Whoever said it was tourist vs. traveler travelbugs2? I don’t think it’s a question of better or worse, I think it’s your preference of “travel style”. I just don’t understand how people can think that a traveler and a tourist are one in the same. That a Big Red Boat Disney Cruise to the Bahamas is the same as yacht hitching around the Caribbean (not that I have done either but that’s the first example that came to mind). Maybe this thread would better serve the BnA community if the goal was to define the word tourist and define the word traveler. Because I think that some of us are debating over tourist and travelers with drastically different definitions of the words. I don’t think tourist is a bad word. But I do think that there is a difference between a tourist and a traveler. Is there even one person out there that thinks this?

Taking a cruise is not the same thing as yatch hitching, but the people participating on each boat are doing the same thing. They are touring. They are traveling. They are sight-seeing and experiancing. Their goals, at the core, are the same.

I'm not going to Bhutan, Something about the daily fee for staying there puts me off.

What they really mean is:

Who here is so independently wealthy that they can afford to say they've gone to Bhutan??

quote:

Originally posted by travelbugs2:
I'm a tourist; we all are when travelling.

yup, me too.

I've just read this whole thread and my mind is blown. We're all tourists here on Earth, people. I think the distinction is made in your personal judgement of individuals you have experienced. You like some tourists, you dislike others. People who want to travel have their own reasons for doing so - with which you may agree or not. Thankfully we all do have some individuality.

I can't help but pipe up about this Homer / Hip-Hop thing... The world has changed. There has never been a time when so much of what everyone is doing is available to others all over the world. Whether or not you like the music and the messages in some of the most popular flavors of hip hop, at its roots it is far older than Homer. And so much more fun.

I'm definitely no academic, and frankly I could care less what grad students are studying, but the fact that something is old (or not) doesn't make it any more worthy of study. The whole "classical education" thing is placed on some BS pedestal, so aristocrats (read: Westerners) and intellectuals have something to talk about? Blah...

quote:

Originally posted by Slip:

quote:

Originally posted by travelbugs2:
I'm a tourist; we all are when travelling.

yup, me too.

me three...

tour·ist (tʊr'ĭst)
n.
One who travels for pleasure.



thanks, jlab, for chiming in on the tangential discussion, I am biting my tongue!! but we share similar thoughts on the matter

Moreover, does it really matter? Doesn't it all come down to character or manners or whatever you want to call it? in my view there are two types of people out there moving on the planet:
1. ignorant, rude, selfish bores who don't know a thing about history or the way the world functions and don't care to either, who only care about whether they have fun and about no one else, did I mention ignorant? People who act as if other countries exist for the sole purpose of being either bars and/or brothels, who think that no country could ever be near as good or worthwhile as theirs or have anything to teach them, who only take, chew swallow burp and leave no tipp.
2. People who at least try to use their brains, be respectful when they are visitors, be polite, treat the people they meet as their equals, attempt an interest at history and getting to understand the different views out there. Yes, sometimes they fail (which can be cute or pathetic, depending) but at least they try. (And yes, if you're from one of the richer countries in the world I DO think you ought to at least try and read up a little on racism or the history of imperialism.)
Sure, there's a lot of folks inbetween (don't ask me where I'm at, I'm not claiming I'm the best), but these are the two big rough categories out there in my opinion.

I guess that I see two distinct styles of travel when I look at someone on the big red boat Disney cruise and someone Yacht Hitching. And I believe that because those travel styles are different they should have different names. I think that some of the people on this thread don’t want to fall under the stereotype of being the backpacker who is obsessed with going out of his/her way to avoid “common” travel (which is also a travel style, not good not bad, just preference), or bashes tourist. So they proudly proclaim they are tourist hoping to overcome a stereotype that they may or may not fall under. Of course I don’t really know their motivations for claiming to be a tourist. Trying to overcome that stereotype is the only reason that I can come up with for denying distinctions between types of travel that are obviously different. I know that the distinction is not a fine line and is open for interpretation, but I do believe that there is a distinction. And please, don’t think that I am saying that one travel style is better than the other; I understand that it’s just preference. I think that some of you think it is snobby or condescending to say there is a difference between travelers and tourist. But it is only condescending if you presuppose that being a tourist is a bad thing. Wow, I don’t know where I am going with this and I have an irate customer screaming into my headset because I am ignoring him so I am just going to end it here.

I've never really gotten the distinction between traveler and tourist - other than it seems to be a way for people to make themselves sound better when they say "I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveler".

Really, you are both. When you say goodbye to everyone you know and get on a plane, you are a traveler. When you pay admission fee at some tourist attraction, regardless of how many Lonely Planet books you have in your 80 pound pack, you're a tourist.

As I'm traveling this year, I'm discovering more and more that I don't like to go to "tourist attractions" - not because I'm too cool for it but because I'm treated by the people there just as a source of revenue and I never get the chance to form relationships with locals as they go about their daily lives. It's actually quite lonely. So, I prefer to find a way to live with someone for a week or two at a time and just learn about the culture from their family. To me, this feels much more "real" than hitting all the "must-sees" in any country.

If I am in a foreign country for pleasure I am a tourist.

Who said Homer was even Greek? There is evience that he very well could have been Celt. Just as the evidence of the Trojan war having been fought in what is now England with Celts attacking the Trojans. (Celts and Egyptians fought from Chariots, greeks and Romans only used them for Transportaion and racing, and since when did greeks have red and blonde hair as mentioned in the Illiad?)


Sorry had to say that. As for tourist being a dirty word well, whoever thinks that in my mind is an uppity prick and those are two dirty words!

Yes traveler and Tourist are diffrent but that doesn't mean one is better than the other they are just diffrent, sometimes. But very often the two are mutually inclusive.

Old post to bring up but I thought i would add to it as i found it quite interesting.

My view is that a tourist is one who goes to visit a country - or series of countries (an extended tour) and then returns to their country of origin. In almost all cases they have a permenent residence in that country - e.g a backpacker, or people on package holidays/cruises.

A traveller i think is someone who has effectively cut ties with their country of residence and perpetually moves from place to place in other countries, without settling down for an extended period (maybe 6 months in one country or metropolis area at most before moving on).

Most true travellers are therefore either tax avoidance rich types, mariners (cruisers or yachties), or nomadic tribes/gypsies.

I'm amused at all the "rules" backpackers have to abide by:
- You must use a backpack, not a suitcase
- You must take local transport, not taxis
- You must bargain, even for 10 cents
- etc etc

A friend of mine, early 60s, travels for much of the year. She greatly enjoys the collective gasps of fellow "travellers", whenever she shows up at a hostel with a suitcase or walks out of a taxi.

Everyone who travels is a tourist. Those who live in foreign countries are expats.

Self-styled "travelers" are merely pretentious tourists.

Having read through the replies on this post it occurs to me that the original question really was NOT about tourists vs travellers, yet most of the replies are.....(we love this discussion, dont we?!)

Seems to me the question was more about the dilemma of wanting the luxury of being one of only a few visitors, hence avoiding local economies & cultures that are moulded around a tourist market, versus actually being a hypocrite because every time we go somewhere we contribute to precisely that.

I think thats a genuine dilemma. But what can you do, other than try to behave decently. Or stay at home.