The difference between a tourist and a traveler. What is the difference between a tourist and a traveler?

The desire to change the environment, unwind and relax is inherent in every person. However, if it hits some from time to time, others cannot imagine their life without wanderings and wanderings. And why not, because this also has its own romance! In our article we will tell you how a tourist differs from a traveler.

Definitions

Tourists

Tourist– a person visiting a place (country) of temporary stay for educational, professional, recreational, religious, sports and other purposes. There is another definition of this term. It also refers to the consumer of a tourism product purchased through an operator or agency.

Tourists

Traveler

Traveler- a person making a journey. In fact, this short definition has a huge meaning. Among the great Russian travelers who became famous throughout the world are Laptev, Kruzenshtern, Dezhnev, Nikitin and other famous personalities. All of them made many valuable discoveries, each of which has become firmly entrenched in our history.

Comparison

Surprisingly, two seemingly identical concepts differ significantly from each other. A tourist is a person going on vacation. As a rule, he makes trips once or twice a year during his well-deserved vacation. The rest of the time, a person leads his usual life in hometown: goes to work, communicates with family and friends, performs daily activities. When vacation time comes, he strives to relax as much as possible in comfortable conditions and gain strength for the year ahead.

In fact, the majority tourist trips are committed for purely leisure reasons. That is, a person goes to a country not to get to know it, but to take advantage of the benefits of the local infrastructure. His impressions of the holiday depend on a number of external factors: the comfort of the flight, accommodation conditions, quality of service, etc. In addition, the tourist is on his journey for a certain period of time. He often plans his vacation dates in advance and tries not to deviate from them.

The main difference between a tourist and a traveler is that the former leaves and arrives. The second one never knows how long his journey will last. A tourist simply admires the world around him, while a traveler carefully examines it, performs experiments, using himself as an instrument. And it doesn’t matter at all how far the route is laid. This could be an ordinary foray into the nearest forest or climbing Everest. Any journey is perceived by a person as another step on the path to understanding the world. Often in the minds of such people there lives an irresistible desire for activity aimed at achieving an illusory goal. And it is valued higher than one’s own life.

Thus, a traveler is a person who, in principle, may not go anywhere. I left the house, walked a couple of tens of kilometers around the surrounding area and was filled with impressions for the day ahead. For him, traveling is a familiar way of life, an integral part of it. Home for a wanderer is where he this moment abides. At the same time, the traveler is not looking for comfort. He can sleep in a hammock or on bare ground, eat dry rations, and travel tens of kilometers on foot. He always goes only forward, accepts reality as it is, and knows how to admire the true beauty of the world around him. It is believed that one cannot become a traveler, one can only be born one. This gift is akin to a calling.

A comparison table will help you draw a conclusion about the difference between a tourist and a traveler.

In the last few years, it has become fashionable to “conquer the planet.” People don’t sit still and rush for tickets at the first opportunity. Parents take their children to Thailand for the winter, office workers don’t miss out on their two-week vacations and buy tickets almost a year in advance. Everyone hoards airport tags on their suitcases, hangs their backpacks with badges from different countries and are proud of their stamped passports. But what distinguishes a true traveler is not his external surroundings.

1. No plans.

The main difference between a traveler and a tourist is the absence of any plans. Tourists always plan their trips in advance, choose the best weeks for their vacation, adapt to the climate of the country they have chosen for their vacation, and plan a route. For travelers, there are no convenient occasions, planned trips or chosen destinations. Traveling is a way of life; you can go anywhere and anytime. And it also happens that you don’t know the end point at all. There is only the process of travel itself. No subtotals.

2. Get out of your comfort zone.

If you like “all inclusive”, transfer to the hotel and private beach- you are one hundred percent tourist. Travelers are not the type who go on vacation. The idea of ​​travel is getting to know a city, country, area. Therefore, often, when going on a trip, a person does not know where he will spend the night or have dinner, and a night in a tent by the roadside is not discomfort. This is the romance of travel.

3. Who and why?

A minute-by-minute vacation week, a tattered guidebook, and meticulously thought-out itineraries are the hallmarks of a stunningly organized tourist. Maximum knowledge of the chosen place, entertainment and, of course, relaxation - this is the main goal. Tourists, as a rule, try to fit all possible attractions into their holiday schedule, do more photos and drive along all popular routes.

