CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TRENDS OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECEIPTS

The paper aimed to analyze the evolution of tourism receipts at world level and by geographical area and in the main countries of tourist interest. In the period 1980-2012, the tourism income increased 10.14 times. In 2012, it accounted for USD Billion 1,075, to which Europe contributed by 42.58 %, Asia and the Pacific by 30.13 % and the Americas by 19.77 %. The USA, Spain, France, China, Macau, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia are the top 10 countries according to the receipts, earning USD Billion 508.8, which represented 47.55 % of the world tourism income in 2012. The European countries with the highest contribution to tourism revenue are: Spain 12.21 %, France 11.72 %, Italy 8.99 %, Germany 8.32 %, United Kingdom 7.94 %, Turkey 5.60 %, Austria 4.12 %, Switzerland 3.62 %, Sweden 3.36 % and The Netherlands 3.03 %. Their contribution to Europe tourism receipts was 68.97 % in 2012. As a conclusion, international tourism is a very dynamic field of activity with a high contribution to the development of the world economy.