The Role of Tourism in the Development of Regions

Tourism is one of the industries that make a lot of profit though it is an investment intensive sector. Many countries put much more investment in country's infrastructure or give the opportunity for the private sector to invest in this sector. At the same time, with the help of the profits earned from tourism the countries may cover the budget deficit in their economies. Notwithstanding this, not all countries can compete with other countries in tourism. Some countries or regions have the touristic potential but the wrong economic policies or natural disasters may destroy these potentials and as the consequence the image of the country may be damaged.Hence inside the country some regions may come forward because of their touristic potentials and infrastructure. And that is why these regions become more developed and organized. The socio-economic development of such regions start to improve. Because of tourism industry the unemployment level goes down, the people's welfare of that region improves, at the same time the neighbor regions benefit from tourism developed regions. That is why the countries are interested in the development of such regions and invest in their marketing activities.In this article, the role of tourism in country's economy is stated, at the same time the importance of tourism sector for the development of regions is noted. For this purpose together with the Tourism Barometer of 2012 by World Tourism Organization, statistical information of Azerbaijan and other countries' have been used. At last, in the conclusion some important issues concerning the touristic development of regions have been explained