The Map Tour: A History of Tourism Told Through Rare Maps, From the Grand Tour to Globalization

by Hugh Thomson

Produced in collaboration with the Royal Geographic Society, this illuminating volume l ooks at the ways in which maps facilitated, dictated, and directed the burgeoning travel industry.
 
Arranged chronologically from the seventeenth century on, and featuring the personal anecdotes, diary extracts, and photographs of intrepid early travelers, this exquisite collection of maps traces the evolution of tourism. Part travel guide, part social history, it charts a course across the globe on the first steam voyages, captures the romance of the golden age of train travel, and delves into the very heart of why we journey to new for adventure; for education; for escapism; for pilgrimage. As it stretches from the elite realms of the Grand Tour to beyond the boundaries of the known world, this book showcases the progress in cartography, and reveals how people used maps to navigate their immediate environment and understand their place in the world. In looking back, it considers the shape of global tourism today, reflecting on just how accessible—or hostile—the world has become.

Genres: Maps, History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 1, 2019

About the author

Hugh Thomson believes strongly that the world is not as explored as we like to suppose.

He writes about the wilder corners of the planet, from the edges of Peru to the Himalayas, looking for Inca ruins and lost cultures. Geographical commented that 'he is a writer who explores and not an explorer who writes.'

For 'The Green Road into the Trees', he returned to Britain to write about his own country. It won the inaugural Wainwright Prize for Best Nature and Travel Writing. 'An immensely enjoyable book: curious, articulate, intellectually playful and savagely candid.' Spectator.

For the successful sequel, 'One Man and a Mule', he decided to have ‘a South American adventure in England’ by taking a mule as a pack animal across the north of the country.

His most recent book is his first novel - ‘Viva Byron!’ - which imagines what might have happened if the poet had not died an early death in Greece - but instead lived - and then some! - by going to South America with the great last love of his life, Countess Teresa Guiccioli, to help Simon Bolivar liberate it from the Spanish. "Hugh Thomson is a mesmerising storyteller." Sara Wheeler.

His previous books include: 'The White Rock', 'Nanda Devi' and 'Cochineal Red: Travels through Ancient Peru' (all Weidenfeld & Nicolson), and he has collected some of his favourite places in the lavishly illustrated '50 Wonders of the World'.

In 2009 he wrote 'Tequila Oil', a memoir about getting lost in Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song, 'didn't know what he wanted'. It was serialised by BBC R4 as 'Book of the Week'.

"Delightful, celebratory and honest....In a way 'Tequila Oil' is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his 'Cochineal Red' and 'The White Rock' being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years." (Rory MacLean, The Guardian)

See www.thewhiterock.co.uk for more, including his blog and events at which he is speaking.

Reviews

[Dave Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so much fun with this one. The title is self explanatory. Using a collection of rare maps and pictures, Thomson walks through a history of tourism from its onset in the 1600s in Britain to the modern age of global travel. Reminds one of just how small the world was and how big it has become, for better and maybe for worse. It also provides a good point of entry into a discussion about the worlds indebtedness to the idea of tourism. Tourism is in many ways the thing that gives the world its shape, not just geographically but politically, socially, culturally and spiritually.

Loved how Britians initial mapping sort of shuns its ancient history. This would of course change when tourism doubles back its way, but initially the "island" gains its vision from maps intended to give Britains economic aims a shot in the arm. Far less pointed was the two competing narratives battling for the right to tell Scotlands story by way of the traveller. It is from here that a renewed interest in cartogaphy and accuracy would emerge in light of what became known as the south sea bubble. This lays the lanscape for the infamous Grand Tour, perhaps the true starting point for tourism, especially considering that this was where we see the notion of "travel abroad" begin to emerge. I was laughing out loud at a few points here, particularly at the sheer disdain travellers had for France, which of course was standing in the way of the true draw- Italy. Paris would have a travel renaissance when it builds the now iconic Eiffel Tower, but in the 1800's there is little question that it was painted in a poor light. Italy of course retains the aura of its glory days even today, although I was also laughing consierably at a seemingly ornery Mark Twain. A hard man to please it would seem.

It would be the tourism that emerges in this fairly contained section of the world that opens up doors to the East. Its one thing to have trade and economic interests going back and forth, its quite another for travellers to begin to map out and write out portraits of a culture that can be seen and experienced from those distanced by land and water. Many interesting and often daring and pioneering voices dot this section of the book, showing how different travel was back then, tied intimately to discovery. There is some interesting moments where the high society meets with the sheer rawness of the adventurer, specifically in the Alps. A developing industry provides insights into the relationship between travel and status and the many kinds of travel that sit inbetween. Equally interesting is watching the fine line that gets walked between temptations towards orientaliism and the genuine ambitions of getting to know cultures other than your own. One reason why this line was so fine was because many of these early voices became the means by which different cultures could connect. It also strikes a balance between a cultures ability to tell its own story and the reality that it remains beholden to the perceptions of others. This becomes a unique aspect of travel given that it was the west that pushes eastward. Which of course is the great reversal given that it was the east that gave rise to the west, providing it with its great thinkers and visionaries.

Much of the modern travel industry comes by way of the development of the train, waterways, and of course eventually planes. But the most interesting checkstop is the innovation of the bicycle. Once upon a time the world was paved with bike lanes, and this became a way for curious wanderlust to be satisfied. Another hugely interesting point was how places you wouldn't think would ever have been considered a hotspot and a trendy and booming travel destination once existed as a voice in the competition. There is a wonderful old map that is titled Tourist Map of Afghanistan, Land of Hospitality. Its a deeply charming map that sells itself on its own sense of character and appeal.

The book ends kind of where it begins, naturally back in Britain with the Lake District, this time on the other side of one of the most developed and lucrative industries now being a thing. Some things never change; travel is still defined by privilage and status on one side, the industry on the other, and a whole pile of different kinds of travellers that make up the middle. And yet the conversation I suppose is more clear and more defined, especially with the shape of global politics, the nature of digital globalization, including the digital nomad, the environmental crisis, and the endless array of questions that follow tourisms reshaping of over touristed spots.

And yet, a book like this can remind us of why travel matters too, both for giving shape to the world and for opening us up to it.