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Influence of Overseas Travel Experiences on the Worldviews of U.S

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Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 8-2008 INFLUENCE OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL EXPERIENCES ON THE WORLDVIEWS OF U.S. BACKPACKERS Mark Kanning Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Part of the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons Recommended Citation Kanning, Mark, "INFLUENCE OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL EXPERIENCES ON THE WORLDVIEWS OF U.S. BACKPACKERS" (2008). All Dissertations. 282. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/282 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFLUENCE OF OVERSEAS TRAVEL EXPERIENCES ON THE WORLDVIEWS OF U.S. BACKPACKERS A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management by Mark Kanning December 2008 Accepted by: Dr. William Norman, Committee Chair Dr. Wesley Burnett Dr. Christa Smith Dr. Greg Hawkins ABSTRACT Backpacking as a type of overseas travel has become a global phenomenon represented by people of various nationalities forming a postmodern dynamic, nomadic global community of travelers influencing, and being influenced by, each other and the locales in which they visit. Typically associated with overseas budget travel, backpacking has become an important component of global travel and tourism. However, research on backpackers from the United States have not been well represented in the travel and tourism literature. Recent publication has called for research to be conducted on backpackers originating from around the world including the United States. This dissertation addresses the issue. The purpose of this study was to explore the process through which worldviews were perceived to be influenced through the overseas travel experiences of backpackers from the United States. Grounded theory was used in answering the question of how are the worldviews of backpackers from the United States perceived to be influenced through their travel experiences because it is designed to understand processes of which little existing knowledge exists. The dissertation provides the process at both descriptive and conceptual levels. In-depth interviews of 22 individuals from the United States were conducted covering their travel careers, the planning of their journeys, the journey itself, and the return home. Throughout their journeys participants perceived that their worldviews were influenced by their experiences and this dissertation identified the process through which their worldviews were perceived to have been influenced. Freedom was the core emergent category that all other concepts and categories were drawn back to. Freedom from society, freedom to ii take risks, freedom to explore the unknown, freedom to be mobile, and the freedom to become aware of other worldviews were all at the core of the backpacking experience. Influencing of worldviews was perceived to be the result of freedom to travel in an unstructured manner requiring risk, openness, mobility, discomfort, dependency, time, patience, and vulnerability. The backpacking experiences of the participants occurred through freedom from societal constraints empowering them to take risks leading to opportunities for interactions leading to awareness of others worldviews. Through awareness of others worldviews the participants became conscious of their own worldviews through exposure to differences and similarities. Interactions with local residents and fellow backpackers challenged their existing worldviews creating a level of awareness they deemed would not have existed without those experiences. The results are limited to the participants and cannot be generalized to the general backpacker population or the backpackers from the United States. The contribution of this dissertation is three-fold: a.) it contributes to understanding the process of influencing worldviews through backpacking, b.) it creates transparency of the backpacking experience by backpackers from the United States, c.) the dissertation provides a base from which future backpacker studies focusing on backpackers from the United States can be instigated. The dissertation indicated that backpackers from the United States originate from a unique socio-cultural environment that is perceived to influence their journeys as well as their worldviews. iii DEDICATION To my father, mother, Julie, and all of those who provided guidance and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Gratitude goes to my parents who graciously supported me in more ways than they will ever know. Your support throughout the years, and especially the last year of writing could never have been accomplished with your help and loving support. I owe special thanks to Julie who instilled in me a love of learning and who has been my personal and professional mentor whom without I would never have been able to pursue this. I wish her infectious enthusiasm for education stays with me throughout my career. Appreciation goes out to all of the participants who shared their experiences. You are an inspiration to us all. It is my wish that your stories create a transparency of the backpacking journey and that it influences others to partake in such journeys. I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported me over the past seven years. It has been a long journey who without many of you this would never have come to fruition. Thank you to the committee for sticking with me through the process: Dr. William Norman, Dr. Wesley Burnett, Dr. Christa Smith, and Dr. Greg Hawkins. Thank you to Tequilla Stokes and Karin Emmons for helping me throughout the years. You supported me in more ways than you know. To all of the backpackers I have had the pleasure of meeting on the road…keep the spirit. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE ......................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Backpacker Research: The Growth Stage .................................... 4 1.2 Defining Backpackers .................................................................. 7 1.3 Impetus for Backpacking ............................................................ 10 1.4 Experiential Learning Theory .................................................... 12 1.5 Transformative Learning Theories ............................................. 13 1.6 Culture Shock Theory ................................................................ 15 1.7 Study Rationale .......................................................................... 17 1.8 Grounded Theory Methodology ................................................. 19 1.9 Purpose Statement ...................................................................... 20 1.10 Problem Statement ..................................................................... 20 1.11 Research Question ...................................................................... 20 1.12 Research Summary ..................................................................... 20 1.13 Definition of Terms .................................................................... 21 1.14 Delimitations .............................................................................. 22 1.15 Limitations .................................................................................. 23 1.16 Assumption ................................................................................. 26 1.17 Significance of the Study ........................................................... 26 1.18 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................. 28 vi Table of Contents (continued) Page 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........... 29 2.1 Reflexivity and Theoretical Sensitivity ...................................... 29 2.2 Experiential Learning ................................................................. 33 2.3 Transformative Learning Theory ............................................... 37 2.4 Culture Shock/Reverse Culture Shock Theory .......................... 44 2.5 Evolution of Backpacking .......................................................... 50 2.6 Working Holidays ...................................................................... 73 2.7 Study Abroad .............................................................................. 76 2.8 Size and Scope of Backpacker Community ............................... 78 2.9 Motivations ................................................................................. 93 2.10 Backpacker Enclaves
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