Tourist Types

The different types of Tourist I have encountered.

Backpackers: The tourist who usually has the longer trip on average compared to other groups. It is the budget traveler that you will meet at hostels or backpackers. Occasionally at lower end hotels/motels across Asia or home stay at families. This type of tourist are very independent and hardcore after several countries, it takes skills and a strong mindset to live out of a backpack and live absent some comforts we take for granted. The age group for this group is usually teenagers to young adults with the occasional outlier.

Flash packers: This is the next stage in evolution of a backpacker. The back pack is replaced with a suitcase, the accommodation is replaced with hotels. The comforts of life are returned to make the vacation as comfortable as possible. The age group is usually late twenties and up. You can easily find this group in flashy 4-5 star hotels or vacation villa/apartment rentals. They can be further defined into 3 ranges: low end, midrange, high end. All dependent on how much comfort they are willing to splash out on or get sponsored for.

Luxury Packers: This is the next level in evolution from high end Flash packers. We talking private yachts, planes, and drivers for each location. Quite often encountered in Asia and Oceania on some random remote Island. Regulars at luxury hotels in larger cities. Age group can vary from young twenties to pensioners.

Flock Packers: This is a group that is not part of the above tourist evolution process. It is more of a group travelling where the tourists stick to each other like a flock. It is usually large groups where English is not the strongest language combined with very little independent travel experience. Accepting that due to some countries passports and political processes, travelling out of the country is very difficult, therefore group travel is the only option in the long run. The age group can vary here from students to pensioners.

Where Do I fit in my own Scale?

I tried backpacking, but showing up with a suitcase and Ironed shirts when I was 22 years old was a sign that I was not cut off for backpacking. My independent backpacking placed me across dormitories in Fiji, Australia, and Europe over the course of 3 years. By 25 I was ready to hang the backpacking tag and adopt the flash packing lifestyle. There was no turning back after that point.