To begin, what exactly is a tourist? The definition implies that anyone who is traveling can be placed into this category, but I do not believe this is the case. In their essay entitled “Touring Cultures: Transformation of Travel and Theory,” Rojek and Urry further explore the meaning of a tourist, even questioning if such an entity exist. While the authors do supply the typical definition of tourism as “involving stays of more than four nights and less than one year,” they also agree that this is vague definition that does not explain much about the real desire of the tourist. They also identify the various types of tourism, including day-tripping, culture and excursion. I believe that this acknowledging of the differences among tourists is the catalyst for further exploring the idea. All tourists, in my mind, are unique in their quests. Some wish to discover freedom from the daily grind and experience a new way of life, some long to explore the vast unknown of exotic and foreign places, and some simply travel to visit sights that are of specific interest to them. Therefore, I think it is impossible to squeeze all that it means to be a tourist into a small definition. Tourism, as acknowledged by the authors, is a profound subject that deserves much examination and therefore cannot be satisfied by a measly definition. Many times, society and the media depict tourists with guidebooks, fanny packs, a constantly flashing camera, and a constant look of awe on their faces. However, as we have already discovered, not all tourists fit into this narrow category.
Tourism and the idea of the tourist is an excellent breeding ground for Goffman’s idea of a “focused gathering” that Geertz defines in his essay. Many times, tourists are grouped together in a common activity, such as standing in the square gazing at the Basilica di San Marco, and are relating to one another in terms of this action. They are preoccupied with their common flow, acknowledging one another simply to share guidebooks or ask to get their picture taken. They come together to share a common experience and would likely never have met without the focused gathering to unite them. In my travels abroad, I’ve met many individuals from various cities that I have met only through being a tourist. My identity as a tourist has connected me to these individuals, who I usually meet at the hostel I am staying at. Hostels are strictly designed for tourists and many times offer group outings and activities which I often participate in with fellow travelers. These persons and I have come together through this common activity, together experiencing the beauty of Barcelona or the vibrant London nightlife, only to depart in our different directions with only that moment in time, the focused gathering, to define us and our relationship.
Being a tourist is like being a cultural voyeur, gazing down at another culture with a subjective view. It is easier to see a culture from the outside, including the strange traditions that define it. A tourist is hyper-aware of the culture being that they have others, or at least one another culture, to compare it to. Many times, tourists define their travels by the differences they discover. For example, when I traveled to Barcelona I noticed that nearly everyone smoked and there were not any restaurants or bars that had designated non-smoking areas. Obviously, this is drastically different than the United States, where there is typically a non-smoking area and many parts of the country that are no longer allowing smoking in any restaurants or bars. I immediately noticed this difference while visiting Barcelona and quickly defined the city as a smoking one, which I later found out to be exceedingly true (70% of Barcelona smokes!). As a tourist, it is common to notice that differences between other cultures and your own, and often a tourist remains more sensitive to these differences than the locals of the culture they are visiting, who consider this difference to be simply a part of their daily lives.
There are many rules, or perhaps more properly termed expectations, that going along with being a tourist that our society has deemed. The first of these is that tourists are expected to visit the crucial landmarks and sights while traveling. This is one expectation that I have found to be increasingly annoying during my travels. I have discovered that I enjoy picking several places to visit and spending a great deal of time exploring them, many times places that are off the beaten path of tourist activity, rather than simply rushing through all the major attractions. For example, when I visited Paris I had so many art museums and specific sights that I wanted to see that interested me, but might not have been to interest to others, that I did not even visit the Eiffel Tower because I was simply too busy. I saw that tower from far away and that was all I needed. I did not want to simply see the sights that all the guidebooks told me “not to miss!” but instead I longed to see what interested me and get a true taste for the French culture. For me, it was not important to stand beneath the steel structure and gaze upon it when I had numerous other, and in my opinion more interesting, sights to see. However, when I returned from Paris everyone asked me “Did you see the Eiffel Tower?” or “Why don’t you have a picture with the Eiffel Tower?” I felt discouraged, like I had in some way failed at being a tourist while in reality I had experienced the city in exactly the way I had wanted.
Another common expectation of tourists is that they are willing to spend money, and often a great deal of it. Travel souvenirs are often quite pricey simply because tourists, as simply passersbys, want to quickly snag a piece of the place they are visiting before they move on. Many businesses cater to tourists, raising their prices because they know tourists will be willing to pay. In Venice, for example, the gondolas are very expensive because they are strictly catered to tourists who want the complete Venetian experience and are willing to splurge for such. Tourists are expected to be in these strictly defined areas and not at the local restaurants and cafes that are off the beaten path. These businesses are often quite rude to tourists simply because they do not belong. Therefore, a specific space is commonly designated for tourists in every city and it is expected that tourists stick to these spaces. Along with this expectation of tourists emerges another: the expectation that tourists need to collect souvenirs or mementos from their travels, rather it be in the form of photographs, postcards or t-shirts. It is expected that tourists came home with a piece of the place they traveled to- a tangible memory to share with others. While traveling overseas, I have followed these guidelines being that I enjoy collecting souvenirs and snapping photos, and I am excited to share there with my loved ones when I return. I feel also as though I am supposed to have pictures to display of my travels, and even for myself, I want to have something to remember Europe by. A fourth expectation of tourists is that they are ignorant and essentially culturally-dumb to the cultural they are visiting. Guidebooks were essentially created to counter the ignorance of tourists- they are not designed for those who know about the city, but instead for those who are uninformed about the city they are visiting. Tourists are not expected to know the language, have knowledge of the specific geography of the city or where things are located, or be aware of dangers such as pickpocketers. In many places I’ve visited, I attempt to speak the language only to be answered in English. I am not expected to try to speak the local dialect; I am simply treated as a tourist and not part of the actual culture. Tourists are expected to have to ask for directions, and pickpockets prey on these distracted tourists who are too dumbfounded by their city map to notice their wallet getting stolen. I attempt to defy these expectations while traveling, by attempting to speak the language and being hyper aware of pickpockets (which I did see several of in Barcelona). These are just several examples of the expectations of tourists created by society.
In conclusion, a tourist cannot be simply constructed into a stereotype and also cannot be expected to satisfy the societal expectations of what a tourist should be or do. There are many different types of tourists, from the romantic to the collective, and the desires and reasons for traveling vary with these individuals. I have had many personal experiences with being stereotyped into the “typical tourist” and I believe it is crucial to not view tourism in such a close minded way. The culture of tourism is a diverse plethora of individuals who may share some commonalities, such as their focused gathering, but ultimately differ in their internal motivations and external actions.
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