Reflection paper

Reflection Paper: Being a Traveller, Not a Tourist Being a Traveller, Not a Tourist The essay is based on the article ed by Philip Caputo and William Least Heat-Moon The article details a conversation about their travelling experiences across America and elsewhere. In their discussion, they try to show how a traveller is better than a tourist in exploring the diverse geographical and social landscapes in America. Their approach to tourism reflects to my travel experiences in that I find a traveller being better than the tourist. As I travel, I keep records in my field book and read them later with my family members. When I become a tourism manager in the future, I can devise better means and/or give travellers gadgets in which they can record their travelling experiences including taking photos and recording videos. The conversation presented in this article reflects to my personal travelling experiences, which can be used to formulate tourism management strategies in future.
Heat-Moon ascertains that the American topography is diverse and thus travellers should try and visit the various types of American landscapes. Caputo adds that travelling in America is best experience, compared to other countries (Caputo and Heart-Moon, 2013). In the past two years, I have travelled across many parts of the country and I have seen that America is gifted with a wide range of landscapes. The deserts in New Mexico and mountains in Arizona are incredibly unique and outstanding, compared to other parts of the world. As you travel, you will meet different people who will change your worldviews and perspectives. As Caputo recounts, I can argue that that travelling in America exposes you to different types of “ social landscapes.”
The conversation brings forth the aspect of different characteristics of a tourist and a traveller. When you plan to visit places as a tourist, you often use the main roads and superhighways, as Caputo recounts (Caputo and Heart-Moon, 2013). His colleague adds that a tourist will never use the back roads like the travellers. In the past, my personal travels were not that enjoyable because most of the times we used the main roads. However, when I changed my travel plans and became a traveller, I enjoyed the diverse American landscapes and people. Therefore, it’s much better to become a traveller rather than a tourist who is always on time budgets and visits specific places. Keeping record helps in deepening the experiences when you share them with your friends and family. Based on the conversation and my personal travelling experience, I can advise tourism managers with means through which travellers can record their experiences in form of videos, audio and pictures.
In conclusion, the conversation between the two authors of the article has presented relevant travelling experiences, which just reflects with my personal travelling experiences. The authors have discussed how the diverse social and geographical landscapes in America are unique as well as the advantages of being a traveller and not a tourist. In addition, the discussion on record keeping during travels reflects to my hobby of taking photos and recording videos when am travelling. The personal experiences and the authors’ message will be essential in my future career when I become a business leader or a tourism manager. I will formulate policies that allows record keeping and adjust the travel plans in order to reach out to many unique areas.
References
Caputo, P. and Heat-Moon, L. W. (2013). To See America, Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist. New York: Cengage Learning.