Backpackers: The next generation? - Scholarly Commons Home

Backpackers: The next generation?
Eight booked air travel only; five booked air plus their first one or two nights
lodging. Only one couple was booking lodging “a couple weeks in advance”
because of high season crowding, but maintained that they did not do so
typically (Catherine).
Two women who are career researchers and who thoroughly enjoy the planning
stage pre-booked all lodging and rental cars (where applicable), and knew many
of their daily activities in advance. But the other backpackers interviewed had
done little to no pre-planning except for flights and perhaps the first two nights
booking. For four, that was because friends or family were awaiting their
arrival. Others though (particularly those with more travel experience)
commented that New Zealand is an easy country to travel in, and they just
assumed they’d “figure it out” along the way.
What did I prebook? Nothing. Air only. Not even first night. I knew what
I like to do, things I hadn’t done before, but often if there’s just one
person, you can squeeze on. I knew that whatever I did I would enjoy. If I
couldn’t get on one particular [walking] track, there’s always something
else. Hopefully I’ll be back again in a few years (Louise).
Really, deciding what we were going to do was just reading the Lonely
Planet once we were here. We knew we flew into Christchurch and out of
Auckland and had seven weeks, [and thought], ‘now what do we do?’
(Rita).
Several commented on the difference between scheduling the time away (and
the destination) and actually researching the trip. One German woman had
anticipated this trip for more than two years, but had not booked it until three
months before when a work contract cancelled (Ingrid). Three other
independently employed or retired people also made relatively last minute
travel decisions – between three and six weeks prior to departure.
Guide books – “the hall-mark of sedate, middle class tourism” (Cohen, 1973, p.
96) – were used by fifteen participants, particularly the Lonely Planet (eleven) and
The Rough Guide (four); three used both books. The Germans and Dutch used
similar books in their native languages. Only the Canadian cyclist did not have a
guidebook, “because of the weight” (Ken).
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