History of Tourism
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 5th century. However the 12th
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 2nd 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 14th
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 16th 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.
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