Greg Richards is lecturer in leisure studies at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and currently a research fellow at the Interarts Observatory for Culture and Tourism in Barcelona. Julie Wilson is Research Fellow with the Centre for Environment and Planning, University of the West of England, Bristol (UK) although currently a Batista i Roca Fellow with the Department of Geography, Universitat Rovira i Virgil, Tarragona and Visiting Fellow, Universitat de Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain).

Backpackers have shifted from the margins of the travel industry into the global spotlight. This volume explores the international backpacker phenomenon, drawing together different disciplinary perspectives on its meaning, impact and significance. Links are drawn between theory and practice, setting backpacking in its wider social, cultural and economic context.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Drifting Towards the Global Nomad - Greg Richards and Julie Wilson
2. The Global Nomad: Motivations and Behaviour of Independent Travellers Worldwide - Greg Richards and Julie Wilson
PART 2: BACKPACKING AS A (POST)MODERN PHENOMENON
3. Backpacking: Diversity and Change - Erik Cohen
4. Theoretical Encounters - Irena Ateljevic  & Steven Doorne 
5. The Beaten Track: Anti-Tourism as an Element of Backpacker Identity Construction - Peter Welk 
6.The Whole Point of Backpacking - Jana Binder 
7. The Conquerors and the Settlers - Darya Maoz 
8. Backpacker Icons: Influential Literary 'Nomads' in the Formation of Backpacker Identities - Julie Wilson & Greg Richards
PART 3: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GLOBAL NOMAD
9. Backpacking in Scotland - Clare Speed and Tony Harrison
10. Profiling the International Backpacker Market in Australia - Lee Slaughter
11. Backpackers: Nomads Join the Mainstream? - Malcolm Cooper, Kieran O'Mahony & Patricia Erfurt 
12. Destination-Based Product Selections by International Backpackers in Australia - Denise Kain & Brian King 
13. Setting Out on the Road Less Travelled: A Study of Backpacker Travel in New Zealand - Ken Newlands 
14. Backpacker Transport Choice - Paul Vance
CONCLUSIONS
15. Widening Perspectives in Backpacker Research - Greg Richards & Julie Wilson