Backpackers case study

FACULTY OF BUSINESS, ECONOMICS & ACCOUNTINGUNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH

TOURIST BEHAVIOUR(BY 30603)

Tutorial PresentationBACKPACKERS

Prepared to: Dr. Balvinder Kaur KlerSubmitted Date: 06/11/2014

NAME MATRICS NUM.

ASWENI KRISHNAN BB12110043

SAHRILIZIA BINTI SERIE BB12110512

CHANG XIN YI BB 12160675

GUO KEHONG BB12110643

OUYANG JIESHU BB12170754

DEFINITION OF BACKPACKERS

According to Cohen (1972) , the studies generally defines

backpackers as self-organized pleasure tourists on a prolonged

multiple-destination journey with a flexible itinerary. They are

often keen to experiences the local lifestyle, attempt to ‘look

local’, and cite ‘meeting other people’ as a key motivation.

Their recreational activities are likely to focus around nature,

culture, or adventure. They also described as people who search

for authentic experiences, a search based on exclusion of other

tourists. However, according to Nash et al, defining who a

backpacker actually is should be considered as a challenging

task. Backpackers are not easily distinguished economically or

demographically and might be best described in social terms

(Pearce, 1990). To identify a backpacker (Loker-Murphy & Pearce,

1995), aged frequently between 20 and 24, but can range from 15

to 60 years of age, are preference for low cost accommodation

option, emphasis on meeting others travelers and having memorable

experiences, flexible and independently arranged travel plans,

longer rather than brief vacations and preference for informal

and participatory recreational activities. Using the WTO

classification of tourists by purpose of travel, backpackers are

in the group designated 'holiday makers' (Gamham, 1993:541). The

term backpacker is also representative of traveller styles where

'the emphasis is on movement and mobility'(Doorne, 1994:30).

Pearce (1990) defines a backpacker in the five following ways :-

1. A preference for budget accommodation

2. An emphasis on meeting other travelers

3. An independently organized and flexible travel

schedule

4. Longer rather than shorter holidays

5. An emphasis on informal and participatory

holidays

Philip Pearce1 argues that traditionally backpacker

accommodation was primarily dormitory style with communal self

catering facilities and social areas but in recent years the

quality and services of establishments has improved dramatically.

It is now not unusual for some newer establishments to include

en-suite accommodation with single, double or quad occupancy

rooms and offer free breakfast, air conditioning, pool and linen.

For travelers, the main benefits of backpacker accommodation

include are the low price of the accommodation compared to

alternatives such as hotels and bed and breakfasts, enough common

areas such as kitchens, sitting rooms, pool rooms and bars. It

will encourage more interaction between guests than in

traditional hotels. Besides that, hostels are less formal than

hotels because most hostels have a library of travel guides for

guests to use to plan out their journey and often provide DVD

libraries and book swap systems. In addition, hostel staffs are

genuinely there to help, provide free, independent advice on the

best places to eat and drink, travel options and so on. Lastly,

many hostels provide activities for their guests for a nominal

charge or no charge at all

Besides that, there is an emerging new backpacker market

known as the Flash packer that could be described as the affluent

backpacker. They share many of the characteristics of backpackers

but are associated with greater disposable income and tend to mix

low cost and luxury travel, still travelling independently, but

with greater comfort. They also tend to travel with gadgets such

as laptops, music/video players, digital cameras, mobile phones

or GPS devices.

Backpacking is a state of mind. In “The Backpacking

Phenomenon”, Philip Pearce1 suggests that backpacking is an

approach to travelling and holiday taking, rather than a

categorization based on age or dollars spent. Pearce developed

the following criteria for distinguishing backpackers from other

travelers a preference for budget accommodation, an emphasis on

meeting with locals and other travelers, an independently

organized and flexible travel schedule and longer rather than

brief holidays. Backpackers are generally characterized by their

independent style and extensive range of travel, coupled with

their ability to extend their length of stay through prudent

budgeting.

