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What Travel Looked Like Through the Decades

Getting from point A to point B has not always been as easy as online booking, Global Entry , and Uber. It was a surprisingly recent event when the average American traded in the old horse-and-carriage look for a car, plane, or even private jet .

What was it like to travel at the turn of the century? If you were heading out for a trans-Atlantic trip at the very beginning of the 20th century, there was one option: boat. Travelers planning a cross-country trip had something akin to options: carriage, car (for those who could afford one), rail, or electric trolley lines — especially as people moved from rural areas to cities.

At the beginning of the 1900s, leisure travel in general was something experienced exclusively by the wealthy and elite population. In the early-to-mid-20th century, trains were steadily a popular way to get around, as were cars. The debut regional airlines welcomed their first passengers in the 1920s, but the airline business didn't see its boom until several decades later. During the '50s, a huge portion of the American population purchased a set of wheels, giving them the opportunity to hit the open road and live the American dream.

Come 1960, airports had expanded globally to provide both international and domestic flights to passengers. Air travel became a luxury industry, and a transcontinental trip soon became nothing but a short journey.

So, what's next? The leisure travel industry has quite a legacy to fulfill — fancy a trip up to Mars , anyone? Here, we've outlined how travel (and specifically, transportation) has evolved over every decade of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The 1900s was all about that horse-and-carriage travel life. Horse-drawn carriages were the most popular mode of transport, as it was before cars came onto the scene. In fact, roadways were not plentiful in the 1900s, so most travelers would follow the waterways (primarily rivers) to reach their destinations. The 1900s is the last decade before the canals, roads, and railway plans really took hold in the U.S., and as such, it represents a much slower and antiquated form of travel than the traditions we associate with the rest of the 20th century.

Cross-continental travel became more prevalent in the 1910s as ocean liners surged in popularity. In the '10s, sailing via steam ship was the only way to get to Europe. The most famous ocean liner of this decade, of course, was the Titanic. The largest ship in service at the time of its 1912 sailing, the Titanic departed Southampton, England on April 10 (for its maiden voyage) and was due to arrive in New York City on April 17. At 11:40 p.m. on the evening of April 14, it collided with an iceberg and sank beneath the North Atlantic three hours later. Still, when the Titanic was constructed, it was the largest human-made moving object on the planet and the pinnacle of '10s travel.

The roaring '20s really opened our eyes up to the romance and excitement of travel. Railroads in the U.S. were expanded in World War II, and travelers were encouraged to hop on the train to visit out-of-state resorts. It was also a decade of prosperity and economic growth, and the first time middle-class families could afford one of the most crucial travel luxuries: a car. In Europe, luxury trains were having a '20s moment coming off the design glamour of La Belle Epoque, even though high-end train travel dates back to the mid-1800s when George Pullman introduced the concept of private train cars.

Finally, ocean liners bounced back after the challenges of 1912 with such popularity that the Suez Canal had to be expanded. Most notably, travelers would cruise to destinations like Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Cue "Jet Airliner" because we've made it to the '30s, which is when planes showed up on the mainstream travel scene. While the airplane was invented in 1903 by the Wright brothers, and commercial air travel was possible in the '20s, flying was quite a cramped, turbulent experience, and reserved only for the richest members of society. Flying in the 1930s (while still only for elite, business travelers) was slightly more comfortable. Flight cabins got bigger — and seats were plush, sometimes resembling living room furniture.

In 1935, the invention of the Douglas DC-3 changed the game — it was a commercial airliner that was larger, more comfortable, and faster than anything travelers had seen previously. Use of the Douglas DC-3 was picked up by Delta, TWA, American, and United. The '30s was also the first decade that saw trans-Atlantic flights. Pan American Airways led the charge on flying passengers across the Atlantic, beginning commercial flights across the pond in 1939.

1940s & 1950s

Road trip heyday was in full swing in the '40s, as cars got better and better. From convertibles to well-made family station wagons, cars were getting bigger, higher-tech, and more luxurious. Increased comfort in the car allowed for longer road trips, so it was only fitting that the 1950s brought a major expansion in U.S. highway opportunities.

The 1950s brought the Interstate system, introduced by President Eisenhower. Prior to the origination of the "I" routes, road trippers could take only the Lincoln Highway across the country (it ran all the way from NYC to San Francisco). But the Lincoln Highway wasn't exactly a smooth ride — parts of it were unpaved — and that's one of the reasons the Interstate system came to be. President Eisenhower felt great pressure from his constituents to improve the roadways, and he obliged in the '50s, paving the way for smoother road trips and commutes.

The '60s is the Concorde plane era. Enthusiasm for supersonic flight surged in the '60s when France and Britain banded together and announced that they would attempt to make the first supersonic aircraft, which they called Concorde. The Concorde was iconic because of what it represented, forging a path into the future of aviation with supersonic capabilities. France and Britain began building a supersonic jetliner in 1962, it was presented to the public in 1967, and it took its maiden voyage in 1969. However, because of noise complaints from the public, enthusiasm for the Concorde was quickly curbed. Only 20 were made, and only 14 were used for commercial airline purposes on Air France and British Airways. While they were retired in 2003, there is still fervent interest in supersonic jets nearly 20 years later.

Amtrak incorporated in 1971 and much of this decade was spent solidifying its brand and its place within American travel. Amtrak initially serviced 43 states (and Washington D.C.) with 21 routes. In the early '70s, Amtrak established railway stations and expanded to Canada. The Amtrak was meant to dissuade car usage, especially when commuting. But it wasn't until 1975, when Amtrak introduced a fleet of Pullman-Standard Company Superliner cars, that it was regarded as a long-distance travel option. The 235 new cars — which cost $313 million — featured overnight cabins, and dining and lounge cars.

The '80s are when long-distance travel via flight unequivocally became the norm. While the '60s and '70s saw the friendly skies become mainstream, to a certain extent, there was still a portion of the population that saw it as a risk or a luxury to be a high-flyer. Jetsetting became commonplace later than you might think, but by the '80s, it was the long-haul go-to mode of transportation.

1990s & 2000s

Plans for getting hybrid vehicles on the road began to take shape in the '90s. The Toyota Prius (a gas-electric hybrid) was introduced to the streets of Japan in 1997 and took hold outside Japan in 2001. Toyota had sold 1 million Priuses around the world by 2007. The hybrid trend that we saw from '97 to '07 paved the way for the success of Teslas, chargeable BMWs, and the electric car adoption we've now seen around the world. It's been impactful not only for the road trippers but for the average American commuter.

If we're still cueing songs up here, let's go ahead and throw on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," because the 2010s are when air travel became positively over-the-top. Qatar Airways rolled out their lavish Qsuites in 2017. Business class-only airlines like La Compagnie (founded in 2013) showed up on the scene. The '10s taught the luxury traveler that private jets weren't the only way to fly in exceptional style.

Of course, we can't really say what the 2020 transportation fixation will be — but the stage has certainly been set for this to be the decade of commercial space travel. With Elon Musk building an elaborate SpaceX rocket ship and making big plans to venture to Mars, and of course, the world's first space hotel set to open in 2027 , it certainly seems like commercialized space travel is where we're headed next.

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The History of Transportation

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Whether by land or by sea, humans have always sought to traverse the earth and move to new locations. The evolution of transportation has brought us from simple canoes to space travel, and there's no telling where we could go next and how we will get there. The following is a brief history of transportation, dating from the first vehicles 900,000 years ago to modern-day times.

Early Boats

The first mode of transportation was created in the effort to traverse water: boats. Those who colonized Australia roughly 60,000–40,000 years ago have been credited as the first people to cross the sea, though there is some evidence that seafaring trips were carried out as far back as 900,000 years ago.

The earliest known boats were simple logboats, also referred to as dugouts, which were made by hollowing out a tree trunk. Evidence for these floating vehicles comes from artifacts that date back to around 10,000–7,000 years ago. The Pesse canoe—a logboat—is the oldest boat unearthed and dates as far back as 7600 BCE. Rafts have been around nearly as long, with artifacts showing them in use for at least 8,000 years.

Horses and Wheeled Vehicles

Next, came horses. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when humans first began domesticating them as a means of getting around and transporting goods, experts generally go by the emergence of certain human biological and cultural markers that indicate when such practices started to take place.

Based on changes in teeth records, butchering activities, shifts in settlement patterns, and historic depictions, experts believe that domestication took place around 4000 BCE. Genetic evidence from horses, including changes in musculature and cognitive function, support this.

It was also roughly around this period that the wheel was invented. Archaeological records show that the first wheeled vehicles were in use around 3500 BCE, with evidence of the existence of such contraptions found in Mesopotamia, the Northern Caucuses, and Central Europe. The earliest well-dated artifact from that time period is the "Bronocice pot," a ceramic vase that depicts a four-wheeled wagon that featured two axles. It was unearthed in southern Poland.

Steam Engines

In 1769, the Watt steam engine changed everything. Boats were among the first to take advantage of steam-generated power; in 1783, a French inventor by the name of Claude de Jouffroy built the "Pyroscaphe," the world’s first steamship . But despite successfully making trips up and down the river and carrying passengers as part of a demonstration, there wasn’t enough interest to fund further development.

While other inventors tried to make steamships that were practical enough for mass transport, it was American Robert Fulton who furthered the technology to where it was commercially viable. In 1807, the Clermont completed a 150-mile trip from New York City to Albany that took 32 hours, with the average speed clocking in at about five miles per hour. Within a few years, Fulton and company would offer regular passenger and freight service between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi.

Back in 1769, another Frenchman named Nicolas Joseph Cugnot attempted to adapt steam engine technology to a road vehicle—the result was the invention of the first automobile . However, the heavy engine added so much weight to the vehicle that it wasn't practical. It had a top speed of 2.5 miles per hour.

Another effort to repurpose the steam engine for a different means of personal transport resulted in the "Roper Steam Velocipede." Developed in 1867, the two-wheeled steam-powered bicycle is considered by many historians to be the world’s first motorcycle .

Locomotives

One mode of land transport powered by a steam engine that did go mainstream was the locomotive. In 1801, British inventor Richard Trevithick unveiled the world’s first road locomotive—called the “Puffing Devil”—and used it to give six passengers a ride to a nearby village. It was three years later that Trevithick first demonstrated a locomotive that ran on rails, and another one that hauled 10 tons of iron to the community of Penydarren, Wales, to a small village called Abercynon.

It took a fellow Brit—a civil and mechanical engineer named George Stephenson—to turn locomotives into a form of mass transport. In 1812, Matthew Murray of Holbeck designed and built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, “The Salamanca,” and Stephenson wanted to take the technology a step further. So in 1814, Stephenson designed the "Blücher," an eight-wagon locomotive capable of hauling 30 tons of coal uphill at a speed of four miles per hour.

By 1824, Stephenson improved the efficiency of his locomotive designs to where he was commissioned by the Stockton and Darlington Railway to build the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the aptly named "Locomotion No. 1." Six years later, he opened the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the first public inter-city railway line serviced by steam locomotives. His notable accomplishments also include establishing the standard for rail spacing for most of the railways in use today. No wonder he’s been hailed as " Father of Railways ."

Technically speaking, the first navigable submarine was invented in 1620 by Dutchman Cornelis Drebbel. Built for the English Royal Navy, Drebbel’s submarine could stay submerged for up to three hours and was propelled by oars. However, the submarine was never used in combat, and it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that designs leading to practical and widely used submersible vehicles were realized.

Along the way, there were important milestones such as the launch of the hand-powered, egg-shaped "Turtle " in 1776, the first military submarine used in combat. There was also the French Navy submarine "Plongeur," the first mechanically powered submarine.

Finally, in 1888, the Spanish Navy launched the "Peral," the first electric, battery-powered submarine, which also so happened to be the first fully capable military submarine. Built by a Spanish engineer and sailor named Isaac Peral, it was equipped with a torpedo tube, two torpedoes, an air regeneration system, and the first fully reliable underwater navigation system, and it posted an underwater speed of 3.5 miles per hour.

The start of the twentieth century was truly the dawn of a new era in the history of transportation as two American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, pulled off the first official powered flight in 1903. In essence, they invented the world’s first airplane. Transport via aircraft took off from there with airplanes being put into service within a few short years during World War I. In 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown completed the first transatlantic flight, crossing from Canada to Ireland. The same year, passengers were able to fly internationally for the first time.

Around the same time that the Wright brothers were taking flight, French inventor Paul Cornu started developing a rotorcraft. And on November 13, 1907, his "Cornu" helicopter, made of little more than some tubing, an engine, and rotary wings, achieved a lift height of about one foot while staying airborne for about 20 seconds. With that, Cornu would lay claim to having piloted the first helicopter flight .

Spacecraft and the Space Race

It didn’t take long after air travel took off for humans to start seriously considering the possibility of going further up and toward the heavens. The Soviet Union surprised much of the western world in 1957 with its successful launch of Sputnik, the first satellite to reach outer space. Four years later, the Russians followed that by sending the first human, pilot Yuri Gagaran, into outer space aboard the Vostok 1.

These achievements would spark a “space race” between the Soviet Union and the United States that culminated in the Americans taking what was perhaps the biggest victory lap among national rivals. On July 20, 1969, the lunar module of the Apollo spacecraft, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, touched down on the surface of the moon.

The event, which was broadcast on live TV to the rest of the world, allowed millions to witness the moment Armstrong became the first man to ever step foot on the moon, a moment he heralded as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  

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Tourism and Transport

Jessica Lynne Pearson is associate professor of history at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of The Colonial Politics of Global Health (Harvard, 2018) and the co-editor of The United Nations and Decolonization (Routledge, 2020).

• Published: 18 August 2022
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Transportation for tourists is inextricably linked to broader power structures in modern global society. Histories of empire building, nationalism, and decolonization overlap with histories of sea, highway, rail, and air travel, demonstrating the roles that transport has played in building and dismantling systems of inequality on a global scale. Tourism plays a key role in forging collective identities, but leisure travel, historically, was beyond the reach of all but the most privileged groups. Revolutions in transportation—in step with broader political and social shifts—have contributed to the slow but ongoing democratization of travel. Tourist transport in the second half of the twentieth century became a key site in the battle for desegregation and served as a platform for recently decolonized nations to pursue political independence and economic autonomy from their former colonizers.

In 1984, Society Expeditions—a Seattle-based tour company—invited travelers to “experience European travel at its grandest” by embarking on a ten-day journey aboard the “Nostalgic Istanbul Orient Express.” Reintroduced in 1982, the train comprised “beautifully restored and sumptuously appointed antique cars,” and would follow the famed train’s historic route. According to the company’s promotional brochure, the original Orient Express, “following its maiden journey in 1883 … carried diplomats, royalty, smugglers and spies across Europe—from sophisticated Paris to Istanbul, the very portal of the Orient.” Tourists who traveled in the 1980s on the reimagined Orient Express would have the opportunity to “both relive and to create history on the world’s most fabulous train.” 1

The Orient Express—made famous by Agatha Christie, James Bond, and Dracula —looms large in the popular imagination of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century train travel. 2 While the Orient Express did not make its final trans-European journey until 1977, the train had long since lost its reputation as Europe’s most luxurious form of tourist transport. 3 In a pithy 1969 New York Times headline, Drew Middleton reported: “ORIENT EXPRESS: NOBODY VANISHES. Now-Seedy Train a Setting of Many Suspense Novels.” While Agatha Christie’s protagonists sipped champagne and brandished daggers, Middleton’s journey was charmingly mundane: “Car No. 6 was labeled Orient Express. A snowstorm blurred the lights at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. But no dark, exotic beauty with a tiny, pearl-handled pistol … appeared out of the night. … Only a plump Frenchwoman in Compartment 80 complaining loudly that a zipper was stuck and that her husband, who was trying to get it unstuck, was little short of a fool.” 4

Transportation, at the most basic level, facilitates tourism by allowing people to move from one place to another. Yet whether that journey is as action-packed as that of Hercule Poirot—Christie’s detective—or as humdrum as Middleton’s, a tourist’s experience is indelibly marked by the type (or types) of transportation they use. Tourist transport, however, does more than shape individual travel experiences. Deeply embedded in intersecting networks of power, it has also been wielded as both a weapon of domination and as a tool of resistance. The expanding fields of transport history, tourism history, and mobility studies unpack the intersections between modes of transportation, leisure travel, and a broad range of power dynamics. 5 Collectively, this work engages a set of interconnected questions: How did technological innovation fundamentally alter tourist trajectories as travelers made their way through the world via new forms of transportation? In what ways did different modes of transportation facilitate different travel experiences for people from a diverse range of identities and backgrounds? And finally, how were those modes of travel bound up in colonial conquest, nation-building, and the global battle against imperialism, racism, and economic oppression?

Rather than understanding transport as simply a means to get from point A to point B, historians have sought to interrogate the ways that humans have experienced mobility and its connections to broader historical processes. Physical movement facilitated empire building, the imagining of national communities, and, most recently, anticolonial and antiracist movements. 6 Leisure-as-mobility played a critical role in each of these phenomena. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, for example, European colonizers used transportation networks to “civilize” their colonial territories, opening up those spaces to white tourists by allowing them to stake their own claim over lands and cultures that belonged to other people. 7 In the era of decolonization, the creation of new roads, train lines, and national airlines became a hallmark of political and economic independence from those colonizers. 8 While leisure tourism was once limited to wealthy white travelers, the expanding range of transportation options played a critical role in democratizing travel and opening up touring opportunities to the middle and working classes from all backgrounds. Despite the considerable progress made in democratizing, desegregating, and “decolonizing” the airways, railways, and highways, however, inequality still governs tourist transport in powerful ways. These dynamics illuminate the role that tourism played in forging collective identities and they demonstrate how the movement of tourists fueled both the creation and dismantling of power structures in the last two centuries.

