Adventure Travel Glossary of Terms

Adventure Travel Glossary of Terms

Contributors and Sources:
Adventure Travel Trade Association
Sustainable Tourism International
National Geographic Sustainable Destinations Research Center
Xola Consulting
Planeta.com
Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, Trends, and Cases; edited by Marina Novelli; copyright Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann, 2005

Submit new terminology recommendations and/or alternatives for consideration to .
Adventure Travel: Historically characterized by activity type (“hard” vs “soft” adventure activities), the term “adventure travel” is often associated with high levels of physical activity by participants, most of it outdoors.; Based on consumer and industry supplier research in which respondents emphasized the importance of cultural learning in adventure travel, the Adventure Travel Trade Association advances the following definition of adventure travel: adventure travel may be any tourist activity including two of the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction, and engagement with nature.
Community (based) tourism: Tourism Concern, an U.K.-based organization dedicated to “fair and ethically traded tourism” defines community tourism or “community-based tourism” as a “form of tourism which aims to include and benefit local communities, particularly indigenous peoples and villagers in the 'developing world'. For instance, villagers might host tourists in their village, managing the scheme communally and sharing the profits.” (http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/resources/community_what_is.htm)
Cultural tourism: Described in Marina Novelli’s book, Niche Tourism as an “experiential type of tourism in the sense of seeking an encounter with the authentic ‘other.’” Tourists engaged in cultural tourism spend time in rural areas, visiting villages and historical monuments, meeting and engaging whenever possible with the local inhabitants of a region to learn about the “true way of life” of the destination’s people.
Dark Tourism: The term “dark tourism” may be identified as ‘visitations to places where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has occurred and that continue to impact our lives.’ Dark tourism touches many parts of the world. One of the great symbols of dark tourism in the U.S. is the National Holocaust Museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Large cities such as Chicago and even small cities such as Waxahachee, Texas (home of Bonnie and Clyde) cater to dark tourists by playing on their criminal histories. (Novelli, pg. 50)
Eco tourism: From Planeta.com: “While the details vary, most definitions of ecotourism boil down to a special form of tourism that meets three criteria: 1) it provides for environmental conservation 2) it includes meaningful community participation 3) it is profitable and can sustain itself.
Heritage tourism: Heritage Tourism is travel motivated by a desire to experience the authentic natural, historic and cultural resources of a community or region.
Genealogy tourism: Geneology involves learning basic information about births, marriages, and deaths in a person’s family tree. Increasingly, people search out their ancestors and then travel to ancestral homelands, often referred to as ‘genealogy tourism.’ In Scotland, for example, research indicated that 19% of American visitors stated ‘family roots and ancestry’ as the main influence on their decision to holiday in Scotland. (Novelli, pg. 62)
Geotourism: Geotourism has some overlap with eco tourism, sustainable tourism, nature based, and heritage travel. The geotourism concept was developed and promoted from the early 1990’s. The first attempts to define geotourism were by Hose with an emphasis on the specific geology of a destination. (Novelli, pg. 28)
National Geographic advances the following definition of geotourism:
“Geotourism builds on geographical character—"sense of place"—to create a type of tourism that emphasizes the distinctiveness of its locale, beneficial to visitor and resident alike. Geotourism is defined as tourism that supports the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, heritage, aesthetics, and the well-being of its citizens.”
National Geographic described the set of adventurous, environmentally conscious travelers as “geotourists.”
Tribal tourism: Travel to learn more about a region’s indigenous people, may involve visits to specific sites, viewing of artifacts, rituals, and ceremonies.
Wildlife tourism: Within the larger category of ‘nature tourism,’ wildlife tourism is travel specifically focused on wildlife viewing.
Volunteer tourism: Volunteer tourism or “VolunTourism” describes travel in which tourists volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of society or environment. The volunteer tourism experience offers an opportunity to examine the potential of travel to develop oneself, in the belief that experiences have the potential to have a more lasting impact than the average package holiday. (Novelli, p 184)
Youth Tourism: The World Tourism Organization captures travelers less than 25 years of age in its “youth” category. The diverse range of suppliers in the worldwide student travel market is brought together in the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC). “The experience hunger that drives youth tourism is likely to see a growing number of trips, and rising levels of affluence will also drive higher expenditure. Considerable demand potential is likely to emerge from countries such as China and India where rising student populations and pent-up demand for foreign travel are major factors.” (Novelli, p. 45)

Sustainable Travel
Provided by Sustainable Travel International

Accommodation: A facility designed for transient occupancy to house overnight visitors or travelers. Accommodations typically include, but are not limited to bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, condominiums, cottages, eco-lodges, home-stays, hostels, hotels, inns, lodges, motels and resorts.

