Dimensions of adventure tourism

Academic interest in adventure tourism has increased in recent years given the exponential growth of this sector. Physical outdoor activity-based conceptualisations of adventure tourism - from soft adventure (hiking, snorkelling, etc.) to hard adventure (rock climbing, wilderness trekking, etc.) – are commonly employed, but are criticised as overly simplistic and failing to capture the essence of adventure tourism. A systematic review of the adventure tourism literature aimed to address these concerns and resulted in a new conceptualisation of adventure tourism and its dimensions that offers a more comprehensive and sophisticated understanding of this tourism activity. Of the 22 dimensions of adventure tourism identified, risk and danger, the natural environment, thrill and excitement, challenge, and physical activity are at its core. Consumer-based, product-based and hybrid pillars of adventure tourism are also evident. Theoretical anchors to differentiate adventure tourism from other forms of tourism are presented.     

Fear and adventure tourism in Brazil

The search for new non-routine emotions and sensations has become a decisive factor in taking part in adventure tourism. As Barros and Dines (2000) have pointed out, Brazil's natural resources are abundant and have been widely used to promote the nation's tourism. Empirical literature describes fear as one of the main emotions in adventure activities, and for this reason a questionnaire was designed to examine the presence of fear before and after three adventure activities (parachuting, white-water rafting, and rock-climbing). This study not only aimed to consolidate fear as a fundamental emotion in performing such activities but also to stimulate interest for further studies in this area.     

Family adventure tourism: Towards hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing

The study's aim is to explore the motives encouraging individual family members to participate in adventure tourism activities while on holiday and the benefits they gain from these experiences, using wellbeing as the conceptual lens. The key contributions are to address the gap in literature on family adventure tourists, and apply the subjective wellbeing (SWB) constructs of hedonic wellbeing (HWB) and eudaimonic wellbeing (EWB) to understand these tourists. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 families, comprising 62 interviewees in total (29 adults and 33 children under 18 years old). Findings reveal that hedonic themes were high positive affect, and alleviating feelings of distress and boredom. Eudaimonic themes were challenge and negative affect, optimal experiences, accomplishment and personal development. Family influenced the SWB motives facilitating adventure participation and the benefits gained by different members. Also, there were HWB and EWB similarities and differences between parents, younger children and older children.     

Contesting authentic practice and ethical authority in adventure tourism

This paper examines the discourses of authenticity and ethics employed by adventure tourists regarding the use of the natural environment. In one case, full-time traveling rock climbers use their dedication to the sport and annual visits to the Red River Gorge as evidence for their authoritative voice on ethical climbing practice. While they identify the growing numbers of leisure climbers as a problem for sustainability, many also take up temporary employment as guides and are directly involved in the introduction of new climbers to the area. In another case, two groups of wilderness enthusiasts – “ADK 46ers” and “Summit Stewards” – lament the environmental and social impacts of other recreational users in the Adirondack Park. Despite being visitors themselves, Summit Stewards and 46ers use their sense of place and knowledge of Adirondack history and ecology to substantiate their authority as purveyors of ethical practice. In both cases, senses of responsibility are inspired by senses of place, but are articulated through notions of authenticity and used as justification for ethical authority. While validating their presence in these outdoor spaces, the use of such rhetoric also minimizes their own impacts yielding further tensions among user groups.     

Stress and emotions at work: An adventure tourism guide's experiences

Little research has identified issues faced by tour guiding professionals and investigations of tour guide experiences have been neglected in favour of tourist experience and behaviour studies. Even less research has focused on adventure guiding experiences and potential sources of stress and emotions in this context. Studies that have investigated adventure guide experiences generally focused on guide–client interactions and sociological accounts of these experiences. Due to these gaps in the literature, and the recognised potential of psychological theories to enhance studies of stress and emotions in tourism settings, this study explored stress and emotions resulting from employer–guide interactions in an adventure tourism context from a psychological perspective. Longitudinal autoethnographical data was recorded during a river guiding season in South America. A reversal theory framework guided data analyses of key motivational states, sources of stress, and resulting emotions. Analyses identified potential transactional sources of stress and negative emotions for adventure tourism guides, and motivational states associated with stress and emotional outcomes in the employer–guide relationship. Results are discussed in relation to psychological theory and stress and coping research. Recommendations for practice, that could alleviate stressful experiences between employers and guides, are also discussed.     

Targeting sustainable outcomes with adventure tourism: A political ecology approach

Sustainability is a dominant paradigm in tourism research yet a lack of research on alternative tourism sectors to deliver sustainable outcomes hinders sustainable tourism research, planning, implementation, policy and management. This research uses a political ecology lens, to dissect how destinations can harness adventure tourism to achieve relevant sustainability objectives. Adventure tourism is not in itself sustainable but by targeting adventure travel that attracts passionate, high-paying tourists to participate in activities specifically suited to local landscapes, communities have the potential to create bespoke tourism products that fit the socio-ecological system and produce clear conservation and sustainable development outcomes.     

