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What Travel Looked Like Through the Decades

Getting from point A to point B has not always been as easy as online booking, Global Entry , and Uber. It was a surprisingly recent event when the average American traded in the old horse-and-carriage look for a car, plane, or even private jet .

What was it like to travel at the turn of the century? If you were heading out for a trans-Atlantic trip at the very beginning of the 20th century, there was one option: boat. Travelers planning a cross-country trip had something akin to options: carriage, car (for those who could afford one), rail, or electric trolley lines — especially as people moved from rural areas to cities.

At the beginning of the 1900s, leisure travel in general was something experienced exclusively by the wealthy and elite population. In the early-to-mid-20th century, trains were steadily a popular way to get around, as were cars. The debut regional airlines welcomed their first passengers in the 1920s, but the airline business didn't see its boom until several decades later. During the '50s, a huge portion of the American population purchased a set of wheels, giving them the opportunity to hit the open road and live the American dream.

Come 1960, airports had expanded globally to provide both international and domestic flights to passengers. Air travel became a luxury industry, and a transcontinental trip soon became nothing but a short journey.

So, what's next? The leisure travel industry has quite a legacy to fulfill — fancy a trip up to Mars , anyone? Here, we've outlined how travel (and specifically, transportation) has evolved over every decade of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The 1900s was all about that horse-and-carriage travel life. Horse-drawn carriages were the most popular mode of transport, as it was before cars came onto the scene. In fact, roadways were not plentiful in the 1900s, so most travelers would follow the waterways (primarily rivers) to reach their destinations. The 1900s is the last decade before the canals, roads, and railway plans really took hold in the U.S., and as such, it represents a much slower and antiquated form of travel than the traditions we associate with the rest of the 20th century.

Cross-continental travel became more prevalent in the 1910s as ocean liners surged in popularity. In the '10s, sailing via steam ship was the only way to get to Europe. The most famous ocean liner of this decade, of course, was the Titanic. The largest ship in service at the time of its 1912 sailing, the Titanic departed Southampton, England on April 10 (for its maiden voyage) and was due to arrive in New York City on April 17. At 11:40 p.m. on the evening of April 14, it collided with an iceberg and sank beneath the North Atlantic three hours later. Still, when the Titanic was constructed, it was the largest human-made moving object on the planet and the pinnacle of '10s travel.

The roaring '20s really opened our eyes up to the romance and excitement of travel. Railroads in the U.S. were expanded in World War II, and travelers were encouraged to hop on the train to visit out-of-state resorts. It was also a decade of prosperity and economic growth, and the first time middle-class families could afford one of the most crucial travel luxuries: a car. In Europe, luxury trains were having a '20s moment coming off the design glamour of La Belle Epoque, even though high-end train travel dates back to the mid-1800s when George Pullman introduced the concept of private train cars.

Finally, ocean liners bounced back after the challenges of 1912 with such popularity that the Suez Canal had to be expanded. Most notably, travelers would cruise to destinations like Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Cue "Jet Airliner" because we've made it to the '30s, which is when planes showed up on the mainstream travel scene. While the airplane was invented in 1903 by the Wright brothers, and commercial air travel was possible in the '20s, flying was quite a cramped, turbulent experience, and reserved only for the richest members of society. Flying in the 1930s (while still only for elite, business travelers) was slightly more comfortable. Flight cabins got bigger — and seats were plush, sometimes resembling living room furniture.

In 1935, the invention of the Douglas DC-3 changed the game — it was a commercial airliner that was larger, more comfortable, and faster than anything travelers had seen previously. Use of the Douglas DC-3 was picked up by Delta, TWA, American, and United. The '30s was also the first decade that saw trans-Atlantic flights. Pan American Airways led the charge on flying passengers across the Atlantic, beginning commercial flights across the pond in 1939.

1940s & 1950s

Road trip heyday was in full swing in the '40s, as cars got better and better. From convertibles to well-made family station wagons, cars were getting bigger, higher-tech, and more luxurious. Increased comfort in the car allowed for longer road trips, so it was only fitting that the 1950s brought a major expansion in U.S. highway opportunities.

The 1950s brought the Interstate system, introduced by President Eisenhower. Prior to the origination of the "I" routes, road trippers could take only the Lincoln Highway across the country (it ran all the way from NYC to San Francisco). But the Lincoln Highway wasn't exactly a smooth ride — parts of it were unpaved — and that's one of the reasons the Interstate system came to be. President Eisenhower felt great pressure from his constituents to improve the roadways, and he obliged in the '50s, paving the way for smoother road trips and commutes.

The '60s is the Concorde plane era. Enthusiasm for supersonic flight surged in the '60s when France and Britain banded together and announced that they would attempt to make the first supersonic aircraft, which they called Concorde. The Concorde was iconic because of what it represented, forging a path into the future of aviation with supersonic capabilities. France and Britain began building a supersonic jetliner in 1962, it was presented to the public in 1967, and it took its maiden voyage in 1969. However, because of noise complaints from the public, enthusiasm for the Concorde was quickly curbed. Only 20 were made, and only 14 were used for commercial airline purposes on Air France and British Airways. While they were retired in 2003, there is still fervent interest in supersonic jets nearly 20 years later.

Amtrak incorporated in 1971 and much of this decade was spent solidifying its brand and its place within American travel. Amtrak initially serviced 43 states (and Washington D.C.) with 21 routes. In the early '70s, Amtrak established railway stations and expanded to Canada. The Amtrak was meant to dissuade car usage, especially when commuting. But it wasn't until 1975, when Amtrak introduced a fleet of Pullman-Standard Company Superliner cars, that it was regarded as a long-distance travel option. The 235 new cars — which cost $313 million — featured overnight cabins, and dining and lounge cars.

The '80s are when long-distance travel via flight unequivocally became the norm. While the '60s and '70s saw the friendly skies become mainstream, to a certain extent, there was still a portion of the population that saw it as a risk or a luxury to be a high-flyer. Jetsetting became commonplace later than you might think, but by the '80s, it was the long-haul go-to mode of transportation.

1990s & 2000s

Plans for getting hybrid vehicles on the road began to take shape in the '90s. The Toyota Prius (a gas-electric hybrid) was introduced to the streets of Japan in 1997 and took hold outside Japan in 2001. Toyota had sold 1 million Priuses around the world by 2007. The hybrid trend that we saw from '97 to '07 paved the way for the success of Teslas, chargeable BMWs, and the electric car adoption we've now seen around the world. It's been impactful not only for the road trippers but for the average American commuter.

If we're still cueing songs up here, let's go ahead and throw on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," because the 2010s are when air travel became positively over-the-top. Qatar Airways rolled out their lavish Qsuites in 2017. Business class-only airlines like La Compagnie (founded in 2013) showed up on the scene. The '10s taught the luxury traveler that private jets weren't the only way to fly in exceptional style.

Of course, we can't really say what the 2020 transportation fixation will be — but the stage has certainly been set for this to be the decade of commercial space travel. With Elon Musk building an elaborate SpaceX rocket ship and making big plans to venture to Mars, and of course, the world's first space hotel set to open in 2027 , it certainly seems like commercialized space travel is where we're headed next.

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Traveling through Time

It was the Industrial Revolution that allowed travel to become an easier undertaking, allowing middle class tourists to seek out leisure at a more affordable price. The very first travel agency, Cox and Kings, was founded in Great Britain in 1758, where tourism first took off. Cox and Kings are still in business, along with the continuously thriving travel industry. Tourists have relied on travel agencies for a very long time. While the travel business has gone through challenging circumstances in the last few decades – epidemics, terrorism, and recession – the travel industry has recovered and continues to grow, and travel agents continue to gain business.

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How Travel Has Changed Over the Last 30 Years

By CNT Editors

When our first issue hit newsstands, in September 1987 , camcorders were a new thing, Czechoslovakia still existed, it was tough to plan a trip without a travel agent, and you could light up on most flights. But it’s not just how we travel that’s changed. The collective mind-set has become more Yes, we can than How can we? Even though the globe remains riven with no-go zones (Syria, Yemen), we’re traveling farther and going a whole lot deeper once we’re there, even if it’s a quick jaunt: Cartagena for a cumbia -soaked weekend; Cambodia for the artisans and street food; vineyards and horse riding in Argentina ; cross-country skiing in Antarctica . Whereas in the Dynasty days of our founding, luxury was synonymous with 500-thread counts and presidential suites, now it’s about being one of the few to spend the night in the Himalayan kingdom of Mustang or witness a tribal festival in Papua New Guinea. Here, we explore the moments that changed the way we travel over the last 30 years. It sure helps that our luggage has wheels.

• Avis introduces handheld computers that allow customers to bypass rental counters.
• Congress bans smoking on domestic flights of two hours or less.

Fighting over the armrest was more complicated when there was an ashtray at stake.

• Pan Am Flight 103 is bombed above Lockerbie, Scotland; 270 people are killed.
• The world’s first in-seat video system , with 2.7-inch displays, debuts.
• Tiananmen Square protests begin.
• Exxon Valdez runs aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling 257,000 barrels of crude oil.
• Berlin Wall falls.
• McDonald’s opens in Moscow.
• Nelson Mandela walks out of prison.
• Smoking is banned on U.S. cross-country flights.
• First Web server goes online.

The late President of South Africa died in 2013. Here, Mandela and his ex-wife Winnie celebrate his release from prison.

• Eastern , Midway, and Pan Am airlines all shut down.
• Soviet Union dissolves.
• Avis introduces Oldsmobile Toronados with TravTek, the first rental-firm navigation system.
• Category 5 Hurricane Andrew strikes South Florida.
• Czechoslovakia ceases to exist.
• George and Kramer scheme to get a bereavement fare on Seinfeld .
• The Channel Tunnel, between Great Britain and the Continent, opens.
• Southwest Airlines issues the first e-ticket.

The first Eurostar commercial train leaving the Chunnel en route to Paris in November 1994.

• Alaska Airlines becomes the first U.S. carrier to sell tickets online.
• The first EasyJet flight takes off, from London Luton Airport to Glasgow.
• Choice Hotels is the first chain to put its room inventory online.
• Expedia.com and MapQuest.com launch.
• TWA Flight 800 crashes into the Atlantic 12 minutes after departing JFK.
• Titanic hits theaters.

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• Priceline.com starts taking bids.
• Hilton announces deal with MobileStar to add wireless Internet to 100 hotels.
• The first Ace Hotel opens, in Seattle.
• Y2K hysteria takes over.

Now, Ace has 10 locations across the U.S. and Central America. Pictured, their Seattle outpost.

• Car-sharing concept goes mainstream as City Car Club, Flexcar, and Zipcar all start operations.
• JetBlue launches, with flights from JFK to Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale.
• Amtrak introduces Acela Express , which can operate at up to 150 mph.
• American businessman Dennis Tito becomes the first tourist in space .
• “Shoe bomber” Richard Reid attempts to blow up American Airlines Flight 63; the FAA orders airport shoe inspections.
• Hello, euros—so long, francs, lire, and pesetas.
• British Airways Flight 002 from JFK to Heathrow is the Concorde’s last.
• Boeing introduces world’s first in-flight Wi-Fi service.

Air France's last Concorde flight, also in 2003.

• Queen Mary 2 makes maiden voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.
• Mark Zuckerberg unleashes Facebook.
• Google Maps debuts.
• Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast.
• Michelin publishes its first ratings guide for the U.S., focused on New York.

Hurricane Katrina displaced more than a million people across the Gulf Coast. Pictured, a northwest New Orleans neighborhood submerged in the hurricane's aftermath.

• We start complaining about airlines in 140 characters or less thanks to Twitter.
• The launch of HomeAway.com shakes up the vacation-rental marketplace .
• Virgin America takes off.
• The double-decker Airbus A380 debuts, flying between Singapore and Sydney.
• Study-abroad nightmare: Amanda Knox is arrested for murdering her roommate in Perugia, Italy.
• Airbnb launches.
• Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger ditches US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River.
• Barack Obama inaugurated.
• Millvina Dean, the last survivor of the Titanic , dies.

Barack Obama's inauguration.

• Continental Airlines stops serving free hot meals in coach (and forecasts a savings of $35 million a year).
• United Airlines merges with Continental.
• Uber launches in San Francisco.
• JetBlue flight attendant quits and hightails it down the emergency slide.
• Birth of Instagram causes FOMO epidemic.
• Arab Spring begins.
• Kim Jong-il, Muammar el-Qaddafi, and Osama bin Laden die.
• TSA PreCheck starts at McCarran International Airport, in Las Vegas.
• The Costa Concordia capsizes off Isola del Giglio, Italy, and 32 people are killed. Captain Francesco Schettino abandons his crew and passengers, having “tripped” into a lifeboat and to safety.
• Eastman Kodak files for Chapter 11.
• Google acquires Frommer’s, the guidebook brand. (Arthur Frommer buys it back eight months later.)

The Costa Concordia after capsizing in 2012.

• American Airlines merges with US Airways.
• Citi Bike starts up in New York City and becomes the largest bike-sharing program in the U.S.
• Ebola epidemic hits West Africa.
• Mount Everest avalanche kills 16.
• The Eiffel Tower goes dark after terrorists kill 130 in and around Paris .
• A maglev train in Japan hits a new speed record of 375 mph.
• The First World Hotel and Plaza in Malaysia adds a new block to reclaim its title as world’s largest hotel, with 7,351 rooms.

The iconic Eiffel Tower went dark after the worst terrorist attacks in Paris since World War II.

• Two badass explorers complete the first circumnavigation of the globe in a solar-powered plane .
• U.S. cruise ships and airlines arrive en masse in Cuba .
• Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas sets sail as the largest cruise ship ever built, at 226,963 gross register tons.
• U.K. votes on Brexit .
• Terrorists attack Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport ; 48 killed, including three perpetrators.
• Alaska Air Group buys Virgin America; plans to shut it down .
• Virgin Atlantic announces it has produced jet fuel derived from industrial-waste gases.

Five hundred and five days and 26,000 miles later, the solar-powered plane, pictured, reached its destination, Abu Dhabi.

• Southwest Airlines retires beige shorts for flight attendants .
• United’s last Boeing 747 flight scheduled for October.
• President Trump pushes his “ travel ban .”

Protesters outside New York City's JFK airport's Terminal 4, where travelers with visas to the United States were detained in the aftermath of President Trump's "travel ban."

How have our travel habits changed over the past 50 years?

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We tend to assume that travel today is fundamentally different from what it was half a century ago. We have easier access to faster forms of transport, and we expect to be able to move quickly and easily whenever we wish. But a recent overview of travel behaviour in England – celebrating 50 years of data from the National Travel Survey (NTS) – shows that while some things have certainly changed, much remains the same.

According to the authors of the report, the most striking change to our travel habits is that “we are travelling further but not more often”. In other words, though the individual trips we take are longer in terms of distance, the number of times we travel has remained much the same over the past 50 years. What’s more, there has been little change in the total time spent travelling, due to faster travel speeds. And the purposes of our trips have changed only slightly: the biggest change has been an increase in the number of journeys we take to escort others.

Predictably, we’ve seen an increase in car use, as a result of their greater availability and affordability. This has been accompanied by a decrease in travel by bus and bike. None of these trends will be surprising to anyone who has thought carefully about the nature of everyday travel in Britain. But if we dig behind the survey data, some less obvious patterns and trends are revealed.

What’s missing?

Although the NTS is an unparalleled set of data, even this has its limitations. As the authors recognise, walking trips tend to be under-recorded, and it is not possible to gain fully comparable data on walking as a means of everyday travel over the full 50 years. What is clear, however, is that our feet remain one of our most important forms of transport.

In 2014, according to the survey, 22% of all trips were made on foot, and walking constituted 76% of all trips under one mile. Though we walk less than we did in the past, travel on foot remains an important means of travel – but one that tends to be neglected in both official statistics and transport planning. All too often, the needs of the pedestrian are ignored .

And while there may not be data available beyond the 50 years covered by the NTS, it is possible to gain some insights into even longer-term travel trends by using oral history and survey techniques. Research using these methods suggests that the distance and time spent travelling has remained reasonably stable over the last century, and perhaps beyond.

Historically, most trips were over short distances, and the time that people have been willing to commit to travelling has remained much the same. Obviously faster forms of transport, especially the private car, have allowed longer distances to be covered, and there are more very long journeys than in the past, but for most people, most of the time, everyday travel takes place relatively close to home.

Home, sweet home

Why have travel trends remained so similar over long periods of time? Answers to this question almost certainly lie in the nature of society and human relationships: something that cannot be revealed by statistics. In essence, human societies across the ages seek to fulfil certain aspirations: to provide income, food and shelter; to be near and protect family; to socialise and to be with friends. Most of these needs and aspirations can be met close to home, and therefore shape our travel behaviour.

Certainly, as families have become more dispersed and labour mobility has increased , this has led to some people making ever longer journeys. But most of us are still able (and indeed prefer) to fulfil most of our everyday needs close to home.

One other aspect that statistics such as the NTS cannot reveal is the experience of travel. What is it like to travel today and how has this changed over time? Arguably, this is one area where there has been significant change. The advent and widespread use of the private car has meant that comfortable, convenient and private transport has become the norm for most people.

A century ago, only an elite could travel privately and in relative comfort, with most using shared space on various forms of public transport. For those who walk or cycle, the experience of travel will have changed less, though increased traffic has probably made the experience less pleasurable for many.

Half a century of the NTS reminds us of the importance of travel in our lives, and challenges assumptions that everyday mobility has changed dramatically over time. But it also shows us that, when it comes to what’s important to us, some things never change.

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50 ways air travel has changed over the last 100 years

When's the last time you got on a plane? If your last flight was before the pandemic, you're not alone. Industry statistics show worldwide air travel is down by more than 85% from 2019, according to the Associated Press in August 2020. Fears about catching COVID-19 in a crowded airport combined with regional lockdowns, border closures, and stay-at-home orders made many people think twice before hopping on a flight in 2020. Those who did travel by air during the pandemic were met with a significantly different experience. Airlines implemented mask requirements, swapped in-flight meals for prepackaged snacks, halted certain routes, and even blocked off middle seats to try to create a socially distanced experience at 35,000 feet.

The recent changes, while radical, are just the latest in a series of adjustments air travel has gone through since the first scheduled commercial flight in the U.S. took place in Florida in 1914. Early air travel was incredibly bumpy, somewhat dangerous, and had very few frills. But once Americans started jetting around the country in greater numbers, airlines upped the ante to compete for their business. Passengers would dress up for the occasion to enjoy bottomless cocktails, live entertainment, multicourse meals complete with fine china and white tablecloths, and other pleasures in the sky during the Golden Age of flying.

Since then, though, it's been a mostly downhill experience for air passengers. To squeeze every last dollar of profit from every flight, airlines have shrunk seat pitches, charged all sorts of new fees, and stopped offering free meals on many flights. The 9/11 terrorist attacks also prompted sweeping new security measures, requiring passengers to remove shoes, limit their liquids, and walk through full-body scanners before getting on a flight. Today's air travel feels like a world away from the glamour of yesteryear.

So how did air travel get to this point? To find out, Stacker looked at various news articles and websites to compile this timeline of some of the most significant changes in air travel over the last century, ranging from in-flight meals and entertainment to diversity in pilots, changes in fare categories, and frequent flier programs.

Keep reading to see how air travel has changed over the last 100 years.

1920s: Planes become available for passengers

The 1920s marked the first decade in which aircraft were designed with passengers in mind , Insider reports. However, the experience was far from glamorous. Flying was still slower than train travel, and the planes were loud, cold, and bumpy.

1921: Aeromarine Airways screens first in-flight film

Aeromarine Airways played the short film "Howdy Chicago" on a flight over the Windy City in 1921. It was the first in-flight film in history.

1927: Pan American Airways takes flight

Pan American Airways (also known as Pan Am) formed in 1927. Originally providing airmail service, the airline would eventually become the largest international air carrier in the world, and well-known among travelers.

1928: First in-flight hot meal served

Lufthansa offered the first hot-meal service aboard a plane in 1928, on a flight between Berlin and Paris. Airline workers used insulated bottles to keep the food warm, per Food Network.

1930: Air travel reserved for the wealthy

Air travel was largely reserved for the rich and famous in the late 1920s, with just 6,000 Americans flying commercially in 1930, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. However, it would quickly become more popular, and four years later, 75 times the number of passengers would travel by air, USA Today reports.

1936: United Airlines pioneers first airplane kitchen

United Airlines launched the airline industry's first airplane kitchen in 1936. The company gave passengers a choice between scrambled eggs and fried chicken, according to Food Network.

1939: First-ever airport lounge opens in LaGuardia Airport

New York's LaGuardia Airport became home to the first-ever airport lounge when the American Airlines Admirals Club opened in 1939. It was used exclusively for VIPs and extremely loyal passengers.

1940: Boeing flies passengers in pressurized planes

Boeing's 307 Stratoliner, the first plane with a pressurized cabin for passengers, hit the skies in 1940, reported Air & Space magazine. It kept passengers significantly more comfortable at 20,000 feet than earlier planes.

1941: In-flight entertainment goes live

Live in-flight entertainment became a new offering on airlines in 1941. Some would hire actors and singers to perform aboard the flights, per Imagik Corp.

