The Evolution of Travel Planning: From Agencies to Digital Solutions
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Record number of early votes cast in Georgia. Tom Brady becomes part owner of Raiders. Why America’s drug stores are closing.
Cultural baggage: By the 1980s, wheeled suitcases were common, but unlike today’s luggage they were trundled on four wheels with a little handle at the front. As for your many sombreros, you had to carry them how you could.
Travelers Seeking Direction
‘Où est la gare?’: Back in 1981, travelers like these boys in Paris had to consult a metro map to figure out how to get around.A main street staple: Lunn Poly was once the UK’s biggest travel agency, before it was taken over in the mid-’00s. Here’s a branch on Regent Street — a prime London shopping district — in 1967.
Phone boxes: There was a time when phone boxes were more than just public urinals. Here’s one in Budapest in 1991.Go west: Cyclists huddle as they work out their directions in County Clare in the west of Ireland.
Reflecting on the Past
Before smartphones: A woman pauses to check her wrist watch while riding through Beijing in 1981.Brochures of dreams: Before the internet, we’d gather up brochures at an agency — like this Flight Centre one in Sydney in 2004 — and go home to browse and imagine foreign lands.Pre-digital cameras: Back in the days of film cameras, you took one photo and just had to hope no one’s eyes were closed.‘And here’s Marjorie at Notre Dame…’ Sure, scrolling through people’s vacation posts on Instagram is dull, but it’s better than having to sit through a slide show at someone’s house.
