I've done a lot of reading about ancient cultures, ranging from Babylon, Assyria, Sumer, and the Hittites to Persia, Greece, Rome, and Carthage, and many in between. I am hoping to get more information (and recommendations for further reading if possible) on the topic of ancient tourism. Would an ancient Greek have known of and been fascinated by Sargon the Great? What would the attitude towards monuments and ruins have been? (Obviously those with religious purposes may have been held sacred over long periods). Would an Egyptian from 300 BC have been interested in their history from the time of Ramses II?
I have picked up little bits and pieces - for example, Alexander the Great visiting a tomb or two, and then subsequently having his tomb become a destination of other great leaders' visits. But my question is more about the general populace - would a citizen have known or cared about ancient history, especially from other cultures?
Follow up tourism question. I've heard that some of the principle elements of the Spartan mythos were consciously developed for Roman tourists in Laconia. Is that correct?
This does not necessarily answer your question as directly as you would like. But if we consider religious pilgrimages to be a form of tourism, then we can say that the Crusades and its many effects have been quite influential. In fact, Turkic tribes had began to close off Christian travel to Jerusalem and endanger pilgrims soon after they had conquered land from the more tolerant Arabs. For the average Christian coming from Western Europe, this was nearly as terrifying as directly barring the gates of heaven. Marching off to liberate Jerusalem from infidel control and securing a place in heaven was certainly attractive
Of course, this led to the creation of the Holy Land states, many subsequent crusades, unexpected enemies and allies, and enduring enmity in the Middle East to this day, all because the new mayor of Jerusalem hated tourists
Asbridge, Thomas S. The First Crusade: A New History: The Roots of Conflict between Christianity and Islam. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.