In addition, Welk also argues that the backpacker community

is not a real subculture, but it does take on some of the

characteristics of one constrained by a constant assimilative

pressure by mainstream tourism. Backpackers on the road are

temporary members of the ‘road culture’. The social interactions

(Murphy, 2001) between backpackers revolve around the shared

ideology, but are constrained to just the time spent while

travelling. Welk (2003) proposed that the backpacker community

has evolved around a set of stable common symbolic lines of

ideology. Five pillars of backpacker ideology included, travel on

a low budget, to meet different people, to be free, independent

and open-minded, to organize ones journey individually and

independently, and to travel as long as possible. On the others

hand, Anderskov (2002) concluded that the backpacker culture is

hierarchically structured, with individual status connected to

the values of freedom, independence, tolerance, low budget,

interaction with locals, and the exchange of the most valuable

object in the culture, information. While the ideology of the

backpacker market is represented in the value system, there is a

noticeable gap between the structure and the actual practice by

backpackers.

Lastly, Hecht and Martin (2006) identify three type of

backpacker, according to traveler’s age group, as follows: the

youth tourist backpacker are between 15 and 26 years old, for

transition backpackers, the age are between 26 to 29 years old

and the contemporary tourism backpacker are 30 years old and

older.

THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF BACKPACKER TRAVEL

There are a number of independent themes that contribute to an

understanding of the history of the backpacker phenomenon.

Although people have always travelled, the origins of backpacker

travel lies within the broader history of tourism. This includes

the Grand Tours of the 17th and 18th century in Europe, hiking,

the youth hostel movement and non-institutionalized tourism.

BACKPACKERS CULTURE

Every year hundreds of thousands young people go travelling

in the backpacker manner. They call themselves backpackers and

undertake long-term journeys on low budgets to especially Third

World countries. It has become the "done thing." Surely not for

everybody, but for an expanding number of well educated, young

people from Europe, North America, Israel, Australia and New

Zealand.

Backpacking is a culture symbolic of the increasingly mobile

world. With cultural roots growing from the beatnik and hippie

counterculture’s of the 1950s-1970s, backpacking has been a

mainstreaming phenomenon in tourism that has evolved and adapted

to technological, social, political and economic trends in both

the home and destination societies of backpackers. These global

trends over the last 50 years have lead to a democratization of

backpacking to a large, heterogeneous, and globally diverse group

of people (Paris, 2008). The pillars of ideology of the

backpacking subculture (Welk, 2003) have persevered over the last

few decades, but the social cohesiveness, imparted early on by

the close connection with the social countercultures of the time,

arguably, has not. One of the largest constraints to depicting

backpacking as a subculture is that it has become so mainstreamed

(Scheyvens, 2002; Welk, 2003; O’Reily, 2006) it is difficult to

illustrate clearly the boundaries between the backpacker

community and other mainstreamed tourists. Recent developments in

information and communications technology have provided the basis

for the backpacker culture to once again gain the cohesiveness

without the temporal or spatial constraints of the ‘backpacker

trail.’ These developments allow backpackers to be fully

integrated and maintain a sustained state of co-presence between

the backpacker culture and their home culture (Paris & Teye,

2008; Mascheroni, 2007).

"Backpacking is the best way to meet local people and feel free... that's the main thing.

You really feel free; I don't like to plan what to do..." (Chantalle, 31, French)

One of the ways in which I have found out what values exist in

the backpacker culture, was by analysing the responses to the

questionnaire question: "What is a real backpacker?" Even though

2% out of the sample denied that such a category existed 98% of

the respondents answered the question with striking similarities.

But that is not real backpacker, "real backpacker." The

"ethos of the real backpacker" provides a guideline for how all

backpackers ought to be and behave which values to cherish and

strive for and which not to. Furthermore, I believe that these

values form the fundamental structure of the backpacker culture.

The "strongest" values were: Freedom, independence, low budget,

tolerance and interaction with locals, most other values seemed

to arise from these five basic values, and combined they form a

whole set of values.

Backpackers, as a specific tourist subgroup, also use

symbols to sanction themselves and to distinguish themselves from

other types of tourists (Riley, 1988). Contemporary backpackers

are an adaptation of Cohen’s (1973) part-time, outward oriented,

mass-drifter, Vogt’s (1976) wanderer, and Riley’s (1988) long-

term budget traveler. Contemporary backpackers are college-aged,

educated and from the middle socio-economic class. They are often

at a juncture in life; their motivation for travel includes the

desire to meet others, and the desire for new experiences,

particularly those that offer personal growth. Contemporary

backpackers also travel on a tight budget, under flexible

timetables, and enjoy inexpensive lodgings and eating-places.

