As Travel + Leisure is celebrating its golden anniversary, we as editors spent months digging through the archives. We found nostalgic ads, incredible covers, iconic contributors (Slim Aarons, Authur Miller, Joan Didion, Julia Child, and many more), but also noticed how much the travel industry has changed since 1971. Read on to see the 25 events that have affected the way we travel forever.
From left: The first Travel + Leisure magazine from 1971; A cover from 1947; 1976. Travel + Leisure
1971: Travel + Leisure was established
1971: Southwest airlines took to the skies
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1971: Walt Disney World opened
1972: Rolling luggage patent awarded
AFP via Getty Images
1973: Launch of Concorde
1974: The first hotel minibar was installed at the Hong Kong Hilton
Getty Images
1974: Invention of the electronic hotel key
1974: GPS patent awarded
Courtesy of Eastman Kodak Company
1975: The first digital camera was invented
DEA/C.DANI/I.JESKE/De Agostini via Getty Images
1978: The first 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites were announced
1988: Royal Caribbean International launched the first “megaship”
Andreas von Lintel/ullstein bild via Getty Images
1989: Berlin Wall falls
1991: The closure of Pan Am
Claus Felix/picture alliance via Getty Images
1992: Opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal — a catalyst for river cruising
1996: Launch of Expedia
Steven Puetzer/Getty Images
1998: The Federal Aviation Administration banned smoking on all U.S. planes
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
2001: 9/11
2003: Concorde’s last flight
2005: Google Maps were established
2008: American Airlines became the first major airline to begin charging for luggage
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
2008: Airbnb hit the web
2008: Terminal 5 launched at Heathrow
STR/AFP via Getty Images
2014: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
2019: Longest non-stop flight: JFK to Singapore (18 hours and 40 minutes)
JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images
2020: Coronavirus lockdowns
As Travel + Leisure is celebrating its golden anniversary, we as editors spent months digging through the archives. We found nostalgic ads, incredible covers, iconic contributors (Slim Aarons, Authur Miller, Joan Didion, Julia Child, and many more), but also noticed how much the travel industry has changed since 1971. Read on to see the 25 events that have affected the way we travel forever.
1971: Travel + Leisure was established
1971: Southwest airlines took to the skies
1971: Walt Disney World opened
1972: Rolling luggage patent awarded
1973: Launch of Concorde
1974: The first hotel minibar was installed at the Hong Kong Hilton
1974: Invention of the electronic hotel key
1974: GPS patent awarded
1975: The first digital camera was invented
1978: The first 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites were announced
1988: Royal Caribbean International launched the first “megaship”
1989: Berlin Wall falls
1991: The closure of Pan Am
1992: Opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal — a catalyst for river cruising
1996: Launch of Expedia
1998: The Federal Aviation Administration banned smoking on all U.S. planes
2001: 9/11
2003: Concorde’s last flight
2005: Google Maps were established
2008: American Airlines became the first major airline to begin charging for luggage
2008: Airbnb hit the web
2008: Terminal 5 launched at Heathrow
2014: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
2019: Longest non-stop flight: JFK to Singapore (18 hours and 40 minutes)
2020: Coronavirus lockdowns
