ABSTRACT
In 1844 Arthur Anderson, cofounder of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), advertised the first sea voyage that could justify the description "cruise"; that is, a round trip for the purposes of pleasure and recreation rather than simply a method of transport. The route took passengers from England around the Mediterranean and home again, stopping at a number of ports with organized shore excursions in each. It was a significant event in tourism history for at least two reasons: it initiated affordable, organized, pleasure-motivated sea travel, and it
introduced English travelers, in greater numbers than ever before, to warmer shores. Only three years earlier Thomas Cook had organized his famous first group excursion by rail, thus ensuring his place in history as the founder of popular tourism. Over the next century, rapid developments in maritime technology led to the extensive growth of passenger shipping for both transport and recreational purposes, while increases in leisure time assisted the growth of tourism. In many parts of the world passengers on ocean cruises were the first tourists, establishing host-guest relationships that became the basis of much later developments in large scale tourism (Douglas and Douglas, 1997a, 1997b).
