The Global Nomad: Backpacker Travel in Theory and Practice

Abstract

This volume provides a valuable insight into the phenomenon of backpackers in both theoretical and practical perspectives. At the departure point of the book, backpackers—treated as global nomads—are conceptualized mainly in the context of modern and postmodern societal modes of the West. This book will appeal to anyone who is interested in the social phenomena reflected in the form of tourism, and to those who are in the area of tourism with a sociocultural, anthropological, or managerial focus.\n\nThe volume is organized into four parts. Acknowledging the growing need to understand this phenomenon, Greg Richards and Julie Wilson open the book by describing the motivations for setting up the Backpacker Research Group and then presenting the findings from a global survey. The study identifies backpackers, destinations visited, motivations and activities, and basic trip characteristics. This investigation reveals that backpackers are a nonhomogeneous group of people despite some seemingly common traits.