On Being a Tourist or NOT being a Tourist: (General, existential question)
 

It seems to me to be an amusing paradox that wrapped up in the experience of being a tourist is the desire NOT to be a tourist.

When we are touring it is never hard to find examples of people who are more "touristy" than ourselves. Generally, we hope that we don't "stand out" (at least as bad as OTHER tourists) as we view the sights.

My question to the entire Fodor's forum is meant not to be an argument, but rather a kind of survey of attitudes.

How do you regard yourself when touring other places? Do you identify yourself as a tourist, or is that just the "other" people?

Do you want to blend in? Do you seek out sights that are "off the beaten path"? Do you prefer to experience the everyday?

Or do you shrug off the stigma attached to tourists and embrace the sights, not concerned about sticking out? A little of both?

As I know there is really more than ONE way to be a tourist, I look forward to hearing the responses...

Hmmm... I don't think I'm that self aware (this is probably both a good and bad thing...)
I just do what takes my fancy, whether it's touristy or not. Personal taste however means I don't like to be in situations with huge crowds of other tourists who are invariably garrulous and frequently querulous so I tend to visit "key" sites either first thing or last thing. Most of the time I sit in cafés and bars and watch the world go by.

Dr D.

I tried so hard to blend in when I was in Korean and Japan. I don't know why, but it just didn't seem to work out. Do you think the red, curly hair and blue eyes might have something to do with it?

Our dear late friend Wes Fowler posed this question with his usual elegance some time ago. Here's the old thread, which I'll top. http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....p;tid=34376164

Thanks Gardyloo, very interesting!

The distinction between "traveller" and "tourist" was in the back of my mind when I posed these questions.

What motivated my question, I suppose, is the suspicion (or fear) that there is no such thing as a "traveller" anymore.

Or, to put it more provokatively: In my travels and reading these posts, I am certain that most people here would like to consider themselves "travellers" when, in fact, they are more or less just some degree of tourist. You could ask any tourist on the street whether they are a tourist or a visitor, and I'm sure that 90 percent would say "traveller." However, when I go to a European city, I know there are SOME people wearing orange jackets and following umbrellas, taking pictures etc...

My refined question, then, is not how you would label yourself, but what attitudes do you bring to the practice of inserting ourselves into the landscapes and townscapes of other places? Why is it important to be seen as "travellers"? Is anyone willing to admit to being a tourist?

I'm delighted to be a tourist. Can't imagine what else - except half the time, travelling businessperson - could possibly describe me.

Difference between that and "traveller"? Honesty.

I always joke when people ask how to dress so as not to look like a tourist. I ususlly recommend that they wear a 10-gallon hat, cowboy boots, and a large belt buckle. ((a))

On a recent trip to Ireland, we were parking the car in Dingle, and I was walking over to buy a parking ticket from the machine. There he was -- hat, boots, belt buckle, black leather vest, and all. I was shocked that someone actually took my advice???

I mentioned it to my wife and just kinda shook my head and laughed. HA HA HA

The following morning while finishing up breakfast at the Shores, there he was, along with his twin looking brother and their wives, all dressed up like they were going to a square dance. Instead of the black vest, this time he was wearing a brown one with all them thingys hanging down, which led me to believe he had a whole suitcase full of this garb.

I guess they just wanted to be themselves -- tourists. ((a)) ((b))

Interesting question Woyzeck.

I don't really care about the non-touristy places. Here in San Diego tourist come to do the touristy things and why not? No one spends thousands of dollars to see the suburbs. I'm not so well traveled abroad that I'm bored with the sights, the museums or the history.
That said, I do find it interesting to see how people in other countries live. So I like to take a peek at the burbs and the grocery stores.
By nature I am friendly and outgoing. This makes it difficult to blend in. As soon as I start talking everyone knows where I'm from. Fortunately, I'm not paranoid enough to consider this a bad thing since most people anywhere are very nice.
I have no fear of wearing hiking boots and jeans on an airplane because these are the clothes that I will probably need on any journey and it's silly to have to carry them because of what someone else might think. But to the opera or a nice restaurant I dress appropriately.
There is some touristy behaviour in which I will not engage. I bring a camera most places and that fairly screams "Tourist!" Even though, I love to snap pics, I don't at the opera or a nice restuarant because I have all kinds of judgements about people who do this.
The other thing I do that makes me a poster child for "Baby Boomer Tourist USA" is buy T-shirts. I only wear them at home, to the dog park or to the gym but how touristy can you get?

I think there are still travelers (I have one friend who has been to more than 120 countries - up the Amazon - in a canoe not a riverboat, hiked machu pichu, stayed in a yert in mongolia etc). But I readily admit to being a tourist - although I do my best not to be a TOURIST! (Not that being a tourist is bad - its very enjoyable - but I do try to avoid being so touristy that the locals laugh out loud.)

I recommend reading "The Mind of the Traveler" by Dr. Eric Leed (history professor) for a marvelous, scholarly history of humankind in motion.

Of course when I travel I am a tourist; I am on vacation and want to see fun and interesting things, and take lots of photos. I don't expect to blend in, but I don't want to look or be ridiculous or insensitive either. I want to see the popular sights because there must be a reason they are popular. I like to see some 'off beaten path' things, but probably not if they are highly obscure. I like to go in grocery stores or places that are part of daily life to round out my experiences and impressions. I like to stay in a hotel convenient to the area I am visiting but not necessarily in the thick of things, especially if it presents more of a 'real' environment than a 'tourist-oriented' one. I create a daily itinerary so I don't miss something because it was closed the day I showed up, but I am always open to do something not on the itinerary or to move things around. I don't like to wake up and say 'what do you want to do today?', 'I don't know, what do YOU want to do today?' etc.

