Backpackers: The next generation? - Scholarly Commons Home

Backpackers: The next generation?
person’s adult life will be spent over the age of 50. … Today, 50 is truly a mid-
point, not an end point”.
Small tourism businesses in New Zealand
The third research perspective offered in this thesis reflects the points of view of
small tourism business owners within New Zealand. To give context to the
qualitative interviews and the related findings, the literature was reviewed to
“set the stage” with statistics and studies that would offer a picture of
contemporary reality for the owner operators of backpackers’ accommodations.
A few studies have addressed the importance of smaller backpacker
accommodations, particularly in developing countries, and their often
significant contributions to local economies and communities (Hampton, 1998;
Scheyvens, 2002; Visser, 2004). Others have researched how small backpackers’
accommodations have benefited rural, less visited communities in Australia and
New Zealand (Ateljevic & Doorne, 2000a; Westerhausen & Macbeth, 2003).
In New Zealand, for example, backpackers’ accommodation sector yields are
6.7%, considerably higher than yields for hotels (4.0%), motels (5.3%), or
campervan parks (3.7%) (Tourism Recreation Research and Education Centre
(TRREC), 2007, p. 8). Backpacker tourists offer the least spending yield (coach
tourists offer the most), but offer the most residual income for accommodations’
owners and other backpackers’ suppliers (TRREC, 2007b, p. 25).
In New Zealand, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), defined as having
fewer than 19 employees, comprise 96% of all businesses (Ministry of Economic
Development (MED), 2007, p. 5). Tourism enterprises are one part of this
economy. Within businesses in the accommodation, café and restaurant sectors,
62% have five or fewer full time employees (MED, 2007, p. 17). Many are family
owned and operated. This profile fits most members of BBH, the country’s
largest affiliation of independently owned backpackers’ accommodations. They
typify the country’s small tourism enterprises (STEs) in structure and
employees.
39