Air Travel

       After the Second World War, air travel for passengers took place. Bomber aircraft were replaced with commercial airplanes. The first airline was the USSR’s Aeroflot (1956) and it offered jetliner services. As at that time, flights were expensive and limited to a handful of people who could afford the price. But ever since the  1970s, the air travel has been affordable. The deregulation of the airline industry by various governments reduced the barriers to establishment of new airlines.

      Now airplanes are the second fastest vehicle after space travel. Their speed has made it possible for travelers to spend less time to different countries and within. Consequently, those flight vehicles have made the word a smaller place. This means of transport has also led to the development of the industry of aviation. Hence it has also contributed to the increase of employment by the years. When travelling by air, you are asked for certain documents in order to proceed with your trip. These could be passport, travelling visa and of course, the ticket used to book a flight. Tickets have different prices pending on the airline, the destination or the season. Air flights are immensely enjoyable as they possess the moments where you are on the air. You look through your window to admire views you would have to look up to the sky if you were on land. Aren’t you wowed? Airplanes have a high speed and reliability. But let’s not forget the cost or the fact that adverse weather conditions affect flights dramatically.

Water Travel

      On water, the means to travel are altogether called watercraft. These could involve ships, boats or sailboats. Ships were invented in the 19^th century. The first regular and reliable ocean liner service was RMS Britannia. Since the mid-20^th century, most ocean liners have been retired or refitted to become cruise ships.

     Cruises are magnificent and worth giving them a try. They are ships that relatively have facilities of a hotel. They can entail rooms, restaurants, entertainment, lounge bars, fitness facilities and spas. Although not as popular as other types of trips, cruise ships are driven to various islands in a bit to enjoy the natural attraction of oceans 24 hours for 6 days. Wonderful! Isn’t it? Let’s keep in mind though, that it is also another type of transportation that is highly affected by weather conditions.

Rail Travel

     These are wheeled vehicles that run on rail tracks. The first railway was opened in England in 1825. Railway was faster and cheaper and people would prefer it. However the spikes caused by the wheels of the rail made it less popular. The American Rail Travel became even more reputable because of the long-distance coverage.

     Rails are separated into a number of wagons, of which one of them is an established canteen. Trains can travel large distances and they are cheaper than flights. This mode of transport isn’t excluded from the effects of unwholesome weather conditions. Another good thing about it is that it is impervious of traffic congestion.

Road travel

    This is most common type of transport. Buses are leading figures in this travel. Buses unite a  country through its road network. It is the cheapest public transport and it’s accessible by all classes of income earners. Climatic conditions also tell on this type of travel

3 criteria to consider before deciding on a type of transport

     Thanks to technological innovations through these years, travelling to far distances and places you only imagine is attainable. It has aided commercial and leisure activities exceedingly and has exposed humanity from one dimension of the globe to the other. So in your next trip, are you flying, taking a bus, using the train or going on a cruise?

       

What is travel?

     According to Wikipedia, travel is simply the physical movement or people between relatively distant geographical locations and can include travelling by foot, bicycle automobile, train boat, bus or airplane. The term “travel” may originate from an old French word “travail” which means work, struggle, labor or torment. Now the link between the present meaning of travel and that of struggle reflect on the extreme difficulty of travel in ancient times. Yep! Travel in the Middle ages was onerous and simultaneously necessary for the economy status of one’s country. Travel aided commercial activities as the wholesalers would greatly depend on merchants and itinerant peddlers to transport goods using caravans or sea-voyagers etc.

Geographic types of Travel

      They are two geographical types of travel- the national and international. While travelling nationally, copious documentation might not be necessary as citizenship or internal passport would suffice. In the case of international travel, passport or visa is significant. Going beyond one’s country’s borders might also entail different language, norms, traditional ties, legal behavior and cultural diversity. Although it is true that some countries that share borders or within the same continent are usually more flexible while requesting from travel documents. For example, Nigerians traveling to Ghana and vice versa won’t need a travelling visa to visit.

Main types of travel

      Now let’s get to business…

   Visiting friends and relatives. If you’ve got friends and relatives to visit abroad, you are more than lucky. First of all, you can stay longer than you would if you had to pay for accommodation. So it’s pocket friendly travel. And you can imbue the deepest of a destination’s culture when you are well guided. But! You might not have the liberty to do things you would want to do if you were alone.

    Business Travel. A company can pay the bills of your trip for copious reasons. It could be for regular business runs, for convention attendance or the trip could be an incentive for employees to improve their performance. This can go as far as a combo of business and pleasure and stay on after a business meeting.

    Package Holiday. Pick a destination. Is it a resort? Beach? Country side? Any of your choice would be taken care of by a travel agent. Such a trip reflects order and arrangement as the holiday would be professionally arranged and activities would should your personality appropriately. Wakanow in a Nigerian- based online travel agency that specializes on such.

