Understanding the social identity, motivations, and sustainable behaviour among backpackers: a clustering approach

ABSTRACT

In eschewing reductionist segmentation in backpacker research, this study employs multi-dimensional concepts of social identity, motivation and sustainable behaviour to understand different groups of backpackers. The two-step cluster analysis and Kruskal Wallis test performed on a sample of 400 backpackers revealed that there are three segments of backpackers’ social identity, namely Pragmatist, Purist and Eccentric. Each segment is characterised by unique travel motivations and sustainable behaviour. These findings have implications for marketing destinations to different segments of backpackers as well as developing policy programs for promoting sustainable behaviour among backpackers.

KEYWORDS:

• Backpackers
• social identity
• motivations
• sustainable behaviour
• clustering

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.