On Adventure Travel
❖ christopher doyle
The Rising Prominence of Adventure Tourism Tourism conTinues To occupy an important position in the global economy. it has been called the greatest voluntary transfer of wealth from rich to poor countries.* And, in both developed and developing countries, the sector commands attention as a means of sustainable economic development. For example: ecuador President rafael correa’s 2011 goal is to see tourism become the chief source of income (over oil) for the country, and in the united states, President obama signed the Travel Promotion Act, the first-ever national travel promotion and communications program to attract more international travelers to the u.s. Adventure tourism as a subset of the leisure tourism industry is rising in prominence, as evidenced by mexican President Felipe calderon’s statement during the December 2010 coP 16/united nations climate change conference: “mexico needs to become the champion of adventure travel.” The Adventure Travel Trade Association’s (ATTA) February 2011 survey of nearly 100 tourism boards covering six continents also reveals an increasing appetite for adventure. When asked, “How has the importance of the adventure tourism sector for your tourism organization changed?”, 89% responded that the sector is being given “increasing importance” within their organization (versus the 42% indicated for “Prior to 2007”). Furthermore, 52% of tourism boards had not yet recognized “adven*Ashley, M. & (2009). “Can the private sector reduce poverty at scale? – evidence from the tourism value chain.” The Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book, 1-4. 12 August 2011
ture tourism” as a stand-alone category prior to 2007. Today, a full 85% of responding tourism boards now recognize it as an independent travel sector. These same tourism organizations reported similar growth in the private sector, as has ATTA, whose membership growth globally continues at a steady and solid pace despite recent economic volatility. For the group travel community, knowing why adventure tourism is growing and how to responsibly develop
travelers into passionate evangelists and advocates. Travelers’ firsthand experiences tend to leave powerful and lasting impressions, often inspiring thoughtful and helpful action. in this vein, adventure travel focuses on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. responsibly engaging in adventure tourism development is no easy undertaking, but there are plenty of resources to guide thoughtful involvement. Presently, ATTA offers webinars and
Some countries are marketing almost exclusively to adventure travelers this sector is essential to its success. Adventure, as a way of travel, is increasingly appealing to consumers. in fact, destinations such as new Zealand, Greenland and norway are now positioning their offerings and marketing almost exclusively towards adventure travelers. Perhaps cementing the sector’s mainstream appeal, pop culture figure oprah Winfrey teamed with Tourism Queensland to market Australian tourism. “oprah’s ultimate Adventure” featured the talk show host zip lining and snorkeling. in large part, adventure travel is gaining favor because it involves healthyphysical activities, allows for a deeper cultural exchange with different people and an appreciation for the fragility of places. it also is more often viewed as a “guilt-free” holiday option given that money spent can penetrate more deeply into communities, contributing to local economies. it is transformative and turns
regional meetings on sustainability efforts and best practices, details of which are regularly featured in adventuretravelnews.com. And, later this year, ATTA will officially launch its new ATTA’s AdventureeDu initiative, a university-level adventure travel education and training program. And, as always, ATTA’s annual conference, the Adventure Travel World summit (adventuretravelworldsummit.com), is where members of the entire adventure tourism supply chain representing more than 50 nations explore the trends, research, issues and opportunities central to the rising prominence of adventure tourism and its staying power. Christopher Doyle is vice president of Seattlebased Adventure Travel Trade Association (adventuretravel.biz.com). Credit for information in this column also goes to the 2010-11 Adventure Tourism Development Index (adventureindex.travel) and co-author Christina Heyniger (Vital Waves Consulting).
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