People have always travelled. They have searched for food, ran away from danger. Today we travel on business, as tourists or to visit friends. Spain, Greece, Maroko and Ireland earn more from tourism than from anything else. According to a recent survey the people who travel the most are German, American and British. Tourism brings money in many ways. Also tourism has positive and negative affects on a country, for every country tourism is the most important source of money. Number of tourists all over the world is growing. More and more people like travelling. The result is that many countries strengten their economy but on the other had, tourism has a negative effect on the countryside and enviroment. Today tourism is also called the modern travel industry. Advertising is also very important for prosperous travel industry. Travel companies publish many pamphletes and brochures. There are thousands of travel books available on every place a tourist might wish to visit. Hotels offer cheaper, expensive and luxurious accomodation. Restaurants offer the menus in several languages. When going to another country you must have a passport. Sometimes we need especiall permission to enter a foreign country its called visa. To have visa we must contact the embassy. In some countries you may have to show vaccination certificate. Or you may have to prove, that you are going on holiday and not looking for work. We must proctected our luggage against thieves. The growth of modern tourism is a product of the economic and social progress of society. Of course, tourism does not mean only the activity of travelling but also services for those who travel. Foreign visitors like to visit Slovakia because our country can offer them attractive stays in every season of the year. The tourism includes also services for those, who travel. It touches nearly all sectors of national life and is of great importance for the national economy of any country. It earns foreign exchange, and provides employment for large number of people. This is especially important in regions where no other industries can be developed as, for example, in mountains areas. Slovakia is an ideal country for tourism in every season of the year. It can offer tourist numerous unusually beaufitul old towns, thousands of castles, historic buildings and monuments, more than spas, mountain ranges with well equipped tourist centres, beautiful lakes, art galleries and famous cultural events.