Resumen de Backpackers and other younger travellers to the Great Barrier Reef: an exploration of changes in characteristics and behaviours over time
The tourism literature offers a number of different thanes related to defining and understanding the long star, independent travel of \'oungel people often, referred to ar. backpacking. This paper focuses on the two major themes of differences between backpackers and other tourist", and change over time in backpacking, through an examination of survey data collected from tourists to Australia's Great Barrier Reel in 1996, 2001 (prior to the event of September 11) and in 2002 (prior to the Bali Bombing). Backpackers were compared to Other Younger Travellers at each of these three times on a number of variables including travel party, motivations, typo of reef trip chosen, and satisfaction. The results supported three main conclusions. Firstly, Backpackers differed from Other Younger Travellers on a number of variabtos and they retain sonic of these difterences over time. Secondly, both groups changed over time, reflecting impacts of changes in international travel and contexts. Finally, although significant differences continued to exist between the two groups on each time period, over lime tourists in the Other \ ounger Travellers group became more Tike Backpackers. The study cnncludes that the concept of backpacking as a rile de passrktoc is worthy of further consideration and research attention.
