Looking into the historical development of tourism, it will be impossible to pinpoint a precise point in time when tourism, as we know it, began.

It evolved through time building on its needs, compunctions and desires of society and the opportunities that were presented. Pilgrimages in medieval Britain show that the supply and demand for what might be loosely termed tourism products and services was operating as far back as the fifteenth century.

In the wider context, the sixteenth Century Elizabeth Mansion became a social and cultural center, and early origin of visiting friends and relatives are easily identified in the period.  From the seventeenth century, a form of tourism known as polite visiting emerges.  Those in the upper classes travelled on circuits of the country or took day trips, visiting the country estates of associates or society figures to  view the architecture, gardens, park lands and works of art.

However, visits remained confined to a small number of academics and intellectuals until the introduction of regular steamship services from Glasgow around 1840. Another form of tourism based on social and cultural experience and education for young aristocrats became particularly prominent during the eighteenth century. It was known as the grand tour and concerned British outbound travellers.  

Towner (1985) suggests that the number of Britons undertaking this venture per year stood at 15,000-20,000 at its peak in the mid eighteenth century. Towner (1996) presents a comprehensive review of the grand tour and notes some of the reasons for travel, which included a shift away from the increasingly unfashionable society and culture of Britain and perception that travel would broaden the mind.

Grand tour itineraries were often influenced by travel literature and in particular, Nuget's grand tour guidebook, published in 1756 in four volumes covering France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.  Grand tour tourists often visited classical antiquities, principal works of arts and natural curiosities as well as mixed with fashionable society on their travels.  Similar to modern day tourism, grand tour was typified by distinct seasonal patterns of travel.

Moreover the desire for people to travel continued to grow after the elapse of the grand tour and over the years major events took place within the evolution of tourism. In 1937 domestic travel for pleasure purposes grew over the grand tour when upper classes undertook holidays in seaside resorts and spars within the UK and other European countries.

In 1945, after the Second World War, visitors flew to battlefields as a mark of respect and in remembrance of fallen heroes. Moreover, cheap aircrafts became available with the growth of commercial airline companies. In 1950, the number of overseas visitors to Britain exceeded one million due to cheap Atlantic air travel to Britain.

In 1957 more than two million overseas visitors travelled to Britain.  The 1960s witnessed great changes in the nature of tourist travel with the introduction of package holidays by air using chartered aircrafts and also in the development of home centred forms of holiday. However, radio and television in the homes challenged cinema as  a major form of leisure and entertainment.  Television took the centre stage in promoting domestic and overseas holidays. At the same time, growing affluence meant that overseas travel truly came within the grasp of the working classes.  One of the major developments in this decade has been the development of holiday camps.

The 1970s saw a historical breakthrough in air transport with the introduction of the DC-10 and much bigger Boeing 747 on a global scale,  the first wide body jets meaning more people could travel more cheaply, more quickly and more easily, covering greater distances than before.

This decade also witnessed the development of powerful tour operators with a high degree of vertical and horizontal integration, able to shape the tourism industry.  The segmentation of the tourism market and differentiation of products have resulted in a huge range of tourism products, services and experiences. The 1890s witnessed a high economic recession, which drastically affected tourism demands. Factors that impact on tourism demands include high unemployment, high interest rates and high levels of inflation.

The 1990 tourism was affected by political factors.  The Gulf war left its impact with 2 million tourists lost to Europe. This was a contributory factor in the downfall of the International Leisure Group (lLG) in the UK. There was also wariness of travelling, due to the high cost of fuel for airlines, as well as high fare pricing. In the first decade of the new millennium, the World Trade Centre bombings in 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks have undoubtedly affected tourism demands on a global scale.

America's invasion of Iraq in 2003, heightening fuel prices and the escalated fear of travel to the Middle East, post election tribal and partisan violence in Zimbabwe and Kenya, have as well affected the industry. The impact of the economic crunch which is affecting the West and other countries of the globe, as I am writing this story, cannot be underestimated.