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Is Being “Touristy” Always Bad?
If I polled a handful of friends about their favorite activities, “traveling” would fall somewhere between breathing and bottomless brunch. Judging by the number of articles, blogs, and Instagram accounts dedicated to traveling, my friends aren’t alone in their wanderlust. The “millennial” generation travels far more than any other previous generation.[1] And why not? Seeing the world is easier than ever and traveling offers a chance to experience new cultures and broaden our worldview.
But I’ve noticed a developing trend among my friends: the search for the “local” experience. Although what that means seems to vary person by person, it generally appears to involve skipping popular tourist attractions in favor of aimless wandering and serendipitous encounters. It’s about relying less on mainstream resources and relying more on word-of-mouth recommendations for “non-touristy” activities. It means digging below the supposedly popular junk peddled to the typical sightseer in search of the “authentic” core of a destination.
I think the “local” experience is the wrong way to travel.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the ideal travel experience is a jam-packed agenda of one tourist attraction after another. Or that just because an activity isn’t…