Tourists Test the Waters

Before the age of the railway, the automobile, or the jet, travel by boat was one of the few transportation options available to travelers hoping to make a long-distance journey. Indeed, the first “modern” tourists, according to historians of travel, were young Englishmen who crossed the channel in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 9 Steam technology in the early 1800s fueled tourists across lakes and down rivers, and the growing popularity of destinations such as Egypt, New Orleans, Niagara Falls, and Margate, England reflected the impact of this technological advancement. 10 The Nile steamship tour quickly became a cornerstone of Thomas Cook and Son’s offerings in the 1890s. 11 By the early twentieth century the company encouraged steamship travel for tourists from the United States, Canada, and South America who wished to tour Japan. 12 While historians tend to attribute the birth of mass tourism to the invention of the railway, John Armstrong and David M. Williams have shown that we can, in fact, thank steamships for the emergence of popular overseas leisure travel, beginning with service on the Clyde in 1812. 13

As other modes of transport (train, automobile, airplane) evolved and became more accessible in the first half of the twentieth century, travel by sea or river became a leisure activity in and of itself. No longer the quickest or most efficient means of seeing the world, steamship companies and cruise lines emphasized the unique experience of travel by boat. 14 In 1951, for example, Cook’s World Travel Service published a brochure hailing the return of leisure at sea: “It is good to have the comforting feel of a white deck beneath your feet … to look out over a sun-lit blue water, to experience that thrill of anticipation when, in the sudden silence of quieted engines, your ship slides smoothly into the next port of call.” Rather than promoting a new mode of transport, Cook’s brochure proposed a return to a simpler era, which would be “welcome especially to those who knew its delights in pre-war days.” Sea travel, it argued, responded to the “ageless appeal of roving the world,” but, unlike in earlier eras, the possible destinations were limitless. 15

The nostalgic allure of steam travel persists. As recently as the 2000s and 2010s, the reinvigoration of steamboat tourism on the Mississippi, for example, has signaled both a literal and a metaphorical recovery from the ravages Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In 2019, the New Orleans Steamboat Company relaunched its riverboat tours, indicating a kind of return to normalcy for one of the US South’s most important tourist destinations. One newspaper article explained that “few experiences capture old New Orleans and the Mississippi River quite like a paddlewheel riverboat coming round the muddy bend with its tooting whistle horn, towering smoke stacks and water-churning propeller.” The rehabilitation of the Natchez speaks to a broader process of rebuilding and represents, for many travelers, the ability to reconnect with simpler times. 16

Yet the marketing of maritime tourism as a more carefree mode of vacation travel belies the often-unpredictable nature of water transport. It also obscures the opportunities that this mode of transit historically offered as a space to challenge existing social norms and political structures. As Kris Alexanderson shows in the case of maritime travel within the Dutch empire, for example, transoceanic mobility allowed Indonesians to subvert European hierarchies and build anticolonial networks. Although passenger liners for tourists were designed to function as “colonial classrooms,” Dutch officials found that hierarchies that were enforceable on land frequently proved difficult to maintain in the more flexible space of the sea. 17

While maritime travel enjoyed an initial popularity as the default mode of international transportation, in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries steamers and cruise lines pivoted to promoting travel by river or sea as a form of luxury or nostalgia tourism as more travel options became available. Yet while this form of travel has reified both class and racial hierarchies and furthered cement existing narratives (such as those associated with steamboat travel on the Mississippi), a closer examination of the history of water travel also reveals the potential for subversion and resistance, as Alexanderson demonstrates in the case of the Dutch mails.

Inequality on the Railways

While the invention of the steamship drastically reduced travel times for vacationers making their way by water, the railway revolutionized previously held notions of both time and space on land for those who were able to access this form of travel. Prior to the invention of the train, remarks historian Christian Wolmar, “no-one had ever gone faster than a horse could gallop.” Trains transformed the way people understood the most central facets of everyday life: work, marriage, housing, even their sense of national identity. 18 The expansion of railway networks also fundamentally changed how people conceived of leisure by connecting them to previously unreachable destinations while simultaneously offering a new way of viewing the world. 19 The first railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Line, launched its services in 1830. Railway networks expanded first in Western Europe, Russia, and the United States, and developed later in Asia, South America, and Africa. In each of these locations, railway construction played a critical role in both empire- and nation-building, drawing invariably on the labor of Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color, often in conjunction with the forced acquisition of Indigenous lands. 20

Although it was reserved for those travelers who enjoyed at least a degree of white or colonial privilege, early rail travel was, by and large, a fairly uncomfortable endeavor. 21 For the wealthiest first-class passengers, however, train travel could be a particularly luxurious means of getting from place to place, as well as a tourist experience in itself. Travelers aboard a Pullman Company train, for example, experienced “perfected passenger service,” according to a 1931 Pullman brochure. The pamphlet recounted the travel experience of “Mr. Brown,” who travels from Yuma, Arizona, to Portland, Maine, with stopovers in Washington and New York. En route, Mr. Brown relishes the range of comforts available on board: “good meals, bed, morning bath, clothes pressed at night; shaved by the train barber.” He “enjoys the scenery from the observation car by day, spends the evening reading in the club car.” The Pullman train, in other words, was a first-class “hotel on wheels.” 22

For travelers of color throughout much of the world, train transport remained deeply enmeshed in broader networks of racial inequality. In South Africa, for example, railway segregation had a long and sordid history that predates the official government policy of apartheid by several decades. 23 In many parts of the world, moreover, railway construction spearheaded by European companies relied heavily on undercompensated (or uncompensated) labor of local workers, including many who lived under colonial rule. 24 The history of Indigenous labor exploitation in the construction of the Dakar-Niger railway line, for example, was memorialized by Senegalese writer and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène in his 1960 novel God’s Bits of Wood . 25

Ultimately, these sites of inequality came to serve as critical nodes of resistance to racism and colonialism. Railway worker strikes, campaigns to desegregate rail travel, and efforts to promote heritage train travel to tourists of color all constituted acts of resistance against racism and other forms of discrimination. 26 As Tammy S. Gordon shows, for example, Amtrak encouraged African American travelers in the 1970s to “Take Amtrak to Black History” and promoted their racially integrated train service through advertisements in African American magazines. By traveling the company’s rail lines, Amtrak claimed, African Americans could experience a range of key landmarks in Black history, from Frederick Douglass’s home in Washington, DC, to the New York Public Library in Albany, where a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation was on public display. Amtrak’s embrace of African American heritage tourists, Gordon argues, reflected a moment when African Americans were increasingly able to “[assert] their power as consumers of travel,” defying the notion that touring was an activity open only to white travelers. 27 As a result of their intimate relationship to myriad forms of inequality, railways have often served as sites of mobilization against social, political, and economic injustice.

Individualism on the Road

Whereas steamships, riverboats, and trains allowed tourists to travel to new destinations en masse, cars enabled travelers to cultivate a sense of individuality as they sketched their own itineraries and set their own timetables. The rise of automobile tourism, according to Orvar Löfgren, afforded these travelers both “freedom and speed.” The trip itself could be an “adventure,” Löfgren argues, “just hitting the road, exploring new settings.” 28 Car camping added a further layer of excitement to these journeys, becoming immensely popular first in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s and then in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. 29 While some automobile tourists opted to spend the night in tents, others sought accommodation at the growing range of affordable highway motels. 30 By opening up travel to a wider range of budgets, automobiles played an important role in the slow and uneven democratization of vacationing while still preserving other hierarchies connected to race, class, gender, and geography.

Tourist travel by car also expanded the number of destinations that some travelers were able to visit. Small towns, rural areas, parks, and nature preserves saw an opportunity to market themselves as new destinations for travelers. The Wyoming Travel Commission, for example, issued a series of brochures aimed specifically at automobile tourists. Touting an “infinite medley of scenic attractions, historic sites and amazing geological formations,” the brochures encouraged travelers to visit not only Yellowstone National Park, but also sites associated with the state’s cattle and mining industries or with the history of the Oregon Trail. 31 Efforts to promote automobile tourism, of course, were not limited to the United States. In 1969, Hertz Rent-A-Car teamed up with Air France and Gourmet Magazine to offer a series of “Gourmet Holidays: Wine Tours of France by Rented Car.” Glossing over the dangers of combining self-guided automobile travel with twenty-one back-to-back days of wine tasting, Hertz’s guidebook assured would-be tourists that automobile travel would give them unparalleled access to France’s most prized wines and picturesque sites, including those not reachable by train or airplane. “In your Hertz car you explore the France missed by most tourists,” the guide boasted, “yours to leisurely explore are quaint medieval villages, vineyards as old as France itself, Renaissance cities, historic churches and cathedrals and museums crammed with treasures.” 32 The automobile, in other words, offered a kind of unfettered access that could not be achieved by any other mode of transport.

Throughout the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, the construction of highways and scenic roads in the United States and US territories played an important role in generating tourist traffic. The expanding tourism industry, in turn, produced an ongoing demand for well-maintained infrastructure and better road access. In some locales, the construction of scenic byways even predated the invention of the motorcar. In late nineteenth-century Hawaii—a decade prior to its formal annexation by the United States—Hawaiian Kingdom minister of the interior Lorrin A. Thurston embarked on a massive road-building program. The initial plan aimed to transform horse trails into paths that would be accessible for carriages and wagons, and Thurston’s successors would further transform them into roads that could be traveled by motor vehicles. These roads, historian Dawn Duensing explains, were specifically intended to attract wealthy tourists, with the goal of boosting the local economy. 33

While some projects were undertaken on a more local level, in other contexts national governments played a critical role in promoting automobile tourism through road building. 34 In the interwar United States, argues historian Christopher Wells, the National Parks Service “remade the national parks into recreational wonderlands designed first and foremost to be engaged from the seats of automobiles.” 35 While new highways opened up tourism opportunities for more privileged travelers, for others they meant the decimation of local communities and livelihoods. The Rondo neighborhood, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to give one example, was one of many African American communities displaced by the construction of new roadways. 36

Although many automobile tourism initiatives focused on encouraging travelers to get to know a particular country, this mode of travel was, in fact, not limited by national frontiers. Indeed, many highway-building projects worked to foster cross-border exchange alongside new guidebooks that encouraged travelers to visit new nations simply by hitting the road. In 1953, for example, the American Automobile Association published a guidebook entitled Motoring in Central and South America , which provided advice for travelers hoping to navigate the Pan-American Highway, still under construction at the time. 37 Today, the only break in this nineteen-thousand-mile network of highways is at the Darién Gap, where dense rainforest makes passage by car impossible. 38 In 1953, the journey would have been remarkably more perilous. Beyond the “four distinct breaks in the highway system” that necessitated sending one’s automobile on by steamer, the guide also noted that while the route was used frequently by locals in South America, because of the steep inclines and abrupt changes in elevation, “it is not yet to be considered in the realm of carefree tourist travel as we know it.” For those wishing to take the highway beyond Mexico, the guide recommended “time, funds, a good sound car (and spare parts), a knowledge of Spanish, a sense of humor, and a definite spirit of adventure.” 39 For some travelers, however, it would take more than a sense of adventure to make car travel a safe and accessible form of vacationing, and guidebooks like this one often obfuscated the ongoing inequalities that governed the road.

The Green Book : Combating Racism en Route

Although expanding road networks and the growing affordability of cars democratized travel significantly, automobile tourism was not equally open to all travelers. Indeed, automobility was conditioned by inequalities and violence connected to hierarchies of class, race, and gender, and was also deeply implicated in systems of settler colonialism. Car travel, for example, opened up a wide range of tourist experiences that appropriated Native American history and culture, explains historian Katrina Phillips. 40 But when Native Americans themselves took to the road, argues Philip Deloria, non-Natives reacted with disbelief or even suspicion. 41 In the American South, Jim Crow laws prevented African Americans traveling by car from seeking meals or accommodations in many roadside establishments.

Victor Hugo Green’s Negro Motorist Green Book , often simply referred to as the Green Book , worked to make travel safer and more accessible for African Americans by helping them identify hotels, restaurants, service stations, shops, and theaters where they would be welcome. 42 First published in 1936, the Green Book began as a guide for automobile travelers in Green’s home state of New York. Over the course of three decades, its coverage expanded to encompass not only the continental United States, but also destinations in Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America. While some places were more open to travelers of diverse identities, in other locations vacationers of color confronted many of the same discriminatory practices that they encountered in the United States. Bermuda, for example, was a particularly unwelcoming destination for tourists of color since Bermudian hotels and restaurants that discriminated against nonwhite travelers were protected by a law entitled “The Hotel Keepers’ Protection Act,” passed in 1930. 43

Green’s efforts to open up automobile tourism to African Americans in the United States helped them to take part in a “nationalist enterprise,” contends historian Myra B. Young Armstead, by facilitating their participation “in the growing national preoccupation with motoring for pleasure.” 44 Drawing on the work of historian Lizabeth Cohen, Young Armstead argues that for African Americans after World War II, tourism was a highly politicized form of consumption, a means of defying racist assumptions about who had the right to participate in leisure and who could access public spaces. 45 Indeed, Green’s guide was not just a listing of safe places for Black travelers to stop en route. It was also a manifesto about the right to mobility. In 1948, the guide’s expanded introduction stated that “there will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please.” 46

Green, unfortunately, did not live to see the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The guidebook he created, however, celebrated this monumental accomplishment. According to the Green Book ’s final edition, published in 1966, “Most people who ‘go on holiday’ … are seeking someplace that offers them rest, relaxation and a refuge from the cares and worries of the work-a-day world. The Negro traveler … is no exception. He, too, is looking for ‘Vacation without Aggravation.’” This edition’s preface, entitled “Civil Rights: Facts vs. Fiction,” stated clearly and succinctly that all travelers were now entitled to the right to such a vacation: “Effective at once, every hotel, restaurant, theater or other facility catering to the general public must do exactly that.” 47

Despite the monumental gains made by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, automobility in the United States remains limited by ongoing racism, evidenced by a 2020 New York Times headline that bluntly stated: “2020 Is the Summer of the Road Trip. Unless You’re Black.” 48 And while in some sense these contours, nuances, and legacies of the “Jim Crow” system make it a specifically American phenomenon, racism on the road was (and is) also not limited to the United States. As Megan Brown, for example, shows in the case of the Rallye Méditerranée-le Cap, participants in this transcontinental car race across the African continent were predominantly white Europeans, while Africans were relegated to the position of onlookers or support staff. 49 In postcolonial Africa, automobility has been a source of liberation that continues to be circumscribed by state instability and global economic inequality, as Jennifer Hart demonstrates in her study of car travel in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Ghana. 50 Automobiles, like other forms of tourist transport, remain caught between their revolutionary potential and the role they have played in keeping traditional hierarchies anchored firmly in place.

Leisure in the Air

As some travelers were motoring across the Sahara or winding their way through Yellowstone National Park in the family station wagon, others were taking to the skies using aerial routes that were—like their terrestrial counterparts—intimately linked to global systems of class and race privilege. In the interwar period, the United States dominated foreign competitors in the air travel industry. By the late 1920s, the number of travelers using US airlines was higher than the collective passenger count of their French, British, Dutch, and Italian competitors combined. As historian Jenifer Van Vleck argues, “American ascendancy” in the air was attributable to a range of factors, including the relative strength of the post–World War I American economy, government investment in national airlines, and the accomplishments of American aviators like Charles Lindbergh. 51 By the 1930s and early 1940s, international air travel aboard one of Pan Am’s “Clippers” had become the quintessence of luxurious lifestyle. 52 Although the ability to travel by flight remained limited to an elite class of tourists and business travelers, what historian Gordon Pirie calls “airmindedness,” or the “mass public awareness of powered flight” gripped the popular imagination. 53

Air travel pioneers made significant technological advancements in the first decades of the twentieth century, but it would not be until the late 1940s and 1950s that air travel would become a relatively accessible mode of tourist transport. 54 In the age of jet travel, beginning in the 1950s, far-flung destinations that had once required several weeks of travel by sea could now be reached within a matter of hours. During this period, the United States saw growing competition from French, British, and Soviet airlines. In 1922, for example, the French airline companies that would eventually rally under the banner of “Air France” collectively transported only 9,502 passengers. Twenty-five years later, in 1947, the annual passenger count of Air France had reached 422,845. In 1963, nearly 3.5 million passengers made a journey on one of Air France’s flights. 55 For European empires, the expansion of commercial air travel would play a critical role in linking the metropole to colonial spaces across the globe. Airplanes facilitated not only the growth of the colonial tourism industry, but other economic exchanges as well. 56

The Cold War and the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the United States prompted further developments in both aircraft technology and fare structures, putting international air travel within the reach of the upper middle class for the first time in history and cementing American hegemony in the air. In the 1950s, US airlines began to enthusiastically promote vacations in Western Europe. France, especially, became a favorite Cold War travel destination. 57 According to Air France’s in-flight magazine, France’s growing popularity was thanks not only to the world renown of la qualité française (French quality), but also to France’s position as a “jumping off point” for vacations in nearby countries, where even an “impenetrable curtain” had failed to stop the flow of “tourist curiosity.” 58

New jet technology cut flying time drastically. In the early 1950s, Britain’s de Havilland, Vickers, and Britannia led the way in commercial jet production, surpassed by Boeing only in the latter half of the 1950s. 59 On the other side of the Iron Curtain, commercial air travel was taking off under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, who aimed to expand Aeroflot’s reach outside of the Soviet bloc. 60 Throughout this period, Western European, Soviet, and American airlines worked to extend their global networks, making destinations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East more accessible for leisure travelers. Latin America also saw a boom in commercial aviation in the 1950s, thanks in no small part to infrastructure that had been developed in conjunction with the United States’ wartime lend-lease program. 61

Although international air travel may have most captivated the global imagination, not all journeys in the sky were long-haul. Domestic air travel also grew rapidly in the decades that followed World War II, and national and regional carriers encouraged tourists to take advantage of short flights to extend their holiday fun. A 1946 advertisement for Western Airlines, for example, announced to readers that they, too, could lead a dual existence of work and pleasure, just like “Jack,” the ad’s protagonist. “Jack’s double life,” the ad explained, “is a happy solution that combines work and play. He flies Western Air Lines so he can sandwich in quick ‘flight-seeing’ sidetrips away from business … [to] keep from going stale on the job.” The ad appeared in a “San Francisco Airways Traveler” brochure and encouraged visitors to fly Western Airlines for a brief sojourn in Yellowstone, Las Vegas, or the dude ranches of the Colorado Rockies. 62

Whether tourists were jetting across the Atlantic Ocean or jumping a short flight from San Francisco to Zion National Park, reduced travel time was only one component of air travel’s appeal. The act of flying, of enjoying a birds-eye view of the world while sipping a cocktail or flipping through the pages of the latest in-flight magazine, was itself part of the journey. 63 Airlines strived to give travelers an “authentic” experience, paying careful attention to details such as flight attendants’ uniforms, or the type of meals served to passengers. Some airlines went as far as to offer an in-flight experience that could bridge cultural (and in some cases, colonial) divides. By flying Air Afrique—francophone Africa’s multinational airline—passengers could enjoy a glass of (presumably French) champagne with their choice of “international” entrée or “African specialty.” After all, explained the airline’s in-flight magazine, “cuisine is just one more way to discover Africa!” 64 Founded shortly after African independence in the early 1960s, Air Afrique offered tourists a chance to participate in the cultural rapprochement between France and its former colonies simply by enjoying a meal on board their flight. The relationship between transportation networks and colonial power structures would prove very durable, however, in many cases withstanding the transition to political independence.

