Travel - movement through any territory or water area for the
purpose of studying them, as well as for general educational,
educational, sports and other purposes.
Until the 19th
century, travel was one of the main sources of obtaining information
about certain countries (their nature, population, history,
economy), the general nature and shape of the Earth's surface.
From ancient times, descriptions of the travels of Herodotus,
the scientists who accompanied Alexander the Great in his campaigns,
have been preserved. A classic example of the journey of the Middle
Ages is the wanderings of Marco Polo and Athanasius Nikitin. Travel
for religious purposes (to worship shrines, visit holy places) in
the Middle Ages was called "pilgrimage"; Russian pilgrims,
including, for example, Abbot Daniel, left travel notes about their
travels, which were called walks. The era of great geographical
discoveries is characterized by many travels that radically changed
the idea of the planet.
Later, the travels of D. Livingston
and G. Stanley, N. M. Przhevalsky and others were of great
importance for expanding knowledge about the Earth; however,
Przhevalsky already called his travels scientific reconnaissance,
since they could only satisfy the needs of a primary and general
acquaintance with the characteristics of a particular territory.
Therefore, already in the 18th-19th centuries, with the deepening of
research, the concretization and specialization of scientific goals
and tasks, travel began to acquire the character of scientific
expeditions.
Fancy travel
Minimalistic travel
Backpacking
Traveling over long distances
is consubstantial with homo sapiens, since the latter will gradually
colonize the entire globe. On the other hand, these movements are
accentuated in the Neolithic period, most often motivated by practical
reasons (family and social life, trade, exploration, wars...). By way of
example of conquests and/or exploration, we can mention the conquests of
Alexander the Great, those of Darius, the colonization of the
Mediterranean by the Greeks and the Phoenicians, the development of the
Roman conquests, the expansion Egyptian, Chinese or Muslim empires or,
closer to us, the Great Discoveries. So many expeditions that often took
strong men far from home. Trade and pilgrimages are also important and
frequent reasons for travel, of which there are many traces from
Antiquity.
Travel is linked to material conditions that will
develop over time. Transport, housing, orientation are all elements that
had to be invented and then developed, so that people can move around
easily. First of all, alongside walking, the first mode of locomotion,
different means of transport will develop, which will make travel
easier: the domestication of the horse, and the invention of the wheel,
which will allow the creation of cars (in the sense of "platform, open
or closed box mounted on wheels, pulled by animal power, which is used
to transport people, objects."); the boat which allows river and
maritime navigation, but also the construction and maintenance of roads
(for example the important network of Roman roads), bridges making it
possible to cross natural obstacles. But the traveler must also be able
to eat and shelter during his journey, which is gradually being made
possible by hotel and inn networks. In the Middle East, this need was
partly satisfied by the networks of caravanserais which offered shelter
and protection to the caravans. During Antiquity, the lack of inns was
made up for by networks of acquaintances abroad who could accommodate
travellers. This was often the case in the Roman Empire, for example, to
the point of even curbing the expansion of inns. Finally, traveling
supposes to represent the territory on which one moves; from this need
(among other reasons) cartography was born. It will however be necessary
to wait for the medieval portolans then the maritime maps of the
Renaissance so that the map becomes a real and effective aid for the
traveller.
These material conditions often made
travel painful, difficult and dangerous. However, travel for pleasure is
a very old activity that is not limited to Europe, even if its
beginnings in Europe are commonly traced back to the 17th century.
Indeed, from the seventeenth century, a journey called "Grand Tour"
develops in England as well as in other European countries. Practiced by
young nobles, it is a form of travel less directly linked to necessity
and more and more motivated by the pleasure of traveling and discovering
other places. In the 19th century, the development of transport and
communication routes had their roots in history and in the myths
maintained by literature (Marco Polo, Jules Verne, Robinson Crusoe,
Christopher Columbus, etc.) while including motivations stemming from
social imitation or commercial promotion of travel and vacation. This
literature of adventure developed strongly in the nineteenth century.
However, at the same time as the world "shrinks" under the effect of
the speed of transport, its identification in different forms
(cartography, images, information, etc.) increases, leaving less room
for the traveler's surprise. . Marc Augé thus speaks of the impossible
journey, “the one that we will never do again, the one that could have
made us discover new landscapes and other men”.
Energy and
environmental aspects
The extension of fast and motorized travel
poses new problems of consumption of space and energy resources, as well
as of "so-called responsible tourism" as well as that of climate change,
transport being one of the main causes of gas emissions. greenhouse
effects and moreover constantly increasing.
Travel sometimes comes up against the administration, some countries
such as the GDR or the Soviet Union prevented certain citizens from
leaving, other countries limiting the entry of foreign travelers, in
both cases, in order to avoid migratory phenomena .
In some
cases, this results in the need for specific documents to be drawn up by
the administrative services concerned, such as an updated identity card
or a passport to cross the border.
In many countries, for
"undocumented" and other travelers deemed illegal, escorts to the border
or to the country of origin, and detention areas exist.
Insurance of persons traveling abroad is a type of insurance aimed at
providing insurance protection to persons who are outside their
permanent residence.
It is a comprehensive type of insurance,
including elements of personal, property and liability insurance. In
addition to insurance for medical expenses abroad, this type of
insurance may include accident insurance, luggage insurance, travel
cancellation insurance (including insurance for non-issuance of a visa),
civil liability insurance, insurance for loss of documents, legal
services and roadside assistance (technical and legal assistance), in
the country of temporary residence and some others.
In a number
of countries, the presence of such an insurance policy is a prerequisite
for the entry of foreign citizens into their territory. Some countries
require mandatory coverage of certain risks, such as COVID-19
coronavirus (in 2020, Ukraine, Thailand, UAE, etc.), civil liability,
etc., in the insurance contract.