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

Hampton, Mark P. and Hamzah, Amran (2010) The Changing Geographies of Backpacker Tourism in South-East Asia. Working paper. KBS, Canterbury

Abstract

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

Item Type:	Monograph (Working paper)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > Kent Business School
Depositing User:	Mark Hampton
Date Deposited:	17 May 2010 16:29 UTC
Last Modified:	28 May 2019 15:28 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/24576 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)