Backpackers: The next generation? - Scholarly Commons Home

Backpackers: The next generation?
Table of Contents
List of Figures ............................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. iv
Attestation of Authorship ............................................................................................ v
Abstract ........................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... vii
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. viii
1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9
1.1 Researcher context .............................................................................................. 10
1.2 Research questions .............................................................................................. 11
1.3 Defining “travel roles” and “touristic experiences” .......................................... 12
1.3.1 Academic definitions ............................................................................................ 12
1.3.2 Industry definitions .............................................................................................. 14
1.3.3 The limitations of nomenclature ......................................................................... 15
1.4 The economics of tourism.................................................................................... 17
1.4.1 New Zealand’s tourism economy ....................................................................... 17
1.4.2 Backpackers ........................................................................................................... 18
1.4.3 Baby boomers ........................................................................................................ 19
1.4.4 New Zealand’s backpacking industry ............................................................... 20
1.5 Organisation of thesis ......................................................................................... 23
2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 25
2.1 Backpacker literature .......................................................................................... 25
2.1.1 Creating and refining the definitions ................................................................. 26
2.1.2 Backpackers’ travel motivations ......................................................................... 28
2.1.3 Gathering places: The growth of mainstream backpacking .............................. 29
2.1.4 Commodification of risk ...................................................................................... 30
2.1.5 Backpackers’ social interactions .......................................................................... 31
2.1.6 Age-related backpacking research ...................................................................... 33
2.2 Influences of age, motivations, lifestyle on travel behaviours ............................ 34
2.2.1 Physical versus cognitive age .............................................................................. 34
2.2.2 Travel motivations ................................................................................................ 36
2.2.3 Lifestyle segmentation .......................................................................................... 38
2.3 Small tourism businesses in New Zealand ......................................................... 39
3 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 44
3.1 Qualitative interviews ........................................................................................ 45
3.2 Exploratory survey ............................................................................................. 49
4 Perceptions and motivations................................................................................ 52
4.1 Demographic profiles .......................................................................................... 52
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