After many years of observing international tourists while traveling throughout the world, I became intrigued by the contemporary traveling persona. I started to realize that there is such a being as — the Tourist.

What are tourists looking for when they travel, why do they put themselves in the uncomfortable position of being away from their familiar environment? What are they searching for?

To explore these thoughts, I decided to make a documentary film. I chose three cities to shoot in, each had a personal connection for me, Jerusalem for my roots, Florence, a city I resided in for many of my adult years, and Las Vegas, which to me represents America, where I now live. Beyond this, travelers choose these destinations for completely different anticipated experiences: the religious pilgrimage, the cultural journey, and the entertainment trip.

I shot in these cities in this order, so as I went from Jerusalem to Florence I felt the passage of time bringing me right up to the present day in Las Vegas. I wasn't interested in the history of travel as much as how we live the past and present as tourists today.

Personally, I've always traveled with the hope of some kind of transformation. Through this film I set out to show, with the camera as witness, how travel deeply affects people through the cultural importance of the places they visit. What I found wasn't exactly what I had imagined.

The theme park similarity of the three cities was overwhelming. Jerusalem and Florence must continue to sell their visitors its golden moment from the past. Often those guests seem to skate over the top of the city's significance while searching for the perfect souvenir that will in turn identify them as having been there. Strangely enough, Las Vegas seemed to me to be the most real of these cities; it takes what it needs from the past and uses it to manipulate the tourist. This unusual city has no history that it has to preserve and no cultural integrity that it has to maintain. This was the true epiphany for me.

- Randi Steinberger