Atmosphere

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some extent for backpackers with higher budget or the so-called “flashpackers”, and incorporates functions of other attributes. The attribute ‘catering service’ is quite significant, though its presence can be covered by other attributes, such as accommodation and attraction. So is the attribute ‘internet’ that often integrated with the accommodation, and the availability of financial service is associated more with the attraction. Figure 4.4 visualizes the relationship between attributes in this factor.

Figure 4. 4. The Relationship Between Attributes in Amenities Source: Researcher’s interpretation based on autoethnography

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attribute ‘others’. Table 4.5 recapitulates the findings on this factor, followed by further elaboration on the highly significant attribute.

Table 4. 5. Findings on Atmosphere Source: Researcher’s summary on CTA Attributes Selected

Keywords Notable Autoethnographic Notes

Hospitality / Svc. Quality

Friendly (2.81%)

TW (4.94%) KH (3.52%) ID (3.23%) LA (3.05%)

- Backpackers have low expectation, but not zero expectation

- When there is a dissatisfaction toward the service quality, Asian travelers are less expressive

Local community

Local

(5.19%) All Countries

- It creates a sense of acceptance and comfort - Some backpackers try to mimic the behavior of

locals in order to blend in

- Can function as an attraction as found in many cases of travelers who attend a language class - Asian travelers tend to be more difficult to blend

in

Safety &

Security

Risk (1.02%)

- Backpackers assess the risk of visiting a

destination, making them arguably more logical travelers than others

- They might tolerate the risk if it’s manageable or not life-threatening

- One of the considerations of why Asian travelers visit Asian destinations is because its closer to their home country, creating a sense of safety Insurance

(0.90%) LA (6.10%)

The attribute related to ‘local’ is found to be highly significant. The importance of the local community atmosphere is noted in all observed destinations. Moreover, the keyword manages to get into the list of top 10 most mentioned word in this research (see Appendix A). Paired with autoethnographic works, it is often observed that many backpackers are trying to blend in with locals, looking for something that perceived to be local, or mimic the locals.

It is also found that Asian travelers tend to be more difficult to blend in with locals, especially in the case of Northeast Asian tourists visiting Southeast Asia.

Local atmosphere constructs a sense of acceptance and comfort, for being at the second home. This atmosphere can be either naturally-authentic or intentionally-designed

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for tourists in the case of locals who are aware of their tourism potential and what the market prefers. For example, Pai in Thailand or Ubud in Bali are basically villages which have obviously have been flooded by tourists, yet are still regarded as a homey place because of its welcoming atmosphere. The research encountered a Spanish traveler in Hanoi, who has a strong fond toward Chinese culture. He plans to stay in Taiwan to learn Mandarin. When he was asked why he prefers Taiwan over China, he expressed his consideration on atmosphere and authenticity as the main reasons as follows.

“If you want to see how friendly the real Chinese people are, then Taiwan is the place”

A similar case is found through an encounter with a Chinese backpacker in Mandalay, Myanmar. He stayed at the hostel while taking a Burmese language class in the city. As a polyglot, he once worked as a Chinese translator for Muhammad Yunus the Nobel laureate and managed to chat in the researcher’s native language. He shares his story as follows.

“I have been to many countries to learn the language. It allows me to understand the local better. I didn’t do much sightseeing while travelling, even when I was in Bali I didn’t go to many places. Learning the local language and live the local life is more interesting for me.”

Closely related to the local atmosphere, the observation aligns with the CTA findings that the attribute ‘hospitality or service quality’ is quite significant, though the keyword represents it might be overlapping with the previous attribute. Nevertheless, this attribute does attract backpackers with higher budget such as “flashpackers”. While backpackers have low expectation on the service quality, they might express the discontentment or dissatisfaction. However, Asian travelers particularly are noted to be more reserved in expressing their dissatisfaction in comparison to their Western counterparts.

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As for the ‘safety and security’, autoethnographic work regards the importance of this attribute more than CTA. Risk is an important element that drives backpackers to travel. Unlike other segments of tourists, backpackers are relatively more tolerance toward risk, that demonstrated by their preference of taking cheaper options of transportation or accommodation or adventurous attractions and activities which is usually synonymous with less sense of safety and security, e.g., hitchhiking and trekking.

On the other hand, it does not mean higher risk means higher attractiveness for backpackers. Backpackers avoid the risk in certain forms and circumstances, such as scams, terrorism, etc.

Three attributes that make up the factor ‘atmosphere’ are regarded as significant, though it is more obvious through the eyes of ethnography. The hospitality or service quality refers particularly to the context of tourism businesses, thus making it the narrowest. The local atmosphere is wider, covering local people in the larger host community. Meanwhile safety and security is the attribute that in general affects the overall atmosphere of a destination and supports to shape the other attributes. Figure 4.5 visualizes the coverage of these 3 attributes.

Figure 4. 5. Scope of the Attributes of Atmosphere

Source: Researcher’s interpretation based on autoethnography

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