What is the Difference Between Tour and Excursion

The main difference between tour and excursion is that the time period spent on an excursion is comparatively shorter than the time period taken for a tour.

In brief, the term tour refers to a period of travel where you see a defined area, whereas an excursion is a day outing made usually by a group of people to have fun. For instance, you may go on a tour of India next week. While visiting India, you will make an excursion to enjoy the delicacies sold along the streets in Delhi. However, once you have visited all the pre-planned places in India, then your tour is complete, and you will return to your country.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is a Tour 
   – Definition, Features
2. What is an Excursion
     – Definition, Features
3. Similarities Between Tour and Excursion
     – Outline of Common Characteristics
4. Difference Between Tour and Excursion
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Excursion, Tour

What is a Tour

The word “tour” can be simply defined as a journey for pleasure, education, sports, or business, which often involves a series of stops. However, a tour ends when the tourist returns back to the starting point.

People make tours for various reasons. There are lots of physical and psychological health benefits of taking tours. For instance, taking a tour is an effective way of cutting down on stress, consequently leading to minimize your chances of developing cardiac diseases.

Furthermore, simply sticking to your daily routine for a long time can bring you more harm than good. Tours can passively help you to disconnect from your monotonous everyday life. Most significantly, tours into varying communities give you the opportunity to grow empathy towards alien cultures. In brief, the purpose of taking tours may differ from one person to another, but going on tours always gives a chance to develop empathy and a deeper understanding of foreign cultures.

What is an Excursion

An excursion is an outing made by a group of people for leisure, physical purposes, education, socializing, etc. Most often, an excursion takes place as an adjunct to a longer journey or a tour.

Going on an excursion allows you many benefits. Most importantly, excursions educate you while allowing you to have a memorable time.  Similar to a tour, when you are engaged in an excursion, you are always going to explore something new. Furthermore, excursions allow you to experience new cultures from which you were cut off before.

For instance, just imagine that you are a fashion designer in France for a tour. Then planning an excursion to  Paris is something that really needs to be done because Paris is the heart of fashion where you have so much to explore in terms of fashion and style. In brief, excursions offer you first-hand experiences and provide you with the chance to dive into a new culture, promising you a much more effective learning experience as a whole.

Similarities Between Tour and Excursion

Difference Between Tour and Excursion

Definition

In brief, the term tour refers to a period of travel where you see a defined area, whereas an excursion is a day outing made usually by a group of people to have fun which is often an adjunct to a longer journey or a tour.

Time Duration

The time spent on an excursion is usually less than the time period taken to complete a tour. You can engage in excursions while you are on tour.

Purpose

The purpose of a tour or an excursion may differ from one person to another. However, basically, a tourist may look for pleasure, relaxation, education, business, sports, etc. while an excursionist would aim at socializing, pleasure, exploration, physical activities, or education.

Planning and Preparation

A tour requires pre-planning and preparation, so it takes more time to plan a tour. Excursions, on the other hand, are more sudden in nature.

Terminology Associated

A person who goes on a tour is called a tourist, whereas a person who engages in an excursion is called an excursionist.

Conclusion

The main difference between tour and excursion is that the time duration a tourist might take to complete his tour is quite long compared to the time an excursionist might take to complete the outing. However, both tours and excursions can be adventurous and may benefit in expanding your social network and boosting your confidence.

Reference:

1. “Reasons Why You Should Take A Tour.” Travel Talk Tours.
2. “What Are the Purposes and Advantages of Excursion?” PreserveArticles.com: Preserving Your Articles for Eternity.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Road-trip-van-couple-travel-4399206” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “Friends-tourism-leisure-holidays-1211558” (CC0) via Pixabay

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