An Open Apology Letter to the Tourism Industry

Dear Tourism Industry,

I am a traveler, I’ve done the tourist thing on occasion, but mostly I try to take the road less traveled. I do not stay in swanky hotels, I try to stay away from group tours, although I’ll admit that I have done some in the past and I certainly do not buy pre packaged vacations. I like to do things on my own, so I try to steer clear of your help as much as possible.

I’ve long believed that to have authentic experiences, I must avoid you at all costs. I saw your offerings as an ABC version of travel. The kind that says if you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and a show at the Moulin Rouge, you can check Paris off your list. I thought you over simplified destinations, by making them the sum of a few elements, instead of complex a meeting of people, culture and experiences, which really define the unique nature of every place.

I believed the way I traveled was better and I had no interest in your cookie cutter version of it. And honestly, I thought you felt the same way about me — that there was no time to be wasted on travelers like me who spend pennies compared to many “real tourists.” I mean it’s true, I probably spend less in 3 months than the average tourist does in 3 weeks. I save money wherever I can: I book night buses simply to avoid paying for a hostel, I will take the cheapest train even if it means trading in a toilet for a hole in the floor that leads directly to the tracks and I’ll pick a home stay over a hotel any day.

However, I know now that my idea of you was completely false…and I’m sorry. I realize now that the tourism industry is made of much more than five-star hotels and pre packaged vacations. I know now that the cheap trains, the night buses and the home stays I love so much are just as much part of your industry.

You are not the sum of few specific products that I once believed made up the entirety of the tourism industry. It is made up of countless people who put forward a huge variety of products and offer experiences for every type of person and for every preference, including the lifestyle traveler. It is now evident that without your help I would not have been able to visit and experience all theses amazing places and for that I would like to say thank you.

We travelers are a well served segment after all, and although we may spend less money, we do offer one great advantage; we love to share information. We are like walking billboards for the many places we visit along our journey. If we experience something good, we’ll shout it from the rooftops, we’ll spend the next 3 months telling people, if you go to Rome stay at Alessandro Hostel, the staff is amazing and there’s free pizza every night. We constantly share information on where to stay, what to see and even who to meet. Because we are always in close quarters with other travelers, and because meeting and chatting with others is an important part of traveling, word of mouth spreads quickly among us.

I see now that we have been great friends for years and I didn’t even know it.

Here’s to many more.

Sincerely,

A Traveler