   Group Tour. That’s when the groups of people of usually same age rate travel together to a specific destination. It is the exact opposite of independent travel. Her you have the chance to meet with people who share the same interests with you!!!

  Gap Year. You can take a year off from your career or academics and travel to work, study or volunteer to another country. A lot of academicians and employees in Africa travel to do that in the Diaspora. What helps them even more is the acquisition a working holiday visa to get paid while travelling.

6 Reasons why people travel

Why do people embark on pleasure travel? What motivates them to earmark a certain amount of budget from a trip?

John Locke, a travel writer, said that if an environment is retired, you travel to another. Travelling is paramount as it serves the purpose of education, pleasure, relaxation, discovery and exploration. You get to know other cultures and who knows! You might build international relationships!

     

Tourism in Africa

    Tourism is an important economic factor for many countries in Africa. The countries that benefit the most from this activity are Egypt, Tunisia Morocco and South Africa, while Kenya, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mauritius have a consistent income from tourism.  Tourism in Africa isn’t curtailed in one category. Multifarious types of tourism are exercised here in Africa. It starts primarily from nature/ adventure tourism followed by cultural heritage tourism, safari tourism, beach tourism and business tourism among others. The science of tourism in Africa can be studied from different perspectives; from the viewpoint of attractions, amenities, experiential factors such as festivals, events, dining and entertainment, emotions-human , cultural and historic resources and hospitality, physical factors such as infrastructure, natural resources and accommodation(hotels and restaurants). With the different classifications of tourism in mind, let’s cruise through few examples!

Cultural heritage

     Culture is an important denominator in Africa, as it takes part not only in tradition, but it is a stakeholder in an average African man’s life. That’s why culture is even depicted in most tourist amenities of Africa. Egypt for example has a lot to offer in the subject at hand. The Pyramid of Giza has been rightfully referred to as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The pyramid has awed numerous travelers through the ages. The Memorial Temple of Hatsepsut is another monument to be visited and a lot of tourists have honored it. The Egyptian Museum of Cairo is one of the world’s great museum collections with dazzling amounts of exhibits to brag about.

Beach Tourism

      Beaches and resorts in Africa are mind-boggling and not appreciated by domestic tourists and residents only. International travelers have enjoyed the ambiance of such destinations. In Ghana for instance, beaches are well - credited. Labadi beach in Accra has 3 kilometers beachfront. Its infrastructure and other facilities are user friendly and include basic amenities such as shower/change rooms, restaurants and snack bars. Busua beach is 45 kilometers west of the port of a city called Takoradi. The magical night breezes are inspiring and coastal waters at this beach are breathtaking. The Kokrobite beach is a funky beach that entertains an exotic music genre. It is located approximately 27 cm from Accra and it is showered with a partying and merrymaking atmosphere.

Nature tourism

      The thing about nature is that it attracts tourists without man contributing to its development. In South Africa, the famous Panorama Route of Mpumalanga homes mountains, forests and canyons, most notably the Blyde canyon with its breathtaking views and plunging waterfalls. Speaking of which, the Blyde Canyon is the third world largest green canyon. It is situated in Mpumalanga and it constitutes the one of South Africa’s remarkable geological features. Another beautiful attraction is Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town. It boasts of 7000 plant species including many rare and threatened species. It also contains indigenous plants, rich collections of bulb, alpines and ferns.

Safari tourism

      Wildlife is another nice criterion to determine tourism in Africa. In Central Kenya, Lake Nakuru National Park entertains huge flocks of flamingoes. It has a rich diversity of wildlife and it’s a park that protects the largest euphorbia candelabrum forest. In the remote north, there lies in an arid region the Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba Reserves. The wildlife here depends on the waters of the river to survive.

Conference tourism

         That is a commonplace in Africa. Almost all African Countries hold conferences meant to address national affairs. In Ethiopia, there holds the African Union summit (AU). It is a continental union including all 55 African countries. It is established in Addis Ababa in a bid to achieve a greater unity and solidarity between the African countries. Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) is brought together by world class international and local researchers and Ethiopian policymakers to discuss key development issues in relevant to the Ethiopian economy. In Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is chaired in Abuja, the federal capital territory. Its mission is to promote economic integration across West Africa and it serves as a peacekeeping force in the region.

      All in all Tourism in Africa is a blessing as it contributes to the overall economy of the continent for a number of reasons:

Stay tuned!!

The background of someone or something matters a lot. It defines the present state of the subject in question and its relevance. One of these items of discussion is tourism. After defining tourism, classifying it into different categories and determining its importance, it is vital that its history be ascertained. Don’t you think? So let’s take a cruise into The History of Tourism and Travel.

