Blog #6 Backpacking in today's world
- Madelyn Canty
- Oct 20, 2025
- 2 min read
The backpacking travel community has grown beyond just a way of traveling on a budget. It has become a lifestyle and community that focuses on things like minimalism, authenticity, culture exploring, and much more. As a person who has become very interested in the backpacking community this semester, I noticed that this community is having some problems. This goes to show traveling in today's world can be more complicated than it seems. One big issue people are noticing is there's a lot of “privileged travel” in the backpacking community. While it’s true that backpacking involves low-cost substitutes without much money spent for transportation and housing, it still shows people have some freedom and money to be able to travel at all. The Henley passport index for 2025 shows that Singaporean or German passports allow travel to over 185 countries while Afghanistan or Syria only allows people access to fewer than 30 countries. This further proves that not many people have fair and equal circumstances to go backpacking and it is a privilege to be able to do so. Another concern many have is the effects of backpackers on local environments, especially in developing countries. Some locals feel that while backpackers may be avoiding large expensive hotels, they do not give back to the communities traveled to. An article in The Guardian states, “In scenes echoed across southern Europe, Spain's Canary Islands are suffering from a crisis of too many tourists” This goes to show that backpackers can leave some of the communities they travel to feeling used. However, there are different sides to this conversation. There are those in the backpacking community who excuse their actions while explaining that travel is a way of learning or self growth, and that there are hostels and slow travel that allow for connection with local people. On the positive side, many people say that travelers today, at least backpackers, show greater sensitivity to the environmental impact of traveling. Travelers need to think about the effects of their travel on locals and developing countries prior to going somewhere. As someone who views travel news and information about things on the travel scene, I am aware of two sides to the situation. I still believe in the values of backpacking and that it's still better than many other travel methods. At the end of the day, I think travel is a great way for people to connect and share cultures.
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