IGCSE Geography / Globalisation and migration

The growth of global tourism

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 8: Globalisation and migration, specification point 8.2c, 8.S5. Part of the full course.

Read the revision notes · IGCSE Geography past papers

International tourism grew from 25 million arrivals in 1950 to 1.52 billion in 2025. Understanding its causes, its economic importance and how to compare destination data helps you answer questions about global tourism.

More lessons in Globalisation and migration

• Globalisation and the global economy
• What drives globalisation
• The WTO and the IMF
• Transnational corporations
• Why people migrate: push and pull
• Types of migration: medical, sport, tourism and economic
• Winners and losers of globalisation
• TNCs: benefits and costs for the host country
• The impacts of migration
• Six migrations compared
• Case study: mass tourism on Spain's Costa Blanca
• Geopolitics: how relations between countries shape movement
• Case study: how the UK manages migration
• Making tourism more sustainable
• Case studies: sustainable tourism in The Gambia and Bhutan
• Case study: sustainable tourism in Cyprus