Travel and tourism is a popular activity, with people taking trips for different reasons. There are three main types of tourists: domestic, incoming, and outbound. Domestic tourists are those who take holidays and trips within their own country, while incoming tourists are visitors from abroad who come to the country. Outbound tourists are those who travel to a different country for a visit or different types of travel, such as holidays, sports, and cultural tourism, or to visit friends and family.
Recently, leisure tourism has become increasingly popular due to changes in lifestyle, people's consumption patterns, and the need for leisure activities to relieve stress and rejuvenate. Leisure trips can be taken for holidays, sports, educational projects, school trips, family trips, weekend getaways, and more. Alternative tourism is a term used to describe a variety of specialized tourist activities. It is a type of travel that is considered to be an alternative to mass tourism and usually involves more personal and unique trips that promote commitment to the environment, local inhabitants, and cultures. Examples of alternative tourism include voluntary tourism, ecological tourism, community tourism, and medical tourism. When it comes to categorizing tourists, there are three main types: those who seek familiarity; those who seek adventure; and those who fall somewhere in between.
Those who seek familiarity usually want a family meal, the ability to communicate in a familiar language, and accommodations they are familiar with. They often take tours with guides or go on group trips. Mid-town tourists are those who like adventure but also enjoy some of the comforts of home. Business tourists may take incentive trips, attend exhibitions or trade fairs, go to conferences or meetings, or attend corporate events. Stanley Plog classified tourists according to his model of allocentricity and psychocentrism.
Another approach to contemporary tourism is to classify tourists according to their level and type of interaction with the destination. Educational tourism involves visiting another country to learn about culture or taking study trips or working in a different environment such as through the International Practical Training Program. The first type of tourist is sometimes referred to as an internal satellite; they focus on a particular aspect of interest by moving away from standard classifications and hierarchies. These types of tourists usually eat and buy local products but may also enjoy familiar items such as Big Macs from time to time. Ultimately, the type of tourist someone is depends on why they choose to travel to a particular destination; there are many types of tourism such as heritage, cultural, urban, rural, ecological and nature tourism.