There has been limited exploration into the specific symbols that

are shared by contemporary backpackers. Cohen (1973), Vogt

(1976), Adler (1985), Riley (1988), and Allon (2004) have all

contributed to the research on the topic, and have, more

specifically offered insight into the symbols that unify such

travelers. The symbols that are often associated with backpackers

include budget finances, seeking adventure, and writing journals

(Riley, 1988). Personal growth is a symbol of freedom to the

contemporary backpacker and confers social recognition and

prestige within the backpacker culture (Vogt, 1976). Wanderers,

according to Vogt (1976), are motivated to travel for experiences

that offer personal growth. They will increase their status

within the wanderer community as they experience a growth of

character during their travels. Wanderer’s personal growth,

leading to social recognition and prestige, is achieved through

independence, the ‘‘exoticness’’ of destinations traveled, and

through the ‘‘exoticness’’ of their mode of travel (Vogt, 1976).

The fact that backpackers interact so much and maintain a

conversational focus on the subject of travel matters means that

norms, conduct, hierarchies, and other aspects which are often

analyzed by means of a concept of culture, may emerge, take root,

and be transmitted from experienced backpackers to newcomers,

even without fixed and permanent societal institutions to

facilitate the intergenerational transmission. To view

backpackers’ social relations in this way is covered by earlier

concepts of culture, where it is perceived as social structures

of unification and subsumption, and where the individual human is

viewed as a representative of and bearer of a certain culture.

BACKPACKERS MOTIVATION

The motivations behind backpacking that differ from the mass

tourism ones. The destination is not most of the times the major

motivation for traveling. Backpackers tend to seek personal

development and a sense of discovery, to experience other

cultures and environments,to meet other people, to make new

friends and to improve knowledge/education. Backpackers were

found to be significantly less motivated by the needs for luxury

than mainstream travelers. Loker's (1996) motivation based

segmentation study used Pearce's model (1988) to measure and

evaluate the travel career levels of backpackers by investigating

their motives to travel. Loker expected that a tourist would

ascend the ladder as they travel more. She also recognised that

the same tourist may vary in their travel career level depending

on the travel situation and social reference group. Loker divided

backpackers into categories based on motive statements; they

included selfdevelopers, social/excitement seekers, achievers and

escapers/relaxers. Based on their motivation to travel each group

of backpackers were at varying stages of their 'travel career'.

In their study, Hecht and Martin (2006) found that

motivations, expectations and demands about traveling and hostels

vary according to backpackers age, gender and country of origin.

The youth tourists seek more interaction with fellow travelers

and value more excitement and thrill than transition and

contemporary backpackers. They also tend to be in a ‘‘cross

road’’ in their lives since they have just completed their

education (or are about to) and are confused about future and the

eventual entrance in the job market. Traveling is considered a

way for young people to postpone certain socio-economic

decisions, such as starting a career, settling down and

marriage.The contemporary backpacker demands a wider choice of

room types and they are willing to pay for their choices. With

the increase of age, the budget for accommodation tends to

increase too, and privacy is a privilege contemporary

backpacker’s value.

Regarding gender differences, female backpackers care more

about cleanliness, quality of the staff and security than the

male backpackers. They are also more influenced by reviews and

ratings in websites like Hostel world and by other backpackers’

recommendations. While male back-packers are more likely to

arrive to a hostel without pre booking, female backpackers tend

to book in advance. The Australians and Europeans tend to look

more for social experiences and meeting other backpackers than

Asian and North/South Americans. Asians and Americans tend to be

older than their counterparts and demand a more complete hostel,

regarding facilities, services and security. They also value

privacy more and prefer hostels that can offer that privacy.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS OF BACKPACKERS

Social interactions can be defined as a process which we act

and react for the surroundings. It is clearly included any kind

of action that people would show towards each others. Social

interaction are the major importance in sociology and it is

including a huge number of people with their own behaviour. In

terms of tourism, social interactions and functional

interpretations among backpackers is divided into thematic

categories.

