Tuesday, 14 November 2006

Managing Tourism


I'm including some notes that should help you to make sense of the introductory parts to this section:
INTRODUCTION TO TOURISM


www.rootsweb.com/~nafrica/EGYPT/ThomasCook.html - history of Thomas Cook.


The 'Grand Tour' and the first package tours

In the early 19th century the aristocracy, and the 'new money' from trade were caught up in a fashion to show their refinement by educating themselves in the artistic treasures of Europe. Young ladies, especially, were taken on a 'Grand Tour' of Europe to complete their education .. and perhaps meet an eligible young man! Such journeys were complicated and expensive in the days before railways, and were restricted to the very rich. Later, English 'gentlemen' took skis to the Alps and strared the winter sports holiday!

Railways to the seaside

It was the coming of the railways that gave Thomas Cook the opportunity to develop inclusive travel, where he started by inventing the return ticket. Day excursions gave way to travel with accommodation, and finally foreign travel. the link above tells the story.

The middle class go on holiday

In the 20th century the better-off middle classes joined the rich in foreign travel. They had the time and the money for modest holidays, but most of their trips would have been organised by themselves, which involved skills not shared by the mass of the population.

The rapid growth of tourism since the 1960's

The great social upheavals of the Second World War saw most of the class barriers breaking down, saw service people travel the world and gain wider visions and appetites, and, in the 1950's onwards, exposure to television .. and travel programmes. With the additions of technical advances, such as the jet airliner, that could deliver holidaymakers to the Mediterranean in a couple of hours, and the computer, which would revolutionise bookings and accounting, the modern travel business has come of age.

The Multiplier Effect

  • When a firm invests a lot of money in an area, as it does when it builds a new factory, some of the money is spent within the local area. People are hired and are paid wages, building materials are obtained near at hand, and many services are bought locally. In turn, local people and businesses spend most of their money locally, so the original investment is still being spent months later! This is the multiplier effect, and is often calculated at 3x the original investment ... but this will vary.