SPECIAL REPORT W
ith travellers increasingly willing to circumnavigate the globe in search of unique and ‘transformative’ experiences, there has never been a better time for agents to be in the adventure travel game. By widening their
target demographics and product base, adventure operators have spawned a global market worth $263bn (£173bn) in 2013, according to the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). But what makes this figure even more startling is the fact that ATTA’s previous survey in 2010 valued it at $89bn (£58bn), a near threefold rise in three years. Just what constitutes adventure travel can be subjective, but
for ATTA it encompasses at least two of the following: physical activity, interaction with nature and interaction with culture. Trips are divided into ‘soft’ or ‘hard’, the latter often having a strong focus on an activity such as climbing. “Te key thing is experience, as opposed to an activity per se,” says G Adventures’ sales director Uday Sodha. “Te perception of adventure only appealing to sports enthusiasts or lovers of extreme activities is incorrect.” Sodha’s words are echoed by On Te Go Tours’ general
manager Pru Goudie, who says: “People want to feel immersed in the culture they’re visiting, to feel part of the experience rather than observe it. Tey want to rub shoulders with the locals and feel like they’ve come away with something.” Similarly, Explore’s head of product strategy Peter Crane notes the sales appeal of “distinctive twists” such as community homestays. ATTA has done much to expand the adventure
travel
sector through research, educational programmes and events. However, from a travel trade perspective, the seeds of growth were sown in the noughties by ‘the big two’, particularly TUI. With TUI Travel having hoovered up a raft of ‘specialist’ brands
such as TrekAmerica, Exodus and Headwater Holidays, in 2010 it published its Passport to Adventure report to demonstrate the potential of the sector to agents. Back then, TUI valued the UK market at £180m and predicted it would grow by 70% between 2010 and 2013. Te company then ensured its reach went truly global with the creation of PEAK Adventure Travel Group in 2011, a strategic joint venture with Australian-based Intrepid Travel, recently restructured to reduce brand crossover. PEAK is just one of several key alliances within the sector,
with strategic partnerships today largely favoured over mergers and acquisitions. In October last year, Intrepid began a three- year deal to distribute its Peregrine brand products exclusively through Trailfinders outlets
in the UK and Ireland, while
in December, Te Telegraph launched a white-labelled tour programme. Tomas Cook, having shed some of its active and adventure purchases — including Neilson — in its restructuring drive, signed a three-year exclusive distribution deal late last year with G Adventures, which has itself signed similar deals with Hays Travel and Travel Counsellors. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Kent has partnered with Land Rover on its 2015 programme of off-road adventures, Land Rover Adventure Travel.
TRAIN TO GAIN In terms of performance, many adventure operators appear to be flying, not least G Adventures, which achieved a 40% growth for its financial year to 31 July 2014, with December 2014 sales also up 40% year on year. Sodha says the market proved “very resilient” through the recession, with growth areas including its community tourism offering, Local Living. “Te price point helps,” he says. “People are also looking to travel in a manner that benefits local communities.” Te latter is a strong selling point. On Te Go, for example, says 70% of its customers’ take trips that include at least one stay among a local community.
countrybycountry.com February 2015 ABTA Magazine 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52