The World of Backpacking: Motivation & Destination Choice Gina Bethell

The World of Backpacking: Motivation & Destination Choice Gina Bethell Gina Bethell November 20, 2012 Consumer Behavior Recreation & Tourism Research Paper

Table of Contents Table of Contents... 1 Executive Summary... 2 Introduction... 2-3 Backpacker & Backpacker Tourism Defined... 3-6 Motivations of Backpacker Tourism... 6-8 Destination of Choice... 8-10 Conclusion... 10-11 References... 12-13 Page 1

The World of Backpacking: Motivations & Destination Choice Executive Summary This study concerns the growing phenomenon of backpacker tourists to explore their motivations and destinations of choice. Although previous research has explored the motivations of backpackers, this examines the changes in motivations and the specific elements of types of destinations that are drawing backpackers. Introduction Backpacking has generally been regarded as an undifferentiated phenomenon, backpackers seem more diverse and multifaceted than ever, engaging in a variety of social and recreational activities and not being similar in motivations, national and cultural background, age, gender, and class (Maoz, 2007). The young (and even older) generations are taking time out of post- secondary education and lifetime careers to engage in an adventure seeking experience backpacking. Why are people having the urge to go backpacking and where are they going, are questions that researchers are seeking to uncover. The motivation of people to participate in overseas backpacking experiences has recently fascinated those researching and those travelling alongside backpackers. What actually motivates these persons to participate is a complex and vexing question, yet understanding these motivations is suggested to many researches to be one of the great assistance to the tourism operators around the world in their Page 2

marketing, product placement and understanding of their target market (Clary et al, 2001). The interpretation of backpacking has implications for unraveling motivations, in particular it raises possibilities that overseas backpacking can also be habitual, or that travellers are not necessarily driven by goal- oriented motivations (Holdsworth, 2010). There is very little known about the background, motivations and experiences of backpackers. This paper aims to discover the motivations of the adventurous, travelling individuals we call Backpackers, examine the current and emerging destinations of choice, and the attributes of a destination that are drawing the backpacker. Backpacker Tourism Defined Travel has become an integral part of the postmodern new world order of mobility, the tourism industries around the world are growing to become one of the most predominant industries in many countries. Travel and tourism consists of a variety of symbols and sub segments. One of the cultural symbols of this increasingly mobile world is the backpacker. According to Greg Richards and Julie Wilson (2004) backpackers are to be found in every corner of the globe, from remote villages to the big cities of the world. They carry with them not only the emblematic physical baggage that gives them their name, but their cultural baggage as well (Richards & Wilson, 2004). The backpacker crosses physical and cultural barriers with apparent ease in the search for difference and differentiation. Binder and Welk Page 3

(2004) show that the freedom of backpacking is one of its major attractions, the ability to decide ones itinerary, to change travel plans at will and not to be weighed down by cultural or physical baggage are features that are attractive to backpackers. However, backpacking also has its constraints such as lack of time or money, and risk- related implications. Today, in popular backpacking destinations such as Australia, South East Asia, and New Zealand, the term backpacker is well known and accepted by the tourism industry, travelers, and the community as a description of predominantly young, budget tourists on extended or working holidays (Loker 1992; McCulloch 1992; Pearce 1990). The origins of backpacker travel dates back to historical traditions like the Grand Tours of 17 th and 18 th century Europe. These grand tours were very much looked upon as an educational finishing of school that would increase ones sophistication, worldliness and social awareness (Hibbert, 1969). In 1973 Cohen suggested the definition of drifter and broke the prototype into four sub- categories, from the full- time adventurer (Cohen s original drifter) and the itinerant hippie (a travelling dropout, looking for drug- sanctuaries) to the part- time drifter (a college- aged wanting to experience the world) and fellow- traveller (short- term hippies). However Vogt (1976) refers to Cohen s term of drifter as wanderer which is a more romantic, less derogatory term that refers to Western middle- class youth engaged in recreational travel. Riley (1988) used budget Page 4

