Tourism mobilities in the Philippines: a historiographical analysis of travel and tourism activities from pre-1950s

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tourism played a significant role in Philippine socio-economic development. However, scholarly interest on the history of tourism in the country is not pervasive, considering the scant literature focusing only on the evolution and development of Philippine tourism in the 1950s. The limited knowledge on tourism history in the country failed to recognise the existence of travel and tourism activities through prevalent movements during precolonial and colonial Philippines as documented by historiographic literature. Given this academic gap, this paper explores and discusses the history of Philippine tourism using historiographical analysis under the theoretical guidance of tourism mobilities. Findings reveal compelling evidence on the earliest forms of travel and tourism activities through movements related to trade and business during the precolonial period (800–1565); migration, leisure, recreation, and education during the Spanish colonial period (1565–1898); and tourism-oriented infrastructures during the American colonial period (1898–1946). Significantly, this study provides novelty by pioneering the discussion on Philippine tourism history pre-1950s and thus arguing that even though no tourism organisation existed during the precolonial and colonial eras, the movement of individuals along with tangible and intangible materials around them enabled travel and tourism to exist through the concept of mobility.