---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A place that doesn't welcome tourists…"
description: "\"A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really difficult and off the map, is a place I want to see.\" — Paul Theroux"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg"
---

#  A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really…

![“A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really difficult and off the map, is a place I want to see.” quote by Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg)

> “A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really difficult and off the map, is a place I want to see.”

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A remote, unwelcoming location can be alluring because it promises authenticity and adventure.

**In simple terms:** Unusual places feel exciting.

Key Takeaway

Seek out off‑the‑beaten‑path experiences.

Themes

adventure authenticity curiosity

Mood

intrigued reflective

Type

travel personal narrative

When to use this quote

- travel planning
- photography
- personal growth
- storytelling

Key Concepts

exploration cultural immersion

Questions to Reflect On

- What draws you to places others avoid?
- How do you balance risk and reward?

A Different Perspective

Such places may lack safety or basic comforts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Tourists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tourists/)

## Related quotes

> [If you look at a map, you see that Hawaii is in the middle of nowhere. It's 17 hours of straight flying from London.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/if-you-look-at-a-map-you-see-that-hawaii-is-in-the-middle-of-nowhere/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“Many travelers are essentially fantasists. Tourists are timid fantasists, the others - risk takers - are bold fantasists. The tourists at Etosha conjure up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/many-travelers-are-essentially-fantasists-tourists-are-timid-2/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going. Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-don-t-know-where-they-ve-been-travelers-don-t-know-where-2/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [I'm a tourist, a glorified tourist. I'm not doing it to have a good time or to lie in the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-m-a-tourist-a-glorified-tourist-i-m-not-doing-it-to-have-a-good/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“Many travelers are essentially fantasists. Tourists are timid fantasists, the others - risk takers - are bold fantasists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/many-travelers-are-essentially-fantasists-tourists-are-timid/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [There are two worlds: the world of the tourist and the world of everyone else. Often they're side by side. But the tourist doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/there-are-two-worlds-the-world-of-the-tourist-and-the-world-of/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-don-t-know-where-they-ve-been-travelers-don-t-know-where/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [I don't look down on tourism. I live in Hawaii where we have 7 million visitors a year. If they weren't there, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-don-t-look-down-on-tourism-i-live-in-hawaii-where-we-have-7-million/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“Whatever it is you want in this life, be it material things, a place you want to be, or an experience you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/whatever-it-is-you-want-in-this-life-be-it-material-things-a-place/)

[Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/)

> [As a writer, when you fall in love with a place, you want to spend more time in it, either physically or mentally, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/as-a-writer-when-you-fall-in-love-with-a-place-you-want-to-spend-more/)

[Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/)

> [“You've taken me to the place where I most want to be; you've taken me into your arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-willis/you-ve-taken-me-to-the-place-where-i-most-want-to-be-you-ve-taken-me/)

[M.S. Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-willis/)

> [“I guess it's not the place I want to escape. It's my place in this place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hart/i-guess-it-s-not-the-place-i-want-to-escape-it-s-my-place-in-this/)

[Kate Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-hart/)

> [Got the time, got a place. If you want more of these Heinakin's you go and give me my space,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-mccoy/got-the-time-got-a-place-if-you-want-more-of-these-heinakin-s-you-go/)

[Travis McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-mccoy/)

> [The Nets are the only place I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-lopez/the-nets-are-the-only-place-i-want-to-be/)

[Brook Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-lopez/)

## More by Paul Theroux

> [I feel as if my mission is to write, to see, to observe, and I feel lazy if I'm not reaching conclusions. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-feel-as-if-my-mission-is-to-write-to-see-to-observe-and-i-feel-lazy/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/maine-out-of-season-is-unmistakably-a-great-destination-hospitable/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [You can't write about a friend, you can only write about a former friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/you-can-t-write-about-a-friend-you-can-only-write-about-a-former/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [“sightseeing, an activity that delights the truly idle because it seems so much like scholarship, gawping and eavesdropping on antiquity, flattering oneself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/sightseeing-an-activity-that-delights-the-truly-idle-because-it-seems/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-australian-book-of-etiquette-is-a-very-slim-volume/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [In a way, Che Guevara's fate was far worse than Simon Bolivar's. Guevara's collapse was complete: his intentions were forgotten, but his style was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/in-a-way-che-guevara-s-fate-was-far-worse-than-simon-bolivar-s/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Pain does not create a long-lasting memory, but the memory of luxury exerts itself for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/pain-does-not-create-a-long-lasting-memory-but-the-memory-of-luxury/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-i-began-to-make-some-money-i-really-wanted-to-have-a-home/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/men-in-their-late-50s-often-make-very-bad-decisions/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-disappear-sends-many-travelers-away-if-you-are-thoroughly/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-travel-seems-to-me-characteristically-human-the-desire-to/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

[Explore all 328 Paul Theroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

## More Difficult quotes

> [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/)

[Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/)

[Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/)

> [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/)

[Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/)

> [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/)

[Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/)

> [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/)

[Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/)

> [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/)

[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/)

> [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/)

[Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/)

> [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/)

[Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/)

> [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

> [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/)

[Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/)

> [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/)

[Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/)

> [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/)

[Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/)

> [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/)

[Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/)

> [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/)

[Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/)

Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really difficult and off the map, is a place I want to see.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Theroux"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-that-s-really-difficult-and-off/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Difficult"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-that-s-really-difficult-and-off/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/paul-theroux-913_difficult_a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-th_1669421.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A place that doesn't welcome tourists, that's really difficult and off the map, is a place I want to see.” — Paul Theroux",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Paul Theroux",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A place that doesn't welcome tourists,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-that-s-really-difficult-and-off/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-place-that-doesn-t-welcome-tourists-that-s-really-difficult-and-off/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