Attraction: A facility and or protected area with fixed infrastructure that offers entertainment and or educational experience for the public. Attractions typically include, but are not limited to aquariums, heritage centers, museums, theme parks, visitor centers, public parks and zoos.
Audit: A systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation and verification of how well a particular entity (company, product, program, individual, destination, etc.) is doing compared with a set of standards. (Source: Ecotourism & Certification, Martha Honey).
Baseline: The starting point against which a program’s outcomes are measured.
Benchmarking: The process of comparing performances and processes within an industry to assess relative position against either a set industry standard or against those that are "best in class." Benchmarking is not synonymous with baselining which establishes the existing level of performance within an operation. (Source: Ecotourism & Certification, Martha Honey).
Biodegradable: Capable of being decomposed or broken down by natural biological processes, such as living microorganisms like bacteria or fungi, into simpler, more stable organic compounds.
Biodiversity: The diversity of living organisms in all of their forms and levels of organization including the diversity of genes, species, and ecosystems as well as the evolutionary and functional processes that link them. (Source: British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management).
Carbon Calculators and Protocols: Nationally and internationally accepted carbon calculators or protocols include: Sustainable Travel International’s MyClimate carbon offsets calculator, The GHG Protocol - Corporate GHG Accounting and Reporting, Climate Neutral Network's greenhouse gas calculator, and The Java Climate Model.
Carbon Offset: The result of any action specifically undertaken to reduce carbon emissions or increase carbon sequestration. Each carbon offset equals one metric ton of carbon delivered over a specified period of time (Source: SGS U.K.).
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e): The universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential (GWP) of each of the seven greenhouse gases. It is used to evaluate the impacts of releasing (or avoiding the release of) different greenhouse gases (Source: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative).
Climate Change: This term is commonly used interchangeably with "global warming" and "the greenhouse effect," but is a more descriptive term. Climate change refers to the buildup of man-made gases in the atmosphere that trap the suns heat, causing changes in weather patterns on a global scale. The effects include changes in rainfall patterns, sea level rise, potential droughts, habitat loss, and heat stress (Source: National Safety Council).
Community-based Tourism: Socially sustainable tourism that is initiated and almost always operated exclusively by local people. Shared leadership emphasizing community well-being over individual profit, balances power within communities, and fosters traditional culture, conservation, and responsible stewardship of the land.
Composting: Process whereby organic wastes, including food wastes, paper, and yard wastes, decompose naturally, resulting in a product rich in minerals and ideal for gardening and farming as soil conditioners, mulch, resurfacing material, or landfill cover (Source: Natural Resources Defense Council).
Corporate Social Reporting (a.k.a. Sustainability Reporting): Reporting by companies of financial information as well as socio-cultural and environmental information. This type of reporting often includes but is not limited to value added statements, employment reports, fair trade and business practices, energy and other natural resource consumption, waste minimization, product safety, and community involvement and development.
Corporate Social Responsibility: A company’s obligation to be accountable to all of its stakeholders (i.e., employees, customers, service providers, etc.) in all its operations and activities with the aim of achieving sustainable development not only in the economical dimension but also in the socio-cultural and environmental dimensions. (Source: Wikipedia).
Culture: The accumulated habits, attitudes, languages, and beliefs of a group of people that define for them their general behavior and way of life.
Cultural Imperialism: The practice of promoting the culture or language of one nation in another. It is usually the case that the former is a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter is a smaller, less affluent one. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. (Source: NationMaster.com).
Durable Goods: Manufactured items that have a long life expectancy of three years or more. Examples include but are not limited to automobiles, furniture and equipment.
Eco-certification: A voluntary procedure that utilizes a set of criteria designed to assist tourism providers in mitigating their negative environmental, economic, and socio-cultural impacts and maximizing the benefits they provide to the environment, local and indigenous people and their communities.
