Ticketing and Reservation System

 Ticketing and Reservation System TRS, is software used for rail ticketing in China Railways. It was developed by the China Academy of Railway Sciences. The first release was in 1996. As of December 2009, the version in use was version 5.2. It was named SMART before excluding version 4.0. It runs on Microsoft Windows.

The TRS client is designed to be operated entirely using the keyboard for maximum efficiency.

Features

The TRS client can perform many operations related to the sale of China Railway tickets, including but not limited to:

Selling tickets by cash, by electronic payment methods such as Weixin Pay, Alipay and debit cards, or by points collected in the China Railway Loyalty Programme. After selecting the desired tickets, the cashier can enter the amount of cash given into the text box at the bottom of the screen or press Ctrl+4 to bring up the electronic payment screen to complete payment.

Changing tickets Chinese: ; pinyin: gǎi qiān.

Searching for available tickets and connecting trips.

Printing a Trip Information Reminders Chinese:  pinyin: Xíngchéng xìnxī tíshì slip for a trip.

Printing tickets/reimbursement slips for tickets purchased online. An order number may need to be provided, which is 10 characters long and starts with the letter E. Reimbursement slips cannot be printed for tickets bought using points. This function is referred to as contract ticket Chinese: ; pinyin: Hétóng zhì piào in the TRS client.

Printing reimbursement slips for change or cancel fees.

Tour operator

 A tour operator is a business that typically combines and organizes accommodations, meals, sightseeing and transportation components,[1] in order to create a package tour. They advertise and produce brochures to promote their products, holidays and itineraries. Tour operators can sell directly to the public or sell through travel agents or a combination of both.

The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline, plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Each tour operator may specialise in certain destinations, e.g. Italy, activities and experiences, e.g. skiing, or a combination thereof.

Operations

The original raison d'être of tour operating was the difficulty for ordinary folk of making arrangements in far-flung places, with problems of language, currency and communication. The advent of the Internet has led to a rapid increase in self-packaging of holidays. However, tour operators still have their competence in arranging tours for those who do not have time to do DIY holidays, and specialize in large group events and meetings such as conferences or seminars. Also, tour operators still exercise contracting power with suppliers airlines, hotels, other land arrangements, cruise companies and so on and influence over other entities (tourism boards and other government authorities in order to create packages and special group departures for destinations that might otherwise be difficult and expensive to visit.

Trade associations

The three major tour operator associations in the U.S. are the National Tour Association NTA, the United States Tour Operators Association USTOA, and the American Bus Association ABA. In Europe, there are the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), and in the UK, the ABTA – The Travel Association and the Association of Independent Tour Operators AITO. The primary association for receptive North American inbound tour operators is the International Inbound Travel Association.

Car rental

 A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches which allow a user to return a vehicle to a different location, and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.

Car rental agencies primarily serve people who require a temporary vehicle, for example, those who do not own their own car, travelers who are out of town, or owners of damaged or destroyed vehicles who are awaiting repair or insurance compensation. Car rental agencies may also serve the self-moving industry needs, by renting vans or trucks, and in certain markets, other types of vehicles such as motorcycles or scooters may also be offered.

Alongside the basic rental of a vehicle, car rental agencies typically also offer extra products such as insurance, global positioning system GPS navigation systems, entertainment systems, mobile phones, portable WiFi and child safety seats.

History

The earliest known example of cars being offered for rent dates back to 1906. The German company Sixt was established in 1912 under the name Sixt Autofahrten und Selbstfahrer Sixt Car Cruises and Self Drivers.

Joe Saunders of Omaha, Nebraska first started with only one borrowed Model T Ford in 1916, but by 1917, his Ford Livery Company was renting out 18 Model Ts at 10 cents per mile. The company name became Saunders Drive-It-Yourself System and then Saunders System. By 1926, Saunders had expanded to 56 cities. Saunders' company was bought by Avis in 1955.

An early competitor to Saunders was Walter L. Jacobs, whose Chicago-based Rent-a-Car opened in 1918 with twelve Ford Model T's. The company was bought in 1923 by John Hertz.

In Britain, car rental started with Godfrey Davis, established in 1920, and bought by Europcar in 1981.

The sector expanded rapidly in the US; in 1926, the American Driveurself Association assembled over 1200 delegates in Chicago.

The growth in travel after World War II led to the establishment of several well known international companies, including National Car Rental 1947, Europcar 1949, Enterprise Rent-A-Car 1957, Thrifty Rent A Car 1958, and Budget Rent a Car 1958.

