CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION
5.7. Chapter Summary
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Table 5. 1. Treatment on Each Attribute Based on Its Significance Source: Researcher’s compilation
Factor Attribute CTA-
Sign.
Autoeth.
Sign. Note
AFF
Price ● ●
Exchange Rate ○ - Incorporated to ‘financial service’
Work Availability ● ●
ATT
Natural ● ●
Cultural ○ ●
Artificial ○ ○
Cuisine ● ●
Events & Acts ○ ○
Diversity - ● Kept in the model
ACC
Entry & Exit ● ●
Visa & Travel Permit ● ●
Getting Around ○ ●
Proximity ○ ●
Ease of Comb. ○ ●
AME
Communication - ○ Shifted to ‘accommodation’
Financial Svc ○ ○ Incorporated to the enclave
Accommodation ● ●
Food Svc ○ ○ Incorporated to the enclave
Tour operator - ○ Needed in particular cases ATM
Hospitality/ Svc Quality
○ ○
Local community ● ●
Safety & Security ○ ○ AMP
Image & Awareness ○ ○
Capacity ○ ○
Market Ties - ○ Kept in the model, particular case Family Travel ○ ○ Arguably trending in the future Note:
- ● : highly significant or significant - ○ : quite significant
- - : rather- or not significant
As a visualized summary, Figure 5.2 depicts the relationship between attributes and factors discussed in this research. It also clusters the attributes into its parent factor.
The circles represent attributes. The orange circles are the attributes, while the blue circles are the main theme of those attributes. The attributes in red circles are those that found to be insignificant according to CTA or autoethnography, or attribute that is being
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incorporated into another such as in the case of ‘exchange rate’ into ‘financial service’.
The black boxes are the factors that constitute attributes.
The dotted line depicts the optional relationship, meaning the relationship between those factors or attributes might not always exist, but can be found in many cases.
The blue line represents a direct relationship between one attribute to its parent factor, such as general infrastructure and tourism infrastructure constitute the ‘amenities’. The orange line displays the relationship across factors (from one attribute to another factor), particularly on how other attributes can contribute to the factor ‘attraction’ either to act as an enhancer or the attraction per se. For instance, it is possible for ‘accessibility’ or
‘atmosphere’ to become an attraction, such as in the case of ‘getting around’ and ‘local atmosphere’ might be an interesting attractor for backpackers. The green dotted line shows the relationship between attributes, that might exist in most cases, such as ‘events and activities’ might enhance the core attractor resources in a destination. The red line specifically represents how affordability affects the other three factors directly: attraction, accessibility, and amenities – practically implying backpackers are seeking affordable attraction, budget accommodation, and cheap or easy accessibility. The black dotted line represents the role of the attribute ‘image or awareness’ as the amalgam of factors and attributes, but might not always affect backpackers.
However, Figure 5.2 might look confusing with many lines crossing each other.
Therefore, the next chapter proposes the simplified model of ‘6As of Budget Travel’ by conceptualizing a more visually-pleasing depiction of the model.
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Figure 5. 2. The Relationship Between Factors and Attributes Source: Researcher’s interpretation
In conclusion, this research confirms that most of the factors and attributes that proposed are justified. However, the proposed model is much inspired by previous works that coming from the generic competitiveness model that represents the mainstream tourist destination. This research finds those generic models fits to large extent with backpacking tourism, though there are some notes on distinctive attributes, e.g., the work availability, the visitation to multiple destinations, and the integral role of budget accommodation. To some degree, it indicates that backpacking tourism might become mainstreamed. This insight is elaborated in the next chapter.