Empire on the Move

While one of the primary goals of inter-African airlines such as Air Afrique was to facilitate tourist traffic between newly independent African states, ultimately their route maps differed little from those of their colonial predecessors. Instead of making it easier for Africans to move within the continent, they largely catered to the needs of European business and leisure travelers—with direct flights to all of Europe’s major capitals. Moreover, many of these airlines stayed afloat financially thanks to ongoing investment from the former metropole, support that reinforced many of the unequal relationships that had been cast in the colonial period. 65

In the decades—and in some cases centuries—that preceded decolonization, transportation infrastructure opened colonized territories for economic exploitation and cemented imperial domination over these spaces. It allowed European governments and corporations to promote their imperial endeavors to a global audience and to justify colonial conquest under the guise of the “civilizing mission.” 66 Ports, roads, and railways also made these spaces accessible to holidaymakers from Europe, the United States, and Canada. Prior to the development of commercial air travel, vacations in the empire generally entailed long voyages by sea, often combined with train and automobile travel. In an epic, nearly five-month “escorted cruise-tour” in 1928, for example, British tour company Thomas Cook & Son transported nine travelers from “Cairo to the Cape” using all three modes of transportation. The tour started with a sea voyage from New York to Cairo aboard the luxury steamer, the SS Franconia . This was followed by a journey over land from Cairo to Cape Town, which took travelers through the core of Britain’s African empire by rail and automobile. The final leg of the journey was a return sea voyage to New York, with stops in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Martinique. According to the tour’s guidebook, it was thanks primarily to new transportation infrastructure that the African continent was now accessible to foreign travelers: “Train, steamer, and motor-car have so penetrated the very heart of the erstwhile ‘Dark Continent’ that journeys which less than five-and-twenty years ago were fraught with hardship and peril and were confined to the explorer may now be undertaken with safety and comparative comfort by the traveler for pleasure.” 67

Not all would-be tourists, of course, had five months of vacation time or $5,000 to spare. The expansion of the commercial air travel industry in the 1930s and 1940s, however, would make shorter trips to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East more accessible for a wider range of travelers. By the 1930s, Air France routes connected Paris to the other key nodes in the French empire, from Dakar to Algiers to Saigon, making these destinations reachable within a matter of hours, or, in the case of Indochina, a few days. 68 In March of 1948, Air France’s monthly bulletin, Echoes of the Air , encouraged travelers to consider Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia for their spring vacations. Taking off from Paris’s Le Bourget airport at one in the morning, travelers could awaken just hours later and tour the Kasbah of Algiers, the ruins of Carthage, or Marrakech’s main market square, Djemma El Fna. 69

Planes, trains, ships, and cars made colonial empires more accessible for white tourists, but travelers of color met with myriad challenges as they made their way through the world using these modes of transport. Some of these travelers met with discrimination on board, while others struggled to find lodging when weather or engine trouble forced them to spend the night in an unfamiliar place. 70 Although airlines like the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) worked to combat discrimination against transit passengers on the ground, they were often reluctant to take a stand against what they perceived as popular opinion in support of the “colour bar.” In response to mounting demands in the 1950s that the airline confront racism on the ground in the British Caribbean, one BOAC official noted, “to take an airline to task for a matter which is related to public conscience is as unfair as to suggest that airlines must stop the atomic bomb.” 71 While some airlines did attempt to mitigate the effects of racism on transit passengers, most stopped short of embracing travelers of color as tourists in their own right. 72

In the decades that followed World War II, the vast majority of Europe’s colonial territories gained their freedom from imperial rule. Embracing their status as independent nations, many of these new countries embarked on a process of “indigenizing” their governments, economies, and infrastructure—including transportation. They replaced European personnel with local workers and experts, and rebranded streets, ships, train stations, and planes to reflect their new political status. 73 Decolonizing transportation proved, however, to be more difficult than initially envisioned. Newly independent states in Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia found themselves relying on their former colonizers not only to manufacture airplanes and automobiles, but also to train pilots, flight attendants, and travel agents. 74 Global transportation networks, moreover, remained deeply embedded within the structures of racism and inequality that were forged under colonial rule. As anthropologist Chandra Bhimull succinctly puts it, “Passenger flights and black people do not go together.” Not only do would-be travelers of color today have less access to air travel, Bhimull argues, but the “relatively small presence of black people working in -flight is another example of the racial landscape of airline travel, especially when seen alongside the substantial presence of black people working with flights on the ground.” 75 While the end of empire had seemed to offer the promise of “decolonizing” transportation systems, in many cases this is a promise that has yet to be fulfilled.

Maps, Guidebooks, and In-Flight Magazines

While boats, trains, cars, and planes were responsible for getting tourists from place to place, the companies and government agencies associated with these modes of transportation were also deeply invested in helping travelers navigate the world, literally and metaphorically. The transportation industry produces maps, guidebooks, brochures, posters, and in-flight magazines, all aimed at showing tourists where to go, how to get there, and what they should do when they arrive. Even more importantly, these materials shape travelers’ understanding of the places they visit.

Perhaps the best known of these publications are what ultimately came to be known as the Guides verts , the regional guides published by the French tire company, Michelin. Originally red, Michelin’s guides started out as free, pocket-sized booklets focused not on what tourists should see, but how they could get there by automobile. Although the ultimate aim of these small guides was to encourage people to travel by car rather than by train, historian Stephen L. Harp argues that Michelin “contributed as much as any institution, and a good deal more than the French state, to the creation of a culture of touring in modern France.” 76 In the mid-1920s, as better roads and more affordable vehicles made automobile tourism more accessible, Michelin shifted to more extensive regional guides. These books pointed travelers to sites, restaurants, and accommodations specifically suited to automobile tourists. The Michelin guides, Harp explains, were “the motorist’s equivalent of the guides that Hachette had been producing for train travelers since the mid-nineteenth century.” 77

Eventually, Michelin would extend its guidebook coverage beyond the Hexagon, steering motorists on their travels through Asia, Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. While travelers may have needed to board a flight to reach many of these destinations, the core focus remained on touring by car. Michelin’s 1976 Morocco guide, for example, counseled travelers to venture outside the larger tourist centers of Marrakech, Fez, and Casablanca to visit smaller sites that could only be reached by automobile. Roads themselves are described in the guide as tourist attractions. Excursions outside of Marrakech, for example, include the Route de la Palmeraie, the palm grove highway leading away from the city, and the Route d’Amizmiz, where travelers could catch a glimpse of the Tamesloht Kasbah or the “blond village” of Oumnast from the road. 78

In-flight magazines—a fascinating and underused source for historians—offered similar advice for travelers, focusing on destinations that could be reached by plane. Air France produced its first in-flight magazine, Air France revue , beginning in the mid-1930s. Although most of Air France revue ’s articles focused on recommending destinations and advising travelers on the best places to stay, its contributors also weighed in on political matters. The magazine celebrated France’s civilizing mission in the empire, and after 1945, lauded the French Republic for its postwar colonial reforms that gave residents of France’s overseas territories the same citizenship rights enjoyed by the French. 79 After France’s African colonies gained their independence, francophone Africa’s airline, Air Afrique, launched its own in-flight magazine: Balafon . Named for a West African musical instrument, Balafon celebrated African culture, nature, and history, with articles on the lions and hippopotamuses of Pendjari National Park and on King Njoya, ruler of the Bamum Kingdom in the late 1800s. Though most of Balafon ’s pages focused on showcasing Africa’s unique attributes, its advertisements peddling French perfume, British cigarettes, and Swiss watches tell a story of ongoing reliance on financial support and tourist traffic from Europe. 80

Both Balafon and Air France Revue undoubtedly shaped the perceptions of tourists who actually traveled to these destinations, but they also potentially molded the worldview of armchair travelers or readers who encountered these materials by chance. A frequent flier in Europe would certainly have encountered Air France Revue aboard one of Air France’s flights, but the magazine was also sold at foreign newsstands. Air Afrique’s Balafon was available in-flight and by subscription. Both, thus, had the ability to reach a broader audience beyond the limited number of travelers who could afford to journey by plane. In-flight magazines and other airline ephemera are a treasure trove for historians of tourism looking to acquaint themselves with both the real and imagined experience of air travel. These publications not only told travelers what kinds of experiences they could expect both in the air and on the ground, but also how they should approach and understand them. Flight route maps, for example, offer a particular vision of how global networks are constructed, and “travelogue”-type articles point vacationers to a pre-scripted experience of their final destination. While tourists certainly have the ability to go “off script,” these sources reflect a kind of general consensus about the relative value of certain destinations and modes of travel over others.

Tourism and the Politics of Mobility

Mobility, argues historian Philip Deloria, is a form of empowerment, emancipation, and enfranchisement. 81 The evolution of tourist transport over the last two centuries has allowed an ever-growing range of people to participate in leisure tourism. Steamships, trains, cars, and jets all made travel for pleasure more efficient, and, ultimately, more affordable. But for many travelers—especially Native travelers, vacationers of color, or would-be tourists living under colonial rule—the process of democratizing travel was a more tortuous one. Shifting political structures—such as the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the collapse of Europe’s overseas empires in the 1950s and 1960s—opened new paths, both figuratively and literally, for travelers to see the world.

Yet the entanglements between mobility, class hierarchy, racism, and colonial rule are still palpable today. Draconian antiimmigration measures limit not only the mobility of migrants, but also that of would-be holidaymakers. 82 Travel services aimed specifically at Black tourists celebrate the global interconnectedness of the African diaspora, for example, but their proliferation also speaks to the ways that racism still limits the mobility of travelers of color. In 2015, musical artist Stefan Grant created Noirbnb to “procure safe and stress-free travel for the African diaspora.” 83 Ugandan-American Jessica Nabongo, the “first documented black woman … to travel to every sovereign nation” reported in an interview with Outside magazine that when she flies first-class on Delta, other travelers often ask if she is an airline employee. 84 The democratization, decolonization, and desegregation of tourism and tourist transport are, indisputably, still-ongoing processes. While historians of tourism and transportation have delved into particular entanglements between mobility and inequality, others—especially those connected to indigeneity and gender—remain relatively underexplored. These will, undoubtedly, prove to be fruitful avenues for further scholarly inquiry.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the Macalester College Interlibrary Loan staff, especially Connie Karlen, for their assistance with procuring source materials. She would also like to thank Jaeden Allen for calling her attention to the history of the Green Book w ith her exceptional History Day performance about African American automobility in twentieth-century America. Finally, she is grateful to the participants of a 2019 workshop entitled “Empire on the Move: Teaching and Researching Colonization and Mobility” (funded by the Alliance to Advance Liberal Arts Colleges), for all of their insights about empire and travel.

Further Reading

Alexanderson, Kris.   Subversive Seas: Anticolonial Networks across the Twentieth-Century Dutch Empire . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019 .

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Bhimull, Chandra D.   Empire in the Air: Airline Travel and the African Diaspora . New York: New York University Press, 2017 .

Duensing, Dawn E.   Hawai’i’s Scenic Roads: Paving the Way for Tourism in the Islands . Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015 .

Harp, Steven L.   Marketing Michelin: Advertising and Cultural Identity in Twentieth-Century France . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001 .

Hart, Jennifer.   Ghana on the Go: African Mobility in the Age of Motor Transportation . Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016 .

Hudson, Kenneth and Julian Pettifer . Diamonds in the Sky: A Social History of Air Travel . London: The Bodley Head, 1979 .

Kincaid, Jamaica.   A Small Place . London: Daunt Books, 2018 .

Louter, David.   Windshield Wilderness: Cars, Roads, and Nature in Washington’s National Parks . Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010 .

Palmer, Scott W.   Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009 .

Shaffer, Marguerite.   See America First: Tourism and National Identity, 1880–1940 . Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute Press, 2001 .

Van Vleck, Jenifer.   Empire of the Air: Aviation and the American Ascendancy . Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013 .

Wolmar, Christian.   A Short History of Trains . London: Dorling Kindersley, 2019 .

2   Christian Wolmar , A Short History of Trains (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2019), 190–197 .

3   “Orient Express Rolls in at End of 94-Year Run,” The New York Times , May 23, 1977 .

4   Drew Middleton , “Orient Express: Nobody Vanishes,” The New York Times , December 21, 1969 .

While the expanding fields of transport history, tourism history, and mobility studies are, in some sense, very distinct fields of inquiry, they also intersect in important ways. On the history of transport, see the Journal of Transport History. For a window into the relatively new and growing field of tourism history, see the Journal of Tourism History . For an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of mobility studies, see, for example, Mobilities , a journal founded in 2006. While the field of mobility studies encompasses travel and tourism, this emerging scholarly field also captures topics such as social media networks, migration, climate change, and digital technology. See the journal’s homepage, https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rmob20 , accessed June 20, 2020.

6 For an excellent example of new directions in the history of mobility, see Marcus Filippello , The Nature of the Path: Reading a West African Road (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017) .

7 See, for example, Jamaica Kincaid , A Small Place (London: Daunt Books, 2018) .

9   Eric G. E. Zuelow , A History of Modern Tourism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) , especially chapter 1, “Beginnings: The Grand Tour.”

  Zuelow, A History of Modern Tourism , 55; Gay and Mondou, Tourisme et transport, 11–16.

13   John Armstrong and David M. Williams , The Impact of Technological Change: The Early Steamship in Britain (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2011), 119–120 .

Gay and Mondou, Tourisme et transport, 153–177.

16   Stacey Plaisance , “Toot! Toot! New Riverboat to Ride the Mississippi in New Orleans,” Telegraph – Herald (Dubuque, Iowa), January 6, 2019 .

17   Kris Alexanderson , Subversive Seas: Anticolonial Networks across the Twentieth-Century Dutch Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019) .

18   Wolmar, A Short History of Trains, 8–9. On the history of railways, roads, and nation-building, see Eugen Weber , Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870–1914 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007) , chapter 12, “Roads, Roads, and Still More Roads.”

19   Orvar Löfgren , On Holiday: A History of Vacationing (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999), 41–48 .

20 In the US context, see Manu Karuka , Empire’s Tracks: Indigenous Peoples, Chinese Workers, and the Transcontinental Railroad (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2019) . In the African context, see Frederick Cooper , Decolonization and African Society: The Labor Question in French and British Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) , especially chapter 6, “Crises.”

  Wolmar, A Short History of Trains , 146–151.

23 See G. H. Pirie , “Racial Segregation of Passengers on the Cape and Natal Colonial Railways,” Historia 34 (1989): 49–57 .

24   François Dupré La Tour , “Histoire des chemins de fer en Afrique noire francophone,” in Le chemin de fer en Afrique , ed. Jean-Louis Chaléard , Chantal Chanson-Jabeur , and Chantal Béranger (Paris: Karthala, 2006), 19–24 .

25   Ousmane Sembène , God’s Bits of Wood (London: Heinemann, 1981) .

26 On the history of railway strikes in West Africa, see Frederick Cooper , “‘Our Strike’: Equality, Anticolonial Politics, and the 1947-48 Railway Strike in French West Africa,” Journal of African History 36 (1996): 81–118 .

27   Tammy S. Gordon , “‘Take Amtrak to Black History’: Marketing Heritage Tourism to African Americans in the 1970s,” Journal of Tourism History 7, nos. 1–2 (2015): 54–74 .

  Löfgren, On Holiday, 59.

29   Löfgren, On Holiday , 61. On car camping in Europe, see Michael Frederik Wagner , “The Rise of Autotourism in Danish Leisure, 1910–1970,” The Journal of Tourism History 5, no. 3 (2014): 265–286 .

Zuelow, A History of Modern Tourism, 125.

33   Dawn E. Duensing , Hawai’i’s Scenic Roads: Paving the Way for Tourism in the Islands (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2015) , chapter 2, “Pathways to ‘Progress.’”

34   Marguerite Shaffer , See America First: Tourism and National Identity, 1880–1940 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001) .

