Dr. Klaus Westerhausen

Klaus Westerhausen has been part of the International Backpacker Subculture since 1975, visiting more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Over the years he has continued to frequently return to the road and has developed a keen interest in the nature of this subculture, it's institutionalisation over time and it's impact on it's chosen destinations
After graduating with B. A. Social Sciences in 1988 an Australian Postgraduate Research Award enabled him to combine his anthropological training with his knowledge of the subculture in order to undertake an ethnographic study of Western Travellers in Asia along with an investigation into the touristic consequences of the lifestyle on the destinations visited. The majority of this research, spanning from 1989-1995, took place on the very Islands in Southern Thailand that now have achieved Hollywood fame through Alec Garland's famous novel and has resulted in the just published book " Beyond the Beach � An Ethnography of Modern Traveller in Asia" with White Lotus in Bangkok.
Since completing his Ph.D. with Murdoch University in 1998, Klaus Westerhausen has been involved with Dr. Jim Macbeth in the Strategic Development of Australia's Backpacker Market. His current research centers on the identification and the sustainable development of potential backpacker destinations throughout Australia by aligning the interests of International Backpackers with those expressed by residents of Sea-Change communities such as Byron Bay and Denmark in Australia.