Adventure travel

The GW/ATTA’s market value results reflect the growth in the international tourism market which reached an all-time record of more than one billion international tourism arrivals in 2012, as reported by the UNWTO. Also viewed as a key contributor to this significant growth pattern is the increase in the percentage of European and South American travelers classified as adventure travelers, an increase in the average spending by adventure travelers globally ($593 per trip in 2009 to $947 in 2012), recovery from the global financial crisis, and the emergence of new source markets. Highlights from the Adventure Tourism Market Study include: Adventure travelers are younger than non-adventure travelers, with an average age of 36; In 2012 nearly 42 percent of travelers from the three regions reported an adventure activity as the main activity of their last trip (the activity would have been one of those identified in the survey as hard or soft adventure options); The average length of a soft adventure trip was ten days in 2012 compared to eight days in 2009; Adventure travelers read publications such as National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler and Men’s Health, which cover traditional adventure and recreation topics, as well as unrelated but popular publications such as Cosmopolitan and Vogue; Nearly 54 percent of travelers plan to participate in an adventure activity on their next trip, compared to the 42 percent of travelers currently participating in adventure activities. The increase in interest comes largely from soft adventure activities; 73 percent of adventure travelers plan to participate in an adventure activity on their next trip. Only 22 percent of adventure travelers plan on doing the same adventure activity as their last trip; 45 percent of adventure travelers plan on using a tour operator on their next trip, compared to only 31 percent of non-adventure travelers; The percentage of adventure travelers using Facebook (78 percent) has more than doubled since 2009. Access the Full 2013 Adventure Tourism Market Study Check out all the latest Tourism & Travel Trends inSupported by a global trend towards itinerant traveling, back to nature and authenticity, responsible travel markets showed encouraging signs for the summer season: adventure tourism and trekking continues to attract travelers interested in nature and in local community meetings; voluntourism is democratizing and developing a growing number of customers on a really niche market; eco-tourism is doing well despite the crisis, affecting less the higher income travelers; participatory tourism especially in urban areas increases but is still very dependent on the weather and individual last minute bookings. Within a difficult economic climate, travelers are looking to cut costs without losing quality of services; looking for travel adapted to their expectations, they are increasingly likely to move toward tour operators specializing in tailor-made travel. At the same time, atypical, original and environmentally responsible accommodations are still valued in regions where the territory’s identity turned to authenticity, the landscapes and to sustainable development policy. When leaders of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), WWF International and Google addressed more than 600 tourism industry professionals during the 2012 Adventure Travel World Summit in Lucerne, Switzerland in October, a common refrain emerged: “adventure travel” had arrived as a new face of responsible tourism. “Adventure tourism is what tourism should be today and definitely what tourism will be tomorrow,”said Mr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) referring to inevitable shifts in the leisure tourism market toward more experience-based, responsible and lower-impact – environmentally and culturally – travel. Later in the week, WWF corroborated the trend toward more responsible tourism, upping the ante by introducing a new travel division with new leadership, while Google’s chief of travel, Rob Torres, indicated serious consumer trending toward more experience-based, responsible tourism. In additional keynote and concurrent sessions, tourism, conservation and technology leaders such as Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and co-founder of Blue Legacy and Darrell Wade, CEO of PEAK Adventure Travel indicated a shift in attention on the global stage to the power of adventure travel as an economic driver, as a force of sustainable development and one that delivers to travelers transformative experiences in nature, culture and active travel.