Begpackers, an undesirable tourist plague

The word begpacker is a combination of begging and backpacker. It’s when people go to other countries and expect to live off the kindness of strangers. Usually they are young and white from generally well-off countries (think U.S., U.K., Australia, etc.). They request money from locals to finance their trips. Sometimes they go as far as using facilities for the homeless, and taking food meant for local homeless people.

Some of them say they’ve lost their wallets or passports, but that is often a lie. There are usually embassies in these countries that can help if that’s a legitimate problem. Some of these people busk, which is often illegal in the countries they are in. Additionally, it is often also illegal to make money while traveling on a tourist visa (again because it takes wages/money away from locals who need it more).

Begpackers are a new scourge on the world, predominantly (at least right now) in Southeast Asia (SEA). Countries like Thailand, Bali, Cambodia, and Vietnam are finding these mooching travelers that suck money out of their local economies more and more of a problem as their numbers increase. In fact, Bali now brings such people to their embassies to get them taken care of and off the streets.

This is true first-world privilege and these problematic “tourists” only suck money from the local economy. Tourists are supposed to infuse their own money into economy, so this a double-whammy. And even worst, begpacking is most prominent in poor countries where tourist income is vital. When perhaps the biggest input into the economy is tourism, and you have “tourists” taking money out instead, it can be devastating.

It’s especially crass when you see begpackers asking for money in poor areas. Like places where you see locals digging through the trash for food and things to sell. But the begpackers expect people to just give them money to continue the luxury of travel. And there they sit with their signs, people who could make a year’s worth of the locals’ wages in a couple of months working at minimum wage in their own country, but expecting handouts from the poor.

And this is why more and more countries have you prove when you arrive that you have enough money. They want to ensure you can pay for your trip and have a flight or train out of the country. By proving this, you are likely to not be a begpacker.

Some of these begpackers also have a substantial social media presence where they show how they travel for “free” and show other people tips for making money abroad. This encourages others to do this massively disrespectful thing in other cultures.