Essay Sample on Travel and Tourism: Past, Present and Future

Travel and tourism involve the movement of people from the comfort of their native places to another environment. These behaviors started long ago in ancient times. Specifically, they started when people moved from their places to other areas for the purpose of exploration, pilgrimage and discovery. According to Cook, Yale and Marqua (2010), this desire to travel has continued to exist from generation to the other. Currently, travel and tourism has immensely benefited from the adventurous nature of people. Specifically, it has boosted the economy of the United States, as it has taken the leading position in service sector. Being one of the biggest employers, the travel and tourism industry has continued to grow from one height to the other. According to Becker (2013), world over, tourism and travel industries have been singled out as the stabilizers of the economy of their respective countries. Indeed, the future can only be brighter gauging from the present nature of the industry.

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Becker (2013), states that Travel and tourism is a merger of two aspects that rare interconnected and interrelated. However, defining them remains an uphill task. There is an analogy that is agreeable about travel and tourism; that they involve the provision of products and services to people (Becker, 2013: 36). According to the World Tourism Organization, tourism involves a lot of activities. The most notable of these is, however, the fact that people travel out of their native places and their most accustomed environments to for the purpose of leisure, businesses or even other related activities. The definition puts a caveat that this travel must not be for more than a consecutive year. Additionally, the definition states that the travelers must stay for at least a night. This definition is incomprehensive since it excluded day time visitors who immensely contribute to the growth of the tourism industry. Therefore, the proper method of defining tourism is to establish the length of the stay, as well as the purpose of stay.

According to Becker (2013), today, there are different types of travel and tourism that are experienced. In this regard, there exist leisure tourists, travelling-visiting friends and relatives (VFR), as well as business travelers. Leisure tourists are those who travel with an intention of pleasure. As such, they are usually on holidays or taking a break from their normal activities. Travelling friends and relatives, on the other hand, are thus who travel with an intention of seeing their relatives who live in a different place from their native one. Business tourists move for the purpose of attending a business meeting, conference or another congregation that has business interests. It is important to note that there exist two classifications of tourists: inbound and domestic tourists. Inbound tourisms, also referred to as incoming tourists, are those who travel to visit another country that is foreign to them. In this regard, they might travel in their continent or overseas. Domestic tourists on the other hand travel within their own country for the aforementioned reasons.

Travel and tourists started in the ancient times when people had the greatest desire to explore, discover and conquer the world (Becker, 100, 2013). Others travelled for the purpose of war, pilgrimage and barter trade. For instance, the ancient Greeks travelled to Athens in the third century to visit their holy temples and Parthenon. Additionally, Rome residents travelled to their neighboring countries to sell their goods. However, this was through conquer and possession. To this end, the Roman army conquered and possessed the areas where their soldiers visited. Afterwards, the Roman Empire built leisure facilities such as spa in areas where they established their trade. In the middle ages, people travelled for the sole reason of pilgrimage during the holy days. In those times, the means of travel were the horse backs or by foot. However, people did not care, as they could travel for hundreds of miles by foot. However, in the 19th century, railway construction in various countries started which eased travel both within and overseas. These railway services were only affordable by the rich while the poor relying on the traditional means.

According to Cook, Yale and Marqua (2010), the opening of several railway lines in the 19th century enabled a lot of people to travel longer distances. Additionally, the discovery of steamships ensured that people could move from the mainland to the seashores where they used to enjoy the cold breezes. Additionally, people moved through the sea for long distances which took them lots of months. In late years of the 19th century, workers moved from the native areas to search for better wages elsewhere. Cars were later on introduced, which further quickened the length of travelling time. Later on, when airplanes were launched into the market, tourist started travelling overseas for holidays and other gatherings. Additionally, the notion of leisure was realized with people visiting foreign countries to explore.

Currently, there are several economic, social, technological and political factors that have led to the rise of the travel and tours industry. Specifically, growth of the economy has led to increased wages for employees. As such, they have dedicated some of their stipends for leisure (Arpenteva, 2015; 24). This has led to more tourists visiting various destinations. The use of social media has been instrumental in the growth of the industry. Most importantly, there have been a lot of technological advancements in the travel and tours industry. According to Arpenteva (2015), this has helped the tourists view the destinations that they want to visit in the comfort of their homes. Additionally, tourists can now book their destinations online thus easing the logistics of travel. Besides, the existence of political good will from the host states has been instrumental in shaping the current state of the industry. In this regard, the United States has encouraged tourists to visit the country as often as they want to.

