Tożsamość współczesnego backpackera – między kontrkulturowością a indywidualizmem

Abstract

Many scholars attempt at identifying and defining the nature of backpacking by describing the sociodemographic profile of the backpackers; others search for awareness-related components connected with the backpackers’ need of self-fulfillment and self-determination. In the following article, the profile of a backpacker has been reconstructed on the basis of self-portraits of those travelers who call themselves backpackers. The addressed research question was: Who is a backpacker? The analysis was based on the level of awareness of travelers practicing this particular type of tourism. Field studies have been conducted in Australia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Poland, and Thailand; the study group consisted of 290 backpackers. The image emerging from the collected self-definitions allowed to formulate a different (new) approach to the identity of a contemporary backpacker, shaped by their lifestyle, which stands in opposition to the mainstream consumer culture as it is based on counterculture and individualism.

Keywords

• Backpacking
• Identity
• Traveling
• Culture