Editing Tourism (section)

=== Mass tourism ===
[[File:Barceloneta 2007.jpg|thumb|Tourists at the Mediterranean Coast of [[Barcelona]] 2007]]
Mass tourism and its [[tourist attraction]]s have emerged as among the most iconic demonstration of western consumer societies.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Cultures of Mass Tourism: Doing the Mediterranean in the Age of Banal Mobilities | editor1 = Pau Obrador Pons | editor2= Mike Crang | editor3= Penny Travlou  |year = 2016 |publisher = Taylor & Francis |page = 2 |isbn = 9781317155652 }}</ref> Academics have defined mass tourism as travel by groups on pre-scheduled tours, usually under the organization of tourism professionals. This form of tourism developed during the second half of the 19th century in the [[United Kingdom]] and was pioneered by [[Thomas Cook]]. Cook took advantage of Europe's rapidly expanding railway network and established a company that offered affordable [[day trip]] excursions to [[commoners|the masses]], in addition to longer holidays to Continental Europe, India, Asia and the Western Hemisphere which attracted wealthier customers. By the 1890s over 20,000 tourists per year used [[Thomas Cook & Son]].

The relationship between tourism companies, transportation operators and hotels is a central feature of mass tourism. Cook was able to offer prices that were below the publicly advertised price because his company purchased large numbers of tickets from railroads. One contemporary form of mass tourism, [[package tour]]ism, still incorporates the partnership between these three groups.

Travel developed during the early 20th century and was facilitated by the development of the automobiles and later by airplanes.
Improvements in transport allowed many people to travel quickly to places of leisure interest so that more people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time.

In [[Continental Europe]], early [[seaside resort]]s included: [[Heiligendamm]], founded in 1793 at the [[Baltic Sea]], being the first seaside resort; [[Ostend]], popularized by the people of [[Brussels]]; [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]] and [[Deauville]] for the [[Paris]]ians; [[Taormina]] in [[Sicily]]. In the [[United States]], the first seaside resorts in the European style were at [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Long Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]].

By the mid-20th century, the Mediterranean Coast became the principal mass tourism destination. The 1960s and 1970s saw mass tourism play a major role in the [[Spanish miracle#Mass tourism and emigration|Spanish economic "miracle"]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Tourism and Dictatorship Europe's Peaceful Invasion of Franco's Spain|date=2006|author=S. Pack|isbn=9780230601161|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|page=141}}</ref>

In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists discussed negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism on host communities. Since the 1980s the positive aspects of tourism began to be recognized as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Putova |first=Barbora |date=2018 |title=Anthropology of Tourism: Researching Interactions between Hosts and Guests |url=https://sciendo.com/downloadpdf/journals/cjot/7/1/article-p71.pdf |journal=Czech Journal of Tourism |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=71–92|doi=10.1515/cjot-2018-0004 |s2cid=159280794 }}</ref>

In more recent times, mass tourism is something which has become a negative experience for local residents of cities and destinations that experience heavy tourism, especially in summer months. In July 2024 for example, protests by local residents in Barcelona, Spain were held in the city, where ″thousands of people joined an anti-tourism protest amid rising housing costs.″<ref name="Protesting About Mass Tourism">{{cite news |author=Al Jazeera Staff |title='Tourists go home': Why Barcelona residents sprayed water on visitors |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/9/why-are-barcelona-residents-protesting-against-tourists |access-date=10 July 2024 |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>