The case of mixed identities

As the Director of Welcome Tours, I see myself as being on a journey of discovery along with my Kiwi and international guests. I admit though to some identity confusion. Tourist? Visitor? Local? Who am I when I explore Aotearoa/New Zealand? ​

The label "tourist" conjures up images of travellers from other continents, trekking around in a semi-bewildered state with maps or apps. I think it's taken for granted that we don’t visualise a tourist as a visitor from Christchurch exploring the Manawatu...
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So here’s a surprise fact: domestic tourism in New Zealand is bigger than international tourism. True! Admittedly I'm not entirely sure who makes up those numbers, no doubt it includes people attending conferences or visiting family members for a weekend. But the numbers will also capture the likes of Welcome Tourers taking a classic kiwi holiday, treating ourselves to the delights of another region. 
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Even though Kiwis on holiday here are counted as tourists, most of us are a bit funny about being called a tourist in our homeland. It infers that we don't belong, that we don't understand how things are done around here, that we’re not ‘one of the locals’...  

Maybe it depends on perspective. Perhaps in a global village it really doesn't matter.
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If I was on the affirmative in a debating team, I could happily argue that being considered a tourist is a good thing. That tourist label gives us a license to see things from a fresh perspective. We don’t have to pretend we know everything. We are seen as inviting new sights and experiences.

So given that we Kiwis definitely don’t want to miss out on all of the things there are to see and discover in this amazing land, how about we create a new local tourist identity? Something that we claim with pride... 

Lourist' definitely sounds inappropriate! How about 'toural'?  Perhaps not...

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