Roaming for research

A lecturer from the University of Hertfordshire is backpacking around the world - to study the appeals of backpacking.

Paul Vance, a tourism management lecturer at the university business school, set off last weekend for five weeks on the road in New Zealand. He will go from Auckland to Wellington then take a circular route around South Island. A trip to Bangkok in July is also planned as part of the project.

His results will feed into a large international study into backpacking. It is looking at how and why people backpack, and how the experience affects their lives after their return.