She might travel on a budget, but this backpacker can spend double the amount of money of the average non-budget traveller, and she’ll probably have more fun.
It’s easy to look down on the lowly backpackers when you are a country looking to earn lots of income from tourism. Many Middle Eastern countries rely seriously on tourism for bolstering the local economies, like Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and even Israel. When tourism drops, people feel it. So popular is tourism to iconic sites like the Nile River and the pyramids, or the Old City of Jerusalem that luxury vacations and hotels spring up all around these markets to reel in the Big Fish: you know the rich tourists who spend a week and $300 and per night on a hotel room. Bargain travellers, you know who they are: they look for deals on last minute flights, search online sites like Agoda religiously looking for the best hotel deal, and when they arrive at their destination tend to stay at cheaper hotels and hostels, sometimes working in reception, even washing dishes to subsidize their “rent”.
Tourism ministries haven’t been too keen to focus on these kinds of travelling “parasites” who try to live on dollars a day. Because, you know, the Big Fish bring in more money –– or so it would seem. Our friends over at the Fauzi Azar Inn in Nazareth just sent us an illuminating article based on research that will surprise you about the economic impact of budget travellers.
