Holidays and travel

Medieval (c500-1500)

Religious tourism and pilgrimage became popular.
Crusades were a form of religious pilgrimage that involved long travels to Jerusalem.
Far-flung travels were undertaken by explorers like Marco Polo and recorded in travelogues.
Most of the population had few and infrequent holidays, usually tied to religious or harvest festivals.

The Grand Tour became a popular custom among young aristocrats, primarily designed to broaden their education.
Thomas Cook organized the first package holidays in England in the mid 19th century, including train trips.
Improved transportation allowed for longer distance travel like rail and steamship.
General public still had few holidays, with occasional feasts or fairs.

Building of public parks provided leisure areas.
Increase in worker leisure time due to shorter working hours.
Device known as the magic lantern projected images on walls, a precursor to the cinema.
Steamboats and railways made travel faster and cheaper.
The Bank Holiday Act of 1871 gave workers a few paid holidays each year.
Seaside resorts, such as Blackpool, became popular due to railway expansion.

Development of the automobile and the aeroplane allowed mass tourism.
The concept of cheap package holidays allowed more people to travel abroad.
Introduction of paid holiday leave from work by law.
Creation of theme parks such as Disneyland offer leisure and entertainment.
The internet now offers easy booking of holidays and allows exploration of holiday destinations virtually.
More recent trends towards staycations and eco-tourism reflecting environmental concerns.
Olympics and World Cup events have turned into global tourism affairs.