If you enjoy travelling, how do you like to plan out your trips? Do you have checklists and itineraries? Do you buy clothes that help you fit in with the locals or do you wear what you're accustomed to? Do you stick to your bland hotel food or are you open to trying out new cuisines and street food?
How you travel describes whether you're a tourist or a traveller. Travelling is a broader term which incorporates tourism. They're not the same because all types of travelling do not make them touring.
Merriam Webster dictionary defines a tourist as “one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture” and a traveler as “one that goes on a trip or journey.”
There are several other differences that people have pointed out online.
For instance, tourists stick to known landmarks while travellers are open to seeing where the path takes them. You may be traveling for tourism, but it could also include business travel, family visits, and other reasons. There are plenty of reasons to travel that don’t involve tourism.
Other distinctions include staying in hotels for vacation (tourism) versus living in hostels to get to know other travellers (tourism).
Tourists tend to cover more places in less time, depends on their itinerary, while travellers explore. They are not necessarily time bound. For tourists, souvenirs and gifts for families and friends are a must, while travellers just exist to see and experience the place and move on. They may support local art and craft work.
Travellers are acutely observant and are aware of cultural norms and traditions, while the same may not be the case for tourists who are probably just taking a vacation.
Travellers are somehow painted to be superior. They are perceived to be intrepid and fearless and open to explorations. But it's not bad to play tourist either. It just depends on your time commitments, the people you're going with and how comfortable you are in a relatively unfamiliar environment.
To locals, you’re a tourist either way. So if you're calling yourself a 'traveller' just to seem superior, you might just be the ultimate pick-me tourist.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.