Indian Railways

 Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a deparmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system.[a] As of 2024, it manages the fourth largest national railway system by size with a track length of 135,207 km (84,014 mi), running track length of 109,748 km 68,194 mi and route length of 69,181 km 42,987 mi. As of August 2024, 96.59% of the broad-gauge network is electrified. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is the world's ninth-largest employer and India's second largest employer.

In 1951, the Indian Railways was established by the amalgamation of 42 different railway companies operating in the country, spanning a total of 55,000 km 34,000 mi. The railway network across the country was reorganized into six regional zones in 1951–52 for administrative purposes, which was gradually expanded to 18 zones over the years.

The first steam operated railway operated in 1837 in Madras with the first passenger operating in 1853 between Bombay and Thane. In 1925, the first electric train ran in Bombay on DC traction. The first locomotive manufacturing unit was commissioned in 1950 at Chittaranjan with the first coach manufacturing unit set-up at Madras in 1955.

Indian Railways runs various classes of express, passengers and suburban trains. In 2023–4, it operated 13,198 trains on average daily covering 7,325 stations and carried 6.905 billion passengers. Indian Railways also operates different classes of rail freight transport. In 2023–4, it operated 11,724 freight trains on average daily and transported 1588.06 million tonnes of freight. Indian Railways operates multiple classes of rolling stock, manufactured by self-owned coach-production facilities. As of 31 March 2024, Indian Railways' rolling stock consisted of 327,991 freight wagons, 91,948 passenger coaches including multiple unit coaches and 10,675 electric, 4,397 diesel and 38 steam locomotives.

History

Main article: Rail transport in India & History

1832–1899

In 1832 the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made. In 1835, a railway track was constructed between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine imported from England and was used for ferrying granite.

Cruise ship

 Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as shore excursions.

Modern cruise ships tend to have less hull strength, speed, and agility compared to ocean liners. However, they have added amenities to cater to water tourists, with recent vessels being described as balcony-laden floating condominiums.

As of November 2022 there were 302 cruise ships operating worldwide, with a combined capacity of 664,602 passengers. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with an estimated market of 29.4 billion per year, and over 19 million passengers carried worldwide annually as of 2011. The industry's rapid growth saw nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw the entire industry all but shut down. The average age of a cruise ship in 2024 is 17.5 years. The construction market for cruise ships is dominated by three European companies and one Asian company.

Operators of cruise ships are known as cruise lines. Cruise ships are organized much like floating hotels, with a complete hospitality staff in addition to the usual ship's crew. Traditionally, the ships' restaurants organize two dinner services per day, early dining and late dining, and passengers are allocated a set dining time for the entire cruise; a recent trend is to allow diners to dine whenever they want. Besides the dining room, modern cruise ships often contain one or more casual buffet-style eateries. Most cruise ships sail the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. Others operate elsewhere in places like Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Baltic Sea.

A 2019 study found that the levels of emitted particulate matter recorded on board pose a potential health danger to passengers. Large cruise ships have been identified as one of the major causes of overtourism.

Public transport bus service

 While there are indications of experiments with public transport in Paris as early as 1662, there is evidence of a scheduled bus route from Market Street in Manchester to Pendleton in Salford UK, started by John Greenwood in 1824.

Another claim for the first public transport system for general use originated in Nantes, France, in 1826. Stanislas Baudry  a retired army officer who had built public baths using the surplus heat from his flour mill on the city's edge, set up a short route between the center of town and his baths. The service started on the Place du Commerce, outside the hat shop of a M. Omnès, who displayed the motto Omnès Omnibus Latin for everything for everybody or all for all on his shopfront. When Baudry discovered that passengers were just as interested in getting off at intermediate points as in patronizing his baths, he changed the route's focus. His new voiture omnibus carriage for all combined the functions of the hired hackney carriage with a stagecoach that travelled a predetermined route from inn to inn, carrying passengers and mail. His omnibus had wooden benches that ran down the sides of the vehicle passengers entered from the rear.

In 1828, Baudry went to Paris, where he founded a company under the name Entreprise générale des omnibus de Paris, while his son Edmond Baudry founded two similar companies in Bordeaux and in Lyon.

A London newspaper reported on July 4, 1829, that "the new vehicle, called the omnibus, commenced running this morning from Paddington to the City", operated by George Shillibeer.

