Profit from the new tourism boom

Recession might be taking its toll on the tourism industry in the West, but the rise of the middle classes in emerging markets will take up any slack, says James McKeigue. Here, he explains the best ways to cash in.

Boeing's Stratocruiser airliner summed up what air travel was all about in the 1950s. With a VIP lounge, double beds and one-family state rooms', it meant luxury for the few. A transatlantic flight cost the equivalent of a month's salary for a lawyer. With air travel restricted to the elite, the international travel industry was tiny. In 1950, just 25 million cross-border tourist trips were made around the world and most were by land or sea.

But in the last 40 years the travel industry has enjoyed incredible growth. Today, there are almost a billion international trips (arrivals', in the industry jargon) made for business or tourism purposes every year (this includes all forms of transport, not just aviation). Thanks to emerging markets, the boom could just be beginning. Experts reckon international arrivals will hit 1.6 billion a year by 2020.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.