When tourists travel, they often seek the exotic. The farther they venture, the more unique the cultures they gaze upon, the greater the prestige accrued; cross-cultural contact is commonplace. Yet despite the obviously transnational character of the tourist experience, national borders define existing studies of tourism. Spanish, French, or German tourism is treated almost in isolation and there are only hints of a larger transnational impetus behind the creation of national tourism products. This volume tells a different story. Although modern tourism first evolved in Europe changes were never confined to national borders. The Grand Tour, the birthplace of modern tourism, was consummately transnational in both its execution and its influence. Although seaside resorts originated in Britain, the aesthetic and scientific ideas that made beaches desirable emerged through conversation among Dutch painters, English travellers, and both British and Continental scientists and philosophers. When travel was finally available to the masses, Irish tourism advocates looked to England, Continental Europe, and America for ideas. The Nazi leisure organization, Strength through Joy (KdF), was based on an earlier Italian model, the Dopolavoro. World's Fair promoters raided previous fairs in other countries for ideas. European-wide demand and taste helped shape nudist practice in France and beyond. At every turn, practices and products developed because tourism lent itself to trans-national discourse. The contributors examine a wide range of topics that together make a powerful argument for the adoption of a new transnational model for understanding modern tourism. An essential addition to the library of academics studying the history of tourism, popular culture and leisure in Europe, the book will also provide interest to scholars of transnational topics, including Europeanization and globalization.

From the Grand Tour to nudist beaches, this volume investigates the rise of modern tourism in Europe and highlights the many connections between European countries in their approach to and development of a transnational tourist industry. This is an essential addition to the library of those studying the history of tourism, popular culture and leisure in Europe, and will also provide interest to scholars of transnational topics, including Europeanization and globalization.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, yet leisure travel is more than just economically important. It plays a vital role in defining who we are by helping to place us in space and time. In so doing, it has aesthetic, medical, political, cultural, and social implications. However, it hasn't always been so. Tourism as we know it is a surprisingly modern thing, both a product of modernity and a force helping to shape it. A History of Modern Tourism is the first book to track the origins and evolution of this pursuit from earliest times to the present. From a new understanding of aesthetics to scientific change, from the invention of steam power to the creation of aircraft, from an elite form of education to family car trips to see national 'shrines,' this book offers a sweeping and engaging overview of a fascinating story not yet widely known.

In Touring China, Yajun Mo explores how early twentieth century Chinese sightseers described the destinations that they visited, and how their travel accounts gave Chinese readers a means to imagine their vast country. The roots of China's tourism market stretch back over a hundred years, when railroad and steamship networks expanded into the coastal regions. Tourism-related businesses and publications flourished in urban centers while scientific exploration, investigative journalism, and wartime travel propelled many Chinese from the eastern seaboard to its peripheries. Mo considers not only accounts of overseas travel and voyages across borderlands, but also trips within China. On the one hand, via travel and travel writing, the unity of China's coastal regions, inland provinces, and western frontiers was experienced and reinforced. On the other, travel literature revealed a persistent tension between the aspiration for national unity and the anxiety that China might fall apart. Touring China tells a fascinating story about the physical and intellectual routes people took on various journeys, against the backdrop of the transition from Chinese empire to nation-state.

Changing Heritage presents the most comprehensive analysis of heritage issues available today. Critically analysing the complexity of the current and forthcoming issues faced by heritage, it presents insightful directions for the future. Drawing on the author’s many years of experience working in senior positions at UNESCO, the book presents discussions of heritage sites all around the world. Today, our cultural and natural legacies face significant threats due to social and economic developments, political pressures, and unresolved historical issues. This book delves into these threats from two distinct perspectives: internal tensions and external pressures. The internal tensions include the disregard for human rights and gender equality; the increasing exploitation of heritage for political purposes; the development of post-colonial perspectives; and the necessity to reassess the established notion of "universal value." External pressures stem from global processes, unsustainable tourism, political conflicts, ethnic clashes, and religious strife that are causing destruction in numerous parts of the world. Examining the dynamics between heritage and these internal tensions and external pressures, Bandarin offers insights into the challenges faced and emphasises the imperative role of civil society in safeguarding the value of heritage for present and future generations. Changing Heritage explores a wide range of issues surrounding the crisis in heritage management on an international level. It will be essential reading for heritage scholars, students, and professionals

Iran has long been regarded as an international pariah state in some parts of the international community. However, its negative image in many countries disguises its history of tourism and rich cultural and natural heritage. Following the July 2015 nuclear deal and the reduction in sanctions, Iran is focusing on international tourism as a means to generate economic growth in addition to its substantial domestic tourism market. Given the significance of tourism in the Middle East and in international politics, as well as restrictions on international mobility, this volume brings together the first contemporary collection of research on tourism in Iran. Written by experts based both within and outside of Iran, the chapters engage with a number of crucial issues including the importance of religion, the role of women in society, sustaining Iran’s cultural heritage, Iran’s image and the resistive economy to provide a benchmark assessment of tourism and its potential future in a troubled political environment. The book will undoubtedly be of interest not only to those readers who focus specifically on Iran but also those who seek a wider understanding of Iran’s role in the region and how tourism is utilised as part of national and regional economic development policies.

In Backpack Ambassadors, Richard Ivan Jobs tells the story of backpacking in Europe in its heyday, the decades after World War II, revealing that these footloose young people were doing more than just exploring for themselves. Rather, with each step, each border crossing, each friendship, they were quietly helping knit the continent together.