According to a recent USA Today article, there’s a new breed of backpacker on the loose: the flashpacker. Sounds a bit dirty for America’s squeaky clean broadsheet, doesn’t it? And it gets better, flashpackers are very likely you, me, and everyone we know. The term, apparently coined in New Zealand a few years back, refers to “business-class backpackers”, not, as another article from the Sydney Morning Herald helpfully notes, those with a penchant for exhibitionism. Flashpackers want the thrill of a traveling close to the ground, without having to stay in a dorm bed, and without leaving the tasteful, gadgety comforts of home — laptop, iPod, broadband — behind. The budget travel industry has responded with private rooms in hostels, free wi-fi, spruced-up bars and other upgrades. While some might decry this as a betrayal of backpacking’s granola roots, for others it’s a necessary and stylish evolution. Elsewhere in the world the phenomenon of mid-20’s-to-mid-30’s travelers known by this name isn’t exactly news, judging from this two-year old piece from the London Times, and upstart techies are already squatting flashpacker.com , flashpacker.net, and flashpacker.org (though, admittedly, not doing much with them). The term is even under consideration for inclusion in some of HarperCollins’ dictionaries. What’s driving the resurgence of interest in this concept, I wonder? Could it be the travel industry trying to grab a piece of the newly sliced “grup” pie? Or just the typical jet lag experienced by Anglo slang terms crossing the pond?

Elsewhere:
- “The Flashpacker: A New Breed of Traveler” (Hotel Travel News)
- “Flashpacking around Fiji” (This is Travel)
- “Bags a good night’s sleep” (Radar Blog)
- Flashpackers: Backpackers Doing it in Style (Blogspot)