The first social interactions that mostly backpackers are

intentions to is goals. “Goal” is something that they strive to

achieve during the period time of travelling. Social interactions

is an integral part of the backpacking experience. Most of the

backpackers usually would like to discuss or sharing experiences

among them and knowing goals or reason of they doing the

backpacking travel. It is an important things for the backpackers

to ensure that all the activities, budgeting, accommodations, as

well as food is under the goal. For an examples, the backpackers

had already set their costs for their trip and they need to

ensure that they spend their money by relaying on the estimated

budget before. The backpackers tend to sharing their own

experiences during their travel period. A part from that, the

main goal of the backpackers is to seek an informations during

their conversation among them, it is the main “ritual” for those

who are always going to travel by backpacking. Usually the

backpackers would travel to some destinations according to

influences by the trusted person, different perceptions among

backpackers as well as recommendations, expectations, and the

information that they get from others. The positives and

negatives attitudes of the people in certain destinations also

would give an impact in final decision of backpackers.

Besides that, as a backpackers they considered that the

environmental setting also important in their social situations.

Backpackers usually would choose to stay at the hostels, lodge,

or budget hotels, it is the most common setting in the occurs of

the backpackers social situations. The hostels or lodge managers

should encourage their employees to know about the important of

word-of-mouth for backpackers in terms of promoting the places or

hostel. The backpackers considered that the hostels atmosphere,

the attitude of the staff or people in the hostels and the

opportunity to met people is the important things while they

staying in the hostels. Other than hostels, the backpackers also

need others services such as pubs, buses, and transit centers.

The interior of the hostels such as dormitory rooms, communal

eating, TV areas, common rooms, and outdoor need to be

comfortable and appears the touches of “home” to ensure that they

would love the experiences of friendly atmosphere. There is a lot

of backpackers sharing the same places and they put important

about the personal space, preserved their privacy and respecting

others belongings in the shared places.

The social interactions among backpackers also related with

sequences of behavior. They are many of the backpackers usually

would express their opinion and experiences that they have and

mostly would respond with an open-minded attitude when they

discuss about some topics. The backpackers are often to discuss

about their hometown and as well as their have been travel to

certain places. Apart from that the backpacker would always

ensure that they would not include some sort of stereotyping or

ignorance of different nationalities because it is not suitable

to discuss and they wanted to avoid any uncomfortable situations

among themselves.

Other than that, the backpackers also value importance on

attitudes in repertoire of cognitive structures. The backpackers

would considered that it is important to travel in this kind of

manners since they are visiting other people places and it is to

ensure that they would not be insensitive. Backpackers usually

will try to adapt themselves in backpackers lifestyles, even if

they need to talk to the strangers more often. The individuals

that could not adapt themselves would face the inability and

difficulty to have a memorable interactions with other

backpackers.

A part from that, most of the backpackers would felt their

roles more fulfilling and occupying compared to other tourist.

The backpackers also trying to put themselves in the places that

could help them to avoid the typical tourist and would capable to

share the same approach, goal, and minded with other fellow

backpackers. The roles of the employees and people in the places

that they are traveling to is important. Their expectations

towards the people and the employees in the hotels is they would

be treated well during their staying period in the hostels. The

staff should know to respect them and treat them with

understanding and equally. The roles of the hostels is to

satisfied the customers with a very polite attitude as they

expected, because there is some backpackers finding an

satisfaction in certain places. As a backpackers they should know

their roles as a person that would be able to apply certain

social skills and soft skills , they need to be more open and

capable to withstand different beliefs and attitudes of others in

certain places.

Lastly, Social skills are important for the individuals

itself to adapt and confront in social situations as a

backpackers. The ability to tackle the situations, open minded in

other religions or different belief, and tolerate to strangers is

needed. Some of individuals tends to have a problem to adapt and

absorb the social situations. The social skills would help the

backpackers to gain more experiences and improvise themselves.

