An emerging sector of the travel and tourism industry known as Adventure Tourism combines outdoor adventure and physical activities being offered as recreations by tourist destinations.
According to Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure tourism has been on a rising trend as vacation travellers prefer places where they can commune with nature and experience new cultures, while engaging in exciting physical activities.
Apparently new technologies play an important role in making adventure recreations popular to tourists, especially among millennials and Gen Zs.
Although adventure tourism is primarily about engaging in physical activities as a way of enhancing one’s travel, it’s not about taking risks just to be considered an adventurer.
Destination travellers look for tourist spots that offer a range of different adventure activities, from something as simple as day hiking, backpacking, mountain biking and zip lining to more daring acts like skydiving, bungee jumping, freefalling, rock climbing and river rafting.
Managing Adventure Tourism to Protect Environments and Their Wildlife
As most human activities have caused adverse impacts on the planet’s natural resources and wildlife, it’s important for local governments to impose policies and regulations that will see to their protection; especially concerning those that have been established as endangered species.
Moreover, tourism as a whole has had localized effects on land, air and water, of which pollution has been the constant issue.
While tourism is a major contributor to every country’s economy, federal and local governments must ensure that financial provisions are set aside to support public protection agencies and environment conservationists.
That way, private and communal lands used for adventure toursim, will have the means to build and maintain resilience against the impact of recreational activities.