Page 58 - Introduction to Tourism

that she could recommend. (An automobile

festival or a visit by the pope had filled major

hotels, and there was little choice.) Also, the local

bank was out of euros or zlotys or won, or

whatever the name of the destination country ’ s

currency.
So the couple has to exchange money before

getting a cab to that unpromising hotel and are
sure that the driver won ’ t speak English, will

spot them as greenhorns, and will drive them all
over — with the meter running on and on. Even

with these possible problems and irritations they

are excited and join multitudes that have gone

before them to enjoy the rewards of travel.

EARLY BEGINNINGS

The invention of money by the Sumerians

(Babylonians) and the development of trade

beginning about 4000 B.C.E. mark the beginning

of the modern era of travel. Not only were the

Sumerians the fi rst to grasp the idea of money

and use it in business transactions, but they were

also the first to invent cuneiform writing and the

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