do you want to know what type of tourist you are or maybe you just want to know the different types of tourists in general a little bit more it can be really useful to know especially if you are trying to sell a travel and tourism product or maybe you're just looking for the right kind of holiday so in this video i'm going to tell you all about the 21 different types of tourists that we see all the time in travel and tourism let's start by looking at eric cohen's types of tourists he developed a typology and this was one of the first major typologies too cohen said that types of tourists can be put into four categories so let's take a look at these four categories and see which one of these are you are you the drifter drifters typically have an authentic and deep immersive tourism experience they opt to stay with members of the local community rather than in hotels and they spend their time in that local community they seek adventure and they plan their own itineraries this type of tourist always opts for novelty over familiarity you won't see a drifter eating in mcdonald's or shopping in zara the drifter is the type of tourist that is least connected with the mass tourism industry the explorer explorers also seek novelty over the familiar however these types of tourists do often have a little more interaction with the commodities associated with the tourism industry for example an explorer may travel independently and enjoy an immersive cultural experience but they may rest their head on a hotel pillow at the end of the day this type of tourist will generally eat and shop local but don't be surprised if they do enjoy a big mac from time to time the individual mass tourist the individual mass tourist seeks the familia rather than the new these types of tourists want familiar food they want to be able to communicate in a familiar language and they want to stay in types of accommodation that they are familiar with however the individual mass tourist is not constrained by the likes of group tours and activities yes they may book their holiday through a travel agent or use a local tour guide but they will typically opt for solo travel over group tours we then have the organized mass tourist the organized mass tourist does seek the familia typically as part of an organized group these types of tourists seek the familia over novelty every time and they are often found with tour guides and undertaking group tours the organized mass tourists will generally have an itinerary or a plan and they will stick to it and there is also another academic called stanley plug he developed a typology of a sort as well let's take a look at that essentially plot grouped tourists into three types and then maps this to the way that a destination may rise or fall in popularity he defined some tourists as allocentric the allocentric tourist is most likely associated with destinations that are on or under developed these types of tourists might be the first tourists to visit an area they may be the first intrepid explorers the ones brave enough to travel into the unknown allocentric tourists like adventure they are not afraid of the unknown and they love to explore allocentric tourists are often found traveling alone they're not phased that the destination they're visiting doesn't have a chapter in their guidebook in fact they are excited by the prospect of traveling to a place that most people have never heard of psycho-centric tourists are the opposite of allocentric tourists psycho-centric tourists are most commonly associated with areas that are well developed and often over developed for tourism many people will have visited the area before them it has been tried and tested these tourists will feel secure knowing that their holiday choice will provide them with the comforts and familiarities that they know and love psycho-centric tourists travel in organized groups their holidays are typically organized for them by their travel agent these travelers seek the familiar they are happy in the knowledge that their holiday resort will provide them with their home comforts the standard activity level of psychocentric tourists is low these types of tourists enjoy holiday resorts and all-inclusive packages they're components of enclave tourism meaning that they're likely to stay put in their hotel for the majority of their holiday these are often repeat tourists too who choose to visit the same destination year on year and if you fall somewhere in the middle you may be a mid-centric tourist these types of tourists like some adventure but also some of their home comforts perhaps they put their holiday themselves through dynamic packaging but then spend the majority of their time in their holiday resort or maybe they book an organized package but then break away from the crowd and explore the local area and lots of people define what type of tourists they are by the type of destination that they are visiting there are the domestic tourists this is when people travel within their own home country according to the united nations world tourism organization a person must be away from their usual place of residence but still in their home country for at least one night to qualify as a domestic tourist popular destinations for domestic tourism include the usa india and china this is because they are big countries with a variety of tourist experiences to offer international tourists international tourism is the act of traveling overseas for business or leisure international tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world which tourists visit which destinations is determined by a large number of factors such as distance to travel cost of living in the traveler generating region as well as the tourism destination region the tourist culture disposable income and other things too inbound tourism is the act of someone traveling to a country other than that of where they live for the purpose of tourism lots of countries around the world rely on inbound tourism inbound tourism is often seasonal meaning that the destinations will have evident peak shoulder and low seasons this is often dependent on weather conditions and school and