25 Types of Travellers: which one are you?
There are as many different types of travellers (or tourists) as there are types of people.
Some people are thrifty, some spend on luxury items. Some rather relax at home by watching TV, some go out in the mountains to hike. So why would it differ for tourists?
During our extensive travels over the years, we’ve tried out different “types” of travelling. I’ve couchsurfed, so I’ve been a budget traveller, and we stayed in a ryokan in Japan – which is, I’d say, at the high end of the luxury traveller. We’ve done spa vacations in Italy (leisure travellers) – and canyoned in Costa Rica and hiked over active lava in Hawaii (adventure travellers).
And on, and on, and on!
We know how different types of tourists can be described, I’d say, and that’s why we’ve got you covered.
Is it different types of tourists or different types of travellers?
The definition of a tourist is “a person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure”.
The definition of a traveller is “a person who is travelling or who often travels”.
I’d say it’s pretty similar. I believe that travellers travel for pleasure as well, haha. Or that “often” is quite an ambiguous word. Like, who decides what “often” means in terms of travelling?
What are the types of tourists in the travel and tourism industry?
In the travel industry, tourists are identified by psychographic and demographic definitions. The demographics are, of course, the standard ones: age, income, occupation, location, and family status. The five psychographic types of tourists as identified by Stanley C. Plog are allocentric traveller, near allocentric, mid-centric, near psychocentric, and psychocentric.
Allocentric tourists are extroverted in their travel choices. They prefer travelling alone and are adventurous.
The psychocentric traveller, on the opposite, will choose something familiar instead of something new. These are the types of tourists who go to the same destinations every vacation and prefer the all-inclusive options. If they do some activities, they’ll stick to what is included in the itinerary of the events.
The mid-centric type of tourist is, as the name suggests, somewhere between allocentric and psychocentric. They are not exactly adventurous, but occasionally they’ll try something new.
The near-allocentric falls somewhere between allocentric and mid-centric, and near-psychocentric types of tourists fall somewhere between mid-centric and psychocentric.
Different types of travellers
But those terms are really not used that widely, haha. That’s why here in this article I will not be going deep into the academic tourism types, but rather I’ll be describing different types of travellers which are showing up all around the internet.
Because, you know, if you want to find specific information online about the type of travel you want to do, looking up “allocentric” will not bring you answers!
Well, these are, obviously, not all of the types of travellers that are out there – that list would be pretty endless! These are some of the most popular or some that I found especially interesting. Enjoy!
Types of travellers grouped by travel budget
Big monies? Small monies? Different people travel on different budgets, and it’s completely understandable. You don’t need to throw lots of cash around to enjoy places. Here are the most popular types of tourists based on how much money they spend on their trips.
Budget travellers
As the name suggests, budget travellers spend as little as possible when they go travelling. They don’t have a lot of money to spend, so they try to find the cheapest flights (don’t we all generally?), the cheapest accommodation, and activities.
Staying in hostels, which budget travellers often do, is one of the best ways to make friends while travelling. A hostel doesn’t mean staying in a dorm, though! There are many that have private rooms with private bathrooms.
Backpackers
Backpackers are a part of the budget travellers, with the difference that they have so little stuff with them that it can fit in a backpack. Backpackers, just like budget travellers, spend as little as possible.
Related: how to choose the best hotel for you
Luxury travellers
On the opposite end of the spectrum, luxury travellers don’t care how much money they spend on their vacation. They’ll stay in the most luxury of accommodations, go to expensive restaurants, and if they fly, probably do so in the business or first class.
Mid-budget
This is where we fall when we travel. We don’t really stay in luxury accommodations (with some exceptions, such as a ryokan in Japan), travel economy on the plane, but at the same time won’t stay in hostels even if it would make the trip more reasonably priced, such as Patagonia for example. We don’t go overboard with spending on the trips but still like our comfort.
Activity-based types of travellers
Different people like different activities, so it makes sense that there are travellers that prefer something more adrenaline-inducing than other things. So it makes sense that one of the most popular ways of defining types of travellers is based on activities!
Active travellers
Active travellers, such as we are, will look for active activities in the destination they are going to. An interesting hike, ziplining, canyoning and so on. Some of their activities are adventurous, but mostly they’ll be nothing crazy.
We are active travellers who mix in some much-needed relaxation on our vacations as well.