The first omnibus service in New York began in 1829, when Abraham Brower, an entrepreneur who had organized volunteer fire companies, established a route along Broadway starting at Bowling Green. Other American cities soon followed suit: Philadelphia in 1831, Boston in 1835 and Baltimore in 1844. In most cases, the city governments granted a private company—generally a small stableman already in the livery or freight-hauling business—an exclusive franchise to operate public coaches along a specified route. In return, the company agreed to maintain certain minimum levels of service.

Airline ticket

 An airline ticket is a document or electronic record, issued by an airline or a travel agency, that confirms that an individual is entitled to a seat on a flight on an aircraft. The airline ticket may be one of two types a paper ticket, which comprises coupons or vouchers; and an electronic ticket commonly referred to as an e-ticket.

The ticket, in either form, is required to obtain a boarding pass during check-in at the airport. Then with the boarding pass and the attached ticket, the passenger is allowed to board the aircraft.

Details

Regardless of the type, tickets contain the following information

The passenger's name

The issuing airline

A ticket number, including the airline's three-digit code at the start of the number

The cities between which the ticket is valid for travel

Flight for which the ticket is valid unless the ticket is open

Baggage allowance. Not always visible on a printout but recorded electronically for the airline

Fare. Not always visible on a printout but recorded electronically for the airline

Taxes. Not always visible on a printout but recorded electronically for the airline

The Fare Basis, an alphabetic or alphanumeric code that identifies the fare

Restrictions on changes and refunds not always shown in detail, but referred to

Dates for which the ticket is valid

Form of payment, i.e. details of how the ticket was paid for, which will in turn affect how it would be refunded.

The exchange rate used to calculate any international parts of the fare and tax

A Fare Construction or Linear showing the breakdown of the total fare

Times on airline tickets are generally for the local time zone where the flight will be at that moment.

Online shopping

 Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.

An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a regular brick-and-mortal retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer B2C online shopping. When an online store is set up to enable businesses to buy from another businesses, the process is called business-to-business B2B online shopping. A typical online store enables the customer to browse the firm's range of products and services, view photos or images of the products, along with information about the product specifications, features and prices. Unlike physical stores which may close at night, online shopping portals are always available to customers.

Online stores usually enable shoppers to use search features to find specific models, brands or items. Online customers must have access to the Internet and a valid method of payment in order to complete a transaction, such as a credit card, an Interac-enabled debit card, or a service such as PayPal. For physical products e.g., paperback books or clothes, the e-tailer ships the products to the customer; for digital products, such as digital audio files of songs or software, the e-tailer usually sends the file to the customer over the Internet. The largest of these online retailing corporations are Alibaba, Amazon.com, and eBay.

Alternative names for the activity are e-commerce, a shortened form of electronic commerce or e-shopping, a shortened form of electronic shopping. An online store may also be called an e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. Mobile commerce or m-commerce describes purchasing from an online retailer's mobile device-optimized website or software application app. These websites or apps are designed to enable customers to browse through a companies' products and services on tablet computers and smartphones.

History

History of online shopping

One of the earliest forms of trade conducted online was IBM's online transaction processing OLTP developed in the 1960s, which allowed the processing of financial transactions in real-time. The computerized ticket reservation system developed for American Airlines called Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment SABRE was one of its applications. There, computer terminals located in different travel agencies were linked to a large IBM mainframe computer, which processed transactions simultaneously and coordinated them so that all travel agents had access to the same information at the same time. At some point between 1971 and 1972, students at Stanford and MIT used the internet precursor ARPANET to make a deal to exchange marijuana, but the interaction does not qualify as e-commerce because no money was transferred online.

Shopping

 Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of shopper types has been developed by scholars which identifies one group of shoppers as recreational shoppers, that is, those who enjoy shopping and view it as a leisure activity.

Online shopping has become a major disruptor in the retail industry as consumers can now search for product information and place product orders across different regions. Online retailers deliver their products directly to the consumers' home, offices, or wherever they want. The B2C (business to consumer) process has made it easy for consumers to select any product online from a retailer's website and to have it delivered relatively quickly. Using online shopping methods, consumers do not need to consume energy by physically visiting physical stores. This way they save time and the cost of traveling. A retailer or a shop is a business that presents a selection of goods and offers to trade or sell them to customers for money or other goods.

Shoppers' shopping experiences may vary. They are based on a variety of factors including how the customer is treated, convenience, the type of goods being purchased, and mood.

In antiquity, marketplaces and fairs were established to facilitate the exchange of goods and services. People would shop for goods at a regular market in nearby towns. However, the transient nature of stalls and stall-holders meant the consumers needed to make careful inspection of goods prior to purchase. In ancient Greece, the agora served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods.

