Adventure Tourism
04-02-2008 : Published in http://www.thesouthern.com
By MEGAN K. SCOTT, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ 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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