Jackie Krawczak

Are you a tourist or a traveler?

On a recent trip to Europe, a tour guide asked the group what we thought the differences were between a tourist and a traveler.

Some people shared ideas and then the guide told us his thoughts. He said that a tourist is someone who expects the trip to go a certain way, wants to check boxes of things they want to see or experience, and who does not tend to be very flexible when it comes to their travel experience.

He went on to say that a traveler, on the other hand, is someone who understands that travel, especially international travel, does not always follow an itinerary perfectly. A traveler knows that there are many things that may impact the expectations of a travel experience, and travelers are willing to go with the flow and adapt relatively easily.

For example, when I was on a trip to Ireland, on the day we were scheduled to see the Cliffs of Moher, it was rainy and somewhat foggy. Not ideal weather for an outdoor adventure with the potential for some beautiful views. A tourist might get upset and demand to change days for the Cliffs tour or even ask for some of their money back, whereas a traveler will still enjoy the experience and understand that controlling the weather is an unrealistic expectation. A traveler will still be grateful they got to visit the Cliffs of Moher. Drizzle, winter hats, and all.

The tour guide encouraged us all to practice being travelers on the Europe trip and not tourists and that would likely lead to a better trip experience.

On our travels back from the recent Europe trip, our first flight from Munich, Germany to Paris, France was cancelled. There was drone activity in the airspace, and many flights were cancelled. I was told more than 3,000 passengers were impacted.

Our group of eight were concerned of course but quickly jumped into action to figure out what the options were. We learned that the airline would rebook us, that we could get hotel rooms for the night, and that there were vouchers available for food and possibly transportation. We had to be patient.

It wasn’t simple to figure out how to make these things happen, especially with the language barrier and number of people in the same situation, but eventually (hours later) we were able to find a fantastic airline employee who assisted us.

A few of us took advantage of the opportunity to visit Oktoberfest for a second time. We didn’t have our luggage and were in travel clothes, but we didn’t care – we had an opportunity to explore more and have more adventure, so we figured out the subway system and experienced the festival again.

We were travelers and not tourists.

Before we left the airport for our extra night in Germany, we overhead an angry man at the counter being quite rude to the agent because his flight was also cancelled.

He was clearly a tourist.

As soon as our tour guide talked to us about the difference between a traveler and a tourist, I embraced the concept. I like to think of myself as a traveler and not a tourist. But my thoughts immediately also went to applying the traveler/tourist concept to my entire life.

Could it also be true that if we are adaptable and open to things not going exactly as expected, that we might live happier and more fulfilling lives?

My experience also supports that.

I’m not advocating that we get rid of all personal goals and ambitions, but maybe we should choose to be more flexible and more adaptable. Things will always shift and evolve and when we are fluid and can evolve with it, then we tend to discover more opportunities and fewer hurdles. Sometimes we spend too much time fighting for something that isn’t meant to be instead of embracing the new path we are shown, simply because we want so badly to adhere to the expectations we have of something.

I found the tour guide’s words to be a valuable reminder of the benefit of living more like a traveler and less like a tourist. His words led me to reevaluate some of the areas of stress in my life and to let a few things go that I had otherwise been holding on to.

Perhaps his words can do the same for you.