35   Christopher Wells , Car Country: An Environmental History (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014), 219 . Also see David Louter , Windshield Wilderness: Cars, Roads, and Nature in Washington’s National Parks (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010) .

38   Ken Jennings , “The 60-Mile Darién Gap Leaves the Pan-American Highway Forever Incomplete,” Condé Nast Traveler , January 16, 2017, https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-60-mile-darien-gap-leaves-the-pan-american-highway-forever-incomplete , accessed February 10, 2020 .

American Automobile Association, “Motoring in Central and South America: The Pan American Highway,” 3, 5.

40   Katrina Phillips , Staging Indigeneity: Salvage Tourism and the Performance of Native American History (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2021) .

41   Philip J. Deloria , Indians in Unexpected Places (Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 2004) ,

42 See Cotten Seiler , Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008) , especially chapter 4, “So That We as a Race Might Have Something Authentic to Travel By’: African American Automobility and Midcentury Liberalism.” The Green Book has generated renewed interest in recent years, thanks to a popular children’s book, published in 2010, and a controversial Hollywood film, released in 2018. See Celia McGee , “The Open Road Wasn’t Quite Open to All,” The New York Times , August 23, 2010 ; and Wesley Morris , “Why Do the Oscars Keep Falling for Racial Reconciliation Fantasies?” The New York Times , January 23, 2019 .

43 National Archives, Kew (hereafter NA), CO 1031/1044, 1930, no. 50, “The Hotel Keepers Protection Act.” On the links between racism and Bermuda’s tourist industry, see Quito Swan , Black Power in Bermuda: The Struggle for Decolonization , New York: Palgrave, 2009 .

44   Myra B. Young Armstead , “Revisiting Hotels and Other Lodgings: American Tourist Spaces through the Lens of Black Pleasure-Travelers, 1880–1950,” The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 2 5 (2005): 154–155 .

45   Lizabeth Cohen , A Consumer’s Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America (New York: Vintage Books, 2007) .

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. “The Negro Motorist Green Book: 1948.” Available from New York Public Library Digital Collections, http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6fa574f0-893f-0132-1035-58d385a7bbd0 , accessed February 10, 2020.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. “Travelers’ Green Book: 1966-67 International Edition.” Available from New York Public Library Digital Collections, http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/27516920-8308-0132-5063-58d385a7bbd0 , accessed February 10, 2020.

48   Tariro Mzezewa , “2020 Is the Summer of the Road Trip. Unless You’re Black,” The New York Times , June 10, 2020 .

49   Megan Brown , “Le Rallye Méditerranée-le Cap: Racing towards Eurafrica?,” French Politics, Culture, and Society 38, no. 2 (June 2020): 80–104 .

50   Jennifer Hart , Ghana on the Go: African Mobility in the Age of Motor Transportation (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016) .

51   Jenifer Van Vleck , Empire of the Air: Aviation and the American Ascendancy (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013), 19 .

52 See Kenneth Hudson and Julian Pettifer , Diamonds in the Sky: A Social History of Air Travel (London: The Bodley Head Ltd. and the BBC, 1979), 85 .

53   Gordon Pirie , “British Air Shows in South Africa, 1932/33: ‘Airmindedness,’ Ambition and Anxiety,” Kronos 35 (November 2009): 48–70 , quote from 48.

  Van Vleck, Empire of the Air , 214–227.

Air France, La Saga, https://corporate.airfrance.com/en/la-saga , accessed February 13, 2020.

56 Gordon Pirie, for example, has written extensively on the role of air travel and British empire building. See Gordon Pirie , Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation, 1919–39 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009) .

57 See Christopher Endy , Cold War Holidays: American Tourism in France (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2004), 125–131 .

58   Air France Revue (Winter 1952–1953): 17. Available from Gallica: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65557030 , accessed February 14, 2020. Air France’s in-flight magazine was, undoubtedly, underestimating the challenges travelers would face trying to travel on from France to an Eastern bloc country. See M. W. Fodor , “Soviet Travel is Tough: A Foreigner’s Progress Across Eastern Europe is a Test of Patience, Perseverance and Stamina,” Holiday (January 1947): 24–25, 144 .

  Van Vleck, Empire of the Air , 241.

60   Marc Dierikx , Clipping the Clouds: How Air Travel Changed the World (Westport: Praeger, 2008) ; and Steven E. Harris , “Dawn of the Soviet Jet Age: Aeroflot Passengers and Aviation Culture under Nikita Khrushchev,” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 21, no. 3 (Summer 2020): 591–626 . On the broader history of Soviet air travel, see Scott W. Palmer , Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) .

61   Dan Hagedorn , Conquistadors of the Sky: A History of Aviation in Latin America (Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 2008), 410 .

63 See David T. Courtwright , Sky as Frontier: Adventure, Aviation, and Empire (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2005), 140–143 .

“Pour le confort de votre vol,” Balafon 75 (March–April 1986): 55.

65 On Air Afrique as a facilitator of postcolonial African unity, see Henri Mendy , “Air Afrique: Premier jalon de l’unité africaine,” Sénégal d’aujourd’hui , 4, December 1963, 12 . On the financial stake in the company held by Air France and the Union des Transports Aériens (UTA), see “Air Afrique an V: trait d’union d’un continent,” Afrique 60 (October 1966): 16–19.

66 On the use of transportation infrastructure and media to promote a broader colonial agenda, see Andrew Wigley , “Against the Wind: The Role of Belgian Colonial Tourism Marketing in Resisting Pressure to Decolonise from Africa,” Journal of Tourism History 7, no. 3 (2015): 193–209 .

67   Thomas Cook & Son, “Cairo to the Cape: A Cruise-Tour including the Mediterranean and South America,” 1928, 3. Adam Matthew, Marlborough, Leisure, Travel & Mass Culture: The History of Tourism , http://www.masstourism.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/TCA_B_Bx1911_Cruise_1928 , February 16, 2020 . For more on colonial automobile tourism, see Stéphanie Ponsavady , Cultural and Literary Representations of the Automobile in French Indochina: A Colonial Roadshow (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), 100–104 ; and Alison Murray , “Le tourisme Citroën au Sahara (1924–1925),” Vingtième siècle: Revue d’histoire 68 (October–December 2000): 95–107 .

68   Jessica Lynne Pearson , “Internationalists in Flight? Tourism, Propaganda, and the Making of Air France’s Global Empire,” in Internationalists in European History: Rethinking the Twentieth Century , eds. Jessica Reinisch and David Brydan (London: Bloomsbury, 2021) .

Air France, Échos de l’air, bulletin mensuel (March–April 1948). Available from Gallica: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k96053493 , accessed February 16, 2020.

70 See, for example, NA, CO 1031/1044, ‘Hotels bar negro knight,’ Daily Express , August 13, 1953; and CO 1031/1462, Beth Jacobs , ‘Who next will overnight in Nassau? two sketches of a trip abroad,’ The Daily Gleaner , November 16, 1955 .

NA, CO 1031/1041, R.W.E. Willis, area manager, extract from West Indian Review, December, 19, 1953: B.O.A.C. and Mr. Springer.

NA, CO 1031/1465, letter from Geoffrey to Mayle, September 23, 1954.

See, for example, NA, DO 35/7744, “Ghana Anxious to Fly Her Own Colors,” The Guardian , February 18, 1960.

See, for example, Fernando d’Almeida, “En marge de la camerounisation des cadres Samuel Henrio Lobe et Jean Tchuidjeu font part de leur expérience d’ingénieur d’aéronautique,” Bingo , 281, June 1976, p. 26.

75   Chandra D. Bhimull , Empire in the Air: Airline Travel and the African Diaspora (New York: New York University Press, 2017), 6 .

76   Steven L. Harp , Marketing Michelin: Advertising and Cultural Identity in Twentieth-Century France (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001), 56 . On the history of the Hachette guides, see, for example, F. Robert Hunter , “Promoting Empire: The Hachette Tourist in French Morocco, 1919–36,” Middle Eastern Studies 2007): 579–591 .

  Harp, Marking Michelin , 225.

78   Michelin , Maroc (Paris: Pneu Michelin, 1976), 107 . On the idea of transport as tourism, see Gay and Mondou, Tourisme et transport, chapter 4, “Lorsque le transport devient du tourisme.”

See Pearson, “Internationalists in Flight?”

Air Afrique, “Lions et hippopotames de la Pendjari,” Balafon 17 (undated): 20; and Claude Tardits, “Njoya, King of the Bamoum,” Balafon 43 (April 1979): 31.

  Deloria, Indians in Unexpected Places , chapter 4, “Technology: ‘I Want to Ride in Geronimo’s Cadillac.’”

82 See, for example, Matthew Carr , Fortress Europe: Dispatches from a Gated Continent (New York: The New Press, 2016) .

84   Alexandra Talty , “Jessica Nabongo’s Lessons from Visiting Every Country,” Outside , October 11, 2019, https://www.outsideonline.com/2403731/jessica-nabongo-first-black-woman-visit-every-country , accessed February 24, 2020 .

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The Geography of Transport Systems

The spatial organization of transportation and mobility

B.7 – Tourism and Transport

Author: dr. jean-paul rodrigue.

Tourism, as an economic activity, relies on transportation to bring tourists to destinations, and transportation can be part of the touristic experience.

1. The Emergence of the Tourism Industry

Since the 1970s where tourism became increasingly affordable, the number of international tourists has more than doubled . The expansion of international tourism has a large impact on the discipline of transport geography since it links traffic generation, interactions at different scales (from the local to the global), and the related transportation modes and terminals. As of 2016, 1.2 billion international tourist receipts were accounted for, representing more than 10% of the global population. The industry is also a large employer accounting for 10% of all the global employment; 30 tourist visits are usually associated with one job. 30% of the global trade of services is accounted for by tourism. Tourism dominantly takes place in Europe and North America , but geographical diversification is taking place.

Traveling has always been an important feature, but its function has substantially evolved. Historically, travelers were explorers and merchants looking to learn about regions, potential markets and to find goods and resources. The risks and exoticism associated also attracted the elite that could afford the large expenses and the time required to travel to other remote destinations. Many wrote realistic and even imaginary travel accounts. As time moved on and as transportation became more reliable, traveling became a more mundane activity taking place in an organized environment; tourism. In the modern world, traveling is more centered around annual holidays and can be reasonably well predicted.

As an economic activity, tourism is characterized by a high demand level of elasticity. As transport costs are significant for international transportation, cost fluctuations strongly influence demand. Therefore, transport is a key element in the tourism industry. The demand in international and even national transport infrastructures implies a large number of people to be transported in an efficient, fast, and inexpensive manner. It requires heavy investments and complex organization. Well-organized terminals and planned schedules are essential in promoting adequate transportation facilities for tourists, notably since the industry is growing at a fast rate.

Transport is the cause and the effect of the growth of tourism. First, the improved facilities have incited tourism , and the expansion of tourism has prompted the development of transport infrastructure. Accessibility is the main function behind the basics of tourism transport. In order to access sought-after destinations, tourists have a range of transportation modes that are often used in a sequence. Air transport is the primary mode for international tourism, which usually entails travel over long distances. Growth rates of international air traffic are pegged to growth rates of international tourism.

Transport policies and national regulations can influence destinations available to tourists. One dimension concerns the openness to tourism through travel visa restrictions , which vary substantially depending on the countries of origin of tourists. Unsurprisingly, travelers from developed countries, particularly Europe, face the least restrictions, while travelers from developing countries face a much more stringent array of restrictions. Another dimension concerns the provision of infrastructure. If the public sector does not cope with the demand in terms of transport infrastructures, the tourist industry might be impaired in its development. However, land transport networks in various countries are designed to meet the needs of commercial movements that tourism requires.

Tourism usually contributes enough to the local economy that governments are more than willing to improve road networks or airport facilities, especially in locations with limited economic opportunities other than tourism. There are, however, significant differences in the amount of spending per type of mode, namely between cruise and air transport tourism. Cruise shipping tourism provides much less revenue than a tourist brought by air travel. A significant reason is that cruise lines are capturing as much tourism expenses within their ships as possible (food, beverages, entertainment, shopping) and have short port calls, often less than a day. Tourists arriving by air transport usually stay several days at the same location and use local amenities.

2. Means and Modes

Tourism uses all the standard transportation modes since travelers rely on existing passenger transport systems, from local transit systems to global air transportation.

• Car traveling is usually an independent transport conveyance where the traveler decides the route and the length of the trip. It is usually cheaper since road fees are not directly paid and provided as a public. It is the only transportation mode that does not require transfers, in the sense that the whole journey, from door to door can be achieved. Along major highway corridors, service activities such as restaurants, gas stations, and hotels have agglomerated to service the traffic, many of which touristic. Car transport is the dominant mode in world tourism (77% of all journeys), notably because of advantages such as flexibility, price, and independence. Tourists will often rent cars to journey within their destinations, which has triggered an active clustering of car rental companies adjacent to main transport terminals (airports, train stations) and touristic venues.
• Coach traveling uses the same road network as cars. Coaches are well suited for local mass tourism but can be perceived as a nuisance if in too large numbers since they require a large amount of parking space. They can be used for short duration local tours (hours) but also can be set for multi-days journeys where the coach is the conveyance moving tourists from one resort to another.
• Rail travel was the dominant form of passenger transport before the age of the automobile. The railway network usually reflects more the commercial needs of the national economy then holiday tourist flows which can make it a less preferred choice as a traveling mode. The railway systems of several countries, notably in Europe, have seen massive investments for long-distance routes and high-speed services. Due to the scenery or the amenities provided, rail transportation can also be a tourist destination in itself. Several short rail lines that no longer had commercial potential have been converted for tourism.
• Air transport is by far the most effective transport mode. Notably because of prices, only 12.5% of the tourists travel by plane, but for international travel, this share is around 40%. Air transport has revolutionized the geographical aspect of distances; the most remote areas can now be reached any journey around the world can be measured in terms of hours of traveling. Business travelers are among the biggest users of airline facilities, but low-cost air carriers have attracted a significant market segment mainly used for tourism.
• Cruises are mainly providing short sea journeys of about a week. Cruising has become a significant tourist industry. Cruise ships act as floating resorts where guests can enjoy amenities and entertainment while being transported along a chain of port calls. The international market for cruising was about 22.2 million tourists in 2015, which involves an annual growth rate above 7% since 1990. The main cruise markets are the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, with Alaska and Northern Europe fjords also popular during the summer season. This industry is characterized by a high level of market concentration with a few companies, such as Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises who account for about 70% of the market. The impacts of cruising on the local economy are mitigated as the strategy of cruising companies is to retain as much income as possible. This implies that tourists spend most of their money on the cruise ship itself (gift shops, entertainment, casinos, bars, etc.) or on-island facilities owned by cruise shipping companies.

3. Mass Tourism and Mass Transportation

Tourism transport can be divided into two categories:

• Independent means of travel ; controlled by individual tourists who book them on their own. This mainly involves the private automobile, but also mass conveyances that are booked to travel on an individual basis such as regularly scheduled flights, rail connections, ferries, and even cruises.
• Mass travel ; where tourists travel in organized groups. The most common form involves chartered buses and flights used for this single purpose.

When tourism was mainly for the elite, independent means of travel prevailed. However, the emergence of mass tourism and the significant revenue it provides for local economies required the setting of mass transportation systems and specialized firms such as travel agencies organizing travel on behalf of their customers. These firms were able to take advantage of their pricing power being able to negotiate large volumes of passengers for carriers and hotels. Some were even able to become air carriers, such as Thomas Cook Airlines and Air Transat, which are major charterers in their respective markets. Paradoxically, the growth of online travel booking services has favored the re-emergence of independent means of travel since an individual is able to book complex travel services, including transport and hotel accommodations. Thus, the segmentation of the travel industry is linked with the segmentation of the supporting transport systems.

The seasonality of tourism has an important impact on the use and allocation of transportation assets.

• Air transport has a notable seasonality where tourism results in variations in demand, summer being the peak season. Because of this seasonality and the high cost of acquiring additional assets to accommodate peak demand, the airline industry has pricing power during peak touristic demand. This also leads the seasonal charter services to pick up the potential unmet demand. During the winter, charterers focus on subtropical destinations (e.g. Caribbean, Mexico), while during the summer there is more a focus on the European market.
• Cruises also have a seasonality where many cruise lines are repositionning their assets according to variations in the destination preferences. During winter months, the Caribbean is an important destination market, while during the summer, destinations like the Mediterranean, Alaska, and Norway are more prevalent.

4. Covid-19 and its Impacts

Related topics.

• Air Transport
• Airport Terminals
• Transportation and Economic Development
• The Cruise Industry

Bibliography

• Graham, A. and F. Dobruszkes (eds) (2019) Air Transport – A Tourism Perspective, Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• World Economic Forum (2017) The travel & tourism competitiveness report 2017, World Economic Forum.

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Matsumoto Castle, Nagano, Japan

A Brief History of Travel and Tourism

Utilizing the widest definition of the word, human beings have been travelling since the dawn of time. No matter one’s beliefs about the creation of humans, everyone can agree our species began in some single locale, likely Africa or the Middle East , and ‘travelled’ outwards, settling new lands. However, most of this ‘travel’ was done out of necessity and war, often without the intent of return. It wouldn’t be until Antiquity, or the glory days of the Greek and Roman empires, that tourism, or leisure travel, would be introduced.

Aristocratic Tourism

In those days, tourism was a privilege almost entirely confined to the wealthy, who travelled largely for cultural exploration. One has to remember, the Greek and Roman upper classes were people who prided themselves on artistic, scientific, and philosophical pursuits. It follows, then, that these early travellers largely sought to learn the arts, languages, and cultures of their destinations.

