<strong>'Où est la gare?': </strong>Back in 1981, travelers like these boys in Paris had to consult a metro map to figure out how to get around.
'Où est la gare?': Back in 1981, travelers like these boys in Paris had to consult a metro map to figure out how to get around.
Jean-Marc Charles/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
<strong>A main street staple: </strong>Lunn Poly was once the UK's biggest travel agency, before it was taken over in the mid-'00s. Here's a branch on Regent Street -- a prime London shopping district -- in 1967.
A main street staple: Lunn Poly was once the UK's biggest travel agency, before it was taken over in the mid-'00s. Here's a branch on Regent Street -- a prime London shopping district -- in 1967.
Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
<strong>Hard times: </strong>In 2002, Delta became the first US airline to <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2002%2F03%2F15%2Fnews%2Fcompanies%2Fdelta%2F" target="_blank">stop paying travel agency commissions</a> -- another nail in the coffin for the industry. Travel consultant Silvia Gonzalez (right) is seen here assisting customers at First-Maine Travel Agency in Des Plaines, Illinois, that same year.
Hard times: In 2002, Delta became the first US airline to stop paying travel agency commissions -- another nail in the coffin for the industry. Travel consultant Silvia Gonzalez (right) is seen here assisting customers at First-Maine Travel Agency in Des Plaines, Illinois, that same year.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
<strong>Phone boxes:</strong> There was a time when phone boxes were more than just public urinals. Here's one in Budapest in 1991.
Phone boxes: There was a time when phone boxes were more than just public urinals. Here's one in Budapest in 1991.
Roger Viollet/Getty Images
<strong>Go west:</strong> Cyclists huddle as they work out their directions in County Clare in the west of Ireland.
Go west: Cyclists huddle as they work out their directions in County Clare in the west of Ireland.
NUTAN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
<strong>Before smartphones: </strong>A woman pauses to check her wrist watch while riding through Beijing in 1981.
Before smartphones: A woman pauses to check her wrist watch while riding through Beijing in 1981.
Liu Heung ShingAP
<strong>Brochures of dreams:</strong> Before the internet, we'd gather up brochures at an agency -- like this Flight Centre one in Sydney in 2004 -- and go home to browse and imagine foreign lands.
Brochures of dreams: Before the internet, we'd gather up brochures at an agency -- like this Flight Centre one in Sydney in 2004 -- and go home to browse and imagine foreign lands.
Brendan Esposito/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media/Getty Images
<strong>Pre-digital cameras: </strong>Back in the days of film cameras, you took one photo and just had to hope no one's eyes were closed.
Pre-digital cameras: Back in the days of film cameras, you took one photo and just had to hope no one's eyes were closed.
Bernard Annebicque /Sygma/Getty Images
<strong>'And here's Marjorie at Notre Dame...': </strong>Sure, scrolling through people's vacation posts on Instagram is dull, but it's better than having to sit through a slide show at someone's house.
'And here's Marjorie at Notre Dame...': Sure, scrolling through people's vacation posts on Instagram is dull, but it's better than having to sit through a slide show at someone's house.
Gary Cameron/Reuters
<strong>Cultural baggage: </strong>By the 1980s, wheeled suitcases were common, but unlike today's luggage they were trundled on four wheels with a little handle at the front. As for your many sombreros, you had to carry them how you could.
Cultural baggage: By the 1980s, wheeled suitcases were common, but unlike today's luggage they were trundled on four wheels with a little handle at the front. As for your many sombreros, you had to carry them how you could.
Richard Baker/In Pictures Ltd./Corbis/Getty Images