Difficulties of adapting the situations and failed in tolerance

to others belief would arise boredom and stresses to individuals

while travel as a backpackers. However, traveling as a backpacker

alone would be more easier to meet other people. Whereas the

couples backpackers are usually would seems to have more privacy

without any invaded from others and they would decided to choose

staying in a twins rooms rather than dormitories.

CASE STUDY

Problem statement

What is a real backpacker and why they choose to backpacking in

Sabah?

The strongest values for backpackers are freedom,

independence, low budget, tolerance and interaction with locals,

most other values seemed to arise from these five basic values,

and combined they form a whole set of values. Backpackers choose

to backpacking in Sabah because of this strongest values.

Backpackers coming to Sabah from late (1990s-2000s). The number

of backpacker increased with cheaper flights from Peninsular

Malaysia which is Air Asia. Borneo previously became famous in

high-end tourism, eco-tourism and diving especially in Sipadan

(world class site). In 2004 onwards, Mabul island mainly up-

market tourism by employing experienced divers and resorts are

all inclusive. Some entreprenuers converted houses to

'homestays'. In 2009, significant shift such as new dynamic and

competitive backpacker operator opened. They started to offer

dive training and cheap diving for backpackers. There also a

large base in Semporna for mass backpackers such as dive shop,

bar, restaurant, accommodation and so on.

The value of freedom was often expressed by talking about

what was the opposite of freedom such as routine, both while

travelling and at home, work and school at home, having a set

itinerary while travelling, like tourists have, non-mobility -

not being able to move around freely, feeling trapped, norms and

expectations of family and society, the settled life with house,

children and mortgage, not having time for oneself, not having

time to explore oneself. The value of freedom was linked to the

sub-value of valuating the journey itself higher than the

destination. So, backpackers willing to travel to get away from

all the stressful life while exploring the world.

The value of independence was seen in opposition to

compromising on various levels such as letting other people

"decide" your trip, not doing what you really feel like, trying

to live up to the expectations of friends, family, work, and the

norms of society, not being able to manage on your own, not being

able to deal with travelling as a whole, clinging to travel

companions, doing "touristy stuff". This value lead to other

interconnected values such as taking risks, exploring and being

adventurous, which again lead to a much cherished value in the

backpacker culture - going off the beaten track, which shows that

you can truly manage on your own. So, backpacker will be very

independent when they are apart from their family.

Low budget was opposed to high budget, which for example

tourists or people travelling short term had, travelling short

term, materialism both in terms of owning a lot, which hindered

mobility both at home and while travelling and in terms of

material living being somehow the cause of man's unhappiness. As

an example of this attitude towards materialism many of my

informants expressed that one of the main things they had learned

from the locals was that though they were poor they were also

friendly and smiling, which according to my informants, meant

that there was a direct positive link between poverty

(interpreted by my informants as non-materialism) and personal

happiness. Low budget was also opposed to what the backpackers

defined as luxuries such as expensive food, hotels,

transportation, clothes and so forth.

The value of tolerance was opposed to people who "thought

they were more than others", which lead to a sub-value of

equality, being unfriendly towards both locals and backpackers,

being intolerant towards locals and backpackers, being un-

accepting towards locals and backpackers. Interaction with

locals was very highly valued as opposed to tourists who,

according to my informants, never got to know the "real" locals,

not "liking" the locals, being intolerant towards them, not

accepting the local culture, not trying to live on the terms of

the local population, not going off the beaten track to meet the

locals.

Q&A Session

1. What are the reasons for a backpacker to choose backpacking in

Sabah as a means of travel?

Answer :

it's economical.

the social aspects, the opportunity to meet new people.

it offers a better/more "real" experience.

allows trip length to be extended.

independent.

flexibility.

easy/convenience.

it's a way to travel and explore Sabah.

previous backpacking experience.

it's may be recommended by others.

2. How is backpackers social interactions with locals in Sabah?

Why?

Answer :

Social interaction appeared as an important factor in

choosing backpacking as a means of travel in Sabah for

backpackers. Not all locals are open-minded and take

initiative to communicate with backpackers. Backpackers are

people who travel independently without a travel guide.

Communication barrier happens because locals can't speak in

international language which is English. So, backpackers

social interactions with locals are not strong.

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