Backpacking has a long history dating back to the 18th century Grand Tour. It became more popular in the late 1960s after the National Scenic Trail Act. Typical backpackers are students and young adults in their late teens to early 30s traveling on a low budget. They stay in hostels and interact with local cultures. Backpacking brings economic benefits to remote regions but governments don't always recognize this. Increased travel costs and money exchange issues present threats.

1. Backpacking
Tourism
Juan Archanco Galíndez
English for Tourism IV, January 2012 Laura López - Cifuentes Ortiz
Inmaculada Cano Abellán
Roberto Rodriguez Garrote

2. THE HISTORY OF BACKPACKING
• 1968 National Scenic Trail Act
• Giovani Careri traveled around the world during 5
years.
• The Grand Tour trip around Europe undertaken by
european young men.

3. The term “Backpacker”
The term 'backpacker' is extensively used by this market in
Australia and New Zealand. In recent years, it has begun to be
used overseas, primarily by people setting up hostels and tours.
However, it might be misunderstood in some regions like the US
where it is used to describe a bushwalker. 'Budget travel' or
'independent travelers’ are alternative phrases.
Backpackers spend more, travel further and stay longer than other
travellers. The backpacking sector in NSW is about attracting
more adventurous and independent international travellers into
regional areas, through the development of more 'must see and do
experiences'.

4. Backpacker’s profile (I)
Age: mostly in their late
teens, twenties and early
thirties, usually during holidays or in
a gap year between high school and
college.
Studies: usually upper studies, at
least high school.

5. Backpacker’s profile (II)
Income: broad range, usually students do not have much money
and depend on their families; therefore we can say low to medium
income. However more and more people that have joined the
backpacker’s community are older people with more money. They
have created the latest trend: flashpacking, which is a more
expensive and higher standard backpacking.
Lifestyle and personality: open minded with hunger for meeting
new cultures and discovering new places. Independent, problem
solvers, flexible, easy going and romantic.
Motivation: anthropologic, documentary interest, the search for
new experiences, self-actualization, hunt of authenticity, getting
the best from each place, etc.

6. Personal Experiences (I)
As there is an almost
infinite possible
combination of
places, dates and
prices, we are going
to do this part based
on an actual 22 day
interrail around 11
different countries in
Europe (June 2010).

7. Personal Experiences

8. Personal Experiences (III)
Day 1:
Flight Madrid > Charleroi
Train to Brussels
Nights in hotel (**)
Stroll around Brussels
Day 2: Train and visit to
Gant and Bruges

9. Personal Experiences (IV)
Day 3: Train to Maastricht
Night in a friend’s house.
Day 4: Train to London, under
the English Channel. Arrival to
London and CS’er place.

10. Personal Experiences (V)
Day 4, 5, 6 & 7: Visit to
London Stayed at polish
CSer’s place and at
David’s place.
Day 7, & 8: Train to
Edinburgh (via York) Long
way, train driver sick.
Stayed at Inma’s hostel.

11. Personal Experiences (VI)
Day 8 & 9: Train to Inverness
(Loch Ness Lake) Night at
Inverness Bed & Breakfast
Day 9 & 10: Train to Aberdeen
Night at CSer’s place (german
girl) Train back to Edinburgh
Night at Inma’s Hostel

12. Personal Experiences (VII)
Day 11 & 12: Missed the
plane to Dublin: change of
plans. Trip to Stranraer Ferry
to Belfast Late night
arrival, night at Holiday Inn
(****)

13. Personal Experiences (VIII)
Day 12, 13 & 14:
Train to Dublin
Night at 2 hostels
Free tour Pub-crawl
Day 14: Flight to
Oslo, Train to Göteborg
(broken). Night at hostel.

14. Personal Experiences (IX)
Day 15 & 16: Visit to Liseberg
(Scandinavia’s biggest amusement
park). Night Train from Göteborg to
Stockholm, Sundsvall and Storlien

15. Personal Experiences (X)
Day 17 & 18: Storlien, Ǻre cable-
car, train to Trondheim, met CSer
there, night train back to Oslo.

16. Personal Experiences (XI)
Day 18: Amusement park:
Tusenfryd. Plane to Gdansk
delayed (no taxi nor bus, no local
currency). Night train to Katowice
Day 19: Visit to Katowice
Train to Salzburg (night @ Prague)

17. Personal Experiences (XII)
Day 20, 21 & 22: Visit to Salzburg
Cable car “The Sound of Music”

18. Personal Experiences (XIII)
Day 22:
Train to Milano (via Verona) Flight
back to Madrid
TOTAL: 9,800 Km (straight line)

19. Budget
We have omitted prices for F&B
as well as other activities
(museums, public transport
within the cities, etc.) due to the
huge difference of prices among
European countries. As an
example: a small bottle of water
in Norway was around 5€ vs.
Poland which was around 0.50€
Still, you can survive with around
15€ per day which will be a
grand total of 799€. So, all in
all, it will be quite difficult to
find an all-inclusive 3 week
package, visiting 12 countries
(Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Scot
land, Northern
Ireland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria
and Italy) for less than one
thousand Euros.

20. SWOT Analysis
Is a strategic planning method use to evaluate the
strengths, weaknesses/limitations, opportunities and
threats involved in a project or in a business venture.

