Always call yourself a traveler? Here’s why you should embrace being a tourist.

The word tourist sometimes gets a bad rap.

Lots of people want to call themselves travelers, not tourists. They avoid group tours, and anything labeled a tourist destination.

I think they’re missing out.  

While I prefer to promote destinations considered “off the beaten path,” I don’t turn my nose up at the popular places when I’m traveling. I’ve visited so many popular tourist destinations: Machu Picchu, the Eiffel Tower, Angkor Wat, the Marrakech Medina, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, the Aya Sofya in Istanbul, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and many more.

These places got famous for a reason: they’re amazing.

I loved every one of them and most visited over and over. I’ve been to Machu Picchu a dozen times, Angkor Wat repeatedly over several days, the Aya Sofya at least six times and I’ve lost count on the Eiffel Tower and Marrakech Medina. Every time, I learned something new and every time I loved it.

Just being at these destinations labels me as a tourist.

Nobody lives at Machu Picchu or the Aya Sofya. While I now live in Cusco, near Machu Picchu and lived in Istanbul when I visited the Aya Sofya, I was still a tourist at these famous sites. I wasn’t offended when people offered me tours and souvenirs. I like being a tourist and don’t mind when people treat me as one.

The people who live and work at major tourist destinations know how to treat tourists.

With few exceptions, the people that you’ll meet at popular destinations are used to tourists. Most of the people who live and work at these places are dependent on tourism for their income. They’re likely to be welcoming and to know not to bite the hand that feeds them.

This is not always the case at “off the beaten path” destinations.

People who don’t benefit from tourism, whether in their local economy or the local infrastructure, often don’t see any reason to be welcoming to outsiders. If you’re traveling in a country where the culture places a high value on hospitality, or where people are generally curious about foreigners, you’re likely to have a great experience anyway. However, places where local communities have been subjected to exploitation from foreigners may have a different reaction.

Communities that have been exploited may view tourists with distrust.

The example I know best is the Indigenous People of the Amazon rainforest. Enslaved during the rubber boom of the late 1800s, tortured by the Maoist Shining Path in the 1970s, and now under attack from logging and gas extraction companies, many communities in the Amazon are understandably used to defending themselves first and asking questions later.

Maybe that’s an extreme example.

My point is that when people seek to go off the beaten path in a foreign country, they should do their research about the place first. Besides checking that communities are welcoming of foreign visitors, make sure that there is adequate transportation, lodging and places to eat. If homestays are common, they’ll likely feed you. If there is just one hostel in town, make sure that there’s a restaurant or somewhere you can buy food. As much as I love the village of Sangarará, there’s only one restaurant in town and it’s open sporadically.

I recommend going places that have infrastructure for tourism.

A variety of restaurants is the most important to me. I can sleep just about anywhere, but when I travel, my favorite way to learn about local culture is through food. If my only option is to cook for myself in a hostel, I miss out on the food that usually makes my trips so enjoyable. The four seafood dishes above are from my trip to Ushuaia, Argentina in February, 2023. Locally sourced seafood (minus salmon) was a highlight of my three weeks in Ushuaia.

Afterall, I am a tourist.

Even though I lived in a small town near Marrakech for two years, I was always a tourist when I visited the city. I was a tourist when I walked through the medina and when I took pictures of the Koutoubia and Madrassa Ben Yousef. I have lived in Cusco for almost five years, yet I’m a tourist every time I go to Machu Picchu. I’m a tourist when I visit the Inca sites in the Sacred Valley. I love being a tourist in Peru.

Embracing being a tourist doesn’t mean I have to embrace crowds.

When I’m traveling on my own schedule, I try to plan for times that the crowds will be smaller. I travel in the off season and find out which times of day are usually least crowded. Still, sometimes being part of a crowd is unavoidable and I just take that as part of the experience of being a tourist.

What do you think?

Do you embrace the label of tourist when you travel? Leave a comment below!

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Staying at Treehouse Lodge in the Peruvian Amazon

Earlier this month I stayed in a treehouse for the first time! It was amazing and I’m so thankful that my friend Susan was there as my travel buddy. We loved the birding, food and of course, sleeping in a treehouse. Click on the link above to read about our experience. 

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Alternatives to Machu Picchu

Like I wrote at the top, while I enjoy visiting popular tourist destinations, I prefer to promote the places that get overlooked. With the number of people per day visiting Machu Picchu going up in 2024, here’s my three favorite alternatives, where you’re likely to see few other people. Click on the link above to read about why you should visit Pisac, Waqra Pukara and Choquequirao.