NEW YORK, 25 June 2018: Adventure travel is not just for the under 40 set, nor the exclusive domain of experienced adventure enthusiasts anymore, a survey by Travel Leaders Group concluded.
Conducted in partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association the survey showed that the majority of those booking adventure travel were spending significant money on one-week or longer trips.
The first of a planned annual benchmarking of active and adventure travel, the survey was conducted among leisure-selling travel agents, primarily those who specialise in adventure travel.
It reported that 86% of respondents indicated they’ve experienced growth in their adventure travel sales over the past three years.
Also of note, the number of respondents who reported that average age of adventure travellers was in the range of 29 to 40 years versus 41 to 50 differed by just one percentage point.
A healthy 22% of adventure travellers were in the 51 to 60 age bracket.
The survey also revealed that 65% of survey respondents stated the majority of their adventure travel business involved trips of seven to 10 days and another 21% were most commonly booking journeys of 11 days or longer.
From a pricing standpoint, 30% of respondents said adventure travellers were spending USD2,000 to 3,000 per person on average; another 33% cited an average spend of between USD3,000 to 5,000 per person and 22.5% indicated consumers were typically spending USD5,000-plus per person on average.
The Adventure Travel Trade Association estimates adventure travel is a USD683 billion industry and growing.
More survey highlights
The percentage of male versus female adventure travellers varied by just one percentage point (50.5% male; 49.5% female).
However, a majority of the decision-making with respect to purchasing adventure travel is done by females (64%), consistent with travel purchase trends in the larger travel industry.
The survey results showed a strong mix of novice versus experienced adventure travellers.
Top 10 adventure travel destinations:
Western Europe (France, Italy, Germany, UK, Norway, Switzerland).
Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala)
North America (US and Canada)
Caribbean
South Pacific (New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti)
South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador)
Mexico
Africa
Central Europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Poland)
South and Southeast Asia (India, Malaysia)
Top 10 types of adventure travel most-often booked (based on categories as defined by ATTA):
Cultural Tours
Hiking/Walking/Trekking
Culinary and Foodie
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
Small Ship Expedition Cruises
Sea Kayaking/Whitewater Kayaking/Kayak Touring
Biking/Road Biking/Mountain Biking
Safaris
Rafting
Multi-sport ( hike/bike/kayak in one trip)
The survey indicated that adventure travellers are booking a mix of pre-organised tour operator packages and customised independent trips with neither category strongly leading the other.
Consumers seeking a travel agent who is an adventure travel specialist may visit www.itravelbetter.com and search by specialty. In addition to active and adventure travel, Travel Leaders Network travel professionals also specialise in leisure and luxury travel, business travel, honeymoon and destination weddings – as well as active and adventure travel.
As ATTA mentioned, it means amazing Thailand could be all adventurous destination.