Practicing sustainability as a backpacker: The role of nationality

Abstract

The influence of tourist nationality is a consistent topic of interest among tourism researchers. A social practice approach using interviews and participant observation was applied to understand if backpackers of different nationalities (German, British, French, and American) performed different sustainability practices. Backpacking is a homogenising force because of the shared values of frugality combined with the hostel context. Overall, national differences were minor, but there were some differences notably between German and British backpackers. Practicing sustainability required a combination of backpacker values, infrastructures, and corporeal abilities to converge at specific points in time and space.