What is a backpacking?
travel or hike carrying one's belongings in a backpack."a week's backpacking in the Pyrenees"
Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel. It includes the use of a backpack that is easily carried for long distances or long periods of time; the use of public transport; inexpensive lodging such as youth hostels;
often a longer duration of the trip when compared with conventional
vacations; and often an interest in meeting locals as well as seeing
sights.
Backpacking may include wilderness adventures,
local travel and travel to nearby countries while working from the
country in which they are based. The definition of a backpacker has
evolved as travellers from different cultures
and regions participate. A 2007 paper said "backpackers constituted a
heterogeneous group with respect to the diversity of rationales and
meanings attached to their travel experiences. They also displayed a
common commitment to a non-institutionalised form of travel, which was
central to their self-identification as backpackers."[1]
Backpacking as a lifestyle and as a business has grown considerably in
the 2000s as a result of low-cost airlines and hostels or budget
accommodations in many parts of the world.
Visa laws in many countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand
and the United Kingdom enable backpackers with restricted visas to work
and support themselves while they are in those countries.