BACKPACKERS VS TOURISTS: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?

Posted: 11/16/2008 | November 16th, 2008
Updated: 12/22/2021 | December 22nd, 2021

All along the backpacker trail, you hear it. The talk. The chatter. The snarls. The attitude. The condescension.

That’s right.

I’m speaking about exactly how backpackers feel about “tourists.”

Backpackers view tourists as non-travelers. Tourists are people who just go to a location for pictures, hotels, as well as cheesy restaurants. They stay with the beaten path, take huge bus tours, as well as never bother to interact with the locals.

Backpackers, on the other hand, think about themselves as genuine travelers – they go locations for cultural experiences, to satisfy the locals, as well as to immerse themselves in faraway lands. They are available to discover about the world as well as find unknown tricks as well as connections.

Or, at least, that’s what they believe they are doing.

However, while some travelers do that, a backpacker is usually a young traveler on a long trip who sleeps in hostels, cooks his/her own meals, lives cheap, as well as celebrations hard. Sure, they take regional transfer however they frequently just hang out with other travelers.

I always discovered this distinction a bit ironic since so many backpackers, while speaking down about “tourists,” bring their Lonely Planet, go to the exact same cities as well as stay at the exact same hostels, as well as stay with the exact same path that was laid out before them by the backpackers who came before.

While I think about myself part of the backpacker crowd (though more of a nomad), I don’t sign up for the line of believed that backpackers are much better than tourists. When I hear this argument, I shake my head as well as discover joy in pointing out the hypocrisy of some naive fellow traveler.

But let’s be clear.

“Tourists” do stand out like sore thumbs. They couldn’t hide if they tried. many make no attempt to discover cultural norms, blend in, or respect the regional method of life. These are the tourists that people speak about.

And I can’t stand them either — those tourists who come to a place, make no effort to interact with the locals as well as stay in the resort their whole vacation. What’s the point of coming to a new country if you’re never truly going to see it?

To me, that’s not traveling. (Though, I do appreciate that they at least made the effort to leave their country. infant steps, right?)

But exactly how is that different than a backpacker who just celebrations in Amsterdam as well as gos to the Van Gogh museum? exactly how is that different than somebody who goes to Thailand celebrations at the full Moon celebration as well as never explores somewhere “off the beaten path”? Or spends a month in a country as well as never learns the language? That’s not being a traveler. That’s not making an effort to discover about the people or place.

We are all tourists.

We all stand out sometimes.

And you understand what? There’s nothing wrong with that!

We all get an “A” for effort. What is ironic is that instead of trying to promote much better travel – travel that gets people of all travel styles to interact with the locals – backpackers insurance claim superiority since they do it cheaper as well as for a longer amount of time. They get off the beaten path, they say, as well as online like the locals do.

Except they don’t.

Experiencing a new culture means staying there long sufficient to get into the flow of life. most backpackers don’t do that. They just go to the newest celebration place as well as phone call it off-the-beaten-path up until somebody (else) with a Lonely world arrives. They eat at street stalls as well as insurance claim they are just like the locals, yet they never discover the language as well as only eat food that looks safe.

I frequently get asked where to go to see the “real” Thailand, as well as I always state that there is no such thing – every part is similarly real.

“Well, we want to online like a local,” they respond.

“Get an apartment as well as get a job” is my response.

If you want to truly get to understand a place, stay there for longer than a few days.

I like to phone call this “The beach Syndrome” – this concept that traveling inexpensive is much better as well as more authentic (because the locals are delighted you are saving your money as well as not providing it to them) as well as that there is someplace off the beaten path that is the true, authentic part of a country.

Backpackers believe just like the characters in the book The beach did – that there is some travel perfect out there. This authentic, mysterious location that supposedly exists where whatever is genuine as well as you’re the only complete stranger there as well as everybody is friendly as well as you melt right into regional life. What a location that would be! as well poor it doesn’t exist.

It’s a myth.

It’s “The beach Syndrome.”

I’m not a bigfan of bundle tours (though I still do go on tours) however that doesn’t mean I’m much better than the people that go on them. No type of travel is truly much better than any type of other travel. What matters is that we move past the backpacker/tourist debate as well as recognize that the important part is that we travel.

We not only go for enjoyment as well as photos however to likewise discover about one more culture as well as break out of our comfort zones — even if just a bit.

Isn’t that the point of why we go anyway?

A increased by any type of other name is still a rose.

And, no matter what we phone call ourselves, we are truly all just tourists.

And it’s time we stop acting like we’re not as well as pretending one type of traveler is much better than another. It’s a stupid distinction. Let’s all get over ourselves.
 

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