Description:
This book presents new contributions in backpacking research from various disciplines, capturing the diversity of backpacker contexts, motives and behaviours. It takes a fresh, critical and reflexive look at over 40 years of backpacking research and seeks to recentre backpacking research before introducing new perspectives on backpacking and global backpacker cultures from previously unexplored perspectives. The chapters examine contemporary backpacker culture and mobilities, and the value and worth of backpacking both for individuals seeking an alternative life course and transformation, and destinations and businesses who value their economic and cultural potential. The volume aims to make sense of current research in order to understand backpacking's future, and produce new directions for conceptual, theoretical and methodological development and future research. It will be useful for students and researchers in tourism, sociology and anthropology.
Brief description:
Michael O'Regan is a Lecturer in Events and Tourism, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. He received his PhD from the University of Brighton and his research is focused on tourist, urban, historic, future, alternative, lifestyle, slow and cultural mobilities, backpacking and outbound Chinese tourism.
Review Quotes: The demise of the travel guide book and the emergence of the digital device underpins the makeover of backpacking as a mode of travel. This remarkable book breathes new life into the study of backpackers and its innovative methodological and theoretical entreaties help better situate backpacker research in the present.