The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: June twenty-fifth, realizing the clout of travelers. Tur to low

What kind of traveler are you? Urban sophisticate? Geo-savvy? Wishful thinker? Hopefully not an apathetic?

The magazine National Geographic Traveler, a supporter of our program, asked the Travel Industry Association of America to conduct a survey comparing attitudes of Americans toward travel with their feelings about environmental and cultural quality. Dubbed the Geotourism Study, after a term coined by Traveler editor Jonathan Tourtellot, the survey polled 3300 travelers, asking each of them 150 questions. Defined as travel that sustains or enhances the places visited, Geotourism considers both the environment and the culture, aesthetic, heritage and well being of a place's human residents.

While deflating stereotypes about the 154 million American adults who took trips over the past three years, the survey found respondents fell into eight, evenly divided categories. In addition to the four mentioned previously, they identified and defined traditionals, outdoors sportsmen, good citizens and self- indulgents.

The largest group, 22 million wishful thinkers, traveled the least but would do more if they had the time and money. At 16 million, the smallest group were geo-savvys, middle-income travelers who are environmentally active. Notably, 71 percent of those surveyed said it's important that visits do not damage the environment, and half of all travel expenditures are made by those who favor Geotourism. If we make thoughtful choices about where we go and what we do, we do wield significant economic clout. And that can make all the difference.

For more on the Geotourism Study, check this issue of the magazine.

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