Encountering begpackers

Denis Tolkach, Matias Thuen Jørgensen, Stephen Pratt, Wantanee Suntikul

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

'Begpacking’ refers to the practice of tourists begging, busking or selling trinkets at their travel destinations to finance their travel. Instances of begpacking have recently caused condemnation in mainstream and social media, fuelled by the perception that begpackers come from the rich Western world to take advantage of host communities in Asia. We undertake exploratory research of this phenomenon via qualitative research with begpackers in situ, combining this with social experiments in which a researcher-begpacker simulates begpacking to seek out reactions from the host community. We use our findings to characterise and conceptualise begpackers, and to investigate the interaction between begpackers and the host community. Finally, we discuss differences in perception of the phenomenon by media, the local community and the begpackers themselves.
Original languageEnglish
JournalTourism Recreation Research
Volume44
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)17-32
Number of pages16
ISSN0250-8281
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Bibliographical note

Important message from the Publisher regarding the attached document: “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Tourism Recreation Research on 28 Aug 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02508281.2018.1511943”

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