Missing tales of motorcycle backpackers

ABSTRACT

Motorcycle backpackers is an emerging niche market segment that can be placed in the overlap of drive tourism and backpacking. Within this context, Research note identifies motorcycle backpackers as an important subculture situated within contemporary backpackers. A quick Internet search will show numerous tourism providers are marketing their products and services to motorcycle backpackers in various destinations (e.g. https://www.mein-tourenhotel.de/, https://www.tigitmotorbikes.com/, and https://www.rideadv.com/rentals/south-america/). However, there is a dearth of research undertaken about motorcycle backpackers, possibly due to the blurry line separating them from backpackers and/or motorcycle tourists. Consequently, statistics about this group of tourists are also rarely presented in research, making it difficult to estimate the full potential of the market size accurately. There is a need for research on motorcycle backpackers as they represent a unique subculture situated within contemporary backpackers. This paper calls for research to develop a nuanced understanding of this niche tourist segment, which has implications for tourism and leisure scholarship, and tourism businesses.

KEYWORDS:

• Motorcycle backpackers
• backpackers
• motorcycle tourists
• motorcycle tourism
• contemporary backpackers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Animesh Tripathi

Animesh Tripathi is a PhD student in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Some areas of research that he is interested in include, tourism mobilities, dark tourism, tourist behaviour, postcolonial tourism, contemporary tourism, autoethnography, and qualitative enquiry.

Ismail Shaheer

Ismail Shaheer’s research focuses on tourist behaviour, ethics, social media, and media-induced tourism. Before undertaking his doctorate at the University of Otago in New Zealand, he worked at the Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (now Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation) for more than ten years marketing the Maldives as a tourist destination.