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  – 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  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)  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