IMAGES: GETTY
SPECIAL REPORT
MAJOR PLAYERS Here in the UK, the biggest player is PEAK Adventure, which
includes a host of high-profile brands such as Exodus, Intrepid Travel, Gecko’s, Headwater, Peregrine Adventures, TrekAmerica and the Family Adventure Company — a rebranded offshoot of The Adventure Company, which was wound down last year. Other big names in the sector include Explore, G Adventures, On The Go Tours and Tucan Travel. While some smaller adventure outfits have folded in recent
times, including Student Adventures back in the summer of 2014, these operators can often be more agile and quicker to trial new or niche products. A good example is KE Adventures, also notable for its excellent product base and in-house knowledge. Recent launches include Encounters Travel, which hit the market in 2012. While the adventure travel sector is getting crowded, that’s
not necessarily to its detriment. “Robust competition for me is a good thing,” says Intrepid’s Michael Edwards. “It raises awareness and helps to demystify what we do.”
THE CUSTOMER ATTA describes adventure travellers as resilient, being typically
the last to leave a destination after a political or natural crisis and the first back; high value, because so much of their spend stays in the areas visited; and less demanding, being happy to use whatever infrastructure is already there. In its Adventure Tourism Market Study 2013, ATTA found 57%
of adventure travellers were male and 43% female, with 37% holding at least a four-year degree, enjoying an average individual annual income of around £30,000. With adventure travel no longer the bastion of time-rich, budget-
conscious gap year students and backpackers, the noughties saw the sector attracting older, time-poor monied consumers with an adventurous streak, including empty nesters, former backpackers and recession-hit professionals on career breaks. Family and multi-generational group bookings also spiralled. The average age of On The Go’s group tours is now 39, with
tailor-made clients typically 40-65, while Edwards says Intrepid’s is “36-38 and rising”, with a 60-40 split in favour of females.
Rafting on the Mahajilo River in Madagascar.
Left: Ice climber on the Stanley Headwall in the Canadian Rockies
FUTURE HOTSPOTS While the likes of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand have
long championed the adventure travel model, some of the most ardent embracers today can be found in Central and South America, such as Mexico and Chile. Areas singled out by the 2014 WTM Global Trends Report
include Costa Rica for cycling tourism and West Africa for adventure and sustainable family surfing holidays. Intrepid launched Bangladesh last year and plans a bigger
focus on schools tours and family product, while emerging destinations such as the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad and Colombia are selling well for Explore, along with tours in destinations re-emerging from political turmoil, such as Egypt, Bangladesh and Algeria. Meanwhile, Explore’s Peter Crane is bullish about its 2015/16 Polar Voyages brochure, which features 35 voyages to the Arctic and polar regions, and G Adventures says South-east Asia and South America are the most popular destinations, with Indochina seeing “significant growth”. To help guide its future product launches, On The Go Tours
recently consulted its customer database. One resounding response was the request for Iceland, which the company duly added and which Pru Goudie says “has been selling hand over fist” since launching over the summer.
36 ABTA Magazine February 2015
THE CHALLENGES Due to the locations they feature, adventure operators can be
more affected by natural disasters, conflicts and political unrest. For example, Ebola has decimated 2014 sales to hotly tipped West Africa and the IS threat has had a marked effect on sales to countries such as Jordan. Crane also notes: “For Explore, the impact of the Arab Spring has been as damaging as the recession.” Adventure travel can sometimes carry additional health and
safety considerations. To make it easier to identify respectable operators, the British Standards Institution (BSI), in conjunction with ABTA, has developed the BS 8848 standard for use by UK operators offering adventure travel overseas. In addition, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) introduced an international safety standard for adventure tourism last year (ISO/TR 21102 and ISO 21103). Operators such as G Adventures also provide handy grading ratings that indicate the fitness levels required for their trips. Acquiring new customers can be another challenge. “Although
some people may be interested in certain elements of activity and adventure in their free time, they can be more apprehensive when it comes to booking an adventure holiday,” says Crane. “This can also be said for those who are new to adventure travel or small group tours, and are unsure of what to expect.”
countrybycountry.com
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