Tourism in Borrow's Wild Wales, 1854

An analysis of Borrow's classic travel book, Wild Wales, throws light on We lsh tourism in the 1850s, a time when the expansion of the railway made acc essible areas formerly remote from major centres of population. The study i dentifies impacts which early tourism was making on the Welsh landscape and society and provides insights into the relationship between 'hosts and gue sts'. Tensions between the Welsh and their, mainly English, visitors in the nineteenth century are found to have much in common with those experienced today in areas where foreign tourists come from counties that are relative ly rich and powerful. Thus, the article exposes the imperialistic nature of tourism.