traveller to describe these types of tourists, as he believed that this was the term most frequently used by travellers themselves. A decade later, Cohen (1982) believed that drifters experiences were presumed to be more authentic than mass tourists and they were believed to penetrate more deeply into the host society, avoiding staged tourist settings and having a more beneficial impact on the host society. Cohen examined the behavior of backpackers at unconventional locations in Thailand and found that the bulk of them were between the ages of 20-30 years old and unmarried, either travelling alone or as couples. Only a few considered themselves as full- time drifters and most were part- time drifters students or employees on a prolonged summer vacation (Cohen, 1982). In 1990 Pearce first introduced the new term that appeared in academic literature The Backpacker. Peace (1990) asserted, Backpacking is best defined socially rather than in economic or demographic terms. Being a backpacker is an approach to travel and holiday taking rather than a categorization based on dollars spent or one s age. Peace believes that backpackers are primarily defined by: Social interactions with other travellers Emphasis on holidays that are informal and participatory Preference for longer rather than brief holidays A preference for budget accommodations Page 5

Richards and Wilson (2002) have extensively studied the markets self definition and found that over half their sample (particularly older, more experienced participants) call themselves travellers, while almost one third use the term backpacker and less than 20% (particularly under the age of 20) consider themselves tourists. Motivations of Backpacker Tourism Why people are deciding to set out on a backpacking adventure is a question that tourism researches are seeking to uncover. Motivations of backpackers are different and more complex that those of the mass tourists going on a weeklong holiday. Backpacking tourists as a typology are mostly known to be adventurous, independent, wanting to go off the beaten track, and fully immerse themselves into a culture. However, these concepts cannot be assumed for all types of backpackers, each has their own reasons and motivations. Tourism researches studing backpackers are conducting mostly qualitative, but also quantitative, research on this growing type of traveller. Many studies have shown that one of the main motivations of backpackers as the desire to construct a new contemporary identity through travel, is the sense that they hope to become more courageous, relaxed, and independent (Cohen, 2004; Elsrud, 2001). Tourism can provide the potential for a new form of identity, allowing individuals to define themselves according to their personal experiences of the world, rather than through paradigms offered by their society relating to age, nationality, background, and gender (Maoz, 2007). Page 6

There appears to be differences among backpackers from different countries in their perception of freedom, escapism, and moratorium, their travel motivations, as well as in their interactions with other tourists. Maoz s (2007) study on Israeli backpacker motivations finds that Israeli backpackers, like some Asians, are inclined to travel in groups, while other Westerners tend to withdraw from their own compatriots. He also argues that backpacker travel motivations must address two principle aspects: culture and nationality. Israeli backpackers differ from Western ones in two main respects: they are younger (Westerners usually travel in their late 20 s) and they travel immediately after completing compulsory military service. Pearce introduced the concept of Travel Career Ladder as a theory of backpacker motivations in 1988 and then revised the theory in 2005. The TCP reflects Maslow s hierarchy of needs, and proposes that people become more sophisticated in their travel motivations as they become more experienced travellers. The desire for cultural experiences grows stronger as people accumulate more experience. More experienced travellers expressed interest in self- development through nature and host- site involvement. Whereas less experienced travellers stressed stimulation, romance, security, nostalgia, and self- actualization ( Pearce, 2005). However, Pearce concedes that those four dominant travel motivations novelty, relationship, self- development, and escape/relax remain constant throughout people s travel careers (Markward, 2008). Uriely, Yonay and Simchai (2002) analyze backpacker motivations in their study and found that there is a difference between form and type- related attributes in travel, Page 7

