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98-648: Aspland Island is a small island 7.4 km (4 nmi) west of Gibbs Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica . The name dates back to at least 1821. Moonlight Point ( 61°27′S 55°56′W  /  61.450°S 55.933°W  / -61.450; -55.933 ) is the northwest point of Aspland Island. It was so named by a Joint Services Expedition to the Elephant Island Group (JSEEIG) party canoeing from O'Brien Island to Aspland Island on January 3, 1977, because

196-451: A "commuting" distance to an island that has enough resources to be sustainable. The presence of an island is marked by seabirds , differences in cloud and weather patterns, as well as changes in the direction of waves. It is also possible for human populations to have gone extinct on islands, evidenced by explorers finding islands that show evidence of habitation but no life. Not all islands were or are inhabited by maritime cultures. In

294-514: A "rafting event". This phenomenon is known as oceanic dispersal . Tropical storms have the capacity to transport species over great distances. Animals like tortoises can live for weeks without food or water, and are able to survive floating on debris in the sea. One case study showed that in 1995, fifteen iguanas survived a 300 km journey to Anguilla in the Caribbean , an island which no iguana had lived on previously. They survived floating on

392-576: A 1430 trip through the Jura Mountains . In China, 'travel record literature' ( 遊記文學 ; yóujì wénxué ) became popular during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Travel writers such as Fan Chengda (1126–1193) and Xu Xiake (1587–1641) incorporated a wealth of geographical and topographical information into their writing, while the 'daytrip essay' Record of Stone Bell Mountain by the noted poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101) presented

490-469: A company that offered affordable day trip excursions to the masses , in addition to longer holidays to Continental Europe, India, Asia and the Western Hemisphere which attracted wealthier customers. By the 1890s over 20,000 tourists per year used Thomas Cook & Son . The relationship between tourism companies, transportation operators and hotels is a central feature of mass tourism. Cook

588-693: A country's current or former form of government can be decisive for tourism. For example, the fascination of the British royal family brings millions of tourists to Great Britain every year and thus the economy around £550 million a year. The Habsburg family can be mentioned in Central Europe. According to estimates, the Habsburg brand should generate tourism sales of 60 million euros per year for Vienna alone. The tourist principle "Habsburg sells" applies. Cultural and natural heritage are in many cases

686-426: A detailed review of 1,288 islands found that they were home to 1,189 highly-threatened vertebrate species, which was 41 percent of the global figure. Coral bleaching is expected to occur with more frequency, threatening marine ecosystems, some of which island economies are dependent on. Some islands that are low-lying may cease to exist given high enough amounts of sea level rise. Tuvalu received media attention for

784-614: A few meters high, and are usually temporary. Changes in the flow speed, water level, and sediment content of the river may effect the rate of fluvial island formation and depletion. Permanent river islands also exist, the largest of which (that is completely inland) is Bananal Island in the Tocantins of Brazil, which has a maximum width of 55 kilometers. Lakes form for a variety of reasons, including glaciers , plate tectonics, and volcanism. Lake islands can form as part of these processes. The field of insular biogeography studies

882-402: A higher carrying capacity also have more genetic diversity , which promotes speciation . Oceanic islands, ones that have never been connected to shore, are only populated by life that can cross the sea. This means that any animals present on the island had to have flown there, in the case of birds or bats , were carried by such animals, or were carried in a sea current in what is known as

980-643: A journey across Europe, as was in custom among Polish nobility. He travelled through territories of today's Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, where he admired the siege of Breda by Spanish forces, France, Switzerland to Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic . It was an educational journey and one of the outcomes was introduction of Italian opera in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The custom flourished from about 1660 until

1078-439: A large audience of tourists and many may not know they are participating in this form of tourism. This type of tourism has a low barrier to entry and is accessible to a large population. Ecotourism focuses on education, maintaining a social responsibility for the community and the environment, as well as centering economic growth around the local economy. Weaver describes ecotourism as sustainable nature-based tourism. Ecotourism

