Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
demand first became an important influence on resorts close to industrial
population centres in the late-nineteenth century (although “excursionists”
and “cheap trippers” made their presence felt on summer weekends as soon
as the railways arrived around mid-century)'.
However, for the middle and upper classes, the family holiday dates
back further. As Inglis (2000: 6) states, 'it was the idle rich who took all the
vacations during the eighteenth century, and what they did and had became
obvious models for those who aspired to that condition of life to copy'.
Historically, before the 16th century, people travelled for religious festivals,
trade and even war but it was only really people travelling for the purpose
of pilgrimage who could be described as travelling for reasons other than
work. While some provision was made for these people, in the form of basic
inn accommodation, there was little in the way of comfort and pilgrimages
were not a family pursuit.
In the 17th century it was unquestionably the Grand Tour of Europe
which became the forerunner of tourism as we know it today. The tour
involved the sons of rich families travelling in Europe, with the aim of
broadening their minds before the commencement of their career in UK
government. The Grand Tour became a well trodden route around the
cities and cultural sites of mainland Europe and included Paris, Florence and
Rome on its itinerary. Still, this form of tourism was hardly a family travel
experience as, deemed suitable for men only, given the social conformity
expected of women of the day, it was designed for a very different market.
It was also in the 17th century that medical circles in the UK proposed
the benefits of bathing in mineral water for its healing properties. Although
the Romans had recognised the health-giving properties of mineral water
centuries previously, and travelled to spas and seaside resorts for health
reasons, centuries of European upheaval were to pass before spa bathing
became a fashionable activity (Inglis, 2000). The proliferation of spa resorts
across the UK and Europe and the subsequent growth in popularity of sea
bathing for health benefits quickly boosted the fortunes of UK towns and
cities such as Bath, Brighton and Scarborough, as well as numerous European
destinations. Spa bathing had been for adults only, but increasingly popular
with families by the 18th and 19th centuries were seaside resorts, where a
range of facilities and attractions had started to flourish, catering for the
needs of an increasingly diverse range of visitors. With developments in
transportation in the form of steamships and railways, the popularity of
holidays soared. The Bank Holiday Act 1871 turned a number of religious
festivals into holidays and by 1936 the Annual Holiday Bill finally gave
workers a week's holiday with pay.
Perhaps most influential in his impact on the British family holiday
market was the entrepreneur Billy Butlin, who was one of the first to
recognise the growing importance of the family holiday. In the mid-1930s
Butlin opened his first holiday camp, in Skegness, on the north-east coast
