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Actually, I can understand both sides. I always make fun of "tourists" which are dressed like tourists, behave like tourists, ...
I got a lesson in this in the 90's, when I travelled on business to Oxford, U.K. with my boss. He was going on afterward on holiday to Ibiza, and insisted on dressing like a total tourist around Oxford (when we weren't working). Shorts, white socks, runners, silly sun hat, golf shirt. I, who considered myself a "traveller", liked to try to "pass" as local, by dressing like locals.
But then I observed that he was having a great deal of fun, and I relaxed and realized it didn't really matter. I'm older now, and I still like to "pass", but I'm also much more relaxed about how I appear to others.
Well, I'm not a seasoned traveller (meaning, never been out of the states). But I am unable to comprehend why people go through the trouble to fly somewhere just to stay confined within a resort. We could go to Palm Springs or Florida, or wherever nationally, for lazing at the pool and have drinks. We like to go out and explore the places we vacation at, and would want to do the same thing if we travelled to Mexico or the Caribbean.
Our biggest playground is New Orleans, and we don't restrict ourselves to the French Quarter like so many tourists do. We rent a car and explore the city, take drives outside the city, do a museum or two, and next time we'll do a swamp tour. There is way too much to appreciate there than just the French Quarter. We run ourselves ragged.
So while I admittedly don't understand this "resort" concept, I'm sure that others wouldn't understand how we do things, either.
The resort concept (for us, anyways) is a lot different than going somewhere like NO where there may be a lot more "culture". We just got back from a week in Aruba. Basically we spent every day parked under a palapa on the beach at our resort with a book and not doing much of anything - we didn't do any tours or go into downtown Oranjestad. We sat on the beach, showered, then went out for a nice dinner and some drinks. But doing nothing was kind of the point for us - work has been a bear for the last several months and just vegging out was what we wanted out of that week.
Now if we go over to Europe or something, we generally do go around and be touristy; I'm not sure we "run ourselves ragged" but we don't just sit around the hotel all day either.
But at the end of the day - I see our vacations as a way for us to take a break from our usual day-to-day lives. So we do what we enjoy - we certainly don't "bash" others who have different ideas, and certainly are not concerned with what others think of how we choose to spend our time and money on vacation. If one can come back from vacation and answer the question, "Did you enjoy your vacation?," with a response of "Yes" - then its all good.
It's a problem not just with travel, but with everything these days. People think that what they like and want is what everyone should like and want, and if they don't ... they're wrong. But they're not. They've just different tastes. I guess I have a problem with it if people think they need to tell you that they don't agree with you, and that you're wrong for wanting or liking what you do. That's a no-no.
I know what I want to do when I travel is very different than people I've traveled with ... what a headache that is! I went to Europe once with a friend, and we popped into Paris for a day. There was absolutely NO WAY she was going to go into a museum. Thankfully, the Louvre was closed that day, or I might have killed her. Even though I've been there many times. She, on the other hand, wanted to shop. Not something I want to do on vacation. Except for grocery shopping. I love going in foreign grocery stores.
Different strokes for different folks.
We always check out local grocery stores! LOVE IT! I still want to find this Heinz soup we had in New Zealand. We found some great baby foods in Canada and Germany. There is always something we find that I wish I could get at home.
I went on vacation with a relative that I love dearly but not sure I would travel with family (or friends) again. I just like being able to do our own thing and not have to worry about their preferences. Perhaps a cruise where we can just meet up on occasion for meals and tours but I don't want to deal with coordinating/planning and wondering if they are having a good time. Our family has a found what works for us and it isn't usually best for anyone else.
Also-I don't travel to sit around on a beach/pool--we are very active all day checking out the sights. I can sit and do nothing at home for "free" so if I am leaving home then I am expecting an adventure and experiences.
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