RAILWAYS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANIZED TOURISM
IN GREAT BRITAIN (in the 40s-50s of the 19th century)
(ON THE EXAMPLE OF THOMAS COOK'S ACTIVITY)

Wadym OREHOWSKYI

Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics of SUTE, Chernivtsi

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8037-3135

DOI: http://doi.org/10.34025/2310-8185-2025-2.98.11

Keywords: Great Britain, industrial revolution, steam engine, railway transport, tourism, Thomas Cook.

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Summary

The purpose of the publication is to examine the impact of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain (and the construction of railways as one of its most important elements) on such an aspect of social life as tourism.

In the introduction, the author notes that the 19th century was perhaps one of the most dynamic in the history of Great Britain. And above all, it was associated with the industrial revolution - the transition from artisanal manufacturing to factory production. The first working machines appeared in the textile industry. Later, the industrial revolution covered the energy sector, metallurgy and metalworking. The invention of a single-cylinder, double-acting steam engine with a shaft by Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819) in 1784 was of great importance for economic development. This machine could be a universal engine that simultaneously powered many working mechanisms.

The author emphasizes that the Industrial Revolution not only replaced the agrarian economy with the "machine industry", but also brought about demographic, social, cultural, and mental changes in society. The new world moved further and further away from the archaic, leisurely, rural life and increasingly became a world of mechanized labor, large cities, railroads, and steamships.

Railways, as the author of the article notes, changed not only the country's economy, they penetrated the everyday life of ordinary English people. Rail transport has also become the main means of transportation for tourists.

The author emphasizes that the advent of railways made tourism much more democratic. If earlier it was available only to a very wealthy class of Englishmen, willing and, most importantly, able to pay considerable amounts of money for visits to remote places, now the general public was able to join in the opportunity to see new places, witness events, and gain invaluable experience. And a significant role was played here by the "founder of organized tourism" Thomas Cook. Thanks to him, travel became cheaper, easier and safer, and tourism itself became mass.

The materials of the article can be used for general and special courses in economic history, history of tourism, for writing Master's Diplomas, and term papers.

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Biographies of authors:

Wadym OREHOWSKYI,

Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics of SUTE

Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor

Professor the Chair of Food Technology and Hotel and Restaurant Services

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