Eco-friendly: As related to the travel industry, having a beneficial effect on the environment and or on local and indigenous people and their communities.
Eco-label: A logo or seal that indicates that a product has met a set of environmental, socio-cultural and or economic standards.
Economic impact: There are three types of economic impacts - direct, indirect, and induced. In the travel industry, direct impacts are those directly related to tourism. These include the profits of travel providers and the wages earned by employees. Those that offer tourism also purchase goods and services from other companies. The additional profits or wages associated with providing these goods and services are indirect economic impacts. Finally, employees in the travel industry spend their wages on food, cars, homes, and other goods and services and thus induce additional economic activity for the providers of these goods and services. The resulting economic activity is an induced impact of tourism.
Ecosystem: All living organisms and their physical surroundings found in a particular environment, such as a forest, a desert, or a coral reef.
Eco-tourism: Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations. (Source: The World Conservation Union).
Energy Efficient: Requiring a minimal amount of energy to produce a maximum yield. Where available, products purchased shall be identified as being in the lowest quarter (1/4) of least energy used according to the yellow energy guide label, or bear the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star® label, or be Green Seal certified, or otherwise indicate energy efficiency when compared with other similar equipment using established, industry-standard testing methods. (Source: Green Seal).
Energy Star®: A voluntary energy-efficiency program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which rates products that save energy by meeting strict guidelines.
Endemic: Endemic in biology and ecology means exclusively native to a place or biota. It is in contrast to any one of several terms meaning "not native" (e.g., adventive, exotic, alien, introduced, naturalized, non-native). However it is also differentiated from indigenous. A species that is endemic is unique to that place or region, found naturally nowhere else. A species that is indigenous is native, but not unique because it is also native to other locations as well. (Source: Wikipedia).
Environmentally Additional Offsets: A criterion for assessing whether a project has resulted in greenhouse gas reductions or removals in addition to what would have occurred in its absence. That is, the offset project results in carbon benefits that are beyond business as usual. (Source: World Resource Institute/Would Business Council for Sustainable Development).
Organizations that currently or in the near future plan to certify Environmentally Additional Offsets or have offset project protocols include: Climate Neutral Network, World Wildlife Fund (through its Carbon Label), Clean Development Mechanism climate change mitigation projects, and the Project GHG Accounting and Reporting protocol.
Equipment: Any owned or leased tangible personal property that is capitalized. Examples include but are not limited to the following (where applicable): air conditioners, boilers, computers, copiers, dishwashers, dryers, fax machines, freezers, heat pumps, monitors, ovens, printers, refrigerators, stereos, televisions, VCR or DVD players, washers, water heaters.
Facility: Buildings, structures and other properties that are located on a single site or on adjacent or multiple sites that are owned, rented, leased, occupied or operated by the same company (e.g., accommodations, administrative offices, outbuildings, warehouses, etc).
Freshwater: Water with very low soluble mineral content; sources include lakes, streams, rivers, glaciers, and underground aquifers. (Source: Geographic.org)
G/l: Micrograms per liter.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): A multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Within the travel and tourism sector, the Tour Operators Initiative (detailed below) offers the relevant protocol.
Global Warming: Increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere, oceans, and landmass. It is widely believed that human activities, notably the burning of fossil fuels, are responsible for the recent fluctuations and overall increase in global temperatures.
Gray Water: Wastewater composed of wash water from kitchens, bathrooms, tubs, sinks, laundry tubs and or washers that contains chemical or chemical-biological ingredients such as soaps, detergents, etc.
Greenhouse Gases: Gases such as water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) in the atmosphere that absorb heat radiated from the surface of the Earth and trap heat from the sun. The increase of these gases in the atmosphere contributes to global warming and is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, emission of pollutants and deforestation. An increase in energy efficiency can lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Tags: Green Tags are created when wind power or other renewable energy is substituted for traditional power. The result is a shift away from our dependence on burning fossil fuel to produce electricity. Using clean renewable energy is eco-friendly, reducing greenhouse gases emissions. However, it’s still a little more expensive than buying traditional power, so Green Tags can be purchased in addition to the electricity that you use. Buying Green Tags has the same effect as buying green power. Both replace fossil fuel generators with clean renewables, and both have exactly the same environmental benefits (Source: Bonneville Environmental Foundation).