1942: Casual air travel stops during World War II

The U.S. founded the Air Transport Command in 1942 to coordinate airlines' role in transporting cargo and personnel during World War II. The military took the use of 200 of the 360 total airlines in the country, along with their staff. As a result, casual air travel was nearly nonexistent in the U.S. during the war, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1946: Pan American Airways offers frozen dinners

Advancements in flash-freezing technology allowed Pan American Airways to offer the first modern-style frozen dinners on airplanes in 1946. Flight attendants would warm up the meals in convection ovens before serving them to passengers, according to Food Network.

1948: Activists fight segregation at airports

Efforts to end racial segregation at airports began to take motion in 1948 when a Michigan politician supported a Congressional bill to integrate Washington National Airport. While the bill ultimately failed, the airport's restaurant was desegregated later that year.

1948: Passengers get first coach fares

Capital Airlines created the first coach fares for flights in 1948. The lower-cost tickets would help a much broader group of passengers experience air travel, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1949: Passengers get first low-cost airline

Pacific Southwest Airlines launched in May 1949 as the world's first low-cost airline. The airline began by transporting passengers around California. It would become the inspiration for Southwest Airlines.

1950s: Airlines phase out sleeper service

Planes became faster and saw a rise in traffic throughout the 1950s. As a result, airlines spent the decade phasing out their plush sleeper service , per the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The service had typically provided berth-style beds , like the ones found on trains, for transatlantic flights, says Air & Space magazine.

1952: More efficient, reliable planes increase tourism across the Atlantic

The Douglas DC-6B, a piston-engine airliner, offered a more efficient, reliable form of air travel. United Airlines was the first to bring them into commercial service in 1952, and Pan Am would use the aircraft to help boost tourism across the Atlantic Ocean, says the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1953: Passengers get nonstop transcontinental service

American Airlines began using the DC-7 to fly from New York to Los Angeles in November 1953. It marked the first nonstop service between the east and west coasts of the U.S.

1958: Chicago O'Hare Airport tests modern jet bridge

Chicago O'Hare Airport began using the first modern jet bridge, or jetway , in 1958. It offered a sheltered path for passengers to travel between the terminal and the plane and ultimately sped up boarding times, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1958: Pan Am offers in-flight fine dining

Pan Am took in-flight dining to the next level on its daily commercial route from the Big Apple to Europe in 1958. On those flights, the airline treated guests to a fine-dining experience , complete with fine china, white tablecloths, silver carafes, and extravagant dishes, reports Food Network.

1960: American Airlines develops booking automation system

American Airlines founded the Sabre Corporation in 1960. The business would develop a booking automation system for the airline, doing away with the tedious and time-consuming process of making manual reservations for customers.

1961: In-flight entertainment monitors advance

In-flight films started to become more regular on flights in 1961 when new in-flight entertainment monitors advanced to meet airline standards, per Imagik Corp. The noise of the plane engines made it difficult for passengers to hear film dialogue, though.

1965: U.S. completes network of overlapping radars

The U.S. finished developing a network of overlapping radars for planes in 1965. It would advance air traffic control and make flights safer.

1965: Marlon D. Green breaks color barrier on major airlines

After winning a Supreme Court battle against Continental Airlines, Marlon D. Green became a pilot in 1965. The African American pilot is credited with breaking the color barrier for crew on major airlines.

1973-74: Airlines react to oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis caused the price of oil to skyrocket. Airlines responded in several ways to cut costs. Some switched to larger, more crowded planes and scrapped flights on unpopular routes. Some also cut the weight of their planes by reducing the number of in-flight magazines and ending paint jobs for their aircraft, The New York Times reported.

1975: Airlines offer in-flight gaming

Braniff Airlines added technology to its planes to allow passengers to play Pong while flying in 1975. It was the first time in-flight entertainment systems included video games , says Imagik Corp.

1976: Concorde ushers in supersonic era

The Concorde, a supersonic passenger airliner that could fly at double the speed of sound, entered commercial service in 1976. Tickets for flights on the legendary plane were extraordinarily expensive and would allow passengers to travel long distances in significantly less time.

1976: Emily Howell Warner becomes first female captain on a major airline

Frontier promoted Emily Howell Warner to the role of captain in 1976, making her the first woman to hold that position on a major U.S. airline. She had been required to jump through multiple hoops , including extra testing, that her male counterparts didn't have to endure, according to Plane & Pilot magazine.

1978: Federal government deregulates the airline industry

President Jimmy Carter put his signature on the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978. The act would drive up competition between airlines and help reduce fares, says the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

1979: Airlines award passenger loyalty

Texas International Airlines developed the first frequent-flyer program based on miles flown in 1979, says The Points Guy. It's credited with launching the first modern program to award air passengers for loyalty.

1984: FAA approves pre-flight safety demonstration videos

The Federal Aviation Administration gave its approval for airlines to use video for pre-flight safety demonstrations in 1984. They would eventually replace live demonstrations on many flights.

1986: Airlines partner with credit card companies

The airline industry introduced its first branded credit cards in 1986, with the Continental TravelBank Gold Mastercard, says The Points Guy. These early credit cards would increase the ways in which frequent fliers could earn rewards for their loyalty to airlines.

1987: American Airlines cuts olives and saves big

American Airlines decided to remove one olive from the salad plates service to first-class passengers in 1987. The move would save the airline a whopping $40,000 per year and has now become a famous tale of cost-cutting in aviation.

1988: Airplanes get back-of-seat screens

Airplanes began installing individual screens on the back of passenger seats in 1988. It would quickly become a standard on flights, regardless of what class the passenger was sitting in, according to Imagik Corp.

1988: Air travel goes smoke-free

Nearly 80% of flights in the U.S. banned passengers from smoking in 1988. The ban applied to nearly all flights with durations of 2 hours or less, The New York Times reported.

1989: United slaps expiration date on frequent flyer miles

United Airlines slapped expiration dates on miles earned through its frequent flyer program in 1989. The move aimed to create a sense of urgency for customers to use the miles. Expiration dates are now standard in many frequent flier programs, per The Points Guy.

1994: Southwest offers first e-ticket

Southwest Airlines became the first major airline to offer electronic tickets, or e-tickets, in 1994. It would help eliminate the problem of replacing lost paper tickets.

1996: Travelocity offers online flight reservations

Travelocity went online in 1996. The online travel agency was the first to allow passengers to make flight reservations through its website.

1997: Five airlines form the Star Alliance

Five airlines from around the world—United Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, and Lufthansa–teamed up to form the Star Alliance in 1997. The first alliance of its kind, the group would offer consistent code-sharing to give passengers flexibility for earning and redeeming miles within its member airlines.

2000s: High-profile airline mergers change industry landscape

The 2000s would bring about a series of high-profile airline mergers and acquisitions, starting with American Airlines buying Trans World Airlines in 2001. The consolidations would eventually establish American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines as the dominant carriers in the U.S.

2001: Government increases air travel security after 9/11

Congress approved the creation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in 2001, around two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The agency rapidly ramped up staffing and deployed tens of thousands of agents to airports to screen passengers and their luggage, says PBS.

2003: Commercial airlines retire the Concorde

Air France and British Airways both stopped flying the Concorde in 2003. The costs of maintaining the supersonic passenger jet had become too high, and passengers felt the price of the ticket was not worth saving a few hours to cross the Atlantic Ocean, per Popular Mechanics.

2006: Air passengers must limit the liquids they pack

A plot to place liquid explosives onto a series of North America-bound flights from the U.K. was uncovered in 2006. As a result, passengers were faced with new security mandates that severely restricted the quantity of liquids they could bring in their carry-on luggage.

2008: TSA deploys full-body scanners at airports

The Transportation Security Administration began setting up advanced imaging technology , or full-body scanners, at airports across the U.S. in 2008. By 2014, nearly 160 airports across the country were using the technology to screen passengers.

2008: American Airlines starts charging for all checked bags

Throughout most air travel history, passengers could expect to have at least one checked bag included in their fare. That changed in 2008, when American Airlines became the first major carrier to charge a fee for every checked bag. Other airlines would quickly follow suit.

2011: TSA PreCheck becomes available

The Transportation Security Administration introduced a new Trusted Traveler program called TSA PreCheck in October 2011. After paying a fee and getting approved, participants could get expedited service through airport security.

2012: Government requires airlines to list the total cost of flights

In early 2012, the U.S. Transportation Department implemented a new rule that required airlines to provide transparent pricing information for tickets, including all taxes, fees, and surcharges. Before that, airlines could advertise the base fare, only to surprise customers with a significantly higher price once they were about to pay.

2012: Delta develops basic economy fares

Delta Air Lines introduced a new, lower-cost fare category known as basic economy in 2012. Now an industry standard, these bare-bones fares are typically nonrefundable, have no advance seat assignments, include little to no baggage, and have other restrictions.

2018: Flights get more packed

Air travel saw a huge surge in passengers throughout the 2010s. As a result, planes became increasingly crowded. A 2018 report from The Telegraph found that most planes were flying at about 80% occupancy that year, up from about 70% in 2000.

2020: Airlines struggle during the pandemic

Stay-at-home orders and fears of COVID-19 brought air travel to a near halt in 2020. The International Air Transport Association predicted in November 2020 that the global airline industry would suffer $160 billion in losses as a result of the pandemic. The few travelers who did continue to travel by air in 2020 were met with a series of new rules and changes on planes, including mandates to wear masks and socially distance on some airlines.

2021: Airlines consider vaccine passports

In an effort to jumpstart travel after a major slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines are considering requiring that all passengers get vaccinated against the disease. Alan Joyce, CEO of the Australian airline Qantas, has already announced support for a COVID-19 vaccine passport , and other airlines are considering trying out the system in early 2021.

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Then and now: 9 ways travel has changed over the past 25 years

Take a step back in time....

Disposable cameras, postcards, and a bulging carry-on bag: all were key elements of travel back in 1993, a year that also saw the release of our first-ever DK Eyewitness Travel Guide.

To mark our 25th anniversary and to coincide with the relaunch of our DK Eyewitness series , let’s step back in time and look at how drastically vacations have changed since 1993.

Travel was less frequent

While today, low-cost airlines allow us to take vacations on the cheap, back in 1993 these affordable flights were few and far between.

Now, across the board, flights are less expensive than they were 25 years ago, especially with carriers like Norwegian and WOW Air connecting the US to Europe, Iceland, Asia, and beyond. Plus, traditional airlines have begun to offer much more competitive prices, too. And once across the pond, traversing Europe need not cost more than a $10 lunch, thanks to now-ubiquitous Ryanair and easyJet routes.

Flights are also much more abundant, something which partly accounts for an almost 300 per cent increase in the number of overseas trips taken by travelers since the early 1990s. The profusion of available flights has also changed the way we travel. Rather than the two-week-long “Big Trips” of the 1990s’, short breaks and one-week jaunts now reign supreme.

Travel was simpler, but less independent

Still at a nascent stage, the internet was unknown to most earthlings back in 1993. So, amid such Neanderthal days of information-underload, holidaymakers visited shop-based travel agents for help with trip-planning. Today, the mind-boggling array of data at our disposal enables wholly-independent travel experiences, from finding the cheapest flights on Skyscanner to researching Lisbon’s best restaurants on TripAdvisor. But such a wealth of information can be overwhelming—that’s where travel guides come in handy, cutting through the cacophony of online information and providing expertly curated, local advice.

It was all about the tick-list

Immersive travel—cooking classes, local-led tours, street-art safaris—is very much a contemporary craze. Rewind to the 1990s and the focus was largely on seeing specific sights, rather than a desire to really get under the skin of a destination. And while tourists today remain keen on admiring those bucket-list sights, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Rome’s Trevi Fountain, so equally do we hanker to unearth a more authentic side to a city or country. That’s why, in our brand-new DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, we not only include must-see sights, but blend this with local, insider advice on the best experiences a destination has to offer.

Destinations differed

One of 1993’s hottest destinations? Cambodia. Post-Khmer Rouge, the country and its magnificent Angkorian temples were opening up to visitors. Tourist numbers have subsequently soared by over 30,000%, a number indicative—if on the higher end—of Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and South American destinations’ market growth during the past quarter-century. Some European destinations have also seen an influx of travelers. In 1993, Eastern European countries were only just opening their doors. Fast-forward to 2018, and Prague, Budapest, and Warsaw are some of the continent’s hottest destinations, while Croatia is now firmly on most people’s bucket lists. Most of these new destinations would have seemed decidedly offbeat back in 1993, a time when European classics like France and Italy held near-total sway.

We kept in touch with postcards

Whether in Cambodia or Cannes, 1993’s vacationers typically mailed postcards to friends or families. That, or they made long-distance calls with shaky connections from complicated phone boxes. Keeping in touch is a cinch for us 21st-century travellers, though; communication is near-instantaneous via applications like Skype and WhatsApp, everyone has a smartphone, and WiFi’s always on offer. Postcards are still sent—and still take yonks to arrive; some things really do never change—but have since assumed a retro charm.

Accommodation was limited

If you told a friend in 1993 that your trip-base was a local’s pad, they’d have figured you meant a holiday let. Such properties, along with hotels and B&Bs, were pretty much the extent of mainstream travel accommodation back then. But Airbnb and its numerous imitators have subsequently changed everything. Now, not only can you stay in bonafide local homes, but also in bonafide local windmills, wagons, boats, lighthouses, and even lorries.

People took fewer photos

Remember relatives taking you through their holiday shots? Remember rationing and carefully taking your disposable camera’s 20-odd unalterable snaps? Such was travel photography in 1993, a pursuit punctuated by tedious trips to get negatives developed. Yet soon, along came dinky digital cameras, the internet, and finally smartphones, devices whose excellent lenses and high-storage potential today allow for photos galore—and for immediately sharing these images via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Your carry-on bag was bursting at the seams

In 1993, travelers had to cram plane tickets, boarding passes, travelers checks, and bags of local currencies into their carry-on, as well as lugging around any novels you might want to read on the flight over. Life is simpler—and lighter—now. For one thing, we’re no longer weighed down by local currency: a proliferation of global ATMs and free-to-use-abroad bank cards mean we can grab cash on the go—and, since 2002, the euro has simplified Eurozone currency, too. Tablets also allow us to read books digitally, while phones host all our e-tickets and boarding passes. Here at DK Travel, we’ve taken note of this lighter approach to travel. That’s why our updated DK Eyewitness Travel Guides now come in a smaller, lightweight format that will easily fit easily into your backpack.

You could smoke while flying

Smoking on planes had yet to be completely banned by 1993, as some carriers retained cabin sections for tobacco-toking. British Airways took until 1998 to fully outlaw cigarettes at 45,000 feet; by 2000, almost all other airlines had joined them. Today it’s rare to find a city bar where one can puff away, let alone a jumbo jet.

A (very brief) travel timeline from 1993 to now

– DK launches its first-ever DK Eyewitness Travel Guide, covering London

– Eurostar launches as the Channel Tunnel opens between Great Britain and France

– Southwest Airlines issues the first e-ticket

– Low-cost airline easyJet is born

– The Schengen Arrangement pioneers border-free travel around Europe

– Expedia’s advent initiates the reign of travel price-comparison websites

– British Airways completely bans smoking across all flights

– Duty-free sales end within the Eurozone, a nail in the booze-cruise coffin

– In Japan, smartphones enjoy mass adoption within a country for the first time

–The euro enters into circulation

– Facebook debuts

– Google Maps takes atlases online

– Double-decker Airbus A380s arrive in the sky

– Amazon’s Kindle is the first e-reader to achieve widespread commercial success

– The age of Airbnb begins

– Instagram starts making David Baileys of us all

– Metro Bank begins offering a credit card which is free to use abroad

– International tourist arrivals surpass 1 billion globally for the first time

– To guard against overtourism, Venice moves to prevent new holiday accommodation from opening in its historic center and Machu Picchu starts capping visitors

– DK Travel turns 25 and relaunches its bestselling DK Eyewitness Travel Guides

Discover our new travel guides

Want to find out more about our brand-new DK Eyewitness Travel Guides? Check them out here and then discover why you're going to love them .

10 Years of Travel: Where It’s Been, and Where It's Going

A Retrospective of the Last Decade in the Air and on the Road

With a combined 400,000 miles traveled between our team of four editors in 2019, it’s safe to see we see a lot of things in the travelsphere. As we enter a new decade, our team used a mix of travel trends and research, anecdotal evidence, and our own coverage to take a look at how travel has changed in the past decade—including Instagram, low-cost carriers, and the sharing economy—and where it’s going into the 2020s and beyond. (Hint: We see a trip to Africa in your future and maybe a self-driving car or two.) —Laura Ratliff, Jamie Hergenrader, Elizabeth Preske, and Sherri Gardner

2010: Checklist Travel, 2020: Immersive Experiences

We all remember the days of writing down a bucket list for a vacation. A trip to Paris wasn’t complete without seeing “Mona Lisa” and the Arc de Triomphe. And have you really seen London if you didn’t take a picture of Big Ben?

Airbnb’s international expansion in 2011 started to shift the tide towards local, experiential travel slowly and with the launch of Airbnb Experiences in 2016, and subsequently, Airbnb Adventures in 2019, the emphasis on immersive experiences has only grown. Since the 2016 launch, there are now more than 40,000 Experiences across 1,000 destinations. Why reserve an entrance time to the Louvre and wait in line for just a brief glimpse of artistic masterpieces when you can explore artsy Montmartre with a Parisian?

2010: Convenience, 2020: Conscientiousness

Budget airlines have been around since far before 2010—Southwest will celebrate its 53rd birthday in 2020—but the 2010s saw their peak, with WowAir’s 2011 take-off and Norwegian launching transatlantic flights in 2013. Forcing industry-wide price competition even among the long-established carriers (welcome, basic economy!) meant more destinations, and more routes were available to travelers than ever before for jaw-droppingly low prices. One-way flights as low as $30 were no longer considered a steal, but the norm, ushering in the decade of convenient travel. After all, why bother spending a few hours on a train from Paris to London when it’s a one-hour flight?

Well, several years later, we have an answer to that question: the environment. In 2017, the flight shaming movement began (primarily in Sweden, called “flygskam”) to encourage travelers to stop flying due to its impact on climate change. Since then, Swedish air travel has declined rapidly . That movement has spread worldwide (remember when Greta Thunberg completed her entire European tour by train?), and “train bragging” has risen with it. Plus, with the sharp rise in air travel (meaning longer lines, more crowded airports, etc.), train travel is becoming seen as more convenient—no security lines, more space, and the bonus of scenic rides.

And the urge to consider the environment is also an undertaking in the hotel industry. Those tiny shampoo bottles you’d usually stash in your suitcase are being phased out. Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton have all pledged to eliminate them in the coming years for larger bottles that stay put in the rooms to reduce plastic waste. And while you’ve probably seen the cards in rooms allowing you to opt out of a towel or sheet change to save water, some hotels are offering stronger incentives to do so. Declining any form of housekeeping can now earn you points with hotel brands or a food and beverage voucher for your stay. Again, maybe these initiatives aren’t sacrificing convenience as much as they are reframing it—no housekeeping, no tidying up for the cleaning staff, and no interruptions all day long.

2010: The Rise of the Sharing Economy, 2020: The Fall of the Sharing Economy?

Hear us out on this one: While we’re not saying Airbnb and Uber are going anywhere, a recent spate of bad press for both companies— Airbnb’s massive fraud ring , and Uber’s long-standing labor and safety issues —have led savvy travelers to look toward alternatives.

Low-touch apartment-hotels (think an Airbnb in a building with a check-in desk and some other hotel-like amenities) have been popping up throughout the country. Bode , one such start-up, opened in Nashville and Chattanooga in 2019, with three additional locations planned for 2020. Domio , a competitor, launched its first upscale apartment-hotel in New Orleans earlier this year.

And there’s a good chance that, in a few years, your Uber driver won’t even exist–Google’s Waymo self-driving car incubator expects to add 20,000 vehicles to its fleet in the next few years, enough for more than 500,000 trips each day.

2010: Instagram Influencers, 2020: Instagram Community

Yes, Instagram has been around for (almost) an entire decade now. (Feel old? We do.) And while it began as a place to follow your friends, fam, and maybe a few strangers to engage through comments and likes, it quickly transformed into a marketing tool.

Before we knew it, “influencer” became a real job title, causing our feeds to be filled with promotions of products and places and experiences. Throughout its existence, however, influencers have become a hot topic for several reasons: transparency (or lack thereof) of sponsored content, heavily edited photos to make places look more appealing or whimsical, and the unintentional (but still subliminal) encouragement of “doing it for the ‘gram” that lands many travelers in physical or legal harm just to capture the Insta-perfect shot.

Of course, many influencers have contributed positively to the platform, but many users still crave a more tailored use of the app to cut through the noise. As a result, virtual communities were born, and users were able to follow accounts or hashtags (the latter made possible in 2017) to connect with similar and like-minded travelers. A few examples: @wearetravelgirls (women travelers), @travelnoire (Black millennial travelers), #solotravel (a self-explanatory hashtag with more than 5 million posts), @gaytravelinsta (LGBT travelers), and more. There’s no doubt that Instagram has changed the way we travel, but instead of solely being an outlet for wanderlust, it’s now also an accessible way to connect with travelers worldwide.

