Tourist Immersion or Tourist Gaze: the Backpacker Experience - Tourism and Visual Culture: Theories and Concepts - page 155

immersion would be a problem. This supports
previous claims (Cohen, 2004; Richards and
Wilson, 2004b) that there are discrepancies bet-
ween backpacker ideologies and practices.

and motivation to learn about a host society
and they seek an authentic experience. In con-
trast, mass tourists do not make the same level
of effort to understand a host society. Mass tour-
ists prefer to stay within their 'environmental
bubble' and enjoy travel without gaining a deep
understanding of what they 'gaze' at.
While backpackers do share similarities
with mass tourists, their motivations go beyond
recreation and relaxation. They also desire to
learn about, and immerse themselves in, the
host society. Therefore, it could be argued
that the 'the backpacker gaze' is a mix of their
socio-cultural immersive desire, the recreation
activities provided for backpackers, and the yet-
to-be-completed socio-cultural immersion.

Conclusion

It could be said that the backpacker experience
in a host society is more akin to 'gazing', despite
the desire to gain 'immersion'. However, the
gazing performed by backpackers is not the
same as the gazing that is performed by mass
tourists because of the different social setting in
which it takes place. Backpackers have a desire

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