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1176-477: A loss of almost all the infrastructure in Dominica. Sea level rise and other climate changes can reduce freshwater reserves, resulting in droughts . These risks are expected to decrease the habitability of islands, especially small ones. Beyond risks to human life, plant and animal life are threatened. It has been estimated that almost 50 percent of land species threatened by extinction live on islands. In 2017,

1274-403: A mass of uprooted trees from a storm. Plant species are thought to be able to travel great distances of ocean. New Zealand and Australia share 200 native plant species, despite being separated by 1500 km. Continental islands, islands that were at one point connected to a continent, are expected to share a common history of plant and animal life up until the point that the island broke away from

1372-837: A minimum. Some islands became host to humans due to a land bridge or a continental island splitting from the mainland. Today, up to 10% of the world's population lives on islands. Islands are popular targets for tourism due to their perceived natural beauty, isolation, and unique cultures. Islands became the target of colonization by Europeans, resulting in the majority of islands in the Pacific being put under European control. Decolonization has resulted in some but not all island nations becoming self-governing , with lasting effects related to industrialisation , invasive species , nuclear weapons testing , and tourism . Islands and island countries are threatened by climate change . Sea level rise threatens to submerge nations such as Maldives ,

1470-743: A minority. Cultural attitudes related to communal ownership of land as well as a lack of individualistic decision-making may make some island cultures less compatible with the global capitalist economy, causing these nations to experience less economic growth. Islands have long been a popular target for tourism , thanks to their unique climates, cultures, and natural beauty. However, islands may suffer from poor transportation connectivity from airplanes and boats and strains on infrastructure from tourist activity. Islands in colder climates often rely on seasonal tourists seeking to enjoy nature or local cultures, and may only be one aspect of an island's economy. In contrast, tourism on tropical islands can often make up

1568-613: A permanent caisson , a steel or concrete structure built in a closed loop and then filled with sand. Some modern islands have been constructed by pouring millions of tons of sand into the sea, such as with Pearl Island in Qatar or the Palm Islands in Dubai. These islands are usually created for real estate development , and are sold for private ownership or construction of housing. Offshore oil platforms have also been described as

1666-549: A person's local area for leisure was largely confined to wealthy classes, who at times travelled to distant parts of the world, to see great buildings and works of art, learn new languages , experience new cultures, enjoy pristine nature and to taste different cuisines . As early as Shulgi , however, kings praised themselves for protecting roads and building way stations for travellers. Travelling for pleasure can be seen in Egypt as early on as 1500 BC. Ancient Roman tourists during

1764-524: A phenomenon where new oceanic crust is formed, pushing away older crust. Islands sitting on the continental shelf may be called continental islands. Other islands, like those that make up New Zealand , are what remains of continents that shrank and sunk beneath the sea. It was estimated that Zealandia , the continent-like area of crust that New Zealand sits on, has had 93% of its original surface area submerged. Some islands are formed when coral reefs grow on volcanic islands that have submerged beneath

1862-498: A philosophical and moral argument as its central purpose. Modern tourism can be traced to what was known as the Grand Tour , which was a traditional trip around Europe (especially Germany and Italy ), undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means, mainly from Western and Northern European countries. In 1624, the young Prince of Poland , Ladislaus Sigismund Vasa , the eldest son of Sigismund III , embarked on

1960-674: A popular form of water tourism . Leisure cruise ships were introduced by the P&;O in 1844, sailing from Southampton to destinations such as Gibraltar , Malta and Athens . In 1891, German businessman Albert Ballin sailed the ship Augusta Victoria from Hamburg into the Mediterranean Sea. 29 June 1900 saw the launching of the first purpose-built cruise ship was Prinzessin Victoria Luise , built in Hamburg for

2058-767: A popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes". The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time. In 2010, international tourism reached US$ 919B, growing 6.5% over 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7%. In 2010, there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals worldwide. By 2016 that number had risen to 1,235 million, producing 1,220 billion USD in destination spending. The COVID-19 crisis had significant negative effects on international tourism significantly slowing

