ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief outline and overview of the underlying character and the principal events in the four eras chosen to explain the growth of modern British tourism. It highlights some of the main events influencing the half-century following the end of the Second World War, leaving the detail to later chapters. Readers may find it helpful to read this chapter with the year-by-year chart of main tourism events provided on pages 32 to 49 and the general chronology of dates and events provided in Appendix IV. Chapter 8 takes the story forward into present times and looks ahead.