2010: Cost-Effective Trips, 2020: Time-Efficient Trips 

In 2010, the economy was still coming out of the previous years’ recession, which also meant people were cutting back on leisure expenses, including travel. The “staycation” became popular as people compromised their desire to travel with the need to save money, and instead, put those dollars toward restaurants and attractions in their hometowns to maintain that feeling of discovery and exploration.

Now, as the economy improves, most of us are scant on another valuable resource: time. The challenge of work-life balance, the ability to work remotely from anywhere, and the lifestyle of constant hustle have led travelers to find ways to be more efficient with their trip planning, seeking alternatives to traditional week-long getaways.

One example: "bleisure" trips (business trips extended for leisure purposes) are on the rise—SAP Concur travel and expense data showed that bleisure trips increased by 20 percent from 2016 to 2017, and another study showed that while millennials lead the trend , bleisure is appealing to all generations in the workforce. Long weekend getaways are becoming more popular for the same reasons; you can travel more frequently to spread out and savor your precious time off. In a 2015 survey , close to half of the respondents were more likely to take multiple weekend trips in the year instead of one long vacation, as compared to data from 2010.

With a shorter trip time, though, people are also trying to pack as much into a getaway as possible, leading to new meaning of an “all-inclusive trip.” Some travelers have turned to “country coupling”—visiting more than one country on a trip—and choosing destinations for their diversity of attractions (where can you go that has city life, outdoor adventure, and beaches), and combining destinations to well-known places with nearby off-the-radar places for a mix of bucket list and discovery.

2010: Planning More, 2020: Planning Less

It’s a fact that vacationers are often happier planning a trip than actually taking it, but that blissful planning stage might be fleeting as more travelers look to spur-of-the-moment deals and apps that offer deep discounts for procrastinators. More than 60 percent of travelers have said they would be willing to book an impulse trip if they can get a good deal.

Scott’s Cheap Flights, a popular newsletter that alerts potential travelers to screaming deals on airfare, grew to more than 1.6 million subscribers since its launch in 2013, while apps like HotelTonight make it simple to reserve a deeply-discounted hotel room the day you arrive. Finding things to do and place to eat is as simple as opening Google Maps and seeing what's in the area—the company says searches including "near me" grew 150 percent in 2018 and that trend is set to continue.

No-planning trips are even an option now. Services like Pack Up + Go and Whisked Away take care of everything—down to the destination. All you have to do is give your available dates and your budget. In 2020 and beyond, expect to see more and more spontaneous trips for birthdays, long weekends , or just because.

2010: Zone-Out Travel, 2020: Transformational Travel

When the film adaptation of “Eat Pray Love” came out in 2010, it changed the way we travel. At the time, travel was all about sitting on a beach—just daiquiri in-hand, no introspection necessary. But now, thanks to the film and other factors, we’re all looking for personal fulfillment as we travel.

Women especially are traveling solo more than ever . In the last four years alone, Hostelworld reported an increase in the number of female solo travelers by 88 percent. As we move into the 2020s, we predict we’ll see even more solo travelers looking for that transformational experience.

As for Bali, the romantic centerpiece of “Eat Pray Love,” the Badung Regency Tourism Office revealed that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport saw a 10.1 percent increase in tourists year-over-year—a number that’s only risen since the film’s release a decade ago. Thanks, Julia Roberts.

2010: The Rise of Asia, 2020: Africa and the Middle East Have a Moment

Asia was the lion—literally—of the 2010s' tourism boom. Japan expects 40 million tourists in 2020 (six times the number it saw in 2003), while Bangkok boasts about being a consistent contender for the world’s most visited city . But will unrest in Hong Kong and pollution and environmental concerns quell the region’s growth in 2020 and beyond, making way for a new part of the world to steal the spotlight?

The Middle East and Africa showed strong performances in the latter half of the 2010s, with Dubai leading the charge. The shining Emirate, along with Abu Dhabi, sees more foreign arrivals than any other city in the region, but new opportunities for leisure travelers to visit Saudi Arabia make it one to watch too. (Saudi Arabia and the UAE also plan to introduce a joint visa for both countries.)

Africa is poised for a 2020 tourism boom too: continued post-Arab Spring recovery has seen travelers flowing back into Egypt, while new flights—like Kenya Airways’ historic non-stop between Nairobi and New York in 2018, and RwandAir’s upcoming flight from New York to Kigali, Rwanda—have made the continent easier to reach than ever. Twenty African nations now offer visa-free travel or visas on arrival for Americans, while South Africa just launched an e-Visa pilot for travelers who need them. If you’ve been considering a Kenyan safari or a Nile River cruise, there’s no better time than now.

2010: Overtourism, 2020: Sustainability

As travel has become more affordable, more accessible, and easier to plan than ever, it’s also becoming one of the largest-growing industries in the world . According to the World Tourism Organization, 2018 saw 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals , a record high that occurred two years ahead of schedule according to the organization’s 2010 predictions. Not surprisingly, the onslaught of travelers has been painful for many destinations to handle over the past decade, leading to an era of overtourism.

Iceland is a well-known example. In 2010, just under 500,000 people visited the country; in 2017, more than 2 million did. Some destinations have taken action to combat the suffocation—Venice has started charging day trip visitors a fee, the Louvre now operates on a reservations-only system to limit crowds flocking to get a pic of the Mona Lisa, and the Philippines temporarily closed the island of Boracay to tourism following damage to its landscape from the throngs of visitors. 

Destinations haven’t been the only ones taking steps to reduce the impact of overtourism; travelers are now considering that as a factor in their trip planning. Data from Booking.com showed that 51 percent of travelers would go to a lesser-known destination similar to their original intention if it would help reduce the effects of overtourism, a concept known as “second city” traveling. Plus, the idea of going somewhere “off the beaten path” is appealing to a lot of people—crowds and lines at attractions are considerably more tolerable (or non-existent), prices on flights and accommodations are typically lower, and you get to discover things you haven’t already seen all over social media. 

2010: Fido Stays Home, 2020: Fido Eats a Filet

Call it the scourge of the fake emotional support animal, but we think dogs on planes, trains, and automobiles are here to stay in 2020 and beyond.

With Americans spending more than $72 billion on their pets in 2018 , hotels are wisening up to the traveler who can’t stand to leave their furry friends at home when they hit the road. A 2016 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found that around 75 percent of hotels allow pets—up from just 50 percent in 2006—with many going above and beyond to cater not only to travelers but to their German Shepherds, too.

At the Dream Hollywood in Los Angeles, pups are treated to Sprinkles pupcakes and mini-bath robes, while Nashville’s Bobby Hotel designed an on-brand hot chicken chew toy. Meanwhile, some hotels have opted to add their own canines to the crew, like Kitty, the resident Bernese Mountain Dog at St. Regis Aspen , or Max, a rambunctious yellow Labrador who rules the roost at Turks and Caicos’ COMO Parrot Cay.

2010: To Grandma’s House We Go, 2020: Grandma Hits the Road

Traveling to your grandparents’ house? That’s so 2010. Now, instead of going to grandma’s house, grandma’s taking the grandkids—and leaving the parents at home. According to an AARP survey , 61 percent of grandparents are interested in taking a skip-gen trip with their grandchildren, and more than 30 percent have done just that. Boomers are generally still healthy and plenty active, and as they enter retirement, they have more time than ever.

Travel Leaders Group found that, in 2017, 91 percent of its agents had booked a multigenerational trip and these families aren't just going to Disney World. A report by Virtuoso, a collection of travel advisors, found that Generation Z—persons born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s—are influencing their family's travel decisions, leading families from stayed beach vacations toward safaris, adventure-focused cruises, and other excursions instead. In fact, the high seas remain a popular choice, thanks to the wide assortment of activities, dining, and excursions available on cruise lines. A report conducted by the Cruise Lines International Association last year says the industry saw a 45 percent increase in multi-generational adventure travel requests.

2010: The Rise of Culinary Travel, 2020: Food Travel Becomes an (Exclusive) Sport

The 2010s were arguably the decade where eating—and documenting it—became part and parcel for a trip. Now, it’s a competitive sport.

Social media’s rise has spurred travelers to plan every meal before putting fork to plate—or even taking off. A new generation waits in bated breath not only for Michelin guides to be released but also for reviews from sites like The Infatuation, who bought old-guard print guidebook Zagat in 2018. Meanwhile, restaurant reservations are made—and even paid for—in advance, not unlike concert tickets, thanks to services like Tock.

Of course, even if you can get your seat at Noma, you still might want to a truly one-of-a-kind experience like Marriott Bonvoy’s November Moment Masterclass, which involved a private villa stay in the Cayman Islands with renowned chef David Bouley. Or look to Mastercard’s Priceless pop-up: the card issuer has recreated notable restaurants from around the world, like Tokyo sushi cynosure Terazushi and London boîte Lyaness, in an empty SoHo warehouse. (You need a Mastercard to get in, natch.)

2010: Travel Is a Luxury, 2020: Everyone Is a VIP

When the recession hit in 2008, the cost of plane tickets soared, influenced by sky-high fuel prices and other factors. Basic Economy fares and low-cost carriers made travel accessible again. Still, unless you were keen on dropping $4,000 on a business-class ticket, you were likely crammed in the back of the bus, noshing on a $17 airport sandwich.

Now, some carriers and services have aimed to restore a bit of dignity to the everyman’s travel experience, with Delta introducing a revamped transatlantic meal service in late 2019, that includes a welcome cocktail and hot towel service, and services like TSA PreCheck and CLEAR whisking you through security in a flash. Let’s also not forget the LAX’s Private Suite offering—a service that lets well-heeled travelers hang out in a comfortable suite before being driven, via private chauffeur, directly to their aircraft on the tarmac.

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Turn and face the strain: How has travel changed since the ’70s?

For better or worse, travel—how we do it, why we do it, where we do it, and when we do it—has changed a lot over the decades. Veteran Australian travel writer John Borthwick looks at how far we’ve come (and gone).

“They arrived by railway or even by boat: Entire families of eccentric Englishmen with their servants and trunks. For months, they settled in a hotel and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a sleepy town …”

That’s how the Swiss saw foreign travelers 150 years ago. The eccentric English people were on what was known as ‘The Grand Tour’, both a rite of passage and an aesthetic pilgrimage through the sites of European high culture and scenic beauty. First undertaken by the British upper classes, it set a travel template for generations to come, establishing the roots of modern tourism.

Fast forward a century, if you will, through early Thomas Cook tours, the Titanic, Zeppelins, planes, trains, and two world wars. Cross an ocean and a continent, and it’s 1970. You’re in Goa, western India—Arabian Sea coast, languid palms, Portuguese memories, endless beaches, living on a dollar a day, and all that. A contemporary observer might well have written:

“They arrived by railway, steamer or Volkswagen van: Hordes of eccentric Westerners with their music, hash and backpacks. For months, they settled in huts and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a sleepy beach …”

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The more things change, the more they stay the same (so they say). Except that they also do change. Since that tribal flood of seekers—hippies, ‘heads’, ‘freaks’—surged across the overland route from Europe in the ‘70s, the population of their main destination, India, has multiplied from 550 million (1970) to an enormous 1.34 billion people (2017).

In tandem, world travel numbers have grown almost exponentially: Annual international tourist arrivals for 2017 are estimated to reach a gob-smacking 1.2 billion. Envisage that figure as the equivalent of China’s entire population being at large across the tourist spots of the world. (Indeed, there are times in midsummer Paris or midwinter Phuket when they—Chinese or otherwise—seem to all be right there).

Taking a thousand selfies hadn’t sucked the life out of simply being there, because film cost far too much to waste on gormless narcissism.

If the numbers have changed, so too has the kind of experience that we travelers can now pursue—or not. These days, no joyously scruffy young foreigner would sanely attempt, for example, to hitchhike north through untamed Afghanistan to the Bamiyan Valley, there to contemplate for a day or a week the huge, 6th-century Buddhas carved in the cliff face. If you survived the badlands journey today, you’d arrive to find the two Buddhas as rubble, and their former niches as voids, a pair of gaping, vertical coffins. Thank you, Taliban 2001.

Nor can one wander these days, albeit perfectly safely, through the vast, medieval mud brick city of Arg-e Bam in southeastern Iran. It too no longer exists, although in this case, it was nature in the form of a cataclysmic 2003 earthquake that demolished the World Heritage wonder.

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On the other hand, the once-impossible places that you can go to today, admittedly for massive dollars, include grinding through pack ice for a week aboard a nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker to reach the North Pole. You can even take a brief, frosty swim while there. Or, at even greater expense, be dragged breathless and near death to the summit of Everest. Or the ultimate, sign up for a future moon shot.

A list of comparisons of how travel has changed even since the early 1980s throws up some doozies. ‘Back then’, no one traveled with a mobile phone because the brick-sized (and weighted) gizmos had just come on the market at $4000 (in 1983 dollars) each. Today it is reckoned that more people in the world have phones than have toilets.

With no mobiles or email, travel communication was a month-old letter from home, collected (if it wasn’t swiped en route) at Poste Restante, Antofagasta, Marrakesh or Zanzibar. You carried travelers checks not credit cards. Pan Am—remember them?—dominated the skies and Emirates was just a patch of sand somewhere around the Gulf. Air passengers smoked furiously throughout a flight, but you could still hitchhike in relative safety and, either way, travel insurance wasn’t in a backpacker’s vocabulary—or budget.

Cast your imagination back a further decade to the 1970s where a budget traveler had to work and save hard for up to a year to afford, for example, the boat journey from the Antipodes to Europe or the Americas—but then they’d stay away, working and traveling, for years. (Career? Meh. Later for that.) Back then, too, straight-laced Malaysian immigration authorities welcomed raggle-taggle gypsy trippers just off the Overland Route (OK, the Dope Trail) with the passport stamp, ‘SHIT’: Suspected Hippie In Transit.

Traveling has evolved in just over a century from a privilege for the very few, to a right for many, to a mass obligation.

“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect”, wrote the prolific American travel author and novelist Paul Theroux. So too are the ‘You-should-have-been-here-yesterday …’ tales. Things always look way cooler through hindsight shades, which magically also wipe away your recall of the dysentery, hepatitis (strains A through Z), stolen passports, lost travelers cheques, scammers, broken romances, bent cops and worse—all part and epic parcel of being ‘on the road’. And mostly still are.

It’s true that travelers ‘back then’ didn’t have to endure endless airport security shakedowns. Mass tour groups blocking one’s view (of whatever) with a wall of waving, high-held tablets were still to come. Taking a thousand selfies hadn’t sucked the life out of simply being there, because film cost far too much to waste on gormless narcissism. And there wasn’t yet a vast condo escarpment staring down on the remote beach you’d found, just before a poetically-challenged PR team hexed it with the P-word.

Paradise ditched—so, who dunnit? The responsibility is eternal, circular, and ours. In 1936, early Bali visitor Charlie Chaplin declared that the fabled island was already “ruined”. In 2017, seeing Seminyak’s culture of mixologists, hipster baristas and celeb cooks in Balinese resorts that look just like one in Mauritius—or was it the Maldives?—in truth, doesn’t thrill me at all. (Why recreate at your holiday all the hometown drek you’re taking a break from?)

But we’ve all contributed to the changes by simply traveling there, anywhere—be it Bali, Goa, Prague, Colorado, or you name it. As travelers, we are part of an industry that, paradoxically, we love to deny being part of. (Anyone for another round of ‘But they’re tourists— I’m a traveler’?)

Traveling has evolved in just over a century from a privilege for the very few, to a right for many, to a mass obligation. Those boomer tribes of anarchic freaks, navigating overland towards ‘Christmas in Goa’ by the ratty glow of a chillum and a scratchy Hendrix tape, have now morphed into industry tours where their grandkids can slot into full-moon beach parties in Thailand (or Goa or Costa Rica or …) as monthly itinerary fixtures.

And does it matter? Our journeys are brushes with life, and sometimes with death, which may be why we are so drawn to them, perhaps rehearsing the round of our own life’s larger voyage.

Meanwhile and regardless, that old dog, wanderlust—like its amorous cousin, lust—never sleeps long and before we know it, we’re packing our bags again, heading for the door, full of hope.

That much never changes.

Many of the images and historical info were kindly provided by Rory MacLean, author of MAGIC BUS: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India .

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One of Australia’s leading travel writers, John Borthwick's work appears in The Weekend Australian, Fairfax Traveller and many others—all of which keeps him too long away from surfing good waves or hiking some gob-smacking coastline.

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How Travel Has Transformed Over the Course of 100 Years – A Complete History

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on Published: January 12, 2023  - Last updated: December 27, 2023

Categories Travel

Travel has come a long way in the last 100 years. In 1920, Britain was still connected to India by an empire, and Mexico City was only accessible by ship or train.

Today, travelers can take advantage of new technologies like airplanes and cruise ships that have opened up a world of travel opportunities. From exploring ancient ruins in Peru to road-tripping through New Zealand, modern travelers can experience places that were inaccessible or unknown just a hundred years ago. The evolution of travel in the last century is remarkable, allowing anyone with access to transportation to explore distant lands and discover cultures different from their own.

Before Air Travel

Travel has changed a lot in the last century. In the early 20th century, people traveled by train, steamship, and horseback. Today, we can travel to any part of the world anytime.

Travel by air was still in its infancy at that time. It wasn’t until 1919 that the first successful transatlantic flight occurred between Newfoundland and Ireland. The trip took more than 16 hours – a far cry from today’s flights, which take less than eight hours from New York City to Europe.

As more people gained access to air travel, it became much cheaper and accessible to everyone. Today, you can fly round-trip from New York to Paris for less than $500.

Advances in aviation technology also accompanied the development of modern air travel. In 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first to fly faster than sound.

The Early Days of Air Travel Were a Time of Adventure

Air travel has come long since the first plane took off in 1903.

The early days of aviation were a time of adventure. In the 1920s and 30s, air passengers could enjoy the thrill of flying at higher speeds than on land or water. Air passengers were often greeted by a flight attendant who served them food and drinks during the trip.

The first business travel flight took off from New York City on May 15, 1927, when Charles Lindbergh flew a single-engine biplane across the Atlantic to Paris. Pan American Airways offered commercial flights between New York City and San Juan, Puerto Rico, two years later. But it wasn’t until after World War II that commercial aviation took off. With this growth came more modern aircraft designs with improved safety features and more comfort for passengers.

In the decades that followed, air travel became increasingly affordable and convenient. In 1954, Boeing introduced the 707 jet airliner – the first passenger aircraft with a complete cabin pressurization system – allowing airlines to fly in thinner air at higher speeds and greater distances.

In 1957, Pan Am inaugurated its first scheduled transatlantic service from the West Coast to the United Kingdom with its new DC-7C jets. By 1958, Pan American Airways had a schedule of 47 weekly flights from Idlewild Airport to destinations in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Other Advances in Transportation

Since the beginning of time, people have been traveling to new places and meeting new people. Today, we can travel much faster and more efficiently than ever before.

The earliest forms of transportation were walking and running. Later, people learned to use horses and other animals to travel faster and farther.

The invention of the steam train in 1908 allowed people to travel long distances in a short time. Airplanes allowed people to cross oceans in a few hours, which would have taken weeks or months by ship. Cars enabled people to travel great distances at high speeds, which is why many highways exist today.

Significant advances in transportation technology have been made, such as the widespread use of high-speed trains. High-speed trains are quick and efficient forms of transportation that can take passengers from one city to another in hours instead of taking entire days to travel by car.

From Freight to Cruise Ships

The most apparent change in the last 100 years has been the rise of the cruise ship industry. Cruise ships have become the dominant form of maritime transportation, and they’re an excellent example of how technology has changed not only what we do at sea but also how we think about it.

Cruise ships also represent another major shift in how people think about travel: they’re being marketed as destinations in and of themselves rather than just a means to get from point A to point B – or even just an excuse to get away from work for a week or two. But that’s not all they offer. Many cruise lines also offer excursions in ports of call, so you can explore new cities without leaving your ship for more than an hour or two (and only if you want to).

Infrastructure

Travel infrastructure has also greatly improved by constructing highways, airports, and train stations. Airports have expanded capacity with more gates and runways, allowing more flights to take off and land safely. Airlines have also increased their fleets and flown to more destinations to meet passenger needs.

Through mobile apps like FlightStats or FlightViews, or websites like FlightAware, travelers now have real-time flight information so they can stay informed before leaving for the airport or during a layover in an airport terminal while waiting for their next flight.

Travelers can also use these tools to plan their trips by comparing fares between airlines or booking hotels directly through sites like Expedia or Orbitz rather than dealing with booking agents at hotels or airlines.

Railroads have been around for more than 200 years, but their impact on travel has only changed dramatically recently. Before the late 1800s, most people traveled on foot or horseback. Travel by rail was standard but not affordable for most people.

The railroad changed that, making travel faster and cheaper than ever before – and allowing people to leave their hometowns and see the world. Today’s modern rail system is very different from the early days: Today’s trains are faster, safer, and more comfortable than 100 years ago.

Ports have also evolved. Most ports today have terminals where passengers can check their luggage before arriving at the terminal building. Terminals are often designed so passengers don’t have to walk far after leaving their cars or planes – they can get off the bus or train and go directly to an air-conditioned waiting room.

