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Madelyn Plenskofski

Professor Kleban

RPTM 101

12 February 2023

The History of Tourism

The tourism industry that we know today comes from influences quite a long time ago.

From travel trends in the 17th Century, to the very little travel we saw during the pandemic,

tourism has had many different aspects and events shaping it into what it is today.

Beginning in the 17th Century, we see trends of tourism begin to take shape. This started

with something known as the Grand Tour. This was a trip throughout Europe and seen as an

“educational trip” (Franks). This tour of Europe was mainly taken as a way to “soak up history,

art, and cultural heritage” (Rodriguez). The trail they would take would allow them to see most

of Europe, exposing young travelers to many new things. It is also important to keep in mind

that, during this time, traveling was mainly available to young men. Occasionally women could

go with a chaperone.

Moving into the Industrial Revolution, this led to multiple technological advances and

machinery. In order to more easily transport materials, they developed the railway system during

this time. However, this also served another purpose: travel was more widely available now,

connecting parts of the world that would otherwise be difficult to reach. Because of these

developments, people were excited to be able to travel more often and easily. This led to an

influx of travel and tourism. “The improvements in freight and passenger transport contributed to

the birth of leisure…”(Rodriguez).

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The new developments did not stop there. In the early 19th Century, the first travel

agency was founded. This was called Thomas Cook & Son, founded by cabinet-maker Thomas

Cook in 1841. He provided transport to the Great Exhibition of 1851, tours of Europe, and tours

of the United States. He didn’t stop just at organizing the transportation to different places. He

also began selling travel accessories after setting up business in London. Over time and as

success grew, they opened more business locations around the world and also got their children

involved in the family business. This agency was the first to introduce us to the idea of travel

agencies, something still sometimes used in travel today.

Moving on, in 1903, we saw the first powered flight. This took place in North Carolina,

where the Wright brothers were able to accomplish one of their developments lasting a 12 second

flight, and also landing safely. Although this didn’t mean we were necessarily using commercial

flights at the time, this was the stepping stone of these developments. This proved that it was

possible to develop something that could travel in the air, which would lead to the use of

commercial aircraft, becoming probably the most convenient mode of travel, connecting people

to wherever they would want to go.

Some time later, the 1970s saw a recession in tourism due to the energy crisis. This crisis

mainly stemmed from the Yom-Kippur War and the Iranian Revolution. Both these affected oil

supply, creating issues for those that relied on that oil for energy. This led to lower costs and

prices, causing a boom in mass tourism. “Travelling went from being something only for an

exclusive group to become a leisure activity within the reach of many” (Rodriguez).

Tragedy struck in 2001, when the Twin Towers in New York City were struck down by a

hijacked plane. This event had some of the biggest impacts on travel that we still see abundantly

today. The tragedy made us realize that we need more security when traveling, specifically in
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airports, to prevent anything like that from happening again. Some of these regulations include

“three ounces or less of liquids in carry-on bags to removing shoes and belts…”(Thomaselli).

Most of the intense security in airports relates back to these attacks on 9/11.

As technology started advancing, we saw many developments in the tourism industry. In

2008, Airbnb was founded. Today, this is probably one of the most widely used platforms when

booking trips. This allowed people to see an array of different places to stay, including houses

and condos, wherever they pleased. During this time, most travel bookings were done online

anyway, and a lot of people preferred renting someone’s house to a hotel because it is a more

private and spacious place to stay. Today, people can get an Airbnb pretty much anywhere, and it

is one of the most relevant trends in tourism. Plus, it allows homeowners a way to bring in

money.

Coming up to recent times, one of the biggest events that has impacted the tourism

industry would be COVID-19. This led to travel coming to a halt domestically and

internationally. Not only were people too scared to travel because they didn’t want to risk

catching or spreading the illness, many regulations were put into place that prevented travel

altogether anyway, even if someone wanted to. Many people were also out of work, so even if

travel was allowed, people couldn’t really afford it. Most people stayed inside passing time with

family. However, once things began slowing down and people got used to feeling freedom again,

we have been seeing a surge in tourism now. This is because now that we can again, people are

so excited to get out and go everywhere to feel some normalcy again.

To conclude, there are many events beginning all the way back from the 17th Century

that have led to the tourism industry we know today. If it wasn’t for the Grand Tour starting the

idea of traveling to see new things, 9/11 shaping the security in travel today, or COVID-19
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giving us the appreciation of being able to go out and see the world, who knows what travel

trends we would be seeing today instead?

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Works Cited

“50 Moments That Changed the World of Travel.” TravelPulse,

www.travelpulse.com/gallery/features/50-moments-that-changed-the-world-of-travel.html?image

=47.

“1903 Wright Flyer.” National Air and Space Museum,

airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/1903-wright-flyer/nasm_A19610048000.

Franks, Richard. “What Was the Grand Tour and Where Did People Go?” Culture Trip, 4 Dec.

2017, theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/what-was-the-grand-tour-and-where-did-people-go.

Oil Crisis of the 1970s - Energy Education.

energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Oil_crisis_of_the_1970s.

“Travelling for Pleasure: A Brief History of Tourism.” Europeana, 16 June 2020,

www.europeana.eu/en/blog/travelling-for-pleasure-a-brief-history-of-tourism.

Wikipedia contributors. “Thomas Cook and Son.” Wikipedia, 9 Feb. 2023,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cook_&_Son.