Are you a 'flashpacker'?

An article in this week’s Telegraph states, “in 2013, according to a new survey, the average backpacker – or “flashpacker” – now carries more than £3,000 worth of kit, including hair straighteners and electric toothbrushes. They are more likely to “rough it” in a five-star hotel than a rickety tent, and tend to hop between destinations on a plane, rather than trek the full distance.”

Do you remember the time before we all left the house mobile pinned to our ear? Or sat on a train reading a book or newspaper rather than our kindle or tablet? You’ll have to think back the best part of twenty years!

According to the recent survey in the Telegraph, the average backpacker now carries £3,000 worth of ‘essentials’ including hair straighteners electric toothbrushes and technology. Their kit bag could be double the price of a round the world ticket!

But, not only do they take the kit with them on their travels around the globe, but they also log in to every Wi-Fi hot spot Tweeting their antics along the way. But whose Wi-Fi are they using?

Take your pick, find me a business that isn't offering free Wi-Fi and note the distinct lack of devices within the vicinity. Now nearly every coffee house, restaurant, store, hotel or high street allows you to log on and surf at will. Not only does this reduce astronomical overseas roaming charges, but it also makes communicating with loved ones at home instantaneous. There’s no waiting to ring once a week from a payphone you find, simply hook up to the local Wi-Fi and bang, ping an email with attached video or photo of where you are.  Or even make a Skype, FaceTime or Viber telephone/video call!

And it’s not just the big cities offering free Wi-Fi, smaller towns and far off locations even in the deepest parts of the African desert, still offer connectivity for travellers and locals alike. Festivals, sporting events, even flower shows also offer free access.

But what good does it do for the business providing the service? There’s the obvious social network promotion, tweeting ‘just popped into Starbucks to grab a coffee and use their Wi-Fi’ to ‘I'm in the middle of the desert, connected using my phone, here’s where I am (cue video link)’. There’s also the travellers and indeed locals view of why can’t I connect here? It’s now expected, no matter the country, that we will be able to use Wi-Fi, and more often than not, it will be free.

So when your son or daughter drops the bombshell that they’re off travelling for their gap year. Forget about buying them the Rough Guide or worrying they’ll keep in touch. Simply buy them a smartphone or tablet, if they don’t have one already that is, and a solar charger to keep the battery topped up and watch the updates come flooding in.