I like to think of myself not as a "tourist" but a traveller.
Quote by
WillowR
What is the difference between a tourist and a traveller, and why is tourist in inverted commas and traveller isnt?
Reply to this I think tourists are those who travel to places to see sights or to relax; travellers go for experiences. The hallmarks of tourism are package holidays, tour guides and a lack of awareness about your host culture - travellers prefer to immerse themselves in each country and separate themselves from other foreign visitors.
I am an expat, although I don't live in the 'expat bubble' that exists even in a relatively untravelled city like Kyiv. Away from work I try to follow travellers' principles, speaking the language(s) and learning about the country from locals.
J.
Reply to this for me a traveller is someone who's ready to rough it up and learn something from or to really get to know the place they're travelling to
tourist would be more of having a relaxed time
... people can call me whatever they want, I won't mind as long as I'm enjoying my wandering around 😉
Reply to this ... people can call me whatever they want, I won't mind as long as I'm enjoying my wandering around 😉
That is exactly how I feel about it. One time I was telling a guy I know about backpacking in Egypt, and he started insisting that I am not a backpacker, because he knows a backpacker and I am nothing like the backpacker he knows. He then started asking me questions and explaining how the answers proved that I am not a backpacker. It was a tiresome discussion, because I couldnt give a toss about the label, I just love to travel and whatever I am called because of it is incidental.
Reply to this The labels are what the 'travel snobs' like. I see myself as all three and feel very happy and lucky than I can. Some backpackers think that if your are not completely slumming it, have a phone or lap top, you are doing it the wrong way. This really annoyed me when I was traveling. I would never say there is a right or wrong way.
My Definition of a Travel Snob!! -
1. One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as tourists and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as hardcore backpackers.
2. One who affects an offensive air of self-satisfied superiority in matters of travel or knowledge. 😱
Reply to this One who tends to patronize, rebuff, or ignore people regarded as tourists and imitate, admire, or seek association with people regarded as hardcore backpackers.
There are the ones too who look down on others, for being hardcore backpackers. I once me a guy who seemed to be unreasonably pissed off at me, because he would never go on holiday, if he did not have enough money for he and his wife and kids to have absolutely everything they wanted all the time they were on the holiday. Backpackers seemed to really get up his nose because of their budget travelling. I tried to explain to him that not having much money to spend does not necessarily mean not having a good. He cut me off mid sentence with a look of disgust and another speech about how he always makes sure he has plenty of money on holiday and wouldnt go otherwise, as if this is some kind of virtue.
Reply to this I read an article on this same topic on an inflight magazine and a travel writer explained that in his opinion the difference between a tourist and traveller is this: a tourist is someone who arrives in a country and everything has been organised for them, whereas a traveller organises everything for themselves. The budget of the person travelling is of no consequence in this definition - you could be staying in a backpacker hostel or small boutique hotels. The difference is if you travel and all your hotels, meals and transport has been organised by someone else then you are a tourist. This is pretty much the tour package mode. However, if you have organised these things by yourself, then you count as a traveller.
I do also agree with the definition above by Jonathon - immersing yourself in the local culture and away from other foreigners is a sure sign that you are a traveller. I believe that if you immerse yourself in the local culture, you experience incidental interactions with the local populace that is not limited to people who are paid to serve you - such as a waiter in a restaurant, the receptionist in a hotel, or the driver of a taxi. When this incidental interaction does occur, you get a far greater understanding of the culture and people of the places you are visiting.
As for what I would label myself - a traveller is the most appropriate - I don't do the typical backpacker hostel thing, so that name doesn't really sit well with me. However, at rare times I cross the threshold to become an adventurer (entering an exorcism temple in India as an example) but that only lasts for a short period of time.
Reply to this I was actually going to type it the other way around as well but got lazy. I was going to say how some 'tourists' think 'backpackers' are smelly and unhygienic! ; )
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