21. Strengths
• 1) More money is spent due to the duration of the trip
• 2) It focuses on a wider geographical area
• 3) More money is spent on locally produced goods and
services
• 4) Significant multiplier effects
• 5) Revitalization of traditional culture
• 6) Backpackers are more environmentally friendly
• 7) Local tourism competes with foreign domination

22. Strengths
• 1) More money is spent due to the duration of the
trip. Backpackers spend more money than other
tourists because they stay longer in a place (Europe)
(between two weeks and one month)

23. Strengths
• 2) It focuses on a wider geographical area, more
money is spent, including remote, economically
depressed or isolated regions

24. Strengths
• 3) More money is spent on locally produced
goods and services. Backpacking tourists do not
demand luxury therefore; they spend more on locally
produced goods (such as food) and services
(transport, homestay accommodation)

25. Strengths
• 4) There are significant multiplier effects from
drawing on local skills and resources. In this way
local people gain self-fulfillment through running their
own tourism enterprises rather than filling in menial
positions in enterprises run by outside operators

26. Strengths
• 5) Revitalization of traditional culture. The interest
of backpackers in meeting and learning from local
people can lead to a revitalization of traditional
culture, respect for the knowledge of elders and
pride in traditional aspects of one’s culture.

27. Strengths
• 6) Backpackers are more environmentally friendly.
Backpackers use fewer resources (like cold showers
and fans rather than hot baths and air
conditioning), therefore, kinder to the environment
than other tourists.

28. Strengths
• 7) Local tourism competes with foreign
domination.

29. Weaknesses/limitations
• 1) Backpackers do not rely on tour operators
• 2) Enterprises catering for backpackers are small
• 3) Interaction with locals is of secondary importance
• 4) Backpackers spend less money
• 5) Prejudices and stereotypes on backpackers by
locals

30. Weaknesses/limitations
• 1) Backpackers do not rely on tour operators who
hold their hands.

31. Weaknesses/limitations
• 2) Enterprises catering for backpackers are small

32. Weaknesses/limitations
• 3) Interaction with locals is of secondary
importance. The majority of backpackers spend
most of the time interacting with other backpackers.

33. Weaknesses/limitations
• 4) Backpackers spend less money, in terms of
stay, they spend less money than other tourists

34. Weaknesses/limitations
• 5) Prejudices on backpackers by locals due to
some locals have prejudices and fixed stereotypes
towards backpackers.

35. Opportunities
• 1) No frontier controls at the borders between 22 EU
countries.
• 2) The power of Internet in order to organize their
own backpacking experience
• 3) Globalization

36. Opportunities
• 1) No frontier controls at the borders between 26
EU countries, so it is clear that they have no
problems in entering Europe and this is thanks to the
Schengen rules which are part of EU law

37. Opportunities
• 2) The power of Internet in order to organize their
own backpacking experience

38. Opportunities
• 3) Globalization refers to the increasingly global
relationships of culture, people and economic
activity.
• Environmental challenges such as climate
change, cross-boundary water and air pollution and
over-fishing of the ocean, require trans-
national/global solutions

39. Threats
• 1) Some governments don’t recognize enough the
economic benefits backpackers can bring
• 2) The increase of the travel’s costs
• 3) Money exchange

40. Threats
• 1) Some governments don’t recognize enough the
economic benefits backpackers can bring

41. Threats
• 2) The increase of the travel’s costs, fuel prices
have increased significantly in recent years and are
likely to stay high in the future. Between 2003 and
2008 average U.S. gasoline retail prices more than
doubled.

42. Threats
• 3) Money exchange, Nineteen European countries
— and more than 330 million people — use the
same currency. Using euros, tourists and locals can
easily compare prices of goods between countries.
And we no longer lose money or time changing
money at borders.

43. Conclusions
• Backpacking is a type of tourism that has been going
on for over 200 years
• Very liberal type of tourism, not planned and it
adjusts to a low budget
• Flashpacking: more luxurious type of tourism, not
only for young people
• Backpacking is possible thanks to the increasing
emergence of low cost air companies, improvements
in the railway system, internet and a wide range of
accommodation.

44. FUTURE TENDENCIES
• Flashpacking travel with luxury accomodation and
transport.
• Gap-packing young europeans who leave after
finishing high school and return back in time for college
or a new job.

45. Sources & Bibliography
http://internationaldevelopmentstudies.artsandsocialsciences.dal.ca/Files/Gula_H
onours_Thesis_07.pdf
http://www.coloradomesa.edu/op/documents/backpackertourismthirdworld.pdf
http://archive.tourism.nsw.gov.au/Backpacker_Tourism_p726.aspx
http://www.mochileros.org/
http://archive.tourism.nsw.gov.au/Backpacker_Tourism_p726.aspx
http://internationaldevelopmentstudies.artsandsocialsciences.dal.ca/Files/Gula_H
onours_Thesis_07.pdf
http://ezinearticles.com/?Backpacking-History-and-Help&id=3659832
http://camping.lovetoknow.com/History_of_Backpacking
http://www.infohostels.com/notizia.php?chiave=200
http://espanol.interrailnet.com/enes/planning/railway-map
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