Tourism as an escape: long-term travelers in New Zealand.

Abstract

The phenomenon of the “long-term, budget traveler has been conceptualized as a distinctive form of escape from mainstream “institutionalized tourism flows. A common characteristic of studies focusing on this market has been the tendency to treat these as a homogenous consumer group. In Australia and New Zealand these are commonly referred to as the “backpacker market. Our discussion reveals heterogeneity within this group, and our discussion of “traditional long-term travelers and “mainstream backpacker groups examines the diversity of underlying values influencing travel motivations and their respective forms of consumer behavior.