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Traditional Definitions of Adventure Travel Too Limited in Scope
Says New ATTA/MSU Research
“Revising the definition of adventure travel and broadening its scope could prove to open up a wider client market and provide more insight to more effective marketing strategies,” claims doctoral student Paige Schneider, author of new supplier and consumer studies. “The purpose of investigating how adventure travel is defined is to better understand the state of adventure travel within the tourism segment. A consistent definition of adventure travel has important implications for future research, marketing and adventure travel development.”
Consumer and exhibitor surveys executed by the Adventure Travel Trade Association at the Adventures in Travel Expo in San Francisco in October 2004 began the organization’s mission to bring credible, fresh research to the industry. Soon after, the ATTA and Michigan State University (MSU) partnered. By the start of 2005, MSU’s Travel, Tourism and Recreation Resource Center researchers examined the adventure travel market in a study co-sponsored by the ATTA.
With authoritative credibility and methodology, MSU randomly collected survey information from a representative sample of exhibitors and consumers at adventure travel trade shows between January and March 2005 in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. The complete trade and consumer studies will soon be made available to ATTA Members. Consumer survey results will be reported in executive summary format in the next issue of AdventureTravelNews™.
Supplier Side Survey Results
This report consists of the analysis completed on exhibitors survey (74%
response rate, 65 randomly completed surveys) conducted in Chicago at
the Adventures in Travel Expo held January 7-9, 2005 at the Rosemont
Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Additional supplier surveys
were completed in New York and Washington, D.C., and are consistent with
the findings from Chicago, but were not included in this report as the
study was designed to replicate a benchmark study conducted in 1997 by
researchers from Purdue University (Sung, O’Leary and Morrison, 1997),
which occurred at the same venue in February 1996.
Survey respondents comprised a diverse cross section of businesses including tour operators (49%), destination marketing organizations (29%), and the remaining respondents including National Government Organizations (NGO’s) travel agencies, travel carriers, equipment manufacturers, publishers, adventure activity clubs and non-profit organizations representing conservation groups, activity clubs and volunteer groups.
The overall goal was to search for a comprehensive definition of adventure travel to find a conceptual framework for empirical application from the providers' perspective. Additionally, this study was designed to capture changes taking place in adventure travel and to secure snapshot of the business outlook and industry trend indicators. Beyond yes/no answers and rating system responses, supplier respondents offered extensive anecdotal narrative input to help put context to responses.
Here are just a few of the survey highlights:
- Of the eight definitions of adventure travel presented, no
single definition yielded strong support – 51% of respondents
described at least one of the characteristics of adventure travel as
learning/education, cultural activity, or fun, yet these elements
are not factored into the more traditional definitions of adventure
travel which tend to encompass physical, natural and risk-taking
elements of adventure travel;
- When asked to indicate the level of agreement with “specific
activities placed in the adventure travel category,” the activities
that fall under the traditional definitions yielded the strong
support, with unexpected strong support for the inclusion of bird
watching, backpacking, educational programs and cultural activities;
- When asked if respondents see changes in client’s destination
interests in the next year (2005), 95% of the respondents responded
yes to this question and 39% included an open-ended response
indicating; growth in cultural immersion and ecotourism travel,
increased interest in South and Central America, and an interest in
more unusual and new destinations;
- 36% of the respondents saw changes in activity preferences,
specifically regarding cultural activities and interests, as well as
ecologically oriented activities;
- When asked about the current state of adventure travel, the
majority of respondents indicated the segment as “gaining
recognition and popularity. In contrast, Sung et al. (1997) found
that only one-third viewed the segment as ‘gaining recognition and
popularity’ while more than half of respondents viewed the segment
as ‘newly emerging’ showing a shift in the growth and maturity of
the adventure travel segment.
- The business outlook for 2005 looks promising with clients
continuing to spend more on adventure travel vacations (97% of
respondents expect their clients to spend more or the same in 2005)
and suppliers sharing an overall optimism about business prospects
and growth in 2005;
- The top five information sources suppliers feel lead to bookings
include word of mouth, search engine optimization, internet
advertising, publicity and travel agents;
- Suppliers view supporting social causes as playing an
increasingly important role;
- 77% of supplier respondents selected “networking,” “education,” “publicity,” and “research” as the most important benefits a trade association should offer members.
Broadening the Definition of Adventure Travel
The finding that culture, environment and natural settings are
included in many of the responses supports the important role culture
and ecotourism play in a definition of adventure tourism, as one
respondent stated “An enriching experience personally and within
nature’s environment” as well as “Experiencing the unknown world and
cultures.” It is evident that both suppliers and consumers are clearly
identifying culture as being a prominent part of the adventure travel
experience. Therefore, a definition of adventure travel that includes
culture as a component will offer a broader base to market to, as well
as increase the interest level of those consumers not traditionally
defined as adventure travel consumers.
Next Steps & Funding
Next month’s consumer survey results article will provide further
understanding to the complexities of adventure travel and help the
industry to get a better pulse on what our target consumers are
thinking. Stay tuned!
Looking ahead, the pressing issue of defining adventure travel will be presented at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Seattle in October 2005 (www.adventuretravelworldsummit.com). Summit participants will be called upon to co-create a new, broader definition of adventure travel acceptable to the majority of participants.
Building off the Summit results, the ATTA will lead new research efforts. The Q1 2005 ATTA and MSU trade and consumer studies were intended to serve only as benchmarks for more comprehensive global studies on the adventure tourism industry. More sophisticated follow-up research and analysis of both the supply and demand sides of the business will be undertaken throughout 2005-2006 and will require significant funding from within and outside the industry. Email to offer your support.
Travel, Tourism and Recreation Resource Center
Michigan State University
Department of Community, Agriculture,
Recreation and Resource Studies
Paige P. Schneider, CTC, PhD Student
172
Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222
Tel:
1-517-353-0793
Updates:
Read January, 2006 article - Research
Points to Adventure Travel Industry Growth Over Next Five Years