It started out in Banff, Alberta, to describe a skier from out of town with no fashion sense or ski style. It’s expanded to include all tourists in general, also called Gorbs.

Robert Remington wrote in the National Post in 2000 that Albertans and others who resented folks hiking or riding on trails next to their property called them "GORBIES" -- an acronym for "Great Outdoor Recreational Bastards In Every Sense." Rod Palm used gorby in a 2002 article in Tofino Time magazine, centred on the Vancouver Island town. "The Tourist ( homo gorby) migration to Tofino seems stable and is expected to peak in July/August.”