Tourism, over the past decades, has become one of the most important industries of the world. It generates the most employment and its services range from travel, accommodation, catering and maintenance of culture and tradition through the handicraft industry especially, to the preservation of ecosystems. The improvement of the standard of living the world over, as well as the scientific and technical advancements facilitating travel, have contributed to a marked increase in the opportunities people have to visit and experience cultures other than their very own

　In its Tourism Satellite Account (TSA): the conceptual framework and Tourism: 2020 Vision, the World Tourism Organization has taken it upon itself to study, analyze and forecast the economic impacts of tourism in order to develop a credible economic statement of the size, significance and net contribution of tourism activity to guide governments in their policy-making endeavors and the private sector in the further development and improvement of their tourism enterprises in this new Millennium. The goal of WTO is to assist Member countries in upgrading the skills of their tourism institutions with regard to strengthening partnership between governments and private sector tourism operators and in promoting the knowledge of the economic, social, cultural, and environmental links and impacts of tourism at both national and regional levels.

　This publication Outbound Statistics by Destination produced by the Asia Pacific Tourism Exchange Center (APTEC) has received WTO 's invaluable contribution through the provision of important tourism statistics of the main generating markets. The tourism information incorporated presents very relevant physical indicators for estimating the economic impacts of tourism in a country of reference or in a given region during the period 1996-2000. I am confident that this publication will meet the needs of both the public and private sector tourism-related organizations in Japan as well as in neighboring countries in the East Asia and Pacific region.