1900 to 2003

Early 1900’s – Electric lights came into use Early 1900’s – Davis Cup (tennis) and the World

Series (baseball) were introduced The American Automobile Association was

founded in Chicago (AAA) 1903 – The first airplane took flight at Kitty Hawk 1908 – Henry Ford introduced the first Model T 1908 – Passenger ship accomodations were more

luxurious and only affordable for the very wealthy 1908 – Ellsworth Statler opened the first hotel chain

concept and is known as the father of the modern hotel industry- Conrad later bought the chain

1914 – The first scheduled airplane flew with passengers

1914 – World War I advanced aircraft design

1914 – Car Rental began through National Car Rental

1914 – Organized airline service developed in Europe

1920’s – Great improvements in US road systems

1920’s – Railroads faced competition from automobiles, intercity bus systems, and the trucking industry

1920’s – A new breed of passenger , the tourist emerged

1926 – Commercial Airlines started in the US

October 1929 – The Great Depression Began

The Depression bolstered the use of railroads over the bus industry

1930-1935 – Almost 85% of all hotels in the US went bankrupt

1931 – The concept of a zoo using open areas and concealed surroundings to display animals was introduced

1938 – Marineland opened an outdoor aquaarium in St. Augustine, Florida

Late 1930’s – The first NCAA Basketball tournament ws held

Late 1930’s the Cunard Lines launched the Queen Elizabeth - the largest passenger ship to date

September 3, 1939 World War II began in Europe

World War II brought the invention of the jet engine

Rockets were tested off the North Carolina Coast

The automobile and the jet plane helped the hotel industry to rebound and radically affected the travel industry

1945 – The first airline ticket was created

1945 – Rider ship on buses soared – intercity bus travel increased rapidly

1947 – United Airlines and American Airlines began coast to coast service in the United States

The seeds of mass tourism began with the WWII veterans who had the time and the money to travel

Walter E. Avis opened the first airport rent-a-car

The Cold War caused restrictions to be placed on travel to specified unfriendly countries

1950’s - The Jet Age began

1959’s - The television was becoming an influence in American households – it brought the world into living rooms

1950’s - Tourist-class fares were available for transatlantic flights

1950’s – The first Transcontinental flight was made from Los Angeles to New York

1950’s – Hilton became the first coast to coast hotel chain

1952 – Congress created the National System of Interstate Highways

1952 – Holiday Inn was launched in Memphis, Tennessee by Kemmons Wilson as the Holiday Inn Hotel Court

1958 – The passenger ship industry declined because of commnercial jet service non-stop across the Atlantic

1958 – The Jet Age was the greatest period of expansion for hotel chains and car rental agencies

1960’s – Mass market cruises became available and shipping companies began converting their passenger liners into tropical cruise ships

1965 – Holiday Inn installed the hotel industry’s first nationwide computerized reservation system

1967 – The first Super Bowl was played

1969 – The landing of the first man on the moon brought space one step closer to becoming a travel destination – because of this Pan Am took over 90,000 ticket reservations for a shuttle to the moon

1970 – The use of credit cards was accepted in travel and entertainment arenas

1970 – Pan American Airlines launched the first Jumbo Jet from New York to London with 352 passengers

1973 – The Arab oil embargo increased the price of gasoline and oil and forced Americans to look for energy efficient ways to travel

1976 – The Concord, a supersonic transport was developed

Late 1970’s – The first personal computer reached the

consumer market

Late 1970’s – Travel became computerized

Late 1970’s – Alex Hailey’s book Roots was to have an influence on heritage travel

1980’s – Personal computers were made more user friendly

1980 – Railroads began to decline

1980 – 1986 – The world’s cruise fleet doubled

1983 EPCOT opened in Disney World Florida

1983 Disney World opened in Tokyo

1986 The World Tourism Organization’s General Assembly adopted the Tourism Bill of Rights and the Tourist Code

1990’s – ATM use spread throughout the world

1990’s – Airlines accepted online bookings and took payment over the internet

1990’s – Ticket less travel was introduced

1990’s - Tour groups continued to be popular

1990 – The American’s with Disabilities Act was passed

1993 – Web pages were developed and (1985) Netscape was developed as a browser

1994 - England and France were connected by the “Chunnel”

1994 – Microsoft established an accredited travel agency on the Internet

Late 1990’s – Virtual Reality programs made it possible to see a destination as if one were actually there

2000 – 95% of all US travel agencies were computerized using a computer reservations system (CRS)

2000 - Americans used personal cars for more than 80% of their vacation trips

2000 – There were more than 800 million websites

2001 – Dennis Tito was the first paid space tourist

September 11, 2001 Attacks by terrorists changed travel and tourism forever

2002 – The Homeland Security

Act of 2002 passed in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks

2003 – Health related issues disrupted tourism

2003 – The Concorde (SST) retired from service