Travellerscapes : tourism research and transnational anthropology ; paper for the conference 'Alltag der Globalisierung. Perspektiven einer transnationalen Anthropologie', January 16-18, 2003, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main

Even though tourism has been recognised as an important field for transnational research today, there are few attempts to place tourism in the context of transnational theories or to think about transnationalism from the perspective of tourists. I argue that in researching tourist practices one can add important aspects to transnational approaches. The prerequisites of mobility and interaction for example are the features chosen by backpackers to describe what their Round-The-World-Trip is about. A form of tourism is adopted, or created, that itself confronts many aspects of globalisation: First of all there is the immense dynamic that is involved. Backpackers try to cover as many places and experiences as possible, travelling at high speed. They adopt all kinds of touristic experiences ranging from beach to adventure to culture tourism. They don't focus on a specific area or country but travel the world. They cross national borders perpetually. Additionally they form a transnational network in which they interact with strangers of similar backgrounds (other backpackers, tourist professionals). This network helps them interacting with people from different backgrounds (the socalled hosts or locals). Considering my research Backpackers forge a certain identity from these transnational practices which I want to name globedentity. Globedentity expresses a type of identity construction that not only refers to the individual (I) but reflects the world (globe) in this identity. This globedentity is not fixed but is perpetually re-created and re-defined. It also embraces the increasing popular awareness of globalisation which backpackers, coming from highly educated middle class backgrounds, in particular have identified with. Due to the constant awareness of the latest global social, cultural and economic developments in these educated milieus they know exactly which tools to use to become successful parts of their societies

Change, Choice, and Commercialization: Backpacker Routes in Southeast Asia

South-East Asia has the oldest and largest backpacker trails. This paper examines the geographies of such flows, drawing upon the largest survey to date of backpackers in Asia using qualitative research to survey the key changes from the 1970s to the 2000s. Backpacker trails have changed significantly and new routes have emerged including the ‘northern trail’ (Bangkok - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos). It is to be expected that routes change as backpackers constantly seek new places, pioneering for later mass tourism. However, this paper suggests that using institutionalization as a framework, these changing trails and backpacker ‘choices’ can be seen as driven by growing commercialization and institutionalization. This then operates in combination with external variables (travel innovations - low cost airlines, and new transport networks); exogenous shock (political instability, terrorism); and growing regional competition from emerging destinations such as Vietnam and Cambodia

Motivation of first-time, repeat, and serial backpackers: a Malaysian perspective

The objectives of this study are to identify the main travel motivations of Malaysian backpackers and to investigate the differences in travel motivations between different groups of backpackers namely; first-time, repeat, and serial backpackers. This study used convenience sampling approach, and the data were obtained through self-administered online survey of Malaysian backpackers. Based on a sample of 249, the non-normally distributed data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), assessment of median scores and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. The findings show that the main factor which motivates Malaysian backpackers to go on a backpacking trip is stimulation (push), while the least is recognition (push). The results also indicated that there are differences in Malaysian backpackers’ motivation based on their travel experience level. The limitation of the study is that the samples are skewed toward females, and the majority (87%) are aged between 21 and 35 years old

Lifestyle travellers: Backpacking as a way of life

Scholarship on backpackers speculates some individuals may extend backpacking to a way of life. This article empirically explores this proposition using lifestyle consumption as its framing concept and conceptualises individuals who style their lives around the enduring practice of backpacking as ‘lifestyle travellers’. Ethnographic interviews with lifestyle travellers in India and Thailand offer an emic account of the practices, ideologies and social identity that characterise lifestyle travel as a distinctive subtype within backpacking. Departing from the drifter construct, which (re)constitutes this identity as socially deviant, the concept of lifestyle allows for a contemporary appraisal of these individuals’ patterns of meaningful consumption and wider insights into how ongoing mobility can lead to different ways of understanding identities and relating to place. Keywords: lifestyle consumption; backpacker; mobility; drifter; identit

Backpacker motivations: a travel career approach

The main purpose of this study was to conceptualize backpacker motivation within the framework of the travel career pattern (TCP) theory of travel motivation. An online survey was administered to backpackers targeted in backpacker-specific online communities in order to obtain a diverse sample. The relationship between backpackers’ previous travel experience and motivations was examined, and six underlying dimensions of motivation were extracted. Four of the motivations, personal/social growth, experiential, budget travel, and independence were found to be fluid in relation to backpackers’ travel experience. Notably, two dimensions, cultural knowledge and relaxation, were found to be constant in relation to the backpackers’ travel experience, which suggest that the two dimensions constitute the core motivations for backpackers

Personal identity (de)formation among lifestyle travellers: A double-edged sword?

This article explores the personal identity work of lifestyle travellers – individuals for whom extended leisure travel is a preferred lifestyle that they return to repeatedly. Qualitative findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with lifestyle travellers in northern India and southern Thailand are interpreted in light of theories on identity formation in late modernity that position identity as problematic. It is suggested that extended leisure travel can provide exposure to varied cultural praxes that may contribute to a sense of social saturation. Whilst a minority of the respondents embraced a saturation of personal identity in the subjective formation of a cosmopolitan cultural identity, several of the respondents were paradoxically left with more identity questions than answers as the result of their travels

Population attributable risk for chlamydia infection in a cohort of young international travellers (backpackers) and residents in Australia

Aim To estimate the population attributable risk (PAR) for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in young men and women in Sydney, Australia.Method Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between demographic, sexual behaviour and other potential risk factors and chlamydia positivity in young (¡Ü30 years) heterosexual international travellers (backpackers) and Australian residents attending a sexual health clinic. Point and interval estimates of PAR were calculated to quantify the proportion of chlamydia infections that can theoretically be prevented if a combination of risk factors is eliminated from a target population.Results In males, the PAR associated with inconsistent condom use in the past 3 months was 65% (95% CI 56% to 71%) in backpackers compared to 50% (95% CI 41% to 56%) in non-backpackers and the PAR associated with reporting three or more female sexual partners in the past 3 months was similar between male backpackers and non-backpackers (33% (95% CI 28% to 40%) and 36% (95% CI 32% to 41%), respectively). In females, the PAR associated with inconsistent condom use in the past 3 months was 51% (95% CI 42% to 59%) in backpackers compared to 41% (95% CI 31% to 51%) in non-backpackers, and the PAR associated with reporting three or more male sexual partners in the past 3 months was 14% (95% CI 11% to 18%) in backpackers compared to 30% (95% CI 25% to 37%) in non-backpackers.Conclusion These findings suggest that the largest number of chlamydia infections could be avoided by increasing condom use, particularly in backpackers. Reporting multiple partners was also associated with a large proportion of infections and the risk associated with this behaviour should be considered in health promotion strategies