Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

Initially, the voyages of the discoveries were restricted to conquest, missionisation, and trade, but from the nineteenth century on travelling to the colonies became a political, social, cultural, and artistic imperative. In fact, after the end of the nineteenth century, European imperial policy encouraged travel to the overseas possessions not only to (re)define their territory geographically but primarily as a reflection of the emerging European nationalisms, turning travel into a privileged means for legitimating the overseas provinces and for spreading propaganda about them. This meant that colonial tourism developed on various levels and on various fronts, promoting an overseas holiday experience that became a civilisational datum and a measure of contemporary culture.