I always know when I step into the house of someone has travelled. Carpets, wall-hangings and a myriad of decorative ornaments typically greet me as soon as I enter the entrance hall. There is something that compels us to bring a little bit home of every place we visit, however regularly we travel.

We’re just the same, although I often spoil the fun for my wife as she finds many items in the local markets that will look good at home; items that pass me by as having any potential to enhance our home.

The tourist souvenir market has grown into an almost homogeneous machine around the world, with many ‘local’ gifts being mass-produced in large Chinese factories. Let’s look at the most typical souvenirs that you can buy pretty much anywhere:

Tackiest gifts

1. T-shirts – I think there are many places I’ve been to that didn’t sell T-shirts to visitors. Take a walk through London and look at the stalls and you’ll see that T-shirts are probably the best-selling item. I always struggle to understand why someone would want to wear an image of Rome or Sharm-el-Sheikh across their chest when their only connection to the place is that their grandparents visited on holiday; but it’s clearly a big market.

2. Fridge magnets – I have had to find an alternative location for the fridge magnet I was recently given, as my fitted fridge has a wooden door. I know some folks have a very impressive collection of magnets – for them there’s a reason to buy one of these to add to their global set. The collection itself tells a story and inspires many more. For anyone else though it’s kind of pointless; or am I missing something?

3. Russian dolls – the perfect gift from Russia. But why sell them in London, Paris or indeed a small village in the Lake District?

Locally produced

Not being the collector type I’ve never been tempted with magnets or matrushki but I do like to buy something before we move on. In most cases it’s a picture that we can hang on a wall when we get home. Batiks are great to pack in a rucksack and hand-produced postcards or photographs look good in a frame and weigh next to nothing.

While I'm not trying to set out a moral code of conduct for buying souvenirs, I'm sure most would agree that it’s probably better to buy from a market trader or shopkeeper rather than an international store. This is particularly the case in parts of the Middle East and China, where tourists are often corralled into state run enterprises where those who may have spent hours at their crafts see little of the resulting revenue.

Even putting the economic issue to one side, the simple act of buying from a local person and perhaps the negotiations around the purchase can provide a memorable encounter for both parties. And it's surely worth paying a couple of dollars extra to buy something from someone who created your chosen souvenir with their own hands, knowing that they are taking home a fair reward for their work.