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2156-423: A press conference publicizing the ongoing submerging of the island country. Tuvalu signed a cooperation agreement with Australia agreeing to annually allow 280 of its citizens to become permanent residents of Australia. The Marshall Islands, a country of 1,156 islands, have also been identified as a country that may be existentially threatened by rising seas. Increasing intensity of tropical storms also increases

2254-483: A priority target of conservation efforts, to prevent the extinction of these species. Despite high levels of endemism, the total species richness , the total number of unique species in a region, is lower on islands than on mainlands. The level of species richness on islands is proportional to the area of that island, a phenomenon known as the species-area relationship . This is because larger areas have more resources and thus can support more organisms. Populations with

2352-460: A rally in Loughborough , eleven miles (18 km) away. On 5 July 1841, Thomas Cook arranged for the rail company to charge one shilling per person; this included rail tickets and food for the journey. Cook was paid a share of the fares charged to the passengers, as the railway tickets, being legal contracts between company and passenger, could not have been issued at his own price. This was

2450-411: A restricted set of natural resources. However, these nations control some of the largest fisheries in the world, deposits of copper , gold , and nickel , as well as oil deposits . The natural beauty of island nations also makes them a magnet for tourism . Islands also have geopolitical value for naval bases , weapons testing , and general territorial control. One such example is French Polynesia ,

2548-476: A selection pressure for smaller animals that require less food. Having fewer predators would mean these animals did not need not be large to survive. Charles Darwin formulated the theory of natural selection through the study of island ecology. The species he observed on the Galápagos Islands , including tanager birds, contributed to his understanding of how evolution works. He first traveled to

2646-656: A shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited. By contrast, traveller is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the cultural values underpinning these distinctions and their implications for class relations. There are many varieties of tourism. Of those types, there are multiple forms of outdoor-oriented tourism. Outdoor tourism is generally categorized into nature, eco, and adventure tourism (NEAT). These categories share many similarities but also have specific unique characteristics. Nature tourism generally encompasses tourism activities that would take place outside. Nature tourism appeals to

2744-442: A specific center of interest which represents the core of the destination marketing mix and creates an overall visitor experience including emotional aspects for the potential customers. A tourism product is priced and sold through distribution channels and it has a life-cycle". Tourism product covers a wide variety of services including: International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism

2842-509: A specific property known as adaptive radiation . In this process, a species that arrives on a group of islands rapidly becomes more diverse over time, splitting off into new species or subspecies. A species that reaches an island ecosystem may face little competition for resources, or may find that the resources that they found in their previous habitat are not available. These factors together result in individual evolutionary branches with different means of survival. The classical example of this

2940-470: A sustainable economy . Tourism has reached new dimensions with the emerging industry of space tourism , as well as the cruise ship industry. The English-language word tourist was used in 1772 and tourism in 1811. These words derive from the word tour , which comes from Old English turian , from Old French torner , from Latin tornare - "to turn on a lathe", which is itself from Ancient Greek tornos ( τόρνος ) - "lathe". In 1936,

3038-414: A territory that receives substantial military expenditure and aid from France. Since the first discoveries of Polynesian, Micronesian , and other islands by Westerners, these nations have been the subject of colonization. Islands were the target of Christian missionaries . These missionaries faced resistance, but found success when some local chiefs used European support to centralize power. Beginning in

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3136-519: A tree that is present in Australia, New Zealand, parts of South American, and New Guinea, places that today are geographically distant. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that these landmasses were once all part of the continent Gondwana and separated by tectonic drift. However, there are competing theories that suggest this species may have reached faraway places by way of oceanic dispersal. Species that colonize island archipelagos exhibit

3234-616: A type of island. Some atolls have been covered in concrete to create artificial islands for military purposes, such as those created by China in the South China Sea . These atolls were previously low-tide elevations, landmasses that are only above water during low tide . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea indicates that these islands may not have the same legal status as a naturally occurring island, and as such may not confer

3332-515: Is Darwin's finches , a group of up to fifteen tanager species that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These birds evolved different beaks in order to eat different kinds of food available on the islands. The large ground finch has a large bill used to crack seeds and eat fruit. The Genovesa cactus finch prefers cacti as a food source, and has a beak adapted for removing pulp and flowers from cacti. The green warbler-finch (in

