On Holiday

When it comes to holidays, some talk about "seeing the world", others about "getting away from it all". These two basic philosophies of travel are elaborated in this investigation of "elsewhereness" as a human pursuit. Whether we set out in search of a mountainscape that will take our breath away, artifacts of the past to enrich our minds, the purest sand on the most unspoiled beach, or a summer place to know and cherish, we follow inner itineraries as time-honoured and various as the routes we take. Beginning his cultural journey among some 18th-century pioneers of tourism, Lofgren takes us on a tour of the Western holiday world and shows how two centuries of "learning to be a tourist" have shaped our own ways of vacationing. We see how fashions in destinations have changed through the years, with popular images (written, drawn, painted, and later photographed) teaching the tourist what to look for and how to experience it. The means of travel have bred their own expectations and rewards. Faster and more affordable tranportation, besides permitting more than a small elite to go "on holiday", has led to the package tour and the globalization of tourism.