other perspectives. Among the most pressing research problems, as identified by the authors, are the influence of financial and economic crises on tourism, research and prevention of risks in tourism, as well as the impact that the problems of experience economy and participation economy, crisis management in the tourism sector, the impact of globalization, mergers and acquisitions, have on tourism development in the framework of global and national economies.