Tourism originated as religious travel and travel for business purposes. During the medieval period, travel declined as roads deteriorated and became dangerous. The Renaissance and Elizabethan eras brought educational travel as young British men took Grand Tours of Europe. The Industrial Revolution increased leisure time and incomes, leading to the rise of seaside and countryside resorts for the new middle class. Major developments in the 19th century like railways and steam power transformed tourism into a mass market industry, establishing organized travel with companies like Thomas Cook offering excursions and services.

1. The History of Tourism

2. Early Tourism
 Tourism is derived from the Hebrew word torah
which means studying, learning, searching.
 Early tourism has two forms:
 Travel for business
 Religious travel
 The invention of money, writing and wheel by the
Sumerians facilitated travel and exchange of goods.

3.  The early Phoenicians toured the Mediterranean as
traders.
 Both the Greeks and the Romans were well-known
traders and as their respective empires increased,
travel became necessary. At this time, there was also
travel for private purposes.
 Travel for religious reason took the form of
pilgrimages to places of worship .

4.  Pilgrimages were made to fulfill a vow as in case of
illness or of great danger or as penance for sins.
 Beside Rome and Jerusalem, St. James of Galicia
was the foremost destination of English pilgrims in
the 14th century.
 Beginning in 1388, English pilgrims were required to
obtain and carry permits, the forerunner of the
modern passport.

5. Tourism in the Medieval Period
 During the medieval period, travel declined.
 Travel, derived from the word travail, became
burdensome, dangerous and demanding during this
time.
 After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th
century, roads were not maintained and they became
unsafe.

6.  Thieves infected harm on those who dared to travel.
 No one during this time travelled for pleasure.
 Crusaders and pilgrims were the only ones who
traveled.

7. Tourism During the Renaissance and Elizabethan Eras
 Because few renowned universities developed, traveling for
education was introduced by the British in the 16th century.
 Under Elizabeth I, young men seeking positions in court
were encouraged to travel to the Continent to widen their
education.
 This practice was gradually adopted by others in the lower
social scale. In time it became recognized that the
education of a gentleman should be completed by a “Grand
Tour” of the cultural centers of the Continent which lasted
for three years.

8. Map of Grand Tour
Typical Grand Tourist

9.  Grand Tour was used as early as 1670. While
apparently educational, the appeal became social.
 Pleasure-seeking young men of leisure travelled
predominantly through France and Italy .
 By the end of the 18th century, the practice had
become institutionalized for the upper class of
society.

10.  As young men sought intellectual improvement in
the Continent, the sick sought a remedy for their
illnesses in “spas” or medicinal baths.
 The term “spa” is derived from the word Waloon
word “espa” meaning fountain.
 Travelers immersed themselves in healing waters,
soon, entertainment was added, and dozens of
watering places became resort hotels.

11. Tourism during the Industrial Revolution
 The Industrial Revolution brought about major
changes in the scale and type of tourism
development.
 It brought about not only technological changes but
also essential social changes that made travel
desirable as a recreational activity.
 The increase in productivity, regular employment,
and growing urbanization gave more people the
motivation and opportunity to go on holiday .

12.  The emerging middle class combined higher incomes
and growing education into annual holidays.
 To escape from their responsibilities and the
crowded city environment, they traveled to the
countryside or seashore for their holidays.
 This led to the creation of working class resorts near
major industrial centers.

13. Tourism in the 19th Century
 Two technological developments in the early part of
the 19th century had a great effect on the growth of
tourism.
 Introduction of the railway
 Development of steam power
 The railways created not only more business by
proving reliable and cheap transportation, but also
more competition as various private companies
invested heavily in hotels, resorts and entertainment
facilities.

14.  Thus, tourism was transformed from a small business
catering to the elite into the start of a mass market, that is,
travel by a large number of individuals.
 The use of steam power provided the increased mobility
needed by the tourism business.
 Steamers on the major rivers provided reliable and
inexpensive transportation that led to the popular day-trip
cruises and the growth of coastal resorts near large
industrial towns.

15.  As tourism became organized in the later years of the
19th century, the organization of travel became an
established institution.
 Travel organizers emerged. The first and most
famous of these was Thomas Cook.
 His first excursion train trip was between Leicester
and Loughborough in 1841 with 570 passengers at a
round-trip fare of one shilling.

16.  The success of this venture encouraged him to
arrange similar excursions using chartered trains.
 In 1866 he organized his first American tour.
 In 1874, he introduced “circular notes” which were
accepted by banks, hotels, shops, and restaurants.
These in effect the first traveler’s checks.

17.  Other tour companies in Britain:
 Dean and Dawson in 1871
 Polytechnic Touring Association in 1872
 Frames in 1881
 In the United States, American Express was founded
by Henry Wells and William Fargo
 As the 19th century drew to a close, photography and
guide-books became popular.

18.  A huge variety of guide-books which dealt with both
local and overseas travel were sold to tourists.
 The most popular of these was Baedecker, first
published in 1839, which became the leading guide
for European countries at the end of the century.