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Table 5. 2. Summary of Comparisons between CTA and Autoethnography
Source: Researcher’s compilation
Factor Attribute CTA Autoethnography
Affordability (AFF) Price
- Both show obvious significance in most destinations - A justification of being “worth” is also important
- Asian travelers might be less price-sensitive in general due to: relatively shorter period of travel, the non-adoption of “lifestyle-traveler” or “full-time drifter” or “outward-oriented drifter”, and cultural background Exchange
Rate
- Incorporated into ‘financial infrastructure’
Work Availability
- Both show obvious significance in most destinations - Could be the most distinctive attribute of full-time drifters
- Less observed in Asian travelers due to the non-adoption of “lifestyle-traveler”, technical limitations in language teaching industry, and the willingness to take illegal jobs
Attraction (ATT)
Natural
- Both show significant presence in most destinations, though the type of attraction may differ between regions - “Tropical heaven” aided by low-living cost and its atmosphere, Southeast Asia is perceived as an ideal enclave
Cultural
- Quite significant, less strong attractor than natural attraction
- More significant than what CTA suggests
- Less discussed on online forum because everything is assumed to be exotic in Asia as described in Orientalism (Said, 1978)
Artificial
- Both suggest it to be quite significant, but not as strong as previous attributes
- On one hand, backpackers tend to be less interested in artificial attraction due to cost and interest
- On the other hand, some artificial attractions might draw interest of backpackers: museums and party town - Asian travelers might be less interested in museums due to limited relatability and language barrier
Cuisine
- Both suggest a significant presence
- Some destinations leverage its cuisine attraction as a part of its branding strategy - Might stand alone or paired with other types of attractions
- Related with the factor “amenities”, in which it functions as a food-catering facility
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Activities
- Both suggest a quite significant presence
- The main function of this attribute is as an enhancer of other attractions, since it can’t be a stand-alone attribute
Diversity
- Shows an insignificant result - Significant in attracting travelers and prolong their stay - Most enclaves have high diversity of attractions
- The contrast could be caused by technical limitation of CTA
Accessibility (ACC)
Entry & Exit - Both confirm the importance
- The priorities: budget, unique transportation experience, and travel time
- That explains the preference of backpackers such as: land-crossing, local transport, etc.
Get Around
Visa & Travel Permit
- Extremely important according to both
- Three concerns about this attribute: entry-visa, visa-extension, and visa-run Proximity - CTA shows quite significant
results for both
- Autoethnography suggests a stronger significance due to the tendency of backpackers to visit multiple destinations
- Directly linked to cost, unique experience, and time Ease of Comb.
Amenities (AME)
Communi-cation
- CTA reveals insignificant result - Observation finds it essential
- It is a “latent” attribute that travelers assume it must be there by default, could be incorporated into attribute “accommodation”, or some travelers might prefer to be disconnected because of practical or idealism reasons Financial
Service
- Both find it to be quite significant; assumed to be present in established enclaves - ATMs and banks are observed to be a favorable option due to its lower risk and fair rate
Accommo-dation
- Strongest presence among other attributes in this factor
- Not all destinations have the options of budget accommodations
- Backpackers with higher budget (flashpackers) might treat it as an attraction
- Ideal characteristics of accommodations: affordable, close to main attractions, have backpackerish ambiance - Often function as a gathering place and a place to form a group
- Travelers with similarity tend to form a group; very obvious to be seen in Asian travelers
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- Quite significant result but not that strong
- Restaurants are thriving around tourist attractions or backpacker enclaves, budget accommodations provide meal services, it is often incorporated into other types of attractions
Tour Operator
- Both confirm its insignificance
- Special circumstances might highlight its importance, in which the concept of economies of scale is exercised in order to reduce the individual price, e.g., renting a boat for diving or snorkeling, safari tour, etc.
Atmosphere (ATM)
Local Community
- Strongly significant according to both, the most prominent in this factor - Backpackers are often observed to be in favor to something local or authentic
- Asian travelers tend to be more difficult in blending in because of the language barrier, the level of openness toward strangeness, and the attitude of locals itself which prefer to make contacts with Western travelers
Hospitality/
Svc Quality
- Quite significant according to both approaches
- Backpackers have low expectation on the service quality they receive; but flashpackers have higher expectation and might treat it as an enhancer of accommodation-as-an-attraction
- There’s a possibility for budget travelers to feel and express the discontentment or dissatisfaction - Asian travelers are observed to be less confrontational due to their cultural bakground
Safety &
Security
- Quite significant but not very strong
- Opposed to the findings of previous works, that might not focus on backpacker segment
- Backpackers are more tolerant to risk but there are certain circumstances to avoid, e.g., terrorism
- Asian travelers show more concern in this attribute by choosing Asia as the destination that perceived to be safer
Amplifier (AMP) Image &
Awareness
- Quite significant according to both
- The amalgam of other attributes and factors
- Most travelers visit destinations after they are aware of the existence
Capacity
- Quite significant according to both
- Destinations that suffering from overcapacity, or “overtourism”, are more attractive for most backpackers - Because they need a presence of other travelers to experience the counter-culture
- A much smaller number that dominated by the “adventurer”, prefers a relatively uncharted place
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- Insignificant attribute - Agree to most extent, with a note
- It helps as a supporting driver that encourages travelers to visit a destination - Usually takes form as a historical-, ethnic-, cultural-, or religious-.
- Happens especially when there is a considerable physical distance
- And when there is a curiosity or knowledge gap about the cultural practice
Family-Travel
- Quite significant - Still very rare to find, but it might become a trending phenomenon Because most of backpackers are young travelers or unmarried
- No Asian backpacker family had been met during the field-observation
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