Tourism through the Ages - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 37

Americans

The vast continent of North America, principally in what is now Florida and in the Southwest, was
originally explored by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Remarkably long journeys were made,
often under severe conditions. The Spanish used horses, which were unknown to the American Indians
until that time. In the East, Cape Cod was discovered by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602, and the
Plymouth Colony was established in 1620.
Early travel was on foot or on horseback, but travel by small boat or canoe provided access to the
interior of the country. Generally, travel was from east to west. As roads were built, stagecoach travel
became widespread, and (small hotels) came into common use. Among the most

remarkable journeys were those by covered wagon to the West across the Great Plains. This
movement followed the Civil War (1861

'' ordinaries ''

1865). Construction of railroads across the country (the
first transcontinental link was at Promontory, Utah, in 1869) popularized

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. The Wells Fargo
Company organized the American Express Company in 1850. This pioneer company issued the rst
traveler

rail travel

s checks in 1891 and began other travel services, later becoming travel agents and arranging
tours. Today,

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American Express is known throughout the world for its traveler ' is checks, credit cards,

and various travel and financial services.
One of the most signi cant phenomenons in America is travel history is the amount of travel done

by servicemen and -women during World War II. Over 12 million Americans served in the armed forces
from 1941 to 1945. Most were assigned to duty in places far removed from their homes, such as the
European and Paci c theaters of war.
Extensive domestic travel also became commonplace, introducing the military traveler to different
and often exotic places and bringing a broader perspective of what the North American continent and
foreign countries had to offer visitors. Travel thus became a part of their experience. Following the war,
a large increase in travel occurred when gasoline rationing was removed and automobiles were again
being manufactured. Air, rail, and bus travel also expanded.

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Nowhere in the United States can visitors experience so extensively life in the eighteenth century as in
Colonial Williamsburg, with its mile-long Duke of Gloucester Street, horse-drawn carriages, and
hundreds of restored colonial homes and gardens. PhotocourtesyofVirginiaTourismCorporation.