Motivation and involvement in adventure tourism activities: a Chinese tourists' perspective

ABSTRACT

This research aims to explore Chinese tourists' motivations and involvement in adventure tourism activities, as well as if and how personality and location affect their motivation and involvement. Using a survey that collected 252 responses, this research suggests that stimulus-avoidance and intelligence seeking are the two most important motivational forces. Results indicate that respondents would prefer overseas locations for these activities due to perceptions of greater safety and security, better service, and higher-quality facilities. Respondents who rated themselves as “open” or “closed” in personality differ regarding motivations and involvement. Practical implications are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Active engagement with nature: outdoor adventure tourism,sustainability and wellbeing

Abstract

This article draws on the conflicting arguments surrounding outdoor adventure tourism activities to determine if such activities might usefully be considered beneficial for humans and nature, and how they might offer avenues for sustainable tourism practice. Research in the field has often examined outdoor adventure activities through a lens that either highlights their negative environmental impacts or has sought to conceptualise motivations and/or experiences. In this article, we argue that through practices that are often seen as destructive, there is the possibility to think differently about human-nature relationships and pro-environmentalism. To explore these issues, we draw on data collected from a series of semi-structured interviews with outdoor adventure tourists. Our analysis highlights how outdoor adventure tourism facilitates reconnections to nature, offering potential wellbeing impacts and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. We conclude that outdoor adventure activities as a form of sustainable tourism have potential implications for our understanding of, and engagement with, sustainability, mental health and wellbeing.     

Mountain guiding and adventure tourism: reflections on the choreography of the experience

This paper has emerged from research that is concerned with the relationship between mountaineers and adventure tourists. The specific aim was to examine the rules governing the mountain adventure holiday experience and, in particular, how such rules are constructed, enforced, internalized and might contribute to an identity of 'mountaineer'. Through an exploration of the social dynamics of a setting that contains physical dangers, the role of the mountain guide emerges as crucial. Theoretical dimensions concerning the guide as a choreographer of social experience are explored and developed through a discussion of data revealed by the research. The methodology is predominately qualitative and utilizes the author's experience as a mountain guide to access the field. The discussion reveals differences between mountain guides and tourist guides, but also differences among the participants. These appear to relate to the shallowness or depth of their engagement and thereby suggest other ways that adventurous leisure experiences might be theorized, for example, adventure as education. It is contended that the role of the mountain guide is pivotal in not only choreographing the adventure, but also thereby in perpetuating Western traditions of mountaineering. Rules governing the adventure holiday experience are both enabling and constraining of the freedom promised, within discourses of established mountaineering practice, which the guide adheres to, and clients more or less subscribe to.     

Politics and tourism interface: The Case of Cyprus

The Cyprus tourism industry has had to be sensitive to the political problems between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Federation is considered to be a partial solution to the problems. This paper evaluates the influence of politics and nationalism on the tourism planning and development under a possible federal constitution. The views of Turkish and Greek Cypriot participants from private and public organizations are studied through semistructured interviews. The findings suggest that any future planning and development is likely to be a complex undertaking, as the two societies tend to have different sets of objectives and expectations.     

Rush as a key motivation in skilled adventure tourism: Resolving the risk recreation paradox

At least 14 different motivations for adventure tourism and recreation, some internal and some external, have been identified in ∼50 previous studies. Skilled adventure practitioners refer to ineffable experiences, comprehensible only to other participants and containing a strong emotional component. These are also reflected in the popular literature of adventure tourism. This contribution draws on >2000 person-days of ethnographic and autoethnographic experience to formalise this particular category of experience as rush. To the practitioner, rush is a single tangible experience. To the analyst, it may be seen as the simultaneous experience of flow and thrill. Experiences which provide rush are often risky, but it is rush rather than risk which provides the attraction. Rush is addictive and never guaranteed, but the chance of rush is sufficient motivation to buy adventure tours.     

A decade of injury monitoring in the New Zealand adventure tourism sector: A summary risk analysis

Adventure tourism safety has received relatively little research attention despite the level of risk inherent in many adventure activities. In New Zealand, an absence of surveillance or monitoring of injury in the adventure sector has had important implications for the management of tourist safety. A series of studies conducted by the authors between 1996 and 2006 have sought to address this knowledge gap, with the aim of identifying the extent and nature of adventure tourism injury using a range of primary and secondary data sources. The paper reports on findings from a summary risk analysis of these studies, including evidence for the scale of the adventure tourism injury problem, and ranking of degree of risk for a range of factors for safety in adventure tourism participation. A conceptual model to assist risk management in the adventure sector is presented, and implications of findings for management and the adventure sector are discussed.     

