Is Contemporary Tourism Only a Neoliberal Manipulation?

Increased number of tourists traveling abroad has been on a steady rise for several decades. However, an explosion of tourist travel can be followed from the end of the 1960’s. This trend largely coincides with the development of the neoliberalist form of capitalism in the world. Therefore, modern tourism, in many ways, can be seen as the product of neo-liberal phase of the development of modern capitalism. This trend is not seen only as a result of neo-liberal phase in the development of the modern world economy. This is a trend for mindedness itself. One of the most important rules that underlie the contemporary neoliberal thought is the rule of market. It seems that this neoliberalist rule in the tourist industry has reached its peak. The market in tourism regulates not only goods production, but it fully regulates the lives of people involved in tourism. Consumers of tourist products are not aware of manipulation, they are even grateful for the manipulative activities of which thay are object. On the other hand, many tourists themselves are part of the general neoliberal mentality. Many tourists not only accept the rules, but are also deeply involved in their implementation and enforcement. The paper will make an overview of some of the basic features of neoliberalism as economic thought and philosophy of life and connect it with contemporary trends in tourism.