Traveling is an experience that we are to live and enjoy to fullness, although we sometimes are limited by time and budget, we can always buy some souvenir of the site we visited or simply as a trophy of trip, take a photo in the most exotic places. But depending on how we live, there are two complete forms to define our experience, either as tourists or travelers.
However, it has been asked you, how they differ from each other, or is it that might have some similarity? The answers are find when you carefully analyze the main aspects associated with a trip: how we transport, where we stayed, what we do or we stop doing, how we get along with the locals, the time that we have for the trip and the resources that we have.
The tourist is the one who does it for pleasure, as a therapy for rest or relax, traveling in first class or staying in the best hotels, renting a vehicle to visit each site of interest, or by paying a “tour” by the most exotic places for taking photos. But ends suggesting himself the wonders of the tourist destination, buying any amount of souvenirs and concentrating on both enjoy your trip, which does not look beyond and creates a distance between him and the people living in the place, especially because it has a limited time for this.
While the traveler, have more freedom, allowing you to live more intensely the experience and in addition to this, makes moved by the passion to know: new cultures, traditions and customs of the site he visit. Of course, to do this traveling in economy class, use the public transport although it is uncomfortable, he is staying in hotels not so luxurious, but will also take photos and will buy an occasional “souvenir”, but his greatest pleasure will always enjoy the contact with the people, to share and learn from them, visiting exotic places and not so famous that give it another vision of the trip.
Without a doubt, can be noted very marked differences between tourists and travelers. And perhaps, after reading a little about both, you think of it as a question of money, but be aware that many of the great travellers, can be very wealthy people and the large tourists, may be people who save much to travel comfortably and enjoy a well-deserved vacation. Well that depends on the eye of the beholder and what you are seeking to achieve with your trip.
From you will depend the decision to travel in one way or another, our recommendation is that travel the world and enjoy the experience from both ends, but without forgetting open your mind to explore and learn from the interaction with the people of the place you visit, respecting their culture, traditions and customs. As this, it always ends by providing more pleasing and unforgettable surprises that change our way of seeing the world, by looking at it from another point of view, not so commercial, but more human.
ALFA