Soon enough, travelling for leisure’s sake began to gain popularity; from the Roman Empire arises some of the earliest examples of travel resorts and spas in the world. Though they documented their experiences most thoroughly, the elite Europeans were not the only ones travelling in ancient times. In eastern Asia , it was popular for nobles to travel across the countryside for the religious and cultural experience it offered, oftentimes stopping at temples and sacred sites during their travels.

Religious Tourism

During the Middle Ages, travel took on a new meaning. Although leisurely travel was still reserved for the upper class, it became more and more common for members of the upper and even lower classes to embark on pilgrimages. Most of the major religions at the time, including the Islamic, Judaic, and Christian traditions, encouraged their practitioners to conduct pilgrimages.

Largely unaided by technology, most of these journeys were done on foot, often occasionally with a beast of burden to carry supplies. The wealthy were able to afford other forms of travel including horseback and ship. Furthermore, the Middle Ages saw the emergence of connected shipping routes. As ports grew, travel opportunities increased, and the dock was typically the start of any long-distance travel during the Middle Ages.

The Grand Tour

Travel continued to exist in this way for some time: the rich travelled primarily for cultural and leisure reasons, while the poor travelled largely for religious reasons, if at all. The next major development travel underwent was the establishment of the Grand Tour. Undertaken by the elite men of Western and Northern European countries , the Grand Tour took young travellers across Europe in a “rite of passage” meant to educate the wealthy after they finished their education but before adulthood. Historians cite this tradition as the origin of the modern tourism industry and indicate that the tradition had become well established in European culture by the 1660s.

Like many traditions, the Grand Tour eventually developed a rigid structure. Tourists were expected to follow a set itinerary and travelled with a tutor. The Grand Tour typically began in England, moved south through France into Switzerland and Italy. After spending a few months in Italy, the traveller and his tutor moved upwards through Germany and into Holland before returning to England. These trips utilized the most advanced travel technology of the day, including ships and collapsable coaches, and it wasn’t entirely uncommon for the traveller and tutor to be waited on by a handful of servants.

Tourism For The Masses

The Grand Tour remained a popular cultural phenomenon amongst the rich until the 1840s, which saw the advent of the first widespread railway system across system Europe. Immediately, this innovation opened the possibility of embarking on a Grand Tour to the middle classes, and soon it became more popular for middle and even working-class citizens to travel for leisure.

More importantly, the implementation of railway systems across Europe and the United States positioned the world for the Industrial Revolution. The United Kingdom is often cited as the first country to actively promote leisure time to its industrial class, and as a result, the country had a strong impact on the early development of the tourism industry. One hugely influential player in the history of travel and tourism was Englishmen Thomas Cook, who established the first-ever travel agency to provide ‘inclusive individual travel’ in the 1840s.

This means that travellers move independently in their travels, but all the food, lodging, and travel expenses were set at a fixed price for a predetermined length of time. This allowed travellers to take any route they fancied throughout Europe without having to ascertain food or lodging ahead of time. This fact, coupled with the falling ticket prices of railways, meant that long-distance travel was dramatically cheaper and faster than ever before. This not only further lowered the barriers to leisure travel but also drastically increased the incidences of business-related travel. As one can imagine, Cook’s Tours became massively popular, and the company remains successful today as the Thomas Cook Group.

In short, the introduction of a widespread railway system gifted a massive boost to the tourism industry; this boon would largely reflect that the aeroplane would have in the early-20th century. More so than any other technological development, the aeroplane opened the floodgates of mass international tourism. Behemoth multinational airlines such as Pan Am, Delta, and American Airlines arose during the 1900s, and suddenly the physical boundaries between cities were rendered useless. It has become possible for a traveller to get nearly anywhere on the globe in less than 48 hours, for a price that most middle and working-class members can achieve.

Today, travel stands as one of the most economically important leisure activities in the world. The tourism market is so large that it has split into an astounding number of niche markets, including ecotourism , backpacking, and historical tourism. As of the writing of this article, there have even been a handful of trips into orbit around Earth branded as “space tourism”, a new and exciting chapter in the history of travel and tourism. The story of tourism displays a remarkable connection to the technology that makes travel possible. Transportation innovations like the train and aeroplane have eliminated the difficulties and lowered the costs of long-distance travel, and planet Earth has truly become a smaller place because of it.

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History of travelling: how people started to travel.

• Tea Gudek Šnajdar
• Cultural Tourism

Although we often have a feeling like people are travelling for the last few decades only, the truth is – people are travelling for centuries. Old Romans were travelling to relax in their Mediterranean villas. At the same time, people in Eastern Asia wandered for cultural experiences. I’ve got so fascinated with the history of travelling, that I did my own little research on how people started to travel. And here is what I’ve learned.

History of travelling

I was always curious about the reason people started to travel. Was it for pure leisure? To relax? Or to learn about new cultures, and find themselves along the way?

I wanted to chaise the reason all the way to its source – to the first travellers. And hopped to find out what was the initial motivation for people to travel.

According to linguists, the word ‘travel’ was first used in the 14th century. However, people started to travel much earlier.

While looking at the history of travelling and the reasons people started to travel, I wanted to distinguish the difference between travellers and explorers. Most of the time, when thinking about travel in history, people like Marco Polo or Christopher Columbus are coming to mind. However, they weren’t really travellers in a modern sense. They were explorers and researchers. So, to really learn about how people started to travel, I wanted to focus on ordinary people. Travellers like you and me, if you wish.

Romans and their roads

First people who started to travel for enjoyment only were, I’m sure you won’t be surprised, old Romans. Wealthy Romans would often go to their summer villas. And it was purely for leisure. They could, of course, start doing that because they invented something quite crucial for travelling – roads. Well developed network of roads was the reason they could travel safely and quickly.

However, there is another reason that motivated people in Antiquity to travel. And I was quite amazed when I learned about it.

It was a desire to learn. They believed travelling is an excellent way to learn about other cultures, by observing their art, architecture and listening to their languages.

Sounds familiar? It seems like Romans were the first culture tourists.

⤷ Read more : 20 Archaeological sites you have to visit in Europe

Travelling during the Middle Ages

It may come by surprise, but people started to wander more during the Middle Ages. And most of those journeys were pilgrimages.

Religion was the centre of life back in the Middle Ages. And the only things that connected this world with the saints people were worshipping, were the relics of saints. Pilgrims would often travel to another part of the country, or even Europe to visit some of the sacred places.

The most popular destinations for all those pilgrims was Santiago de Compostela, located in northwest Spain. People would travel for thousands of kilometres to reach it. To make a journey a bit easier for them, and to earn money from the newly developed tourism, many guest houses opened along the way. Pilgrims would often visit different towns and churches on their way, and while earning a ticket to heaven, do some sightseeing, as well.

Wealthy people were travelling in the caravans or by using the waterways. What’s changing in the Middle Ages was that travel wasn’t reserved only for the rich anymore. Lower classes are starting to travel, as well. They were travelling on foot, sleeping next to the roads or at some affordable accommodations. And were motivated by religious purposes.

⤷ TIP : You can still find many of those old pilgrim’s routes in Europe. When in old parts of the cities (especially in Belgium and the Netherlands ), look for the scallop shells on the roads. They will lead you to the local Saint-Jacob’s churches. Places dedicated to that saint were always linked to pilgrims and served as stops on their long journeys. In some cities, like in Antwerp , you can follow the scallop shell trails even today.

Below you can see one of the scallop shells on a street and Saint-Jacques Church in Tournai , Belgium.

Grand Tours of the 17th century

More impoverished people continued to travel for religious reasons during the following centuries. However, a new way of travelling appeared among wealthy people in Europe.

Grand tours are becoming quite fashionable among the young aristocrats at the beginning of the 17th century. As a part of their education (hmmm… culture tourists, again?) they would go on a long journey during which they were visiting famous European cities. Such as London , Paris , Rome or Venice, and were learning about their art, history and architecture.

Later on, those grand tours became more structured, and they were following precisely the same route. Often, young students would be accompanied by an educational tutor. And just to make the things easier for them, they were allowed to have their servants with them, too.

One of those young aristocrats was a young emperor, Peter the Great of Russia. He travelled around western Europe and has spent a significant amount of his time in the Netherlands. The architecture of Amsterdam and other Dutch cities definitely inspired a layout of the new city he has built – Saint Petersburg . So, travelling definitely remains an essential part of education since Roman times.

⤷ Read more : 15 Best museums in Europe you have to visit this year

The railway system and beginning of modern travel in the 19th century

Before the railway system was invented, people mostly travelled on foot (budget travel) or by water (the first-class travel at that time). However, when in the 1840s, an extensive network of railways was built, people started to travel for fun.

Mid-19th century definitely marks a real beginning of modern tourism. It’s the time when the middle class started to grow. And they have found a way to travel easily around Europe.

It’s coming by no surprise that the first travel agency, founded by Thomas Cook in England, was established at that time, too. He was using recently developed trains together with a network of hotels to organise his first group trips.

⤷ Read more : The most interesting European myths and legends

History of travelling in the 20th century

Since then, things started to move quickly. With the development of transportation, travelling became much more accessible. Dutch ships would need around a year to travel from Amsterdam to Indonesia. Today, for the same trip, we need less than a day on a plane.

After the Second World War, with the rise of air travel, people started to travel more and more. And with the internet and all the cool apps we have on our smartphones, it’s easier than ever to move and navigate your way in a new country. Mass tourism developed in the 1960s. But, with the new millennium, we started to face the over-tourism.

We can be anywhere in the world in less than two days. And although it’s a great privilege of our time, it also bears some responsibilities. However, maybe the key is to learn from history again and do what old Romans did so well. Travel to learn, explore local history and art, and be true culture tourists.

History of Travelling , How people started to travel , Travel

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Chapter 2. Transportation

Morgan Westcott

Learning Objectives

• Understand the role of transportation in the tourism industry
• Recognize milestones in the development of the air industry and explain how profitability is measured in this sector
• Report on the historic importance of rail travel and challenges to rail operations today
• Describe water-based transportation segments including cruise travel and passenger ferries
• Recognize the importance of transportation infrastructure in tourism destinations
• Specify elements of sightseeing transportation, and explain current issues regarding rental vehicles and taxis
• Identify and relate industry trends and issues including fuel costs, environmental impacts, and changing weather

The transportation sector is vital to the success of our industry. Put simply, if we can’t move people from place to place — whether by air, sea, or land — we don’t have an industry. This chapter takes a broad approach, covering each segment of the transportation sector globally, nationally, and at home in British Columbia.

Let’s start our review by taking a look at the airline industry.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2014, airlines transported 3.3 billion people across a network of almost 50,000 routes generating 58 million jobs and $2.4 trillion in business activity (International Air Transport Association, 2014a).

Spotlight On: International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing around 240 airlines or 84% of total air traffic. It supports many areas of aviation activity and helps formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues (IATA, 2014b). For more information, visit the  International Air Transport Association website : http://www.iata.org

The first commercial (paid) passenger flight took place in Florida on New Year’s Day 1914 as a single person was transported across Tampa Bay (IATA 2014a). There have been a number of international aviation milestones since that flight, as illustrated in Table 2.1.

Rules and Regulations

Aviation is a highly regulated industry as it crosses many government jurisdictions. This section explores key airline regulations in more detail.

The term open skies refers to policies that allow national airlines to fly to, and above, other countries. These policies lift restrictions where countries have good relationships, freeing up the travel of passengers and goods.

Take a Closer Look: The 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation

This document contains the original statements from the convention that created the airline industry as we know it, providing a preamble statement as well as detailed articles pertaining to a range of issues from cabotage to pilotless aircraft. Read the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation [PDF] : www.icao.int/publications/Documents/7300_orig.pdf

Canada’s approach to open skies is the Blue Sky Policy , first implemented in 2006. The National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) and Canadian Airports Council (CAC) support the Blue Sky Policy.

While opening up a ir transport agreements (ATAs) with other jurisdictions is important, the Canadian government doesn’t provide blanket arrangements, instead negotiating “when it is in Canada’s overall interest to do so” (Government of Canada, 2014a). Some su ggest the government should be more liberal with air access so more competitors can enter the market, potentially attracting more visitors to the country (Gill and Raynor, 2003).

Taxes and Fees

According to a 2012 Senate study on issues related to the Canadian airline industry, Canadian travellers are being grounded by airline fees, fuel surcharges, security taxes, airport improvement fees, and other additional costs. Airports are charged rental fees by the Canadian government ($4.8 billion from 1992 to 2004), which they pass on to the airlines, who in turn transfer the costs to travellers. Some think eliminating rental fees would make Canadian airports more competitive, and view rental and other fees as the reason 5 million Canadians went south of the border for flights in 2013, where passenger fees are 230% lower than in Canada (Hermiston and Steele, 2014).

Profitability

Running an airline is like having a baby: fun to conceive, but hell to deliver. – C. E. Woolman, principal founder of Delta Air Lines ( The Economist , 2011).

As the quote above suggests, airlines are faced with many challenges. In addition to operating in a strict regulatory environment, airlines yield extremely small profit margins. In 2013 the industry accumulated $10.6 billion worldwide in revenues, although global profit margins were just 1.5% (IATA, 2014a). To put that into perspective, while the average airline earned 1.5%, Apple’s profit margins were almost 14 times that at 20.15% (YCharts, 2014).

Passenger Load Factor

Key to airline profitability is passenger load factor , which relates how efficiently planes are being used. Load factor for a single flight can be determined by dividing the number of passengers by the number of seats.

Passenger load factors in the airline industry reached a record high in 2013, at just under 80%, which was attributed to increased volumes and strong capacity management in key sectors (IATA, 2104a). One way of increasing capacity is by using larger aircraft. For instance, the introduction of the Airbus A380 model has allowed up to 40% more capacity per flight, carrying up to  525 passengers in a three-class configuration, and up to 853 in a single-class configuration (Airbus, 2014). 

Low-Cost Carriers

Another key factor in profitability is the airline’s business model. In 1971, Southwest Airlines became the first low-cost carrier (LCC), revolutionizing the industry. The LCC model involved charging for all extras such as reserved seating, baggage, and on-board service, and cutting costs by offering less legroom and using non-unionized workforces. Typically, an LCC has to run with  90% full planes to break even (Owram, 2014). The high-volume, lower-service system is what we have become used to today, but at the time it was introduced, it was groundbreaking.

Ancillary Revenues

The LCC model, combined with tight margins, led to today’s climate where passengers are charged for value-added services such as meals, headsets, blankets, seat selection, and bag checking. These are known in the industry as ancillary revenues . Profits from these extras rose from $36 billion in 2012 to $42 billion in 2013, or more than $13 a passenger. An average net profit of only $3.39 per passenger was retained by airlines (IATA, 2014a).

As you can see, airlines must strive to maintain profitability, despite thin margins, in an environment with heavy government regulation. But at the same time, they must be responsible for the safety of their passengers.

Air Safety and Security

IATA encourages airlines to view safety from a number of points, including reducing operational risks such as plane crashes, by running safety audit programs. They also advocate for improved infrastructure such as runway upgrades and training for pilots and other crew. Finally, they strive to understand emerging safety issues, including the outsourcing of operations to third-party companies (IATA, 2014a).

In terms of security, coordination between programs such as the Interpol Stolen and Lost Travel Documents initiative and other databases is critical (IATA, 2014a). As reservations and management systems become increasingly computerized, cyber-security becomes a top concern for airlines, who must protect IT (information technology) because their databases contain information about flights and passengers’ personal information. Unruly passengers are also a cause of concern, with over 8,000 incidents reported worldwide every year (IATA, 2014a).

Now that we have a better sense of the complexities of the industry, let’s take a closer look at air travel in Canada and the regional air industry.

Canada’s Air Industry

In 1937, Trans-Canada Air Lines (later to become Air Canada) was launched with two passenger planes and one mail plane. By the 1950s,   Canadian Pacific Airlines (CP Air) entered the marketplace, and an economic boom led to more affordable tickets. Around this time CP Air (which became Canadian Airlines in 1987) launched flights to Australia, Japan, and South America (Canadian Geographic, 2000). In 2001, Canadian Airlines International was acquired by Air Canada (Aviation Safety Network, 2012).

In 1996, the marketplace changed drastically with the entry of an Alberta-based LCC called WestJet.  By 2014, WestJet had grown to become Canada’s second major airline with more than 9,700 staff flying to 88 destinations across domestic and international networks (WestJet, 2014).

As it grew, WestJet began to offer services such as premium economy class and a frequent-flyer program, launched a regional carrier, and introduced transatlantic flights with service to Dublin, Ireland, evolving away from the LCC model (Owram, 2014). With those changes, and in the absence of  a true low-cost carrier, in 2014, some other companies, such as Canada Jetlines and JetNaked, sought to raise upward of $50 million to bring their airlines to market.

However, outside of Air Canada and WestJet, airlines in Canada have found it very challenging to survive, and some examples of LCC startups like Harmony Airways and Jetsgo have fallen by the wayside.

Challenges to Canada’s Air Industry

When looking at these failed airlines in Canada, three key challenges to success can be identified (Owram, 2014):

• Canada’s large geographical size and sparse population mean relatively low demand for flights.
• Canada’s higher taxes and fees compared with other jurisdictions (such as the United States) make pricing less competitive.
• Canada’s two dominant airlines are able to price new entrants out of the market.

In addition to these factors, the European debt crisis, a slow US economic recovery, more cautious spending by Canadians, and fuel price increases led to a $900 million industry loss in 2011 (Conference Board of Canada, 2012) prior to the industry returning to profitability in 2013.

