Adventure tourism Fundamentals Tracks N Trails

Adventure tourism is a rapidly growing sector of the tourism industry, but what exactly is it? Adventure tourism is at its simplest a niche type of tourism that focuses on getting the tourist into an adventurous or exhilarating experience rather than a calm and serene one that is normally expected of tourism. It can include many activities in many different locations around the globe. The most common being trips through jungles, unexplored mountains, gritty neighborhoods and other “dangerous/edgy” locales. While there some visitors invoke on blood pumping activities that can include paragliding, cliff diving, hunting wild animals, or feasting on sometimes “interesting” local foods. Many adventure tourists go on these trips for the sense of change and an unordinary experience that is something they could never experience on a casual trip. The need for adrenaline rushes is another driving force for adventure tourists, seeing as how many of these tourists describe themselves as adrenaline junkies. The majority of these tourists consist of twenty-something, college educated males, although women are a fast growing segment of this particular industry they still only make up a rather small percentage of the demographics. Some believe this is a male dominated form of tourism because of the physical challenges that sometimes accompany adventure tourism. Scaling mountains, crossing desserts, jumping of nausea inducing cliffs, and flying around like a real life Batman are not for the faint of heart both literally and mentally. Many of these self-proclaimed adrenaline junkies have always been drawn to extreme ideas and activities. A good percentage of adventure tourists already manifest the ideals of the culture back home whether it be through off road biking, rock climbing etc.

What makes a person actually enjoy, what many people would consider life or death situations, to the point that they make a vacation out of it? There are many different answers some apply to a majority of adventure tourists and some apply to only a few. Being a male dominated category of tourism there are the obvious male ego enhancing benefits of going on an adventure tour. Jumping off a cliff in nothing but a glorified super hero costume and flying around hoping not to crash and die and managing to live to tell the tale comes with tons of “macho” credibility among the guys. For others it Is not so much about the perks that come with being known as a thrill seeker ,but more about the close bond the being to feel with their inner selves and with mother nature. Being so close to death opens their eyes to the beauty that is nature and after surviving the trip they feel like they have gained a new found appreciation and admiration for the planet they inhabit. These feelings can be intensified on some trips that allow an animal companion tag-a-long. Camping in the cold dark woods with man’s best friend creates or strengthens the bond between a person and their four legged friend. Even though everyone has their reasons for going on an adventure tour they all have something in common the need for a different experience a vacation that is not the status quo and far more unique than sitting on a beach sipping margaritas