Identifying and evaluating adaptation strategies for cruise tourism in Arctic Canada

The cruise tourism industry in Arctic Canada has recently grown rapidly with stable numbers now emerging. While there are many socio-economic opportunities associated with growth, climate change, and environmental, technical and cultural risks also present significant management challenges. To enhance understanding of these opportunities and risks, this study adopted a policy Delphi approach to identify and evaluate potential adaptation strategies to aid decision-makers and policy-makers managing cruise tourism development and its associated impacts. Over 500 ideas were identified. These were distilled down to 65 potential adaptation options, which were evaluated for priority and feasibility by key stakeholders including local residents, tourism operators, and policy-makers. The majority of recommendations were evaluated as of high priority and most options were perceived to be somewhat affordable and implementable. Key needs included disaster management plans, updated technology and ship navigation systems, improved marine resource mapping, and the development of a code of conduct for cruise tourists to guide visitor behaviour and promote a sustainable approach. The research represents the first empirical study to identify and evaluate adaptation strategies for cruise tourism development in Arctic Canada and outlines current priorities, opportunities, and challenges associated with managing socio-economic change in Arctic Canada in sustainable ways.     

Ethnic politics and tourism: A British Case Study

This paper argues that one can better understand the phenomenon of ethnicity in the West through an analysis of tourism representations of a region's history and culture and of the many motives behind them. It examines the rise of a particular version of Shetland (United Kingdom) identity by linking the differing goals of the local bourgeoisie, as well as the bulk of the islands' inhabitants, with the projects of the Shetland Tourist Organisation and related groups. While this version of the Shetlandness is understood as providing a Durkheimian sense of unity for many inhabitants, its origins and increasing articulations with the economic and political goals of the islands' bourgeoisie are the main concerns of the paper.

Résumé

Développement économique et tourisme de randonneurs. Cet article soutient que l'on peut mieux comprendre le phénomène de l'ethnicité occidentale en analysant les représentations touristiques de l'histoire et de la culture d'une région et les motivations derrière ces représentations. On examine une certaine version de l'identité shetlandaise (Royauyme-Une) en reliant les différents objectifs de la bourgeoisie locale et de la majorité des habitants des îles, avec les projects de l'Organisation Touristique Shetlandaise parmi d'autres groupes. On comprent que cette version de l'identité shetlandaise donne un sens d'identité à la Durkheim à beaucoup d'habitants. Pourtant, l'objet principal de l'article est d'examiner les origines de cette version et sa relation croissante avec les buts économiques et politiques de la bourgeoisie shetlandaise.     

Nature-based tourism,resource dependence,and resilience of Arctic communities: framing complex issues in a changing environment

Current research on tourism in the Arctic has focused largely on the extent, location, and type of tourism activities that occur in the region. Recently, challenges have been identified that the tourism industry is likely to face in the wake of global changes, including climate change. Related research, conducted within and outside of the Arctic, suggests that rural communities can become economically dependent on natural resource extraction (e.g. oil, gas, timber harvesting, and mining of minerals) and non-extractive resources (e.g. nature-based recreation and tourism), limiting diversification and potentially threatening resilience of rural communities. In the western USA, communities have become dependent on both extractive and non-extractive natural resource activities including nature-based tourism; however, it is less clear whether a similar situation is occurring in Arctic communities. In this article, we propose a framework and indicators to analyze the potential dependence of Arctic communities on nature-based tourism and the resilience of Arctic communities to potential boom–bust cycles of nature-based tourism. To do so, we examine the current state-of-knowledge about tourism and nature-based tourism in the Arctic through the lens of boom–bust dynamics and social-ecological systems.     

Changing role of lifestyle in tourism entrepreneurship: Case study of Naked Retreats Enterprise

Despite increased academic attention to tourism lifestyle entrepreneurship (TLE), different discourses and continuous controversy have impeded an understanding of the phenomenon. This paper seeks to provide a new and in-depth understanding through a case study. We select the case of Naked Retreats Enterprise (NRE), a well-known tourism lifestyle corporation in China that has distinctive and deviant TLE. Based on the proposed research framework and multiple-source longitudinal data, we described and interpreted the change in the lifestyle role during the tourism entrepreneurial process. The findings suggest that the role of lifestyle in NRE changed from entrepreneurial motivation to a customer product and then to enterprise capital. The change dynamic is complex and related to contextual factors. This research verifies the effectiveness of a case study and features a dynamic lens and contextual sensibility as applied to TLE research. Moreover, and more broadly, the possibility of bridging the isolated lifestyle discourse in tourism is reflected.     

Social tourism participation: The role of tourism inexperience and uncertainty

Social tourism initiatives tend to facilitate access to tourism for groups who would otherwise be financially unable to participate in holidays. The tourism products offered in social tourism vary between individual and group holidays, and day trips. This paper presents the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study with social tourism beneficiaries and social support workers, which explores via interviews and focus groups how these different tourism products can be tailored most effectively to the needs to the beneficiaries. The findings of the study highlight the important role of travel inexperience, and associated uncertainty, in travel decisions made by this target group. The findings show that (public sector or charitable) providers of social tourism can offer the most tailored and potentially most cost-effective tourism product to each beneficiary by closely considering previous travel experience and uncertainty levels before departure.