The Adventure Travel Market

My research shows that the adventure travel market was worth US% 263 billion in 2013. It would appear to enjoy an annual increase of 65% growing from US$89 billion in 2009. A significant portion of this increase, probably 20%, is due to the increased costs/spend of each trip. According to the data found adventure travel accounts for about 25% of the total travel market.

Adventure tourism is defined by the Adventure Travel Trade Association as an outdoor activity combined with a nature or cultural element, or ideally a mix of all three. Most of us tend to think of bungee jumping, white-water rafting and skydiving as adventure activities but 90% of adventure tourism is "soft adventure". It covers everything from walking, cycling, horse riding and water sports, through to archaeology, fishing and birdwatching. The areas defined as hard adventure are climbing, caving and trekking.

The market is so large it will not have any effect on how realistic or achievable our objectives are.

What do adventure travellers want when they plan a vacation? Hard adventure, soft adventure and other travellers place a high importance on similar things when planning their vacations: time to be with friends, time to be with family, relaxation, exciting new activities and learning about different cultures. However, adventure travellers place a higher importance on exploring new places, time to be in nature, meeting and engaging with local cultures and pushing their physical limits.

The three main factors that effect a travellers choice of destination are

• natural beauty
• activities
• climate

Adventure travellers are more likely to be single or married; less than 10% are divorced or separated. They are also more highly educated than other types of travellers, with 70% of hard adventures having post secondary education and 63% of soft adventurers having post-secondary education. 47% of other travellers have a two year degree or higher. Considering these demographic trends, it is unsurprising that adventure travellers also have higher levels of household income.

Interestingly, while many hard adventure travellers clearly view international travel as important (75% have valid passports), among soft adventure travellers, only 56.5% have valid passports. From this we can theorize that among soft adventurers, many are engaging in activities domestically. The table below shows the percentage of adventure travellers who hold valid passports. A small percentage of them travel alone, 21% travel with friends, 37% with a spouse or partner and 30% with their family and kids.

On average, an adventure traveller's per-trip spending (excluding airfare and gear) increased to $947 in 2012, up from $593 in 2009, a nearly 20% increase year over year. They spent an average of US$ 297 on gear.

Average age of adventure travellers was 36. the market segments as follows:

• singles 12%
• couples 37%
• families 30%
• groups 21%

Adventure travellers often seek unique or new travel destinations and activities. It is believed that a percentage of this sector is willing to accept limited tourism infrastructure with the promise of an exceptional, authentic experience. Given their penchant for exploring new destinations and seeking new experiences, they are frequently coveted by emerging destinations at the early stages of tourism development and also in more mature destinations that have protected and/or developed appropriate product.

Not surprisingly, most adventure travellers are now turning to the Internet to research their trips. When researching a destination, most travellers will go directly to Google with generic search terms such as the destination name. Over 30% visited the destination's official website; this may be because it appeared high in the search results. Around 20% used social media to learn about the destination either by reading a blog post or viewing a friend's photos on a social network. The survey results reveal that Facebook dominates the social networking space, and targeted ads would best be placed here. Secondary to the Internet, travellers routinely consult friends and family for opinions and suggestions on destinations.