There's a bit of arrogance in the post you replied to. He stays away from tourists yet he's a tourist himself.
It's like a nerd staying away from other nerds because he's "better."
It's like a nerd staying away from other nerds because he's "better."
Any reasonable tour is going to make a very obvious effort to make it not feel this way be allowing you the flexibility to break off and see and do different things. This enriches the experience for both you and other participants because the different experiences are discussed and others go off and try the things that you've done. It is a major driver for the whole tour economy. If it was purely utilitarian then the tour company would package every piece of the experience.
When it comes to travel more generally, many people are extremely confined by touring. They want to have a completely individualized experience that takes them further away from seeing other tourists to varying degrees. If you are a reasonably well-to-do Brit, you will be keeping a wide berth from the other Brits that are at your destination from a package holiday because of the risk of loutish behavior, or bias on that.
Many tourists will plan to visit sites when other tourists will not be present. For example, staying locally near Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, so that you can get in before the tours arrive from the coastal towns. It's not that you care about the tourists that much as individuals, it's just that you would prefer to experience the place without the intensity of people. Or, you want to photos without people because you realize you'll actually spend more time blocking space waiting for a shot. Many times I've been that tourists that gets there early to avoid the tourists, only to stay and have an even better time.
The extremes are when people think they can assimilate into a culture immediately without effort. The growth in travel and Instagram trend has seen a rise in the number of checklist travelers who just drop in. People will go as far as inviting you into their homes in many places, but you need to make a genuine connection. During Ramadan in Istanbul I've seen tourists eating all day in pretty conspicuous fashion which they are free to do. By being more conscious of the fasting going on and being out and about for iftar you are going to be seen in different light by locals and the door will open to experiences you wouldn't otherwise get.
I don't think it's controversial for someone to say: "When I travel, I'd rather have the company of people who live in the place I'm visiting, instead of other travelers". I struggle to see how the original comment conveyed much more than that.