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Adventure Travel’s Role in International Development

By Christina Heyniger, ATTA Associate

The International Tourism Development Opportunity
As participants in a significant and growing niche tourism segment, adventure travel tour operators have an opportunity to positively influence the way tourism products are developed worldwide to support of global social issues such as:

• Biodiversity conservation;
• Cultural and heritage conservation;
• Natural resources management;
• Rural economic development and poverty alleviation; and
• International cooperation and understanding.

International tourism development projects include requests for advice on how to develop everything from traditional adventure travel businesses such as whitewater rafting to rock climbing in emerging economies, but they aren’t typically accessing input from adventure travel industry groups and business leaders.

Ironically, the very source of the industry’s vitality and the reason it has continued to attract free thinkers and innovators worldwide for decades – the fragmented and fiercely independent nature of its leaders and the businesses they operate – is what now acts to impede organized industry participation on global tourism development issues.

While many adventure travel tour operators have been responsibly managing companies in an effort to further the goals of natural and cultural conservation, land management, and poverty alleviation for years, as an industry we have lacked participation in the international development community. For the most part, our industry has been missing its chance to contribute to international tourism development programs, and to take a leadership role in shaping the emergent “culture of tourism” in which travelers increasingly recognize the significant influence they wield as world consumers.

The revitalized ATTA and its newest members are now rekindling the industry’s relationships and position with agencies and organizations pursuing specialized tourism as a mechanism for international development.

Why the Adventure Travel Industry is Traditionally Overlooked by the International
Tourism Development Community
In the international development arena, the term “ecotourism” and “sustainable tourism” are often used to describe the niche tourism businesses development organizations seek to promote in emerging economies. The use of these terms, however, keeps the international development community narrowly focused on organizations representing themselves as “ecotourism” service providers and experts. As a result, the larger adventure travel sector, which in fact shares common goals with ecotourism organizations, and could bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the issues, has traditionally been overlooked as a resource.

Additionally, many adventure travel operators who are actively pursuing the broader goals of natural and cultural conservation, land management and poverty alleviation in the destinations in which they operate, often choose to do so in a relatively quiet way. These operators, many of whom became involved in adventure travel in order to have a positive effect on destinations, prefer to let their actions speak for them rather than heavily market their company’s eco-friendly status and community contributions. As a result, their good works and expertise are easily overlooked by development groups.

The ATTA believes that, as a collection of “responsible tourism” advocates, the adventure travel industry should naturally be included among the ranks of those specialists who brand themselves as advocates of “sustainable tourism,” “ecotourism,” “voluntourism,” “heritage tourism,” “agritourism,” “cultural tourism,” and “rural tourism” to name a few.

Why the Adventure Travel Industry Must Get Involved Now
ATTA, on behalf of its members and the industry at-large, is actively exploring a more active role within the development community. The key players in national and international development organizations are coming together to form task forces and study groups, collectively gathering the knowledge and experiences gained from multiple sectors – conservation, rural economic development, and tourism – to shape the future of how specialized forms of tourism, including adventure travel, are developed around the world. ATTA intends to make our industry’s presence, capabilities and voice better known, enabling the transformation from a reactive organization, to a proactive one, an organization that helps influence policies and programs early in the process.

Even a cursory look at what international development organizations are currently discussing in their tourism development agendas shows that the development community is seizing this moment to tackle the looming social and environmental challenges of our age through tourism development.

• At USAID, for example, tourism projects were initially narrowly designed to support environmental conservation, but since 2000, USAID states it has funded 98 projects in 72 countries that also addressed poverty, gender, education, governance, and economic growth.
  
  “More and more, however, we are taking a holistic approach to tourism development,” said Roberta Hilbruner of USAID.
   
• In another example, a report released in September 2003 by Conservation International (CI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) entitled Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourism’s Global Footprint, “draws attention to the folly of allowing tourism development in the world’s most fragile, high biodiversity regions. The report calls for integration between biodiversity conservation and tourism planning.”

