Refers to a person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home or job; can carry a literary or slightly old-fashioned tone.
When he was young, he traveled all over Japan as a vagabond.
A drifter was sitting near the station.
放浪者 emphasizes aimless wandering or vagrancy, while 旅人 simply means someone on a trip, with no implication of homelessness.
Compound of 放浪 (wandering) + 者 (person). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji composition directly reflects the meaning.