2024/10/17 by Benjamin Lucca Iaquinto · 1 voice · 3 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research #Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking #Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development
paper · doi:10.1080/14616688.2024.2417858
openalex publication_date 2024/10/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/04
This commentary explains how backpacker research has been developed within and beyond tourism geography in the past 25 years. Based on a selective review of the backpacker literature, it identifies three enduring issues to form the basis for a future research agenda. Firstly, the question of how to define backpackers. Secondly, the methods used to understand backpacking. Thirdly, the debate regarding whether or not backpackers and working holiday makers are synonymous. The paper argues the lack of a shared definition of backpackers distorts perceptions of their impacts, particularly around the question of economic benefits. There are implications here for the tourism industry, the agriculture industry, the academy, and all who depend upon backpackers and/or working holiday makers for their livelihoods.