A traveler, first of all, is interested in what is not on the surface, what is hidden from view. It is important not so much to see a place as to feel one with it. Walk the streets, discover new corners, in a word, immerse yourself in the place where you are. The true motivation of a traveler is freedom. Freedom of thought, action and movement. Yes, your trip may be full of difficulties, surprises or discomfort, but it depends only on you.

The difference between a traveler and a tourist is only in perception. In the perception of time, actions and opportunities. The main thing is not who you want to call yourself. The main thing is what memories and impressions your trip will leave you with.

How does a tourist differ from a free traveler? It seems that this is one and the same thing, and the words are essentially synonyms. They are used by all people who are engaged in any kind of travel, trips abroad or on vacation somewhere. With or without packages, with guides or on your own, extremely budget or very expensive - people call all this with these two terms. But in reality this is not so, the terms are not synonymous. And it doesn’t seem to matter, but the difference is not only philological, but also semantic. It's like calling a cat a dog because they both have 4 legs, whiskers, a tail and fur.

Tourist- this is the person who goes on vacation, goes to relax. Those. tourism is recreation and nothing else. Those. a guide who works for a travel agency even on some Boro-Boro island is still not a tourist, but an employee. Therefore, not everyone who comes across a foreign country is a tourist.

A tourist rests, as a rule, 1 month a year, or generally 21 days of his legal vacation. Those. He works and lives in his city/village for 11 months a year.

A tourist, having saved up a certain amount for a trip (often expensive), or without a trip, but with the amount, goes to some country to relax, have a blast, not deny himself anything, relax and gain strength for the new eleven-month period of his life.

And he, in fact, does not care about the country he came to. Local language? - Never mind! Mentality? - Never mind! Culture? — In fact, I don’t care either. I don’t care about anything except comfort and specialized services for his carefree, pleasant time.

Those. a tourist goes to a country not to get acquainted with it, its culture and customs, but goes to take advantage of it tourism infrastructure, relax there. That's all. The rest doesn't matter because he is a tourist, not a traveler.

Traveler However, he goes to the country precisely to get to know it. With people, customs, culture, languages, the numerous diversity of this country and difference from their homeland. The traveler's goal is educational. Yes, it could also be a vacation, but the primary reason for his trip to this or that country is still intellectual.

If the life of a tourist is entirely contained in the place where he lives and works, then the life of a traveler is often those moments that he lives in a particular country. Those. his life is a journey.

That is why there is such a big difference between these concepts. The difference is philosophical and, dare I say it, existential. Therefore, the term “free” is also attached to the term “traveler”.

Those. a tourist is someone who is on his “journey” for a short period of time, simply relaxing and getting emotions, and a traveler is someone who lives in the process of traveling, and outside of this action there is only a break between his “travels.” [Inverted commas - because both, and even simple movement (for example, to work or to study) from one point to another is a journey.]

What is the difference between a tourist and a traveler? It’s very simple: the main credo of a tourist is impressions, the main credo of a traveler, researcher is observation.

If you come for impressions, you are, of course, a tourist. And there's nothing wrong with that. All of us from childhood to last day We dream of getting bright impressions in our lives.

There is a large cohort of people who are going on trips to test themselves. And that is great. Any person who goes beyond the horizon is interesting and understandable to me, because travel is the pinnacle of education.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

We do not have an educational structure in our country that trains professional travelers. I graduated from one such class through a three-year additional education program, but that was the end of it. That's why educational institution where professional travelers are trained is called life.

However, life is also a journey. From point A to point B - from non-existence to non-existence. And how interesting, effective, curious it is depends on ourselves.

When a traveler appears in a foreign land, the first thing they ask is: who are you? where? and where? Try to answer these questions for yourself. And you will understand that they are not as simple as they seem if you dive deep.

If you want to become a traveler and explorer, start with your home, your city, your family. Or do you think that you can study a people without knowing anything about your own family, about your great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers? Ask those who will not be there tomorrow, describe and sketch what will not be there tomorrow. From time immemorial, sacred icons for Russian people are photographs and personal belongings of their ancestors.

Many today strive to go to places of power. But the main place of power is yourself. Your memories, your DNA, your instincts, your skills, feelings and thoughts are all within you. And this main place of power, moving around the country and the planet, tries everything on itself, measures everything with itself, relates itself to everything. You are the object that an adjective to itself clarifies: is it pleasant, is it tasty, is it scary, is it convenient, is it interesting... The place of power is you, and not some ruins, which is often called such. Well, how can ruins be like that? Yes, it is likely that this building once inspired people, taught them, and somehow organized them. However, if it is destroyed, then the power is no longer there.