Hotels.com

 Hotels.com was established in 1991 by David Litman and Robert Diener as the Hotel Reservations Network HRN, providing hotel booking via a toll-free phone number in the United States. In 2001, the company was acquired by USA Networks Inc USAI which also acquired a controlling interest in Expedia, an online travel booking company

After buying the domain name for approximately US$11 million, HRN changed its name in 2002 to Hotels.com and launched the offline brand 1-800-2-Hotels as well as allowing hotel bookings on line. There followed a period of rapid international expansion with 29 sites added over the next two years. In 2003, USAI was renamed InterActiveCorp IAC. In 2005 IAC separated its travel business under the name Expedia Inc. Hotels.com then became an operating company of Expedia Inc.

In 2011, the site launched an iPad application and updated its mobile phone product on iPhone and Android.

On December 1, 2016, Hotels.com took over Venere.com another Expedia owned company.

U.S. disability rights infringement

In May 2007, Hotels.com was subject to a class action complaint (Smith v. Hotels.com L.P., California Superior Court, Alameda County, Case No. RG07327029) brought against them for ongoing discrimination against persons with mobility disabilities who desire to, but cannot, use Hotels.com’s worldwide reservation network to make reservations for hotel rooms.

Resort hotel

 A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay. These hotels may be referred to as major conference center hotels, flagship hotels, destination hotels, and destination resorts. The market for conference and resort hotels is a subject for market analysis.

These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing. They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations.

History

Since the 1800s, the traditional concept full-service conference and resort hotels have been based upon a venue which is typically remote and has a natural feature as its attraction. For example, the Kviknes Hotel in Norway is a difficult to reach remote location which provides visitors access to the scenic fjord at Balestrand or The Brando Resort on Tetiaroa which is only accessible by a private plane from Tahiti. Historically there were certain built-in amenities such as gourmet cuisine, music recitals, and shoreline trails however, the amenities of modern post-1980 destination hotels dwarf the scale of these earlier models. Many of the Las Vegas and Caribbean resort hotels have complete shopping malls, conference centers and large entertainment halls on site; thus, the contemporary version of a destination often features large on-site capital investment in activities, although the access to a local natural feature is still retained by many newer destination hotels.

A mega-resort is a type of destination which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuring large-scale attractions casino, golf course, theme park, multiple accommodations. The hotels along the Las Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as mega-resorts owing to their immense size and complexity. Kirk Kerkorian is credited for building the first mega-resort in 1969 earning him the nickname father of the mega-resort.

Two projects in Las Vegas in 1969 and 1973 by architect Martin Stern, Jr. and entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian, the International Hotel and the MGM Grand, set the standard for such casino resorts. The Mirage gave its size and emphasis on non-gaming entertainment options like shopping and fine dining to draw in customers. Mega-resorts use the same fantastic or mythical theme medieval life at Excalibur, tropical at The Mirage, famous cities, etc. throughout their properties.

Many mega-resorts have a large theme park as its centerpiece. Resorts such as the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts feature multiple hotels, multiple theme parks, a shopping complex, and other features. Other mega-resorts exist with no specific centerpiece, having many features that are considered prominent, such as Atlantis Paradise Island and its upcoming sister park in Dubai.

Booking.com

 History

See also: Booking Holdings § Finances

In 1996, Geert-Jan Bruinsma, a student at Universiteit Twente, founded Bookings.n. In 2000, Booking.com was formed when Bookings.nl merged with Bookings Online, founded by Sicco and Alec Behrens, Marijn Muyser, and Bas Lemmens, which operated as Bookings.org. The name and URL were changed to Booking.com, and Stef Noorden was appointed as its CEO. In July 2005, the company was acquired by Priceline Group now called Booking Holdings for 133 million, and was merged with ActiveHotels.com, a European online hotel reservation company, purchased by Priceline Group for 161 million in September 2004.

In 2006, Active Hotels Limited changed its name to Booking.com Limited. The integrations of Booking.com and Active Hotels helped its parent company improve its financial position from a loss of $19 million in 2002 to 1.1 billion in profit in 2011. The acquisition of Booking.com was praised by some social media as

the best acquisition in Internet history since no other acquisition in the digital travel market had been shown to be as profitable. Between 2010 and 2012, the company launched mobile apps for the iPad, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, Windows 8, and Kindle Fire. Since January 2013, many advertisements have dubbed booking.com as booking.yeah.

