To be a tourist

Tourists. We hate them and we love them. We scorn them yet we need them. And what of the Christian tourist?

A tourist is a consumer. I like being a consumer. Or at least I can’t help being one – and neither can you. As a tourist, I am primarily a consumer. And…that’s OK!

Isn’t it?

Markets are driven by consumers. Whole economies are based on tourism. And just like ‘global trade lifts millions of people out of poverty’¹, so too can tourism stimulate a healthy wealth spiral.

And sure, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. If the terms ‘responsible tourism’ and ‘ecotourism’, have been coined, then the converse must exist also. Dodgy tour guides, horrible hotels and governments that will misspend money - yes, they’re around. But that shouldn't stop you travelling – just like bad farming should not make you vegetarian. As I tour, and spend, I’d hope that some of my taxi fare and airport taxes would go into feeding some honest, hardworking father and his family (God bless them). And then, not only would I have consumed, but contributed.

Sometimes we are so caught up in being a hero, doing something daring, something great – for the sports team/school/community/God  -  and please, go ahead! we need more who will do so. But then I think there is an equal need for ordinary people – ordinary Christians – to do ordinary things, with the big picture in mind. Aware of how the world – our world – works: what makes it spin (money does make the world go round), and how we contribute – for better or for worse. 

The responsible, eco tourist is in a great position to live this out, and, with God’s grace, this is what I intend to do.

¹Mark Powell, CEO The Warehouse Group