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Introduction
Travel and tourism has been popular amongst Brit’s since the BC era, and still continues to grow even today, with many supporting factors such as the use of the internet and changes in transport. I’ve put together a short timeline of the main developing factors in our uk tourism sector starting all the way from Victorian times to now, the industry Is forever growing at a vast rate! -
The growth of spa towns
Spa towns have been popular in the uk since the 1700s. In fact they are still popular in the travel and tourism industry today, in 2017 they grew from 3,547 to 3,780 by 2019. Britain has a wide variety of spa towns such as Leamington and Bath, which are loved because of the local mineral waters which were believed to have health benefits. As drinking and bathing became popular ,the spa towns developed additional facilities and a tourism boom resulted as such. -
Beach resorts
Beach resorts have been popular Amongst brits since the 1700s the first person to start the trend of beach visiting was Queen Victoria. She recognised the good health properties in the sea and what it can do for you. Health experts noticed the sea water included a myriad of the same minerals found in spa waters. Thousands of tourists began visiting Britains seashores annually by the late 1940s for many costal towns like Blackpool tourism served as the economic backbone for many years. -
the start of package holidays
this is the year Cox&Kings were founded, this was widely recognised as the first ever travel and tourism company. The initial purpose of Cox&Kings was to provide services to the military, this included arrangements of payment for officers and most significantly, organising travel for the military to the Indian subcontinent. -
The Grand Tour
in the 18th century young English nobles considered going on the Grand Tour to be a significant rite of passage. A Grand Tourist, someone who travelled alongside a tutor and would frequently take a ship to cross the English Channel before travelling through France, stopping in Paris. Venice, Florence, Rome, Milan and the Naples. More adventurous Travellers ventured to Sicily or even sailed across to Greece. The average Grand Tour lasted for at a year at a time. -
Railways and tourism
Trainlines began to develop in the 1800s and were introduced to help shift goods around the UK. Eventually someone spotted a good business opportunity on the railways and began to arrange organized trips to the seaside. Back in the 1900s people were encouraged to use the railways as a way of socializing and seeing new sights. It instantly became a hit with Brit’s and is still a popular transport option for tourists in 2023. The railways helped grow travel and tourism massively all over the UK -
Package holidays began to develop
The model for the modern idea of package holidays was founded by Vladimir Raitz in the 1950s. He pioneered Horizon Holidays which was the first package holiday he calculated he could charter an aircraft and provide an all in two week holiday in Corsica for less than £35. The popularity of package holiday only began to grow even more over the next centuries with new tour operators and charter airlines springing up every year. Travelers began to demand more exotic destinations and began to branch -
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The rise and fall of holiday camps
Holiday camps were at the height of popularity in the 19th century. The most popular holiday camp was the Middle Tower Holiday Camp. The idea of a holiday and activities all in one place was extremely exiting to Brit’s especially after war. People could not wait to travel again! Before long rivals started opening such as Butlins and Pontins. However before long tourists started wanting more personalized and exotic holiday locations which is where package holidays took place. -
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The rise of budget airlines
Deregulation of European Union airspace in the 1990s had a significant impact on the operations of airlines throughout Europe. In recent years low cost airlines such as RyanAir, EasyJet and Flybe revolutionized the travel industry by offering affordable airfares to a wide range of destinations. They have now made air travel more accessible to a larger number of people ,without breaking the bank. This cost efficient model instantly attracted budget conscious travelers. -
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Package travel regulations overtime
The package travel/tours regulations 1992 were devised in response to an EU directive to standardize consumer rights in regulation to package holiday contracts. The regulations law is to ensure and protect tourists so that everyone is financially protected. Now in 2023 all travel agents and tour operators selling package holidays must be bonded. Providing a bond is a condition of membership for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Air Travel Organizers Licensing (ATOL) -
The changes in leisure times and working patterns
Over the years the changes in leisure time has changed significantly. The working Time Directive was introduced within the European Union in 1993 ,relating to working hours for Brit’s.The directive states that the maximum length of a working week should be no more than 48 hours in 7 days and the minimum hours of rest is 11 hours per 24 hours. Brit’s now have more control over their working hours and schedule. This has massively impacted the time for tourism in the UK and more frequent travel. -
How the internet has changed the travel industry
In todays age new technologies such as the internet, have provided customers with the opportunity to seek information about activities, destinations, prices and availability without venturing to a travel agency. The use of the internet for travel and tourism in the UK is significant in fact, around 22% of UK adults use the internet to purchase flight tickets.the internet enables travelers to access reliable and accurate information quickly without assistance and at a cheaper rate too.