Denis Tito was not an astronaut, he was merely the first space self loading freight.
Sure he was. He had to undertake a rigorous training program and participated in and contributed to the mission. Although clearly the biggest participation was in financing. John Travolta is a pilot isn't he? Qualified on several large jets. Certainly neither are professionals.
Interestingly, Dennis Tito met with resistance from NASA during his training because they felt his qualification as an astronaut was questionable for very much the same reasons we are debating in this thread. They felt paying to be an astronaut degraded the dignity of the profession.
He is a former engineer and "rocket scientist" with NASA. He was more than freight or a passenger.
Pay to fly is something very different, though sometimes the poor chap in the left seat might wonder.
I agree. Dennis was not a required crew member, merely an add on.