Travel snobs (airports, best, Greek, attraction)

[Wwanderer]

Originally Posted by quijote

But the key is humility and open-mindedness.

Yes. Especially if you're visiting cultures very different from our own. And respect for those cultures.

[tvdxer]

To be honest, I've found myself engaging in that type of thinking before, sometimes arrogantly (but secretly) snickering when I hear of somebody going on a cruise or package vacation, or eating at a chain restaurant in Manhattan. I will also admit that I wrongly have a tendency to see my tastes as better and more "refined" than those of others, especially others my age. It's not so much that I feel that I am superior to others as that I involuntarily perceive myself as being more "sophisticated" than them. Thankfully, this attitude is not as prevalent with me as it was a few years ago.

However, I see a lot of this, usually thinly veiled, from others. I think there are really two groups when it comes to any activity, particularly leisure activity, that one might be interested in. This is all hypothetical, but it seems to have some truth to it. There are those that are really interested in a given activity - we'll call them the "devotees" - and those who partake in it only casually. Some examples outside the realm of travel would be eating out, photography, and music. One person may be perfectly satisfied with eating at Olive Garden and Applebees, taking snapshot pictures of birthdays and trips on their mobile phone, and listening to whatever is playing on the radio at that time. They "go with the flow" in this respect, doing what the majority does and appealing to marketers who wish to target the least common denominator.

There are those, however, who take a more active interest in certain activities and have specialized tastes. To use the above examples, they might eat strictly at local restaurants and ethnic dives, perceiving that they are more authentic and serve better-tasting food; they might capture carefully composed images with a digital SLR camera, making full use of the manual functions and considering mobile phone cameras not to be of sufficient image quality for special occasions or travel photography; they might develop esoteric tastes in music, viewing the chart hits as corporate trash. With these preferences comes a temptation to look down on those whose tastes are more passive. This minority of devotees actively pursue excellence in their interests, while the majority of casual partakers passively accept whatever mediocrity is marketed to them or their colleagues and cohorts enjoy, at least in the view of the devotees. This leads to a tendency of elitism, and thus arrogance or snobbery.

Heck, our culture ironically sides with the devotees; "sophistication" is assigned a positive value in the English language. By their very nature, those who actively pursue certain leisure activities, separating themselves from the more passive majority and carving out a personal niche in the process, are expressing their individuality. Individuality is a major value in American culture, and it is reputed to especially important among the middle and upper-middle classes, who also seem to be most "specialized" in their leisure preferences. In addition to esteeming individuality further, they also have the time and money to pursue more active interest in leisure activities, and education to support that interest. A paradox comes about when individuals, who are naturally social animals, exercise their uniqueness from the majority in similar ways. For example, foods have become popular in some metropolitan areas that were once the fare of those adventurous enough to venture into ethnic neighborhoods and eat at restaurants where none of the staff is fluent in English; although they may taste good, a motive behind the consumption of these foods may be the consumer's sense of individuality and "coolness" in consuming them. Many once exotic destinations (Laos, Morocco, Eastern Europe) have become popular among "adventurous" travelers, who sometimes scowl at casual tourists, apparently because they have a herd-like mentality, among other ills.

[heavyweight]

There's plenty of room for all types of travelers. I'm sure some in each camp look at the other and think, "Why would you waste your time/money doing that?"

Sometimes I'm a traveler, others a tourist. Could vary from day to day. I'm traveling through Africa with a tent and 50l pack. I'll camp in a few villages and be the sole foreigner. I'll visit Victoria Falls where the only locals present are underpaid employees.
I spend my time and money as I choose and don't worry about how other travelers/tourists perceive my actions. My secondary concern is being respectful of local culture, as long as it does me no harm. My primary goal is enjoying the hell outta my travel.

To answer the OP's question:

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Do you think there is a cachet of travellers who has this belief that they are somehow more 'adventurers' or 'true travellers' than others?

