How Chinese travellers travel and learn from backpacking around the world : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University

Abstract

Backpacking has become an important component of global travel and tourism. It is enjoying growing popularity. This research explores backpacking tourism and tourists’ learning from Chinese backpackers’ world travel. To gain an in-depth understanding of how Chinese long-term outbound backpackers travel and learn to travel, semi-structured interviews with 54 participants and netnography were conducted. Participants described their travel as wandering around the world and a way of life. Their learning is a combination with active self-direct learning and qianyimohua (潜移默化): osmosis, and imperceptible influence. It contains two learning experiences: experiencing time of change with accumulation of experiences and learning from interactions between self and the world. A learning model is proposed to explain the learning stages, contents, and different ways of learning, which is continuous and has repetitive interactions between the inner self and the world. Importantly, this study has found that learning before travelling abroad, adjusting attitude, and continuous practising and learning is vital. Learning to adapt to the environment, to be positive, understand and accept differences are emphasized. Growth and learning are self-evaluated by backpackers learning from people and daily life. Learning in travel is not just gaining skills or knowledge but feeling satisfied about life without too many expectations. It is not learning for a result. Learning in travel is to be open to experiences and new learning. It is to enjoy the process of the experience as part of life-long learning. Learning in backpacking is whole person learning in which perception, feelings, and attitudes strongly impact and facilitate learning. With a rich pool of data, the research focuses on the travellers’ descriptive accounts of their lived experiences and highlights the complexity of the learning processes through long-term travel. It sheds light on new kinds of travel and lifestyle: making money to travel further and living like local people, which extends to wandering and creating new lifestyles in different countries. This study presents the relationship between travel, living abroad, and learning for Chinese long-term backpackers. It helps in understanding learning from different aspects through informal contexts and recognizes a broader range of learning activities and factors that result in different types of learning, such as individual learners, culture, time and the learning environment. By reconceptualizing long-term backpacking as an experiential process this research provides a framework upon which empirical research, tourism services and learning from independent travel may advance. It highlights the heterogeneity among Chinese long-term backpackers and Chinese culture. This study not only benefits the field of independent travel styles but also expands the understanding of tourist learning and Chinese tourists.