Backpacking is a word commonly associated with low cost travel. Independent travel and budget travel have also been linked to backpacking. Backpacking is commonly differentiated from other types of tourism by its proponents’ use of taking public transportation as its main means to get from one place to another, the inclination of booking youth hostels as opposed to staying in hotels. Some even go as far as couch surfing, a term used where travelers sleep in couches of friends or newly met acquaintances. Backpacking is also associated with a longer stay in a certain place compared to more conventional vacations.

As the term also suggests, backpacking mainly uses a backpack. This means that the travelers only take some clothes and a few essentials when visiting a new place. There is also an equal or a higher interest in meeting local people than seeing the tourist spots or sights of the place they are visiting.

In recent years, however, the term backpacking or backpacker has changed. It has become a lifestyle and a business. The availability of low cost air travel, cheap accommodations and hostels around the world has resulted in the boom of the backpacking industry. Recent technological advancements have an impact on backpackers, as they tend to carry more electronic equipment than before. The boom in social networking sites have also made backpackers more technologically savvy and made it easier to stay connected with the people they left at home as well as the new ones they have met.

However, despite these changes, the basic definition of a backpacker and its self-identification that separates it from vacationing people and tourists remain the same. Backpacking remains as an educational experience more than a vacation. It is a means of knowing and exploring the world and all its culture in its purest form.