U.S, Feb. 27 -- Marketing

People travel because "they no longer feel happy where they are, where they work, where they live. They feel the monotony of the daily routine, the cold rationality of factories, offices, apartment blocks, and transport, shrinking human contact...the loss of nature and naturalness" (Nicholson-Lord, 1997, p. 7).

Some travel to visit friends and family, to learn new skills, to relax, to do business. Others seek to find paradise, to experience the sacred and personal change, and to educate themselves...tourism elevates social status and brings prestige and pride to tourists. It is a means of self-discovery. "Tourists who visit the Third World, seek exoticism and nature" (Belk & Costa, 1995, 1).

Travel agencies an...