Greenwashing: The falsification of objective requirements for environmental conservation, ecological sustainability, and/or socio-cultural responsibility so as to present an environmentally responsible public image (Source: Green-Travel.com).
Hazardous Materials: Materials such as chemicals, combustible liquids, compressed gases, controlled substances, corrosives, explosives, flammable materials, oxidizers, poisons, radioactive materials, and toxic materials that are capable of posing a significant risk to health and the environment.
Heat Loss: The transfer of heat from inside to outside by means of conduction, convection, and radiation through walls, windows, and other building surfaces. Heat loss prevention technology includes but is not limited to double-paned and or energy-efficient windows, window films, curtains and or blinds, insulated roofs, insulated walls (in cooler climates), insulated hot water pipes, and building materials that assist with heat absorption.
Heavy Metals: Metallic elements including antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent, lead and mercury that tend to accumulate in the food chain and can damage living organisms even at very low concentrations.
Indigenous People: People who are the descendants of the original inhabitants of a geographic region prior to colonization who have maintained some or all of their linguistic, cultural and organizational characteristics.
Integrated Pest Management: An ecologically based approach to pest control that relies on natural mortality factors, such as natural enemies, weather, and crop management that is designed to produce a healthy crop in an economically efficient and environmentally sound manner.
Life-Cycle Cost: The cost of a product or service which takes into account the cost of manufacturing, transportation and distribution, operating, maintaining and disposing of a product or service over its economic or useful life as set forth by industry standards. (Source: Green Seal).
Light Pollution: Unwanted, harmful or offensive light that is unreasonably intrusive.
Local People: Someone who has lived in an area long enough to take an active role in shaping and defining their community and its cultural identity in a positive way.
Market Driven Conservation Model: Protects bio-diversity through capacity building and promotion of sustainable tourism while linking resources to markets and monitoring and managing impacts. (Source: Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance).
Material Recovery Facility (MRF): Specialised plant that separates, processes and stores recyclables which have been collected either separately from waste (a 'clean' MRF) or co-mingled with it ('dirty' MRF). Recycled materials are then sent on to reprocessors and any residual material not suitable for processing is disposed of.
Minimal Impact: Planned behavior or activities that focus on reducing or mitigating the negative impacts of human beings on the environment to minimum levels.
Mitigating Negative Impact(s): To cause a lessening or alleviation of negative behavior or activities.
Native Species: Species that have evolved in, are indigenous to, or occur naturally in a specific area or habitat.
Net Revenue: Calculated as the total income from sales minus returns, discounts, allowances, and overhead expenses.
Noise Pollution: Unwanted, harmful or offensive sounds that are unreasonably intrusive. Noise levels that humans can be exposed to must not exceed 85 decibels, for a maximum period of six continuous hours.
Nontoxic: Product does not exhibit potentially harmful characteristics as defined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations found at 16 CFR Chapter II, Subchapter C, Part 1500 and is not required to be labeled Toxic or Highly Toxic. (Source: Green Seal).
Passive Solar: A category of solar energy that takes advantage of building design and positioning to maximize the effects of natural processes such as evaporation, shading, ventilation and heat flow.
Pollution: The contamination of ecosystems (e.g., soil, water, living organisms) and the atmosphere by artificial means through the discharge of harmful substances as a consequence of human activities.
Post-consumer: End products or materials that have completed their life cycles as consumer items and have been recovered or diverted from the waste stream for recycling that would have otherwise been disposed of as solid wastes.
Potable Water: Water that meets quality standards and or is safe for consumption in drinking, eating and or cooking by humans.
Pre-consumer: Any recovered products or materials, other than post-consumer products or materials, including some waste from manufacturing, converting, and printing processes.
Protected Area: Private or public bodies of land and water set aside to protect biodiversity, cultural heritage, natural heritage, or recreational values.
Recycled: Products that may include post-consumer and or pre-consumer materials. If the contents of a product are only labeled "recycled," without specifying post-consumer content, the product may contain only pre-consumer materials.
Recycling: Process by which products or materials that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated or processed and returned to the economic mainstream to be reused in the form of raw materials or finished goods. (Source: Global Recycling Network).
