| In fact, the starting point of tourism goes at least as far back as known history. Mankind has always had the urge to travel to new places, to experience different cultures and to learn new things. It’s just that such travel was once the preserve of those few wealthy or brave enough to blaze their own trails.
Expedition, exploration, discovery, traveling, tourism — these are all just places on a spectrum of travel. In part, they reflect how intrepid the journey is expected to be. But even these terms have changed as our world view changes — a ‘voyage of discovery’ today would convey different expectations to those of just 200 years ago.
Travel and tourism have evolved constantly, and in the new millennium, tourism is changing — and growing — faster than ever. This growth, and pace of change, presents a number of challenges. But they also represent significant opportunity. Mass tourism, at least in western nations, was a child of the 1950s. The availability and affordability of air travel increased exponentially. Combined with booming post-war economies, the stage was set for tourism on a scale that had never been seen before. It may have democratized travel for those countries, but it also ushered in many unforeseen, and unwanted, effects.
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From the Mediterranean shores of Spain to the Far East, booming tourist numbers brought jobs and currency. But they also had many negative impacts on host cultures, environments, and heritage. In hindsight, the whole experience has been so detrimental to some destinations that many people actually fear tourism as a blight that can never be shaken off.
Of course, not everywhere suffered insoluble problems from tourism, even mass tourism. And some who endured the worst impacts have learned and moved on, as Mallorca’s ‘Touristic Renaissance’ demonstrates.
In dealing with the challenges of tourism in the 21st Century, it is imperative that we learn from the past. Otherwise, as the saying goes, we are doomed to repeat it. Mass tourism is now a global phenomenon and the potential impacts all the scarier.
“The challenge for many countries is to harmonize the need to preserve valuable tourism resources, and lands of cultural significance, with opening them up to the public. By opening them up, people can understand man’s outlook in life, their world and their views. This is one of the best ways to forge international friendships and understanding, and to enrich lives. This is why the work is of such high importance globally.”
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