Be a travel pro, not a tourist: 5 tips

Are you a traveler — or a tourist?

Before you answer, consider the following: Being tagged as an out-of-town or foreign visitor is no longer just an inconvenience that can make the locals overcharge you for your cab ride or try to sell you fake jewelry. In some places today, it could cost you a lot more than money.

A few years ago, six gunmen disguised as police officers fired randomly at tourists visiting the Temple of Hatshepsut in Egypt, killing 70. Tourists have been attacked -- and sometimes killed -- in Guatemala, Russia, South Africa and right here in the United States.

"You don't want to be a tourist," says Sharon B. Wingler, a flight attendant and the author of the book "Travel Alone & Love It: A Flight Attendant's Guide to Solo Travel." "Tourists are targets for pickpockets, beggars, thieves, swindlers, gigolos, prostitutes and worse: kidnappers and terrorists."

So which is it, traveler or tourist?

Did somebody say "traveler"? Good answer.

But how do you blend in when you don't speak the language? How do you get around without looking like you're lost? Whether you're on the road for business or pleasure, I've found some travel tips that are very useful.

First, a definition of "tourist":

They can be spotted by what they're wearing. Barbara Welch, a project coordinator for public TV in San Francisco, says one of her favorite summer pastimes is to go to Fisherman's Wharf to spot the tourists. "They are invariably wearing sandals, complete with blue toes, shorts and a hastily-bought 'I love San Francisco' sweatshirt," she says. "No matter how many jokes are made about it, the unprepared traveler always equates [all of] California with hot temperatures."
They rarely mix in at local haunts. Anne Wiggins, a former college administrator in Yuma, Ariz., says tourists "eat nothing that they don't usually eat at home." Fast-food restaurants tend to be gathering places for expatriates who are unwilling -- or unable -- to go local. This obstinate refusal by many to become a part of the place can make them easy targets.
They act, sometimes, as if they are out of place. Kristin Lasater, a marketing manager for a car rental company in Tulsa, Okla., shared with me a long list of what she considers the "dumb things" that amateur travelers do. These include putting too much stuff in the overhead bin and "actually talking with a seatmate on the plane." Cute, but I'm more concerned with what happens after they arrive. How about looking the wrong direction before crossing the street in Great Britain? (That's what I did once, and it almost landed me in the hospital.) Or converting all of your American cash to the currency in Jamaica? Your wallet will bulge with about 10 times the number of bills, and you'll find that many Jamaican businesses would rather take American money anyway.

OK, so we know what we don't want to do when we're on the road. So, how do you travel like a pro?

1. Don't bring the kitchen sink. Inexperienced travelers often believe they need to take everything on their trip: cosmetics, a week's worth of clothes, extra batteries for a laptop and so forth. But most of the civilized world now offers the convenience of shopping malls and laundry facilities. Amber Brill, a catastrophe adjuster in Jacksonville, Fla., fits everything into two bags ("one small bag for essentials, like shoes and cosmetics, and a larger bag for clothes"). Her advice: Travel light. Carrying heavy suitcases really makes you look like a tourist. Might as well paint a big target on your back while you're at it.

2. Lose the attitude. That's the advice of Joan Schmelzle, a retired teacher from Rockford, Ill. "I try very hard to know the customs of the place I am visiting," she says. "I try very hard to be a gracious guest and never turn into the 'Ugly American.'" She also tries to keep the wide-eyed expressions to a minimum ("Wow, skyscrapers!") and to look as if she belongs. No, it's not always easy to blend in. In Europe, people always tag me as an American because I can't give up my comfortable boat shoes. Still, there are other things I can do.

3. Know your destination. "Do as much research as you can before leaving home," advises Jean Lutz, an artist from Prescott, Ariz. "The more you know about your destination, the more comfortable you'll be." For example, find out what the weather is going to be like. (You don't want to show up in San Francisco wearing shorts, for example.) Check a guidebook to see what other people think of the place. Read the local newspaper online. You'll avoid the hotspots (the dangerous places that attract both tourists and con artists or troublemakers) and find it much easier to fit in.

4. Act the part. How do the pros behave? As if they know what they're doing. "I make sure I approach security gates and personnel with a friendly demeanor and firm eye contact, taking care to exhibit no aura of irritation or condescension, and greeting them in a pleasant manner," says Ed Barrett, who works for a software developer in Flanders, N.J. "I make a point of greeting and speaking to gate personnel and flight attendants." That's not just something to do on the plane; you should continue the sense of comfort with your surroundings once you land. Instead of sporting a deer-in-the-headlights look, you are polite and confident. Those are qualities that are likely to keep you safe on the road.

5. At the same time, be prepared for anything. Shirley Whalen, a Civil Air Patrol instructor in Blairsden, Calif., doesn't leave anything to chance when she's traveling. "I carry toilet seat covers, a couple of packages of peanut butter and cheese crackers, some tissues and a spare set of keys," she says. Why? Public toilets rarely meet the sanitary standards of the civilized world. Airlines don't always serve in-flight food -- and when they do, it's not always worth eating. And accidents can happen. Tourists tend to forget that when they're on the road, they're not at home. Seems obvious, but when you consider what tourists pack -- and don't pack -- it really isn't so obvious.

With a little knowledge, effort and practice, it isn't hard to look like you know what you're doing. But it may make for a much more pleasant -- and safer -- trip.