and that backpacking s form- related attributes length of excursion, flexibility of itinerary, tendency towards low spending- predominate over its type- related attributes the psychological attitudes toward native country, the motivations for travel, and meanings they assign to their experiences. They conclude in their study that backpacking should be considered a form, rather than a type, of tourism. Gibson and Lepp examine sensation seeking as a personality trait associated with the need for novelty and simulation that has been linked to backpacker tourism behavior. They collected survey data from 290 US young adults and found that although males were higher in overall sensation seeking, gender was not a significant predictor of tourist role or international travel experience. They did find that that sensation seeking was related to backpacker tourist role, with participants higher in sensation seeking choosing explorer and drifter roles. Both high and low sensation seeking participants perceived risk similarly; however, those higher in sensation seeking were more likely to have travelled internationally and to have travelled to regions rated as riskier. Gibson and Lepp collected this data in 2000,which causes an implication to this study, as it is possible that the risks associated with travel post 9/11 eras have been heightened. This, the results of this study have both academic and practical implications. Destinations of Choice Backpacker s destination of choice can sometimes be decided before one decides to embark on a backpacking adventure. Through technology and social media, the world is becoming a smaller, more accessible place. People are going out and Page 8

adventuring into the world, coming back to their homes and telling the stories of their adventures, planting that travel bug into other people who want to go where their friends have gone. The destinations in which the backpacker is travelling to and the emerging destinations is a concept that researchers are trying to uncover. Many backpackers are known to want to travel off the beaten track, however we have the backpackers who want to go where the people and parties are, take Australia for example. The destinations that backpackers choose to visit and their types of routes of travel are considered, among other things, as seminal characteristics that distinguish them from mass tourists (Cohen, 1927;Elsrud, 2001). Some destinations that were initially exclusively associated with backpacking have been transformed over time into Western- like commercialized tourist spaces. For example, processes were identified in the beaches of Queensland, Australia, of Koh Sammui and Koh Phan- gan in Thailand, Goa in India, and Khao San Road in Bangkok (Teo and Leong, 2006). All these places have become bustling backpacker destinations, however; the real culture is diminishing and the western- like culture is overtaking. In Reichel s et al (2009) research he found that backpackers who choose to travel to the South East Asia are associated with motives of spiritual growth, drugs, and detachment from modern life. In contrast, he found that backpackers travelling to South America are associated with the motives of extreme sports; entertainment; time off; checking the possibility of living else where; and to lesser degree getting acquainted with new cultures. As for Australia, the variety of climate, wildlife, and Page 9

comfort of the English speaking population and are the attributes that attract western backpackers. The Middle East is an emerging backpacking destination of choice. Either for the thrill, history, religious sites, or desserts the adventure seeking backpackers are setting out on a territory not often travelled by westerners. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Petra in Jordan is a site that is becoming a more visited site but westerners seeking to uncover this mysterious country. Egypt, with the famous Pyramids, has been a destination for the Europeans for many years; however, North American are only just starting to venture out to this middle eastern country; and even through this part of the world is in a time of war; the adventurous backpackers are taking this point in time take risk and travel into the unknown (Noy, 2004). Conclusion This research explored the phenomenon of backpacker tourism by defining The Backpacker, understanding the motivations of a backpacker, and finally examining the destinations of choice. This study contributes to the growing literature on motivations for budget travellers, wanderers, drifters, and the newest academic term the backpacker. This research found that different researches have their own terms that refer to young travelerrs on a budget; however the term backpacker has become well known around the world and well- respected by host countries and fellow travellers Page 10

(Sorensen, 2003). Motivations for backpackers were dependent on the destination of choice but the desire for cultural experiences was found by many researches to be a strong motivator. Hedonism, extreme- sports, status have also been found by researches as motivators; however depending on where the backpacking is going the east coast or Australia, or rural Africa will highly impact on the reasons as to why they are backpacking (World of Backpackers, 2012). The backpacking phenomenon has become significant in both social and economic terms. Once a small niche market, that was often unwelcome by local authorities, backpackers have become a huge tourist segment who s economic benefits to developing host communities are now well established (Reichel et al, 2009). This paper found that through previous literature research, backpackers could be distinguished according to their choice of a particular destination. It is important for tourism organizations and destination marketers to understand the motives of this sub segment in order to promote and market for the backpacker target market. Further research that includes both qualitative and quantitative data needs to be conducted to further this knowledge of backpacker tourist motivation as well with emerging destinations of choice. Page 11

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