This thesis is intended to be a contribution to the history of tourism. It examines the Grand Tour from the perspective of tourism studies. The primary source material was a sample of Grand Tour diaries and journals and a range of contemporary guidebooks and periodicals. A series of historical time divisions was taken and the tour itineraries in each division were mapped. Secondary source material provided information on the social, cultural, economic and technological background to the tour. The research method was directed towards the five main elements of the tourist system: the tourists, the generating region, the transit routes, the destination region and the tourist industry. Key questions posed centred on the origins, development and decline of the tour, the tourists, spatial and temporal aspects, cultural tastes and the tourist industry. The scope of the investigation was constrained by a definition of the Grand Tour as a distinct circuit of Europe not exclusive to one social class. The main findings of the research are: 1. It is suggested that the origins of the Grand Tour can be traced to the I sixteenth century, when there was an interaction between the spread of the ideals of Renaissance humanism from Europe and an increase in social mobility within English society. 2. Distinct spatial and temporal patterns in touring were established by the early seventeenth century and many of them persisted until the early nineteenth century when the tour. evolved into a summer excursion abroad. 3. In the later eighteenth century there was a shift from the landed classes to the middle classes as the dominant group on the tour. Many aspects of the tour.were affected by this change. 4. From the 1760's there was a change in the cultural tastes of the tourists towards a general interest in scenic tourism. 5. The Grand Tourists used an extensive but informally organised range of services. These services became more formalised in the 1820's and 1830's, suggesting that this period marked an important transition in the development of the modern tourist industry.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:558170 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Towner, John |
| Publisher | University of Birmingham |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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