In 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States decided within the Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V. case that the term Booking.com, via the suffix .com, had created an identity that could be differentiated from the generic verb and hence could be trademarked. In the summer of 2023, Booking.com announced the start of testing an artificial intelligence-based travel planner. AI Trip Planner is based on ChatGPT technology. It is intended to help choose a direction, plan a route, or answer specific questions. Initially, the service will be available to a limited number of users in the United States. In November 2023, Booking.com launched the ability to make cruise reservations in the United States, in partnership with World Travel Holdings.

Management history

Darren Huston was appointed chief executive officer of Booking.com in September 2011 and also served as president and chief executive officer of Booking Holdings from 1 January 2014, until his resignation on 28 April 2016 after his extramarital affair with another employee was revealed. Gillian Tans was then appointed CEO. Tans resigned in 2019, after which Glenn Fogel became CEO.

Holiday

 A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. Public holidays are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays, such as Christmas, have become secularised by part or all of those who observe them. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.

Holidays can be thematic, celebrating or commemorating particular groups, events, or ideas, or non-thematic, days of rest that do not have any particular meaning. In Commonwealth English, the term can refer to any period of rest from work, such as vacations or school holidays. In American English, the holidays typically refers to the period from Thanksgiving to New Year's late November to January 1, which contains many important holidays in American culture.

Terminology

The word holiday comes from the Old English word hāligdæg hālig holy dæg day. The word originally referred only to special religious days.

The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. In the United States, the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously, or culturally observed days of rest or celebration or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one's duties has been agreed upon and is used as a synonym for the US preferred vacation. This time is usually set aside for rest, travel, or participation in recreational activities, with entire industries targeted to coincide with or enhance these experiences. The days of leave may not coincide with any specific customs or laws. Employers and educational institutes may designate 'holidays' themselves, which may or may not overlap nationally or culturally relevant dates, which again comes under this connotation, but it is the first implication detailed that this article is concerned with. Modern use varies geographically. In North America, it means any dedicated day or period of celebration. In the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, holiday is often used instead of the word vacation.

Train

 A train from Old French trahiner, from Latin trahere, to pull, to draw is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units or railcars. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons or carriages. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other forms of transport. Many countries use rail transport.

Trains have their roots in wagonways, which used railway tracks and were powered by horses or pulled by cables. Following the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom in 1802, trains rapidly spread around the world, allowing freight and passengers to move over land faster and cheaper than ever possible before. Rapid transit and trams were first built in the late 1800s to transport large numbers of people in and around cities. Beginning in the 1920s, and accelerating following World War II, diesel and electric locomotives replaced steam as the means of motive power. Following the development of cars, trucks, and extensive networks of highways which offered greater mobility, as well as faster airplanes, trains declined in importance and market share, and many rail lines were abandoned. The spread of buses led to the closure of many rapid transit and tram systems during this time as well.

Since the 1970s, governments, environmentalists, and train advocates have promoted increased use of trains due to their greater fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to other modes of land transport. High-speed rail, first built in the 1960s, has proven competitive with cars and planes over short to medium distances. Commuter rail has grown in importance since the 1970s as an alternative to congested highways and a means to promote development, as has light rail in the 21st century. Freight trains remain important for the transport of bulk commodities such as coal and grain, as well as being a means of reducing road traffic congestion by freight trucks.

While conventional trains operate on relatively flat tracks with two rails, a number of specialized trains exist which are significantly different in their mode of operation. Monorails operate on a single rail, while funiculars and rack railways are uniquely designed to traverse steep slopes. Experimental trains such as high speed maglevs, which use magnetic levitation to float above a guideway, are under development since the 1970s and offer higher speeds than even the fastest conventional trains. Trains which use alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen are a 21st-century development.

Bus

 A bus contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc. is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for charter purposes, or through private ownership. Although the average bus carries between 30 and 100 passengers, some buses have a capacity of up to 300 passengers. The most common type is the single-deck rigid bus, with double-decker and articulated buses carrying larger loads, and midibuses and minibuses carrying smaller loads. Coaches are used for longer-distance services. Many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus, are free. In many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special large vehicle licence above and beyond a regular driving license.

Buses may be used for scheduled bus transport, scheduled coach transport, school transport, private hire, or tourism; promotional buses may be used for political campaigns and others are privately operated for a wide range of purposes, including rock and pop band tour vehicles.

Horse-drawn buses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, and electric trolleybuses in 1882. The first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, and electric buses, as well as buses powered by compressed natural gas or biodiesel. As of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world.

Cruise ship

 Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as shore excursions.

