When you hear “tourism” you would probably imagine a travel on the sandy seaside or a sightseeing tour in a hop-on-hop-off bus. However, nowadays tourists became more demanding and travel industry offers lots of uncommon, strange and sometimes shocking activities. We choose top 6 most weird things to do as a tourist – check them all and who knows, maybe you will be inspired to try one some day?
Rural Tourism: This type of tourism returns you to the basics. Instead of an alarm clock – roosters singing in the morning, instead of a coffee machine in the office – a cow to be milked, and instead of vegetables from the biomarket – fresh food straight from the garden. You can organize such an adventure yourself by finding a local guide or to book it with a touristic agency. Count to spend at least one week in the village, to fully feel unhurried country life and get some rest from rapid urban rhythm. Farm, stables visit, according to the travel dates we can suggest the right and periodical activities linked to plants/products lifecycle, in each period is possible to get your rural experience!
Shark tourism: Such an uncommon and dangerous touristic activity as diving with sharks is a branch of eco-tourisme. Tourists are proposed to go deeply into the water and to meet face to face with one of the most dangerous fishes in the world. Of course, safety measures are taken to avoid accidents. Actually, this is kind of “reverse zoo” when a man is in a cage and an animal stays in its natural habitat. Shark tourism is a way for tourists to see sharks the ocean rather than in an aquarium. It is a form of eco-tourism intended to show in that local shark species are more valuable alive than dead. Divers love seeing sharks, which often means attracting them with food, but how does this affect their behaviour and metabolism?
Festival tourism: Music lovers practice another kind of tourism – festival. And in Europe for one vacation, you can visit several concerts at once. Many festivals go on for three days, so campgrounds and caravan sites are near the stage. Among the cult musical events are the Spanish Primavera (end of May – early June), the British Glastonbury (end of June) and the Hungarian Sziget in August. You can choose a festival like on the Festicket website. To some extent, festival tourism includes trips to grand events like the Brazilian or Venetian carnivals, encerro in Pamplona, Oktoberfest or the Edinburgh festival Fringe. Hornbill or Ziro Music festival in India
Beer / Booze tourism : Another uncommon reason to travel is to degustate various beers in different countries. Why it is cool we asked Johnny – a web developer from , who visited biggest beer festivals in Europe, such as Oktoberfest and Berlin International Beer Festival in Germany, Pilsner Fest in Czech Republic and Birròforum in Italy. British tourists took in the late 1980s and early 1990s from the UK to France or Belgium with the sole intention of taking advantage of the lower prices of alcohol and tobacco
Drug Tourism: Drug tourism is tourism revolving around the consumption of drugs. The Netherlands (especially its capital, Amsterdam) is one of the most popular tourist destinations if you want to smoke weed in public and not worry about getting arrested. Also, in the 1990s Goa, India, was another well-known destination where the younger generation went to rave while under the influence of drugs such as ecstasy. Recreational drug tourism is travel for the purpose of obtaining or using drugs for recreational use that are unavailable, illegal or very expensive in one’s home. Mexico, Peru, Laos, Netherland, Uruguay, Czech Republic are quite popular.
Gastronomic tourism: Cooking courses and ethnic restaurants are everywhere, but it is more interesting to get acquainted with the recipes of national cuisines in their homeland. Perhaps the point here is in the setting and perception, but whatever one may say, the masaman curry is tastier in Krabi and the khinkali in Kazbegi. Traveling in France is definitely worth diversifying with acquaintance with cheeses and wines. The “cheese” regions are considered the birthplace of Camembert Normandy and Burgundy. The perfect pair of soft aromatic cheeses will be wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne. And to learn to understand tea, go to the Chinese province of Fujian, famous for its oolongs and red teas, the home of Puer Yunnan or trekking in Sichuan with its green and yellow teas.
Dark Tourism: Also called black or grief tourism, this gloomy travel branch includes visiting places and attractions historically associated with death and tragedy. In the history of mankind, there have been various places and events linked together by tourism and death, such as the gladiator fights in the Roman coliseum, the places of public executions and catacombs. Today the most favorite places to visit by dark tourists are Places of shipwreck, Ghost cities such as Pripyat after Chernobyl disaster. Among the attractions of dark tourism is the former death camp in Auschwitz, the French ghost town of Oradour-Sur-Glane and other Death Fields in Cambodia. In the US, trips to Alcatraz prison where Al Capone sat are popular. And in Romania, “dark tourists” roam the ruins of the Poenari fortress: historians consider it, and not Bran, the real castle of Dracula.
Astronomical tourism: In most cases, astronomical tourism consists of traveling to various points of our planet to observe unusual and rare phenomenon of the celestial sphere. Usually, it’s a trip to the mountains, because there are the best conditions to monitor the movement of objects, as there is no urban smog and air pollution. Whether you are lunar eclipse fan or just attracted by the secrets of our universe, the astronomical tourisme may become a real discovery and bring you new unforgettable emotions.
