turis

Turis is a term used in Indonesian and Malay to refer to a person who travels for pleasure, i.e., a tourist. It is a loanword derived from the English word tourist and has become common in everyday speech as well as media and signage. In Indonesian, the term sits alongside more formal terms such as wisatawan (tourist) and pariwisata (tourism), with turis often conveying a casual or colloquial sense. In Malay, turis is similarly used, though pelancong may be preferred in more formal writing in some contexts.

Usage and sense: Turis typically refers to a traveler visiting a place for a short period. Compound phrases such as turis asing (foreign tourist) or turis domestik (domestic tourist) distinguish nationality. The term is widely seen in travel advisories, news reports, airport announcements, and tourism marketing. While it denotes the individual, it is also used in plural form to discuss tourism activity, as in jumlah turis meningkat (the number of tourists is increasing).

Comparison and nuance: wisatawan emphasizes the person as a traveler; pariwisata (or pariwisataan) refers to tourism as an industry or activity, while turis is the everyday label for travelers. The usage can reflect tone: turis carries a casual register compared with more formal synonyms. In academic or policy contexts, authorities may prefer formal terms to define categories of visitors and tourism phenomena.