‘Traveller' or ‘tourist'? These days you can be both at the same time
Are you an independent traveller, or do you prefer to travel in an escorted group?
Those who prefer to travel solo or with a chosen partner usually reject the idea of barrelling around a country with groups of strangers on rigid itineraries.
They like to take it slow, dive deep into a culture, hang out with locals and follow their instincts. They don't want to do that with 40 other people and a tour guide in tow.
On the other hand, some travellers are happy to allow others to make the arrangements for them. They feel more secure in a group with experienced leaders and a good ground game that smooths out unexpected events such as transport delays, natural disasters and even political upheavals.
These days, you don't have to be in one camp or the other. Independent travellers might choose to travel in a group to more complicated or risky destinations, while those who like the safety of escorted tours find opportunities for private experiences during, before and after the main event.
The world is so complicated now that it's natural for travellers to feel some uncertainty, which might explain the resurgence in group touring, certainly since COVID-19 taught travellers what it was like to be stuck far from home or have plans massively go awry. Recent geopolitical events have created another level of anxiety.
Among reasons for the increased popularity of escorted tours is that 'touring is not what it was', says Dennis Bunnik of family-owned Bunnik Tours, an Australian company that has specialised in small group tours since 2004.
'For a long time, the Australian touring market was dictated out of North America because that is the largest market,' Bunnik says. But touring has developed beyond that, especially for the Australian traveller, he says.
'Australians travel further and longer than anyone else, so we don't have to be rushed,' he says. 'We want to know what's around the corner. We're naturally curious and natural explorers. We don't want to take a bubble of Australia with us.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
30 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
'High degree of caution': Australia issues new warning for travellers to Bali
Australians are being warned about the risks associated with travelling to Indonesia, particularly Bali, after a number of incidents. In an update on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller website urged travellers to "exercise a high degree of caution" while holidaying at the popular destination. The advice highlighted that Australians had drowned at unpatrolled beaches "due to rough seas and strong rip currents". It also cautioned against leaving food and drinks unattended due to a rise in drink spiking and methanol poisoning, with several cases reported in Bali and nearby Lombok. The travel advice came only two days after a 23-year-old Sunshine Coast man, Byron Haddow, died while holidaying in Bali. The cause of his death is unknown. The Smartraveller site also issued a reminder about saltwater crocodiles, which are present in Indonesian rivers and lakes. It urged Australians travelling to Indonesia to respect local customs, publishing a list of dos and don'ts. It included checking visa and passport requirements to ensure entry, with travellers reportedly denied due to tears or water damage to their passports. More than one million Australians visit Bali each year.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'Earning two months in two weeks': British expats reveal staggering $9,000 a fortnight salary as a FIFO worker in Australia
The possibility of earning more than $9,000 a fortnight as a Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) mine worker in Australia has seen Brits flock Down Under in droves. Cash-strapped expats from the UK have joined Australian citizens increasingly enticed by the pay packet on offer for FIFO work, particularly for roles in remote mines in Queensland and Western Australia. And it seems the cash benefits of working long, consecutive outside under the Australian sun outweigh the drawbacks. Caithilín Hughes, 26, from Belfast, Ireland, works long 12-hour days for 14 consecutive days under the Aussie sun as a machine operator in WA. She splits her time between the mine and her home in Perth and says she enjoys FIFO work for the "money game." "The average hourly wage for a machine operator is around $55. We work 12-hour days for 14 days straight. That's around $9,240 before tax," Caithilín told the Irish Independent last week. "Now I spend my days driving huge machines in the mines of Western Australia, earning in two weeks what would take some at home in Ireland, nearly two months to earn." Caithilín Hughes took to TikTok to reveal that her daily rate is about $55 per hour, which she said could total more than $600 per day. "Most jobs are probably going to range from $30 an hour to maybe $60 or $70 an hour," the 26-year-old said. "I work as a machine operator, so I can only really talk about what a machine operator makes. "Most people who come on a holiday working visa tend to work as machine operators. So, you're probably going to get paid from $45 to $65 an hour. "Probably most people will make the $50 to $55 range. So, based on $55 an hour, 12 hours a day, you're going to get paid $660 a day. The 26-year-old enjoys a six-day break in Perth before returning to work for two weeks at a time. She is an aspiring investigative journalist and hopes to one day fulfil her career goal in Belfast, but she is content with her life Down Under for now. Englishwoman Aimee Gale also took to TikTok to say she landed a sought-after role as a FIFO worker despite having limited experience. She said most companies are willing to hire people who meet the working requirements. Those include a working holiday visa, a police check, a white card, and certifications for working at heights, confined spaces, and gas testing. "I must have contacted around 30 different agencies, maybe even more, just calling them, emailing them, and if I didn't get a response, I would go up to the recruitment agency and show my interest that way," Aimee said. "A lot of people didn't even respond. "They also said they were looking for somebody who had a year experience or at least six months." Aimee said being a FIFO is not always rosy; it also means being "eaten alive" by mosquitoes and grappling with intense heat. "It's so, so hot, and you're in your full PPE [protective gear] all day," the expat said. She also described her first work experience with rollers, where people operate a machine to compact materials like soil and asphalt, as "awful". "Then, I was doing TA and hose tech, so (it was) simpler, but still hard. Those were 12-hour days," Aimee said. "So, you've just got to go in open-minded. You can't go in thinking, 'Oh my gosh, this is going to be amazing, and I'm going to meet so many new people', which you do, and it's amazing, but there are downsides to things as well. It's not all sunshine and rainbows." Aimee spends her time off work enjoying snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef and soaking up Australia's rays. Meanwhile, Irish model and beauty pageant titleholder Grainne Gallanagh offered a rare glimpse into her experience as a FIFO worker in a WA mine. Grainne is from Buncrana, Ireland, and relocated to Perth with her fiancé, Ryan Coleman, in March 2023. After a brief holiday, the couple embarked on FIFO work in WA's rugged red dirt mines. It's there the former Miss Universe Ireland spent 12-hour shifts driving trucks under the scorching Australian sun. Despite the harsh conditions, Grainne described the mining work as an exciting adventure that she would highly recommend to others and acknowledged the benefits of well-paid mine work. Grainne was named 'Employee of the Month' in her first month on the job, followed by 'Employee of the Year,' beating hundreds of other workers. "I was so nervous about starting this job and how I would be received in an environment where I had no idea what I was doing, and it was mostly men," she said on social media last September. "But I was so pleasantly surprised; they have genuinely been so unbelievably patient, helpful, kind, and have made me laugh every single day. And the girls have been a dream."
Canberra Times
2 hours ago
- Canberra Times
Australians all aboard cruises as holidays soar
"We do have Australian cruise lines that go up there, but again, it's very expensive and cost prohibitive to the average cruiser so I would love to see more cruise ships change their itineraries.