3430-824: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics , and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent. Oceanic islands can be formed from volcanic activity, grow into atolls from coral reefs , and form from sediment along shorelines, creating barrier islands . River islands can also form from sediment and debris in rivers. Artificial islands are those made by humans, including small rocky outcroppings built out of lagoons and large-scale land reclamation projects used for development. Islands are host to diverse plant and animal life. Oceanic islands have

3528-598: Is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue , and more distantly related to Latin aqua (water). The spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century because of a false etymology caused by an association with the Old French loanword isle , which itself comes from the Latin word insula . Islands often are found in archipelagos or island chains, which are collections of islands. These chains are thought to form from volcanic hotspots , areas of

3626-541: Is important to understand that these definitions may vary. Perceived risk in adventure tourism is subjective and may change for each individual. Examples of these tourism types. Nature tourism Ecotourism Adventure tourism According to the World Tourism Organization, a tourism product is: "a combination of tangible and intangible elements, such as natural, cultural, and man-made resources, attractions, facilities, services and activities around

3724-493: Is in addition to goods bought by tourists, including souvenirs . On the flip-side, tourism can degrade people and sour relationships between host and guest. Tourism frequently also puts additional pressure on the local environment. The economic foundations of tourism are essentially the cultural assets, the cultural property and the nature of the travel location. The World Heritage Sites are particularly worth mentioning today because they are real tourism magnets. But even

3822-505: Is more specific than nature tourism and works toward accomplishing a specific goal through the outdoors. Finally, we have adventure tourism. Adventure tourism is the most extreme of the categories and includes participation in activities and sports that require a level of skill or experience, risk, and physical exertion. Adventure tourism often appeals less to the general public than nature and ecotourism and tends to draw in individuals who partake in such activities with limited marketing. It

3920-503: Is the apple snail , initially introduced to the U.S. by aquarium owners. It has since been transported by hurricanes across the Gulf Coast and neighboring islands. These species compete for resources with native animals, and some may grow so densely that they displace other forms of existing life. For hundreds of years, islands have been created through land reclamation . One of the first recorded instances of this when people of

4018-634: Is the giant tortoise of the Seychelles , though it is unknown if it grew in size before or after reaching the island. Larger animals such as the hippopotamus tend to become smaller, such as in the case of the pygmy hippopotamus . This is known as insular dwarfism . In the case of smaller animals, it has been hypothesized that animals on islands may have fewer predators and competitors, resulting in selection pressure towards larger animals. Larger animals may exhaust food resources quickly due to their size, causing malnutrition in their young, resulting in

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4116-574: The Hotel Bristol , Hotel Carlton , or Hotel Majestic  – reflecting the dominance of English customers. A pioneer of the travel agency business, Thomas Cook 's idea to offer excursions came to him while waiting for the stagecoach on the London Road at Kibworth . With the opening of the extended Midland Counties Railway , he arranged to take a group of 540 temperance campaigners from Leicester Campbell Street station to

4214-542: The Atlantic Ocean in search of an alternate route to the East Indies . These historians theorize that successful explorers were rewarded with recognition and wealth, leading others to attempt possibly dangerous expeditions to discover more islands, usually with poor results. About 10% of the world's population lives on islands. The study of the culture of islands is known as island studies . The interest in

4312-594: The COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the growth. The United Nations World Tourism Organization 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

4410-649: The Lascaux cave was rebuilt for tourists. Overtourism is an important buzzword in this area. Furthermore, the focus of UNESCO in war zones is to ensure the protection of cultural heritage in order to maintain this future important economic basis for the local population. And there is intensive cooperation between UNESCO, the United Nations , the United Nations peacekeeping and Blue Shield International . There are extensive international and national considerations, studies and programs to protect cultural assets from

4508-537: The League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as "someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". Its successor, the United Nations , amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months. In 1941, Hunziker and Kraft defined tourism as "the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity." In 1976,

