• S. YOGANAND
• Dr. M. P. SENTHILKUMAR

There are various definitions of tourism. Theobald (1994) suggested that etymologically, the word "tour" is derived from the Latin 'tornare' and the Greek 'tornos,' meaning 'a lathe or circle; the movement around a central point or axis.' This meaning changed in modern English to represent 'one's turn.' The suffix -ism is defined as 'an action or process; typical behavior or quality' whereas the suffix -ist denotes one that performs a given action. When the word tour and the suffixes -ism and -ist are combined, they suggest the action of movement around a circle. One can argue that a circle represents a starting point, which ultimately returns back to its beginning. Therefore, like a circle, a tour represents a journey that is a round trip, i.e., the act of leaving and then returning to the original starting point, and therefore, one who takes such a journey can be called a tourist. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism]The Macmillan Dictionary defines tourism as the business of providing services for people who are travelling for their holiday. Wikipedia defines it as travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The OECD glossary of statistical terms defined tourism as the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening ?diversification to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Tourism has become a thriving global industry with the power to shape developing countries in both positive and negative ways. No doubt it has become the fourth largest industry in the global economy. Similarly, in developing countries like India tourism has become one of the major sectors of the economy, contributing to a large proportion of the National Income and generating huge employment opportunities. It has become the fastest growing service industry in the country with great potentials for its further expansion and diversification. However, there are pros and cons involved with the development of tourism industry in the country. Let us discuss the development as well as the negative and positive impacts of tourism industry in India.

Key words:Tourism industry, growthof tourism in India, impact of tourism in India, environment impact in India

"A STUDY ON GROWTH AND IMPACT OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN INDIA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.610-619, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905890.pdf

"A STUDY ON GROWTH AND IMPACT OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN INDIA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp610-619, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905890.pdf