Related: Patagonia is one of the best destinations for active travellers and adventure seekers
Adventure travellers
The next level of active travellers, the adventure seekers will try and do any adventure activity they can find. These people like travelling and adventures, of course,
They might go to Dubai for a single reason – to do parachuting. Go to the Philippines not to lounge on the beach but to go diving. Or go to the Maldives to enjoy feeding sharks.
Our biggest adventures, as I said, include hiking over a lava field before sunrise to photograph lava flowing into the ocean and canyoning down a waterfall in Costa Rica. Also, we snorkelled with manta rays at night, went on a tour through middle of nowhere in Bolivia, and on, and on.
Foodies
If you mention to a foody that you’re going to Naples, they’ll know that that’s where pizza is originally from and the restaurant where you can try the best pizza. We are kind of foodies, so we know that in Japan, it’s not just sushi you need to try or, if you want to try a guanaco filet, you have to go to Patagonia.
Basically, food might not be the main reason a foody travels, but he definitely will try the best – and most original – food a place has to offer.
Experience seekers
Wherever these guys go, they want to experience at least something that’s typical or special for the destination.
It can be having sushi in Japan, it can be riding a gondola in Venice, it could be visiting the Louvre in France… – and yes, those are things that we did. As was hiking the most beautiful hike in El Chalten, Argentine Patagonia.
These types of travellers don’t have specific types of activities that they love, just that they want to experience the best the destination has to offer.
Cultural travellers
Cultural travellers love to enjoy everything cultural the place they go to offers, such as museums, galleries, and historical sites. But not just that – they love to learn everything about the culture of the people of the place that they visit. They love engaging with locals to learn more about the history and everything else about the location.
We are not really cultural travellers, but still, we visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Louvre in Paris, and the Park Guell in Barcelona. You don’t have to be a culture traveller to enjoy culture, but if one of the main reasons you travel is to visit these sites, consider yourself a cultural traveller.
Religious travellers or pilgrims
These types of travellers enjoy checking out everything religious the location has, such as churches, cathedrals, mosques, and others. Generally, religious tourists like to visit places connected to their own religion, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be like that. Visiting pilgrimage trails such as Camino de Santiago can be considered religious tourism as well.
Related: Kyoto in Japan is full of incredible temples
Relaxation-lovers
Is there a spa available at the destination? No? So what’s the point of going there?
Exaggerated, of course, but relaxation-lovers prefer places where they can just, well, relax. Lounge by the pool or by the beach, just walk around the place slowly without making any extra effort. Go for dinner and repeat.
These types of travellers are most likely to go to all-inclusive hotels and just relax. We occasionally do just that, even in Japan.
These would be the psychocentric travellers in the tourism industry. And if you’re wondering what to call travellers who are not adventurous, I’d say those are relaxation lovers.
Where they generally go makes different types of tourists
Whether the traveller goes, there’s a name for it.
Domestic travellers
Domestic travellers like to explore their own country. Instead of going to that incredible tropical island, they’ll go to an ice cave that is just a few hours’ drive from their home.
Obviously, some countries have more options to explore and enjoy. The USA, in my opinion, is much more suited for long-term domestic tourism than Monaco, haha.
International travellers
As opposed to the domestic traveller, international travellers are a type of travellers that will first and foremost go abroad for their trips. They either don’t care about their home country or leave its exploration for those times when they can’t go abroad.
Of course, for us, Europeans, it’s much easier to travel internationally than for people who come from huge countries. That’s why we often travel internationally in Europe.
We especially like going to Italy.
Nature goers
These types of travellers spend most or even all of their vacation time in nature. They don’t care about cities, museums, or architecture. Give them mountains, forests, or the sea! In this way, we’re definitely nature goes – we spend as much time as possible in the nature.
City explorers
And again, as opposed to those who prefer nature, city explorers rather immerse themselves in the myriad of metropolitan attractions instead of going hiking in the mountains.
Of course, we do visit cities – Milan, Barcelona, Venice… but most of our travels are to some nature.
Types of travellers based on reasons to travel
What is the main reason for the trip or the main thing that the person will do during their travels?
And I don’t mean the main activities, but like the very reason this trip is happening. Confusing? I understand, haha, so see my examples.