Suicide Tourism: It’s a kind of tourism associated with the movement in support of euthanasia, when candidates go to countries where euthanasia is allowed. Nowadays, human euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg, Canada and . By the way, Switzerland today is the real “mecca” of suicidal tourism – this is the only country in the world where euthanasia of foreigners is legalized. And while the world community is engaged in fierce discussions about the ban or legalization of euthanasia, the number of people who visit Zurich to suicide is increasing yearly. And for the last 4 years, according to statistics published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, this number has doubled.
Jailoo tourism: Jailoo tours are organized to hard-to-reach inhabited places, not touched by civilization, where there is no electricity and mobile communications. Jailoo-tourism is widespread in the interior regions of Africa, jungles of Amazon, mountains and steppes of Asia, forests and tundra of Siberia and North America. Jailoo-tourism can be combined with ethnic – stay overnight in a shepherd’s yurt in the Mongolian steppe, settle in a reed hut in a deaf Indonesian village, or stay with a good-natured tribe Dramrayg in northern Tanzania. The “family adopted” traveler lives the daily life of the indigenous population, follows local traditions and rituals and adopts skills such as grazing cattle, making pottery, or making fire not from a cigarette lighter.
Business Tourism: We’ve all seen this in numerous films: the busy businessman who spends most of his time with a phone stuck to his ear or drinking cocktails near the hotel’s pool in front of his laptop. This is what business tourism is all about, a combination of business and pleasure. It’s important to note that surveys have shown this type of tourism is to blame for a seriously high number of men who cheat on their wives. Business Tourism is the provision of facilities and services to the millions of delegates who annually attend meetings, congresses, exhibitions, business events, incentive travel and corporate hospitality”.
Sex Tourism: As should already be obvious from its name, sex tourists are those who travel to another country for sex. Most of the time, the tourist will be traveling from a developed nation to a less developed one. It used to be the exclusive province of Western tourists, but more sex tourists are now coming from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.Popular sex destinations include Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Sex tourism is so important to the economy of countries like Thailand that it already contributes around 12 percent of its gross domestic product.
Ecological tourism: Adherents of this type of tourism are spiritually enriched by being alone with nature. As a rule, eco-tourists serve as a hut in a national reserve, and wild animals serve as neighbors. The goal is to contemplate from a safe distance and do no harm. There is even an international community of ecological tourists who want to benefit the environment during their holidays. However, ecotourism can be very extreme. Take, for example, the so-called “shark tours”, when you are immersed in a special cage in the sea, where predators already carnivorously grin at all three rows of teeth – entertainment is not for the faint-hearted!
Spiritual tourism: The purpose of spiritual tourism is not so much to change the situation as to change oneself. This is an ascetic kind of travel for those who want to find inner harmony and bring thoughts in order. Such tourists travel to countries with a mild climate – usually to India, Thailand or Indonesia – to practice yoga and spiritual practices in a peaceful atmosphere. Spiritual tourism is becoming a major growth area of the Indian travel market with more tourist opting to go on pilgrimage to popular religious cities, such as Varanasi, Badrinath, Mathura & Vrindavan, Dharmasala, Puri, etc
Garden Tourism: Garden tourism is niche tourism involving visits to botanical gardens and places around the world that are significant in the history of gardens and gardening. In 2000 alone the Alhambra and the Taj Mahal received a combined 2 million visitors, which is considered a record for this kind of tourism on a global scale. Private garden visiting, historical garden tourism, urban gardens, and a myriad of festivals, shows and events all allow the green-fingered enthusiast to appreciate the natural world. Gardens are one of the fastest-growing sectors of cultural attractions around with the world, and gardens as tourist destinations are becoming more prominent as targeted markets by tourism groups.
Gay tourism or LGBT tourism: Gay or LGBT as it is also known is niche tourism marketed to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people that provide vacation spots that are nondiscriminatory towards the LGBT community. Nowadays there are many LGBT activities and pride events around the world where the LGBT community can unite and celebrate with one another. Three of the most popular cities are Berlin, Amsterdam, and San Francisco. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT) people are a distinct yet diverse segment of hospitality and tourism consumers.
Dental tourism: Dental vacations, as this subcategory of medical tourism is known, involve tourists who are seeking better dental care outside their city or country. Rumor has it that the whole thing started when British celebrities visited the best dentists in California in their attempts to improve their smiles. For the record, Farrah Fawcett’s and Marilyn Monroe’s smiles have traditionally been two of the most requested by most of these “tourists.”
Enotourism & Scotch Tourism: This shouldn’t be confused with booze tourism since ecotourism is a much classier type of niche tourism involving everything related to the art and history of wine and not just its excessive consumption. Enotourism usually consists of visits to wineries, smelling and tasting wines, vineyard walks, or even taking an active part in the harvest. Scotch Whisky tourism saw record numbers of visitors in 2019, with over 2 million visits to Scotch Whisky distilleries. Eight malt whisky distilleries and a cooperage form the Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland’s Speyside. Seven of the eight distilleries are in production and operational, whilst the Dallas Dhu distillery is a historic distillery.
