What is Tourism?
“…taking a trip to a main destination outside [one’s]
environment, for less than a year, for any main purpose
(business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than
to be employed by a resident entity in the country or
place visited”
United Nations Economic and Social Affairs
~4,000 Years in 100 Minutes
Premodern Tourism
Modern Trade
Modern Tourism
First peaceful tour* from Ancient Egypt to
Punt, by Queen Hatshepsut (1480 BCE)
Trade between Egypt and Punt dated back to
2500 BCE
Egyptian expeditions linked temples to
sources of stones
Origins (1/4)
Journey to Punt- First Tour?
Journey to Punt
• Punt- Frontier of Egyptian Empire; site of exotic goods
(ivory, resin, ebony)
• Frontiers tend to have more different climates and more
different goods.
More on the Voyage to Punt
Egyptian trade facilitated by the
environment.
Nile served as an efficient transportation
route, supporting trade and exploration.
Punt was a precolonial outpost
Egyptian trade to Punt was globalization
Origins (2/4)
Shang Dynasty (1350 -1050 BCE)
Ancestral emperor gods resided in the
environment
Zhou Dynasty (1050-771 BCE)
Beginning of Confucianism
Codified link between religion and place
Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE)
Mandarins asked to “seek ultimate truth
from landscape”
Origins (3/4)
Shang Capitol Site at Yin Xu (Near Beijing)
For More See Sofield and Li, 1998
Polynesian Migration (2000 BCE)
Sophisticated engineering, technology and
navigation
Not strictly tourism; not conducive to
tourism (push migration)
Origins (4/4)
From Goeldner and Richie:
1. Military
Deploy military
2. Government Officials
Administer government
3. Caravans (Traders)
Grow material base
Who Traveled? (European Focus)
Routine tourism depended on:
Currency
Coins and conventions
Codified Hospitality
e.g. Xenia
Technology & Infrastructure
Roads and ships
Preconditions
From Hellenic Faith
More on Road Infrastructure
Developed later than waterways
Initial advantage for Egyptian empire
Also relied on natural geography
Two-lane roads for Crete (2000 BCE) and
Mycenae (1600 BCE)
Road at Knossos (Crete) From World History Encyclopedia
Geography, Trade and Tourism
Stage 1:
Natural geography-) Scale of Trade -) Wealth
Stage 2
Technology X Natural Geography -) Scale of
Trade-) Wealth
Roman Road Network
From Nicholas Malniak
Roman Empire coincides with Roman Roads
Modern England to Modern Turkey/ North Africa
Roads:
Allow for central administration
Link Rome to a large resource network
Setup international travel on a continental
Scale, up to 100 miles a day with ‘subbed’ horses
People and goods follow the same path
Via Egnatia
Connects Adriatic Sea and Byzantium (Istanbul)
Construction began in 145 BCE
Impressive Scope (1,120 KM)
Traced geography of ‘least resistance’, but with
mountain passes.
The Hajj
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
• Dates back to founding of Islam (630 CE)
• One of 5 Core Islamic tenants
• Coincides with the end of the lunar calendar
• Grows out of earlier traditions and
remembrances
• Non-hedonistic tourism
Source
Marco Polo: The First West -) East Traveler?
The Legend: 13th century Venetian trader,
traveled to Yuan- Era China, worked as emissary
for Kublai Khan, returned to Europe, published
Travels of Marco Polo
Assessment
Frances Wood: neglected to mention foot
binding or the Great Wall; made clearly false
claims, probably a second-hand account.
Hans Vogel: TOMP has uniquely specific details,
corroborated by Chinese sources (and none
others)
The answer doesn’t matter too much
John of Plano Carpini
Traveler Route Remarks
John of Carpini Lyon -) Karakorum First papal mission to
Mongol empire
John of Monte
Carvino
Vatican -) Khanbaliq
(Beijing)
Missions to India and
China
William of Rubruck Constantinople -)
Karakorum
Famous
documentarian
Brother Benedict the
Pole
Breslau (Wroclaw) -)
Kanev
Franciscan emissary
to Mongolia
Andrew of Perugia Perugia -) Quanzhou Bishop of Quanzhou
Review: What is Globalization?
…process in which events, decisions, and activities in one
part of the world affect individuals and communities in
another part of the world
Anthony Giddens, 1990
Trade and Tourism
Premodern tourism emerged with trade and tourism and
changed with the physical expansion of the market
Two Trading Systems
Facet Premodern Modern
Exchange Control Market-Based
Division of Labor Weak Intensifying
Technology Human-Powered Machine-Powered
Scale Continental Intercontinental
Important Norms Reciprocity Exchange
Dominant Logic(s) Multiple Comparative
Advantage
Opportunity Cost
Opportunity costs represent the potential benefits an individual, investor, or business misses out
on when choosing one alternative over another. Investopedia