National Tourism Week – May 4-10

National Tourism Week – May 4–10 has its roots in a nationwide effort to shine a spotlight on the vital role that travel plays in the U.S. economy and our everyday lives. This celebratory week was officially established in 1983 when the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution recognizing travel’s importance and urging communities to observe what we now know as National Travel & Tourism Week (NTTW). The U.S. Travel Association then took the reins and has been leading the charge ever since.

But the spirit of tourism dates back long before National Tourism Week became a thing. Let’s rewind a bit further...

Tourism didn’t start with airplanes or passport stamps. The earliest known travelers were pilgrims venturing to sacred sites—such as ancient Buddhist locations around present-day Nepal—more than 2,000 years ago. These journeys were often spiritual and slow, but they planted the seed of what we now recognize as the travel culture.

Fast-forward to 17th-century Europe, and tourism began taking a more educational form. Wealthy young men of noble birth from Britain were encouraged to embark on long educational trips across Europe—a tradition that became known as The Grand Tour. Destinations included France, Germany, and especially Italy, where art, architecture, and history were central to these early “travel weeks.”

By the early 1900s, modern transportation made international tourism more accessible. Steamships and railways gave birth to organized travel, especially cruise lines offering elegant journeys to exotic locales. From the sun-drenched Caribbean to the icy fjords of Norway, cruising became an exciting way to explore the world.