Backpacker Tourism: Evolution and Impact

Text 2 takes a stand on what a backpacker is today. The text tells, that according to new researches, the backpackers are more concerned with smoking dope and congregating in travellers’ ghettos instead of exploring the cultures and save the world as backpackers did formerly. In continuation of this they use the expression “tourist bubble” and if you compare this text with text 3, you will find an example of a man who isn’t a part of this “tourist bubble”. Actually he never wanted to travel but he did it because he wanted to escape from the ordinary life. He wandered aimlessly around in 33-month to search for an alternative life and the journey taught him how difficult life can be. Mark Moxon is a backpacker who tries to find himself through his journey which is typical of the traditional backpackers.

I will return to text 2. Dr Aziz explains about the strong backpacker culture in the Egyptian town Dahab, where the shops have names like Laughing Buddha and El Dorado. But none of these shops have anything in common with the traditional Egyptian shops. Jenifer Cox tells also about this backpacker culture. She explains about well-established Mecca’s such as Bali and Koh Samui and she insists that some backpackers spend some few days in each of the different Mecca’s. She thinks that there are advantages to places like these because they enabled backpackers to have fun and relax in a safe environment. Pico Iyer tells, in text 4, also about Bali, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries just like Jenifer Cox and Dr Aziz. His view is that tourist visits devastates the places they visit. He says that each tourist brings new development and every development is a change for worse. This bad development has resulted in that Bali, Tahiti and others have been taken over by Paradise hotels, stores and cafés and he thinks that Tibet, Ladakh and Ko Samui may one day follow. So while Jenifer Cox opinion is that these places have advantages for the travellers Pico Iyer thinks that the travellers are devastating to the places.