Academic interest in backpacker tourism research has grown in recent years. Publications focusing on the phenomenon include the recent Global Nomad collection edited by Richards and Wilson (2004a) and the recent special issue of Tourism Recreation Research (2006). In the introduction to the Global Nomad , Richards and Wilson (2004a: 3) argued that: 'Backpackers are to be found in every corner of the globe, from remote villages in the Hindu Kush to the centres of London and Paris'. Hence, the present collection builds on and develops the analysis of backpacker tourism geographically by providing new material on backpacker tourism in India, Malaysia and South Africa amongst other countries. Conceptually, the present collection is perhaps not as profoundly groundbreaking as The Global Nomad , however we feel that it offers some new insights and examples. The relatively simple title of this collection, Backpacker Tourism , was arrived at after much debate and advice and reflects the fact that while backpackers themselves, as well as many academics, have conceptualised the backpacker phenomenon as a form of travel rather than tourism, nevertheless backpacking is increasingly part and parcel of the wider mainstream tourism industry in the 21st century and has arguably become normalised and institutionalised through increased mobilities (see Noy, 2006; O'Reilly, 2006; Sørensen, 2003 for more on these debates).

While it is not the aim of the present collection to provide a comprehensive literature review of the research to date on backpacker tourism (see Ateljevic & Doorne, 2004; Cohen, 2004), this introduction firstly seeks to outline some of the other work that has been published on backpacker tourism since the Global Nomad was published in 2004 in order to provide a conceptual background.