Highways are also an excellent example of how infrastructure has changed over time. In the early 1900s, no highways existed: People traveled on horseback or foot. As cars became more popular in the 1920s , roads began to be built so people could drive around town and between cities. But to get from one place to another, they had to use dirt roads until they were paved with asphalt in the 1930s. Today, highways are multi-lane, and interstates connect cities across state lines.

Globalization

The globalization of travel has allowed people to travel to more destinations worldwide and more easily connect with other cultures.

The Internet and social media have made it possible for people from different countries to communicate with each other and share information about places they have been or want to visit.

In addition, it’s easier for travelers to find online communities of people with similar interests and want to travel together. This can be helpful for those who are afraid to travel alone or meet new people in a foreign country.

Although travel has always involved risks, especially when traveling abroad, today’s travelers have access to more information about those risks than ever before. This can help travelers decide where and how to protect themselves.

For example, if you’re taking a walking tour in an unfamiliar place or country, you can find out about reviews of local hotels and restaurants, so you know where not to eat or stay. You can also find reviews of attractions or landmarks along your route so you know which ones are worth stopping at on your trip.

In the early 20th century, travel was a luxury reserved for the wealthy. Travel was expensive and took a lot of time. People who weren’t wealthy had to rely on public transportation such as trains and buses.

Today, travel is more accessible to everyone. With the advent of airplanes, crossing oceans at speeds that trains or cars could never match has become possible. The cost of air travel has also become more affordable for the middle class, making it accessible to more people.

In 1900, a person could travel from New York City to Los Angeles by train in about four days. Today, the same trip by plane takes less than nine hours – and at a much lower price than a train ticket!

The rise of tourism as a significant industry has led to the development of hotels, resorts, and business travel. These facilities are critical to the needs of travelers, providing them with comfortable accommodations, dining options, and various forms of entertainment.

It is easy to take for granted the ease and convenience of travel that we enjoy today. However, it is essential to remember that travel was a much more complex and arduous endeavor just a century ago.

Your journey was arduous if you traveled in a horse-drawn carriage or even the first automobiles in the early 20th century . Not only did you have to cope with rough and often unpaved roads, but you also had to make sure your horse was well-fed and rested throughout the journey or that you had enough gasoline for the road, as gas stations were relatively rare.

We rely on public transportation such as buses, trains, and planes to travel long distances. Introducing these modes of transportation has dramatically increased the speed and convenience of travel, making it accessible to a more significant number of people. In addition, the development of roads, highways, and airports has also played a crucial role in making travel more accessible.

Travel today is different from what it was 100 years ago. Some things have remained the same; for example, people still enjoy visiting tourist destinations worldwide and taking photos. But many new things make travel more convenient and enjoyable than ever before.

For people with disabilities, seniors, and families with children who were previously unable to take a more extended trip due to age or health reasons, traveling is now easier than ever.

Development of the Tourism Industry

The development of tourism into a primary travel industry has led to the emergence of hotels, resorts, and other tourism-related businesses. This, in turn, has led to the growth of the service sector and the creation of jobs in the industry.

The rise of tourism as a significant industry has also increased international travel between countries. This has increased cultural exchanges between people from different countries as they travel to share experiences and learn about each other’s cultures.

Tourism also plays a vital role in economic development and poverty alleviation by providing more employment opportunities for locals who provide food preparation, transportation, and accommodation for tourists visiting their country or region. In addition, tourism also helps improve infrastructure, such as roads and airports, to help tourists access remote destinations.

Economic Impact

Travel increased sharply in the first half of the 20th century, with most people using trains and steamships to reach their destinations. The more people traveled, the more hotels and other lodging establishments were needed. This led to new jobs, especially in the travel industry, such as hotels, restaurants, and airlines.

The economic impact of the travel industry is not limited to those in the tourism industry. The money people spend on travel affects the entire economy. For example, when someone spends money on an airline ticket, they may buy groceries or clothing at a local supermarket before leaving town. This extra spending creates jobs for other people in the local community who work in grocery stores or clothing stores.

Tourism has also played an essential role in the growth of some cities worldwide. For example, tourism has helped Miami grow from a small coastal town to one of the United States’ largest cities, attracting millions of visitors yearly for the beaches and nightlife.

Safety and Security

Security measures have been the most significant change in travel over the past 100 years. In the early 20th century, people traveled without considering their safety. Today, there are security checkpoints at every airport, and we are constantly reminded that travel is a dangerous thing.

Airport security has increased significantly in recent years, and security checks with metal detectors and baggage screening machines are now commonplace at airports worldwide. Passengers are also personally searched and patted down.

Nowadays, there are several checkpoints that you have to pass through before you can board a mode of transportation. When you arrive at an airport or train station, you must go through security checks before entering the terminal building. Once inside the terminal building, you must pass through another checkpoint before boarding your flight or train. This process is repeated for each mode of transportation you use after arriving at your destination.

The development of technology and the Internet has made it easier for people to plan and book their trips and more accessible for them to stay connected while traveling.

In previous generations, travelers had to go to a travel agency, talk to a travel agent in person or on the phone, and wait for the agent to book flights, hotels, and rental cars. Today, travelers can do all this themselves from home or anywhere in the world with an Internet connection through websites like Expedia.

The Internet has also made communicating with family and friends easier while away from home. Cell phones allow travelers to stay in touch 24/7 with anyone with a cell phone number or email address – even if they’re on the other side of the world!

However, with so many review portals like Trip Advisor, there’s no longer an element of surprise when you arrive at a new destination. You know which places to avoid and which to visit before you get on the plane. It’s hard to find those ‘hidden gems’ anymore…

Contact With New Cultures

Learning about new cultures can be a life-changing experience. Travel allows people to immerse themselves in different cultures and learn about and appreciate the world’s diversity. Through travel, people can develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for other cultures and even adopt elements of those cultures into their own lives.

As travel becomes more accessible and affordable thanks to advances in technology and transportation, more people can explore the world and learn about different cultures.

This can help break down prejudices and assumptions people have about others who are different. Travel makes people realize that despite our cultural differences, we have many things in common, such as hopes, dreams, desires, and fears.

Tourism is the largest industry in the world, and travel is an integral part of it.

The past century has seen tremendous changes in how people travel, and significant advances have been made in transportation and communications. These developments have enabled people to travel farther, faster, and safer than ever.

The Internet has also played an important role, providing access to information worldwide and breaking down language barriers through translation apps. This allows people to learn about new cultures and places without traveling there.

Travel has helped break down barriers, bridge cultural differences , and help us appreciate the beauty and diversity of the world around us. As travel has become more accessible, it has played an essential role in fostering greater understanding and acceptance of different cultures and promoting peace and harmony among people of all backgrounds.

Dissemination of Ideas

Travel has changed dramatically over the past 100 years. In the first half of the 20th century, it was all about discovery and adventure. People were fascinated by new places and cultures around the globe. They wanted to see them with their own eyes. But travel was also a way of escaping one’s own life – whether on a grand tour or on a steamer bound for Europe.

The early 20th century was also a time when people were looking for ideas outside their own borders. Travelers brought back souvenirs and stories from their journeys around the world. They shared these stories with friends and family members at home and abroad, helping to spread ideas and cultures around the globe.

With the advent of the Internet, the way people search for new ideas has changed, and today travel is usually for tourism or work. People still explore new places, but they do it much faster than in years past.

Changing Attitudes and Values

In the early 1900s, most people traveled by rail or water. Travelers were adventurous and willing to take risks to reach their destinations. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to travel across the country on a trolley (a small wagon without an engine) pulled by fellow passengers. People also traveled by boat across seas and rivers. They had no idea where they’d end up or what would happen along the way – but they didn’t care because it was an adventure!

There were no computers back then, so the maps weren’t very accurate. The only way to find out what lay ahead was to talk to other travelers or read guidebooks – if you could find any!

Today, thanks to our mobile devices and online travel sites like TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet, we can access information about anywhere. We know exactly where we’re going and what we’ll see along the way – at least, most of us do.

We have also become more aware of environmental issues, such as pollution and conservation, and cultural issues, such as racism and sexism.

Raising Awareness

Travel is for personal growth and enjoyment and is vital in raising awareness of many social, environmental, and political issues today. When we travel to other parts of the world, we learn about other ways of life, challenges, and perspectives. This can help us understand the world’s complexity and its inhabitants’ interconnectedness. For example, when we visit a developing country, we can develop a better understanding of poverty and inequality. Visiting an area affected by climate change can give us a better understanding of the problem’s urgency. Visiting a place where human rights are violated can help us better understand the importance of protecting those rights.

Travel Has Changed a Lot in the Last Century

Travel has changed dramatically in the last century and continues evolving with technology and globalization.

The most apparent changes are the advances in transportation that make it easier and faster for people to get around. Planes, trains, automobiles, cruise ships, busses, and other forms of transportation have opened the world to domestic and internationally travelers.

Travel has continued to evolve over the past century. With more people traveling, the need for convenience and comfort is more significant than ever. That’s why airlines have invested in technologies that allow travelers to book tickets online, check in remotely, and even print their boarding passes at home.

Travelers also have more options than ever before when it comes to accommodations. Hotel chains, Airbnb, and hostels offer accommodations for every budget and need, making it easier for travelers to find a place to stay that fits their needs and budget. There are also new forms of transportation, such as ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft, which make getting around much more straightforward,

Technology has dramatically changed how we travel over the past 100 years. From steamboats and hand-drawn carts to planes, trains, and cruise ships, there is now an incredible range of transportation options for travelers.

Access to travel has also become much easier in the last century for people of all classes and income groups. Only those with enough money could travel in the past – today, even people on a tight budget can discover new destinations.

Travel is much more affordable in the last century. A hundred years ago, it was too expensive for most people to travel far from home. Today, airfares have dropped significantly, and budget airlines offer cheap flights, making it possible for almost anyone to travel.

Airfares have dropped dramatically over the last century, drastically changing travel over the last 100 years due to technological, transportation, and globalization advances.

The invention of the airplane was one of the most significant changes in transportation, as it allowed people to travel long distances in less time. Airplanes have made international travel much more accessible and affordable, making long-distance travel a reality.

How I Imagine Traveling in the Next 100 Years

I envision travel evolving over the next 100 years in response to new technologies and changing social and environmental conditions.

First, I believe that transportation technology will continue to improve, making travel even faster and more efficient. Electric and autonomous vehicles may become commonplace, reducing emissions and increasing safety.

We will see the development of new sustainable technologies such as vertical gardens, floating cities, and eco-friendly accommodations.

It is also possible that new forms of transportation will be developed, such as high-speed trains and hypersonic aircraft, which will make travel even faster and more convenient.

In addition, I believe space travel will become more feasible and accessible, allowing people to travel to space for recreational, research, and other purposes.

I envision airplanes being perceived like buses once space travel becomes a luxury item, as airplanes were in the 20th century.

Second, I believe technology will make travel increasingly accessible and sustainable. Virtual and augmented reality technologies could be widely used, allowing people to experience different places and cultures without leaving home. Sustainable tourism will become more mainstream as more people become aware of their travels’ impact on the environment and local communities.

Finally, travel will continue to play an essential role in promoting global understanding, peace, and harmony among people of diverse backgrounds.

With the rise of technology and globalization, we will see a greater exchange of ideas, cultures, and perspectives between people from different parts of the world. We may also see the development of new types of travel that promote cultural exchange and understanding, such as cross-cultural travel, language learning programs, and educational travel.

In summary, travel will evolve over the next 100 years in response to new technologies and changing social and environmental conditions. Transportation technology will become more efficient and sustainable, technology will make travel more accessible, and travel will continue to play an essential role in promoting global understanding and peace, and harmony among people of all backgrounds.

Alternative to Physical Travel

As the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, I also believe virtual travel using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will become an increasingly popular way to experience new places and cultures without leaving home, much like the movie Ready Player One by Spielberg.

Virtual reality technology will allow people to be fully immersed in a virtual environment, making them feel like they are in another place. This technology can create virtual tours of famous landmarks, historical sites, and natural wonders.

VR can also create virtual reality experiences such as visiting ancient ruins, exploring the ocean’s depths, or even traveling into space and imaginary worlds, meaning our virtual destinations will be endless!

Augmented reality technology, on the other hand, will allow users to overlay virtual elements on top of the natural world, making it easier to share our surroundings with our loved ones without traveling physically.

Virtual and augmented reality will also give travelers a more personal and interactive experience. For example, using virtual and augmented reality, travel companies can create customized virtual tours catering to their customer’s interests and preferences.

I have had a few virtual experiences, such as visiting the set of a favorite movie or exploring backstage at a favorite concert, and I have to say, it’s fantastic!

Virtual and augmented reality can enhance the educational aspects of travel by allowing students to explore different parts of the world, and they will promote conscious and responsible tourism.

Useful Links

Airport Security – The New York Times

Early Commercial Aviation | National Air and Space Museum

International Air Transport Association (IATA) – SKYbrary

Transportation Security Administration | USAGov

Related Posts

For those intrigued by the transformative journey of travel over the last century, you may find these articles equally fascinating:

• Explore the evolution of automobiles at How Cars Have Changed Over 100 Years .
• Delve into technological advancements with How Has Technology Changed in the Last 100 Years .
• Understand the global impact of the telephone at How Did the Telephone Change the World .
• Discover the profound influence of the printing press in The Social Impact of the Printing Press .

These readings offer a comprehensive view of the inventions and innovations that have reshaped our world in the past century.

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21 ways travel has changed in 21 years

By Richard Godwin

Think back to 1997, the year when Condé Nast Traveller was launched. A time before Google, before Facebook , before smartphones. Almost unimaginable, isn’t it? It was the year New Labour founded Cool Britannia, the YBAs ran riot, Harry Potter first waved his wand, that Aqua sang ‘Barbie Girl’ and Hong Kong was handed back to China . Richard Godwin tracks the ways our travel world has changed since then.

1. The iTourist was launched

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, how do we know it made a sound? Likewise: if an influencer visits a five-star resort in Tulum and no one sees the Instagram live stream of their poolside tacos, can we really say they’ve been on holiday ? Digital technology – notably the iPhone – has transformed the experience of booking a holiday, and it’s also changed what it’s like to be on holiday. You can navigate cities with Google Maps as opposed to a torn-out page from your guidebook. You can shoot, edit and then publish the highlights of your holiday in real time – no more waiting around in Snappy Snaps. You might even get a direct message from one of your old acquaintances: ‘You’re in Manhattan? NO WAY! Me too!’. It’s only when you meet for cocktails at the Mandarin Oriental that you remember why you never see this person when you’re at home.

Festivals went mainstream and spread their fairy wings

Glastonbury 1997 was a high-water mark for the British music festival . Literally. The record levels of rain turned it into a sort of Passchendaele on MDMA, with a bit of Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ for light relief. It was also the year the BBC took over the coverage, broadcasting all the bucolic post-Britpop hedonism into the nation’s living rooms, and popularising the idea that al-fresco rock’n’roll was precisely what your summer needed. It wasn’t long before Glastonbury was claimed as part of the ‘season’ alongside Glyndebourne and Ascot . Hunter wellies became the new Jimmy Choos. Trenchfoot became the new gout.

Now, summer isn’t quite summer without a bit of face-chomping, stranger-hugging, Pimms-swilling, Wicker Man-referencing bacchanalia. You can spend an entire summer hopping from Wilderness to Secret Garden Party to Port Eliot to Bestival, changing fancy-dress outfits and trying to avoid your mother at Latitude. And you can now festival from the Croatia n islands to the Austrian Alps, Albania to the Arctic Circle, leaving the music behind for philosophy, poetry and science. At Burning Man , the prototypical transformational festival in the Nevada desert, you can experience what it’s like to live in a bartering economy. With a bunch of naked Silicon Valley billionaires.

These are 13 of the best UK music festivals for 2018

The airport became a place of torment and despair

‘Air travel is like death – everything is taken from you.’ So wrote Elif Batuman in The Possessed . But airports weren’t always the teaser-trailer for purgatory they are now. In the Golden Age of air travel, you could step aboard the BOAC and light up a big fat cigar. Hell, in the pre-9/11 era, you could even carry on a bottle of water onboard without having it sternly confiscated. You even got to keep your shoes on!

We have a series of hapless terrorists – the Liquid Bomb Plotters of 2006; the Shoe Bomber of 2001 – to thank for these indignities. Mostly, you put up with them without complaint, at least until you realise you forgot to put your jumbo-size Crème de La Mer in the hold and watch a security official dump it into a bin with bottles of Soltan and uncharged iPhones. Combine all this with the arcane baggage restrictions of the budget airlines, the enforced separation of minors because you didn’t do the online check-in properly, and the suspicion that it’s all a ruse to sell lots of tiny 100ml bottles of shower gel, and it does take the joy out of flying somewhat. All this technology. But the queues are worse than ever.

These are the best airports in the world

Our appetites took us over the hills and far away

The desire to eat well is as good a reason as any to travel. When a restaurant has three stars, according to the Michelin Guide, that officially means it’s vaut le voyage – worth a trip in itself.

In recent years, a new breed of gastro-traveller has started taking that literally. Not that they pay much heed to the stuffy old Michelin Guide anymore. Their itineraries owe more to Netflix ’s The Chef’s Table and the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. They refer to René and Ferran and Massimo by their first names. They mysteriously have the bank balance and the work schedule to accommodate a life of $675 tasting menus. And if you have the misfortune to follow them on social media, you will be treated to every single course of their 17-course tasting menu in some fisherman’s hut in Osaka or a mountainside barbecue in Lima , which they booked three years ago. ‘Oh, but the plankton souffle was so witty!’… ‘Deconstructed venison ceviche <3 <3 <3!’

Budget airlines went higher and higher

The emergence of low-cost airlines in the late 1990s didn’t just transform the way we holiday, elevating the weekend city-break above the week-long holiday. It affected everything from suitcase design (compact) to British pre-nuptial rituals (why settle for the nightspots of Loughborough when you could go zorbing in Latvia ?).

The opening up of 99p routes to obscure airstrips in rural France also enabled British baby-boomers to buy up all the gites and turn the Dordogne into East Sussex . More recently, a generation of hyper-connected millennials has begun commuting to London from Berlin or Barcelona . The impact has been so marked that many non-budget airlines are now indistinguishable from budget airlines. You can now even fly budget to Los Angeles , if you don’t mind going via Iceland and bringing your own packed lunch.

The Guggenheim Effect rumbled on and on

Back in 1997, the architect Frank Gehry climbed a hill in Bilbao and looked down at the shining, swerving, titanium-and-stone art museum he had just built to house the Guggenheim collection. ‘I thought: “What the %&*£ have I done to these people?”’ he recently reminisced.

Gehry’s Guggenheim famously helped transform Bilbao from a low-key regional capital into a thriving travel destination . It also had other municipal chieftains looking on in envy and going: ‘Hmmm. Maybe if we paid some architect millions of dollars to build a gleaming ziggurat, we would experience similar levels of economic uplift?’

Incredible examples of starchitecture have duly appeared everywhere from Denver to Astana, Moscow to West Bromwich. Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas’s reputations have soared. And London’s skyline has become a favourite dumping ground for Cheesegraters, Walkie-Talkies and Shards. But it turns out there’s such a thing as the reverse-Bilbao effect. The more that starchitecture appears in a city, the more it begins to resemble Doha or Taipei or Dallas or Singapore or any number of global cities that have had the same idea.

These are the top cities to travel to for architecture

• Travel agents became digitised

Funny to think that we used to be happy to book a week’s holiday based on a couple of pictures and superlatives in a high-street travel agent. We didn’t feel the need to first consult at least three Condé Nast Traveller reviews and 156 Expedia reviews. We didn’t spend three days tracking flights on Skyscanner, or searching the Instagram geolocation to be sure we’re not missing anything, or polling all our friends on Instagram Stories for insider tips. Back in the late 1990s, a flick through the Lonely Planet was about as much research as was deemed necessary.

Booking a holiday now takes twice as long as going on holiday. The fact that so many of us now work behind computers all day provides the perfect cover – as long as you remember to minimise the CNTraveller.com window when your boss walks past. Some people apparently enjoy the tingle of anticipation that all of this brings; some of us find all the organisation deeply stressful and wonder whether it wouldn’t be a good idea to pay someone else to do it for you.

The staycation was born and thus the British Isles were rediscovered

Back in the late 1990s, it was hard to get excited about a holiday in Britain . A week making Delia recipes in a leaky manor house in Suffolk didn’t really compare to, say, a week chasing French girls or boys by the Mediterranean .

But this was before Londoners discovered the British countryside and began refashioning it more to their tastes. Shabby old country houses were given fresh licks of Mouse’s Back, scattered with Union Jack cushions, and reinvented as spas, glamping grounds and branches of Soho House . Unpleasant agricultural odours were eliminated from farms and replaced by the serene aroma of Daylesford Organic Vine Tomato candles. Camping became glamping , bell tents sprang up like mushrooms and carpeted domes cost more than a night in a five-star hotel. Land Rover-loads of tousled-haired children in Boden stripes were sent down the M4 to be rewilded on the slopes of Cornwall and Devon , where their parents would photograph them licking Mr Whippys and investigating rock pools in an Enid Blyton fantasia.

A fantasy that just about held… until the children returned to their iPads and you realised the only place to buy food within 20 miles of your boutique B&B was a particularly bleak Spar by an A-road. ‘How little we know our own country!’ you say when you return home.