Regenerative Design: Approaching design in terms of using the activities of design and building to restore the capability of local natural systems to an entry state of self-organization and continual evolution. (Source: Natural Logic).
Resource Manager: An individual who assists in the implementation of outdoor oriented activities and or business operations on public lands.
Responsible Tourism: A type of tourism that is practiced by tourists who make responsible choices when choosing their vacations. These choices reflect responsible attitudes to the limiting of the extent of the sociological and environmental impacts their vacation may cause. (Source: Pearson Education, The Business of Tourism Management).
Service Providers: Independent individuals, businesses or contractors who do work for hire in the form of products that are made or services that are performed (e.g., accommodations, conservation and community development projects, food vendors, printers, public service companies, rental car agencies, restaurants, contracted tour operators, transportation providers, etc.).
Social Norm: In sociology, a norm or social norm, is a pattern of behavior expected within a particular society in a given situation. The shared belief of what is normal and acceptable shapes and enforces the actions of people in a society. The very fact that others in one's society follow the norm may give them a reason to follow it. Important norms are called mores. (Source: Wikipedia).
Social Structure: Ordered interrelationships that are characteristic of particular societies, such as its class structure or system of economic or political relations. (Brunel University, Researching Society and Culture).
Solid Waste: Any garbage, refuse, sludge and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial and commercial operations, and from community material.
Stakeholder: An individual or group with an interest in the success or failure of an organization in delivering intended results and maintaining the viability of the organization's products and services. Stakeholders influence programs, products, and services.
Supply Chain Management: An approach for ensuring that service provider's products and services are offered in the right quantities, in the right locations, and at the right time, in order to maximize resource productivity and minimize waste and system-wide costs while satisfying customer needs.
Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Source: World Commission on Environment and Development - the Brundtland Commission)
Sustainable Tourism: Envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support systems. (Source: World Tourism Organization).
Tour: Activity involving taking individual or groups of consumers or clients on a trip or an excursion to one or more places.
Tour Operator's Initiative (TOI): A network of tour operators that are associated with the Global Reporting Initiative who are committed to sustainable development by incorporating an accounting system that takes into account a tour operator’s triple bottom line.
Toxic Organic Substances: 1-trichloroethane, 1 and 2-dichlorobenzene, acrolein, acrylonitrile, benzene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, isophorone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, methylene chloride, naphthalene, phthalate esters, toluene (a.k.a. methylbenzene), and vinyl chloride.
Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRC): A TRC is a new way to buy and sell renewable electricity that divides the generation into two separate products, "electricity" and "renewable energy attributes."
Travel Philanthropy or Altruistic Travel: A voluntary movement of conscientious consumers and responsible travel companies who are donating financial resources, time, talent and economic patronage to protect and positively impact the cultures and environments they visit.
Triple Bottom Line: An expanded baseline for measuring performance, adding social and environmental dimensions to the traditional economic benchmark. Though there is interdependence between each aspect of the triple bottom line, ideally, each cost and benefit is assessed independently, so companies are not in the black unless all three bottom lines are positive. (Source: Ecological and Carbon Footprints).
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): VOC's are hydrocarbons released from burning fuel such as gasoline and oil, as well as vapors from paints and cleaning solvents. These vapors are released into the atmosphere and are acted upon by the sun and heat and combine with Nitrogen Dioxide (NOx) to form ozone.
Waste Management: Products, systems and services for the collection, handling, treatment (including recycling) and disposal of municipal, commercial and industrial wastes. Examples include landfill liners and composters (products), landfill gas extraction (systems), and collection and disposal (services). (Source: Envirolink UK). Wastewater: Water with waste materials or pollutants dissolved in it, containing waste including gray water, black water or water contaminated by contact with waste, including process-generated and contaminated rainfall runoff, water that has been used in sewage systems, and in industries and businesses that is not suitable for reuse unless it is treated. (Source: British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection).
Waste-to-energy: The burning of municipal solid waste to produce energy.
Xeriscape: A drought-tolerant, low water-usage landscape style designed for water and energy efficiency and lower maintenance that was developed by the Denver, Colorado Water Department. Academic Institutions and Wilderness Skills Schools