T i f f a n y H s u

"Be a traveler, not a tourist!"

This type of message is everywhere and in theory it sounds like a great idea.  

I admit, I was one of those people who would get defensive if I was called a tourist, I insisted that I was different from those people who showed up, saw a sight, and followed a typical tourist trail.  But the truth is, there is nothing wrong with being a tourist.  

I joke about this with my husband all the time, since we both grew up in tourist heavy places.  Him in Rome, myself in San Francisco.  Doing Rome like a local for example isn't the romanticized idea that a lot of people have.  Visitors sit in a cafe and hear Italian being spoken and think it's only natural that these are locals going on with their normal cafe sitting day.  Then these same "travelers" write in their blog about how Italians always take the time to savor life.  But the reality is, there is such a thing as domestic tourists in Rome.  What a real local does is worry about paying the bills, go to work, joke with co-workers, go home to eat (because that's where the best food in Rome is!), then, depending on the night of the week, meet with friends for a drink or go work out.  The more my husband and I talked about these things, the more it sounded like living in Rome like a local sounds like a terrible idea for someone visiting with limited time!

Same for San Francisco.  There are the things that people do in the city that your average tourist might not consider, while other things that are touristy and just as fun for locals! But really, I would never recommend for a short first time trip to San Francisco sitting in Dolores Park over visiting the Golden Gate Bridge!

I think what people really mean is they want to travel like an informed tourist and be open to different experiences.  Yes, skip the restaurant with questionable morals and bad food who target tourists, but often times when people are traveling to a specific location they want to see and experience what makes a place famous and memorable.  Guess what, that's usually the tourist attractions that all the tourist go to.  Having a different experience doesn't always have to include finding the most obscure sights and activities, but your own attitude and the circumstances of a moment.  Being an informed tourist gives you the power to choose how you want to experience a location.

To illustrate, when I showed up in Spain without a plan, I had so much fun really just hanging out and going where I wanted to go based on tips from other people traveling, but as much as I enjoyed living in a van in the South of Spain for a short time, I feel like I missed out by not going to sights like the Alhambra.  I've been to Spain three times and I've only really seen the major sights of Barcelona.

On the other hand, in Munich my now husband insisted that we go to the Hofbrauhaus.  He had been before for Oktoberfest, but I wasn't sure.  I heard it was a tourist trap and wasn't excited at the idea, but we went and I loved it!  So much so that we went again on our last night and again had a ton of fun.

It's not just about going to the tourist traps and maybe finding you enjoy yourself, but some of the best experiences I've had came from being in touristy areas and being seen as a tourist (it's hard to blend in with a Chinese face in places like India, Egypt, Rural Spain, etc...).  I used to try to hide being a tourist, but the truth is, I started having more fun when people openly knew I was not from around the area.  It's how I ended up on a motorcycle ride up to the Monsoon Palace in Udaipur, getting a private hitchhiked tour of the Amalfi Coast, and having dinner with the police commissioner of Rome.  They all saw that I was a tourist and wanted to show me their cities. I don't mean you shouldn't try to dress appropriately for where you are, but don't be overly concerned about being spotted as a tourist.  I guarantee you, the people who target tourist will spot you a mile away regardless of what you do.

So my point is, the internet has to stop looking down on tourist and tourist attractions.  Most people who say they want to experience life like a local or go to off the beaten path attractions really just want the tourist experience repackaged and called whatever the travel trend a la mode is.  We all want to have a good time when we travel, so let's just be honest with ourselves!

I find this similar to the issue of expatriate versus immigrant that has cropped up recently.  We want to differentiate ourselves so much from certain labels that have been given negative connotations.  We fight it so much without realizing often times they are just different labels for similar things.