4606-577: The Marshall Islands , and Tuvalu completely. Increases in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones can cause widespread destruction of infrastructure and animal habitats. Species that live exclusively on islands are some of those most threatened by extinction . An island is an area of land surrounded by water on all sides that is distinct from a continent. There is no standard of size that distinguishes islands and continents . Continents have an accepted geological definition – they are

4704-507: The Polynesians . Many of the previous island settlements required traveling distances of less than 100 km (62 mi), whereas Polynesians may have traveled 2,000–3,200 km (1,200–2,000 mi) to settle islands such as Tahiti . They would send navigators to sail the ocean without the aid of navigational instruments to discover new islands for settlement. Between 1100 and 800 BC, Polynesians sailed East from New Guinea and

4802-637: The Republic would visit spas and coastal resorts such as Baiae . They were popular among the rich. The Roman upper class used to spend their free time on land or at sea and travelled to their villa urbana or villa maritima . Numerous villas were located in Campania , around Rome and in the northern part of the Adriatic as in Barcola near Trieste. Pausanias wrote his Description of Greece in

4900-891: The Solomon Islands and reached the islands that make up the modern-day Fiji and Samoa . The furthest extent of this migration would be Easter Island in the East, and New Zealand in the South, with New Zealand's first settlements between 1250 and 1300. Historians have sought to understand why some remote islands have always been uninhabited, while others, especially in the Pacific Ocean , have long been populated by humans. Generally, larger islands are more likely to be able to sustain humans and thus are more likely to have been settled. Small islands that cannot sustain populations on their own can still be habitable if they are within

4998-499: The Solomon Islands created eighty such islands by piling coral and rock in the Lau Lagoon . One traditional way of constructing islands is with the use of a revetment . Sandbags or stones are dropped with a barge into the sea to bring the land level slightly out of the water. The island area is then filled with sand or gravel, followed by a construction of this revetment to hold it together. Islands have also been constructed with

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5096-414: The lithosphere where the mantle is hotter than the surrounding area. These hotspots would give rise to volcanoes whose lava would form the rock the islands are made of. For some islands, the movement of tectonic plates above stationary hotspots would form islands in a linear chain, with the islands further away from the hotspot being progressively older and more eroded , before disappearing under

5194-450: The sea as a natural barrier to the introduction of new species, causing the species that do reach the island to evolve in isolation. Continental islands share animal and plant life with the continent they split from. Depending on how long ago the continental island formed, the life on that island may have diverged greatly from the mainland due to natural selection . Humans have lived on and traveled between islands for thousands of years at

5292-515: The service sector of the economy associated with tourism. It is also claimed that travel broadens the mind. The hospitality industries which benefit from tourism include transportation services (such as airlines , cruise ships , transits , trains and taxicabs ); lodging (including hotels , hostels , homestays , resorts and renting out rooms); and entertainment venues (such as amusement parks , restaurants , casinos , festivals , shopping malls , music venues , and theatres ). This

5390-537: The 16th century, European states placed most of Oceania in under colonial administration . Pohnpei was colonized by Spain as early as 1526. It changed hands from Germany to Japan to the United States before joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1982, maintaining a "free association" status with the U.S. Guam was a Spanish territory until 1898, and now is a unincorporated territory of

5488-595: The European continent. Leisure travel was associated with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom  – the first European country to promote leisure time to the increasing industrial population. Initially, this applied to the owners of the machinery of production, the economic oligarchy, factory owners and traders. These comprised the new middle class . Cox & Kings

5586-580: The Hamburg America Line. Mass tourism and its tourist attractions have emerged as among the most iconic demonstration of western consumer societies. Academics have defined mass tourism as travel by groups on pre-scheduled tours, usually under the organization of tourism professionals. This form of tourism developed during the second half of the 19th century in the United Kingdom and was pioneered by Thomas Cook . Cook took advantage of Europe's rapidly expanding railway network and established

5684-511: The Hawaiian islands being home to irrigated fields of taro, whereas in some islands, like Tahiti, breadfruit was more widely cultivated and fermented in order to preserve it. There is archeological evidence that Canary Islanders would chew the roots of ferns for sustenance, a practice that wore heavily on their molars . These islanders would also grow barley and raised livestock such as goats . Many island nations have little land and