These are the best UK B&Bs

• Ecotourism became globalised

Hopefully, the more you see of the world, the more intense your desire will be to preserve it from pillage and exploitation. But here’s a sad little irony. The more flights you have taken, the more towels you have left on hotel floors, the more plastic bottles of water you have emptied, the more World Heritage Sites your footsteps have eroded, the greater your own negative impact has been.

This has led to a welcome amount of soul-searching on the part of tour operators and genuine efforts to offset the environmental impact of mass travel. It’s also led to a weird stretching of the word ‘eco’. Flying to a five-star St Lucian resort on a Blue Planet II -inspired diving expedition isn’t quite in the spirit, is it? Oh but the Piña Coladas you sip between visits to the coral reef are organic – so it’s OK, right?

• The new Grand Tourists emerged

Globalisation isn’t just about where you travel. It’s about who travels to you. Ask the residents of Trier, an ancient town on the banks of the Moselle in western Germany . Handsome though its sandstone gate and Roman ruins are, you wouldn’t class it as a must-see European destination. Unless you happen to be Chinese. Coachloads of Chinese travellers throng there every year as it is the birthplace of Karl Marx. China accounted for one 10th of the world’s 1.7 billion foreign trips made in 2017. By 2030, that’s predicted to rise to one quarter.

Cyprus , Egypt and the Côte d’Azur are full of Russian visitors. London roars to the sound of supercars in the summer as Qataris, Emiratis and Saudis flee the summer heat and rack up parking tickets outside Harrods. Nigerian, Chinese and Indian shoppers increasingly keep the world’s shopping malls in business.

The Ibiza effect rumbled on and on

The Ibizan people are a remarkably tolerant bunch. They have taken the annual visits of three million-plus 24-hour party people, the constant rattle and hum of house music, and the continued partying of superstar DJ David Guetta in their airport with remarkably good grace. It might have something to do with the mythical good vibes beeped out by the magnetic rock. It is only this year that they have begun to complain that, actually, there are only so many fishbowls and Tinie Tempah residencies that one island can take.

Never mind, though. There are now plenty of islands in its image. Ayia Napa in Cyprus. Hvar in Croatia . Koh Phan Ngan in Thailand . Mykonos in Greece . Love Island .

And if you want to get away from all the mindless hedonism, you can always retreat to… Ibiza, the new home for mindful hedonism. As the island’s original house kids have grown up, the island has evolved to suit their tastes: locavore tasting menus, beachside yoga retreats , boutique farm-stays . And maybe just the one cheeky night at Pacha for old time’s sake.

These are the best hotels in Ibiza and Formentera

Connor Sturges

Sarah James

Clara Laguna

The rise and rise of the hipster

Back in 1997, Shoreditch was not a shorthand for a hip lifestyle but a sketchy domain of disused warehouses, run-down housing and people who actually made art as opposed to marketed art. You could have said the same thing about Williamsburg in New York , or Silverlake in Los Angeles , or Belleville in Paris , or any number of inner city 'hoods that now abound in pernickety coffee places and kombucha microbreweries and me-lancers with tiny skateboards.

The hipster aesthetic is ever-changing. Once it was all trucker caps and ironic moustaches; then it was backwoods beards and craft-beer opinions; now it’s cannabis vapes and vegan tacos. But you will know it when you see it, whether at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs or the Town Hall Hotel in London. The remarkable thing is how borderless the movement is. It usually turns out there’s a Shoreditch of Belgrade, that avocado toast is also a ‘thing’ in Sao Paolo , and the owner of your Melbourne AirBnB also reads Elena Ferrante, listens to Grimes, and worries about gentrification. Home from home!

Dubai became the new Las Vegas

There are two types of traveller. The first is the type who can’t understand why you’d not want to go to Dubai . It’s sunny. It’s sandy. It’s safe. It’s air-conditioned. The police drive Ferraris. There’s a gold vending machine. It contains the 160-floor Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the Burj Al Arab, the ‘world’s most luxurious hotel’, where every guest is presented with a 24-carat gold iPad. You can buy an $800 diamond cocktail! Oh – and it’s full of shopping malls.

Then there are those who cannot understand why you would ever want to go to Dubai. It’s sterile. It’s expensive. It’s segregated. It’s an environmental catastrophe. You can get arrested for kissing. Oh – and it’s full of shopping malls.

Either way, the City of Gold has become the beacon of a global age of excess, a Versailles of the 21st century, a place with the wealth and ambition to create the world’s first underwater hotel , a miniature map of the world, and a ski slope. In the desert! Archaeologists will dig it up thousands of years hence and wonder: ‘What on Earth were these people on?’

Dubai: 10 amazing things to do

We all learned to relax and just do it

There are few greater indulgences in life than lying face-down on a massage table and submitting to a sensuous pounding at the hands of a burly Sven or a buxom Katia. Or so we reckoned in 1997. This was before the spas became locked in a sort of relaxation arms race, competing to see who could bring the most sophisticated weaponry to bear on the knots in your back. Do you go with the spirulina wrap, the aromatherapy experiences or the exfoliating seaweed facial? Swedish or hot stone? Shiatsu or Ayurvedic? Would you like a small Thai lady to walk down your spine? Or will you go all out and opt for the US$2,000 20-Hands Duo Massage offered by the Maui Grand Wailea hotel in Hawaii ? And yet for all the variety, they have all played precisely the same CD of bleepy muzak since 1997.

These are the best spas in the world for 2018

• The Euro arrived right on the money

A month interrailing around Europe used to involve losing a small fortune in commission as you changed drachma for lira for schillings for Deutschemarks for guilders for francs for peseta for escudo. It also used to mean traveller’s cheques, money belts and frantically using up all your change on Chupa Chups at the border, since when were you likely to be in the Netherlands again?

But then on 1 January 2002, the Euro was introduced in 11 European Union member states and is now the currency of 19 (count them: Austria , Belgium , Cyprus, Estonia , Finland , France , Germany, Greece, Ireland , Italy , Latvia, Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands, Portugal , Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain ).

We can debate the political merits of having a currency union without a fiscal union if you want (I don’t…) but one thing is certain. It has made visiting the continent so much less of a headache. And the whole business of moving money around has become easier. Apps such as Transferwise allow you to shift large sums without paying vast amounts of processing fees; a Monzo card lets you use foreign ATMs for free. It almost compensates for the appalling value of the post- Brexit pound.

More of us went it alone: the rise of solo travel

People have always made journeys alone – but increasingly, it’s how we choose to travel. A recent Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) survey found that one in nine holidaymakers had taken a holiday on their own the previous 12 months, double the number compared to six years previously. Online searches for ' solo travel ' are up. Hoteliers, tour operators, cottage rentals and AirBnB are all straining to meet demand – with Thailand, Peru , Australia , Portugal and Vietnam among the most popular solo destinations.

How come? Well, partly it’s for the same broader social reasons that people are eating alone and more people are living alone. But it saves money if you don’t have to compromise on dates and locations – most solo travel takes place off-season. And technology has made it safer and easier to meet new people. Retirees often travel alone, but according to Hitwise, a company that analyses internet searches, the main audience for solo travel is women aged 25-34 living in London. The stigma against women travelling alone has decreased, at least in certain parts of the world. And if you happen to have a Tinder account, you can enjoy underwhelming dates anywhere you happen to fetch up.

These are the best solo travel destinations

• Adventure travel got our pulses racing

The emails keep coming. Tom in accounts wants sponsoring as he attempts to circumnavigate the world in a dinghy. Your cousin Florence is scaling Kilimanjaro. Your schoolmate Rashid is wondering if you’re up for the Three Peaks Challenge…

The idea that a holiday should involve card games and rosé lunches, interspersed with a bit of lackadaisical backstroke is, sadly, a little passé. What the Alphas – and also, the people with really boring jobs – usually want is an experience that pits them against nature and teaches them something in the process. You might learn to kite-surf in Essouira . You might decide to cycle to Compostela . The New York Marathon? Sorry that doesn’t cut it. How about seven marathons in seven continents in seven days? If you find yourself in a position to make use of some of Bear Grylls’ survival tips along the way, so much the better.

• We learnt that sharing is caring

The sharing economy is a bit of a misnomer. Not too many people are renting out their spare room for pure altruism. But the platforms that have allowed people to do this – notably AirBnB – have revolutionised travel. They have opened up neighbourhoods without much traditional tourist infrastructure. And it doesn’t end with AirBnb. One Fine Stay offers uber-luxe accommodation. Homestay lets you do it long-term. Outdoorsy lets you hire camper vans . Hospitality Club lets you couch surf. Sofar Sounds lets you in to a gig in someone’s front room. Skillstay lets you pay your way by working. You can even make a bit of holiday money while we’re away – assuming you live somewhere other people might want to stay. We’re all hustlers now.

• Kids took over the world

If the kids are happy, everyone’s happy, right? This axiom of 21st-century parenting might be simple in theory – but in practice, it’s anything but. For modern children have become so darn discerning . (Fussy, in old money). No longer content with a couple of fish fingers on the kids’ menu, they now demand what you’re having – and chefs such as Marcus Wareing have started to offer multi-course infant tasting menus to cater for their demands for octopus, snail and seaweed. Hotels have cottoned on to this advanced pester power too, wooing tweens with Lego butlers (the bricks of your choice delivered on a silver tray), bespoke bedtime stories (in which your child is the hero), as well as the usual video-game menus, homemade cookies and elite tennis coaching. Eight is the new 13.

• Hotline Bling: we kept on raising the stakes

Bling is a game you can never win: there will always be someone who has out-blinged you. I’ll see your 100-foot mega-yacht and raise you a 150-foot uber-yacht with its own submersible. But with the right location and the Instagram filter juste , you can give the impression that your life is one long episode of Crazy Rich Asians . And there’s a suite of apps that make previously unheard of luxuries within the grasp of normals too: JetSmarter is a sort of Uber for private jets. But at the top end, an inflated price tag is proof in itself. ‘You spent £22,000 on your suite at the Peninsula ? You’ve been ripped off! The presidential suite at Le Crillon is £30,000!’

Where was Crazy Rich Asians filmed?

• Doors opened, doors closed

There was a time – 1997, say – when Croatia and Cambodia were pretty out-there places to go and visit, while the Crac des Chevaliers in Syria was a must-visit for an intrepid traveller in the Middle East . In the intervening years, we’ve seen some of the world off-limits, but a whole lot has opened up. Montenegro is the place to moor your yacht and indulge your Casino Royale fantasies. Albania looks good for a beach holiday; Tehran for an art-gallery tour. Georgia offers incredible wine and romantic fantasies straight out of Pushkin. Further afield, the mountain kingdom of Bhutan has relaxed its famous one-in, one-out policy and opened up a series of smart lodges, so you can explore its Dzongs in comfort. Melting ice has helped turn Svalbard and Greenland into Arctic hubs. But it might be as well to make the most of Florida , the Maldives and Venice before the sea levels rise any further.

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Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, completed a circuit of the Earth in the spaceship Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961.

5 Changes in Space Travel Since Yuri Gagarin's Flight

On Yuri's Night, space historians reflect on how far technologies have advanced.

A little over 50 years ago, no one on Earth knew what would happen when a human being was launched into space. That all changed on this day in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin , a Soviet military pilot and cosmonaut , hurtled into orbit aboard Vostok 1.

He circled the Earth once, reporting that he was feeling "excellent" and could see "rivers and folds in the terrain" and different kinds of clouds. "Beautiful" was his simple description of the view. Weightlessness, he said, felt "pleasant." (See pictures of Gagarin's flight .)

In the decades since Gagarin became the first person in space, what began as a politically fraught competition has yielded men on the moon, space walks, and visions of putting people on Mars . Here's a look at some of the important changes in space travel that occurred along the way.

Gagarin's flight represented a triumph for the Soviet Union during the heat of the Cold War, from which both the U.S. and Russian space programs were born. "The space race was partly about impressing the living daylights out of other nations because the science and technology are closely aligned with military capability," says Roger Launius, senior curator and space historian at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum .

The Soviets, notes Launius, kept secret for years the fact that Gagarin had to bail out of his spacecraft with a parachute several miles above ground during the landing. The spherical Vostok capsule lacked thrusters to slow it down, and requiring Gagarin to eject before reaching the ground might have meant the mission didn't qualify as the first successful human space flight. "They had no idea what was going to happen—the capsule could have left a big hole in the ground," Launius says. (See pictures of space suit evolution .)

Nowadays the U.S. and Russia collaborate regularly, with cross-training and joint flights to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch pad from which Gagarin took off—Baikonur Cosmodrome in what is now Kazakhstan—is still used today, most recently to send two cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut to the ISS in March.

Escaping Earth

Gagarin's mission required a rocket that could propel his spacecraft fast enough to sustain a speed of some 17,000 miles per hour (27,359 kilometers an hour), known as orbital velocity. Less than a decade later, NASA's Saturn V rocket achieved escape velocity—the speed required to escape Earth's gravitational pull (25,039 miles per hour or 40,320 kilometers per hour). This milestone made it possible to put men on the moon.

Saturn V stood taller than the Statue of Liberty and generated more power than 85 Hoover Dams. It was a thing of beauty, and resulted in the first human footsteps on extraterrestrial terrain, when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon in 1969. More Apollo missions followed, and Saturn V took its final bow in 1973, when it launched the Skylab space station into orbit.

Creature Comforts

Gagarin traveled in what was essentially a giant ball and didn't have the capacity to control his spacecraft. If he were to take a tour of the International Space Station today, he might be impressed with the amenities: exercise bikes, barbeque beef brisket—even a choice of toilet papers.

"There wasn't a lot of interest early on in making cosmonauts comfortable—they were there to do a task," says Launius. "It's only with longer-term missions that you have to worry about comfort."

Hence the memorable shower aboard Skylab , NASA's space station during the 1970's and first attempt to test the ability of humans to work and live in space for extended periods. The weight of water and the large equipment required to recycle it, however, proved too much of a burden, says NASA spokesman Jay Bolden, leaving today's space dwellers resorting to "basic squirts of water and soap on washcloths for sponge baths."

Space Medicine

Gagarin's mission lasted 108 minutes, so he didn't have to eat. But the cosmonaut who followed him into space, German Titov, went up for more than a day. People wondered: Would he be able to swallow food?

Today's big questions about space travel and the human body involve bone loss and radiation exposure, but fundamental questions existed even then, notes NASA's chief historian Bill Barry. "People asked if you could swallow without gravity. One of Titov's experiments was to eat something in space," he says.

Another mystery was "space sickness," involving severe nausea. Titov suffered a bad case of it, which worried the Soviets greatly, says Barry. Now it's known to be common among space travelers and even bears a medical name: space adaptation syndrome.

Modern studies focus on the effects of long-term space travel, as eyes turn to Mars and people spend months—even longer than a year in the case of cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov—working in space. "In less than a week we see signs of degradation in the human body," says Launius of the Smithsonian. "I would contend that the real challenge for space travel is biomedical, not technological."

Commercialization

Perhaps the most remarkable change in space travel since Gagarin's historic flight is how routine it's become—and possible for the right price.

Millions of dollars have landed private citizens a seat on Russian spacecraft, though Russia halted its space-tourism role in 2010. (It cited the need to devote its Soyuz capsules to ferrying ISS crew members after NASA ended its space-shuttle program.) Still, so-called space tourism remains on the map as companies like Virgin Galactic race to launch suborbital flights that skirt the edge of space and offer a taste of weightlessness. Virgin's ticket price: $200,000.

"Not all commercial space activities are about tourism," notes Launius. "Many are about communication, remote sensing, or other activities in which a profit may be made."

One thing that hasn't changed is the view from above. People may no longer stop to take in the video feed from spacecraft floating above Earth, but just listen to Gagarin's conversation with his ground control and you can feel the suspense and awe of seeing the planet from space.

No wonder a great window counts as a major creature comfort for the ISS crew. "The astronauts love to hang out in the station's cupola ," with its panoramic views of Earth, says Barry. "I hear they moved an exercise bike there, and one guy likes to hang out and play his guitar."

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10 ways travel has changed in the last 10 years

Posted on Last updated: May 10, 2021

Not long after I started blogging back in 2011, I put together a post looking at how travel had changed in the 10 years since I did a round-the-world trip to Southeast Asia and Australia – back when people still sent postcards, you had to go to an internet café to send an email and book a flight with a travel agent. It seems like the 2000s were a period of huge change in travel, but the 2010s saw their share of technology, trends, social and societal changes too.

So at a time when the 2020 pandemic is throwing the future of travel into chaos, it’s interesting to look back at some of the changes we’ve already seen – because although it’s hard to predict what the long-term effects are going to be, one thing that’s guaranteed is that the travel industry will adapt. So how has travel has changed in the last 10 years? Here are 10 ways.

Read more: My travel confessions

At Victoria Peak in Hong Kong 10 years ago

1. Travel planning

Ten years ago, I planned most of my travels using a Lonely Planet guidebook. I started this site in 2011 when blogging was pretty new and there weren’t many travel blogs – or readers – around. Blogging then was more about sharing random stories from your travels with maybe a couple of (quite possibly out of focus) photos, and less about including useful information.

Since then blogging has become an industry, with hundreds of thousands of travel blogs covering every type of travel and destination you can think of. Bloggers have gone professional, working with travel companies and destinations and competing with brands like Tripadvisor for that all-important number one spot on Google and the ad revenue that goes with it.

A vintage version of On the Luce

Web design, social media and marketing skills have become as important as writing ability as the simple travel stories have been traded for in-depth, well-researched and SEO-optimised travel guides with professional-standard photos. And bloggers aren’t the only source of travel inspiration – there’s been an explosion of Instagram and YouTube influencers who’ve helped turn destinations like Cappadocia in Turkey and Trolltunga in Norway into must-sees.

For travellers it’s meant a huge rise in the amount of easy-to-access information in the last 10 years. Want to know how to travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town by train or what to pack for a winter city break ? Well there’s a post for that – and anything else you want to know. And with online content being instantly updateable it’s hard for guidebooks to compete.

My verdict: The growth of online travel content means it’s easier than ever to find the information you need to plan your travels – and mostly for free. But how reliable and impartial are influencers? That’s something the industry’s still working on. And with travel bloggers now having to focus on SEO if they want to be competitive, it does mean there’s less of a place for storytelling.

Picture perfect Cappadocia

2. Booking your trip

Ten years ago people were already booking trips online, but now it’s the norm, with over 80% of people using the internet to book their holidays. Online travel agencies like Opodo, Expedia and Lastminute.com started the online booking revolution, but it spread to airlines, hotels, transport and tour companies, and you can now easily book a whole trip from your phone.

But if you’re a travel company you need to make sure you get it right. Twitter and TripAdvisor have given customers an instant – and very public – way to complain if they’re not happy with the service they’re getting (whether that’s justified or not…), meaning companies have had to up their customer service game, with people expecting an instant response to problems.

Joining a tour at the Celsus Library in Ephesus

And what about travel agents? When I did my RTW trip it involved spending hours in a travel agency trying to combine my travel wishlist and my budget. The traditional high street travel agency has definitely seen a big decline, and the end of famous names like Thomas Cook. But there’s been a rise in specialist online agencies focusing on a particular region or type of trip, with the local knowledge and contacts to pull together more complicated itineraries.

My verdict: Online booking has given us access to the tools we used to have to use travel agents for, but it’s also passed on the organisational burden – I don’t want to add up the hours I’ve spent comparing flights and trying to get itineraries to work, so does it really save time and money?

Where to next?

3. Low-cost airlines

The first low-cost airlines date back to the 1970s, but it’s in the last 10 years that the budget airline industry has really taken off (so to speak). The number of planes flown by low-cost carriers has doubled since 2009, with new airlines and routes sprunging up across the world, spreading from the traditional European and North American markets into Asia and Africa.

With major airlines setting up budget offshoots and trimming away extras like seat selection and in-flight meals to compete, it’s getting hard to tell the difference between a low-cost and standard carrier now. And those £9.99 Ryanair flights often cost more than a standard flight once you add up the baffling array of hidden charges. But all this competition has helped push prices down – the average price of a flight has decreased over the last 40 years.

Budget airlines

The airline industry has become polarised, focusing on opposite ends of the market. Pushing fares down at the no-frills end of the spectrum by squeezing more people into smaller seats with less services. And trying to win over business fliers and the super-rich at the other, with uber-luxurious, eye-wateringly expensive First Class cabins like Etihad’s The Residence with its double bed, en-suite shower and Savoy-trained butler (sadly not one I’ve tried out).

Although the budget airline industry started off with short-haul flights, it’s now expanded to long-haul with low-cost carriers like AirAsia and Norwegian. And new technology is pushing the barriers – planes are getting bigger and their ranges are increasing. You can now fly non-stop from the UK to Australia, something that would’ve seemed impossible 10 years ago.

My verdict: Expanded airline networks and cheaper flight prices mean it’s easier than ever to get around the world. But the downsides are the cramped seats, no-frills service, fights for overhead locker space and airports in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention the growing impact on the environment of having more planes in the air, so I’ll always swap planes for trains if I can.

