Tourism is (represents) a [kind of] popular and pleasant activity that combines sightseeing, recreation and health care. With the passage of time, tourism has been developing. Since the middle of the 20th century, modern tourism has been growing at a fast pace around the world. The number of tourists has been rising, the scale of the tourism industry has constantly been expanding, and the importance of tourism in the economy has grown obviously. Tourism acts (serves) gradually as an important bridge for cultural exchange and friendship, and it exerts a steadily broadening influence on daily life (human life) and social progress among people of various countries. The tourist industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in modern times. Indeed, the growth rate of tourism has generally exceeded the growth rate for the worldwide economy. The development of tourism as a mass industry depends on modern means of rapid and inexpensive transportation. For example, the greatest growth in international tourism has paralleled the growth of air transportation. Tourism benefits not only airlines, hotels, restaurants, and taxi drivers, among others, but also many commercial establishment and even the manufactures of tourist commodities. The tourist industry is not a single entity, but one that consists of many different kinds of enterprises that offer different services to the trailer, including transportation, accommodations, catering, guiding service, banking, manufacturing and education. For most people, almost any place can become a tourist destination as long as it is different from the place where the trailer usually lives. New York may not be a tourist attraction to a New Yorker, but for a Londoner it may have many charms. Many big cities also offer a unique atmosphere and history. The Great Wall and the Palace Museum of Beijing and the flower vendors and cable cars of San Francisco are part of the unusual atmosphere of those cities. Smaller and yet well-known towns and rural areas throughout the world may also have attractions of this kind that tourists visit. An excellent example is the small village town of Stratford, Shakespeare's birthplace. Of course, natural scenery has always been an attraction for tourists. Millions of people have visited Niagara Falls, for example. Its reputation as a place for a honeymoon resort is world-famous.