1.9 The Age of Air Travel
Whereas the United States experienced domestic bombings against its nation’s minorities, Europe and Japan were ravaged by World War II. Rather than turning to rebuild and heal the country and its infrastructure as Europe and Japan were required to do, the United States turned wartime industry and technology into wealth for the masses. As Europe began to rebuild its cities devastated by aerial bombs and military incursions, it looked toward the United States as a model for how to develop its tourist industry. The United States not only modeled a lively tourist industry, but it also provided millions of dollars via the European Recovery Program, or Marshall Plan. Although the majority of American dollars went into rebuilding European agriculture and industry, which had been decimated by war, a great deal was funneled into tourism. As Zuelow (2016) explains,
whereas agriculture assured that people were fed and industrial expansion promised ample growth and a chance to close the dollar gap, tourism offered jobs, larger markets, improved infrastructure, an influx of currency, and even an opportunity for Americans to gain cultural capital by visiting the old country. (p. 151)
In 1946, Europe galvanized considerable energy into forming the International Union of Official Travel Organization (IUOTO), which hosted its first meeting in London, drawing representatives from 41 countries. Soon the European Travel Commission (ETC) was founded and joined forces with the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) to facilitate travel across borders and to build the hotels and additional infrastructure needed to support a rapid expansion of the tourist industry. In order to draw American tourists—who were flush with cash and also notoriously particular about comfort, food, and lodging—experts from throughout Europe traveled the United States to study its hotels and other components of its tourist industry. They returned home to implement significant changes to suit American tourists. They did so, however, while adhering to their own national style and aesthetic. For a few years, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland launched a joint marketing campaign to lure tourists from the United States. Their success was so pronounced that Asia, South America, and Central America followed suit. The focus on promoting international tourism paired with the rapid technological advances in aviation achieved during World War II, launched the global tourist industry as we know it today.
