NEW YORK, June 8 — Crowdfunding campaigns can be a solution for travellers with a particular mission in mind, who need donors to get a round-the-world bike trip or a life-changing experience off the ground. But ‘begpackers,’ mostly seen in Asia, are far less ethically minded when begging for money to fund their travels.
According to OECD figures, Asia is home to two-thirds of the world’s poor, with over 800 million people living on less than US$1.25 a day and 1.7 billion on less than US$2 a day. In the summer of 2021, a study by the Asian Development Bank highlighted the dramatic consequences of the pandemic, which pushed 75 to 80 million people into extreme poverty by 2020, ie, living on less than US$1.90 a day. In this context, seeing Westerners beg for money on the sidewalks of Bangkok sits uneasily with many people.
In a recent article, CNN reports on the return of tourists who have no qualms about financing their trip by begging for coins on the sidewalk. It was an expat in Hong Kong, who runs an Instagram account about life overseas, who reported the return of this rather unusual type of visitor, posting a photo captioned nature is healing, begpackers are back,” on his Chaotic Hong Kong Expats page.
As its name suggests, begpacking is a bit like backpacking, but funded by begging. Indeed, these travellers have a very different approach to funding their journey compared to backpackers, the young globetrotters who embark on a journey lasting several months or even a year, often funded by odd jobs as they go.
In the case of the begpackers, who are mostly present in Asia, their motivation is completely different. The American news site reports that some sell jewelry or propose hair braiding, and others play music, while others just wait for spare change from passersby without doing anything. However, begging is banned in Thailand, India and Indonesia. So it’s at their own risk that these begging tourists try to get themselves an all-expenses-paid trip. In Thailand, for example, begging, whether direct or indirect, is punishable by a fine of at least €250 and potentially up to a year’s imprisonment. Last fall, the news portal Toute la Thaïlande had already spotted this phenomenon, while various travel bloggers report having come across these begging tourists, who sometimes offer free hugs.
In 2017, Le Monde brought to light this practice, with the French daily newspaper calling it “the latest in shameless tourism.” Aside from the indecency of Western travelers asking passersby to fund their travels when the local population is struggling to feed itself, this phenomenon also highlights how Westerners have passports powerful enough to easily cross the borders of many countries, as the whim takes them — a freedom locals cannot usually enjoy without putting in a great deal of administrative effort. Speaking to CNN, a Filipino lawyer sums up this reality as “passport privilege.” — ETX Studio
