ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the images of the past projected in contemporary tourist literature than with establishing the historical context in which tourism began to develop during the period of imperial expansion and colonial consolidation. Tourists travel for pleasure, visiting places of cultural interest, enjoying natural scenery, participating in recreational activities. The tourist differs from both the explorer and the traveller in being a short-stay and semi-detached visitor. As extra-European tourism began to develop in the twentieth century, South-East Asia attracted less attention than Egypt, India and the Far East. Western tourists to Malaya, whether they came from Britain, continental Europe or the United States, were associated with British colonialism by their contacts and by the colour of their skin. The chapter attempts to single out a number of avenues for the historical examination of tourism in Malaya.
