Discuss key factors that led to the birth of mass tourism

Question

Discuss key factors that led to the birth of mass tourism. In your response draw reference to the major developments taking place in the pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial era.

Answer

One of the ages of mass tourism is that prior to 1840 (the pre-industrial era). As early as 5,000 years ago, some ancient Egyptians sailed up and down the Nile River to construct the pyramids. In both the Mediterranean and the Orient (now known as Southeast Asia), travel was motivated by trade. Later, the Roman Empire provided safe passage for travellers via a vast road system that stretched from Egypt to Britain. The wealthy Romans travelled to Egypt and Greece for shrines, baths and seaside resorts. Curiosity was the main factor for the Romans visiting attractions of their time. Other pre-industrial era factors include sports and religious reasons. In the industrial era, alongside middle-class travels in search of education and art, there developed a form of travelling oriented towards culture, industry and technology (Gyr, 2010). In the early years of the twentieth century, tourism continued to expand as a consequence of increasing wealth, interest and outgoing attitudes in people’s transport (Sezgin and Yolal, 2012). Advances in transport allowed people to travel in masses. In fact, mass production and mass consumption was the rationale of that period. In the post-industrial era, the growing availability of the motor car stimulated tourism further, and during interwar years the aircraft began to play a small role in the tourism market as an option for the wealthier classes, particularly in Europe (Swarbooks & Horner, 2007 cited in Sezgin and Yolal, 2012). Other factors noted as contributing to the growth of mass tourism in the pre-industrial era include the birth of holiday camps (aimed at a growing low income market for holidays) and package tours (encouraged by the allure to the sun in the 1960s, from the cool and variable climates of Northern Europe and North America).

References

Gyr, U. (2010) The History of Tourism: Structures and paths to Modernity. European History Online. Available via: http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/the-history-of-tourism Sezgin, E. & Yolal (2012) Golden Age of Mass tourism: Its History and Development. Available via http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/35520.pdf Swarbrooke, J. & Horner, S. (2007). Consumer behaviour in tourism. Elsevier, ISBN 978- 0750667357, Oxford. Cited in Sezgin, E. & Yolal (2012) Golden Age of Mass tourism: Its History and Development. Available via http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/35520.pdf