Read more: The travellers’ guide to carbon offsetting your flights

The train across Canada

4. Places to stay

In 2008, a niche website called Air Bed & Breakfast launched with a few hundred B&B rooms listed. Two years later it’d been rebranded to AirBnB and the listings were in the thousands, and it’s not stopped growing since. Ten years ago your holiday accommodation choices were pretty much limited to hotels, hostels, camping or holiday rentals. And the rentals usually came with a minimum one-week booking and were booked as part of a package holiday.

AirBnB has changed the world of travel accommodation for good. Now it has over seven million listings, including treehouses, penthouses, Airstream trailers and shepherds huts. I’ve stayed in AirBnBs around the world over the last 10 years, from a family home in Lapland to a cabin in Guadeloupe . And its dominance has forced traditional hotels and resorts to up their game, with a huge influx of other accommodation sites featuring quirky places to stay.

AirBnB cabin in Guadeloupe

Hostels have gone boutique, with en-suite bedrooms and smart new facilities to attract older, more affluent flashpackers as well as the usual gap year crowd. You can rent a spare room in someone’s home in the Maldives, where before the only way you could visit was by staying in an all-inclusive resort. And almost every town however remote probably has an AirBnB listing.

My verdict: AirBnB has a lot of critics, not least for its lack of regulation, and it’s undeniably had serious negative impacts on the housing market in popular destinations like Amsterdam and Barcelona where investors have priced locals out of the rental market. But it has opened up new areas to tourism and has helped broaden the range of accommodation that’s available.

The boutique Gallery Hostel in Porto

5. Keeping in touch

When I first started travelling, keeping in touch with home involved finding an internet café and paying for a couple of hours of painfully slow dial-up internet access to send a weekly email to my parents. That or sending a postcard, which may or may not make it back to the UK before I did. But now wifi, smartphones and social media mean you can be as connected on the road as you are at home and make it easy to arrange meet ups and keep in touch with people.

And although by 2010 many of us had smartphones, there’s been a big change in how we use them to keep in touch over the last 10 years. Back then you might have been one of the 150 million Facebook users who’d share ‘What are you thinking?’ or upload a few photos.

Postcards from the past

Since then social media has gone stratospheric. Facebook has over 2.6 billion active users and a string of new sites have been launched (and sometimes lost) in the last 10 years: Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Google Plus, TikTok. And how people use social media has changed too.

People’s social media channels are less used to share unedited snapshots of their life now, instead they’re often a curated feed, creating a certain image they want to portray to their friends, families and followers. And instant and time-limited photo and video content like Snapchat and Instagram or Facebook Stories is used to show what’s going on behind-the-scenes.

Strike a pose

All this means it’s super-easy to update people back home on your travels. No need to send postcards or write emails when you can show them the places you’ve been and the people you’ve met. Wifi is almost ubiquitous and Facetime, WhatsApp and Skype mean you can easily catch up with old and new friends. But on the flipside some of us now feel like we’re too connected, and there’s been a rise in ‘digital detox’ holidays where being wifi-free is the attraction.

My verdict: Social media has definitely made it easier to keep in touch. But there’s also the argument that focusing on what you’re going to share with people back home distances you from what you’re actually experiencing. Hostel common rooms are full of people plugged into Skype calls to friends rather than engaging with new people – and isn’t that part of the reason for travel?

Offline life

6. Photography

When I started travelling, I used a compact film camera, alternated taking photos with my friend in case we lost our cameras (we got through two each), got two copies of each film printed, sent them home and kept the negatives separately. Film processing was pricey so we only took a couple of shots in each place and you never knew how they’d come out until weeks later.

The first digital camera came onto the market in the 1990s, and by 2010 most of us had made the switch from film to digital. Being able to take as many photos as you liked and instantly being able to see if they were any good has helped up our photography skills. I take almost as many photos in a week now as I did in my whole 16-month RTW trip back in the film days.

Smartphone photography

But the biggest change to travel photography over the last 10 years is the rise of the camera phone. Phone cameras have gone from tiny screens and two megapixels and to multiple lenses, portrait mode, low-light capability and video – outclassing many cameras and all in something you carry in your pocket. It’s no surprise that compact camera sales have slumped.

Even high-end cameras have become smaller and lighter, with improvements in technology meaning DSLR cameras have gone mirrorless, swapping heavy glass for lightweight digital sensors. The rise of the camera phone has also changed the type of photos we take. The 2010s were the decade of the ‘selfie’ – it was even designated the ‘Word of the Year’ in 2013.

My mirrorless DSLR camera

The focus turned from the place to the photographer, becoming more about sharing photos of yourself with the location just as a backdrop. It became all about creating the perfect shot for social media, which you can upload and share straight from your phone in real time. But with the rise in the use of filters, apps and Photoshop, how real are the photos we see online?

My verdict: Having a professional standard camera which you can fit into your pocket has made travel photography so much easier (my back doesn’t miss the days of carrying around heavy bags of camera kit). But Instagram fame has turned some destinations into tourist hot spots – with crowds causing damage to the site, not to mention people literally dying to get the best shot.

The Fairy Pools in Skye – an Instagram favourite

7. Travel technology

Cameras might have gotten smaller and lighter, but there’s a whole lots of new gear just waiting to fill that extra space in your bag. Travelling solo and want to get a good selfie? Better pack a tripod. Want to get some underwater videos? Don’t forget your GoPro. How about a drone for some aerial shots? And then you’ll probably need a laptop to edit them or back them up.

Ten years ago travel technology was a bit more basic – I’d just got my first Kindle and listened to music on an iPod. Now with noise-cancelling headphones and Bluetooth speakers, fitness trackers and portable hard drives, travel tech packing lists have got longer and longer. You can even get suitcases with a built in USB charger and GPS tracker. And each one needs a charger, along with the adapter plugs and power strips you need to keep them all running.

My well-used Kindle

There’s now an app for almost anything – you can translate road signs, convert currencies and work out what to tip. Google Maps and GPS means no more getting lost or wrestling with paper maps, and mobile boarding passes mean you don’t have to hunt down a printer. But the downside of having everything in one place on your phone is that the battery going flat is a mini disaster – who hasn’t desperately searched for an plug socket in an airport?

My verdict: Technology has made our travel lives so much easier in the last 10 years. Though you could argue that it makes things a bit more boring by missing out on those random misunderstandings and discoveries – plus carting around thousands of pounds worth of gadgets does come with security worries, higher travel insurance premiums and heavier bags.

This bag is suspiciously heavy…

8. Sustainability

Whether it’s climate change, plastic pollution or overtourism, the negative effects our travels can have on places we visit is something many of us have become more aware of in the last 10 years. For a long time the travel industry focused on expansion, getting more visitors to make more money. But that’s starting to shift as the downsides of tourism start to show and attention on sustainability grows – minimising the negative impacts of tourism on people and places.

International tourist arrivals grew from 950 million in 2008 to 1.4 billion in 2018 and overtourism became a press buzzword. Destinations as varied as the Isle of Skye and Barcelona struggled to cope with rising numbers of visitors. Local people were priced out of their neighbourhoods, land and water were polluted, and there were protests against tourists in the streets.

Busy Barcelona

Blue Planet woke people up to the problems being caused by plastic in the oceans. We started switching from single-use plastics to refillable water bottles and coffee cups, bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. Greta Thunberg’s climate change protests helped spur campaigns like Flight Free 2020, and flygskam ( flight shame ) had people switch planes for trains .

My verdict: Growing awareness of sustainability has helped put pressure on companies to reduce their impact. But the 2020 pandemic caused a huge upheaval in the travel industry, and we don’t know how that’s going to play out in the long term. It would be great if sustainability could be built in as tourism rebuilds – making sure local communities get as much positive benefit as possible – but financial pressures might mean sustainability gets relegated to low priority.

Read more: Sustainable travel swaps: 9 ways to reduce your impact

Plastic pollution on the beach

9. Travel trends

Another of the ways travel has changed over the last 10 years is the types of trip we take. When I did a New Zealand sabbatical in 2010, my itinerary was all about classic experiences – a boat trip to Milford Sound, visiting the glowworm caves, soaking in a thermal pool, climbing the Sky Tower in Auckland, visiting a Māori village and eating a Fergburger in Queenstown . I was a complete tourist and unashamed of it, but that’s become a bit of a dirty word since then.

Now travel is less about ticking things off the bucket list and more about ‘living like a local’ (probably the most overused phrase in tourism over the last few years!). Authenticity has become a mantra and people are looking to get off the beaten path to find something ‘real’.

Creole cookery class in Saint Lucia

So instead of climbing the Eiffel Tower you can take a Parisian market tour or learn to make macarons with a pastry chef through companies like AirBnB Experiences and With Locals. There’s been an increasing desire for ‘transformational travel’, with people looking for their trips to help further their personal development rather than just wanting to relax on the beach.

Cruising boomed, going from something for the ‘newly wed and the nearly dead’ to a giant industry. Passenger numbers grew from 19 to 30 million a year over the last 10 years. And ships got bigger and bigger to cater for them – up to the 5500-capacity Symphony of the Seas – adding a host of new facilities to compete and attract families and a younger crowd.

Cruising in Alaska

Back in 2010, Eat, Pray, Love help kick off a rise in the number of women travelling solo, women-only tours and wellness holidays like yoga holidays, juice detoxes and meditation retreats. And marketers repackaged old concepts by giving them new (and sometimes ridiculous) names to promote everything from staycations and glamping to babymoons and voluntourism.

My verdict: The focus on experiental travel has made it much easier to get off the tourist trail and find out more about a destination and its people, with tons of different activities to choose from. But as local culture gets packaged up for tourist consumption, ‘authentic’ has started to lose its meaning. And the search for the latest concept’s pushing it with buddymoons and spafaris!

Glamping with giraffes in Port Lympne

10. Where to go… and where not to

From natural disasters to terrorist attacks, health scares to wars and political unrest, the list of which destinations are no-goes for travellers is constantly changing. Ten years ago planes were grounded in Iceland as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted, Chile and Haiti had been ravaged by earthquakes and the world was reaching the end of the H1N1 swine flu epidemic.

In the last 10 years, unrest in places like Venezuela, Syria, Libya, Yemen and parts of Turkey and Egypt has put them on the Foreign Office’s warning list and stopped travellers from visiting. Terrorist attacks made others nervous about visiting Paris , Manchester and Nice. And there was an increasing stream of natural disasters, with wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons battering destinations around the world and damaging the local travel industry.

Iceland’s stunning scenery

But in reverse there are countries like Zimbabwe, Myanmar and Pakistan which have opened up to tourists after past troubles. And there are even a few new countries in the last 10 years – South Sudan was created in 2011 (though the civil war means there isn’t a lot of tourism), Swaziland became eSwatini and the Czech Republic changed its name to the catchier Czechia.

Visa changes have made it easier to visit other places – the US lifted the ban on commercial travel to Cuba in 2016 (temporarily at least) and e-visas were introduced in countries like India and Uzbekistan, meaning no more epic queues at embassies. And Saudi Arabia introduced a new tourist visa in 2019, allowing non-religious tourists to visit for the first time.

My verdict: The world’s an unpredictable place. And although coronavirus isn’t the first travel health crisis – MERS in the Middle East, Ebola in West Africa and the Zika virus all caused problems during the last 10 years – health issues are likely to join the risk from terrorism and natural disasters as major factors in people’s choice of where they visit in the future.

Visiting India on my RTW trip (A bit longer than 10 years ago!)

How has travel changed over the last 10 years for you?

Keri | Ladies What Travel

Friday 17th of July 2020

This was a really interesting read Lucy - I hadn't given much thought to how travel had changed in the last decade before, but this really brought home how differently I plan a trip and what I do while I'm there! I wonder how things will look in the future... K

Lucy Dodsworth

Thursday 23rd of July 2020

Amazing how much has changed when you think about it isn't it – who knows what might come next!

Kathryn Burrington

Tuesday 14th of July 2020

It's amazing how much things have changed in the last ten years but who knows where things will go from here. I'm already looking forward to reading the post you'll write in another ten years time. How will things have changed again? Less, more expensive flights, I hope, although it yanks my heartstrings to say so. Can we build a greener travel industry? How long will the current crisis last? Will there be another a few years down the line? So many questions.

So many questions indeed! I'd like to see this being a turning point to a greener travel industry but fear than the pressure to cut costs is going to see things going backwards not forwards.

Dylan Jones

Sunday 12th of July 2020

It's fascinating how things have changed over the last decade. The experiences and accommodations that we get now while travelling compare to what was on offer. I wonder what will happen next?

Yes it's hard to predict isn't it – especially after things have been so up in the air this year!

Thursday 2nd of July 2020

Thanks for putting it up here, This article has made me nostalgic to be honest. I think the taste of people has changed a lot over the years. Now they prefer homestays over a nice hotel room. They also prefer an offbeat place over a crowded popular one. Even technology and new age startups have managed to change things a bit as well. I am sure a lot more changes will happen in next 10 years or so.

Yes there definitely has been a move to more 'authentic' experiences off the beaten track and staying in homestays but who know what the changes coronavirus are going to bring – it's going to be an interesting time!

Wednesday 10th of June 2020

Great read. Let's hope sustainability become the norm of the future.

Wednesday 17th of June 2020

Thanks, yes this is a great time to make changes to travel and hopefully some of them can be positive for the future.

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Research shows travel changes you for the better — here's how

Travel changes your life. We hear it all the time, but what does research show us? We look at 11 studies to see how travel shapes your perspective and changes you for the better.

May 04, 2023

Traveling can be one of the most meaningful and transformative experiences in life, but how can we know if travel has actually changed us or if it's just a lingering vacation hangover?

We listen to the scientists, of course.

There are dozens of studies that tell us exactly how travel makes you more open-minded , changes your perspective on life and make us better. 

First and foremost, travel changes your life by improving your overall health and well-being.

One study found that people who travel regularly are at less of a risk of heart disease, siting that men who didn't take an annual vacation were shown to have a 30% higher risk of death from heart disease. 

This study even researched how travel changes your brain . It found that exposing your brain to new languages, smells, tastes and sights by living abroad improves creativity. 

There are a variety of studies that have looked into a link between travel and mental health.

This one found that travel might change your life by making you less likely to suffer from depression. They studied 1500 women in a rural area to see if the frequency of their travel affected if they were more likely to suffer from depression, stress, or hardships in their relationships. 

Spoiler alert : traveling made it less likely for the women to suffer from those negative experiences.

Of course, travel changes your perspective by lowering stress levels too.

This article sites that most people feel less stress after just two days of vacation. Another one  suggests that just four days of travel improves stress levels for the next 45 days of life.  

A few other studies have specifically looked into the anticipation of travel. Does the simple act of planning a trip start to boost our happiness?

A study by the University of Surrey  says yes. They found that people are happiest, and more positive about their health and financial life, when they have a vacation planned for the future. 

Another study by Cornell University found that anticipating an experience, like travel, was more satisfying than anticipating the purchase of a possession. Yet another reason to save your pennies for travel. If you need tips to help you spend less and save more, check out these 19 ways to trick yourself into saving money for travel .

If you're already on the road and need a few ideas on how to budget your travel expenses more effectively, Worldpackers has some incredible articles to help you out.

• To learn how to pinpoint hidden travel costs you can avoid (and make the cash you have work harder for you), read about the best ways to save money while traveling .
• To find out how to have incredible international experiences without putting a huge dent in your wallet, check out these top 10 money-saving hacks for budget travel .
• And finally, if money is one of your biggest psychological hurdles when it comes to following your dream to go travel, use this comprehensive guide to budget travel tips to inspire you to just go for it.

So, we know that travel is good for our mental, physical, and emotional health, but how does it change our social life? Travel changes your perspective by improving your relationships with others.

This article also suggests that vacationing, particularly near the water, helps to reset our emotions and be more compassionate towards others.  

Another study found that traveling with a romantic partner has positive effects on both new relationships and long-term relationships.

There are also a few studies that investigate specifically how international travel changes you .

We've all heard our friends who studied abroad rant and rave about how that type of travel has changed their lives, but this study found that students returned more tolerant and less fearful of other cultures and countries.  

One study found that living abroad fosters a more clear sense of self by encouraging self-reflection. It particularly encouraged slow travel, stating that the depth of travel (length of time lived abroad) mattered more to self-clarity than the breadth of travel (number of foreign countries lived in) mattered more.

So, there's clearly research to back me and my fellow world-packers when we say that travel has changed our lives.

Long term travel has changed my life, and the Worldpackers travel experience I wrote about here attests to that. 

Adam has written about how travel changed his life .

Janaina has written about how travel is a pure form of education .

Sinead has written about why taking a sabbatical was the best decision of her life, and  how she found her passion while traveling abroad .

Rachael has written about how  traveling breaks you out of your comfort zone . 

Christelle has written about how teaching abroad changed her life .

Julie has written about why you should travel to gain global competence for today's job market .

Kimberli has even written about how Worldpackers allowed her to make a huge career move to live as a full-time traveler .

We're living proof that the studies have gotten something right. Travel really does change your life .

Tell us, how has travel changed your life for the better? Keep reading:  TOP 5 Reasons why you should volunteer abroad

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Allyson Dobberteen

Allyson quit her corporate marketing job in July 2018 and has been traveling the world through work exchange ever since. The highlight reel includes tutoring English while sailing in Greece and becoming a live-in nanny for a traveling family in New Zealand and Australia.

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Aug 20, 2021

Off off off u ☺️

More about this topic

9 ways to step out of your comfort zone while traveling

How traveling makes you more open-minded

Why you should travel to gain global competence for today's job market

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The Evolution of Space Travel: Then and Now

The Education and Public Programs Team at the Nixon Library is pleased to remind you that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) continues to be an excellent source for entertaining and historical content! Simply follow the links below for additional information.

Replicas of the Apollo 11 Space Suit and the Apollo 16 EMU Space Suit. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives and Records Administration, Prop 1148, P.2015.6

President Dwight Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on July 29, 1958. Its mission was to coordinate the United States’ advancement in space and its context was direct competition between the two greatest antagonists of the Cold War: the United States and the Soviet Union. The space race would be "another dramatic arena for this competition, as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and–by extension–its political-economic system.” Richard Nixon, elected into office in November 1968, inherited the Cold War and the tensions associated with it, both on earth and in space. A decade of “effort, expertise and coordination” helped propel the United States of America to victory in the “Space Race.” Ten years of planning and persistence culminated in all six lunar landings occurring during Richard Nixon’s presidency.

American lunar landings ended in 1972, but the advancement of space travel and exploration continues with NASA’s  Artemis Program  aiming to land on the moon once again in 2024. Privatized space exploration, pioneered by Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, is now dominating a domain once solely reserved for government agencies. The space race has evolved from competition between two powerful nations with warring ideologies to private companies and billionaire entrepreneurs vying for customers in the realm of space tourism in the final frontier. 

Symbols of NASA-Designed in 1959, the "meatball" as it is affectionately called, was the agency's logo for 16 years until it was replaced in 1975 by the more modern looking "worm" design. The "meatball" was resurrected in 1992 and is the most recognized symbol of the organization. “Symbols of NASA,” NASA, last modified September 30, 2019,   https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/symbols-of-nasa.html

NASA, and its creation of the  Apollo Program  in 1961, thrived due to support and generous government funding from President John F. Kennedy. In a joint message to Congress on May 25, 1961, Kennedy stated, “I believe the nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." Lyndon Johnson's administration continued to support increased agency funding, reaching an all-time high of  4.4% of the national budget  in 1966. During the Nixon administration, eight years after the program began, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 space mission touched down on the surface of the Moon. American astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered his famous phrase, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin planted the American flag into the surface of the Moon, and the United States reigned victorious. 

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin re-creates his moonwalk at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on June 12, 2013. Photographs Courtesy of the Richard Nixon Foundation.

NASA achieved what many thought impossible, landing  humans on the Moon and bringing them safely back to Earth , ultimately winning the Space Race during the Cold War. History was also made when the two astronauts received an interplanetary congratulatory  phone call  from President Nixon, the longest distance phone call ever made, on July 20, 1969 at 11:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Split-screen of President Richard Nixon and the Apollo 11 astronauts on a White House television, July 20, 1969. (NAID  66394157 ).

While in the White House Oval Office on July 20, 1969, President Nixon used this green telephone to talk to the Apollo 11 astronauts while they walked on the moon. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives and Records Administration, 1979.12

Four days later, the President welcomed home the Apollo 11 crew in person aboard the USS Hornet in the Pacific Ocean. The final lunar landing, Apollo 17, occurred in December of 1972.

 "President Nixon - Welcome - Apollo XI Astronauts - USS Hornet." Photograph. NASA. From JSC, July 24, 1969.  https://images.nasa.gov/details-S69-21365  (accessed July 14, 2021).

Man's exploration of the Moon was challenging, expensive, wondrous, tragic, and breathtaking. NASA’s almost  five billion dollar  budget in 1969 prompted the President to reevaluate the space program's importance in comparison to the many national issues needing attention and funding. On March 7, 1970, President Nixon changed the trajectory of the space program stating, “We must think of [space activities] as part of a continuing process and not as a series of separate leaps, each requiring a massive concentration of energy. Space expenditures must take their proper place within a rigorous system of national priorities.” By January 1972, Nixon had outlined a vision to revolutionize space travel that would take away the  astronomical  costs and make space more accessible for all Americans. These decisions reined in budget expenditure, “ promoted increased international participation in U.S. human spaceflight programs , and prompted the expansion of privatized space exploration happening today.

