Updated 28-Jun-2024
There are many different kinds of travel and tourism. Below is a list not exhaustive but extensive.
To be honest, tourism as an industry is not necessarily a great thing.
That said, there are opportunities inside of the experiences...
The Many Different Kinds of Tourism
There are many types of tourism, below is meant to provide some coverage of the totality of topics:
Adventure Tourism
Also Extreme Tourism, for the more dangerous/exotic kinds of Adventure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_tourism
Agritourism
Tourists being involved in agriculture in some way, picking berries, making wine, dude ranches, etc.
Air Travel and Air Tourism
Including ballooning, and other kinds of flight (hang gliding up to jets), for example small plane flights over the Grand Canyon, seaplane flights over San Francisco bay, etc.
Amusement Park Tourism
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Animal Tourism
This could be caring for, studying, or hunting, killing, and/or eating animals (or really, any living thing).
Astronomy tourism
Places to star-gaze, witness eclipses, meteor showers, and things like the aurora borealis.
Atomic Tourism
Travel to significant sites in atomic history such as museums with atomic weapons, vehicles that carried atomic weapons or sites where atomic weapons were detonated. - Atomic Tourism - Wikipedia
Bicycle Tourism
Tourism by bicycle, can be long journeys or things like road biking, or even urban bicycle tourism.
Cruises
Small or large ships, can include sailboats. River cruises as well as large luxury ocean-going cruises.
Cultural Tourism
Cultural experiences or performances, high culture or slum culture.
Dark Tourism, aka Atrocity Tourism
Places associated with death and suffering, though there may be a cathartic effect, as in Can Dark Tourism Help Cambodia Heal?
Death Tourism
Where death took place or even where one wants to go to die
Disaster Tourism
Places where great disasters have happened, including volcanos, meteor impacts, nuclear disasters (Chernobyl, see the amazing stories and photos of Chernobyl by Kid of Speed). Volcano tourism is a well-known subset of Disaster Tourism
Doom Tourism
Visiting sites/phenomena that will be gone soon: Ice caps of Kilimanjaro, coral of the Great Barrier Reef
Drug Tourism
Going places to get high or experience the local drugs
Eco-tourism / Ecotourism
Ecologically low footprint but also the ecology as the object/destination of the tourism.
Educational Tourism
Touring in a place to gain educational experiences or credits (or degrees), including various aspects of study abroad.
Environmental Tourism
This is akin to Ecotourism, but is specifically about developing the environment, not merely reducing one's footprint.
Fertility, Reproductive, Maternity, and Birth Tourism
Travel to other countries in order to reproduce (for biological or legal reasons), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_tourism
Food/Culinary Tourism
See also agritourism. This can be anything from street food to Michelin star dining.
Gap Year Tourism
Gap Year is an Aus/NZ item where a year is taken between school and work, or between school and school
Garden Tourism
Check out gardens, apparently all the rage in Europe and the UK in the 18-19th century.
Genealogy Tourism
Finding relatives, grave markers, etc.
Geo Tourism
Coined phrase incorporating a variety of sustainable, built-environment elements
Glamping
Grand Tourism
Historically prominent sites to see, such as the Taj Mahal, etc.
Health Tourism / Fitness Tourism
Health food, spa, yoga retreat, fitness camps, etc.
Language Tourism
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LGBTQ Tourism
Can be sex tourism or just gay friendly
Love/Marriage Tourism
Medical Tourism
Cosmetic surgery (ศัลยกรรมเสริมความงาม), routine surgery, rehabilitation, dental work, etc.
Metropolitan tourism
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MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions)
Also called business tourism
Mountaineering, Trekking, Mountain Climbing
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Music Tourism
Going places to hear music (e.g., larger concert events in different places) or to learn or play music, or even record music
Nature Tourism / Nature Park / National Park Tourism
Tourism dealing with nature, this may be specifically in a nature park or natural park, or outside of a park but still in nature.
Nautical Tourism
Sailing and Boating (overlap with Cruises above)
Party Tourism
Touring to or between large parties or events, such as the Full Moon party
Political Tourism
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Pop Culture Tourism
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Recreation Tourism
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Religious Tourism
Travel to religious places or events, pilgrimages; aka sacred tourism, and pilgrimages.
Responsible Tourism
Similar to Sustainable, usually minimizing impact on animals and people economically and culturally
Retirement Tourism
Seasonal (yearly migrations) as well as expatriation, though it is a question when Tourism ends (e.g., for the Digital Nomad)
Rural Tourism
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Safaris
See Wildlife Tourism
Sex Tourism
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Shopping Tourism
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Sightseeing
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Slow Tourism
See Chiang Mai takes a stab at slow tourism
Slum Tourism
See also Metropolitan tourism
Space Tourism
Including space station, lunar, and (hopefully) interstellar tourism.
Sport / Sports Tourism
Participating in marathons, Muay Thai camps, to spectator sports Olympics, etc., see also Snow Sports and Water Sports Tourism
Spring Break Tourism
Go somewhere to get drunk for a week, see also drug tourism
Suicide Tourism
Travel to other places to kill oneself
Sustainable Tourism / Carbon Neutral Tourism
Can be carbon neutral, or other ways of measuring sustainability
Time Travel
Surely a possibility
Train Surfing
Train hopping, train hitching, hoboing
Urban Tourism
Usually in archeologically significant cities
Virtual Tourism
Virtual experience of tourism
Vocational Tourism
Tourism around work, possibly skill updates, professional development, etc.
Volunteer Tourism / Voluntourism
Volunteering and tourism combined. Includes the rather disturbing orphanage tourism.
War Tourism
Tourism near or in a war zone
Water Sport / Water Sports Tourism
Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, Free Diving, Fishing, but also recreational watersports, such as surfing, waterskiing, parasailing, kite surfing, and the like.
Wedding Tourism
Including Honeymooning
Wildlife Tourism
Anything from birdwatching, butterflies to safaris
Wine Tourism
Aka Enotourism, can be a part of party tourism, food/culinary tourism, agritourism. Similar to this is Distillery tourism (Scotland/Ireland).