Selfie stick or tripod? Hotel bed or hammock? Goa or Gokarna? Holidify, an Indian travel-planning website, drew thirteen simple side-by-side illustrations to sum up its view of the difference between a tourist and a traveller. The joke at their heart is easy to read: if you like hotels and own a selfie stick, you are probably a tourist.

Tourist with a selfie stick, traveller with a camera on a tripod – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

Tourist vs traveller on the road: crowds, routes and signs

The first panels are about how each one moves. The tourist poses with a selfie stick; the traveller sets up a camera on a tripod and waits for the shot. The tourist’s road sign points straight ahead, while the traveller’s board is a jumble of winding roads, “rough road”, “road closed ahead” and “summit point”. One panel shows a line of five identical tourists against a single traveller, and another sets a smooth highway against a trail of stepping stones disappearing into the distance.

Tourist on a straight-ahead road sign, traveller facing winding, rough-road and summit signs – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourists in a group of five, a traveller on his own – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourist on a paved highway, traveller on a path of stepping stones – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

Packing, souvenirs and sights

In the packing panel the tourist carries a suitcase, a laptop, a map, a price-tagged bag and a charger, while the traveller travels with a backpack, sunglasses, a phone, a lens, a T-shirt and a small pile of coins. For souvenirs, the tourist buys the classic I ♥ NY T-shirt and the traveller brings home a string of prayer flags.

Tourist with a suitcase, laptop and map, traveller with a backpack and few essentials – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourist in an I love NY T-shirt, traveller with a string of prayer flags – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

At the sights, the tourist stands beside the Eiffel Tower and hails a taxi, while the traveller scrambles up a steep slope. Later, the tourist stands next to the Taj Mahal and the traveller floats overhead under a paraglider.

Tourist at the Eiffel Tower hailing a taxi, traveller climbing a slope – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

Where they sleep and how they get around

Three panels deal with comfort. The tourist sleeps in a bed, the traveller in a hammock. The tourist’s room has a double bed, a desk and a bedside lamp, while the traveller pitches a tent beside a backpack, torch and sleeping mat. On the road, the tourist arrives by car with a wheeled suitcase; the traveller rides a motorbike or sticks out a thumb to hitchhike.

Tourist asleep in a bed, traveller relaxing in a hammock – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourist with a hotel bedroom, traveller with a tent and camping gear – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourist with a car and wheeled suitcase, traveller on a motorbike and hitchhiking – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

The last pair of “dream” panels sums it up: the tourist walking with a suitcase dreams of a bed, the hiker with a pole dreams of a flag on a summit.

Tourist dreaming of a bed, hiker dreaming of a summit flag – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify
Tourist beside the Taj Mahal, traveller paragliding – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

Goa or Gokarna? The final panel explained

The closing illustration is the most Indian of the set: the tourist heads to GOA, the traveller to GO-karn-A. Gokarna is a temple town on the Arabian Sea coast in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, south of Goa. Its Mahabaleshwar Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is said to house the Atmalinga and is a major pilgrimage site; the town is also mentioned in the Mahabharata.

Tourist bound for Goa, traveller bound for Gokarna – Holidify illustration
Illustration: Holidify

Gokarna’s beaches are what draw backpackers. Kudle faces west, while Om, Half Moon, Paradise (also called Full Moon) and Belekan face south, and walkers link them on a coastal trek. Gokarna Road station, about 10 km from town, sits on the Konkan Railway, with trains from Mumbai, Goa and Mangalore. The nearest airports are Goa, Hubli and Mangalore.

Travelling well, whichever side you are on

Most people recognise themselves on both sides of the panels: a guided tour one day, a long unplanned walk the next. What matters more is how you treat the places you visit. Respect religious sites and homes, ask before photographing people, pay fair prices and support local businesses. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council, a nonprofit that sets the global criteria for sustainable hotels, tour operators and destinations, is a good starting point for checking whether a company takes this seriously.

For a famous sight done thoughtfully, see our Louvre guide, or try some of our free travel activities. More travel ideas:

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