What travel type are you?

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been. Travellers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

Travel means different things to different people. For some it is the way of life and for others it is a way to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Based on the same, the people who travel have been divided into a traveller and a tourist, as per the vocabulary of the vagabond. These words might sound the same but they have entirely different meaning. Read on to distinguish the difference between these globe-trotting jargon.

Travellers

These people are more than the one’s who travel, they have got an itchy feet and are struck by a perpetual state of wanderlust. They believe in exploring the unexplored, and those locations where tourism doesn’t drive the economy. They also try and live a nomadic lifestyle that promotes interacting with new people and experiencing new challenges and cultures every single day, throughout their journey.

P.S. They live like a local, no matter which part of the globe they are.

Tourists

They can be of any age group and can appear in any shape, be it a young couple, a family or very young people. They have the most stereotypical image i.e. with a fanny-pack, wearing a visor hat and t-shirts with funky prints, screaming kids tagging along and following itinerary. Though this image isn’t always true, but it is certainly rooted in the characteristics of the majority of tourists.

Traveller vs. Tourist Debate

Make the mistake of calling a ‘traveller’ a ‘tourist’ and you may end up getting a cold shoulder. From decades their has been a difference in opinion amongst the people who call themselves a tourist or a traveller. To sort it once and for all, here’s what most of the people have to say about both of them:

1. Travellers live like a local; tourists miss the locals back home

2. Travellers travel light, tourists carry heavy luggage

3. Travellers wander, tourists carry maps

4. Travellers make memories, tourists take pictures

5. Travellers write the book; tourists follow the book

Although it’s all a matter of opinion, a distinction made by pretentious people to make themselves superior to others. It’s your free will to call yourself as a traveller or a tourist. So, what exactly are you?

Whether a traveller or a tourist, check out hotels in India at Travelguru.