History of Tourism

Tourism can be recognized as long as people have traveled the narrative of Marco Polo in the 13th century; the grand tour of the British aristocracy to Europe in the 18th century; and the journeys of David Livingstone through Africa in the 19th century are all examples of early tourism.

Thomas Cook is popularly regarded as the founder of inclusive tours with his use of a chartered train in 1841 to transport tourists.

Before the 1950s, tourism in Europe was mainly a domestic activity with some international travel between countries, mainly within continental Europe.