Backpackers—What is the Peak Experience?

This section is denoted to research reports, notes, conference resumes and other significant research events. Two copies of write-ups, not exceeding 3,000 words, may be mailed to the Section Editor, Associate Professor David A. Fennell, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1; e-mail. dfennell@arnie.pec.bracku.ca. In all cases, one copy of the report should be mailed to the Chief Editor, TRR. This paper reports findings from interviews with 69 respondents representing about 15 percent of the backpackers staying in the Waikato, New Zealand, during the survey period. The research method included both quantitative and qualitative methods and analysed what backpackers perceived as their most memorable experiences. The findings suggest these include themes of difference, uniqueness, bonding with special others, a sense of achievement and the ‘adrenalin high’. While about 70 percent of such experiences related to commercial adventure products, other activities, often in a natural setting, were important. The data were analysed using thematic analysis and perceptual mapping