As mentioned earlier, travel and tourism are two industries that are interrelated in a number of ways. Specifically, tourists use the travel companies in reaching their destinations. Therefore, tourism companies must also have transport services that they obtain from the travel companies. Currently, there are a lot of travel and tourism organizations that are making a lot of returns from these businesses. When tourists intend to visit a certain place, they contact the tourism organizations to book their stay. In turn, the organizations contact the travel companies that book the tourists to their areas of leisure, exploration or meeting. From that, it is evident that tourism and travel organizations are interdependent. As such, one cannot operate without the other. Additionally, they need to co-operate so that they can maximize on the opportunities that are provided by the tourists. In any case, the success of the industry relies on both.

There are several organizations that are involved in tourism and travels in the United States. These include; Mayflower Tours, Collette Travel Services, Caravan Tours Inc., USTOA, CIE Tours International, et cetera (Klin et al., 2014). All these organizations are involved in tours and travel business. As a result, they make arrangements for the travel of tourists and also ensure that they make the necessary plans on how they are going to travel to the tourist attraction sites. From this, according to Arpenteva (2015), it is not in doubt that tourism and travel is conceptually one and the same thing. As such, the absence of one of the two will automatically affect the other. However, when the two are strong, they can largely boost the economy of the country.

Currently, a lot of developments, trends and facts have been made in the industry. As a result, the industry has either been affected negatively and positively. According to Day (2, 2012), the negative effects have overshadowed the importance of the industry while the positive ones have had a huge impact on the growth and profitability of tourism and travels. One of the trends that has hardly hit the tourism and travels industry is terrorism. All over the world, there has been an increase in the number of terrorist groups (Day, 2012). As a result, there has been a lot of bombings and attacks targeting tourists. This has negatively impacted in the industry since tourists have cancelled their plans to visit some of the best attraction sites, due to terrorist threats. The second development is the loss of value of the local currencies. In this regard, so many countries have been affected by the depreciation of their local currencies in relation to the dollar. The third negative trend that has engulfed the industry is that of climate change. In this regard, some countries have become unpredictable sine they have seen the rise in temperatures to unprecedented levels. As such, according to Day (2012), tourists have been forced to abandon their trips to such areas. Lastly, the distinction of some of the wildlife has also been a negative factor in the industry. Since most tourists who visit for leisure love to watch the flora and fauna, their decrease has greatly affected the tours and travels industry.

Travels and tourism organizations have made a lot of efforts to ensure that they counter the challenges that have threatened to cripple the industry. As such, they have devised measures that ensure the comfort and security of the tourists. To counter terrorist attacks, the organizations have beefed up the security of their customers so that they are safe when visiting their destinations. In this regard, security measures such as the installation of CCTV cameras on every place as well as the increase in the number of police officers, has enabled the organizations to monitor any suspicious movements and act swiftly if need be Day (2012; 22). In relation to the weakening of local currencies due to loss of value of the dollar, the organizations have provided incentives and discounts so that they cushion the potential terrorists against the effects. Besides, tough measures have been made by the companies to ensure that the tourists feel comfortable and have a good value for their money. The organizations in collaboration with the government have introduced stringent measures that are meant to preserve the flora and fauna which is the main attraction site for the tourists. For instance, they have facilitated the enactment of the Act on protection of endangered and threatened species.

To conclude travels and tourism are one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. The two are interrelated since none can operate without the other. Travels and tours dates back in the ancient times when people used to walk for long distances in order to attend pilgrimages. Additionally, barter trade was responsible for the start of travels in the world. Those days people used to walk by foot or use horsebacks. As such, it took them a lot of time to reach their destinations. However, the introduction of steam ships was instrumental in the growth of the industry as it provided faster means of transport for the people. Additionally, railways lines that were built I the 19th century enabled people to interact within short timeframes than before. Currently, the tourism industries are using aircrafts and modern cars for its operations. However it has encountered a variety of challenges. In this regard, terrorists attacks, climate change, depreciation of the local currencies as well as the distinction of some flora and fauna has threatened to cripple the travel and tourism industries. However, cogent measures have been taken by travel and tourists organi...