IMPROVING THE BACKPACKER MARKET AND THE POTENTIAL FOR MALAYSIAN
TOURISM
Backpacker’s Motivation
Travelling abroad to a foreign place may be difficult
for some traveler to make decision on how to balance their trip between
recreations, exploration and eruditions. Even though it can be particularly
worthwhile for travelers to loosen and rest, specially enjoying the beautiful
scenery of a beach, the knowledge might not be as inspiring when guided by
professionals and tour guide experts on the history, nature, and freedom of the
place. Yet upon the wonderful aspects of a foreign culture is an adventurous
experience of a person’s life, it is definitely erratic to be able to get all
the pleasure and distinctiveness of a culture without the advice and guidance
from the expert.
The Backpacking Style
The backpacking style gives the other options for
traveler to get the vantage experience in travelling. Backpacker is categorized as self-organised,
predominantly young which will travels on a long multi-destination journeys and
with flexible itineraries who want to experience the unique local lifestyle and
meeting people, and do the recreational activities. They travel alone or in a small
group. This mode of travel incredibly
frugal for those who travel with limited budget, and they may refer to the
experience person about the place or do some research as a preparation to
travel. This independent travel will use a backpack that easily to bring, use of
public transport, and inexpensive stay such as hostel. This style of travel
giving the biggest benefit afforded is freedom, and peculiarity associated with
discovering the best parts of a location by wandering the streets, exploring
with tourism books and maps, and interacting to the locals themselves. This
enables the traveler to make their own plans and choices as per their interest,
without a tour group or guide suggesting plans. However, in most situations,
freedom comes with a price; with lack of expert knowledge will increase the
risks that come with unsupervised travel.
What motivate traveler to go
backpacker?
Encourage to find their
true selves
These people believed that these tourist destinations imagined
and encountered as places where a self can be transformed. Apart from that, tourism
provides the potential for a new form of identity, which will allow the
individuals to define themselves referring to their individual experiences of
the world, rather than through patterns offered by their society. For them, via
backpack helps in develop the process of personal growth, and think in
different perspective, which will allow travelers to transcend their daily lives
and thereby find their ‘true selves’.
Authenticity vs personal fulfillment
Apart from that, there are many backpackers combine
their travels with work abroad, voluntary or paid, or either refill the funds,
or enhance their career projections, but does not look into offering with
respects to authenticity. This concludes that the higher physical authentic involvements
person has, the better the level of personal achievement.
Generally, backpackers should not be seen as having
just one reason for travel. As, there are various people board on journeys for various
reasons, and these experiences mean different things to them.
Other reason
In addition to, they would like to explore other cultures,
excitement, gain knowledge, relaxation and meet people. There is only a
relatively small proportion of people travel for more altruistic motives, as
such giving something to the destination they visited, indicate that people are
search for understanding of other cultures without enthusiastically involved in
the native community.
Strategies to Sustain Backpack Sector in Malaysia
In Malaysia,
the evolution of the backpackers has been evolved. There is a potential market
for this sector. Therefore, it is a must to create strategies to form a
sustainable upcoming for this travel style whether by foreigner or citizens
themselves.
Cooperation
There is a need to
have support from all communities of interest to shape the future of
backpacking in Malaysia. Specifically, it is crucial for cooperation between
Malaysia governments, backpacker businesses and research bodies in reviewing,
endorsing and taking actions, to run the strategies. There are short term and
long term strategies.
Short term
strategies
The backpacker sector
company should maintain a technology watch and research agenda with a specific
annual task to report on technology variations. They should assist for skill
building workshops and industry communication opportunities including
informative web sites and training sessions for backpacker operators.
Technology and social communication improvements were seen as a force that the sector
needs to resolve in terms of training and skill development.
Stimulate the partnerships
through a Volunteer Backpack summit. In conjunction with the workshop between
the backpackers, they should meet to discuss on the mutual opportunities, and included
the social and community interest groups as well as environmental agencies.
International
trends of volunteering are significantly expanding, however Malaysia not the preferred
destination for volunteering. The full creation of the nature of these
volunteering chances could be discussed and actions plans introduced by get
together volunteer and aid societies and backpacker interest groups to furnace
desirable experiences for travelers that may benefit locations and societies.
Long term
strategies
Construct joint
government and industry training courses, knowledge services and special
workshops for operators to focus on new communication technologies. This is a
continuation of the need for Malaysian businesses to conscious on the
differences in technology use by the market, and the methods that communication
and technology to be efficiently used
Next, improve the quality
control mechanisms to reinforce the image of Malaysian backpacking industry
through a national standards committee. This method should be combined into the
national tourism endorsement outline precisely for the backpacker world. Other
than that, for backpacker attention, specifically focusing on cleanliness,
accommodation quality, sustainability issues and activity professionalism. This
is the approach regarding the pricing issue to ensure acceptable quality
standards where consumers can foresee the level of comfort, facility and
service for the amount they are being charged.
Apart from that,
this is the responsibility of Malaysia Tourism to provide the information gaps
reported by backpackers on what to do and where to do it. By providing people
and faces through the published online information will assist travelers.
Conclusion
As a final point, marketer could create strategies
based on the things that motivate the backpackers. There is a lot of way to
improve and inspiring those backpackers from foreign country to come to
Malaysia. This will improve the Malaysian tourism itself.
Reference:
SEGMENTING
THE ASIAN TRAVELLER
A WHITE PAPER
International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) ‘Leaders Forum’
June 4, 2012 in Shanghai, China
