Tourism is one of the leading and most dynamic sectors of the world economy. Due to the speed of its development it has been acknowledged as an economic phenomenon of the century.
Every year business, cultural and scientific connections between regions and countries are becoming more and more intensive. The development of the national economy and its integration into the world market are impossible without business tourism.
Tourism as a human activity and as a separate industry is nothing but selling services to the end consumers. These services are called tourist services.
In the wide sense any tourist service may be regarded as a certain tourist product, i.e. the result of labor having a certain use value.
Tourist services are an expedient production activity designed to satisfy the needs of tourists which, as a rule, doesn't have any particular material shape. According to this definition all such services may be defined as an invisible product of a certain nature. They may include the following services: accommodation, transportation of tourists from their place of residence to the place of sojourn; providing meals to tourists, satisfaction of cultural needs of tourists (this may include excursions, visiting theaters, concert halls, museums, nature reserves, festivals, sports competitions and so on); satisfaction of business and scientific needs (participation in congresses, conferences, meetings, seminars, exhibitions); information services (informing tourists about the attractions of the region, custom formalities, exchange rates, types of transport, prices and so on); communication services (internet, telephone, fax); organizational services (registration of passports, visas, insurance, etc.); trading enterprises; intermediary services (reservation of tickets, delivery of correspondence); personal services (dry-cleaning etc.), health-improving services.