History Main / PerpetualTourist

->''You'll find your happiness in Rio''\\
''The beaches there are strewn with pearls''\\
''The Latin breezes always blow there''\\
''[[GettingCrapPastTheRadar And so, we hear, do the girls!]]''
-->-- ''TheProducers'' (Broadway stage version)

This could be seen as a subtrope of MightyWhitey (although the person in question doesn't necessarily have to be white), or perhaps a half-assed version of GoingNative.

The "perpetual tourist" is an American, Canadian or European who, finding himself or herself an outcast from their own society (usually for having been charged with a crime of which they have not yet been convicted), flees either somewhere SouthOfTheBorder, the [[WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon Caribbean]], or to a remote tropical island to lead a life of never-ending laziness. Expect to find this character on a chaise lounge on a beach somewhere, enjoying either a margarita or a coconut full of "coconut milk" and being waited on by a much darker-skinned servant boy (bonus points awarded if he's wearing a white suit).

Is often indistinguishable from a HawaiianShirtedTourist. As far as music goes, either [[StandardSnippet "Aloha Oe"]] or something generically calypso will be playing in the background.

In comedies, this trope is used to signify a "happy ending" for its goofy, subversive protagonist; in dramas, to establish a BigBad, SissyVillain or KarmaHoudini.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* In one ''SpiderMan'' story, Mysterio's ultimate goal when he takes over the Maggia is to grab as much money as he can, and "buy an island in the tropics where I can sit under palm trees and drink things out of coconuts".

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* At the end of ''Film/TheChase'' (1994), we see that [[spoiler: fugitive lovers Jack Hammond and Natalie Voss have fallen into this lifestyle after fleeing to Mexico]].
* Mike Judge's ''OfficeSpace'' wraps up with an epilogue that explains what happened to Milton, the famously put-upon office worker who [[spoiler:finally snapped and burned down his place of employment. He escaped to somewhere SouthOfTheBorder, where as usual his problems do not end. The last we see of him, Milton is complaining about the poor quality of his margarita and threatening to poison the guacamole]].
* ''TradingPlaces'' [[spoiler:ends with our heroes having a good time [[WelcomeToTheCaribbeanMon somewhere in the Caribbean]]]]. Whether it is perpetual or not is not explained.
* Eames in ''{{Inception}}'' appears to be one when Cobb first meets him in Kenya. But then, Eames would appear like a tourist in almost every place on the world.
* In ''TheShawshankRedemption'', [[spoiler:Andy Dufresne]] does this after breaking out of prison.
* ''{{xXx}}'' ends by [[spoiler:Vin Diesel finally travelling to Bora Bora]].
* In ''ThingsToDoInDenverWhenYoureDead'', the criminal group that main characters run in will often say, "Boat drinks," to remind each other of their ultimate dream: retiring to some tropical paradise to sip cocktails on a yacht. In the end, we see all of the main characters doing exactly that, except [[spoiler:they're all dead]].
* Referenced in ''OutOfSight''. Karen (Jennifer Lopez) mockingly asks bank robber Jack (George Clooney) if he imagines he'll retire to some tropical paradise. He counters that he always preferred mountains.
* Kathleen Turner's character in ''Body Heat'' ends this way, [[spoiler: whatever her name may be.]]
* ''TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' ends with Hannibal Lecter phoning Clarice from Bimini, where [[spoiler: he's having an old friend for dinner.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'', Harry Maybourne spends some time like this after being convicted of treason, though he eventually ends up opting for an off-planet exile instead.
* In the ''{{Sherlock}}'' episode "The Great Game", one of the crimes that Moriarty arranges and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder subsequently has Sherlock expose]] is a {{Perpetual Tourist}}'s travel plan.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* JimmyBuffett's song "Banana Republic" is about precisely this sort of person -- "expatriated Americans, hoping to find some fun."
** Jimmy Buffett in general likes to present himself as such - the fact that he's extremely wealthy means it is some degree of TruthInTelevision for him.
* Subverted in the Zac Brown Band song "Toes", where everything is great for the tourist... until he runs out of money.

[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* The "Quest for Fruit" adventure in ''{{GURPS}} {{Discworld}} Also'' states that, in accordance with the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality, the Hwondaland trading post ''must'' contain at least one white-suited Ankh-Morporkian expat, who can never return for some unspecified reason.

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]
* Discussed in ''TheProducers''. The most recent version also has Leo Bloom (temporarily) end up somewhere vaguely South American.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* An episode of ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' titled "The Worry Men" features the Mad Hatter admitting that he's been thinking of retiring from crime, purchasing an island out in the middle of nowhere, and opening up a sun-bonnet shop.
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Is often indistinguishable from a HawaiianShirtedTourist. As far as music goes, either "Aloha Oe" or something generically calypso will be playing in the background.

Is often indistinguishable from a HawaiianShirtedTourist.