Increasingly popular with travelers of all ages and any budget, adventure tourism is booming.
According to online magazine Reseau de Veille, five trends stood out in 2018 to explain this enthusiasm. The first was the growth of nature and the environment in front of the most sought after themes. Green activities are considered sources of physical and mental well-being, ideal moments to encourage the positive emotions of light and green. Nature also puts its fans at the forefront of action against climate change, operators being careful with details showing their commitment. Adventure tourism has also grown in popularity with Instagram where it offers some of the most spectacular photos or selfies.
In the glamping dynamic, new accommodations bringing together quality, design and ecology are multiplying. Choosing privileged places, architects and designers give the greatest care to the value of the place, the optimization of light, the use of recyclable materials and alternative energies. Some offers seek to be simple, like the CABN hotel , in Australia, with wooden trailers favoring comfort and the smallest ecological footprint, or the Getaway houses that offer this simplicity close to the big cities of the United States. In Quebec, Dômes Charlevoix is proposing luxury rooms with design inspired by Eskimo igloos. The industry’s creativity is impressive, including houseboats in the US, riverside longhouses in China and even mirror – covered huts in the Canadian forest .
Tour operators are also investing in original offers for travelers looking for differentiated or even unique experiences. During Alaska’s summer, Tordrilo Mountain Lodge resort offers helibiking, helihiking or helifishing packages. In the Vancouver area, Glacier Raft Company gets exclusive access to the Kicking Horse River, arriving by helicopter and then descending on a raft. Kayak sport fishing is renewing the image of this activity and attracting new customers, including in the Amazon with the Juma Lodge inn . Snowyoga – yoga in the snow – has gained many followers and has its favorite places in Boulder , Colorado, Finland, where it alternates with sand yoga, or in Montreal with POP Spirit’s offerings in the city’s parks.
Adventure tourism is also renewing itself with iconic facilities, unexpected structures that enhance the visitor experience and heighten emotions. This is for example the case of the pedestrian-only Charles Kuonen suspension bridge , with 500 meters in length, which spices up the trail from Zermatt to Grächen, Switzerland. In Manaus, the steel tower of the MUSA, with its 42 meters high, 242 steps and 81 m 2 of base, rivals in majesty with the great trees of the forest and has already become one of the unavoidable attractions of the State of Amazonas. In Denmark, the Camp Adventure Park is wanting to go higher with a 45 meter tall tower and a spectacular design to view Zealand’s Nordic woodland cover.
Until now a privileged activity of young adult sportsmen, adventure tourism now seeks to attract beyond stereotypes . Travel Oregon has opened a website featuring options for skiing, mountain biking, kayaking or even mountain climbing for the disabled. Parks Victoria, Australia is testing Canopy — Eco Sleeper Pods , contemporary-designed housing units accessible to the disabled. Claiming access for everyone, fat or thin, strong or weak, young or old, male or female, to sports activities, Unlikely Hiker already has 58,000 followers on Instagram, with the support of big brands like REI and Columbia. Adventure tourism still has many fans ahead!