Observations on the heavenly-earthy Pacific Northwest and life in vivid, quirky Seattle.

Monday, February 05, 2007

In Praise of Tourists

I love tourists.

Can I just say that again?

I love tourists. They are so darn cute, wandering around always looking up at the sights or down at their maps. Always dressed in their specially-bought vacation clothes, or corny Seattle swag. They are happy people -- who isn't when on vacation? And 99% of the time, they are so very polite and appreciative.

Yes, they can be a bit oblivious, walking slow four abreast on the sidewalks then stopping to look at a map or take a picture, creating a pedestrian traffic jam. Downtown and the Pike Place Market can be maddeningly crowded in the summer. But that is a small price to pay to see my home town through their fresh, admiring, gleeful eyes. It reminds me how fortunate I am to live here, experiencing it every day.

Last weekend while snowshoeing in the mountains, I watched a group of tourists, whom I believe had never before experienced snow, take turns getting their picture snapped holding a great big hunk of it. One wore it like a hat, another held it high, a third hugged it. They were so excited. It was SO DARN CUTE.

Granted, sometimes what visitors get excited about can be a bit of a head-scratcher. There is always a knot of camera-wielding out-of-towners in front of the original Starbucks store at the Pike Place Market, clicking away at their loved ones swilling latte at the front window. If they were to simply turn around, there is a stunning view of the flower market, but who am I to judge what others should want to remember?

I must admit, I also love tourism. It is a great motivator to a city and region to keep itself beautiful and preserve its history. As industries go, its a fairly clean one and very lucrative to merchants, the hospitality industry, and city tax coffers alike. Frankly, tourists "subsidize" the economic robustness of the city and Cascadians' quality of life as a result.

I like to help tourists, help them find the museum or offer to take a picture they can ALL be in. They are always so grateful. It's easy to make their day. Vainly, I like to play goodwill ambassador. And, it's just fun and it makes me happy... 'cause they're just so darn cute.

Can I just say that again...?

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