1. The sector is thriving
In her keynote speech, Intrepid’s managing director EMEA Zina Bencheikh said she had witnessed massive growth for adventure travel in the 14 years she has worked for the adventure tour operator: “It was niche, but it’s becoming more mainstream.”
This was echoed by Chris Roche, CEO and founder of online travel agent The Adventure People: “We’re on the cusp of adventure travel becoming mass market,” he said. “It’s growing faster than any other sector and by the end of this decade, we could be seeing more than a million customers in the UK.”
They offered different perspectives on where that growth is coming from. Bencheikh said 50-plus was the fastest growing segment of Intrepid’s customer base. “We currently have a 77-year-old female client trekking to Everest Base Camp,” she said.
However, Roche said The Adventure People’s growth was heavily skewed towards under-45s, who were comfortable booking their holidays online.
2. It’s hard to define adventure travel
Many of the speakers made the point that there’s a problem with the perception of adventure travel, with consumers assuming they needed to be super fit to do adventure travel. “But it’s not about being active,” Bencheikh said. “It’s about challenging yourself. It’s about collecting experiences, not things.”
Recalling the time when adventure travel meant visiting wild, inaccessible places, where there were language barriers and limited opportunities to exchange money, Roche said: “There’s no clear definition now. But it’s definitely about experiences.” He also said The Adventure People shied away from using the terminology of “tours” as that tended to infer coach tours, which “have the perception of being a bit dull,” he explained.
“Adventure can mean a homestay instead of a hotel or trying snorkelling for the first time,” offered Brian Young, managing director, G Adventures.
3. Adventure can be sustainable, but flights are not
We heard that adventure travel, in general, is the most sustainable type of holiday – but there’s more that can be done. Reducing group sizes; offering more popular destinations in low and shoulder seasons; opening up alternative destinations; encouraging customers to stay a day or two longer; using local guides; and travelling by train were all measures that could be adopted and promoted.
Julia Bianco, product and operations manager, explained how Exodus Adventure Travels had reduced group sizes visiting the Cinque Terre from 16 to 12, and eliminated more standard Venice tours. “We show the other side of Venice, exploring lesser-known neighbourhoods and meeting local artisans,” she explained.
However, while the industry can do everything in its power to offer sustainable travel, we cannot deny the immense carbon impact of flying, and that flights are integral to long-haul adventure travel: “You can’t swim to Patagonia,” said Thomas Power, co-founder and CEO, Pura Aventura.