THE global adventure travel market has grown at 65 per cent annually since 2009 and is estimated to have been worth US$263 billion last year, excluding airfare, reported a new study.
The consumer report 2013 Adventure Tourism Market Study, produced by The George Washington University conducted in partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), studied the three key outbound regions of Europe, North America and South America, which account for almost 70 per cent of overall international departures.
According to the study, the exponential growth in adventure tourism over the years reflects the surge in international tourism and can also be attributed to the increase in the percentage of European and South American travellers classified as adventure travellers.
An increase in average spend by adventure travellers globally – from US$593 per trip in 2009 to US$947 in 2012 – and the emergence of new source markets also boosted the adventure tourism market.
The report also highlighted the following trends:
– 45 per cent of adventure travellers intend to use a tour operator on their next trip, compared to 31 per cent of non-adventure travellers
– Almost 54 per cent of travellers plan to take up an adventure activity on their next trip; a rise from the present 42 per cent
– The average length of a soft adventure trip was 10 days in 2012, up from eight in 2009
– 73 per cent of adventure travellers plan to do a new adventure activity on their next trip, while 22 per cent will participate in the same activity
ATTA is calling for more travel consultants who deal with adventure travel products to sign up as association members (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 17, 2013).
Thailand is also seeking to tap the growing segment, having promoted itself as an adventure travel destination at this year’s Thailand Travel Mart Plus (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 11, 2013).
