When Money Divides You: The Difference Between Tourist and Local

Last week, I wrote about scams and how to avoid them while traveling based on an experience I had with a cab driver in Buenos Aires. The comments on that post raised an important point. There is a marked difference between tourists and locals, particularly when traveling through the so-called developing countries. Most times the distance can be measured monetarily.

In Bocas del Toro, a sign at the local boat dock advertises one dollar for the short boat ride across the bay to Isla Carenero, the island where we lived. That price drops to fifty cents if the boat guy knows you. And if you're family or a close friend -- often one and the same in Bocas -- you might just hitch a ride for free if a tourist is already going your way.

Locals often assume that travelers are loaded, and most of the time, it's comparatively true. Backpackers tend to carry a lot of cash. Bloggers stash laptops and cameras in their specialized padded backpacks, also not cheap. Even the most frugal will usually have an ipod. Imagine that your third-hand beaten down ipod costs more than a month's even a year's salary to many people across this planet.

But just because a traveler has more money than a local, does that mean we should necessarily pay a higher price for the exact same service?

On the one hand:  What difference does that fifty cents make to you? How much more would it mean to your boat driver and the family he supports?

Matador Travel talks about 10 Conscious Choices To Make On Your Next Trip in order to be a more responsible traveler which includes supporting local businesses. It also suggests you look at locals and see them not as beggars just looking for handouts, but really seeing the local boat man or the woman selling empanadas out of a bucket as people. 

That's much harder to do when you know your empanada costs more simply because you weren't born locally. How are you supposed to look at the boat guy as just another human being when he looks at you as if you're little more than a human money dispenser? In addition, when all tourists agree to pay a higher level of pricing, the entire economic structure inflates, ultimately impacting locals as well.

Then there's Poverty Tourism, also so viscerally known as "Poorism." The concept, in its idealized state, allows those with travel money to connect with those who not only don't have travel money, often don't have adequate housing, schooling, clean water or shoes. But really, how often is the reality of a concept ideal? Poorism, and I sort of choke a little every time I type the term, by its very nature posits two separate groups of people. The Haves and the Have-Nots. The Us and the Them. What sort of real connection can be made under such circumstances?

Well, those with money are more likely to give if they see who they are helping. Would it mean more to know your ten dollar contribution to Bocas Education Service Organization (BESO) goes directly to buy shoes, uniform and backpack for a little girl named Rita, the adorable six-year-old whose hair is tied back with her favorite ratty pink ribbon? She's lived on the island her whole life, and without your help, she probably won't go to school. With an education, she can read, write and suddenly has the opportunity to be a teacher or work in a local business. Without an education, if she can't find a job cleaning for a dollar an hour or less, she may well end up in Changuinola working as a prostitute by the time she's fourteen.

Sounds harsh, but all too true, and you're not likely to find this reality in your average vacation photos.

So, must we simply accept the reality of separate pricing? The local one for those who live on less and one for those of us who have the money to travel. Or should we rail against this system, thus putting tourists and locals on the same level, eating the same foods, going to the same places and interacting as equals.

What do you think?

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Photos courtesy of Alex Barth and bradipo's Flickrstreams

Comments

[Lilly]

Hey,

Very interesting post. It reminds me of my travels to the Dominican Republic. Although I was born there, to the locals I am a tourist. Once you leave the country whether it is for a better education, a better job or a better life you are no longer the same. This then becomes a problem when you are a tourist to your home country and an immigrant to your resident country. At times I get mad because there is no difference between "us" and "them". Some people will make jokes and offend you because you left the country, but they don’t realize you are trying to better yourself just like they are. You left to get a better job and send money back home, money for "them".

In regards to your posting I think that things are the way they are because of how tourists portray themselves. You have people that will travel and at times show off that they are tourist and come from this other "great" place. They throw money around and many times these same people are having trouble paying their own rent. Traveling should be to explore, learn and interact with other people/cultures not to show off what you have.

With those organizations, how do we really know if the money is being used correctly? It’s sad how corrupt people can be and the money you may send to help a child may never reach them. I’m one of those people who wants to help the world but at times it becomes so difficult. Should we send money anyways, not knowing if little Rita was able to get her shoes for school? Is just knowing that you sent money enough for us to help. Or do we not send money and not help bad/rich people get richer. I would really like to one day start a non-for-profit organization that would help those in need. Coming from a country with high poverty rates I know how important this is.

[Leigh Shulman]

Hey Lilly,

You make many really excellent points. I also know what it's like to be from one country but live in another. You sort of don't belong 100% anywhere, but then you also are a very real part of many different communities.

