Backpacker tourism: a perspective article

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to contemplate the past development of backpacker tourism research and assess the future development of backpacker tourism research. Design/methodology/approach The authors evaluate the research on backpacker tourism in the past in the following three aspects, namely, research themes, research methods and geographical and cultural contexts of research. Findings Backpackers and backpacker tourism have been evolving in the past 75 years, just as other groups of travelers and forms of travel have. With the rapid pace of globalization in our time, backpacker tourism and its kinship forms will remain an important international tourism phenomenon, with root reasons in different types of economies and societies. As such, it will remain to be a significant research subject for tourism researchers in the future. Originality/value This paper contemplates the past development and assesses the future development of backpacker tourism research.