Traveling V.S Tourism

4273

 Meta Carstarphen

1/25/15

By: Regennia Johnson

I want traveling to be a substantial part of my life. This experience really allowed me to gain further knowledge of the difference between being a tourist and a traveler and that has allowed me to gage what the tourism experience means to me. I think a true tourism experience goes beyond the common attractions that are often posted on brochures and magazines. To really engage in the culture and absorb the place that one is traveling to, it must be understood that those attractions are just that…attractions. They are put in place to attract people to come in, spend their money and make people feel like they expanded their horizon by engaging in the most superficial cultural thing that the town has to offer. The tourism experience means speaking to people from the community and learning about what is important to them… what things they value in their culture. I also believe that the tourism experience is about allowing yourself to be open minded enough to go beyond what you initially thought about a place and learn for yourself and from the residents what it is really about. This means stepping outside of what media feeds people about certain locations and cultures.

1.     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adventure-collection/traveler-or-a-tourist_b_3568344.html

2.     http://traveltips.usatoday.com/differences-between-tourist-traveller-103756.html

3.     http://www.racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/understanding/culture-language-identity.html

4.     http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-travel-hospitality/466163

5.     http://www.tourismandmore.com/tidbits/using-the-social-media-for-tourism/