Modern cruise ships tend to have less hull strength, speed, and agility compared to ocean liners. However, they have added amenities to cater to water tourists, with recent vessels being described as balcony-laden floating condominiums.

As of November 2022 there were 302 cruise ships operating worldwide, with a combined capacity of 664,602 passengers. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with an estimated market of 29.4 billion per year, and over 19 million passengers carried worldwide annually as of 2011. The industry's rapid growth saw nine or more newly built ships catering to a North American clientele added every year since 2001, as well as others servicing European clientele until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw the entire industry all but shut down. The average age of a cruise ship in 2024 is 17.5 years. The construction market for cruise ships is dominated by three European companies and one Asian company.

Operators of cruise ships are known as cruise lines. Cruise ships are organized much like floating hotels, with a complete hospitality staff in addition to the usual ship's crew. Traditionally, the ships restaurants organize two dinner services per day, early dining and late dining, and passengers are allocated a set dining time for the entire cruise; a recent trend is to allow diners to dine whenever they want. Besides the dining room, modern cruise ships often contain one or more casual buffet-style eateries. Most cruise ships sail the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. Others operate elsewhere in places like Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Baltic Sea.

A 2019 study found that the levels of emitted particulate matter recorded on board pose a potential health danger to passengers. Large cruise ships have been identified as one of the major causes of overtourism.

Air travel

 Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

Use of air travel began vastly increasing in the 1930s: the number of Americans flying went from about 6,000 in 1930 to 450,000 by 1934 and to 1.2 million by 1938. It has continued to greatly increase in recent decades, doubling worldwide between the mid-1980s and the year 2000. Modern air travel is much safer than road travel.

Domestic and international flights

Air travel are separated into two general classifications: national/domestic and international flights. Flights from one point to another within the same country are domestic flights. Flights from a point in one country to a point within a different country are international flights. Travelers can use domestic or international flights in either private or public travel.

Commercial air travel

Travel class on an airplane is usually split into a two, three or four class model service. U.S. domestic flights usually have two classes: economy class and a domestic first class partitioned into cabins. International flights may have up to four classes: economy class; premium economy; business class or club class; and first class.

Most air travel starts and ends at a commercial airport. The typical procedure is check-in; border control; airport security baggage and passenger check before entering the gate; boarding; flying; and pick-up of luggage and  limited to international flights – another border control at the host country's border. Most passengers must go through these steps when flying with a commercial airline. 

For longer journeys, air travel may consist of several flights with a layover in between. The number of layovers often depends on the number of hub airports the journey is routed through.

Tourism

 

Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only, as people travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes. Tourism can be domestic within the traveller's own country or international. International tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.

Between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009 tourism numbers declined as a result of a strong economic slowdown see Great Recession, and in consequence of the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.[3][4] These numbers, however, recovered until the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the growth.citation needed The United Nations World Tourism Organization has estimated that global international tourist arrivals might have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US$0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.

Globally, international tourism receipts the travel item in the balance of payments grew to US$1.03 trillion €740 billion in 2005, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8% from 2010. International tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone of 1 billion tourists globally for the first time in 2012. Emerging source markets such as China, Russia, and Brazil had significantly increased their spending over the previous decade.

Global tourism accounts for c. 8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Emissions as well as other significant environmental and social impacts are not always beneficial to local communities and their economies. For this reason, many tourist development organizations have begun to focus on sustainable tourism to mitigate the negative effects caused by the growing impact of tourism. The United Nations World Tourism Organization emphasized these practices by promoting tourism as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, through programs such as the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017.

Tourism has reached new dimensions with the emerging industry of space tourism, as well as the cruise ship industry.

Travel

Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile train boat bus airplane ship or other means with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip.Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements, as in the case of tourism.

The origin of the word travel is most likely lost to history. The term travel may originate from the Old French word travail, which means work.According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the first known use of the word travel was in the 14th century. It also states that the word comes from Middle English travailen, travelen which means to torment, labor, strive, journey) and earlier from Old French travailler which means to work strenuously, toil. In English we still occasionally use the words travail, which means struggle. According to Simon Winchester in his book The Best Travelers Tales 2004, the words travel and travail both share an even more ancient root: a Roman instrument of torture called the tripalium in Latin it means three stakes, as in to impale). This link may reflect the extreme difficulty of travel in ancient times. Travel in modern times may or may not be much easier depending upon the destination. Travel to Mount Everest, the Amazon rainforest, extreme tourism, and adventure travel are more difficult forms of travel. Travel can also be more difficult depending on the method of travel, such as by bus, cruise ship, or even by bullock cart.