I find this forum to be invaluable for getting information from people who have been there and done that; sometimes the detailed level of info given is something you simply cannot get anywhere else.

You are never going to pass yourself off as a local (unless you have a native command of the language), so forget about that.

Remember, though, that all those French people moving through Versailles with you are <i>also</i> tourists - they just happen to live closer than you. If you don't act/dress/behave differently from them, you'll probably be appreciated.

I'm a tourist and proud to be one. Now I don't get ridiculous while abroad and wear a huge US flag on my back, but then I wouldn't do that at home either. A small flag pin on the lapel works best both home &amp; aborad. I found myself answering yes to almost all of the questions posed by Woyzeck - I both want to embrace the famous sights and those off the beaten path also. I don't try to hide my origins (what's the point anyway, as soon as I open my mouth everyone will know) but then neither do I flaunt it ostentatiously, as I mentoined above. What can I say? I want it all! (to quote Queen - the band not the lady)

Maybe it's different for a New Yorker but:

Do I dress or behave differently when I visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art versus when I visit the Vatican Museum? No. Does this mean I don't wear a backpack to both museums? Not necessarily. Depending on what I'm doing before or after my visit, I could easily be carrying a backpack.

Do I dress or behave differently when I dine at Daniel Boulud's &quot;Daniel&quot; versus when I dine at H&eacute;l&egrave;ne Darroze? No. Am I carrying some kind of camera equipment into both restaurants? You bet.

Am I a tourist in France and Italy? For sure. Do most people peg me as a tourist in France and Italy? I'd say it's 50/50 but, when I start to speak they really begin to wonder (and almost always pose the question, &quot;Do you live here?&quot;) I do get a kick out of that.

Do I really care if someone pegs me as a tourist? Hell no.

All I care about is how someone treats me. And, so far, I haven't been too disappointed. I believe you get what you give and this always works for me.

For some reason, when I hear or read the word &quot;traveler&quot;, I get a mental picture of some nomadic individual, weathered, possibly wearing a battered fedora. Tucked away in a dark recess of a noisy bar in Morrocco.

Reminder to self: re-rent Casablanca and the original Indiana Jones tonight.

I'm a tourist. I wear pretty much what I wear at home, but then I change between yard work and going to the store. But I don't feel like I'm responsible for whatever choices everyone else who's traveling has made. Other people's choices don't reflect on me at home and they don't reflect on me when I'm somewhere else. I just do my best not to act like an idiot... mostly. I like Rufus's take on it. You aren't going to have a remote chance of blending while in a great percentage of the world, so why make Europe an exception?

I do what I want to do. I don't give a darn what the locals, other tourists or powers-that-be think. I'm not interested in their approval or disapproval.

If I want to do something that's cheesy then it's what I do. I've done a salt mine tour near Hallstatt, a &quot;Son et Lumi&egrave;re&quot; show at Blois, Europe in miniature &amp; the Atomium outside of Brussels and any number of touristy things. I enjoyed them all.

Maybe my air of confidence lets me fit in better. I don't purposely try to fit in. I wear business casual clothes in Europe like I almost always do at home. During my last trip to France in May I was stopped at least once, if not twice a day by French speaking people asking everything from directions, to the time, to taking a picture for them.

In D&ocirc;le I startled one couple. They asked if I could take their picture for them. My &quot;oui&quot; must have been very convincing because they continued giving me directions on using the camera and how they wanted the shot framed in French. I took the photo. They thanked me and asked if I live in D&ocirc;le. They had a surprised look when I answered &quot;les Etats-Unis,&quot; smiled slightly and walked on.

I will always remember my very first day in Europe. In Paris, I had just gotten off the bus from the airport and was carrying my suitcase to my hotel. A woman came up to me and asked me for directions! I held up my suitcase, smiled and shrugged my shoulders. I wanted to blend in but I didn't think it would be that quick!

My view echoes NYCFS's sentiments, although I probably wouldn't have been able to work it so eloquently.

This is an interesting question. I used to try really hard to blend in - not looking at maps in the middle of the street, or carry a backpack, etc. But then someone told me that the locals can tell you are a tourist right away anyways, so now I don't worry about it too much. Of course I try not be an obnoxious tourist by being loud and demanding.

Some family came to visit a few years ago and we took them to Lake Louise (in the Rocky Mountains in Canada, for those who don't know). Since we only live a couple of hours away, we go there regularly and took it for granted. But on that day, when we came out of the parking lot and past the trees, and saw the BEAUTIFUL aquamarine lake, it took my breath away like it was the first time! Because I had &quot;tourists&quot; with me, I saw things through their eyes, and it was SPECTACULAR! Sometimes we need to be a &quot;tourist&quot; at home, to appreciate the things around us again. How many times have you heard people say they haven't been to certain places in their home town because those are &quot;tourist&quot; places, so they don't go because they are locals.

Semantics. A description of a &quot;traveller&quot; would sound like an advert in the J. Peterman catalogue.

I am a tourist.