Take a Closer Look: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

In 2013, a special report to the Canadian Senate explored the concept that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to competitiveness in the country’s airline industry. The report contains general observations about the industry as well as a number of recommendations to stakeholders, including airport managers. Read the report: “One Size Doesn’t Fit All: the Future Growth and Competitiveness of Canadian Air Travel” [PDF] : www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/trcm/rep/rep08apr13-e.pdf

Today, the Canadian airline industry directly employs roughly 141,000 people and is worth $34.9 billion in gross domestic product. It supports 330 jobs for every 100,000 passengers and contributes over $12 billion to federal and provincial treasuries, including over $7 billion in taxes (Gill and Raynor, 2013).

Let’s now turn our attention to the regional air market, focusing on British Columbia.

Regional Airlines

Transportation in BC has always been difficult: incomplete road systems and rugged terrain historically made travel between communities almost impossible. In 1927, a number of businessmen promised to change all that when they opened British Columbia Airways in Victoria with the purchase of a commercial airliner (Canadian Museum of Flight, 2014).

As commercial flying became more popular, and the province grew, regional airports started to spring up around BC as a means of delivering surveying equipment, forestry supplies, and workers. Many of these airports were legacies of Canada’s strategic position for the military. Fort Nelson’s airport, for instance, was established so the US Air Force could fuel aircraft bound for Russia in World War II (Northern Rockies Regional Airport, 2014).

In 1994, Transport Canada transferred all 150 airports under its control to local authorities under the National Airports Policy (NAP). This policy is considered to have been a turning point in the privatization of the airline industry in Canada. A 2004 study showed that after 10 years, 48% of these airports were not able to cover annual costs of operation, leading to concerns about the viability of small local airports in particular (InterVISTAS, 2005).

In 2012, the BC government released its aviation strategy, entitled Connecting with the World , which acknowledged the economic challenges for airports large and small. These range from Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which supports more than 61,000 jobs and creates more than $11 billion in economic activity each year, through to regional and local airports. The strategy outlined a framework to remove barriers to aviation growth including potentially eliminating the two-cent-per-litre International Aviation Fuel Tax ( British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure , 2012).

Given a highly complex regulatory environment, razor-thin profit margins, and intense competition, the airline industry is constantly changing and evolving at global, national, and regional levels. But one thing is certain: air travel is here to stay.

On the other hand, the rail industry has been faced with significant declines since air travel became accessible to the masses. Let’s learn more about this sector.

In Chapter 1, we looked at the historic significance of railways as they laid the foundation for the modern tourism industry. That’s because in many places, including Canada and British Columbia, trains were an unprecedented way to move people across vast expanses of land. With the Canadian Pacific company opening up hotels in major cities, BC’s hospitality sector was born and a golden age of rail travel emerged.

However, starting in the 1940s and 1950s, the passenger rail industry began to decline sharply. In 1945, Canadian railways carried 55.4 million passengers, but just 10 years later passenger traffic had dropped to 27.2 million. The creation of VIA Rail in 1977 as a Canadian Crown corporation was an attempt by the government to ensure rail travel did not disappear, but in the years since its founding VIA has struggled, relying heavily on federal subsidies in order to continue operations.

Between 1989 and 1990, VIA lost over 45% of its ridership when it cut unprofitable routes, focusing on areas with better potential for revenue and passenger volumes. From there, annual ridership has stabilized at around 3.5 million to 4.0 million passengers per year, slowly increasing throughout the 1990s and 2000s (Dupuis, 2011).

Despite this slight recovery, there are a number of challenges for passenger rail in Canada, which will likely require continued government support to survive. Three key challenges to a successful passenger rail industry are:

• Passenger rail must negotiate with freight for right-of-use of tracks.
• There is limited potential of routes (with the highest volume existing in the Quebec-Windsor corridor).
• Fixed-cost equipment is aging out, requiring replacement or upgrading.

High-speed rail seems like an attractive option, but would be expensive to construct as existing tracks aren’t suitable for the reasons given above. It’s also unlikely to provide high enough returns to private investors (Dupuis, 2011). This means the Canadian government would have to invest heavily in a rapid rail project for it to proceed. As of 2014, no such investment was planned.

Spotlight On: Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours

Founded in 1990, Rocky Mountaineer offers three train journeys through BC and Alberta to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, and Calgary, and one train excursion from Vancouver to Whistler. In 2013, Rocky Mountaineer introduced Coastal Passage, a new route connecting Seattle to the Canadian Rockies that can be added to any two-day or more rail journey (Rocky Mountaineer, 2014). For more information, please visit the Rocky Mountaineer website : http://www.rockymountaineer.com

While the industry overall has been in a decline, touring companies like Rocky Mountaineer have found a financially successful model by shifting the focus from transportation to the sightseeing experience. The company has weathered financial storms by refusing to discount their luxury product, instead focusing on the unique experiences. The long planning cycle for scenic rail packages has helped the company stand their ground in terms of pricing (Cubbon, 2010).

Rail Safety

In Canada, rail safety is governed by the Railway Safety Act , which ensures safe railway operation and amends other laws that relate to rail safety (Government of Canada, 2014b). The Act is overseen by the Minister of Transport. It covers grade crossings, mining and construction near railways, operating certifications, financial penalties for infractions, and safety management.

The Act was revised in late 2014 in response to the massive rail accident in July 2013 in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. A runaway oil train exploded, killing 47 people, and subsequently MM&A Railway and three employees, including the train’s engineer, were charged with criminal negligence (CBC News, 2014).

In addition to freight management issues, a key rail safety concern is that of crossings. As recently as April 2014, Transport Canada had to issue orders for improved safety measures at crossings in suburban Ottawa after a signal malfunctioned in the area (CTV News, 2014a). According to Operation Lifesaver Canada (2014), in 2011, there were 169 crossing collisions across Canada, with 25 fatalities and 21 serious injuries. In general, however, Canada’s 73,000 kilometres of railway tracks safely transport both people and goods. And while railways in Canada, and elsewhere, are being forced to innovate, companies like Rocky Mountaineer (see Spotlight On above) give the industry glimmers of hope.

The rail industry shares some common history with the cruise sector. Let’s now turn our focus to the water and learn about the evolution of travel on the high seas.

Travel by water is as old as civilization itself. However, the industry as we know it began when Thomas Newcomen invented the steam engine in 1712. The first crossing of the Atlantic by steam engine took place in 1819 aboard the SS Savannah , landing in Liverpool, England, after 29 days at sea. Forty years later, White Star Lines began building ocean liners including the  Olympic -class ships (the Olympic, Britannic , and Titanic ), expanding on previously utilitarian models by adding luxurious amenities (Briggs, 2008).

A boom in passenger ship travel toward the end of the 1800s was aided by a growing influx of immigrants from Europe to America, while more affluent passengers travelled by steamship for pleasure or business. The industry grew over time but, like rail travel, began to decline after the arrival of airlines. Shipping companies were forced to change their business model from pure transportation to “an experience,” and the modern cruise industry was born.

The Cruise Sector

We’ve come a long way since the Olympic class of steamship. Today, the  world’s largest cruise ship, MS  Oasis of the Seas , has an outdoor park with 12,000 plants, an 82-foot zip wire, and a high-diving performance venue. It’s 20 storeys tall and can hold 5,400 passengers and a crew of up to 2,394 (Magrath, 2014).  A crew on a cruise ship will include the captain, the chief officer (in charge of training and maintenance), staff captain, chief engineer, chief medical officer, and chief radio officer (communication, radar, and weather monitoring).

Spotlight On: Cruise Lines International Association

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association with representation in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. CLIA represents the interests of cruise lines and travel agents in the development of policy. CLIA is also engaged in travel agent training, research, and marketing communications (CLIA, 2014). For more information on CLIA, the cruise industry, and member cruise lines and travel agencies, visit the Cruise Lines International Association website : www.cruising.org

Cruising the World

According to CLIA, 21.7 million passengers were expected to travel worldwide on 63 member lines in 2014. Given increased demand, 24 new ships were expected in 2014-15, adding a total capacity of over 37,000 passengers.

Over 55% of the world’s cruise passengers are from North America, and the leading destinations (based on ship deployments), according to CLIA, are:

• The Caribbean (37%)
• The Mediterranean (19%)
• Northern Europe (11%)
• Australia/New Zealand (6%)
• Alaska (5%)
• South America (3%)

River Cruising

While mass cruises to destinations like the Caribbean remain incredibly popular, river cruises are emerging as another strong segment of the industry. The key differences between river cruises and ocean cruises are (Hill, 2013):

• River cruise ships are smaller (400 feet long by 40 feet wide on average) and can navigate narrow passages.
• River cruises carry fewer passengers (about 10% of the average cruise, or 200 passengers total).
• Beer, wine, and high-end cuisine are generally offered in the standard package.

The price point for river cruises is around the same as ocean trips, with the typical cost ranging from $2,000 to $4,000, depending on the itinerary, accommodations, and other amenities.

From 2008 to 2013, river cruises saw a 10% annual passenger increase. Europe leads the subcategory, while emerging destinations include a cruise route along China’s Yangtze River. As the on-board experience differs greatly from a larger cruise (no play areas, water parks, or on-board stage productions), the target demographic for river cruises is 50- to 70-year-olds. According to Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman of Viking, an international river cruising company, “with river cruises, a destination is the destination,” although many river cruises are themed around cultural or historical events (Hill, 2013).

Cruising in Canada

According to a study completed for the North West & Canada Cruise Association (NWCCA) and its partners, in 2012, approximately 1,100 cruise ship calls were made at Canadian cruise ports generating slightly more than 2 million passenger arrivals throughout the six-month cruise season (BREA, 2013). The study found three key cruise itineraries in Canada:

• Canada/New England
• Quebec (between Montreal and Quebec City and US ports)
• Alaska (either departing from, or using, Vancouver or another BC city as a port of call)

These generated $1.16 billion in direct spending. Cruising also generated almost 10,000 full- and part-time jobs paying $397 million in wages and salaries. The international cruise industry also generated an estimated $269 million in indirect business and income taxes in Canada, and the majority of this spending was in British Columbia (BREA, 2013).

Cruising BC

BC’s rail history and cruise history are intertwined. As early as 1887, Canadian Pacific Railway began offering steamship passage to destinations such as Hawaii, Shanghai, Alaska, and Seattle. Ninety-nine years later, Vancouver’s Canada Place was built, with its cruise ship terminals, allowing the province to attract large ships and capture its share of the growing international cruise industry (Cruise BC, 2014).

Spotlight On: Cruise BC

Cruise BC is a partnership between BC port destinations designed to provide a vehicle for cooperative marketing and development of BC’s cruise sector. Their vision is that the West Coast and British Columbia’s coastal communities are recognized and sought out globally by cruise lines and passengers as a destination of choice. For more information, visit the Cruise BC website : http://www.cruisebc.ca

This potential continues to grow as Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Victoria, and Vancouver accounted for 57% of the Canadian cruise passenger traffic with 1.18 million passengers in 2012 (BREA, 2013).

Cruising isn’t the only way for visitors to experience the waters of BC. In fact, the vast majority of our water travel is done by ferry. Let’s take a closer look at this vital component of BC’s transportation infrastructure.

Ferry service in British Columbia dates back to the mid-1800s when the Hudson’s Bay Company ran ships between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Later, CP Rail and Black Ball ferries ran a private service, until 1958 when Premier W.A.C. Bennett announced the BC Ferry Authority would consolidate the ferries under a provincial mandate.

The MV Tsawwassen and the MV Sidney began regular service on June 15, 1960, and BC Ferries was officially launched with two terminals and around 200 employees. Today, there are 35 vessels, 47 destinations, and up to 4,700 employees in the summer peak season (BC Ferries, 2014).

BC isn’t the only destination where ferries make up part of the transportation experience. In 2011, Travel + Leisure Magazine profiled several notable ferry journeys in the article, “World’s Most Beautiful Ferry Rides” including:

• An 800-mile ferry voyage through Chile’s Patagonian fjords
• A three-mile trip from the Egyptian Spice Market to Istanbul, Turkey
• Urban ferry rides including Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, Australia’s Sydney Harbour, and New York City’s Staten Island Ferry

The article also featured the 15-hour trip from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert on British Columbia’s coast (Orcutt, 2011).

While cruising is often a pleasant and relaxing experience, there are a number of safety concerns for vessels of all types.

Cruise and Ferry Safety

One of the major concerns on cruise lines is disease outbreak, specifically the norovirus (a stomach flu), which can spread quickly on cruise ships as passengers are so close together. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vessel sanitation program (http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm) is designed to help the industry prevent and control the outset, and spreading, of these types of illnesses (Briggs, 2008).

Accidents are also a concern. In 2006, the BC Ferries vessel MV Queen of the North crashed and sank in the Inside Passage, leaving two passengers missing and presumed dead. The ship’s navigating officer was charged with criminal negligence causing their deaths (Keller, 2013). More recently, a “hard landing” at Duke Point terminal on Vancouver Island caused over $4 million in damage. BC Ferries launched a suit against a German engineering firm in late 2013, alleging a piece of equipment failed, making a smooth docking impossible. The Transportation Safety Board found that staff aboard the ship didn’t follow proper docking procedures, however, which contributed to the crash (Canadian Press, 2013).

Spotlight On: The Transportation Safety Board  

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigates marine, pipeline, rail, and air incidents. It is an independent agency that reviews an average of 3,200 events every year. It does not determine liability; however, coroners and medical examiners may use TSB findings in their investigations. The head office in Quebec manages 220 staff across the country. For more information, visit the Transportation Safety Board website : http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/index.asp

We’ve covered the skies, the rails, and the seas. Now let’s round out our investigation of transportation in tourism by delving into travel on land.

While much of this text has placed significance on the emergence of the railways as critical to the development of our industry, BC’s roadways have also played an integral role. Our roads have evolved from First Nations trails, to Fur Trade and Gold Rush routes, to Wagon Roads and Trunk Roads — finally becoming the highway system we know today ( British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Highways , n.d.).

Take a Closer Look: Frontier to Freeway: A Short Illustrated History of the Roads in British Columbia

This short book, available as a PDF, provides an overview of the integral importance of BC’s evolving roadways in our transportation sector. Read this book: Frontier to Freeway: A Short Illustrated History of the Roads in British Columbia [PDF] : http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications/frontiertofreeway/frontiertofreeway.pdf

Today, land-based travel is achieved through a complex web of local transit, taxis, rentals, walking, and short-term sightseeing. This section briefly explores these options.

Scenic and Sightseeing Travel

It’s common for visitors to want to explore a community and appreciate the sights. We’ve already learned a little about the rail-based sightseeing company, Rocky Mountaineer. Many destinations also offer short-term, hop-on-hop-off bus and trolley tours. Others feature trams and trolleys. Outside of impromptu excursions, sightseeing tours are often put together by inbound tour operators. You can learn more about tour operators, and the sightseeing sector, in Chapter 7.

Transit and Destination Infrastructure

Vancouver’s Tourism Master Plan acknowledges the importance of transportation infrastructure to the tourism industry. Priorities for future development by the city include (Tourism Vancouver, 2013):

• Improving accessibility for people with disabilities
• Creating a transit loop between downtown attractions
• Supporting ferries in False Creek
• Providing late-night transit
• Investigating and implementing a public bike share
• Developing more transit options along the Broadway corridor
• Working with taxi companies to explore a strategic plan for taxi operations
• Enhancing walkability by implementing recommendations from the Pedestrian Safety Study and Action Plan

These action items were developed in consultation with industry stakeholders as well as residents, and reflect the interrelated elements that make up a destination’s transportation infrastructure.

Rentals and Taxis

Today, when travellers aren’t using their own cars, automobile travel is traditionally split between rental vehicles and taxis (including limousines).

In North America, there are three main brands that represent approximately 85% of the rental car business: Enterprise (includes National and Alamo), Hertz (includes Dollar and Thrifty), and Avis. One of the reasons that brands have consolidated over time is the high fixed cost of operation as vehicles are purchased, maintained, and disposed of. Fierce competition means prices are checked and updated thousands of times a day. The business is also highly seasonal, with high traffic in summer and spring, and so fleet management is critical for profitability. Rental companies tend to use enplanements (the numbers of passengers travelling by air), as a measurement of market trends that influence rental usage (DBRS, 2010).

In BC, taxi licences are issued by the BC Passenger Transportation Board. In Vancouver, the right to operate a taxi is based on a permit system, and each permit costs the original holder $100. But because of the limited number of permits available, those who hold one are able to auction it off for over $800,000 and keep the profit. As a result, passengers in Vancouver paid an average of 73% more for the equivalent trip in Washington, D.C. Drivers from  areas outside the city depositing passengers in Vancouver are also not permitted to pick up fares on the return trip, having to drive across their boundaries (Proctor, 2014).

Ridesharing apps  like Uber, which allow people to find a ride using their mobile phone, have emerged to exert influence on car travel in key destinations. In San Francisco, these apps have rapidly undercut the taxi industry: according to the city’s transit authority, per month, trips by taxi have plummeted from 1,424 in 2012 to 504 in 2014, even though taxi operators maintain a monopoly over rides from the airport (Kuittinen, 2014). In New York City, however, the price of medallions (similar to Vancouver’s taxi permits) continues to hover above $950,000. In large markets like Manhattan, passengers continue to hail cabs on the street in the moment, with e-hails (electronic taxi hails) at 0.17% of the market (Brustein & Winter, 2014). The City of Vancouver opted to force Uber to roll back after its initial release, and in 2014 placed the app on a six-month moratorium after pressure from taxi operators who cited threats to the values of their licences as well as safety and monitoring concerns (CTV News, 2014b).

As this and other examples illustrate, the transportation sector is vulnerable to regulatory, technological, operational, and business trends. Let’s look at these in more detail.

Trends and Issues

This section explores issues directly relating to transportation today including fuel cost, labour, and environmental impacts. For more information on one of the biggest trends in tourism, online travel agencies (OTAs), and how online bookings impact the transportation sector, please see Chapter 7.

