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Cohen's (1973) drifter is placed at the end
of the continuum with the highest degree of
socio-cultural immersion, and is the polar oppo-
site of the mass tourist who has the least involve-
ment in the host environment they visit.
However, Cohen accepted that each type of
tourist is heterogeneous because of the incessant
diversity of the global phenomena. In addition,
it is very diffi cult to maintain the original drifter's
characteristics fully. Therefore, Cohen (1973)
further categorized drifters. Outward-oriented
drifters seek signifi cant interaction with the local
people, while inward-oriented drifters seek an
enclave of their own kind. It is feasible that a
similar distinction exists with today's youth tour-
ists, of which backpackers are a subset. Loker-
Murphy and Pearce (1995) suggested that there
is one group of youth tourist that seeks only
superfi cial contact with locals and a second
group that seeks profound contact with locals.
'meet with the locals'. Kininmont (2000) sur-
veyed backpackers travelling in Australia and
found that more than half claimed they came to
Australia to meet the local people. Newlands
(2004) found from his survey of backpackers in
New Zealand that the main motivation was to
explore other cultures and to interact with local
people. Jarvis (2004) found that 84% of back-
packers travelling through South-east Asia tra-
velled for the cultural experience.
It is often interaction with the local people
that backpackers claim distinguishes them from
'tourists' (Desforges, 1998). Noy (2004, p. 86)
noted that backpackers draw a distinct line
between tourists and themselves by claiming
that '. . . they [backpackers] can truly 'reach'
and experience “fascinating” people and land-
scapes'. Similarly, Westerhausen (2002, p. 59)
found that backpackers claim they '. . . have
closer contact with locals' than mass tourists do.
Elsrud (1998, p. 311) concluded that 'Most of
them [backpackers] emphasized their desire to
be 'participants' rather than 'observers' while
travelling. Unlike the charter tourists on a week
long trip, who can not expect to be living in close
relation to their hosts . . .'. Moscardo (2006)
noted that the 'adoption of a counter culture' is
still dominating the backpacker experience.
Within a host destination, backpackers
make an effort to interact with the local resi-
dents. Huxley (2004) found that backpackers
used various forms of activity to engage in local
cultures, including attending festivals, wearing
local clothes, tasting the local cuisine, experi-
encing local music and fi lms, interacting with
local children, and attempting to go to more
remote areas around the destination. Similarly,
Muzaini (2006) showed that backpackers attempt
to acquire cultural immersion in a host society
by adopting the personality, outlook and appear-
ance of local residents.
Despite these desires, constraints to immer-
sion have been identifi ed. These constraints
include time, the foreign community and lan-
guage barriers. Despite the fact that backpack-
ers try to immerse in the host society, both
Huxley (2004) and Muzaini (2006) feel that
they are often unsuccessful due to the institu-
tionalized backpacker 'bubble' within the tourist
hub. This supports Cohen's (2006) argument
relating to the transitional backpacker enclave
and its infl uence on modern-day backpackers.
The backpacker and tourist immersion
It has been widely recognized that backpackers
tend towards the non-institutionalized end of
the continuum (Murphy, 1997; Cohen, 2004;
Richards and Wilson, 2004a), with the drifter
remaining the major precursor for the modern-
day backpacker. Backpackers desire to be
immersed in a host society, to have a signifi cant
interaction with a host population, to change
their normal structured life and to adopt the
host society's social values.
The backpacker's desire to interact with the
local population is evident in a number of stud-
ies. Adler (1985, p. 321) noted that 'Today's
budget traveller is very likely to state that a
prime motivation for travelling is 'to meet peo-
ple' and seek invitations to share meals or stay
with locals'. Ross (1993) found that when back-
packers were asked what the major positive
image of both the ideal and actual destination
was, they frequently replied 'friendliness of local
residents'. Loker-Murphy (1996, p. 23) found
that backpackers are primarily motivated by
'the need for excitement or adventure' and
'meeting local people'. Similarly, Murphy (1997,
p. 229) found that amongst their ten highest-
ranking motivations, backpackers wanted to
'learn about/experience another culture' and to
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