Yes.

I am one of those people.

As BlueWillowPlate indicated, there's a difference between a tourist and a traveler.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Yes, actually it's more the second attitude I'm talking about.

Folk who say why would anyone go to Las Vegas or Los Angeles, it's full of shallow materialistic plastic culture, while they are full of praise for San Francisco for it's historic architecture.

Of course many who do visit LA discover it has a lot of 'culture' too. The original site of the Pueblo/Olvera Street/Union Station is just one example.

LOL - there are entire threads devoted to this topic on the Los Angeles forum.

[chielgirl]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Your *entire* post is spot on, but the point above is the main reason I've rolled my eyes at the tourist instead of a traveler schtick, because it's always rubbed me the wrong way when people prop themselves up with phony superiority.

Chielgirl, maybe one of these days I will be messaging you for Asia advice.
With two kids in Europe, that tends to be our destination, but I know my husband is hankering for other horizons. Maybe we could at least explore more of eastern Europe.

This thread certainly has brought out some interesting comments from very interesting-sounding people.

Eastern Europe?
I can help you out there.

Let me know when you're in Europe again so we can meet.

[Wwanderer]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

To be honest, I've found myself engaging in that type of thinking before, sometimes arrogantly (but secretly) snickering when I hear of somebody going on a cruise or package vacation, or eating at a chain restaurant in Manhattan. ...

... "sophistication" is assigned a positive value in the English language.

I liked this whole post, thanks. One comment about myself--I have been fortunate enough to have gone on 10 luxury cruises. These have all been on ships between 325-700 passengers. Quite a different beast from what most people think of when they think of "cruises". So when I tell people that I cruise, I inwardly cringe, because I know what they are thinking. Yet I don't want to brag to them about the fact that these cruises are different, so if they ask, I tell them what line it is, and that's the end of the discussion, unless they express an overt interest, and then I will tell them. They are, in fact, very sophisticated experiences, although quite different from travelling on land.

But I would never snicker at anyone else who has done a cruise, no matter what line. I have learned my lesson; since I am now retired, I will pull the purse strings in, and probably try one or other of those lesser cruise lines sooner or later, when we're too old and tired to do land travel. We might even take a tour some day, perhaps when we're using walkers!

[annerk]

I'm going on a two week eastern Med cruise this summer on one of the very small ships (300 passengers if they sell out, and at this point I think we're looking at 200 or so). It's a full ship charter for a special interest group and we have optional shore excursions that have been customized for our group. Many of the ports are very relevant to our special interest. Because it's a very small ship we're also able to visit ports most ships can't get into.

On our sea days we've got special lectures. I'm expecting a very different experience than I've had in the past on mass market cruises.

In some ports you bet I'll be a "tourist" but in others we're being immersed into the local culture due to our customized shore excursions which will accommodate a very limited number of guests. Granted it will be only for a day, but it won't be the typical tourist "stuff," that's for sure.

[LauraC]

How would we know where we'd never want to go unless some traveler went to the place and took photos of it?

[Budke]

I can act snobbish at times.

I definitely hate on touristy places and resorts because I hate crowds and standing in long lines for an eventual let down and I don't like resorts because I don't understand the point of visiting a foreign country and hardly ever leaving the confines of the resort.

But that's just me. I'm sure a lot of people would turn their nose up at staying in a hostel room with 5 other complete strangers and spending most of my time and money on booze. Which is exactly what I do on my vacations

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by heavyweight

As BlueWillowPlate indicated, there's a difference between a tourist and a traveler.

However, if you read that old thread, you will see that I have little love for travelers who set themselves up as being superior to tourists, viewing themselves as living their lives more authentically.

It's a multi-faceted question. Is travel better if you spend more money? Is it more "real" if you backpack? Which is preferable, being the sole foreigner or sticking with "your own kind" on an exclusive cruise?

There are no right answers. All that matters is what works for you.