Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in abackpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has become a mainstream form of tourism.
While backpacker tourism is generally a form ofyouth travel, primarily undertaken by young people duringgap years, it is also undertaken by older people during holidays, a career break, or at retirement, or bydigital nomads, as part of aminimalist lifestyle.[citation needed] As such, backpackers can be of any age, but are typically aged 18 to 30.[1]
Backpacker tourism generally, but does not always, include:[2][3]
People have travelled for thousands of years with their possessions on their backs, but usually out of need rather than for recreation. Between 3400 and 3100 BC,Ötzi the Iceman was traveling in Italy with a backpack made of animal skins and a wooden frame, although there are some thoughts that this may actually have been his snowshoes.[citation needed] In the 7th century,Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk, travelled to India with a hand-made backpack.[citation needed]
In the 17th century, Italian adventurerGiovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri was likely one of the first people to engage in backpacker tourism.[4]
The modern popularity of backpacking can be traced, at least partially, to thehippie trail of the 1960s and 1970s,[5] which in turn followed sections of the oldSilk Road. Some backpackers follow the same trail today.[6] Since the late-20th century, backpackers have visitedSoutheast Asia in large numbers.
A 2018 study of over 500 backpackers conducted by researchers atSun Yat-sen University andShaanxi Normal University in China andEdith Cowan University in Australia showed that for Westerners, backpacking leads to acquired capabilities like effective communication,decision-making,adaptability, andproblem solving, all of which contribute to an increase inself-efficacy, and for Chinese backpackers, acquiring skills like time andmoney management, language development,stress management, and self-motivation provided the biggest increase in self-efficacy.[7][8]
Mark Hampton of theUniversity of Kent, writing forThe Guardian, argued in 2010 that for many low-income communities in the developing world, the economic benefits of hosting backpackers outweigh their negative impacts. Since backpackers tend to consume local products, stay in small guest houses, and use locally owned ground transport, more of their expenditure is retained in-country than in conventional mass tourism.[9]
Backpacker tourism of the hippie trail has been criticized for possibly encouraging urban liberal minorities while insultingIslamic traditionalist theology, possibly contributing to the Islamic reawakening in the late 1970s.[10][11]
Backpacker tourism has been criticized for the transformation of some sleepy towns, such as the creation of theFull Moon Party onKo Pha-ngan in Thailand, which includes "scores of topless teenagers urinating into the ocean".[12]
Flashpacking andPoshpacking refer to backpacking with more money and resources. The words combinebackpacking withflash, a slang term for being fancy, orposh, an informal adjective forupper class.
Begpacking combinesbegging andbackpacking in reference to individuals whobeg (ask directly or indirectly for money), solicit money duringstreet performances, or vend (sell postcards or other small items) as a way to extend their overseas travel.[13] The trend has drawn criticism for taking money away from people in actual need, with one known begpacker barred from entering Singapore.[14][15] Begpacking is common in Southeast Asia and is a trend in South America and South Korea.[16][17]
The dictionary definition ofbackpacking at Wiktionary
Urban backpacking travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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