History of Tourism
The 18th and 19th Centuries: Spas, the Grand Tour and the
Beginnings of Mass Tourism
It was during the 18th and 19th Centuries that tourism began to slowly evolve into a form similar to
tourism today. Over these 200 years tourism began to move from being an occupation that was
almost exclusively confined to the rich to something that became increasingly accessible to the
middle and lower classes
The 18th and 19th Centuries: Spas
As we already know Ancient Romans travelled to what is now modern day Bath in order to bathe in its thermal
springs. The Romans believed that these waters had medicinal properties. However it was in the late 17th and early
18th century that the idea of the thermal spring as a tourist destination really came into its own, Many people,
including medical personnel, believed that drinking or bathing in thermal waters was helpful in healing anything
from anxiety to leprosy, What makes spas interesting in terms of the tourism industry is not only the return of travel
for health reasons, but also the development of these sites as attractions, with their own facilities and particular
clientele (a target market if you like).
The 18th and 19th Centuries: Spas
BATH
BADEN-BADEN
Bath is located in the South West of
England on the River Avon 2Okm South
East of Bristol and contains Britain's only
natural hot springs. For centuries this
natural phenomenon has attracted
visitors to Bath and led to a unique
historic urban environment around the
springs
Baden-Baden is nestled at the foot of
the Black Forest in Germany. Like Bath,
it was known for its hot springs and
their invigorating properties. BadenBaden was also used by the traveling
Romans; the restored ruin of a 2000year-old Roman bath once used by
soldiers was discovered and excavated
in 1857.
The impact spas have had on how our tourism industry looks today...
- The idea of travelling for health
- Increased convenience of roads\access building tourism
- Patronage of famous people increasing the attraction of a particular site
- Development of facilities around a tourist attraction to cater for visitors who are not
currently using the attraction e.g. hotels, casinos
- Development of facilities to enhance an attraction, e.g. mud packs
- Fostering of new attractions out of existing attractions, e.g. gambling and horse racing
- Exclusion of local people and\or poorer people from exclusive sites
- Employment of local people within site facilities
Examples of this sort of tourism development in the modern world
ALMOST ANY WORLD TOURIST ATTRACTION!
Here's two examples:
- Paying to visit Blarney Castle in Ireland, where local people are employed helping visitors 'kiss the
Blarney Stone' .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbv6hliU8CM
- The development of thriving amusement parks on the Gold Coast in Australia that visitors attend
when they're not on the beach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMW1rBvYcdw
The 18th and 19th Centuries: The Grand Tour - Travel as a learning
experience…
In a similar period to the commercialising of the spas a parallel development in travel arose as an outcome of a
quest for learning heralded by the Renaissance. Under Elizabeth I, young men seeking positions at court were
encouraged to travel the Continent in order to widen their education. The term Grand Tour was in use as early as
1670 to describe this form of learning through travel. By the late 17th Century, it had become understood by the
upper classes that the education of a gentleman should be completed by the Grand Tour covering the cultural
centres of the Continent and often lasting three years or more.
The Grand Tour - Travel as a learning experience…
WHERE DID THEY GO AND HOW DID THEY GET THEIR?
- Young men of leisure travelled, predominantly through France and Italy, to enjoy the rival
cultures and social life of Europe, with Venice, Florence and Paris as the key attractions.
- Young aristocrats beginning their Grand Tour would often purchase a coach and horses for
transport. These would be used for the duration of the tour and resold before returning to
England.
- Victorian Grand Tourers were fascinated with the romantic notion of 'unspoiled nature' Sadly so
many travellers began to visit 'unspoiled‘ places such as the Alps that they often arrived to find
these natural places completely filled with other people.
Now imagine you are about to leave New Zealand for your Big
Overseas Experience (OE).
What do you think would be the similarities and differences between your experience and the experience of a
young man about to head out on his Grand Tour in the 18th Century?
Similarities
Differences
Now imagine you are about to leave New Zealand for your Big
Overseas Experience (OE).
What do you think would be the similarities and differences between your experience and the experience of a
young man about to head out on his Grand Tour in the 18th Century?
Similarities
- Going to another country to learn more about life
- May be away for a long time
- May combine education (e.g, museum/art gallery
visits) and pleasure
- May also be focused around Europe
- Both come from societies where this experience is
an accepted rite of passage
- May choose to stay with friends or friends of friends
- Kiwi may also purchase a car and sell it before
returning home just like the purchase carriages by
Grand Tourers.
Differences
- Many Kiwis work during their OE
- The Kiwi will need a passport of some sort to travel not needed for the 'Grand Tour'
- OE is not necessarily just for the rich or upper
middle class (this is debatable)
- Young Kiwi is more likely to be female and far less
likely to need a chaperon
- A Kiwi may take part in an organised 'tour' e.g.
Contiki
- Kiwis will almost certainly use a plane to get there
- Will have much more access than in the past to the
historical sites, famous art etc (provided they can
afford to pay for it)