Adventure travel is a sector of tourism increasingly recognised for attracting environmentally and culturally aware consumers and for its focus on responsible and sustainable development, a model designed to create economic opportunities for local people in rural and remote communities worldwide.
Growth in the adventure travel market has accelerated at a 65 percent yearly rate since 2009 according to the newly released Adventure Tourism Market Study – a consumer report by The George Washington University (GW) conducted in partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).
The 2013 Adventure Tourism Market Study estimates the value of the global outbound adventure travel sector to be US$263 billion, excluding airfare, up from US$89 billion first reported in the benchmark consumer study. When this US$263 billion is combined with the estimated $82 billion spent for related gear, apparel and accessories, adventure travellers spent more than $345 billion in 2012 for travel related to adventure.
“Adventure tourism’s steep climb is attributed to growth in the global tourism industry, a significant increase in the percentage of adventure travellers, and an increase in the average amount spent per adventure travel trip,” said Shannon Stowell, President, ATTA. “This comes as positive news, of course, and reinforces the ATTA community’s rising commitment to safety, education, training and development of innovative and culturally and environmentally sound travel options. As we watch adventure travel tourism grow it is imperative that we continue to provide travellers with transformative experiences, all while helping to protect and respect the very people and places visited.”
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. In the 2013 Market Study respondents were asked specifically if they had participated in an adventure activity on their last trip. Example activities included soft adventure options such as hiking, kayaking, rafting, snorkeling, volunteer tourism and archaeological expeditions and hard adventure options such as caving, climbing, heli-skiing, kite surfing, trekking and paragliding. In 2012 nearly 42 percent of travellers from these three regions reported an adventure activity as the main activity of their last trip.
Information available in the Adventure Tourism Market Study is expected to aid the adventure travel industry, destinations looking to build or enhance their adventure offerings, and adventure tourism operators seeking to better understand their target market. Comparing these findings with recent ATTA adventure tourism trade studies also reveals important differences between the expenditures of guided and un-guided adventure travellers. For example, ATTA Members’ customers spend approximately $3,000 per person per trip (excluding airfare and gear), roughly three times higher than the independent adventure traveller.
To read the entire report click: http://www.adventuretravel.biz/research/
