My Essay 8
Three Types of Tourist
In Vancouver and other popular destinations, we see several types of people who come on short, medium, and longer-term trip with different time schedules and purposes. For instance, we see sightseers, people who come to visit their family and friends, workers on business trips, medium stay visitors, and people seeking to become permanent residents. Often, it is hard to tell who is just visiting, who is staying for months, or who plan to stay forever. It is almost impossible to tell residents from visitors. In this regard, people are tourists to begin with and tourists can be classified into three types: short trip, medium travel, and long voyage.
The first type of tourist is the short-term tripper. This type of tourist usually comes in groups of people on a bus, accompanied by a multi-lingual guide and, is forced to maintain a very tight schedule. Their main purpose is to enjoy sightseeing as many famous landmarks as possible in a few hours or days. They often gather and walk around with the bus guide who, explains the local culture in their language. They may get some free time; however, in order to comply with the tight schedule, they must follow the guide’s instruction and keep an eye on the clock. In most cultures, tourists like to buy souvenirs for relatives, co-workers, and neighbors so that they can tell their friends and co-workers how good their trip was. They take a decent amount of time to shop for souvenirs even during their very tight schedule. Many short-term trippers are Asian, because most of the Asia companies don’t allow their workers to take long vacations. They must choose a short-term trip with very busy schedules. Short-terms trips are extremely busy and sometimes seem unenjoyable; however, it is often said that short-term tours are really time effective and enjoyable. Somehow, hurried tourists remember more landscapes and icons than do longer-term tourists.
A second type of tourist is the medium-term traveler. They tend to travel for a couple of weeks to months. They don’t need a tight schedule; therefore, they can enjoy nice restaurants, spend peaceful times on local beaches, and talk with friendly residents. These tourists have ample time frames to relax and enjoy their days and usually have enough money in their pockets. Medium-term travelers tend to be North Americans and Europeans. These travelers’ main purpose is to get rest, relaxation, and enjoy local entertainment. They can spend their time more leisurely than can short-term trippers. They can pace their vacations properly and don’t need to be concerned with souvenirs for others. It seems that this type of tourist is ideal.
The third type of tourist is the long-term voyager with longer-term plans. This type of voyagers tends to visit for months, even years. Sometimes they stay permanently. Many long-term voyagers stay in motorhomes and go wherever and whenever they choose to. Others rent or even buy a condo, live in the same place, and eventually, become permanent residents. These long-term voyagers are much like gypsies. When they have had enough of the place, they move to another and restart their voyage. Sometimes, they stay in one place and put down roots permanently. Then, their voyage is finally complete. Looking back on my own life, I have always been one type of tourist. I was a short-term tripper when I visited Vancouver on a school trip. I was a medium-term traveler when I stayed in Vancouver for months as an international student years ago, and then encountered my husband. Now, I am living on Vancouver Island as a permanent resident. My current voyage with my husband continues.
In the end, everyone is a tourist. Purposes may vary from person to person, but time frame is always a point to consider. Time efficiency, and extraordinary experiences are important for short-term trippers, rest, relaxation and leisure are essential for medium-term travelers, and making a life is crucial for long-term voyagers. I believe, however, that one of the main purposes of any tourist is to try to get as much understanding about the places, cultures and local peoples as they can. This attitude leads tourists to a comfortable state, both physically and mentally, and is an important part of their life.