When it comes to moving people, fuel cost is critical. The cost of jet fuel is one of the single highest factors in airline profitability. In 2013, the average cost was around $125 per barrel, which was $5 less than the previous year (IATA, 2014a). Cruise ships consume a lower grade of diesel than do land vehicles, but they consume a lot of it. The QE2 , for example, consumes roughly 380 tonnes of fuel every day if travelling at 28.5 knots (Briggs, 2008).

As in all tourism-related sectors, cyclical labour shortages can significantly impact the transportation industry. In the aviation sector, a forecast found that by 2032 the world’s airlines will need 460,000 additional pilots and 650,000 new maintenance technicians to service current and future aircraft. The drive to find employees also extends to the maritime sector, where the International Maritime Organization (IMO) launched a “Go to sea!” campaign to attract more workers to the field (PWC, 2012).

Environmental Impacts

In addition to fuel and labour costs, and regulations we’ve covered already, the transportation sector has a significant impact on the natural environment.

Air Impacts

According to the David Suzuki Foundation (2014), the aviation industry is responsible for 4% to 9% of climate change impacts, and greenhouse gas emissions from flights have risen 83% since 1990. Airline travel has a greater emissions impact than driving or taking the train per passenger kilometre, which caused a bishop in the UK to famously declare that “Making selfish choices such as flying on holiday [is] a symptom of sin” (Barrow, 2006).

Rail Impacts

Rail travel is widely regarded as one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transportation due to its low carbon dioxide emissions. Railways come under fire outside of the tourism realm, however, as freight shipping can produce hazards to resident health including an increased risk of developing cancer and noise pollution (The Impact Project, 2012).

Cruise Impacts

Cruise ships can generate significant pollution from black water (containing human waste), grey water (runoff from showers, dishwashers, sinks), bilge water (from the lowest compartment of the ship), solid waste (trash), and chemical waste (cleaners, solvents, oil). One ship can create almost a million litres of grey water, over 113,000 litres of black water, and over 140,000 litres of bilge water every day. Depending on the regulations in the operating areas, ships can simply dump this waste directly into the ocean. Ballast tanks, filled to keep the ship afloat, can be contaminated with species which are then transported to other areas, disrupting sensitive ecosystems (Briggs, 2008).

Land Impacts

A recent study found that the impact of travel on land is highly dependent on the number of passengers. Whereas travelling alone in a large SUV can have high emissions per person (as high as flying), increasing the number of passengers, and using a smaller vehicle, can bring the impact down to that of train travel ( Science Daily , 2013).

For more information on the environmental impacts of the transportation sector, and how to mitigate these, read Chapter 10.

As you’ve learned, the transportation sector can have an effect on climate change, and changes in weather have a strong effect on transportation. According to Natural Resources Canada (2013), some of these include:

• More drastic freeze-thaw cycles, destroying pavement and causing ruts in asphalt
• Increased precipitation causing landslides, washing out roads, and derailing trains
• Effects and costs of additional de-icing chemicals deployed on aircraft and runways (over 50 million litres were used worldwide in 2013)
• Delayed flights and sailings due to increased storm activity
• Millions of dollars of infrastructure upgrades required as sea levels increase and flood structures (replacing or relocating bridges, tunnels, ports, docks, dykes, helipads and airports)

The threat of climate change could significantly impact sea-level airports such as YVR, and some 50 additional registered airports across Canada that sit at five metres or less above sea level (Natural Resources Canada, 2013).

For this reason, it’s important that the sector continue to press for innovations and greener transportation choices, if only to ensure future financial costs are kept at bay.

Tourism, freight, and resource industries such as forestry and mining sometimes compete for highways, waterways, and airways.  It’s important for governments to engage with various stakeholders and attempt to juggle various economic priorities — and for tourism to be at the table during these discussions.

That’s why in 2015 the BC Ministry of Transportation released its 10-year plan, BC on the Move . Groups like the Tourism Industry Association of BC actively polled their members in order to have their concerns incorporated into the plan. These included highway signage and wayfaring, the future of BC Ferries, and urban infrastructure improvements.

You can view the plan by visiting  http://engage.gov.bc.ca/transportationplan/

This chapter has taken a brief look at one of the most complex, and vital, components of our industry. Chapter 3 covers accommodations and is just as essential.

• Ancillary revenues: money earned on non-essential components of the transportation experience including headsets, blankets, and meals
• Blue Sky Policy: Canada’s approach to open skies agreements that govern which countries’ airlines are allowed to fly to, and from, Canadian destinations
• Cruise BC: a multi-stakeholder organization responsible for the development and marketing of British Columbia as a cruise destination
• Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA): the world’s largest cruise industry trade association with representation in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia
• International Air Transport Association (IATA) : the trade association for the world’s airlines
• Low-cost carrier (LCC): an airline that competes on price, cutting amenities and striving for volume to achieve a profit
• National Airports Policy (NAP): the 1994 policy that saw transfer of 150 airports from federal control to communities and other local agencies, essentially deregulating the industry
• Open skies: a set of policies that enable commercial airlines to fly in and out of other countries
• Passenger load factor: a way of measuring how efficiently a transportation company uses its vehicles on any given day, calculated for a single flight by dividing the number of passengers by the number of seats
• Railway Safety Act: a 1985 Act to ensure the safe operation of railways in Canada
• Ridesharing apps: applications for mobile devices that allow users to share rides with strangers, undercutting the taxi industry
• Transportation Safety Board (TSB): the national independent agency that investigates an average of 3,200 transportation safety incidents across the country every year
• When did the first paid air passenger take flight? What would you say have been the three biggest milestones in commercial aviation since that date?
• If a flight with 500 available seats carries 300 passengers, what is the passenger load factor?
• Why is it difficult for new airlines to take off in Canada?
• How did some of BC’s regional airports come into existence? What are some of the challenges they face today?
• How much economic activity is generated by YVR every year?
• What are the key differences between river cruises and ocean cruises? Who are the target markets for these cruises?
• Which cities attract more than 50% of the cruise traffic in Canada?
• What are the priorities for transportation infrastructure development as outlined in Vancouver’s Tourism Master Plan? What other transportation components would you include in your community’s tourism plan?
• What are some of the environmental impacts of the transportation sector? Name three. How might these be lessened?

Case Study: Air North

Founded in 1977 by Joseph Sparling and Tom Wood, Air North is a regional airline providing passenger and cargo service between Yukon and destinations including BC, Alberta, and Alaska. In 2012, Air North surpassed one million passengers carried. Employing over 200 people, the airline is owned in significant part by the Vuntut Development Corporation, the economic arm of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN). In fact, one in 15 Yukoners owns a stake in the airline (Air North, 2015).

The ownership model has meant that economic returns are not always the priority for shareholders. As stated on its website, “ the maximization of profit is not the number one priority,” as air service is a “lifeline” to the VGFN community. For this reason, service and pricing of flights is extremely important, as are employment opportunities. 

Visit the corporate information portion of the Air North website and answer the following questions: http://www.flyairnorth.com/Experience/about-air-north.aspx

• What is the number one priority of Air North? How is the company structured to ensure it can meet its goals in this area?
• What does Air North consider to be its competitive advantage? How does this differ from other airlines?
• Describe the investment portfolio of the Vuntut Development Corporation. What types of companies does it own? Why might they have selected these types of initiatives?
• List at least three groups that have a stake in the airline. What are their interests? Where do their interests line up, and where do they compete?
• In your opinion, would this regional airline model work in your community? Why or why not?

Air North. (2015). Corporate information . Retrieved from www.flyairnorth.com/Experience/Corporate.aspx

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Barrow, Becky. (2006, July 23). Flying on holiday ‘a sin’, says bishop.   Daily Mail Online . Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-397228/Flying-holiday-sin-says-bishop.html

BC Ferries. (2014, June 17). BC Ferries proudly celebrates 50 sears of Service . Retrieved from http://www.bcferries.com/about/history/history.html

BREA. (2013, March). The economic contribution of the international cruise industry in Canada 2012 .  Prepared for:  North West & Canada Cruise Association, St. Lawrence Cruise Association, Atlantic Canada Cruise Association, Cruise BC. Exton, PA: Business Research & Economic Advisors, p. 1-5.

Briggs, Josh.  (2008, May 1). How cruise ships work . Retrieved from http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/cruise-ship.htm

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Highways. (n.d.). Frontier to freeway: A short illustrated history of the roads in British Columbia. [PDF] Retrieved from http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications/frontiertofreeway/frontiertofreeway.pdf

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. (2012). Connecting with the world: An aviation strategy for British Columbia [PDF] . Retrieved from http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/airports/documents/2012_AviationStrategy.pdf

Brustein, Joshua and Caroline Winter. (2014, February 28). If Uber is killing taxis, what explains the million-dollar medallions.   Business Week . Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-28/if-uber-is-killing-taxis-what-explains-new-yorks-million-dollar-medallions

Canadian Geographic . (September/October 2000). Canadian aviation history.  Retrieved from http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so00/aviation_history.asp

Canadian Museum of Flight. (2014). The history of flight in BC . Retrieved from http://www.canadianflight.org/content/history-flight-bc-0

Canadian Press. (2013, December 12). BC Ferries crash lawsuit targets electronics firm.   Huffpost British Columbia . Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/22/bc-ferries-crash-lawsuit_n_4490818.html

CBC News. (2014, May 12.) MM&A Railway faces charges in Lac-Megantic disaster – Montreal – CBC News . Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mm-a-railway-faces-charges-in-lac-mégantic-disaster-1.2640654

CLIA. (2014, January 16). The state of the cruise industry in 2014: Global growth in passenger numbers and product offerings . Retrieved from http://www.cruising.org/regulatory/news/press_releases/2014/01/state-cruise-industry-2014-global-growth-passenger-numbers-and-product-o

Conference Board of Canada. (2012, September 13). Canada’s airlines hoping to return to the black in 2013. Retrieved from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/press/newsrelease/12-09-14/canada_s_airlines_hoping_to_return_to_the_black_in_2013.aspx

Cruise BC. (2014). Cruise BC, Canada – Cruise executives . Retrieved from http://www.cruisebc.ca/index.php?page=5

CTV News. (2014a).  Feds order Via Rail to address ‘safety’ issues at 6 Ottawa railway crossings . Retrieved from http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/feds-order-via-rail-to-address-safety-issues-at-6-ottawa-railway-crossings-1.1771156

CTV News. (2014b, October 1). Vancouver delays Uber, new cabs for six months. Retrieved from http://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-delays-uber-new-cabs-for-six-months-1.2034892

Cubbon, Paul. (2010, October 22). Rocky economy can’t derail train company. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/rocky-economy-cant-derail-train-company/article1241050/

David Suzuki Foundation. (2014). Air travel and climate change. Retrieved from http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/air-travel-and-climate-change/

DBRS. (2010, May). Rating Canadian rental car securitizations . Retrieved from http://www.dbrs.com/research/232631

Dupuis, Jean. (2011, November 16). VIA Rail Canada Inc. and the future of passenger rail in Canada . Ottawa, ON: Library of Parliament. Retrieved from http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2011-93-e.htm#a8

Economist, The . (2011, December 22). Business quotations: Our favourite air lines . Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/12/business-quotations

Gill, Vijay and  R. Neil Raynor. (2013, September).  Growing Canada’s economy: A new national air transportation policy . Ottawa, ON: Conference Board of Canada, p. i -4. 

Government of Canada. (2014a, June 5). The Blue Sky Policy: Made in Canada, for Canada – Transport Canada . Retrieved from http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/air-bluesky-menu-2989.htm

Government of Canada. (2014b, September 3). Railway Safety Act (1985, c. 32 (4th Supp.)) – Transport Canada . Retrieved from https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/acts-regulations/acts-1985s4-32.htm

Hermiston, Sandra and Lynda Steele (2014, August 5). Why it costs so much more to fly in Canada. CTV Vancouver News . Retrieved from http://bc.ctvnews.ca/why-it-costs-so-much-more-to-fly-in-canada-1.1733387

Hill, Catey. (2013, February 1). W hat’s behind the river-cruise boom.   Marketwatch . Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whats-behind-the-river-cruise-boom-2013-02-01

IATA. (2014a, June). IATA annual review 2014. Retrieved from http://www.iata.org/2014-review/reader.html?r=29/569#

IATA. (2014b). IATA-About us. Retrieved from http://www.iata.org/about/pages/index.aspx

Impact Project. (2012, January 20). Tracking harm: Health and environmental impacts of rail yards.  The Impact Project Policy Brief Series. [PDF] Retrieved from http://hydra.usc.edu/scehsc/pdfs/Rail%20issue%20brief.%20January%202012.pdf

InterVISTAS. (2005, April). BC regional airports: A policy guide to viability . [PDF] Prepared for AIM/Council of Tourism Associations, Vancouver, BC. Retrieved from http://www.intervistas.com/downloads/BC_Regional_Airports.pdf

Keller, James. (2013, April 22). Karl Lilgert, Queen of the North officer, explains how ferry crashed.   Huffpost British Columbia . Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/22/karl-lilgert-queen-of-the-north_n_3134177.html

Kuittinen, Tero. (2014, September 19). Mobile apps are absolutely murdering San Francisco’s taxi industry. BGR . Retrieved from http://bgr.com/2014/09/19/uber-vs-lyft-vs-taxis/

Magrath, A. (2014, October 15). Longer than the shard and wider than a Boeing 747 wingspan: The world’s largest cruise ship sails into the UK for the first time.   Mail Online . Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2793859/oasis-seas-world-s-largest-cruise-ship-sails-uk-time.html

Natural Resources Canada. (2013, May 15). Impacts on transportation infrastructure . Retrieved from http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/environment/resources/publications/impacts-adaptation/reports/assessments/2004/ch8/10217

Northern Rockies Regional Airport. (2014). History . Retrieved from http://www.flynorthernrockies.ca/history

Operation Lifesaver Canada. (2014). Train safety FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.operationlifesaver.ca/facts-and-stats/train-safety-faq/

Orcutt, April. (2011, November). World’s most beautiful rerry Rides.”   Travel + Leisure . Retrieved from http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-beautiful-ferry-rides

Owram, Kristine. (2014, July 5). Unfriendly skies await proposed low-cost airlines Canada jetlines, jet naked.   The Financial Post . Retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/05/unfriendly-skies-await-proposed-low-cost-airlines-canada-jetlines-jet-naked/#__federated=1

Proctor, Benn. (2014, June 3). Opinion: Time to reform Vancouver’s antiquated taxi industry . The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com/Opinion+Time+reform+Vancouver+antiquated+taxi+industry/9900418/story.html

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Attributions

Figure 2.1  Sky Jet   by Jez  is used under a  CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0  license.

Figure 2.2  Airbus 380-800  by Ponte112  is used under a  CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0  license.

Figure 2.3  airplane 036   by MamaMia05  is used under a  CC-BY 2.0  license.

Figure 2.4  C.P.R. Mount Stephen House, Field, BC, 1909   by Musee McCord Museum has  No known copyright restrictions .

Figure 2.5  Sunset Cruise   by Evan Leeson  is used under a  CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0  license.

Figure 2.6  Uniworld River Cruises River Beatrice in Passau Germany   by Gary Bembridge  is used under a  CC-BY 2.0  license.

Figure 2.7   BC Ferry   by David Lewis  is used under a  CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0  license.

Figure 2.8 Lincoln Town Car   by Nathan  is used under a  CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0  license.

Figure 2.9  Baltimore Airport   by Lee Ruk  is used under a  CC-BY-SA 2.0  license.

Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality in BC Copyright © 2015 by Morgan Westcott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The transportation, travel, and tourism sector—abbreviated in this chapter to 3T—is making a subtle but dramatic shift. The industry led the way into the digital age with e-tourism , the use of digital media to assist with every transaction in the 3T value chain. E-tourism allows travelers to seek, find, and procure experiences with a few keystrokes or clicks. Now, the industry is undergoing another transformation with smart tourism , offering not only an array of options via digital media but also making personalized suggestions and even guiding the consumer’s choices.

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Reagan, J.R., Singh, M. (2020). Transportation, Travel, and Tourism Evolution. In: Management 4.0. Blockchain Technologies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6751-3_11

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The Fascinating History of Water Transport

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The history of water transport is a long and fascinating one, and in this article I will teach you all about it! From cruise ships to cargo transport to water buses, there are many types of water transport that have played a key role in the fascinating history of water transport. Ready to learn more? Keep scrolling…

What is water transport?

Early history, the history of water transport in the viking era, the arab age of discovery, the history of water transport continued, the two world wars, individual crossings of the atlantic ocean, the history of water transport.

Before we delve into the history of water transport we first need to understand what water transport is!

Water transport, or maritime transport, refers to the use of vessels or vehicles to transport people or goods via water – whether that be a sea, ocean, lake, river, canal or other body of water. It has a long history and is still used today on a daily basis for recreational, military and trade purposes.

Looking at the very early history of water transport involves looking at when the first boat was invented. Records suggest that boats have been in use for a long time. The oldest recovered boat is the Pesse canoe, found in the Netherlands, which was made from hollowing out a tree trunk somewhere between 8200 and 7600 BC. Presumably this was used to transport something, so it can be said that this was the very start of the history of water transport.

We know that the Ancient Egyptians were using wooden boats called Feluccas from around 3000 BC, to transport coffins, grains and much more. Prior to this, however, they were using boats made from bundles of papyrus reeds, tied together really tightly.

By around 1000 AD, the Austronesian people in the island regions of Southeast Asia were engaging in maritime trade with citizens of China , the Middle East and South Asia. They are said to be the ones to introduce sailing technology and techniques to these areas. Records suggest that they used boats known as ‘kunlun bo’ which translates to ‘ship of the Kunlun people’, with 4-7 masts and the ability to sail against the wind thanks to tanja sails.

