1900 to 2003
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Early 1900’s – Electric lights came into use
Early 1900’s – Davis Cup (tennis) and the World
Series (baseball) were introduced
The American Automobile Association was founded
in Chicago (AAA)
1903 – The first airplane took flight at Kitty Hawk
1908 – Henry Ford introduced the first Model T
1908 – Passenger ship accomodations were more
luxurious and only affordable for the very wealthy
1908 – Ellsworth Statler opened the first hotel chain
concept and is known as the father of the modern
hotel industry- Conrad later bought the chain
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1914 – The first scheduled airplane flew with
passengers
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1914 – World War I advanced aircraft design
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1914 – Car Rental began through National Car Rental
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1914 – Organized airline service developed in Europe
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1920’s – Great improvements in US road systems
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1920’s – Railroads faced competition from
automobiles, intercity bus systems, and the trucking
industry
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1920’s – A new breed of passenger , the tourist
emerged
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1926 – Commercial Airlines started in the US
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October 1929 – The Great Depression Began
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The Depression bolstered the use of railroads over
the bus industry
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1930-1935 – Almost 85% of all hotels in the US went
bankrupt
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1931 – The concept of a zoo using
open areas and concealed
surroundings to display
animals was introduced
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1938 – Marineland opened an outdoor aquaarium in
St. Augustine, Florida
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Late 1930’s – The first NCAA Basketball
tournament ws held
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Late 1930’s the Cunard Lines launched the Queen
Elizabeth - the largest passenger ship to date
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September 3, 1939 World War II began in Europe
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World War II brought the invention of the jet engine
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Rockets were tested off the North Carolina Coast
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The automobile and the jet plane helped the hotel
industry to rebound and radically affected the travel
industry
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1945 – The first airline ticket
was created
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1945 – Rider ship on buses soared – intercity bus
travel increased rapidly
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1947 – United Airlines and American Airlines began
coast to coast service in the United States
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The seeds of mass tourism began with the WWII
veterans who had the time and the money to travel
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Walter E. Avis opened the first airport rent-a-car
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The Cold War caused restrictions to be placed on
travel to specified unfriendly countries
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1950’s - The Jet Age began
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1959’s - The television was becoming an influence in
American households – it brought the world into
living rooms
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1950’s - Tourist-class fares were available for
transatlantic flights
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1950’s – The first Transcontinental
flight was made from Los Angeles
to New York
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1950’s – Hilton became the first coast to coast hotel
chain
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1952 – Congress created the National System of
Interstate Highways
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1952 – Holiday Inn was launched in Memphis,
Tennessee by Kemmons Wilson
as the Holiday Inn Hotel Court
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1958 – The passenger ship industry declined because
of commnercial jet service non-stop across the
Atlantic
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1958 – The Jet Age was the greatest period of
expansion for hotel chains and car rental agencies
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1960’s – Mass market cruises became available and
shipping companies began converting their
passenger liners into tropical cruise ships
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1965 – Holiday Inn installed the hotel industry’s
first nationwide computerized reservation system
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1967 – The first Super Bowl was played
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1969 – The landing of the first man on the moon
brought space one step closer to becoming a travel
destination – because of this Pan Am took over
90,000 ticket reservations for a shuttle to the moon
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1970 – The use of credit cards was accepted in travel
and entertainment arenas
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1970 – Pan American Airlines launched the first Jumbo
Jet from New York to London with 352 passengers
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1973 – The Arab oil embargo increased the price of
gasoline and oil and forced Americans to look for
energy efficient ways to travel
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1976 – The Concord, a supersonic transport was
developed
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Late 1970’s – The first personal computer reached the
consumer market
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Late 1970’s – Travel became computerized
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Late 1970’s – Alex Hailey’s book
Roots was to have an influence
on heritage travel
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1980’s – Personal computers were made
more user friendly
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1980 – Railroads began to decline
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1980 – 1986 – The world’s cruise fleet
doubled
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1983 EPCOT opened in Disney World
Florida
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1983 Disney World opened in Tokyo
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1986 The World Tourism Organization’s
General Assembly adopted the Tourism Bill
of Rights and the Tourist Code
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1990’s – ATM use spread throughout the world
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1990’s – Airlines accepted online bookings and
took payment over the internet
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1990’s – Ticket less travel was introduced
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1990’s - Tour groups continued
to be popular
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1990 – The American’s with
Disabilities Act was passed
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1993 – Web pages were developed and (1985)
Netscape was developed as a browser
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1994 - England and France were connected by the
“Chunnel”
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1994 – Microsoft established an accredited travel
agency on the Internet
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Late 1990’s – Virtual Reality
programs made it possible to
see a destination as if one
were actually there
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2000 – 95% of all US travel agencies were
computerized using a computer reservations
system (CRS)
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2000 - Americans used personal cars for more than
80% of their vacation trips
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2000 – There were more than
800 million websites
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2001 – Dennis Tito was the
first paid space tourist
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September 11, 2001 Attacks by terrorists changed
travel and tourism forever
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2002 – The Homeland Security
Act of 2002 passed in response
to the September 11 terrorist
attacks
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2003 – Health related
issues disrupted tourism
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2003 – The Concorde (SST) retired from service