I love to travel so I think I am a traveler. My friend Raj also loves to travel but I think he is a tourist. I like to go to unexplored places, pitch a tent and allow the beauty (sometimes troubles) of nature to seep into my experiences. Interacting with the locals, eating in their homes (not hotels) seems to excite me more than booking myself into a well known or a budgeted hotel or resort. Raj prefers to always book into a hotel or resort that fits his budget.
I like to travel alone or at times in a small group.I like to make new friends on the way. Raj prefers to travel only with his set of friends. All during the travel, he hardly interacts or makes any new acquaintance with anyone else in the hotel or bus or wherever.
I like heritage structures and admire the other marvels of the world. I may not necessarily click myself while I am visiting the Niagara Falls. Raj, on the other hand may not minutely observe the delicate pattern that adorns the Karnak Temple in Egypt but would definitely bring home a few pictures to be put up on social networking sites and to be shown to friends and relatives.
I would love to explore the regional cuisine and allow my taste buds to experiment the different flavors of the region. Raj only travels if they are assured of Indian food all through the travel period.
In conclusion, travel is different from tourism. In most parts of the world a tourist is detested to a certain extent while a traveler is welcomed with open arms. A traveler is a descendant of the likes of Christopher Columbus or Bodhidhara. Today we find more tourists than Bodhidharas.
Could this be because traveling today is much easier than what it was before. One need not be as passionate about travel if he wanted to travel. All that you need to do if you wish to travel is sign a cheque with a travel agent and all your needs are catered to. This has killed the fun in traveling and all that remains is Tourism.
Today, most people list down the places they want to visit. Quite often one hears them saying," I have completed Asia and Europe. Now I will start US and Canada". I have nothing against tourism as it is a medium for national as well as personal revenue. In most cases, it is the only source of revenue for some families and also the sole factor for the development of of that region. By penning this article my aim was to revive the traveler in every tourist.Hope I have been able to do so....
2 comments:
These are called Tick Mark Tourists>>>who see a place so they can talk about it..and then share with their friends how high Eiffel tower was and how great was it to drink French wine..without even trying the local food or walking the alleys and countryside footpaths..Blame it on media , blame it on tour agencies who take you to 15 days Europe tour knowing fully well that in 15 days you cant even see part of UK...But then when everything to drive is materialism people's frame of vision is narrower and well thats how people even watch crappy movies of SRK and forget them after a week..waiting for the next one...
hey... we have same interest in travelling... i would like to travel by bus or train and get down where i want to spend some time...not caring how your stomach reacts :P nice articles... we shall plan a trip one day
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