Kinotourism: The film tourists want to be the characters of their favorite movie for a while, and there are two ways. You can follow in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes in the UK or rent a red Chevrolet Impala and ride in yellow glasses along the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas heroes. And you can be right in the scenery of your favorite movie. For example, explore every corner of Tolkien’s Middle-earth in New Zealand, see the alien landscapes of Star Wars in the Tunisian Tatavin, Matmata and Towazar. And Woody Allen fans can arrange a whole “staircase tour” in Europe and sit first on the very staircase at the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, where the hero of “Midnight in Paris” was transferred in the 1920s, and then on the Spanish Steps from “Roman Adventures”.
Caravaning: Caravans are called motor homes, and it is very convenient to be a homebody and a traveler at the same time. This way of organizing life came up with American immigrants in the 1930s. Moving from place to place, they carried with them folding furniture and household utensils in covered wagons. Gradually, special campsites for caravaners began to appear – such as small communes. And still in the USA and Europe there are a lot of those who are not ready to exchange the trailer for an ordinary apartment or house. If you are easy going and have always dreamed of embarking on a car trip without stopping in hotels, this is what you need. This type of tourism is also good because it gives complete independence from the timetable of traffic, and with it you can take everything you need, including bicycles, surfboards or downhill skiing.
Backpacker Tourism: The purpose of backpacking is the most economical journey. You can identify a backpacker from a distance along the backpack behind your back (and often also on your chest) and the Lonely Planet guide in your hands. Backpackers ride by car or by public transport, and spend the night in hostels, tents or each other – there are special services for this, like kouchsurfing. In developed countries, traditional time is set aside for such tourism – the gap year, the “drop out year” between graduation and the beginning of a career. But to become a backpacker is never too late: a backpack by the shoulders – and more!
Space tourism: In contrast to the backpacking of traveling into space – the most expensive form of tourism, it is just like cosmic money to match the name. The world’s first space tourist Dennis Tito in 2001 paid $ 20 million for a flight to the ISS. Now state monopolies on space are in the past, private companies are building their space centers and spacecraft, and some are already selling tickets for future suborbital flights. Virgin offers 2.5 hours in space for $ 250,000, XCOR Aerospace – for $ 95,000. Another interesting initiative is the Mars One project, whose members can go to Mars for free without a return ticket to establish the first Martian settlement. The first crew of four will fly to Mars as early as 2024, then flights will become regular – once every two years
Ghetto / Slum tourism: Ghetto tourism is one of the newest types of tourism. With the spread of hip-hop culture over the past decade, more and more people have become curious about the places where this music genre and lifestyle began. In the past few years, the American ghettos of Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago have become hot tourist destinations, mostly because of young people who are intrigued by the lifestyle. Far from being viewed as off-limits, no-go-zones that outsiders would be wise to avoid, some slum-like areas in cities like Mumbai, Johannesburg, and Rio de Janeiro have now become bonafide tourist attractions, bringing in tens and even hundreds of thousands of curious visitors each year.
Gambling Tourism: Gambling tourism is a combination of the travel and gaming sectors, covering those players who visit places specifically to gamble as well as the industries which support those players. Casino hotel resorts play a big role in gambling tourism. Gambling tourism also covers players who visit another location to gamble because they are restricted from playing in their home nation or state. Most gambling tourists come to a location from a foreign territory (UK to Vegas or France to Monte Carlo Or Kathmandu, for example), but some places benefit more from domestic gambling tourism. In Macau, the world’s most lucrative gaming market, many players travel to play from the Chinese mainland because gambling is outlawed there
Hunting Tourism: Hunting tourism is a different tourism practice and the activities that hunters carry out with the principles set to realize their hunting purposes. Wild animals allowed to be hunted in Turkey according to their species and hunting period varies from year toy ear. These changes are determined by the decisions of the Central. Hunting Commission held every year. The following animals are offered for domestic and foreign hunters: bear, mountain goat, wild goat, wild boar, lynx, wolf, jackal, and fox. Hunting tourism may be a deeply controversial topic, but for conservationists in Namibia, the lucrative industry is vital for the development of local communities
Golf Tourism: Golf tourism is the term used to describe trips undertaken by persons for which the main purpose is to play golf. Golf may also be pursued as a secondary activity also. In turkey golf facilities are mostly close to the beach, close to accommodation facilities where high-capacity, high quality eating and drinking, shopping and entertainment facilities are offered. These facilities offer the opportunity to take a vacation in a nature-oriented environment with the golf courses which are nested with nature. One of the trends of the last decade around the world are the growing investments in golf in an effort to increase the number of foreign visitors and enhance tourism revenue earned.
Mountain Tourism: Mountain Tourism is a type of “tourism activity which takes place in a defined and limited geographical space such as hills or mountains with distinctive characteristics and attributes that are inherent to a specific landscape, topography, climate, biodiversity (flora and fauna) and the local community. Today around 100,000 people are interested in the winter and mountain tourism in Turkey. Turkey, at different heights, with flora and fauna in the forests, mountains, and winter tourism and wildlife hunting offer different opportunities for lovers of the sport for both mountaineering and climbing. Newmarket in Istanbul, Bursa, Erzurum, Antalya and Kayseri regions is expected to develop widely. Similarly, Nepal & Switzerland are also great locations.
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