Backpackers: The next generation? - Scholarly Commons Home

Backpackers: The next generation?
The most guarded comment heard was from a woman who stated that she does
not typically choose social interaction.
It’s not something I actively seek to do. I’ve been surprised how it’s
actually interesting though, when you let your guard down and you find
you are in conversation with other people…. I kept bumping into the
same people every few days. I actually found that extremely rewarding in
a way I’d never anticipated (Helen).
Younger backpackers often exchange information about the best “deals” or
“values” on the road to garner prestige (Riley, 1988; Murphy, 2001). None of
these conversations was heard from older backpackers; no comments about
bargain hunting or deal making were made, even from travellers who had been
through India and Southeast Asia. Conversations however did reflect Welk’s
(2004) “insider’s tips”: travellers trading information on “off the beaten track”
experiences only with those they truly like, possibly a parallel form of status
enhancement. Research subjects exchanged information with other guests as
well as the researcher about the “nicest” places to stay and “most interesting”
experiences they had had.
Age-related attributes and their impact on travellers’ preferences and
interactions have been studied extensively (Lieux, Weaver, & McCleary, 1994;
Muller, 1997; Shoemaker, 1989, 2000). A body of work is coalescing that indicates
that the baby boomer cohort is relatively age-neutral (Stroud, 2005; Patterson,
2006). This research appears to support that theory, at least for the types of
people who choose to engage in the nature-based, culturally and socially
interactive holidays that typify a New Zealand backpackers’ holiday. Most of the
older backpackers enjoyed the multi-generational atmosphere.
It gives us the chance to interact with younger people that we don’t
normally have – it’s really important for us, and for them too, I think
(Wally).
Backpackers come from all walks of life, all ages thrown in together, all
talking enthusiastically about what they’ve seen and done (Betty).
There was some concern expressed by older backpackers about how the younger
travellers would feel having older people present. But the few younger
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