5782-682: The Origin of Species . The first evidence of humans colonizing islands probably occurred in the Paleolithic era, 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Reaching the Indonesian islands of Flores and Timor would have required crossing distances of water of at least 29 km (18 mi). Some islands, such as Honshu , were probably connected to the mainland with a land bridge that allowed humans to colonize it before it became an island. The first people to colonize distant oceanic islands were

5880-627: The Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes." In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside

5978-481: The U.S. The decolonization era saw many island states achieve independence or some form of self-governance . Nuclear weapons testing on the Marshall Islands left many atolls destroyed or uninhabitable, causing the forced displacement of people from their home islands as well as increases in cancer rates due to radiation . Colonization has resulted in a decline of observance of traditional cultural practices in places such as Hawaii, where Native Hawaiians are now

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6076-665: The United States. Cook established "inclusive independent travel", whereby the traveller went independently but his agency charged for travel, food, and accommodation for a fixed period over any chosen route. Such was his success that the Scottish railway companies withdrew their support between 1862 and 1863 to try the excursion business for themselves. The tourism industry, as part of the service sector , has become an important source of income for many regions and even for entire countries. The Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980 recognized its importance as "an activity essential to

6174-679: The West ( c.  1592 ), which holds a seminal place in Chinese literature , has a Buddhist pilgrimage at the center of its narrative. In medieval Italy , Petrarch wrote an allegorical account of his 1336 ascent of Mont Ventoux that praised the act of travelling and criticized frigida incuriositas (a 'cold lack of curiosity'); this account is regarded as one of the first known instances of travel being undertaken for its own sake. The Burgundian poet Michault Taillevent  [ fr ] later composed his own horrified recollections of

6272-420: The absolute basis for worldwide tourism. Cultural tourism is one of the megatrends that is reflected in massive numbers of overnight stays and sales. As UNESCO is increasingly observing, the cultural heritage is needed for tourism, but also endangered by it. The "ICOMOS - International Cultural Tourism Charter" from 1999 is already dealing with all of these problems. As a result of the tourist hazard, for example,

6370-527: The advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s and generally followed a standard itinerary . It was an educational opportunity and rite of passage . Though primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry , similar trips were made by wealthy young men of Protestant Northern European nations on the Continent , and from the second half of the 18th century some South American, US, and other overseas youth joined in. The tradition

6468-406: The continent. For example, the presence of freshwater fish on an island surrounded by ocean would indicate that it once was attached to a continent, since these fish cannot traverse the ocean on their own. Over the course of time, evolution and extinction changes the nature of animal life on a continental island, but only once it splits from the mainland. An example is that of the southern beech ,

6566-451: The deposition of sediment by waves . These islands erode and grow as the wind and waves shift. Barrier islands have the effect of protecting coastal areas from severe weather because they absorb some of the energy of large waves before they can reach the shore. A fluvial island is an island that forms from the erosion and sedimentation of debris in rivers; almost all rivers have some form of fluvial islands. These islands may only be

6664-426: The distances and frequency with which invasive species may be transported to islands. Floodwaters from these storms may also wash plants further inland than they would travel on their own, introducing them to new habitats. Agriculture and trade also have introduced non-native life to islands. These processes result in an introduction of invasive species to ecosystems that are especially small and fragile. One example

6762-400: The ecological processes that take place on islands, with a focus on what factors effect the evolution , extinction , and richness of species. Scientists often study islands as an isolated model of how the process of natural selection takes place. Island ecology studies organisms on islands and their environment. It has yielded important insights for its parent field of ecology since

6860-399: The effects of tourism and those from war. In particular, it is also about training civilian and military personnel. But the involvement of the locals is particularly important. The founding president of Blue Shield International Karl von Habsburg summed it up with the words: "Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible'. Cruising is

6958-508: The first privately chartered excursion train to be advertised to the general public; Cook himself acknowledged that there had been previous, unadvertised, private excursion trains. During the following three summers he planned and conducted outings for temperance societies and Sunday school children. In 1844, the Midland Counties Railway Company agreed to make a permanent arrangement with him, provided he found

