ABSTRACT

People have undertaken travel away from home for millennia as they mobilised from villages and tribal units to hunt, trade, explore and conquer. Members of some ancient societies even travelled for leisure purposes; historical accounts highlight the ancient Egyptians and Romans travelling for pleasure and sightseeing to the far corners of their empires. From the earliest times to the modern day, humans have infl uenced the natural landscape and created unique cultural footprints on the earth through their travels. This chapter describes a handful of ways in which historical geographical thinking parallels some aspects of modern-day tourism, including global diasporas and migration, transportation networks and destination development, urbanisation and rural landscapes, colonialism and power, and heritage as a tourism resource.