"COME CLOSER: How Tourism Is Shaping the Future of Nations" by Anita Mendiratta offers travel professionals a comprehensive demonstration of how tourism is shaping the future of nations – economically, socially, philosophically and competitively – and how, through tourism, people and nations are coming together in ways previously unimagined.

Created with tourism leaders around the world in mind, from governments to global corporations, airlines, airports and hotels, diplomats to business decision makers, media to marketing authorities – this first ever examination of the tourism sector from purpose to impact offers valuable insight for people playing a part in the global tourism economy.

Using emotive anecdotes to bring readers closer to the faces and heartbeats of the people who inspire and direct industry growth, this book's collection of topics helps introduce critical aspects of tourism sector development. Uniquely, the book includes valuable direction for managing the fine balance of government and private industry in tourism to create shared, sustainable destination growth. In addition, the book poses a series of valuable questions that every tourism executive should be asking of him/herself, as well as his/her stakeholders. Ultimately, Mendiratta's style illustrates the passion that destinations can share with the world while asking the questions that can help impact tourism's effectiveness.

As expressed by Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO): "Come Closer is an invaluable resource for tourism leaders, policy makers and stakeholders as they drive the global tourism economy forward. The balance of content, between the hands-on and the theoretical, provides both the public and private tourism sectors with a complete understanding of the workings of tourism, both on the ground and at the global level. Anita Mendiratta's ability to convey the importance of tourism in terms of its economic value comes second only to her capacity to reveal the very human side of tourism."