This is the third volume of the on-going research programme on backpacking developed by the Backpacker Research Group (BRG) of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS). The BRG aims to act as a platform for the discussion and debate between researchers of backpacker travel worldwide. It follows on from the success of the first volume The Global Nomad (Richards & Wilson, 2004) and the second volume Backpacker Tourism (Hannam & Ateljevic, 2007) and seeks to further shape this area of tourism research.

The idea for this particular book was initiated at a meeting at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India, in March 2008, attended by members of the BRG, including researchers from the UK, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Malaysia. Drafts of some of the chapters contained in this volume were presented at this three-day meeting and these generated continued discussion and updates on the nature, meaning and significance of backpacker tourism. The meeting also enabled feedback to be given to the contributors of this volume and help to develop the concept of the book. Subsequently, other authors who could not attend the meeting also submitted chapters that were refereed and accepted. At the time of writing, new meetings of the BRG are being planned and further information about ATLAS BRG activities can be found on the internet (www.atlas-euro.org).