History of tourism

B.C.

The earliest forms of leisure tourism can be traced as far back as the Babylonian and Egyptian empires. A museum of 'historic antiquities' was open to the public in the sixth century BC in Babylon, while the Egyptians held many religious festivals attracting not only the devout, but many who came to see the famous buildings and works of art in the cities. To provide for these throngs during the festivals, services of all kinds sprang up: vendors of food and drink, guides, hawkers of souvenirs, touts and prostitutes. Some early tourists took to vandalising buildings with graffiti to record theirs visit and Egyptian graffiti dating back to 2000 BC have been found.

From about the same date, and notably from the third century BC, Greek tourists travelled to visit the sites of healing gods. They also enjoyed their religious festivals, which in time became increasingly oriented to the pursuit of pleasure and, in particular, sport. Already by the fifth century BC Athens had become an important destination for travellers visiting the major sights.

During these times, travel guides played an important role in providing information and shepherding the tourists around the sites. However, the role of guides does not change through the centuries. As the philosopher Plutarch wrote to complain, a century before the birth of Christ, that guides insisted on talking too much about the inscriptions and epitaphs found at the sites, choosing to ignore the entreaties of the visitors to cut this short.

Guidebooks made their appearance as early as the fourth century BC, covering all important destinations of this time (e.g. Athens, Sparta and Troy).

The Romans

During the time of the Roman Empire international travel first became important. With no foreign borders between England and Syria, and with the seas safe from piracy due to the Roman patrols, conditions favouring travel had at last arrived. The use of a common currency and the Latin language made travel easy and even comfortable for the roman upper class. The Romans introduced guidebooks, listing hostels with symbols to identify quality in a manner reminiscent of the present-day Michelin Guides (European restaurant guide and maps).

Domestic tourism also flourished within the Roman Empire's heartland. Second homes were built by the wealthy within easy travelling distance, occupied particularly during the springtime social season. The rapid improvement in communications, which coincided with the Roman conquests, aided the growth of travel; first-class roads, coupled with staging inns (precursors of the modern motels) led to comparatively safe, fast and convenient travel unsurpassed in modern times.

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