Au Pair
An Au Pair is a young adult who lives in a family and provides childcare in exchange for a weekly allowance, room, and food. Basically, the aupairer is like a live-in nanny – so that’s the main reason they even are on the trip. They get time off as well to explore the country that they’ve gone to. Quite a good way how to immerse themselves properly in the culture.
Business travellers
Business travellers travel because they need to do, well, business in another place. They can be going for a meeting, just spending time at another location the company has, or pretty much any other work-related reason.
Volunteer travellers
Disaster relief, helping build a school in Africa or working on a farm somewhere in a jungle in South America so that they can stay there in exchange for the work and explore in their free time. Volunteer travel is another way to immerse yourself deeply in the environment and see it from the inside.
Missionary
Missionaries go to different places to promote religion. Well, that pretty much describes these types of travellers. Missionaries go into a community to teach about religion and convert them or sometimes provide services, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.
Tourists
Yes, I’m putting tourists as a type of traveller. Look at it which way you’d like, but whichever way we travel, we’re still tourists.
A tourist has no other reason to explore a destination besides the fact that they want to – whether it be learning more about the culture, seeing nature, exploring the cities, or having some adventures.
A tourist is a person who is travelling for pleasure, so pretty much, we’re all tourists. Aren’t we?
Types of travellers – who they travel with
Alone or not alone, the number of people you travel with will change your travel style.
Group travellers
The group types of travellers prefer to go on a trip in a bigger group, even using organized tours instead of planning their own trips. These are the loud friend groups you find, well, everywhere, tour groups, and a bus full of seniors. And, actually, I count couples as group travellers, because even as a couple you still have to count with another person’s choices and moods unlike when travelling alone.
Solo travellers
As opposed to group travellers, these are people who prefer travelling alone. They don’t like being tied to someone else and their wishes but prefer being in complete control of their journeys.
These types of travellers are completely happy enjoying the place alone and equally as happy to meet friends on the way.
It’s quite liberating to just be on your own in a new place, take your time exploring or just do nothing for the day.
Family travellers
Similar to group travellers, family travellers go everywhere just with their family. They often cater their trips to what the children will like and enjoy, but many people manage to put some grown-up stuff on their itineraries as well. Still, family trips will most likely include a theme park or a museum instead of a bar crawl.
How much time do the travellers spend on a trip?
Some people have lots of time to spend at a place, then there are those who don’t and even such that spend their whole time on the road.
From a day to their whole life and in between, depending on how much time you can spend away from home, you might fit one of these groups.
Slow travellers
Slow tourists are those who spend a long time in one destination. A lot of the travel bloggers are slow travellers, as they have quit their traditional jobs and are now travelling the world to enjoy it all. These types of tourists like to explore every nook and cranny of the place, enjoying both popular attractions and off-the-beaten-path things.
Vacationers or frequent travellers or weekenders
Frequent travellers are the types of tourists that spend every opportunity they have to go on some trips. It may be only twice a year or so when they have their annual vacation – hence the vacationers. They use many of their weekends to go and see something new.
Generally, vacationers are financially stable – hence they have opportunities to spend a lot of time travelling.
I count us in this same group, although, obviously, lately we can’t just go wherever and whenever.
Digital nomads
Digital nomads are people who are not tied to one location. They often don’t have a home, instead, they change the place they stay from time to time. These types of travellers usually work online (hello laptops) or find short-term jobs along the way to fund their travels.
Does it matter what type of tourist or traveller I am?
Well, the types of travelling doesn’t actually matter that much.
First of all, it’s just interesting to know what type you are, and second, it might be helpful to know what types of tourists you are when researching your next trip. Or, even more so, if you want someone else to tailor your vacation.
If you’re an adventure traveller, you will most probably not enjoy a trip that’s full of visiting museums. And if you’re a budget traveller, staying in a five-star all-inclusive luxury hotel probably will not be for you.
Related: how to plan your vacation
Last thoughts on travel types
Wow, this list contained quite a few types of travellers, didn’t it?
And that’s not even most of them! Just some of the most popular ones that I found worthy, so to say, to include in this article.
Did your traveller type make the list? What type of traveller are you? Let me know in the comments!
You choose peace or war?
Of course I choose peace 🙂
As I perused the vast expanse of the internet in search of knowledge on the various types of travelers, I stumbled upon this gem of a post. The words were elegantly crafted and the information provided was invaluable. My sincerest gratitude for your contributions.