7056-502: The habit of true warbler species) consumes spiders and insects that live on plants. Other examples of this phenomenon exist worldwide, including in Hawaii and Madagascar, and are not limited to island ecosystems. Species endemic to islands show a common evolutionary trajectory. Foster's rule (also known as the island rule), states that small mammals such as rodents evolve to become larger, known as island gigantism . One such example

7154-423: The home. In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics : Other groupings derived from the above grouping: The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply

7252-457: The islands as a naturalist on HMS Beagle in 1835, as part of a five-year circumnavigation of Earth. He wrote that "the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings". Through the study of the finches and other animals he realized that organisms survive by changing to adapt to their habitat. It would be over twenty years before he published his theories in On

7350-643: The largest landmass of a particular tectonic plate . Islands can occur in any body of water, including lakes , rivers , seas . Low-tide elevations , areas of land that are not above the surface during a high tide , are generally not considered islands. Islands that have been bridged or otherwise joined to a mainland with land reclamation are sometimes considered "de-islanded", but not in every case. The word island derives from Middle English iland , from Old English igland (from ig or ieg , similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning. Old English ieg

7448-504: The life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies, and on their international relations." Tourism brings large amounts of income into a local economy in the form of payment for goods and services needed by tourists, accounting as of 2011 for 30% of the world's trade in services, and, as an invisible export , for 6% of overall exports of goods and services. It also generates opportunities for employment in

7546-404: The mainland, they had no need for boats. The motivation for island exploration has been the subject of research and debate. Some early historians previously argued that early island colonization was unintentional, perhaps by a raft being swept out to sea. Others compare the motivations of Polynesian and similar explorers with those of Christopher Columbus , the explorer who sailed westward over

7644-589: The majority of the local economy and built environment . These islands sometimes also require consistent foreign aid on top of tourism in order to ensure economic growth. This reliance can result in social inequality and environmental degradation . During tourism downturns, these economies struggle to make up the lost inflow of cash with other industries. Climate change threatens human development on islands due to sea level rise , more dangerous tropical cyclones , coral bleaching , and an increase in invasive species . For example, in 2017 Hurricane Maria caused

7742-543: 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

7840-568: 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 like the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017, and programs like Tourism for SDGs focusing on how SDG 8 , SDG 12 and SDG 14 implicate tourism in creating

7938-472: The overall increasing trend. International tourism has significant impacts on the environment , exacerbated in part by the problems created by air travel but also by other issues, including wealthy tourists bringing lifestyles that stress local infrastructure, water and trash systems among others. Tourism typically requires the tourist to feel engaged in a genuine experience of the location they are visiting. According to Dean MacCannell, tourism requires that

8036-484: The passengers. This success led him to start his own business running rail excursions for pleasure, taking a percentage of the railway fares. In 1855, he planned his first excursion abroad, when he took a group from Leicester to Calais to coincide with the Paris Exhibition . The following year he started his "grand circular tours" of Europe. During the 1860s he took parties to Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, and

8134-529: The past, some societies were found to have lost their seafaring ability over time, such as the case of the Canary Islands , which were occupied by an indigenous people since the island's first discovery in the first century until being conquered by the Spanish Empire in 1496. It has been hypothesized that since the inhabitants had little incentive for trade and had little to any contact with

8232-747: The point appeared silhouetted against a full moon. The name was approved by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1980. The island forms part of the Aspland Island and Eadie Island Important Bird Area , identified as such by BirdLife International because both islands support large colonies of chinstrap penguins and southern fulmars . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from "Aspland Island" . Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . This South Shetland Islands location article

8330-620: The roots of Western civilization . With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings , perfected their language skills and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent. The primary value of the Grand Tour, it was believed, laid in the exposure both to the cultural legacy of classical antiquity and the Renaissance , and to the aristocratic and fashionably polite society of

8428-525: The same legal rights. 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