On May 22, 1972, Nixon became the first United States President to visit Moscow. Subsequent meetings brought diplomacy in space through the  Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes . This agreement laid the foundation for the 1975 linking of an Apollo spacecraft with a Soviet Soyuz command module during the Ford administration. Its mission, a nine-day space flight, tested the “ compatibility of rendezvous and docking systems and the possibility of an international space rescue. ” President Nixon’s space diplomacy set the groundwork for the current  International Space Station  in orbit by promoting technological growth and easing the financial burden of space exploration through pooled resources.

President Nixon and Alexei Kosygin signing the Space Agreement titled "The Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes." 5/24/1972, Moscow, Russia, USSR, Grand Kremlin Palace, St. Vladimir Hall. (WHPO-9179-06)

Space race 2.0.

A Virgin Galactic spacecraft flew into space, a first for the space tourism company, during a flight on Thursday high above the Mojave Desert in California. Hartman, Matt, Photographer. “Virgin Galactic Rocket Ship Reaches Space, a Milestone in Space Tourism,” Photograph, Associated Press. From New York Times , December 13, 2018.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/science/virgin-galactic-spaceship.html  (accessed July 14, 2021).

On September 21, 2020, NASA published an  update  to its newest mission, the  Artemis Plan , stating, “In its formal plan, NASA captures Artemis progress to date, identifying the key science, technology, and human missions, as well as the commercial and international partnerships that will ensure we continue to lead in exploration and achieve our ambitious goal to land astronauts on the Moon.” 

The astronauts chosen will include the first woman and the first person of color to walk on the moon in the year 2024. To become an  astronaut  with NASA, potential candidates must be U.S. citizens, earn a master's degree in biological science, physical science, computer science, engineering, or math, have 1,000 hours as a pilot in command of an aircraft, and pass the flight astronaut physical exam. The budding industry of space tourism spearheaded by billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos will help bypass NASA’s stringent regulations. The current price tag:  $250,000 . After his landmark flight this month, Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Galactic stated, “We’re here to make space more accessible to all.” The Space Race - albeit reimagined in the 21st Century to include commercial partnerships and space tourism - continues thanks to the legacies of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. 

Air travel may be about to get better. Here's what it means for your next flight.

Your next flight may get an upgrade.

No, not as in a bigger seat in the front of the cabin. It's bigger than that − much bigger.

Air travel in the United States could soon improve dramatically. Here's how:

• New federal protections for air travelers. The U.S. Senate passed new rules that require better fee disclosure, free family seating, and new ticket refund rights. It also proposed appointing a new assistant secretary to handle airline service problems. 
• Better seats. Southwest has announced ambitious plans to overhaul its cabin interiors. It joins other carriers, including Japan Airlines, LOT and Swiss in rolling out new and more comfortable seats. 
• Upgraded airline performance. Air carriers have canceled fewer flights lately. For the first 11 months of last year, domestic airlines canceled only 1.4 percent of flights, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT). That's way below the 2.5 percent cancellation rate for the first 11 months of 2022 and significantly better than the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

Check out   Elliott Confidential , the newsletter the travel industry doesn't want you to read. Each issue is filled with breaking news, deep insights, and exclusive strategies for becoming a better traveler. But don't tell anyone!

"There's a sense of optimism for the future of U.S. air travel," said Duncan Greenfield-Turk, chief travel designer for Global Travel Moments , "The airline industry has an opportunity to rebuild and reimagine air travel, potentially ushering in a new golden age marked by superior service, innovation and passenger satisfaction."

Passengers want to get off the plane first. Here's how you can do it.

Me first! How passengers are cheating their way onto the plane faster

Is it time to start celebrating a new golden age of air travel? 

Hang on, hang on. We're not there yet. 

In fact, economy class passengers are still pretty unhappy with their travel experience, according to the latest J. D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study . In categories such as ease of travel, onboard experience and trust, the airlines scored lower than they did last year. 

"We’re seeing signs of weakening consumer satisfaction," said Mike Taylor, J.D. Power's managing director for travel and hospitality.

The silver lining: Amid declining fares, passengers say they got more value for their money when they flew compared with 2022. 

Hey, it's a start.

But passengers say change is in the air. Alex Beene, a community coordinator from Nashville, Tennessee, and a frequent air traveler, said his past few flights were on time and went smoothly. And he hardly had to wait at the TSA screening area.

"I've never felt as good about air travel as I have the last few months," he told me.

I've spoken with many air travelers who share his sense of optimism. It feels as if for the first time in years, the stars are aligning for airline passengers. 

But are they really?

This golden age could be a fake-out

Reality check: This new golden age could turn out to be fool's gold.

New luggage fees announced last week felt like a splash of cold water on all that optimism. This year, four domestic airlines have raised their fees for checked baggage. United Airlines is the latest to announce an increase. You'll pay $40 for your first checked bag, or $35 if you pay online at least 24 hours before your flight. That's an increase of $5.

And the new Senate provisions for air travel , while positive, still have to be reconciled with the House version of the FAA reauthorization bill this spring. That probably means some of the more pro-consumer provisions will be stricken by the airline-friendly Congress. 

How about those new airline seats? Generally, new aircraft interiors improve the flying experience. But Southwest's new interior design , which arrives next year, has been a little controversial. Critics have hammered its new seats for looking too thin and uncomfortable. One popular TikToker called them "lawn chairs." 

That may be unfair. True, the seats cut a slender profile, but they are the result of "careful and extensive" research, according to the airline. Also, none of the critics have sat in one of the seats yet, so there's that.

What about the airline industry's performance? Yes, it's impressive, and the government wastes no opportunity to take full credit for it. But it will last only until the next computer outage or bad weather plunges an airline hub into chaos.

"Let me be blunt," said Bill McGee, a senior fellow for Aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project . "The airline industry is still broken."

Here's how to protect yourself: Hackers are coming for your travel accounts

Hotel parking fees are out of control. Here's how to fight them.

How to have a better flight anyway

Golden age or not, only one thing really matters: How is your next flight? None of the trends and statistics matter if an airline cancels your flight and leaves you sleeping on the airport floor. Here's how to sidestep bad service:

• Book a ticket on an airline that offers excellent service. There's a reason airlines like Delta, Southwest and Alaska keep winning customer service awards. If you cheap out and buy a ticket on a discount airline, you will get what you pay for. No golden age for you!
• Avoid chaos. Try to avoid weekends and especially the days before and after major holidays. And always try to book the first flight of the day so that if something goes wrong, you won't be stranded at an airport waiting for a connection. If you have to fly on a busy holiday, pack your patience and a good travel insurance policy.
• Know your rights . Whether Congress passes new laws or not, you still need to know your rights as an air traveler. (Yes, you have some.) For domestic flights, the DOT's Fly Rights page is an excellent resource. You can fly during a difficult time and still get decent service if you know your rights and can advocate for yourself if service goes south.

But perhaps the best advice of all is to keep your expectations modest. No one is turning the clock back to the 1960s, when even the economy class seats had plenty of legroom and the service was stellar. In a deregulated, post-pandemic airline industry, take nothing for granted – and focus on the basics.

"The greatest service of all," said MIT management professor Arnold Barnett, "is getting you to your destination safely."

Christopher Elliott  is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded  Elliott Advocacy , a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes  Elliott Confidential , a travel newsletter, and the  Elliott Report , a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can  reach him here  or email him at  [email protected] .

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How has travelling changed over the last 10 years (+ how Instagram is influencing us)?

The way we travel and book our trips is ever-changing. In a world where the pace of technology seems to keep speeding up with new updates, Apps and gadgets every week! Even how Instagrammable your destination seems to be a huge factor in deciding where to go!

If you’re reading this thinking that you hate technology, the chances are that you now rely on it without even realising. I only started travelling 10 years ago and the changes in how we do things now have completely altered and changed the way we all travel.

But the big question is, are all the changes for the better?

The last 10 years have been amazing. I’ve climbed to the top of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro , seen wild mountain gorillas in Uganda . I’ve also spent a magical five weeks travelling around gorgeous New Zealand, hiking stunning coastal trails and jumping out of planes!

Not to mention all my recent UK trips and hiking adventures around our stunning National Parks , including the Peak District , Snowdonia , the Lake District and more!

But that got me thinking about how much technology and Instagram has changed the way I travel.

In short, I’m much lazier and less-organised than I was 10 years ago , purely because travel information is so accessible. Plus you can find the best places to go by simply typing in a hashtag on Instagram and seeing what photos appear in the top spots!

Back in 2008, when I booked my first solo trip to Australia, things in the travel industry were very different . My inspiration for my trip was a school project back when I was 10 years old. I vividly remember learning about this amazing country and although over the next few years I maybe watched a few TV programmes, obviously Neighbours, but other documentaries too. I wasn’t overly absorbed or influenced by social media or gorgeous Instagram photos to go to certain places.

Interestingly, recent research has now been compiled showing that over 40% of millennials choose their next holidays based on how popular it is on social media – so we’re basically talking Twitter, Facebook and of course, in my opinion, the big one… Instagram .

Over 1,000 UK adults, between 18 to 33 were surveyed on their travel habits, undertaken by holiday home insurance company Schofields Insurance  and the data revealed that ‘how Instagrammable the holiday would be’ was the number one motivator for millennials when they are deciding where to go on their holiday.

Now you might not want to believe it’s true but you only need to scroll through your Instagram feed and the most popular destinations immediately pop out.

Instagrammable photo spots definitely have had an impact here, everyone wanting those stunning photos!

Would you pick your next holiday using Instagram?

Maybe you don’t even realise you are doing it. I guess that’s the beauty (or trickery) of Instagram! You’re scrolling through pretty photos and before you know it you’ve booked a trip and on your must-see things to do is capturing ‘that’ shot.

But let me take you back 10 years before you decide whether it’s better or worse!

How has Travelling changed over the last 10 years?

If you’ve been travelling for a number of years then the changes might have snuck in without you realising how much things have changed! How many of these things do you remember from travelling 10 years ago? Let me know if you can think of any more?

Yes, before you say it, yes I seem to have aged a lot in the last 10 years but with age also comes knowledge (haha).

Flights tickets

Yes, I know we all still buy tickets but I mean real tickets. Proper tickets made out of card or paper. You book a flight and are sent your tickets (or have to pick them up). I still have my flight tickets from my very early trips.

Now it’s an email or app of your boarding pass. Or for me, it’s a print screen of my boarding pass because I still don’t 100% trust the App haha. Does everyone else do this or is it just me!

Benefit – less paper wastage so better for the environment.

Check-in at the airport

10 years ago, you basically rocked up at the airport and stood in a giant queue with everyone else. Unless you were lucky enough to be flying Business Class!

None of this, go on your laptop, tablet or phone 24 hours (or some are now 7 days) before your flight and complete the online check-in.

The majority of people check-in before they even leave home or if not then there are the automated machines at the airport that check you in in a matter of minutes.

But do you remember when you HAD TO stand in line at the airport waiting to check-in! I don’t miss this one little bit!

Arriving at your destination

With high charges for text usage 10 years ago (yes I’m a budget traveller haha), it was normally one text to say you had arrived safely.

Now Facebook has the option to check in wherever you are in the world so you can easily let everyone know you’ve arrived! Regardless of how annoying this is for your fellow Facebook friends!

Also with roaming costs now included within your tariffs for a lot of countries you travel. We all simply get on WhatsApp and text away!

How Instagrammable is your destination?

Instagram started back in 2010 and quickly gained popularity after being taken over by Facebook in 2012. I clearly wasn’t one of those, being a Xenial I was happy using Facebook and sharing my photos on there. What was the point of Instagram anyway!

Late to the party I now love Instagram but is the power of influencers creating problems with over-tourism?

I recently hiked the 95-mile stretch of the Jurassic Coast . The whole walk was incredible with stunning cliffs, coastal views and lush green fields. But type in the #jurassiccoast and one popular photo makes a reoccurring theme. The stunning arch at Durdle Door! Throughout the entire walk I met many people along the walk, a few more as I approached the cute seaside towns but arriving at Durdle Door was utter chaos.

Tripods, self-sticks, literally hundreds of people all after that ultimate shot. And yes I took a photo there too (see above!) In reality, there were four people sat to my left and two more taking photos directly behind me, as well as all the people walking past me too. Although I agree it’s still beautiful my favourite memories of the walk were those quieter moments where I could take all the nature in around me.

Maps so you don’t get lost

You used real paper maps and books. Ok, I do love Google maps but there’s nothing more exciting than getting lost and exploring a new place. I’ve become all too reliant on Google maps now. I sometimes wonder how I ever made it out my front door without it!

Also relying on your phone as a map in certain destinations can put you at risk of being targeting for being mugged. I’ve read a few stories where people have had phones taken right out of their hands so be careful and aware of your surroundings too.

Travel blogs… what are they?

You might like to read – Cool and unusual things to do in Berlin

Although bloggers were about it wasn’t a known industry as it is now becoming today. Part of me wishes I’d started my blog earlier but maybe my travel experiences wouldn’t have been quite the same. There are some amazing resources out there , with top tips and places to visit recommended by travellers all over the world.

Travellers with laptops

Laptops have become lighter and more sophisticated so that people can work all over the world and still travel at the same time!

Smartphones + being social

Hostel social areas full of people on phones is one of the biggest things I have noticed since I started travelling in 2008.

Before wi-fi seemed to be available everywhere and smartphones came along, social areas were full of people chatting or maybe reading a book. You now can’t walk into one without a sea of people looking down at the blue screen!

I used to think hostels were daunting when you walked into a social area and everyone was chatting but now I think it’s even worse!

Wi-Fi spots

And talking of laptops, wi-fi has now taken off pretty much everywhere. Who remembers going in search of internet cafes to catch up on your Facebook notifications or load photos!

Free wi-fi spots were like gold dust and now we expect them everywhere.

Even hiking on the Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal there was wi-fi available during the majority of the trip

Selfie sticks – love them or hate them?

Basically, your selfie stick was your arm! I admit I’ve still not bought one of these but I do own a couple of tripods which are perfect for my hiking and backpacking trips.

And if it was a group shot then the person with the longest arm took the photo. Simple!!

But selfie sticks have a bad reputation and since they were introduced have now been banned at several iconic sites, including, the wonderful Machu Picchu. In my opinion, this makes perfect sense as it’s such a popular destination there’s always someone to take your photo.

Sadly, selfies and selfie sticks have also caused numerous deaths around the world , with people going too far to ‘do it for the gram’ as it’s known!

Has travelling got better or worse over the last 10 years?

So much has changed in the last 10 years. But has travelling got better or worse? There are certainly pros and cons but technology is here to stay so I guess we need to get used to it.

But next time you think about booking that trip, make sure you do it for the right reasons. Are you going because it’s super-popular (and there will be loads of people there) or do you really want to go?

How Instagrammable a destination shouldn’t be the reason for booking a trip! And then more these hot spots become over-run with tourist the less enjoyable they will actually be when you arrive. Remember, the full-time Instagrammers are smart, many of these stunning photos are taken in the early hours of the morning before the crowds arrive. So don’t be disappointed if reality doesn’t meet the expectations of the perfect Instagram photo.

Tell me what your thoughts are in the comments. How long have you been travelling? What are the biggest changes that you’ve noticed?

*Becky the Traveller participates in the Amazon Services Associates Programme, as well as other affiliate programmes. If you make a purchase through these, I earn from the qualifying links. This is at no extra cost to you. Read more here .

Becky the Traveller

4 thoughts on “ how has travelling changed over the last 10 years (+ how instagram is influencing us) ”.

Nice Post Becky!

I first went travelling on my own in 2002ish. For me the biggest changes are: – Booking things on my own. I used to go to STA travel to book flights, but now I just do everything online. – I hardly ever booked hotels in advance, but now you have to, or the prices skyrocket! – I’d buy the guide book for where ever I was going, and then use chat rooms for extra advice. Now I’m more likely to use blogs and facebook travel groups

Still, most of the coolest things I found in Japan, I found when I was translating information about them for the Japan’s local government. There *still* isn’t much online in English about less-well known places.

I think the main limit now is that most people write/take photos of the same few places, when there is sooo much more to see!

Thanks Josy, ah so you were a little ahead of me then! Yes, I totally agree, I also used to book via STA travel, until recently I used their old tour magazines as a monitor stand haha. Yeah, everything I book is online as well too. Hotels are a challenge, it’s a balance between booking too early and missing good deals or too late and everything has sold out! Facebook groups are definitely a great source of information too.

I guess time is a big factor for most people who just rush in and out of a city or place and don’t get time to explore all the little cool places. I love to find those hidden gems and off the beat places too 🙂

I actually miss that annoying sound of the dial up modem connecting to the internet!

Haha I reckon if you search on YouTube you could probably find the noise somewhere!

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Love Exploring

How Cruising Has Evolved Through the Decades

Posted: August 5, 2023 | Last updated: August 5, 2023

Sailing through time

1830s: the very beginnings

1840s: the first pleasure cruises

1840s: a landmark in cruise-line history

1850–60s: early developments

Passenger cruising continued to develop through the mid-19th century, with luxuries like on-board lounges and simple entertainment emerging. Shown here, in 1856, is Cunard's RMS Persia, one of the largest ships of her time and an early Blue Riband winner (an award given for high-speed Atlantic crossings).

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1870s: the New World

1880s: lighting up the ocean

1890s: “floating palaces”

1900s: entering cruising’s golden age

At the turn of the century, there was still a frisson around cruising and large, buzzy crowds would often gather to see off the ships. This nostalgic photograph was snapped between 1900 and 1915, and shows large steam boats leaving from the White Star Line dock in Detroit, Michigan. Well-dressed passengers fill the ships' upper and lower decks too.

Discover where planes, trains, cruise ships and cars go to di e

1900s: the first purpose-built cruise ship

1910s: onboard entertainment

1910s: the Titanic disaster

One of the most famous and devastating events in cruise history occurred in this decade. Dubbed "unsinkable" by the White Star Line's vice-president, the Titanic set out from Southampton on her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912 to much applause. But just four days later, she collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic: the compartments in her hull filled with water and she tragically sank. The disaster claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people.

We reveal the secrets of life onboard the Titanic

1910s: First World War

1920s: cruising’s golden age continued

1920s: setting the bar high

1920s: a festive feast

1920s: the first round-the-world cruise

Another major milestone came in the 1920s: the very first round-the-world cruise. The Cunard Line's RMS Laconia (pictured here leaving Liverpool circa 1920) sailed around the globe in 1922, calling at 22 ports along the way, and taking 450 lucky passengers with her.

See how air travel has changed through the decades

1930s: all games on deck

1930s: making a splash

1940s: post-war cruising

1950s: the post-war decades

Come the 1950s, cruise ships had another phenomenon to compete with: jet planes. Commercial air travel boomed in this decade, with comfier aircraft and improved routes enticing travelers into the skies. Many cruise liners underwent swish post-war refits in an attempt to stay afloat: this 1950s photo shows the opulent dining room of French liner SS Île de France after a dramatic post-war makeover.

1950s: going Down Under

1950s: the Blue Riband record breaker

Though formalized in the 1930s, the Blue Riband – the award for the passenger cruise liner with the fastest Atlantic-crossing time – has its roots right back in the 19th century. The record is still held by SS United States of United States Lines, which first sped across the Atlantic in 1952. She's pictured here on 9 July 1952, docking in Southampton.

How travel has changed since the 1950s

1960s: the Jet Age

1970s: The Love Boat

As flying became more commonplace, the popularity of cruising looked set to dwindle. However, one particular TV series is often credited with keeping travelers' passion for cruising alive. The Love Boat – aired from the 1970s – was a comedy series that followed the crew and passengers of luxury liner SS Pacific Princess. Such was its popularity, some say it brought cruising back into the mainstream once more. This shot shows Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1975. 

1970s: cruising opens up to the masses

1980s: the cruise to nowhere

The 1980s is thought to be the decade that pioneered the "cruise to nowhere", where the ship really was the destination. The SS Norway (pictured) – a lavish mega ship with room for thousands of passengers and amenities like a casino – embarked on a no-docking cruise in this decade.

This is what vacations could look like in 2050

1990s: Disney takes to the water

2000s: making waves in the modern world

The 2000s saw larger-than-life, no-expense-spared, mega cruise ships sail onto the scene. This sunset snap shows Cunard Line's Queen Mary II as she completes her first trans-Atlantic voyage in January 2004. At this time, she was the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever constructed with room for 2,200-plus passengers, a theater and even a planetarium, setting the bar for the ships of posterity. 

2010s: bigger, better and healthier

2020s: off to a rocky start

The 2020s got off to an eventful start. The COVID-19 pandemic halted almost all cruises, with some passengers and crew marooned onboard while testing and entry protocols were debated. In 2021 rife cancellations, last-minute border changes and variant outbreaks persisted. However, 2022 (and onwards) has indicated a return to pre-pandemic popularity, with 300 cruise ships departing in April 2022 – pretty impressive compared to just 22 departing in April 2021. Cruise lines have incorporated more health and safety protocols, such as advising passengers to control their TV, light and temperature via an app instead of touchpoints. 

