EVOLUTION OF TOURISM..

Travel is an ancient behavior. Early humans lived a hard life. They used to travel by foot. The search for basic necessities, food, water and shelter kept early hunters and gatherers on the move.

With the development in mankind, the tourism also developed. People started to travel for trade and business purpose. Many historians and anthropologists considered travel for trade and commerce activity in ancient civilizations. As commerce grew, so did travel for pleasure. The societies of Greece, Egypt and Rome openly encouraged pleasure travel by providing necessary ways and means. With such support each travel contributed to the success of each of these great empires.

After the fall of Roman Empire, the middle or dark ages were indeed dark times for travel. The luxury of vacation travel disappeared. Resources required for the common person to travel were no longer available. During the middle ages, pilgrimages were undertaken for variety of purposes. Some individuals travelled to religious sites for the forgiveness of their sins, other to receive a divine cure for their health problem. Several shrines or churches shaped a common itinerary. Very popular sites had an array of inns and hostels to accommodate weary travelers. People travelled in groups to guard against robbers and muggers.

The Renaissance was a time of enlightenment, change, and exploration from the fourteenth to seventeenth century. During this period the Grand Tour of Europe emerged as one of the first manifestations of upper-class travel. That brought modernization in tourism. Young English elites of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries often spent two or four years travelling around Europe which is known as grand tour. The major cities of grand tour were Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples and Britain.

The post-war years from 1945 until the present time have been a period of technological revolution; in fact a second industrial revolution. Accordingly, it has been a period of massive growth in travel in the industrialized and richer countries in the world. Transport and other forms of communication reinforced economic factor favoring tourism expansion. Over the period, trains and public road transport lost their prime importance. In some countries such as the USA, railways became minor passenger transport provider. Air transport increased at even faster rate. Due to massive development in air transport, mass tourism came to development.

EVOLUTION OF TOURISM IN THE REGION (SAARC)

SAARC refer to 'South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation' and includes 8 countries. The history of tourism in SAARC nation come along the civilization of mankind. Importance of tourism has also been recognized since the early days of SAARC. The first summit was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 7–8 December 1985. It was attended by the government representative of each member nation. Since then the importance of tourism has been practically discussed in each summit of SAARC. During the second SAARC summit, which was held in Bengaluru, India on 16–17 November 1986, the leaders agreed to establish committee in order to facilitate tourism in the region. Third Meeting of the SAARC Tourism Ministers, precede by Fourth Meeting of the Working Group on Tourism was held in Kathmandu in January 2011. The Meeting reviewed implementation of the decisions taken at its last meeting. It also reviewed the status of implementation of the SAARC Action Plan on Tourism-2006 and noted with satisfaction that most of the decisions taken earlier have been implemented by the Member States.

During the fourth SAARC Summit (Islamabad, 29-31 December, 1988), while realizing the importance of having people to people contacts among the peoples of SAARC countries, decided that certain categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Travel document which would exempt them from visa within the region, therefore visa exemption scheme was introduced. There are various other organizations as well which are working for the development of tourism among SAARC countries. South Asia Tourism Society (SATS) is an organization which is working continuously and selflessly to develop the trade and tourism among SAARC nation. They also provide information about the SAARC countries to tourists who want to visit. United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) also works for the development and promotion of tourism not only in SAARC countries but all over the United Nations.

It is only with SAARC tourism that you get to explore the ancient civilization, affluent cultural diversity, exclusive culinary delights, vast geographical attractions, heart full heritage sites and above all the warm hospitality of people belonging to these countries.


You may contact author for more information at tribeni.das@justyatra.com
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TRAVELLING SOLO

“The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”

Travelling with friends and family is fun. But travelling alone is something completely different. It is a journey to the unknown. When you travel alone, you open the door for breathtaking experiences. But when you travel with people, you focus on them, deciding together, compromising at times. It is a kind of commitment. You are also less open to meeting new people and experience unusual things. You have your friends, they are your back up, your safe zone, so why would you make effort to meet new people? But when you travel alone, you have complete freedom and flexibility. You wake up in the morning and ask, “What do ‘I’ wanna do today?” When you are standing at a cross road, there is no one you need to discuss with which direction you need to go. There is no other people whose needs need to be met when it comes to any decision. There is only one person you have to take into account- you. This may seem selfish but hey, you aren’t bothering anyone either with your needs and demands. “Live And Let Live”. You are more open to whatever comes and more likely to make new friends. You are by yourself, so why not! You encounter with fascinating people and unique experiences. You can really feel your every step and action, every thought, feeling and choice.

Travelling alone develops your independence. You are on your own, outside your comfort zone. And if you don’t take care of yourself, nobody will. You jump right in and get by. You become more vulnerable and receptive. You decide what you want to do. You connect with new people and face different challenges, cultural and language barriers and more. If you want to get from place to place, you will need to figure out how to do it- navigate, ask people, use transportation. You manage your expenses and prioritize. You have to take care of everything yourself. You accomplish more and more things, personal achievements. You prove yourself that you can overcome fear and deal with every challenge. And of course, you get to have fun too. Every challenge can be fun in a certain way, if you are under a playful state of mind.

As I already mentioned, when you travel, especially when you travel alone, you get the amazing opportunity to engage with new people from all around the world on a personal level- locals, other travelers, foreigners who live there. You learn about other peoples’ lives, listen to their stories and take ideas. These people you meet are usually different from those you see around your environment every day back home.

Travelling alone is not about actually being alone, but about making new friendships and travel with people you meet along the way. There might be times when you don’t find new people or those you find are not the people you wanna travel with, and that’s okay. Learn how to enjoy the company of yourself. It’s very important. Get to know yourself better. Be in the moment. Connect with the place you are at. There is something liberating about travelling to a place where no one knows who you are. You gain a deep understanding of every destination you visit. Alone time is healthy and you rarely get enough of it.

Travelling alone is a golden opportunity to review your life from a different perspective, an external point of view. When you are alone, you have more time to search the soul and reflect on life. While you live your everyday life, it’s hard to make a life changing decision, because the routine makes you blind. Once you go and travel by yourself, you get inspired by all the stories and experiences you get to hear. It allows you to see your life clearly, recalculate, decide to make changes and rethink your choices. It also helps you appreciate everything you have, because most of your regular life are far away- your home, family and friends, your things.

Let’s summarize all the benefits of travelling solo-

•        Travelling alone is an adventure.
•        You are completely free to adventure as you wish.
•        You attract unforgettable experiences.
•        You develop independence.
•        You meet new people and make heaps of new friends.
•        You get to know yourselves better.
•        You learn to enjoy the company of yourself.
•        Distance makes you appreciate everything you already have in your life.

So I definitely recommend everyone to travel alone, at least once. It’s not that frightening as it sounds and even if you think it’s not for you, you can surprise yourself.


You may contact author for more information at tribeni.das@justyatra.com
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You can contact https://justyatra.com to book flight tickets and holiday packages across the world.