An African safari, hiking in the Swiss Alps, chocolate-making in St Lucia, swimming with the whale sharks in Australia or Mexico, street food safaris in Vietnam, sunrise yoga on a sandbank in the Maldives; and an adrenaline rush activities such as sky diving, kayaking, bungee jumping, rappelling and paragliding; these are some of the new adventure activities modern travelers are seeking. Read this post about The rise of adventure holidays in 2017.
Photo credit: Alien Adventures (Alienadv.com)
What has led to this rise to the popularity of adventure holidaying this year? This post will investigate the rise of adventure holidays in 2017 by going into why more and more international travelers are picking adventure trips by looking at the key factors that are driving this rise.
Firstly globalization has impacted the tourism sector. The process of globalization has been helped on by the internet, which has put the power of having access to information in the hands of the traveler. But it is not just the traveler that has gained better access to the internet, operators, and some start-up operators, have better access to improved technological infrastructure.
This allows them to connect with their market better. And here the access is not just limited to information on websites, but travelers are connecting to tourist establishments through social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. Still, modern travelers are becoming to be less depended on traditional tour operators for information.
These travelers are gaining access to information via the internet and through the use of Apps, and in consequence, by-passing the travel agents. In fact, in America, nearly 71% of travelers are opting to do their own travel arrangements.
What’s more, as they are making their own arrangements, they are also becoming more confident with traveling to foreign regions without tour guides.
Secondly, as the modern traveler is planning their holiday, they are also seeking a holiday that is more authentic. They want to experience how people of one region are living and what makes them unique. But this need for more realness also implies a retrospective approach.
That is since the international travelers want to add value to their own lives as they venture out and embark on an experience-based journey and where they are connecting with people they are meeting on the way. In this process, they themselves develop a more global context, and adventures tourism allows them the chance to gain a sense of respect for the cultural and natural aspects of this world. More so, they can then incorporate the new gained values of tolerance and wellness in themselves.
Thirdly, as more international travelers are demanding something new and novel, there has been an upswing of new players on the scene. This trend was already clear back in 2015, where it was indicated that around 6% of tourist were seeking something novel. Now it is big business.
As more customers wanting to try new experiential travel, more players have entered the market. With that comes some level of fear, as some new players aren’t all clued-up about the safety issues associated with this form of adventure holidays. But on a positive side, the benefit of this rising adventure tourism is that developing countries that are offering these activities can take advantage as ease their own unemployment and poverty levels.
Lastly, the demographics are changing. Not only are there more middle-class people able to travel, such in India. Where they can in principle afford the traditional luxury holiday package, but opting to select extreme adventure holidays in New Zealand, Switzerland, Cape Town; but also Peru, Chile, Siberia, Mongolia, and Madagascar instead.
What is especially interesting is the rise of the Millennials. These are the largest generation in the United States’ history, beating out Baby Boomers. As the youngest generation with disposable income, they have secured their status as leaders in travel and tourism.
When planning travel, Millennials are used to having their options conveniently available to them. They want to be able to research and book their trips and tours online. But more interesting about this group is that they opt to spend their extra funds instead of investing it, in a return, they are investing in their own lives and experiences.
Still, since the biggest traveler group that is keen on adventure tourism is between the ages 14 to 40, they are living healthier, and want sports-based activities included in their holidays.
Adventures tourism is not only rising sharply in this year, but it is a massive business. A business that is growing. Many tourist operators are picking up this trend and changing to meet the new demand, and many operators are working on how to repackage themselves to come across as fresh and appealing for modern travelers.
I hope you enjoyed The rise of adventure holidays in 2017 and will consider joining the millions of people who are joining this growing trend.
Tip of the month: If read about Tanzania and Kenya and the attractions all around Kilimanjaro, you’ll understand why this location is possibly one of the best options for adventure travel: Click here to read the guide and let us know your thoughts.
