1.1.1. The evolution of mass tourism

According to the UNWTO glossary (n.d.), “Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which involve tourism expenditure”. The three main forms of tourism are domestic tourism, inbound tourism, and outbound tourism, which can be combined in different ways to generate the following supplementary types of tourism: internal tourism, national tourism and international tourism (ibid.).

The term “mass tourism” describes the coordinated travel of huge numbers of people to popular tourist destinations for leisure that often results in significant impacts on both the environment and the local culture. Mass consumption and the utilization of items in standardized packages are its defining characteristics. The history of the tourist sector is strongly associated with the global phenomenon of mass tourism. This specific type of tourism, which is frequently connected to experiences in the sun, sand, and sea, has long been regarded as the main aspect of international travel (Poon, 1993 cited in Naumov & Green, 2015).

First of all, the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century turned the idea of traveling for leisure purposes into a more accessible feature for the people of the middle class (Jafari, 2000). However, the occurrence of mass tourism happened around the mid-20th century and various factors played a role in that. First of all, the significance of leisure travel rose, while the evolution of means of transportations such as the airplane and the enhancement of the road network, traveling became a more feasible feature of people’s lives (Bramwell, 2004). Apart from that, the idea of paid work holidays became well established around that period contributing to the advance of tourism (Manera, Segreto & Pohl, 2009). Governments and tour operators capitalized on this demand by promoting package holidays to popular sun-and-sea destinations, such as the Mediterranean and the Caribbean (Page, 2014). Mass tourism became synonymous with standardized accommodations, all-inclusive resorts, and organized excursions, catering to the desires of the middle class for leisure and relaxation (Hall, 2005).

Nowadays, the prevalence of the internet in all aspects of peoples’ lives has massively affected the development of tourism since there are online reservation systems and online platforms for bookings through which most people can easily plan their holidays. In other words, leisure traveling has lately been easier than ever, expanding and addressing millions of people’s lives worldwide (Duncan, 2009). Nevertheless, even though the evolution of tourism has its positive influence by offering economic growth and many more job positions, it also has a negative side in terms of sociocultural and environmental factors. 

Mass tourism in many cases has created an idea of cultural heritage solely as an income-generating source whereas the use of assets has not always been culturally appropriate and sustainable (WTO, 2012). Mass tourism is also blamed for a big number of negative environmental effects, such as overcrowding, air and water pollution, depletion and degradation of natural resources, and litter (Poon, 1993 cited in Naumov & Green, 2015). More specifically, mass tourism has caused degradation of natural landscapes leading to habitat loss for many species in crowded destinations, while the carbon footprint of the transportations and the infrastructure used for tourism is one of the main contributors to global warming (Scott, Gössling & Hall, 2008; 2015).