--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A tourist is an ugly human being." description: "\"A tourist is an ugly human being.\" — Jamaica Kincaid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/jamaica-kincaid-1540_human_a-tourist-is-an-ugly-human-being-1936783_1936783.png" --- # A tourist is an ugly human being. ![“A tourist is an ugly human being.” quote by Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/jamaica-kincaid-1540_human_a-tourist-is-an-ugly-human-being-1936783_1936783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/jamaica-kincaid-1540_human_a-tourist-is-an-ugly-human-being-1936783_1936783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d1/jamaica-kincaid-1540_human_a-tourist-is-an-ugly-human-being-1936783_1936783.png) > “A tourist is an ugly human being.” [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A tourist, detached from local reality, can appear disrespectful and dehumanizing. **In simple terms:** Tourists may seem disrespectful and dehumanizing. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect local cultures when traveling. Themes travel culture identity respect Mood reflective empathetic Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - tourism industry - cultural exchange - personal travel Key Concepts Cultural insensitivity postcolonial critique self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can travelers avoid dehumanizing locals? - What responsibilities do tourists have? A Different Perspective Tourism can reinforce stereotypes and inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Tourist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourist/) [Tourists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourists/) ## Related quotes > [An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/an-ugly-thing-that-is-what-you-are-when-you-become-a-tourist-an-ugly/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [There is no sight so ugly as the human face in anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/there-is-no-sight-so-ugly-as-the-human-face-in-anger/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [Traveling for modeling has been great, but I never really have much time to live the tourist life while in all the different cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rila-fukushima/traveling-for-modeling-has-been-great-but-i-never-really-have-much/) [Rila Fukushima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rila-fukushima/) > [I don't look down on tourism. 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He just looked at her. Charles, she had to agree, was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/when-is-the-last-time-you-were-a-tourist-she-asked-archly-he-just/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [The tourist debauches the great monuments of antiquity, a comic figure, always inapt in his comments, incongruous in his appearance; ...avarice and deceit attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-tourist-debauches-the-great-monuments-of-antiquity-a-comic-figure/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [But nothing will persuade me that the mere fact of being in a place is enough in itself to justify the effort of getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-diski/but-nothing-will-persuade-me-that-the-mere-fact-of-being-in-a-place/) [Jenny Diski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-diski/) > [I miss my family, and I like being a tourist when I go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/i-miss-my-family-and-i-like-being-a-tourist-when-i-go-back/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [Tourism as a number-one industry is a terrible, terrible idea for any city, especially New York. 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To be a tourist is to escape accountability.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-began-to-think-of-myself-as-a-perennial-tourist-there-was-something/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The tourist travels in his own atmosphere like a snail in his shell and stands, as it were, on his own perambulating doorstep to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-tourist-travels-in-his-own-atmosphere-like-a-snail-in-his-shell/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## More by Jamaica Kincaid > [I'm always telling my students go to law school or become a doctor, do something, and then write. First of all you should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-m-always-telling-my-students-go-to-law-school-or-become-a-doctor-do/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The slave trade was globalism. 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