Many people say Brits, others say German. I used to think that Australians were the most common backpackers, but after two years of budget travel, my assumption has changed.
A comprehensive analysis of international travel expenditure conducted by the U.N. agency dedicated to tourism was released in January 2012 revealed how much money was being spent internationally by different countries. Although it is hard to know just how much of the international spending being done by global tourists is specifically done by backpackers, however it does give a good idea of who is spending the most money on travel. Here is UNWTO’s list of the countries who spent the most on tourism in 2011:
1 United States
2 Spain
3 France
4 China
5 Italy
6 Germany
7 United Kingdom
8 Australia
9 Hong Kong (China)
10 Turkey
See more on the 2011 results here.
The top spenders as of a January 2012 were led by – China, Russia, Brazil and India – followed by traditional markets, with the growth in expenditure of travelers from Germany and the USA above the levels of previous years. See the UNWTO media release here.
However, to this date, I have only met one Chinese couple in a hostel and they still had suitcases with them. I have never met a Russian backpacker, but have seen many of them scantily clad along the beaches of Goa, Varadero and Phuket. Most of the backpackers I have met have been German and Dutch.
Recently, the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer claimed that international tourism will reach one billion in 2012. So, where do you think most backpackers come from?
If you see Chinese abroad, that means they can afford to travel — so you can bet they’re not going to be staying at hostels. Of course, I’ve met some, but it’s a very few percentage compared to other nations’ travelers.
Hi Edna! Thank you for your comment. I also find that many Chinese tourists travel in groups where there’s guide or translator..this usually involves hoteling (when travel is packaged). It also appears that hosteling and the image of a backpacking is beneath the Chinese. It conveys an image of little wealth. I thought you might find this article interesting http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-15/world/china.ambassador.locke_1_bloggers-sina-weibo-china?_s=PM:WORLD. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Are Chinese above that then? Most people who stay in hostels can afford to travel too…because there are hostels.
backpakers is nice to travel to different coutry
traveling is nice because you see many wonderful beautiful things like animals,flowers and many other stuff