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Tourist or Traveler?

by Monique Y. Wells, Discover Paris

When you vacation, do you go as a tourist or as a traveler? I daresay that most people have never asked themselves the question. But for me, there is a definite distinction between the two. When one considers travel as a possible means of bridging cultural gaps in our shrinking global village, the nuances behind these words become important. And in this post-September 11th world, the distinction takes on a new significance.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines a tourist as "one that makes a tour", where "tour" is defined as "a journey where one returns to the starting point". It defines a traveler as "one that goes on a trip or journey…specifically, one that travels to distant or unfamiliar places". These definitions have very different connotations for me. The emphasis in the definition of "tourist" is on the return to the origin, the return home. The emphasis in the definition of "traveler" is on the going, the venturing to a new or foreign place.

In my opinion (based on years of observing visitors to my adopted home, Paris), tourists are more likely to maintain a distance between themselves and the places that they visit. Their purpose in traveling is to "see the sights", take photos and have their photos taken in front of said sights, and perhaps even tempt fate by eating a local dish or two. They often travel in tour groups, which offer the advantage of obtaining cursory information about the sights visited, but also have the disadvantage of discouraging individual discovery. Thus, at travel destinations tourists behave as one would before department store window displays, viewing them but not venturing into the store to browse or to buy.

In contrast, travelers interact much more with the people and places found at their travel destinations. They enjoy not only the main sights, but also the back streets and hidden neighborhoods in and around their destinations. They seek out the things that differentiate the places visited from their home territory. They observe the local culture and inhabitants, and seek to understand them. And in the process, they share information about their own culture.

When I first visited Paris at the age of 28, I was strictly in tourist mode. I traveled with several friends - we met in London and spent three days there before moving on to the City of Light. We spent three days in Paris as well. While there, we partook of all the standard tourist activities - we rode the Bateaux Mouches, visited the Latin Quarter, climbed up to the gallery of Notre-Dame - I've got plenty of pictures to show for the trip. I then reluctantly parted from the group and made my way back to the States, while the rest of my friends went on to Amsterdam.

One thing struck me upon our arrival in Paris, the impact of which did not hit me until much later. As we exited the metro stop Cadet and dragged our bags through the 9th arrondissement looking for our hotel, I noticed that the people on the streets did not look like what I considered a French person to be. They were Arabs, or more precisely, North Africans. And they were everywhere! I vaguely wondered why they were there, but immediately became caught up in keeping up with my friends and trying to find the hotel.

I always had an interest in the French language, and was thrilled to visit the birthplace of the tongue that had for so long been music to my ears. At that time, France represented a language for me, not a people. Certainly not a mix of peoples! And three days is not enough time to grasp much in the way of culture if you are not looking for it.

My fantasy of moving to a French-speaking country was fueled by my visit, but my sense of Paris' cultural diversity was not yet awakened. It was only after I actively sought a job in France that I began to learn more about the history and culture of the country. I remembered our trek through the 9th arrondissement, and began to realize that France's population is every bit as diverse as that of the United States.

So when I moved to France, I did so as a traveler. Not only was I determined to learn about the various peoples who reside there, why they came and how they live, but I also made up my mind to visit other countries with the same perspective. As a result, my voyages have been much fuller and richer, and my understanding and appreciation of my own American culture has deepened.