Tourism

What is tourism?

Tourism is a dynamic, evolving, consumer driven force and is the world’s largest industry if all of its interrelated components are place under one umbrella, travel, lodging food service are recreation.

The word “Tourism” did not appear in the English language until the early nineteenth century.  The word “tour” was more closely associated with the idea of a voyage than with the idea of an individual travelling for pleasure purposes.

Five ages of tourism

1.       Pre-industrial Revolution – as early as 300 B.C. Ancient Egyptians sailed up and down the Nile river, carrying huge rocks with which to build pyramids as tombs for their leaders.

2.       The railway-age – the railroads played a major role in the development of the United States, Canada, and several countries.  The railway was more efficient, less costly and more comfortable.

3.       The Air Travel – the Wright Brothers who enjoyed the hobby of gliding decided to fit an engine to one of their glider with movable fins and wingtip controls to find an engine light enough they had to build their own.

4.       Automobile Travel – automobile evolved from steam engines in the late 1800’s when Karl Benz and Guttlieb Damler built a factory for internal combustion engines which is now Mercedez Benz in 1891.  The production of automobiles began in large numbers, before long Henry Ford produced his firs vehicle and invented the techniques for making automobiles on assembly line.

5.       Cruise Ship – More than 200 cruise liners offer a variety of wonderful vacations from “Love boat” to freighters that carry only a few passengers.  The Crown Princess is a “Super Love Boat” weighing in 70,000 tons and costing $200 million.  This ship is longer than two football fields and capable of carrying up to 354 passengers with rates about $600 per day. 

Tags: ages of tourism, meaning of tourism, Tourism, travel, travelling

Category: Management