It's the tourist vs. traveller distinction.
They want to understand the place they visit as opposed to say enjoy their beach because it's winter at home.
Alex
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
-- Isaac Asimov