The backpacker’s identity and emotional experience: a systematic literature review with bibliometric analysis

Backpacking tourism is increasingly attracting the attention of young people and adults, and especially researchers. Therefore, this study aims to analyse and identify what the literature has addressed about backpackers’ identity and emotional experience through a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA method, followed by bibliometric analysis. For this purpose, a search was made in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, obtaining a total of 173 articles published up to June 2021. But after applying the inclusion and exclusion and eligibility criteria, that has left 27 articles related to the purpose of this study. The data analysis performed by the PRISMA method resulted in the following categories: (i) conceptualization and evolution of backpacking tourism; (ii) social identity of the backpacker; (iii) emotional experience of the backpacker; (iv) factors influencing backpacker satisfaction. The results obtained show that the subject has been growing in the number of publications and that there is still the possibility of further researches. Furthermore, there was a predominance of qualitative methodologies in the empirical studies developed. In addition, the paper allowed us to conceptualize and analyse the evolution of backpacking tourism, as well as the social identity of the backpacker and the positive impacts that emotional experience has on satisfaction.