Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
between tourist gaze and the backpacker has
not been widely discussed. It is felt to some
extent that a backpacker's reason to immerse in
a host society is to avoid the experience of
a mere tourist gaze (Jansson, 2006) and
become involved in the local society as much
as they can.
This chapter tends to agree that the tourist
gaze is socially constructed by one's interpreta-
tion of one's surroundings. Arguably, the tourist
gaze is an illustration of visual process and self-
central discourse either with or without the
gaze. The subjectivity of tourist gaze is similar to
the subjectivity of the backpacker's authentic
experience to some extent. Shaffer (2004)
argued that the authentic experience was
socially performed and constructed by each
backpacker and the tourist gaze has emerged in
the constructed authentic experience when
backpackers have encountered other cultures
and societies. Shaffer (2004) also discussed the
reproduction of authenticity and the tourist
gaze. According to MacCannell (1973), authen-
ticity is the semiotic system, which is socially
produced during the touristic experience.
Hence, authenticity via 'visual gazing' could be
indicative of the backpacker experience. For
instance, in order to seek authenticity and
localize themselves in a host society, backpack-
ers are most likely to develop a constructed
understanding of the locals 'through their eyes'.
Whilst backpackers claim that they have
immersed in a host society, how can backpack-
ers' perceived immersion be distinguished from
truly acquired immersion? Arguably, the tourist
gaze could have applied to the backpacker even
if he or she had tried to have localized immer-
sion, particularly if the backpacker interpreted
local experience from the perception of their
own native society.
in the pioneering of Pai as a tourist destination
(Gampell, 2003) and European backpackers
still dominate the Pai backpacker market (Sook-
sawasdi, 1998). Although backpackers are not
the only types of tourists who visit Pai (Cohen,
2006), they are considered the dominant tourist
group. Pai has been considered a 'backpacker
enclave' for more than 20 years because of its
inaccessibility (Cohen, 2006).
Convenience sampling was used to survey
a cross-section of international backpackers visi-
ting Pai. Backpackers were identifi ed by the
type of accommodation they were staying in,
their independent travel and their long-term
travel (i.e. the characteristics of backpackers
consistent with Pearce's (1990) defi nition of a
backpacker). All interviews were audio-recorded
to ensure the accuracy of data and transcrip-
tion. The transcribed interviews were analysed
using content analysis.
Backpackers' Ideologies
The fi rst topic explored in the in-depth inter-
views was backpackers' ideologies in relation
to travel. This was divided into fi ve areas:
backpacker travel motivation, expectation of
authenticity, perception of a host destination,
perception of host population, and the back-
packer self-perception.
Backpacker travel motivation
The results showed that backpacker motivation
is a mix of seven themes - novelty (53%),
escape (50%), self-growth (40%), host-oriented
(27%), self-enjoyment (20%), self-healing (13%)
and seeking job opportunities (13%). Among
these themes, learning about a host destination
ranked fourth. Eight participants (27%) men-
tioned a desire to interact and learn about the
host destination. They wanted to learn and
explore local culture and also associate with
local people during their time in a host destina-
tion. This is consistent with previous literature
stating backpackers rated 'meeting local people'
highly or within the fi rst fi ve most common
motivations for travel (Loker, 1993; Richards
and Wilson, 2004c).
Method
In 2006, an in-depth semi-structured interview
was conducted with 30 international backpack-
ers in Pai, Thailand. Pai is situated in the north-
ern region of Thailand, 135 km north of Chiang
Mai province and 111 km east of Mae Hong
Son province (Rueprayoachsilp, 2006). In the
early 1980s, Western backpackers played a role
Search WWH ::
Custom Search