8526-789: The sea entirely. An example is the Hawaiian Islands , with the oldest island being 25 million years old, and the youngest, Hawaii , still being an active volcano . However, not all island chains are formed this way. Some may be formed all at once by fractures in the tectonic plates themselves, simultaneously creating multiple islands. One supporting piece of evidence is that of the Line Islands , which are all estimated to be 8 million years old, rather than being different ages. Other island chains form due to being separated from existing continents. The Japanese archipelago may have been separated from Eurasia due to seafloor spreading ,

8624-438: The second century AD. In ancient China , nobles sometimes made a point of visiting Mount Tai and, on occasion, all five Sacred Mountains . By the post-classical era, many religions, including Christianity , Buddhism , and Islam had developed traditions of pilgrimage . The Canterbury Tales ( c.  1390s ), which uses a pilgrimage as a framing device , remains a classic of English literature , and Journey to

8722-549: The study of islands is due to their unique cultures and natural environments that differ from mainland cultures. This is for a few reasons: First, the obvious political and geographic isolation from mainland cultures. Second, unique restraints on resources and ecology creating marine-focused cultures with a focus on fishing and sailing. Third, a lasting historical and political significance of islands. The Polynesian diet got most of its protein from fishing. Polynesians were known to fish close to shore, as well as in deep water. It

8820-463: The supremacy of classic art of which Italy, France, and Greece provide excellent examples. For these reasons, the Grand Tour's main destinations were to those centers, where upper-class students could find rare examples of classic art and history. The New York Times recently described the Grand Tour in this way: Three hundred years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post- Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture and

8918-450: The surface. When these coral islands encircle a central lagoon , the island is known as an atoll . The formation of reefs and islands related to those reefs is aided by the buildup of sediment in shallow patches of water. In some cases, tectonic movements lifting a reef out of the water by as little as 1 meter can cause sediment to accumulate and an island to form. Barrier islands are long, sandy bars that form along shorelines due to

9016-438: The time of Charles Darwin . In biology, endemism is defined as the phenomenon where species or genus is only found in a certain geographical area. Islands isolate land organisms from others with water, and isolate aquatic organisms living on them with land. Island ecosystems have the highest rates of endemism globally. This means that islands contribute heavily to global biodiversity . Areas with high lives of biodiversity are

9114-419: The tourist can view the toured area as both authentic and different from their own lived experience. By viewing the "exotic," tourists learn what they themselves are not: that is, they are "un-exotic," or normal. According to MacCannell, all modern tourism experiences the "authentic" and "exotic" as "developmentally inferior" to the modern—that is, to the lived experience of the tourist. Travel outside

9212-407: The traveller's own country) or international , and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments . Tourism numbers declined as a result of a strong economic slowdown (the late-2000s recession ) between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and in consequence of the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus , but slowly recovered until

9310-528: Was able to offer prices that were below the publicly advertised price because his company purchased large numbers of tickets from railroads. One contemporary form of mass tourism, package tourism , still incorporates the partnership between these three groups. Travel developed during the early 20th century and was facilitated by the development of the automobiles and later by airplanes. Improvements in transport allowed many people to travel quickly to places of leisure interest so that more people could begin to enjoy

9408-479: Was extended to include more of the middle class after rail and steamship travel made the journey easier, and Thomas Cook made the "Cook's Tour" a byword. The Grand Tour became a status symbol for upper-class students in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period, Johann Joachim Winckelmann 's theories about the supremacy of classic culture became very popular and appreciated in the European academic world. Artists, writers, and travellers (such as Goethe ) affirmed

9506-470: Was reported that Rapa Nui people were known to fish as far as 500 km (310 mi) from shore at coral reefs. Spear , line , and net fishing were all used, to catch tuna as well as sharks and stingrays . Island cultures also cultivate native and non-native crops. Polynesians grew the native yam , taro , breadfruit , banana , coconut and other fruits and vegetables. Different island climates made different resources more important, such as

9604-553: Was the first official travel company to be formed in 1758. The British origin of this new industry is reflected in many place names. In Nice , France, one of the first and best-established holiday resorts on the French Riviera , the long esplanade along the seafront is known to this day as the Promenade des Anglais ; in many other historic resorts in continental Europe , old, well-established palace hotels have names like

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