Now how tourists comport themselves is another matter. I've most definitely seen how many tourists don't treat the towns they visit with respect. They can be loud, obnoxious, don't treat locals like people and will litter and leave a mess without thinking twice.

The organizations? It's so hard to tell. Even those with big names and huge reputations aren't immune to corruption. BESO is one where I personally know the people running it. I've been to their charity chili cookoff in Bocas, too. There are some other Bocas based charities that I trust as well. One is a place where you pay to camp out with manatees and other endangered species. It's surprisingly cheap as long as you go directly through the organization. But there are also umbrella groups that sponsor these campouts as well, and you pay much more to go through them. I'll have to look up the specifics of these organizations and post back.

[Ken & Hanako]

Capitalism is all about seeing everyone around as a human money machine. It's not just when traveling. It's also about charging whatever the market will bear. Just think of it as bargaining everywhere. If you walked into a street market and wanted to buy something and the seller started at 100 and you talked her down to 75, the price you'd be willing and able to pay for the good, it doesn't really matter what the cost to the seller is. If someone else walks in and the seller can see by his appearance that the person won't be able to afford 100 or even 75, she might start lower and of course the buyer won't be able to close the deal unless he can afford the ending price. You're just seeing a more overt and systematized application of the same principle. Of course, you could try to bargain more aggressively where ever you go, but it would just be a waste of time for a couple of cents of savings. The only solution is to do away with money and markets, but that's not likely to happen in our lifetimes. Until then we're all just walking commodities to each other.

[Marco Polo]

Hey there,

I'm resisting the impulse to rant on anecdotes I could give about paying significantly more than a local.

Generally, I've found that engaging with the locals does not only make the traveling experience better, it can also bring the price down. Of course that has its limits.

To end with a little anecdote nonetheless: When I was on a trip in Mexico, I ate at a a tiny restaurant and over a couple of broken attempts at Spanish got into talking with the owner about family (in a mix of broken English and Spanish). Not only did I get an insight into Mexican culture and family life, I also got a free drink for my meal.

Engage with the people and they will engage with you!

Paul-Christian Britz
Social Media Director
Team Marco Polo
Filmateria Studios, Seattle

[Leigh Shulman]

So then, I suppose the question becomes how to break through commodity. Do you initiate conversation as mentioned below by Marco Polo? Do you just accept it?

Perhaps it's also more prevalent in area of higer tourism. I have been amazed in Salta how there really isn't such thing as haggling over prices and there's generally one price for everyone. I've even had cab drivers return money I intended as a tip telling me I've paid too much.

I find it hard to stomach the idea of just accepting I will be a walking commodity. There's just that part of me that wants to believe that people across the world are really people.

[Leigh Shulman]

How apropos, Paul, that you focus on the anecdote that supports the type of travel I think most of us (at least those commenting on this particular post) would prefer.

Sometimes simply expressing interest in a person on a real level, asking about family, their lives, things like that are enough to make a real, non-commodity based connection.

And then sometimes, possibly more often than not, it won't be enough, but why focus on that?

[Audrey]

Just a few days ago I got an email from a marketing PhD student researching local/tourist price differences and how travelers react to these differences. This topic has been on my mind.

I understand paying a bit more for certain services and entrance fees to historical/natural sights. For example, I want Copan ruins to be at an accessible price for Hondurans, but I also understand that the park needs money for maintenance and I'm OK to foot a bit more of that bill as a tourist.

Unfortunately, it is true that some tourists do seem to flaunt their money around and this gives the impression that we're all loaded and also that we don't care about paying high prices. This usually happens in highly touristed areas and the result is that many local businesses and services look at tourists as walking money instead of human beings. It's hard to break through that.

Similar to Marco Polo's experience, when we get out of the tourist area or find a local place on a back street, it's easier to make a connection as regular human beings. We've been humbled in some instances where people with far less than us insisted on giving us food or drink. In these situations, we WANT to pay but have found that sometimes we insult the host if we insist too much. Sometimes we can find ways to repay them by buying schoolbooks for the kids or shopping in their store.

The phrase "poorism" is awful, but I understand the idea of trying to open the eyes of those with money to the reality of life for so many people around the world. And, through this interaction they may be more willing to act with money or time. The difficulty is to not make the experience like a zoo where the differences are so vast between the two groups and there is not enough time to break down the divide and relate simply as people (on both sides). More often than not, I don't think this is achieved.

The social enterprises we found in Southeast Asia were good examples of organizations running a business to support a social cause (e.g., street kids, single mothers, etc.) and it was a way for to introduce tourists to socio-economic problems and get them involved with the community.

Lots to think about. Thanks for a great post.

[mediaguru]

check out www.compassionatetravel.org