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The study of backpackers began when Cohen (1972) differentiated the tourist between the institutionalized and non-institutionalized. The former related with the mass tourism and the latter is common with the middle class young tourists are mentioned in the literature by various terms: drifters, nomads, youthful travelers, wanderers, hitchhikers, tramping youth, and long-term budget travelers (Uriely,2002). The backpackers are self-organized tourists who travel in long time in some destination with the flexible itinerary. They are interested to experience the local lifestyle and try to be ‘‘look local.

Their recreational activities are likely to focus around nature, culture, or adventure. This pattern is consonant with the tendency of backpackers to travel more widely than other tourists, seeking unusual routes. Many travel under a strictly controlled budget, often due to the relatively long duration of their journey. They are described as people who search for authentic experiences that different to other tourists (Maoz, 2007).

There is much debate on the definition of backpackers. Tourism Research Australia defines a backpacker as “a visitor who stayed at least one night in backpacker/hostel accommodation. Backpackers tend to travel alone or with a companion. A number of qualities distinguish backpackers from other travelers. For instance, they have a desire to experience places, are cost conscious, tend to travel independently, prefer budget accommodation, place emphasis on meeting other travelers, have independently organized and flexible travel schedules, travel for a longer period, and have a strong interest with the informal and participatory holiday activities.

Backpackers, as defined by Murphy and Pearce (1995), are young and budget-minded tourists who exhibit a preference for inexpensive accommodation, an emphasis on meeting other people (locals and outsiders), an independently organized and flexible itinerary, longer rather than brief vacations, and an emphasis on informal and participatory recreation activities. However, despite the desire to be local, it is occasionally not possible to do so effectively. Most apparently, in the case of Western backpackers, no matter how they dress up, or even speak, like a local, their physical and ethnic configurations would usually give them away as being foreigners (Muzaini, 2006).

Backpackers are generally young professionals and students with a high education level aged below 26 years (although there are also increasing numbers of backpackers between 26 and 35 years (Department Trade and Industry, 2008). Hutnyk (1996, in Mowfort and Munt, 2009) observes of backpacker in Kolkata (India) where a popular alternative critique of travel emerges from their reflection, and manifest itself in: “a) the search for ‘authentic’ experiences; b) dismay at the effect of tourism; and c) condemnation of other tourist and sometimes themselves. The correlate of this three moments are a) claims to the ‘once-in-a-life-time’ experience; b) nostalgia for the days when such and such a place was not so well known; and c) ‘of course I’m doing it differently ‘ stories.”