public holidays and outbound tourism is the act of traveling out of your home country for the purposes of tourism outbound tourism does not include the purchasing of goods or services before or after the trip within the tourism generating country the terms outbound tourism and inbound tourism are often used interchangeably this is because a tourist who's traveling internationally is both an outbound because they're traveling out of their country and an inbound tourist because they're traveling in to another country and another way that we can classify or group tourists is by the type of tourism that they are undertaking now there are so many different types of tourism i couldn't possibly go through them all in fact i did try in my video on 150 different types of tourism i'll link to that at the end but for now i'm just going to give you an idea of the main types of tourists that relate to types of tourism if that makes sense sustainable tourists sustainable tourism is one of the most important types of tourism if not the most important type of tourism and there are more and more tourists embracing sustainable tourism nowadays than ever before sustainable tourism is often referred to as responsible tourism and it basically relies on the premise of taking care of the environment society and economy sustainable tourism principles intend to minimize the negative impacts of tourism whilst maximising the positive impacts ethical tourists ethical tourism refers to tourism that benefits the people and the environment involved it's closely aligned with the concepts of sustainable and responsible tourism many tourists now seek advice on how they can be ethical tourists and they implement this into their travel decisions and behaviours and this is really great to see experiential tourists experiential tourism is derived from the concept of experiential learning whereby a person learns and creates meaning through their experiences therefore these types of tourists focus on immersion with a particular destination its culture people customs and histories experiential tourism is popular amongst backpackers students and tourists looking for an authentic and deep travel experience adventure tourists adventure tourism is one of the most exciting types of tourism adventure tourism is tourism that involves a degree of risk actually it requires physical specialist skills or physical exertion adventure tourists might go rock climbing skydiving white water rafting mountain climbing zip lining and paragliding just to name a few examples dark tourists dark tourism is known as black tourism thana tourism or grief tourism and it's tourism that's associated with death or tragedy the act of dark tourism is somewhat controversial with some viewing it as an act of respect and others thinking it's unethical popular dark tourism attractions include auschwitz chernobyl and ground zero lesser-known dark tourism attractions might include cemeteries zombie-themed events or historical museums cultural tourists cultural tourism is the act of travellers visiting particular destinations in order to experience and learn about a particular culture this can include many activities such as attending events and festivals visiting museums tasting the local food and drinks cultural tourism can also be an unintentional part of the tourism experience whereby cultural immersion with the local people their language customs cuisine etc is an inevitable part of a person's holiday eco-tourists eco-tourism is a form of tourism directed at preserving fragile environments and ecosystems ecotourism commonly occurs in threatens natural environments where the intention is to provide conservation eco-tourism efforts include building tourist facilities that have minimal impact on the natural environment adopting the use of products such as compost toilets or solar-powered electricity eco-tourism has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years and is closely related to the concept of sustainable tourism medical tourists another type of tourism that is increasing rapidly are the medical tourists medical tourism also known as health tourism refers to the act of traveling to another destination for the purpose of medical treatment motivations of medical tourists may include reduced costs for treatment or higher quality provision medical tourists may seek life-saving treatments unavailable to them at home they may be looking for cosmetic surgery or dental procedures amongst other things popular destinations include india turkey and panama religious tourists religious tourism also known as faith tourism refers to the act of traveling for the purposes of religious pilgrimage missionary or interest a branch of cultural tourism religious tourism constituted some of the earliest tourism forms not all religious tourists conform to beliefs or religious practices of the destination that they're visiting which can cause conflict between visitors and worshippers popular religious tourism destinations include israel mecca and varanasi business tourists business tourism or business travel is one of the most important types of tourism that there is because it's so big business tourism is essentially a form of travel which involves undertaking business activities that are based away from home business tourism activities include attending meetings congresses exhibitions incentive travel and corporate hospitality and before i finish off i just want to mention really quickly this debate that i see time and time again about tourist versus traveller and there are so many people often backpackers or budget travelers or long-term travelers that claim they're not tourists but instead they are travelers but if you've watched any number of my videos or read any number of my articles on the website you'll know that a traveler as they as people often refer to it is also a tourist if you are traveling you're staying overnight you're going to someplace new whatever you're doing while you're there you're still a tourist you're just a different type of tourist and hopefully i have demonstrated that in today's video if you like this video please give me a thumbs up and watch some