First of all, we need to understand that travel was essential since time immemorial. It aided people in seeking food or escaping danger. When groups of people were developing into large settlements, the need of watercraft in coastal areas was becoming imminent. This led to the creation of boats. A number of empires highly honored the institutions of travelling. To be more specific, Egypt was the first empire to be involved in tourism since 2700BC. The intent of visitors to Egypt overlapped business and visits were more of excursions to the grandeur of the empire. The Assyrian and Persian empires exploited the use of travel for military purposes. The Greeks developed a travel infrastructure in the earliest centuries. Ancient Greece was so significant at the time (and still is) that the Greek language was the language used to communicate commercial transactions and run the process of currency exchange.

In the Roman Empire, the stimulation of trade led the middle class to a growth with the money to travel. For the Romans, the means of transportation was excellent; communication was easy as Greek and Latin languages were principal languages. The Roman legal system provided protection for travelers. Sightseeing became popular at the Roman era and that included trips to Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor. This awe-striking empire collapsed in the 5^th century. However the 12^th century C.E. looked promising as the roads were safe enough to travel on and the pilgrimages were conveniently taking place.

THE MIDDLE AGES

Pilgrims travelled when they had to pay homage for the atonement of their sins or would go to holy sites to fulfill their promise made when they were sick. Priests at that era would even suggest they go to the holy sites barefoot.

Before the pilgrims visit the holy Church of Sepulcre in Jerusalem, pilgrims would break bits of stones as souvenirs and proof of their journey to the sites. In 1388 King Richard 2^nd of England decreed that pilgrims must carry permits if they want to visit religious sites. Probably the law was constituted because breaking bits of stones would reflect badly on the infrastructure of tourism. This permit was the forerunner of the modern passports.

THE RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance was the 14^th century revival of classical art, architecture, literature and learning that originated in Italy and spread throughout Europe over the following two centuries. It formed the transition from the medieval to modern times. Therefore, the Renaissance constituted a factor for the Roman development of travel. It helped people to travel in a bid to experience higher culture for the first time in centuries. Fine, pilgrimages were still an important reason to travel, but their influence declined as Protestantism developed in Europe.

Renaissance was embraced even more in the 16^th century with the inception of the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour was a concept brought by the need to develop the class of professional statesmen and ambassadors. A typical Grand tour would begin in France. French was studied along with dancing, fencing, riding and drawing. Then the tour would continue in Italy for sculpture, music and art appreciation. This tourism would proceed to Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The Grand Tour was also adopted by the aristocracy of Scandinavia, Russia and few Germans. Sadly the Grand tour was terminated by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

The Industrial Revolution was another advantageous factor for tourism and travel as the advent of the steam engine provided increasingly effective modes of transportation in the stream trains and stream ships. Modes of transportation would be religiously discussed on  next articles.

For every action you take, there is a reaction. For every decision you make, there is a reward or a consequence. For every story or account, there is the dark side and the light side.  And for every coin there are just two sides.

Today we are viewing the two sides of tourism; the advantages and disadvantages, the pros of its exotic beauty but also the cons of its acceptance.

Tourism is important in the following ways:

         Advantages:

Tourism however is unattractive in other ways too:

Disadvantages:

       

    Let’s take them one after the other:

That’s perhaps the most significant approach. It studies tourism from the angle of tour operators and travel agents. The institutions referred to in this case are the travel agents or tour operators who are accountable to airlines, cruise lines or car rental services.

Tourism through the years has flowered into an industry with competitive firms. Management of each of these tourist businesses enforces planning, research, pricing control, marketing etc. on their individual affairs. Hence management needs to adapt to the spiral changes occurring in the tourism environment in terms of objectives, philosophies and procedures.

Tourism embraces a lot of business activities; travel, accommodation, catering, and hospitality services, transportation, entertainment and others. All these play a vital part in the economy as they can generate or degenerate revenue to the government of the countries in question. Due to this fact, tourism has been defined according to Hermon Van Schullard (1910)-Austrian economist-as “the sum total of operations mainly of economic nature which directly relate to the entry, stay and the movement of foreigners inside and outside a certain country, city or region.”

This approach inquires from the location tourists areas, the changes in landscape due to the imposition of tourist facilities on the area in question, physical planning and tourist development. This is a very relevant way of studying tourism as goes further to clarify espace distance. Espace distance is the difference between the usual residence of a tourist and the temporary destination.

This approach studies the interaction between the host city or country and the guest tourist or     visitor. The encounter of these two classes in terms of culture, language, tradition, habits etc. has propelled the emergence of the sociological approach.

         Generally, all approaches are essential but not all applicable to institutions. It is highly recommendable that the tourism avenues adapt appropriate set of approaches to their individual affairs of the development of tourism.