Travel Terminology gets funky....

Neologisms. Coin-phrases, stereotypes and lots of hype. There are so many names for certain flavours of travellers. 


There exist such a melting pot of people that hit the road in search of adventure, in search of understanding, in search of different cultures, languages and lessons to be learnt.

Its hard to categorise all travellers and some resist the tags imposed on them by others. But I believe there is a real trend emerging. Backpackers are no longer one homogenous groups of travellers. The explosion of flashpackers onto the travel scene has caused many ripples across the traveling pond and in 2010 more will emerge...


Here are a few fun terms that have seeped out of the travel industry in the past few years alone....


• Babymoon: "One last trip" taken by an expecting couple before the arrival of travel-thwarting offspring.


• Couchsurfing: Flopping for free on a stranger's couch. Connections are usually made through the website couchsurfing.com, which has corralled more than 1 million members across the globe.

• Flashpacker: Someone who travels with a little more disposable income, where no cost is too great in the pursuit of travel happiness.


• Girlfriend Getaway: Adult version of a sleepover in which grown women fly to a destination, eat junk food, shop and complain about men.


• Silverpacker: Eccentric retired individual who perpetually coasts around reliving the dream.


• Narco-Tourist: A traveller, often bound for Amsterdam, who bases his or her destination upon the indigenous drug scene.

• Sightjogging: The healthy art of sightseeing whilst running (see also: tripping and falling).


• Slackpacker: A traveler that likes to get under the skin of a place, someone who stays awhile, not there for ticking off the boxes and grabbing the t-shirt, this traveler has time on their hands and uses it wisely to get the most out of their experience.


• Testosteroaming: The exclusively masculine pursuit of wandering around with a group of buddies in search of male bonding activities, i.e. hunting, playing pool and ogling women they don't stand a chance of getting.

• Transumer: An excessively rich tourist who approaches the world like it's an extended shopping mall.


• Voluntourism: Interactive form of travel in which do-gooders pitch in and build schools, educate locals and save the world.


Do you have any others, feel free to add them?
Happy travels, happy days