If this has floated your boat, here's where to see the world's most famous ships

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11 charts that show how covid changed the U.S. economy

After a pandemic-fueled roller coaster, the U.S. economy is finally steadying.

Four years ago this week, the first wave of what would grow to be 20 million job losses set in, although most Americans were more terrified of catching a new, very transmissible, and sometimes fatal, virus. Toilet paper was nowhere to be found, but at least it was cheaper than it is now, and grocery shelves were often empty.

In the months to follow, the pandemic recession was largely recognized by global and political leaders as a severe economic trauma. And the swift and almost miraculous recovery of the U.S. economy from the pandemic has been the envy of the world .

The one lasting challenge that permeates nearly every benchmark of U.S. economic health is inflation. Price increases are finally easing, but not before taking a toll on all Americans, shaping how they feel about everything.

The U.S. economy has settled into a new normal — one that nobody could have predicted four years ago. Here’s what it looks like, in 11 charts.

1. Unemployment

The labor market imploded as layoffs spiked at the beginning of the pandemic, fueling sky-high unemployment, as many businesses closed or dramatically slowed operations.

In the years that followed, the labor market defied expectations with a vigorous recovery, thanks in large part to consumers opening up their wallets in different ways. The economy added 275,000 jobs last month — extending the longest stretch of an unemployment rate below 4 percent since the 1960s. Still, not all industries have been affected equally. While the health-care industry has steadily grown over the past four years, to accommodate those who got sick during the pandemic and the growing aging population, the tech industry has shed tens of thousands of workers, after overstaffing to accommodate users flocking online in 2020.

The unemployment rate is expected to climb slightly in 2024 as high interest rates slow business expansion. But data shows that employers are staying committed to investing in their workforces, especially as the Federal Reserve is expected to lower rates, which makes business loans cheaper.

Many Americans got large pay increases after the pandemic, when employers were having to one-up each other to find and keep workers. For a while, those wage gains were wiped out by decade-high inflation: Workers were getting larger paychecks, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with rising prices.

That’s starting to change, as worker shortages are no longer plaguing employers and the costs of running a business settle down. Wage growth is outpacing inflation again, which means workers are back to seeing steady gains in their spending power.

With sudden lockdowns forcing Americans to cancel plans and stay home, families were able to save an eye-popping 32 percent of their incomes in April 2020, an all-time high.

More savings spikes followed, as government stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits made their way into bank accounts. But as the world reopened — and people resumed spending on dining out, travel, concerts and other things that were previously off-limits — savings rates have leveled off. Americans are also increasingly dip into rainy-day funds to pay more for necessities, including groceries, housing, education and health care. In fact, Americans are now generally saving less of their incomes than they were before the pandemic.

4. Credit card debt

As Americans drastically pulled back on spending early in the pandemic, they relied less on loans and credit cards. A mix of stimulus money and other measures, such as a pause on student loan repayments, helped keep indebtedness low for a while, even as the economy opened back up.

But now, debt loads are swinging higher again as families try to keep up with rising prices. Total household debt reached a record $17.5 trillion at the end of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. And, in a worrisome sign for the economy, delinquency rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards are rising, too.

5. Immigrant visas

When the pandemic hit, the State Department cut back on processing visas except in certain cases, such as those for emergency and “mission critical” situations, with more limited services starting again in July 2020.

That led to a precipitous drop in the number of immigrant visas approved during the early months of the pandemic. It took years, but the agency caught up to its previous rate — and said it reduced its overall backlog by 15 percent last year.

A lack of foreign-born workers in the United States hamstrung employers in 2021 and 2022. But their return to the U.S. labor force, due to both legal and illegal immigration, helped propel economic growth in 2023 beyond expectations.

6. Groceries

Grocery prices began their ascent early in the pandemic, when supply chain disruptions and labor shortages collided with a sudden rise in demand, as Americans hunkered down at home.

Since then, a mix of factors, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, extreme weather related to climate change and a massive avian flu outbreak, have kept costs elevated. Overall, grocery prices are up 25 percent from four years ago.

However, there’s good news: Those increases have started to level off. Rice, milk, meat and fruit have gotten cheaper this year. Economists generally expect grocery inflation to keep cooling — which means prices will stabilize, though in a healthy economy, they are unlikely to drop back down to pre-pandemic levels.

7. Gas prices

Gas prices dipped during the beginning of the pandemic, as people stayed home and business operations slowed. But skyrocketing prices hit Americans’ wallets in 2022 — caused in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Prices have eased in recent months, partly because of increased oil production in North America. The United States is producing more oil than any country ever has.

“The global refining picture continues to improve, providing more capacity and peace of mind that record-setting prices will stay away from the pump in 2024,” GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, wrote in an annual fuel price report. Analysts don’t expect major spikes in gas prices this year beyond expected seasonal waves.

8. Home prices

The pandemic set off a home-buying frenzy. Americans were stuck at home, hankering for more space — and had the extra cash to buy their first homes or upgrade to larger ones.

It also helped that rock-bottom interest rates made it cheap to borrow. The result was a 48 percent surge in home prices that lifted the average U.S. sales price to more than $552,000.

But demand has cooled lately, thanks to a mix of high prices and rising borrowing costs, as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to curb inflation. That has helped bring down average home prices by 11 percent from their 2022 peak.

Home builders are catching on that consumers want more affordable houses, driving a shift toward construction of smaller new homes with lower price tags.

9. New restaurant openings

Many restaurants were forced to close during the pandemic. Others shifted to takeout food and to-go cocktails but still had to cut staff. When things opened up again, diners rushed into restaurants, but the industry took a while to get back on track, because of labor shortages and rising prices.

Now, optimism has returned. Restaurant openings last year registered a nearly 2 percent bump over 2019, according to data from Yelp, which tracks restaurant openings by calculating new listings on its site. “In 2024, we expect to see this positive momentum continue,” said Cliff Cate, vice president and general manager at Yelp Restaurants. And restaurants aren’t the only new businesses in town: For the first time since the onset of the pandemic, overall business openings last year in every U.S. state beat out pre-pandemic numbers, according to Yelp.

10. Air travel

Air travel plummeted during the early months of the pandemic, as people sheltered in place and borders closed around the world.

It rebounded faster than many expected as passengers exercised their pent-up demand to travel.

But the recovery came with challenges caused by staffing changes and industry shifts . When the pandemic hit, airlines encouraged some staff to take early retirement or voluntary separation packages, leading to departures of senior staff. That left airlines with less-experienced staff, and sometimes a shortage of workers — issues that have led to delays for travelers and potential safety challenges, according to some industry leaders.

11. Consumer sentiment

Mass uncertainty early in the pandemic caused consumer sentiment to dip, as measured by the closely watched survey by the University of Michigan. Another drop in sentiment followed during peak inflation prices. But consumers are finally feeling better about the economy.

The number has been improving in part because of easing inflation rates. Consumers seem to feel that inflation will “continue on a favorable trajectory,” Joanne Hsu, an economist at the University of Michigan and director of its consumer surveys, wrote about the February consumer sentiment numbers.

BREAKING: The Justice Department is suing Apple, alleging the company’s iPhone ecosystem is an illegal monopoly

CDC updates Covid isolation guidelines for people who test positive

People who test positive for Covid no longer need to isolate for five days , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The CDC’s new guidance now matches public health advice for flu and other respiratory illnesses: Stay home when you’re sick, but return to school or work once you’re feeling better and you’ve been without a fever for 24 hours.

The shift reflects sustained decreases in the most severe outcomes of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as a recognition that many people aren’t testing themselves for Covid anyway.

“Folks often don’t know what virus they have when they first get sick, so this will help them know what to do, regardless,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said during a media briefing Friday.

Over the past couple of years, weekly hospital admissions for Covid have fallen by more than 75%, and deaths have decreased by more than 90%, Cohen said.

“To put that differently, in 2021, Covid was the third leading cause of death in the United States. Last year, it was the 10th,” Dr. Brendan Jackson, head of respiratory virus response within the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during the briefing.

Many doctors have been urging the CDC to lift isolation guidance for months, saying it did little to stop the spread of Covid.

The experiences of California and Oregon , which previously lifted their Covid isolation guidelines, proved that to be true.

“Recent data indicate that California and Oregon, where isolation guidance looks more like CDC’s updated recommendations, are not experiencing higher Covid-19 emergency department visits or hospitalizations,” Jackson said.

Changing the Covid isolation to mirror what’s recommended for flu and other respiratory illnesses makes sense to Dr. David Margolius, the public health director for the city of Cleveland.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we are suffering from flu at a higher rate than Covid,” he said. “What this guidance will do is help to reinforce that— regardless of what contagious respiratory viral infection you have — stay home when you’re sick, come back when you’re better.”

Dr. Kristin Englund, an infectious diseases expert at the Cleveland Clinic, said the new guidance would be beneficial in curbing the spread of all respiratory viruses.

“I think this is going to help us in the coming years to make sure that our numbers of influenza and RSV cases can also be cut down, not just Covid,” she said.

Latest news on Covid

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Still, the decision was likely to draw criticism from some clinicians who point to the fact that the U.S. logged 17,310 new Covid hospitalizations in the past week alone.

“It’s something that is likely to draw a wide array of opinions and perhaps even conflicting opinions,” said Dr. Faisal Khan, Seattle’s director of public health. “But [the CDC’s] rationale is sound in that the pandemic is now in a very different phase from where it was in 2021 or 2022 or 2023.”

Though the isolation guidelines have been wiped away, the CDC still encourages people to play it safe for five days after they are feeling better. That includes masking around vulnerable people and opening windows to improve the flow of fresh air indoors.

The majority of viral spread happens when people are the sickest. “As the days go on, less virus spreads,” Cohen said.

People at higher risk for severe Covid complications, such as the elderly, people with weak immune systems and pregnant women, may need to take additional precautions.

Dr. Katie Passaretti, chief epidemiologist at Atrium Health in Charlotte, said it was a “move in the positive direction.”

“We are continuing to edge into what the world looks like after Covid, with Covid being one of many respiratory viruses that are certain that circulate,” she said.

The new guidance is for the general public only, and does not include isolation guidelines in hospital settings, which is generally 10 days.

On Wednesday, the agency said that adults 65 and older should get a booster shot of the Covid vaccine this spring. It’s anticipated that the nation will experience an uptick in the illness later this summer.

Winter and summer waves of Covid have emerged over the past four years, with cases peaking in January and August, respectively, according to the  CDC .

Another, reformulated, shot is expected to be available and recommended this fall.

CDC’s main tips for reducing Covid spread:

• Get the Covid vaccine whenever it is available. Cohen said that 95% of people who were hospitalized with Covid this past winter had not received the latest vaccine.
• Cover coughs and sneezes, and wash hands frequently.
• Increase ventilation by opening windows, using air purifiers and gathering outside when possible.

Erika Edwards is a health and medical news writer and reporter for NBC News and "TODAY."

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

I hate boats but this swanky, kids-free voyage changed my mind about cruises

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I. Hate. Boats. And the thought of spending what is meant to be a relaxing holiday on a cruise has never appealed to me.

From being dragged onto rickety fishing boats as a child to catch mackerel for dinner while water sloshed over the edges, to stepping onto the annual ferry across to Calais and watching my poor stepmother be sick over the side… they just aren’t for me.

I also watched the Titanic far too many times in my formative years – not to mention Jaws – so anything that floats on the ocean generally doesn’t bring me much comfort.

As someone whose never been on a cruise – and hearing some deeming them ‘tacky’, full of screaming children, and plagued with budget entertainment – it had never occurred to me to book one.

That is, until, I set foot on Celebrity Ascent cruise liner in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I was promptly informed that it wasn’t a boat… it was a ship.

Semantics aside, that ship shattered the misguided preconceptions I had about cruises and three days later when it was time to disembark I found myself not wanting to leave.

I’ll admit I had been relieved when I rolled up to board and couldn’t see a single offensively yellow water slide in sight. There wasn’t a single child around either. Now, I have nothing against kids, but I think even some parents may agree it’s just easier to chill out when it’s kid-free.

As I stepped onto the ship, wandering through the sprawling levels of offerings and five-star hotel level decor with glistening floors and chandeliers, I went in search of my room.

My expectations had been a small cabin, instead I was greeted by a stunning suite on the 11th floor, complete with a bathtub and balcony, as well as a large double bed, sofa and dressing table.

It was a spacious Sky Suite – better than most of the hotel rooms I’ve stayed in – and to my delight I couldn’t feel the ship moving on the water whatsoever.

After settling in, my first stop was lunch and I opted for sushi at Raw on Five. Being gluten free means sushi isn’t always the safest for me but the exceptional chef ensured I had battered crispy shrimp followed by the best sushi I’ve ever eaten. Each roll was perfectly fiery and fresh, and the staff were so attentive I quite literally wanted for nothing.

Belly full, I decided to explore the ship, passing countless restaurants (one of which, Le Voyage, belongs to Daniel Boulud) where I the bar at Eden and drank more than my fill of apple cocktails at the back of the ship – where the entire wall is glass.

It makes for the perfect spot to watch the sunset in the evenings, which is precisely what I did at dinner time at A Taste of Eden. It’s a restaurant with an entirely open kitchen, so you can see every morsel of food on your plate being made from scratch.

Honestly, I was torn between watching that and the stunning burnt-red sunset that I had a front row seat of from my table.

The meal began with a pineapple amuse-bouche, followed by delicious tomato prawns, a fillet steak which was cooked to medium-rare perfection and a rather wacky pudding – carrot creme brulee – which, yes, tasted like carrot but was also delicious.

Now I’m not one for entertainment on holiday as I, in this case wrongly, assume it’s going to be cheesy and terrible.

But once again, this cruise ship proved me wrong. As I sat at the Martini Bar (while the chandelier lit up in a mesmerising light show) a magician ventured over to my table. I’m a sceptic but this talented man made cards in my own hand turn to glass – without touching me. That is pretty darn impressive.

Then it was off to the theatre. There’s a whole theatre on this ship, along with a night club and spa – you quite literally want for nothing. It’s like its own little upmarket society on the sea for it’s 3,000 guests.

The show I watched was Awaken. It’s a performance of popular songs told through dreams and the performers were very impressive. While I did thoroughly enjoy the performance, it wasn’t something I found myself itching to go and watch again, even though they have more shows on offer. If theatre is your thing though, then you’ll love it.

For breakfast there’s not much to say apart from there’s an abundance of choice – you’ll be spoilt on board. Did I mention there are 32 different eateries?

Just make sure you double check the allergens with the chefs behind the counters – sometimes the GF label meant gluten free options available and it wasn’t referring to the options on display.

At this point, after I’d eaten about 40 waffles and a full English I realised we had sailed to the Bahamas. So I headed up to the Sunset Bar in the glorious weather to take in the views (and drink the bar dry).

For fans of Below Deck Mediterranean, you’ll be pleased to know Captain Sandy is the ship’s Godmother. I discovered this when I bumped into her on my floor and had a good chinwag, where I asked her why she chose the ship over her yacht.

Captain Sandy told me: ‘It’s seven star. I would never go on a cruise – I’m a yacht person but this is next level.’

And she’s right – my dinner at Blu that evening proved it. Run by a Michelin-star chef the restaurant is only for AquaClass guests and is centred on healthy eating – although my wine glass never ran dry (but I’m not complaining).

Did I have another immaculately cooked steak? Yes. Then I donned my glitziest outfit and headed up to the Shine the Light Deck Party. There’s no other way to describe this than – just a good bit of fun. Everyone looked their best and danced by the pool as the DJ mixed hit after hit and a dancer with a disco ball head proved to be the life of the party.

While that party is a new addition to Celebrity Cruises, the most impressive part of the ship was the Magic Carpet. Now, if you’re thinking Aladdin, you’re going to be a bit upset. However, the platform floats off the side of the ship, reaching heights of 13 stories above sea level.

It’s home to a bar and often has live music performed on it, offering uninterrupted views of your next destination.

The platform can also descend to sea level, creating somewhat of a mini pier where you can board your tender (which doubles as a lifeboat) to shore to explore. They’re quite swanky little boats in themselves – they’re no Titanic paddle boat that’s for sure.

Before I knew it it was time to disembark and I reluctantly showed myself off the ship back in Fort Lauderdale – I perhaps would have been more inclined to leave if I was stepping on the shores of the Bahamas.

The only downside is it’s not a cheap holiday but value for money definitely makes it worth it if you can. If I win the lottery you can best believe I’ll be frequenting Celebrity Ascent as I travel the world.

Now I find myself sat at my desk, having done a complete U-turn, and I can’t help but wonder where I’ll take a ship to next.

Celebrity Ascent pricing:

For Celebrity’s upcoming  7-night Greece, Turkey & Italy Cruise  departing on the 20th July 2024 from Athens (Piraeus), prices start at £1,023pp for two adults sharing an Interior Stateroom.

If you want to book a suite like the one I stayed in it’ll set you back £3,999pp for the trip.

Cheaper options include:

OceanView Stateroom: £1,178pp

Balcony Stateroom (Infinite Veranda): £1,407pp

Concierge Class: £1,797pp

Aqua Class: £2,106pp

Main dining is included in the above prices which will give you access to the Cyprus Restaurant (Greek food), the Tuscan Restaurant (Italian food), the Normandie Restaurant (French food) and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant which offers American dishes.

Speciality dining like Raw on Five and Eden cost extra on top of your cruise package price.

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I work at a ski resort in Vail. The lifestyle is tough to beat.

• 26-year-old Berklee Ryann moved to Vail, Colorado four years ago to work at a resort. 
• During peak tourist seasons, Ryann bartends about 12 to 16-hour days four or five days a week. 
• The ability to travel and ski in her time off and the tight knit community is what makes her stay. 

Up until a few years ago, I spent my whole life in Wisconsin. I was born there, raised there, and went to school there.

When Covid hit, I moved back home again from college. Once the pandemic ended, I wanted to go anywhere that wasn't where I grew up.

So I decided to move to a ski town in Colorado and get a job at a resort. It's been four years since then, and I have no plans to come back.

The lifestyle drew me in

I never went skiing or snowboarding before moving to Vail, Colorado, but I liked the idea of moving somewhere completely new. My mom is a travel nurse so the idea of relocating wasn't a foreign concept.

As a new employee in the area, the resort offered me discounted housing. This is common for ski resorts to do since housing is expensive and often hard to find in the area.

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For my first couple of years, I lived with three roommates in a dorm-like unit for about $565 per month. It wasn't the nicest apartment, but I was right on the mountain. The ski town has a Swiss Alps kind of feel to it and every day felt like I was transported to a European ski getaway.

Everything outside is green and I could see the ski lifts running from my window. It's pretty cool to be so close to nature and all the outdoor activities.

Plus, the setup helped me make instant friends. While some of my roommates ended up leaving after a season or two, I'm still friends with some of the people I met that first year in employee housing.

Now, I'm roommates with three friends I met at different jobs, and we live in a house outside the resort.

I travel three or four months a year and get to ski in my free time

During peak seasons at the resort, I work as a bartender about five days out of the week in a restaurant at Beaver Creek.

Twice a week I work between nine and 11 hours, and three days a week I work a double shift that's 14 hours . Sometimes, I pick up extra shifts on the weekend if it's especially busy. But I don't usually expect to work six or seven days a week.

Once tourism slows down in the fall and spring, I take a month or two off in each season to travel. I usually go home for a month to visit my family and then go elsewhere. I've traveled abroad to Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

I also go on road trips in the US, oftentimes with my coworkers. I've driven to New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. Two springs ago I went to San Diego and drove up the coast to Big Sur.

I'm currently planning a trip back to Barcelona this spring.

On the days that I don't work, I usually go out to the mountain and ski or snowboard. I can almost always find someone to go with me, and if not, I run into friends there. I try and do chores in my free time too, but I like to ski as much as possible.

There are downsides to living on a mountain

I wouldn't trade my current lifestyle for anything else, but there are certain aspects to living in a ski town that make life a little more complicated.

For starters, housing is expensive . I live in a house 20 minutes from the mountain with three roommates and pay a little over $1,330 per month.

Overall access to anything outside the resort is difficult. Denver is the closest city and that's a two-hour drive. In winter conditions, that's not an easy commute.

Sometimes, it can be hard to find basic produce at the grocery store because it's difficult to import items up the mountain.

I also have to stay the entirety of my double shifts because it takes so long to get down the mountain. Normally at a restaurant, staff gets cut as the night winds down. But since the ski lift doesn't run at night, we have to wait to take the ski cat down together.

I have no plans to leave

I sometimes toy with the idea of trying something new and moving somewhere else. But I wouldn't leave unless I came up with a better plan than this.

It's hard to give up the lifestyle of making a lot of money in a really short time and then having months off every year.

I also love being able to meet all kinds of people, whether it's staff or guests at the resort. A couple of my jobs have been at private membership clubs, which is cool because I can talk to people with so much more life experience than me, and who have done things that are vastly different than what I'm doing now.

The culture and the community with the staff at ski resorts are some more reasons I stay. Anytime I walk into a local pub or eatery, I see people I know. Everyone is friends and while there's a lot of young people, there are also life-timers who live here permanently.

I don't plan farther than six months in advance, and right now, I'm happy here.

Watch: Marriott International's Tina Edmundson tells Insider that the travel mindset has changed since the pandemic

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