The Changing Geographies of Backpacker Tourism in South-East Asia.

South-East Asia has the oldest backpacker trails. This paper examines the geographies of such flows, drawing upon the largest survey to date of backpackers in Asia using

qualitative research in a longitudinal study from the 1970s to the 2000s. Backpacker trails have changed significantly and new routes have emerged including the ‘northern

trail’ (Bangkok - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos). Changing routes are to be expected (backpackers constantly seek new places, pioneering for later mass tourism),however, this paper suggests that fundamentally, these changing trails are due to external variables combining travel innovations (low cost airlines, and other new transport networks); exogenous shock (political instability and terrorism); and

growing regional competition, specifically emerging ‘exotic’ destinations such as Vietnam and Cambodia.

Key words: backpackers; small-scale tourism; travel choice; motivation