Backpacking: Diversity and Change
Erik Cohen
The Faculty of Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Jerusalem
Backpacking, a relatively little studied form of tourism, is a rapidly expanding
phenomenon. This article follows the transition from the tramp to the drifter, and
from the latter to the contemporary backpacker, and points to the diversity within
this general category of tourists. The discrepancy between the ideal and the common
practice of backpacking, and the mechanisms of bridging it deployed by contemporary
backpackers, are discussed. It is claimed that backpackers tend to profess modern
ideals of tourism (e.g. the quest for ‘authenticity’) but are ‘post-modern’ in the
praxis. While it is accepted that the model of a ‘rite-of-passage’ is a useful heuristic
device for the study of backpacking, some signi.cant quali.cations regarding the
applicability of the model are pointed out. The article concludes by stressing the
importance of the historical and national contexts of the backpackers’ origins for
the diversity of their motivations and conduct, and proposes future directions of
research.
Keywords: backpackers, drifters, tramps, rite-of-passage, tourist enclaves, postmodernity
Introduction
Backpacking is a controversial subject: while often imagining themselves as
the ‘real’ travellers as against the mass tourists (e.g. Uriely et al., 2002), backpackers
are often condemned for their appearance, conduct – especially sexual
freedom and use of drugs – super.ciality, stinginess and seclusion in backpacker
enclaves. While tourism of.cials and the tourist industry picture backpackers
as exploiters of poor locals with whom they seek to live on the cheap,
researchers have recently high-lighted their neglected but signi.cant economic
contribution to marginal communities in less developed parts of the world
(Scheyvens, 2002). Governments of many developing countries have in the
past sought to ‘upgrade’ the tourism services of localities popular with backpackers
(e.g. Wilson, 1997: 68–69) or put restrictions on backpacking visits.
While some Thais have recently begun to recognise the economic potential of
this type of tourism (The Nation, Nov. 19, 2000), the Thai authorities are still
disinclined to backpackers and seek to develop luxury tourism (e.g. Niyamabha,
2002).
While research on tourism generally lagged behind the rapidly expanding
industry, research on backpacking was particularly tardy to pick up with the
growing phenomenon – perhaps since it lacked the support of the tourism
industry, which had little interest in its exploration. The earliest articles
devoted speci.cally to the topic appeared in the 1970s (Cohen, 1973; Vogt,
1976), but the 1980s – the period of a major expansion in tourism studies –
saw relatively few publications on backpacking (e.g. Cohen, 1982; Riley, 1988;
Teas, 1988). Recently, however, research began to pick up with a growing
1476-6825/03/02 0095-16 $20.00/0 Ó 2003 E. Cohen
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