History of Tourism
Tourism can be
recognized as long as people have travelled; the narrative of Marco Polo in the
13th century; the "grand tour" of the British aristocracy to Europe
in the 18th century; and the journeys of David Livingstone through Africa in
the 19th century are all examples of early tourism. Thomas Cook is popularly
regarded as the founder of inclusive tours with his use of a
chartered train in 1841 to transport tourists from Loughborough to
Leicester.
Before the 1950s,
tourism in Europe was mainly a domestic activity with some
international travel between countries, mainly within continental Europe. In
the period of recovery following World War II, a
combination of circumstances provided an impetus to international
travel. Among the important contributing factors were the
growing number of people in employment, the increase in real disposable incomes and available leisure
time, and changing social attitudes towards leisure and work. These factors combined
to stimulate the latent demand for foreign travel and holidays. The emergence of
specialist tour operators who organized inclusive holidays bypurchasing transport, accommodation,
and related services and selling these at a single price, brought foreign
holidays within the price-range of a new and growing group of consumers.
The "package" or "inclusive" tour democratized travel in
Europe; foreign holidays were no longer the preserve of the affluent and
socially
