Essay 2

In an interview, David Kalder speaks about his term ‘anti-tourist’ and how it changes the way one navigates the world. An anti-tourist can be seen as the embodiment of the places they visit, embracing the humility and invisibility of the environment. They reject any presumptions as to when and where a tourist is to travel, as the place they visit rejects the accommodations and expectations destinations upheld. Kalder continues to state that anti-tourists ‘prefer dead things to living ones’ and ‘...disorientation over enlightenment’ (Kalder). In these statements, Kalder establishes the anti-tourist as a seeker of experiences that are antithetical to the convention. A place that has been seen and written about countlessly is nearly impossible to be seen and comprehended for oneself. Alternatively, if one rejects the common path and pursues their own trajectories, they ‘...step into the wastelands and forgotten zones that are neglected in the standard form of tourism’ (Kalder). Anti-tourism is the belief that the personal richness of a place is dependent on the saturation of its anonymity. The fewer associations the general population has with a destination, the more potent it is to anti-tourists.

Work Cited:

Kalder, Daniel. Interview. To the Best of Our Knowledge. WPR, Madison. 17

Aug. 2011.