Am I a Backpacker? Factors Indicating the Social Identity of Chinese Backpackers
通过定量方法研究中国背包客的社会认同，发现外部动机、工作疏离和脱离家庭中心是主要认同因素，而行为特征影响有限。
The question of what constitutes backpacker identity has been one of the central topics of backpacking tourism research. With the economic boom in China, the last two decades witnessed the proliferation of Chinese backpackers. By adopting quantitative methods, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of what makes one a “backpacker” in China. Comparing results from t-tests, binomial logistic regression, and multiple linear regression, it is found that Chinese backpackers’ social identities are mostly associated with external-oriented motivation, work alienation, and detachment from home centers. Behavioral characteristics, which have up until now been widely used to define backpackers, have very limited relationship to their identities in China. This finding calls for future research to rethink what is a backpacker. The research makes an important contribution to the understanding of this growing market and its particular identity factors.