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musicalhell:emilysidhe:melbluesblog:daughterofscotland:machine-dove:skeletonmug:machine-dove:mymodernmet:Minimalistic Cartoons Reveal Differences Between Tourists and TravelersWow. This is some serious elitist (and ableist) bullshit right herefuck that ablesit elitist bullshit. Like for real.I’m not going to lie, the first time I went “travelling” by myself when I was 20 I bought in to this crap but I pretty quickly learned that there was little difference between a traveller and a tourist. The only real difference is duration of trip and even that’s not a given.Even for able bodied people you find that many people who consider themselves “travellers” who shun tourist destinations actually all flock to the same places. Why do you think there are groups of travellers who have checklists of places they have “done”. This is why backpacking hostels exist.Firstly there is a massive problem when people with a an absolute determined attitude to get off the beaten path do just that. If you increasingly have to seek places that are not filled with tourists it is inevitable that you will start forcing your way in to places that you just shouldn’t be. And once you have been there, more will follow turning that into yet another tourist trap. It happened to Everest (Sagarmāthā) for goodness sake: a remote wild and giant mountain became over time the ultmate challenge for a traveller that had to “really feel special. And now the mountain is eroding from footfall and littered with literal human shit as well as dead bodies and discarded oxygen tanks PLUS the exploitation of local people and a complete disregard for the people and traditions of the area.And that’s the second issue, the more people keep insisting that they have to go somewhere new and special, they start invading in natural places that can not sustain human interaction or (in some ways worse) making tourist attractions out of the ordinary lives of ordinary people that they have deemed to be sufficiently “exotic”. It’s pretty terrible for all concerned. And of course it’s no different than any other tourists going to any other attraction. You go in order to have whatever experiece it is you desire and more than likely will want to share that with people, if only afterwards or via the internet. The elitism takes two interesting forms:The first is in terms of simple opportunities. A lot of “travelling” takes more money than a lot of people have. It takes more time. It involves a level of organisation not available to everybody. That type of tourism the “off the beaten track” takes resources not available to poorer people or those with less education or in difficult situation. other words it becomes the preserve of middle and upper classes and takes on classic classism: Camping in unique locations and taking photographs with expensive equipment and doing “lifestyle experiences” are seen as better and more worthy than going to a beach to relax with friends. It’s snobbery.And that’s the second type of elitism, the belief that certain pursuits are inherently better than others. There are going to be things you like that other’s don’t. You may not like going to a busy city and sight seeing but that doesn’t make it less good than whatever it is you are up to with your expensive camera. And because of it’s ties with classism it end up being that X pursuit = Travelling = GoodY pursuit = Tourism = Trashy.And what of the ableism. Well just think about those images above. What comes up again and again? Camping. Some people can’t camp. Camping is physically not available to them without a lot of accessibility accommodations. They may only be able to camp with a proper bed, level access, power (for medical devices) and accommodation for a carer.That’s just not available in most places you are going to go camping, and even if it is it might be on a carefully managed tourist site. So you stay in a hotel or a B&B or a guest house if you want to ever go away (and even that isn’t without difficulty for a lot of people).So what if I drove instead of hitchhiking or hiking. I CAN’T WALK. Or maybe I can walk but only short distances so we drive to the national park so that I have the ability to do a short walk and see some nature. Yes it would be great if I could walk further. You don’t have to remind me how much I would love to go hiking and climbing in the mountains again. It is wonderful to do and I would love to do it again. But it simply isn’t available to me or to many others.Related to classism above what about education and intellect. Some people have learning disabilities, so people have not had the opportunity for a great education. Some people are restricted in what information is available to them. If all people want to do or know to do is go to a tourist destination that’s ok and not bad. They are not at fault or lesser than you who has managed to figure out the complicated process of booking travel and negotiating visas and guides to get to a remote village you read about in a photography magazine. It’s just as valid to go to Majorca with your friends because your hairdresser said it was fun as to go to the home of the beautiful artefacts you saw in a museum. Screw yours elitist, ablesist Traveller vs Tourist bullshit. Also, while I love camping, there’s no way in HELL I’m going to hitchhike to anywhere. I would love to, but I, as a women, know that in 99% of all cases it would turn out to be a fucking stupid idea.My annoyance was rising as I scrolled through those cartoons and it was such a relief to get to the end and find that I wasn’t the only one who thought it was complete and utter bullshit.ALL OF THIS!Also, on a basic level, those cartoons absolutely fail to make traveling look better than touristing. The tourist is staying in comfortable accommodations (so they’re not only happier when not sight-seeing, but probably sleeping better and thus getting more energy to do the sight-seeing using reliable transportation so they can spend less of their time waiting around; taking pictures that include themselves and their loved ones which will definitely help jog their memories of specific moments when looking back on them than cold, if well framed, pictures of empty scenery; and seeing attractions that are, if a bit prosaic and crowded, popular for reasons that likely make them genuinely more cool and interesting than whatever the traveler is attempting to accidentally stumble upon. The tourists experience is being advertised as more fun in every particular except that they don’t get to congratulate themselves for not being a tourist.If patting yourself on the back for not being a tourist is the best part of your travels, then you’re definitely doing it wrong because it is just as easy to be a smug prick at home.Once again, advice from your friendly local travel agent: travel in whatever way your means, activity level, and interests allow. It’s all good. -- source link