Don't Call 'em Backpackers, Mate

"The word 'backpacker' conjures up images of footloose and broke young people, but... nothing could be further from the truth - young budget travellers, in fact, form a lucrative market." That's what South Australia's ABC attributes to a Tourism Australia expert speaking at a recent Cairns conference. In April, Aussie prof Bruce Prideaux said that "...the (backpacker) marketing term may be outdated, overtaken by the young budget traveler category."

The ABC reporter says that some Australian tourism operators have stopped using the word "backpacker" in business names and tour offerings and seen a resulting jump in business from those travelers formerly known as backpackers.

Whatever you are, you have money: Backpacker Tourism Industry Advisory Board chair, Julian Ledger, was quoted as saying, "We are seeing that what we once perceived to be simply backpackers are nowadays not necessarily financially stretched - or even carrying a pack." About's Student Travel quoted Alloy Media this spring when we said you've got $175 billion to spend. And one in five international travelers are "youth;" the World Youth and Student Travel Conference writes, "Youth and student travel is the fastest growing segment of international tourism and is soon expected to represent almost one quarter of all travel industry revenues."

Nonetheless, finding deals and marketing campaigns aimed at student/youth travelers/backpackers can be tough...maybe they haven't called because they don't know what to call you. Flying under the radar may be for the best, though; when advertisers do target American youth, the results can be a sensory overload, as we saw on spring break beaches this year. In the meantime, a few savvy operators offer discounts to travelers under 26: smart thinking. Once you're hooked on travel, you'll return later in life to spots you loved as a footloose youth... but you won't have the time to burn that you do now. Take off, mate.

• Learn about student travel discounts

^{Related: About Those Kiosks | Gone Flashpacking | Backpacking Europe 101 | "Backpackers Should Be 'Budget Travelers' In Australia" | Australia: New Backpacker Site}