NEW YORK—Forget the tan, the Mickey Mouse photos and the cliche souvenirs.
These
days, travelers want to experience something more than the gated resort
and the cruise ship buffet. They want to go on a walking tour, climb a
mountain and kayak down a river—adventures that can make a vacation
more meaningful.
"In travel, people are increasingly seeking
the authentic unique experiences that stretch the imagination and
create potent memories that last a lifetime," says Chris Doyle, vice
president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). According
to the organization, adventure travel is the fastest growing segment of
the leisure travel industry.
Of course, adventure is in the eye
of the traveler, and ranges from a walking tour to whitewater rafting.
But because of that, it remains relatively unaffected by the weak
dollar and economic downturn, says David Larkin, managing director of
AdventureUs.com, a social networking and directory for adventure
travelers.
Here, according to the experts, are some of the latest trends in adventure travel.
GIRLFRIEND
GETAWAYS: More women are leaving the men at home. More than 50 percent
of adventure travelers are women and most fall between ages 41 and 60,
according to a 2006 survey by the ATTA. "We used to think of active
holidays for 20-somethings," says Evelyn Hannon, creator of
journeywoman.com, an online travel resource for women. "Now it's not
unheard of for 50- and 60-year-olds
to be going kayaking, mountain climbing, surfing."
VOLUNTEER
VACATIONS: Combining volunteerism with vacation continues to be a
growing trend; Global Volunteers saw a 30 percent increase in
participation last year, according to co-founder Michele Gran. Baby
boomers still rule, she says, but the fastest growing demographic in
the last 18 months has been people under age 20, more than likely baby
boomers who bring their children with them.
EXPEDITIONARY
TRAVEL: More people are helping researchers through the Earthwatch
Institute, an international volunteer organization supporting science.
Expeditions include surveying coral reefs on a remote Bahamian island
or feeding and caring for cheetahs in Namibia. Most of the trips are
two weeks, and no special training is required. (Exceptions may be
trips that require scuba-diving certification or a high fitness level).
Other examples include conservation-minded tours to watch giant sea
turtles lay their eggs in coastal areas of the southeastern U.S.,
Mexico and Costa Rica.
CHARITY TRAVEL: Think an
extreme version of a walkathon. Venture Expeditions, a Christian-based
organization, sponsors trips to raise awareness and funds for various
organizations, such as biking through Thailand to raise money for an
orphanage. Travelers pay for the trip and then make a minimum donation
to the charity.
ACTION-PACKED VACATIONS: Some
people call action-packed vacations "The Bucket List" for the movie
starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two terminally ill patients
who want to complete a list of things to do before they kick the
bucket. Ultimate 5 Lifetime Adventures packs five of what it calls the
world's greatest adventures into one week: a military-developed Ropes
Challenge Course, skydiving, Indy car racing, rappelling and piloting a
primary combat trainer aircraft.
FAMILY ADVENTURE
VACATIONS: Some families (including multigenerational) are forgoing
theme parks and all-inclusive resorts for "more genuine nature-based,
cultural, and education and learning excursions," says Doyle. He
attributes this in part to baby boomers who have the means to travel
"coupled with a strong interest in bonding more deeply with families."
GordonsGuide.com, a Web site on adventure and active travel, says the
top vacation requests are all family friendly—dude and guest ranches,
houseboat rentals, whitewater rafting and horse pack trips and trail
rides.
SOFT ADVENTURE VACATIONS: An increasing
number of people are choosing a vacation that centers around a theme,
such as a culinary tour in Asia or wine vacation in Israel. Yoga has
also seeped into the mix. Best of Both Women's Adventures has yoga on
all of its trips and a specific yoga and surf vacation in Puerto Rico.
(Surfing is one of the top activities that women want to do, says Dez
Bartelt, co-founder of Best of Both Women's Adventures.) Other
combinations include yoga and snowboarding or yoga and wine tasting.
EXPEDITION
CRUISING: Look for more people to take expedition cruises to
Antarctica, the Galapagos and Alaska, says Carolyn Spencer Brown,
editor-in-chief of CruiseCritic.com, three places that are hard to see
without sailing there. The cruises, while less glitzy than big ship
cruise lines, include lectures and presentations about the place. "On
an expedition cruise, everything revolves really around what you see
off the ship," says Brown. "On the big ship cruises, everything
revolves around what happens on board and the ports are sort of an
addendum."
ROOTS VACATIONS: With an increasing
number of people swabbing their cheek to find their roots, some are
taking it a step further and traveling to the places where their
ancestors lived. Discover Natural Ancestry (amazingdna.com) not only
provides DNA analysis and genealogy services, it puts people in touch
with tour operators who plan the trip for them. "If they are breathing,
then they have a genetic story hidden within them and we help them to
discover and explore the unknown secrets about their heritage," says
Yvonne Walker, marketing director for Discover Natural Ancestry.
AFRICAN
TRAVEL: While the Kenya Tourist Board says the sporadic and isolated
violence has calmed and tourists were never in danger (the situation
was internal and occurred in places where tourists generally don't go),
there has been a downturn in tourism in Kenya and some spillover to
other countries in East Africa, says Wil Smith, director of Deeper
Africa, a tour operator with trips to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
"I
believe the bounce back in the neighboring countries is going to be
swift," he says. "I think it's probably going to take best scenario,
six months for Kenya to recover."
When the region recovers,
look for more people to go gorilla tracking in Uganda and Rwanda; visit
Ethiopia, an emerging destination, and climb Mount Kilimanjaro in
Tanzania, before the snow on its peak, which has been gradually
receding, disappears.
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