Someone will say: “But there I really gain some strength.” There is a saying: “If you pray to a dead dog, its teeth will glow.” Whatever properties you attribute to this or that object, place or structure, you will experience exactly the same feelings when you are near it.

For a Russian person, the most important places of power are, of course, motherland, these are the native stars above your head, this is the Motherland and Fatherland, these are the places of epoch-making battles and events, great and glorious deeds of our compatriots, and already in the tenth, and maybe twentieth place, some Kailash, Belukha, the Pyramids of Giza or the Capitol.

The difference between a tourist and a traveler is huge. Travel is perhaps the only thing that unites them. After all, behind the glossy photographs and tattered guidebooks are hidden two completely different worlds. Which one do you like?

Travelers have been around since man began to explore the world, expand its borders and mix with other cultures. People are very curious creatures. We love to explore, and when we feel cramped among familiar things, we go to other countries in search of something new. We are interested in seeing how other people live and how their lives differ from the ones we are used to.

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Tourists, unlike travelers, appeared relatively recently. The beginning of organized tourism is considered to be the Grand Tour during the Renaissance. At that time, children from noble English families made long (sometimes several years) trips around Europe, mainly in Italy and France, for educational purposes. This is where the words “tourism” and “tourist” come from.

The main difference between a tourist and a traveler is the time spent on the trip. A tourist moves within a certain schedule; he always knows the time of departure and return home. The traveler has more freedom; he is free to change the duration of his route at his own discretion. Of course, he also has his limitations: money, personal and other circumstances that may force him to prematurely interrupt the trip.

If you are ready to travel around the world without restrictions and nothing interferes with this, then you are a real traveler. If your lifestyle is such that you can only afford a couple of weeks of vacation on a pre-purchased ticket, you are a tourist. There is nothing wrong with this, at least you are showing a desire to break out of your daily routine and see the world.

Routes

The schedule of excursions, transport, arrival and departure times are an integral part of any vacation. If you plan your route long before departure - congratulations, you are very organized tourist. These are also called walking chronometers.

The traveler, on the contrary, does not make plans; his constant companion is spontaneity. I came to one country, liked it - stayed for several weeks or months, didn’t like it - moved to another. The tourist tries to see more in the time allotted to him, and the traveler simply enjoys the process itself.

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The traveler is looking for what others don’t see: exoticism, unexpected discoveries, interesting features different cultures. He never knows what he will encounter in an hour, a day, a week...

The tourist, on the contrary, knows in advance what he will see. Of course, surprises may await him, but only if they are found among tourist attractions. If he goes to Paris, he very rarely gets to narrow streets its suburbs.
The tourist route is standard: Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge... Often this happens not because of a reluctance to see the unusual, but because of a banal lack of time.

Mixed species

Often the difference between a tourist and a traveler is so small that it is even difficult to distinguish. Depending on the circumstances, they sometimes change roles without even realizing it. Every tourist has moments when he forgets about guides and schedules and goes off to explore the surrounding area on his own. Likewise, a traveler may find himself pressed for time and no different from a tourist, trying to rush around all the museums and attractions of the city.

Traveler stereotype

In our minds, these are young people who travel light, often dream of traveling the whole world and are ready to spend years of their lives on this endless trip.

The true motivation of travelers is freedom of action, the realization that your trip, although not without difficulties, depends only on you. It is not necessary to have months to make a long voyage; the difference between a tourist and a traveler lies in the perception of time and its distribution. Age is also not a hindrance, and having money only promotes carefree travel and opens up new opportunities.

Tourist stereotype

A tourist can be unmistakably recognized by the camera hanging around his neck, a guidebook in his hands, an admiring look and practical clothes. This is often true, but there is nothing wrong with following a predetermined route. When time is short, you have to travel huge distances in order to have time to see everything planned in a short period.

The main thing is not to turn into an appendage of the camera, but to enjoy the trip. And sometimes we understand what wonderful places We visited only after we started sorting out the pictures at home. It is also important to avoid the temptation to turn your trip into endless shopping. We are looking for original souvenirs, gifts, local drinks, delicacies and in the end all we see are endless shops and markets.

Once you understand the difference between a tourist and a traveler, you can easily determine who you are. The main thing is not what you call yourself, but what impressions and memories you bring from the trip.