旅行者和游客 (zt)

The two words conjure up very different mental pictures of people on a journey.

Travel broadens the mind.

Travellers want an important life experience. They expect to come home changed, altered in some way. Of course, everyone likes to think they’ll come home wiser and more sophisticated. But why is the word ‘tourist’ such a degrading term?

Tourists want to escape their humdrum lives, find some excitement, come back relaxed and refreshed. Is that so wrong?

In fact, most of us want both, or elements of both, from our time away from home.

So, step in and scan features of both travellers and tourists.


Travellers:



...are free and self-determined. They’re looking for adventure, experience, knowledge, understanding, inspiration
…before returning to their comfortable lives

are on a journey, a quest, a pilgrimage. They’re looking for the holy grail, nirvana, shangri-la, xanadu

…following their Travel Guide cum Bible every step of the way.

are intellectual, spiritual, curious, brave

…but don’t mind basking in the sun if the beach is tourist-free

have time on their hands

…lucky things!

Don’t notice hardship, dirty clothes, language difficulties, bad food, hunger, cold

YES THEY DO!

Don’t buy mementos, souvenirs

…unless they’re small and light

don’t send postcards or phone home

…except when they need money

go off the beaten track to discover wonderful new places

…until tourists join them.

try to meet the local people

although they do tend to mix with their compatriots staying in the same places and following the same travel guide.

keep a journal

...and hope to publish it.

Go by truck, cargo plane, goods train, steamer. Walk. Hitch-hike

…or give up and charge a plane ticket to their credit card.

go to challenging places, get shot at, get arrested, meet lots of border patrols, talk their way out of trouble

...only in stories

try to visit wild places. Spot them in game parks, jungles and alps

...but only in the third world, where they can afford a guide.

Don’t want to waste the world’s natural resources

...and they don’t, really.

stay in small inns, pensions, hostels or board with the locals. They sleep on trains and in railway stations. They even sleep under the stars.

…but secretly crave for clean bathroom with lots of hot running water

eat whatever they can buy at street stalls and accept all offers of home-cooked meals

...and spend two weeks getting over Bali/Delhi belly

pick up languages

...or speak English very s l o w l y and deliberately

Modern Traveller Take A Backpack Which Fits Everything:

two t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, one pair of long pants, two sets of socks and underwear, one sarong, one jumper, swimmers, one pair of walking boots, one pair of thongs, a torch, insect repellent, bandaids, tampons, condoms, first aid kits, water bottle and purification tablets, a comb, a credit card, a hat, sunglasses, travel guides, journal and a pen.

Before They Go:

Travellers’ mothers make sure they are well fed because it will be a while before the next home-cooked meal.

Where Traveller Go:

India, Vietnam, China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Cuba, the Amazon, central Australia, the Kimberley, the Daintree - backpackers hostel, Far North Queensland, South West Tasmania, Java, Solomon Islands, Morocco, tiny Greek Islands with no airport, Istanbul, St Peter*****urg, Auvergne, Alexandria, Khartoum, Addis Abbaba, Lake Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Norwegian Fjiords, Samarkand, Dunhuang Caves.

Tourists

want to escape the every day
...but only in a familiar, slightly exotic environment

want to have fun, relax, meet entertaining people, make friends, fall in love

...but the people they do meet get drunk and just want to put their slimy hands all over them.

want to play water sports, go hang gliding, get a suntan, get a massage, have sex

...what’s wrong with that?

want to go shopping, see famous buildings and eat exotic food

...but fear to get sore feet and sometimes the food is really weird.

eat only what the hotel serves, because if they eat local food, they’ll get sick

...but get sick anyway

send postcards, takes photos, buy souvenirs and presents

...that’s true.

want everything to be cheap

...everyone wants everything to be CHEAP!

want everything to feel luxurious

...and can if the exchange rate is right.

go by plane, hire car, coach, boat

...AND train. They even walk.

have all their arrangements made for them. Get a lei on arrival. Get the shuttle from the airport.

...In fact, half of the fun is to have someone else take care of the arrangements.

Speak one language - English- slowly and deliberately

...and took a course on how to use their phrase book.

Modern Tourists Take A Large Suitcase, Maybe Two:

because they need several different kinds of outfits: swim suits, beach wear, sarongs for the pool and strolling along the beach, casual clothes for going shopping and sightseeing, evening clothes for the night-time, thongs, sandals, sandshoes, clothes to play golf in, clothes to play tennis in…

then there’s the golf clubs, golf shoes, tennis racquets, wetsuit, surfboard, beach towels....

Before They Go:

Tourists go on a diet, get their bodies waxed and their hair coloured because they will need to look their best on the beach.

Where Do Tourists Go:

Bali, Pacific Islands, London, Paris, Italy, Vienna, Prague, Corfu, French Riviera, Swiss Alps, Dalmatian Coast, Amalfi Coast, Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Majorca, Miami, Acapulco, Disneyland, Phuket, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ayers Rock, Kakadu, Daintree - 5 star resort, New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, Colorado, Bermuda, Seychelles, Sun City, Mauritius, the Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, Rio de Janiero

所有跟帖： 

• then I'm definitely a tourist----I say that proudly ;) -顾剑- ♀ (193 bytes) () 08/31/2009 postreply 17:24:29

• 哈哈，那是洋人的定义。 请大家来个本坛的定义;) -南极人- ♂ (32 bytes) () 08/31/2009 postreply 18:35:34

• 拜托教授, 别那么急着给俺挂标签好不? 两者都喜欢,看时间和心情 -鹑之奔奔- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/01/2009 postreply 02:27:33

• 晚礼服和冲锋衣是生活的两面,兼而有之人生才完美,否则就是残缺. -鹑之奔奔- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/01/2009 postreply 02:27:57

• 那是因为你冲锋衣的那面太惊人了，有空写写上海的时尚小资那面吧：） -顾剑- ♀ (54 bytes) () 09/01/2009 postreply 07:44:04

• 教授, 不知道"小资"这个词早就臭大街了吗?时尚这东西玩着不错,写起来无聊 -鹑之奔奔- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/01/2009 postreply 21:22:17

• Most people are hybrid -changjia- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/31/2009 postreply 18:26:22

• 好玩. 给我贴哪个标签我都没意见. 都玩过 -onMove- ♀ (0 bytes) () 08/31/2009 postreply 19:58:59