We know that the Vikings were keen on boats and used them as their primary form of transport – making them a key figure in the history of water transport. Their history can be traced back to around 793 AD. 

Fjord Tours say Some of the earliest ships discovered were the Oseberg, the Gokstad, and the Tune. These ships were not as specialized as the ships that would be created after them. So, it appears that they were used for everything from transport to battle. 

By the end of the 9th century, specialization of the ships had begun. Around this time, the Vikings started to create warships. Warships were longer and slimmer than previous boats the Vikings had built, and although the name might inspire visions of epic sea battles, the warships were actually used for something altogether different. Due to their shape and size, these vessels were able to navigate sheltered waters where they would drop off the Vikings at a point of interest. From there, the Vikings could discreetly enter their target location. The warships were designed for a quick getaway once the Vikings had obtained the loot from their target location.

At the same time as the Viking era, the Arab Empire was expanding their trade network across Asia, Europe and Africa. During the 8th-12th centuries they were the world’s leading economic power, it has been said. Many rivers in the Islamic region were unnavigable. Due to this, transport by sea was very important; using a compass and a kamal, sailors during this period could sail across oceans rather than just along the coast – cutting the time it took to get from A to B. Sea trade allowed for the distribution of food and supplies to feed entire nations of people in the Middle East. And long-distance sea trade meant the importation of raw materials for building and luxury goods for wealthy citizens. They used ships called a qarib, which would go on to inspire the Spanish caravel. 

From the 14-1500s, water transport was key in what is known as the general Age of Discovery. This was Christopher Columbus’ era, when European ships sailed across the world searching for new trading routes. Other big names in maritime history around this time include John Cabot, Juan Fernandez, Jacques Cartier, Richard Hakluyt and Vasco da Gama. Around this time, the favoured type of boat was a wooden sailing vessel with 3-4 masts. It wasn’t just these explorers who used them but traders and the military.

We can, from here, start to see a much more heavily documented timeline of boats, ships and other forms of water transport. For example, also in the 1400s was the invention of the yacht – by the Dutch, who used these for chasing pirates and criminals as well as for Naval purposes. They were then co-opted by rich ship owners, who would use them for celebratory sail-outs when their ships came back – hence why they are now a symbol of the elite. In 1660, Charles II used a yacht to carry him to the Netherlands from England for his restoration.

Because of the growth in trade routes, boats and ships around this time were being constantly developed and improved. They needed to be bigger and stronger, and able to travel for longer periods of time.

Fast sailing ships called Clippers were built in the 1800s, and they had long slim hulls and tall masts. A few years later, in 1818, the Black Ball Line shipping company started offering a passenger service from the United States over to England. The group was founded by Quakers who had four packet ships, and the transatlantic passenger crossing ran between New York City and Liverpool. It wasn’t particularly popular at first but by 1822 they were running two crossings per month for 35 guineas per person; this led to competition from the likes of Red Star Line.

At the same time, the first steam powered ships were able to cross the Atlantic Ocean too. Innovations in the history of water transport were coming thick and fast in the 1800s; by around 1845, the first ocean liners built from iron appeared. They were propeller-driven, instead of using sails.

It was, however, also around this time that canals became less of a popular way to transport goods and people – this was thanks to the establishment of good working railways.

Again, innovations continued. Diesel became an easy way to power ships – oil seemed to work better than steam. However, steam was still in use for some time alongside the new diesel-powered ships; it was in 1912 when the famous tragedy of the Titanic took place.

We also saw a lot of new water transport inventions in the 1900s: hydroplanes, hovercrafts, and nuclear-powered cargo ships like the N.S. Savannah which sailed for 3.5 years without having to refuel. The 1900s – or, more specifically, the 1980s – also saw the introduction of container ships. These large and strong cargo ships allowed vast amounts of cargo to be carried in mental boxes known as containers; around 90% of non-bulk cargo is carried on container ships today.

Cruise ships also rose to prominence in the 1900s. The first ever cruise ship was created in 1901; it was German and you can read about it here . However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that cruising became more commonplace and more accessible. They were able to carry hundreds if not thousands of people – like floating holiday villages. Over time they have become more and more impressive with their own cinemas, water parks and go-karting tracks alongside the multitude of bars and restaurants each one has on board.

Boats and ships obviously played a huge part in both of the world wars, which were two important time periods in the history of water transport. Thousands of water transport vessels were used in each war – for battle, for transporting goods to armed forces in different places and so on. During WWI, around 2100 ships were sunk and 153 U-boats were destroyed. And during WWII, around 3,700 ships were sunk a further 783 U-boats destroyed.

Ann Davison was the first woman to sail across the Atlantic alone, doing so in 1952. More did so in the 1960s and then, in 1965, Robert Manry made it across without stopping in a sailboat named Tinkerbelle. Later, in 1980, Gérard d’Aboville rowed single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean – this feat was accomplished by a woman eleven years later, when Tori Murden did it.

There is a lot to say about the history of water transport – from the first rudimentary boats to the super cruise ships of today. Water vehicles have long been used to transport goods and people across bodies of water, and while air and rail transport are popular now it seems that water transport remains a brilliant way to get from A to B.

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The Concorde made its final flight over 20 years ago and supersonic air travel has yet to return. Here's a look back at its incredible history.

• Co-developed by Britain and France, Concorde was the first and only supersonic commercial airliner.
• British Airways operated its final commercial Concorde flight in 2003, ending its 27-year career.
• The supersonic jet remains an icon of modern aviation and a technological marvel.

For a fleeting 30 years during the 20th century, supersonic commercial air travel was a reality. But on October 24, 2003, that era came to an abrupt end.

That day, British Airways operated its last commercial Concorde service from JFK International Airport to London Heathrow. Air France pulled its Concordes from service a few months earlier. Thus, it would be the Concorde's last ever commercial flight in a career that started in January 1976. 

The Anglo-French Concorde was co-developed by BAC, a forerunner of BAE Systems, and Aerospatiale, now a part of Airbus.

The supersonic jet has a storied history.

The Concorde was never the commercial success for which its creators had hoped. Environmental and operational limitations of the Concorde hampered its commercial appeal among airline customers. Only 20 of the planes were ever built, and just 14 of them were production aircraft. The Concorde saw service with only two airlines — Air France and British Airways — on just two routes. 

However, its lack of commercial success doesn't diminish its role as an icon of modern aviation and as a technological marvel, one which plane makers and aerospace startups still talk about replicating.

Over 20 years after its last flight for British Airways, the world is still without a viable form of supersonic passenger service. 

Here's a look back at the awesome history of the Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic airliner. 

This article was originally published by Benjamin Zhang in October 2018. It was updated by David Slotnick in March 2020 and Talia Lakritz in May 2024.

As soon as Chuck Yeager crossed the sound barrier in 1947, commercial aviation companies began planning to take passengers past Mach 1.

"Mach 1" is the speed of sound, or about 670 miles per hour at 30,000 feet, according to the US Air Force .

On November 29, 1962, the governments of France and Great Britain signed a concord agreement to build a supersonic jetliner, hence the name of the plane that resulted: Concorde.

France and Great Britain each agreed to spend between £75 million and £85 million for the development of the plane, the Associated Press reported.

Together, Aérospatiale — a predecessor of Airbus Industries — and the British Aircraft Corporation agreed to produce a four-engine, delta-wing supersonic airliner.

At the same time, engineers in the US and the Soviet Union were working on supersonic airliners of their own.

The American Boeing 2707 never made it past the drawing board, while the Soviets' Tupolev TU-144 made it into service but was quickly retired because of performance and safety problems.

As part of the agreement, the Concorde was built in the UK and France.

The above photo shows the Concorde being constructed at a British Aircraft Corporation factory in Bristol, UK, in 1967.

The engine selected to power the Concorde was the Olympus 593 turbojet.

The engine was developed by Rolls-Royce/Bristol Siddeley and Snecma.

The Olympus engine's afterburners gave the Concorde its signature smoky takeoffs.

Each engine produced 38,000 pounds of thrust.

The Concorde had features found on no other Western commercial airliner, such as the double delta wing.

Delta wings get their name from the Greek letter delta, which is shaped like a triangle.

Concorde planes also featured an adjustable drooping nose that gave pilots better visibility on takeoffs and landings.

In normal flight, the nose and visor were raised.

The Concorde was operated by a crew of three: two pilots and a flight engineer.

Flight engineers helped maintain the aircraft's center of gravity, cooling systems, fuel transfers, and other crucial tasks.

In 1967, the Concorde was presented to the public for the first time in Toulouse, France.

Members of the French Army band and Royal Air Force band played for the occasion.

The first Concorde prototype made its maiden flight on March 2, 1969.

The maiden flight lasted 27 minutes, the BBC reported. Its first supersonic flight followed on October 1, 1969.

More than a dozen airlines from around the world placed orders for the jet.

The sleek supersonic jet captivated the public immediately.

But the Concorde soon encountered opposition due to the loud sonic booms that resulted from breaking the sound barrier.

One of the byproducts of supersonic flight is the sonic boom, which can be unpleasant or distressing to those on the ground. As a result, the Concorde was limited to routes over water, with minimal time spent soaring over land.

In addition, residents near airports that were home to the Concorde fleet protested the amount of noise generated by the plane's four massive turbojet engines.

As a result, Concorde flights were further curbed.

Because of environmental and economic concerns stemming from the 1973 oil crisis, most of the Concorde's customers dropped their orders.

This left British Airways and Air France as the plane's only operators.

In total, 20 Concordes were produced, six of which were prototype test planes.

Of the 14 production Concordes, seven entered service with Air France and seven entered service with British Airways.

On January 21, 1976, two Concordes — one from each airline — took off simultaneously to mark the plane's first supersonic passenger flight.

The Air France flight flew to Rio de Janeiro by way of Senegal, while the British Airways plane flew to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

Later that year, British Airways started scheduling transatlantic flights between London and New York.

Cruising at more than twice the speed of sound and an altitude of up to 60,000 feet, the Concorde could cross the Atlantic in just three hours — a major improvement over the seven hours it took for a conventional jumbo jet to make the crossing.

In the beginning, the 100-passenger interior was simple and a bit austere.

A display on the jetliner's left bulkhead showed when the plane reached the speed of Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound.

As the clientele became more posh, so did the decor.

Soon, the Concorde became the preferred airborne choice of the rich and famous.

In the 1990s, the Concorde transported celebrities and royal family members.

Frank Sinatra took a Concorde flight to London in 1984 on his way to a charity concert in Monaco.

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, explored Concorde's flight deck in 1987.

Ferguson earned her private pilot's license in 1987, and was the first woman in the royal family to do so, UPI reported.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair flew to New York aboard a Concorde in 1997.

Blair flew to New York to attend a special session of the UN General Assembly.

Rock legend Sting served Champagne to Piers Morgan on a Concorde flight.

The two rubbed shoulders on a 2001 press flight.

The Concorde even served as the Queen Elizabeth II's royal transport.

Queen Elizabeth traveled on Concorde planes for trips to Kuwait, Barbados, Saudi Arabia, and the United States from the late 1970s until the Concorde was retired in 2003, according to the Royal Collection Trust .

Every day, the Concorde fleet was stocked with fine Champagne and Beluga caviar.

Concorde also had its own special sets of branded china.

The Concorde had a sparkling safety record until July 25, 2000, when an Air France Concorde burst into flames and crashed shortly after taking off.

The plane caught fire after a blown tire ruptured the Concorde's fuel tanks, and 113 people died in the crash.

All 12 remaining Concordes were immediately grounded.

The planes were retrofitted with stronger fuel tanks.

Though the Concorde fleet returned to service in late 2001, the business never recovered.

By spring of 2003, Air France and British Airways announced their intention to permanently retire the Concorde fleet.

British Airways executives blamed cuts to Wall Street's travel budgets post-9/11 and skyrocketing maintenance costs for its decision to ground the plane, The Guardian reported.

Air France operated its last commercial Concorde flight from New York to Paris on May 31, 2003.

Onlookers waved goodbye to the Concorde as it climbed out of JFK Airport.

British Airways operated its last commercial Concorde flight on October 24, 2003, after it completed a farewell tour of the US.

Over the skies of London, the flight out of New York joined up with two other Concordes. Together, the three supersonic jets celebrated the occasion by landing in succession at Heathrow Airport.

In 27 years of service, British Airways' fleet of Concordes made 50,000 flights and carried more than 2.5 million passengers, according to British Airways .

Now, the Concordes have become museum pieces.

There are three places to see a Concorde on display in the United States: the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York City, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, and The Museum of Flight in Seattle.

For many, the end of the Concorde represented not just the end of an era, but also a step backward for mankind.

Despite being a financial flop, the Concorde's status as a technological marvel remains unblemished.

We no longer cross the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound. And we may never again.

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Seoul Unveils Results of ‘2023 Seoul Survey’, Declaring Hangang River as Seoul’s Landmark!

Smart city news.

• Results of the ‘Seoul Survey,’ conducted on 20,000 households in Seoul, reveal various aspects of life and society
• Seoul’s landmark is the ‘Hangang River’ for citizens and ‘Gwanghwamun Square’ for international residents in the city; ‘Easy transportation’ is the most attractive feature of the city at citizens’ poll
• Satisfaction with leisure activities gradually increases each year: 60.6 percent prefer ‘parks’ for relaxation and leisure

According to a survey, Seoulites consider the Hangang River, and international residents see Gwanghwamun Square as the city’s landmark. Additionally, Seoul citizens identified convenient transportation and a wide array of food and shopping channels as the city’s charm.

Since 2003, Seoul has been designing essential policies and projects based on the citizen survey, aiming to improve citizens’ quality of life and its competitiveness. The survey, targeting a total of 20,000 households, covers various aspects of life for its citizens and international residents, including low birth rates, an aging population, and digitalization.

< Gwanghwamun Square Seoul’s landmark is the ‘Hangang River’ for citizens and ‘Gwanghwamun Square’ for international residents in the city; ‘Easy transportation’ is the most attractive feature of the city for the citizens >

First, it was revealed that the top landmark for citizens in Seoul is the ‘Hangang River.’ Following closely behind are Gwanghwamun Square, palaces, and N Seoul Tower, ranking 2nd to 4th respectively. There has been a shift in their perceptions of landmarks over the past decade, with the Hangang River moving from 4th place in the 2010 survey to 1st place, while the former 1st place holder, palaces, dropping to 3rd.

Unit: %, Multiple Responses

[Seoul Landmark Rankings (Seoul Survey: Citizens’ Poll)]]

Regarding the question about Seoul’s charm, convenient transportation ranked first in terms of ‘accessibility,’ while ‘convenience’ saw diverse shopping and food options ranking high.

< The satisfaction with leisure activities has been gradually increasing, with 35.5% reporting that they have achieved a balance between work and leisure >

Seoul citizens agree on the importance of leisure activities, although their daily lives focus more on work (6.44 points in 2021 to 6.51 points in 2023). They concentrate on work until their 30s and 40s, gradually increasing their leisure activities from their 50s.

Unit: Points

[Importance of Leisure Time for Seoul Citizens (Seoul Survey: Households’ Poll)]

[Balance between Work and Leisure (Seoul Survey: Households’ Poll)]

While feeling somewhat lacking in the time allocated for leisure activities, satisfaction with leisure activities has gradually increased (5.27 points in 2020 to 5.70 points in 2023). Additionally, the response indicating ‘achieving a good balance’ (35.3%) was the most common when asked about balancing work and leisure.

Unit: Points, %

[Satisfaction with Leisure Activities and Work-Life Balance (Seoul Survey: Households’ Poll)]

During weekends and holidays, respondents desired outdoor activities, such as travel, outings, and exercise (71.0%). Still, in reality, outdoor activities (outings/travel & exercise, 51.3%) and indoor activities (watching videos & computer games, 52.7%) were balanced.

Unit: %, 1st & 2nd

[Weekend and Holiday Leisure Activities of Seoul Citizens (Seoul Survey: Households’ Poll)]

< For ‘relaxation and leisure activities (60.6%),’ Seoul citizens visit parks, with two out of three also spending their leisure time near rivers and waterways >

Seoul citizens visit parks for relaxation (42.8%), leisure activities (17.8%), health promotion (17.0%), and enjoying nature (14.1%). Parks are also utilized as spaces to foster valuable relationships with family and friends.

[Seoul Citizens’ Park Visit and Purpose (Seoul Survey: Citizens’ Poll)]

In the past six months, 88.5% of respondents visited parks, with the most frequently visited types being small parks near their homes (82.8%), forests including trails and forest paths (52.3%), and large parks (47.5%). Particularly, small parks near homes were frequented by over 80% of all age groups, showing high visitation rates.

Unit: %, 1st+2nd+3rd

[Most Frequently Visited Parks by Seoul Citizens (Seoul Survey: Citizens’ Poll)]

In addition to parks, rivers, including waterfront areas, serve as spaces for leisure activities for two out of three Seoul citizens (68.6%). Rivers are utilized for activities such as walking, strolling, cycling, and exercise, promoting health and fostering social connections.

The percentage of respondents who are ‘satisfied’ with green environments such as parks and forests within a 15-minute walk increased from 46.1% in 2021 to 51.6% in 2023, with the satisfaction score for green environments reaching 6.31 points, an increase from 5.99 points in 2021.

How to download report data

○ Seoul Open Data Plaza ( http://data.seoul.go.kr )

– Report:

▸Open Data Plaza ▸Statistics ▸Seoul Statistical Publications ▸Urban Policy Index Survey (Seoul Survey) ▸2024 ▸2023 Seoul Survey Report

– Source Material (Micro data):

▸Open Data Plaza ▸Search ‘Seoul Survey’

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