Not only is the development community mobilizing for projects that adventure travel business leaders have a unique ability to serve, but our own tour operators and adventure travel consumers also believe that “adventure travel” now encompasses a greater breadth of activities. The imperative is set: our industry must aggressively work to preserve and enhance not only the natural resources we’ve relied upon for years, but also the social and cultural resources.

ATTA’s research with Michigan State University into attitudes held by adventure travel consumers and suppliers clearly supports the theory that “adventure travel” is widely considered to include elements of cultural exchange and learning.

More than 60% of survey respondents, which included both travelers and tour operators, believed that cultural programs are included in the adventure travel category; more than 70% believed that research expeditions should similarly be included.

Clearly, the time has come for the adventure travel industry to embrace the responsibility and implied role that accompanies such a definition, and actively participate in global tourism development issues.

Why the Adventure Travel Industry is Uniquely Positioned to Support
International Development Projects
Leading adventure travel tour operators have a role to play in the international development sector: as advisors to development teams, as liaisons between international development groups and the thriving adventure travel industry. We are uniquely positioned to support international tourism development projects for two key reasons: we understand the issues, and we have decades of worldwide experience.

Understanding the Issues
As the original corps of worldwide “adventure travelers,” our industry’s leaders have visited countries on the cusp of wild tourism growth and seen appalling adventure travel development tactics – a tremendous waste of financial resources directed at gross commercialization and overdevelopment, the commoditization of local culture and a complete lack of support for entrepreneurial businesses. Tourism officials in these countries hope to draw adventure travelers, but have had limited input or assistance from adventure travel experts. If any industry group understands the issues facing the international development community, it is the adventure travel industry.

Firsthand Experience
Adventure travel businesses frequently begin as small, entrepreneurial operations, working as faithful stewards of the natural environment, while preserving local cultures. As such, our industry leaders are well positioned to support newly emerging niche tourism entrepreneurs around the world.

From a product development perspective, our industry, more than many other specialized tourism niches, has over the years developed a wealth of unique travel products that depend on responsible natural resources management, biodiversity, and cultural preservation. In some areas, such as river management for example, whitewater rafting industry leaders have been organizing and advocating for years to protect the resources they care passionately about and depend on for their livelihood. These types of complex usage and preservation issues are precisely those now being faced in developing tourism destinations around the world. Our business leaders have not only the firsthand experience in how to create exciting and responsible tourism products in remote regions of the world, but they also understand the nuances of advocacy and the importance of mobilizing public funding and leaders to the cause.

The ATTA and its members, as well as the adventure travel industry at large, must lend its voice and experience to these development projects, joining forces with international development teams to develop frameworks for adventure travel business start-up and best practices implementation.

How the ATTA is Advancing the Industry’s Position Within the Development Community
The ATTA is positioning the adventure travel segment to become more active in international development organizations, enabling us to help promote the development of adventure travel businesses based on lessons learned from the past 20 years, preventing newly emerging tourism economies from repeating the same mistakes.

Under the new leadership, the ATTA is venturing into tourism organizations worldwide, ferreting out the common goals and challenges to responsible tourism development, and working with advocates from all sectors of the tourism industry to begin to address issues.

The ATTA is building the relationships necessary to work in cooperation with the institutions and organizations seeking to develop sustainable tourism programs around the world and striving to contribute to responsible tourism programs worldwide that include the range of public and private stakeholders necessary for this work to be successful. We are communicating with national and international development and aid organizations, reintroducing ourselves and our capabilities.

Although the ATTA and the adventure travel industry at large in recent memory has lacked a cohesive voice, this generation’s leaders are beginning to reverse this, engaging with tourism leaders around the world.

If you are an individual who would like to get involved, or own or manage an adventure travel business with knowledge or resources to contribute, contact ATTA for information on development initiatives underway and how you might get involved.