An exploration of adventure tourism participation and consumption

Growing demand for and supply of adventure tourism activities, particularly packaged adventure holidays, means there is a need to understand adventure tourists. At the start of my research journey, the embryonic nature of adventure tourism research and the limited extant literature about adventure tourists provided the impetus to develop understanding of these tourists as a unique group of adventurers. Accordingly, the aim of this programme of research is to demonstrate the empirical and conceptual contributions that my published works make to the knowledge and understanding of adventure tourism participation and consumption. My research ethos reflects an interpretivist approach and my empirical publications predominantly report on qualitative data drawn from interviews and surveys with adventure tourists. The research contribution is achieved through two Focal Concepts. Firstly, adventure tourism participation, i.e.: the different elements which influence tourists to take adventure holidays in the first place. My work explores the distinctive characteristics of adventure tourists and how these influence their decision to participate in adventure tourism, their motivational decisions, risk perceptions, flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) as a motivation for continued participation in adventure tourism, and their lifestyles. My publications are some of the first academic studies to develop new thinking relative to key influences which drive package tourists and independent tourists to participate in adventure tourism. Secondly, adventure tourism consumption, i.e.: tourists’ experiences of actually consuming adventure activities while on holiday. Adventure is often all-consuming and challenging and this means it can prompt diverse and conflicting emotions, ranging from feelings of fear and risk to deep satisfaction and elation. Consequently, my work investigates the emotional journeys which adventure tourists experience during activity consumption. Additionally, it examines the benefits which tourists gain from consuming adventure, and the influences on their adventure tourism experiences. My publications are some of the foremost studies to develop understanding of adventure tourism consumptio

The characteristics and motivational decisions of outdoor adventure tourists: a review and analysis

The growing demand for outdoor adventure tourism activities, and the rapid growth in associated industry supply, means we need an improved understanding of outdoor adventure tourists. The paper considers the characteristics and motives of outdoor adventure tourists, as well as the influence of experience, age and gender on their motives. This is based, firstly, on a critical review of the relatively much more extensive literature on outdoor adventure activity participants for insights into the character and motives of outdoor adventure tourists. The paper also focuses,secondly, on an original case study of mountaineer tourists in Chamonix, France. Results from the case study of mountaineer tourists are evaluated against the research themes and gaps identified from the review of literature on outdoor adventure activity participants, including outdoor adventure tourists. It is shown how outdoor adventure tourists are a diverse group. Motivational similarities and differences exist between these tourists and their outdoor recreational counterparts. Experience, age and gender influence the motives and motivational differences among outdoor adventure activity participants. It is noted that there is considerable scope for further research on outdoor adventure tourists, including mountaineer tourists, and potential new research directions are identified for the specific themes examined in the paper. Keywords : outdoor adventure tourists; mountaineer tourists; characteristics; motives; motivational decisions</p

Families at leisure outdoors: well-being through adventure

This study investigates families who choose to co-participate in outdoor adventure holidays, and explores how they benefit from these shared experiences. In so doing, it seeks to determine the role of adventure tourism in developing and enhancing family well-being (FWB). Hyper-modern family life for many is powered by technological hardware, each room in the house replete with on-line pleasures, distractions and identities. In response to this dystopia, some families opt to take adventure holidays together. However, scholarship concerning collective experiences of adventurous leisure, in this case as families, is limited. Using a qualitative whole family approach, 15 (adventure tourist) families were interviewed, totalling 62 interviewees (29 adults and 33 children under 18 years old), in their home environments. Four key themes related to FWB emerged. First, families extended their active lifestyles to adventure holidays and repeatedly mentioned the health and fitness benefits gained from these experiences. Second, adventure holidays facilitated unmediated time together for families. Third, parents harboured ideals of positive personal development for their children in these adventure settings. Fourth, making memories during adventure holidays, and recollecting these post-trip, were integral to family bonding. Further research should consider non-traditional families, and various socio-economic and cultural groups in this context

Developing a typology of older visitors to heritage attractions

This article examines older visitors to UK heritage attractions and presents a typology to progress our understanding of this under-researched market. Although there is plenty of research on older tourists, scholars regard this market as homogeneous and neglect to investigate older day visitors to local attractions. We apply push-pull motivation and typology theories and employ a quantitative research design, which involves a survey of older heritage visitors. Confirmatory factor analysis produced five push motivation and five pull motivation dimensions, three visitation constraint dimensions, two constraint negotiation dimensions and two visitation benefit dimensions. A cluster analysis identified three distinct segments: ‘Heritage Enthusiasts’, ‘Motivated but Unfulfilled’ and ‘Somewhat Interested but Satisfied’ and developed a typology based on distinctive characteristics. Significant predictors of older visitors’ satisfaction, recommendation and repeat visitation by cluster were also identified. The findings will facilitate more effective marketing of heritage attractions based on these segments

Conceptualising the power of outdoor adventure activities for subjective well-being: A systematic literature review

This study examines the key research concepts associated with the subjective well-being outcomes of outdoor adventure activity participation. The landscape of adventure research is changing, and scholars are increasingly focusing on the beneficial outcomes of engaging in nature-based adventure activities. Yet, little is known about the interplay between adventure and subjective well-being. Therefore, this research presents the key findings from a systematic review of pertinent literature which was carried out using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, content analysis and thematic coding. We reviewed the abstract, introduction, methodology and findings for 125 journal articles and textbook chapters. Five intertwined metathemes and 16 subthemes, which reflect subjective well-being, emerged from this review. The metathemes are Extraordinary Experiences, Physical and Mental Balance, Personal Development, Immersion and Transformation, and Community. These formed the basis of the conceptual framework, which illustrates how adventure activity participants can gain, maintain, and enhance their subjective well-being by experiencing at least one subtheme within one or more of the five metathemes during or after their adventure activity. Further empirical research should be carried out on these metathemes to root the subjective well-being construct more firmly within the adventure literature

Exploring efficacy in personal constraint negotiation: an ethnography of mountaineering tourists

Limited work has explored the relationship between efficacy and personal constraint negotiation for adventure tourists, yet efficacy is pivotal to successful activity participation as it influences people’s perceived ability to cope with constraints, and their decision to use negotiation strategies. This paper explores these themes with participants of a commercially organised mountaineering expedition. Phenomenology-based ethnography was adopted to appreciate the social and cultural mountaineering setting from an emic perspective. Ethnography is already being used to understand adventure participation, yet there is considerable scope to employ it further through researchers immersing themselves into the experience. The findings capture the interaction between the ethnographer and the group members, and provide an embodied account using their lived experiences. Findings reveal that personal mountaineering skills, personal fitness, altitude sickness and fatigue were the four key types of personal constraint. Self-efficacy, negotiation-efficacy and other factors, such as hardiness and motivation, influenced the effectiveness of negotiation strategies. Training, rest days, personal health, and positive self-talk were negotiation strategies. A conceptual model illustrates these results and demonstrates the interplay between efficacy and the personal constraint negotiation journey for led mountaineers

Package mountaineer tourists holidaying in the French Alps: An evaluation of key influences encouraging their participation

This study investigates the key influences that encourage mountaineer tourists, classified as a type of adventure tourist, to participate in package mountaineering holidays. There is limited understanding of why tourists take package adventure holidays, yet the demand for such holidays has grown dramatically in recent years. The author conducted in-depth interviews with mountaineer tourists either during or at the end of their package mountaineering holiday in the Chamonix region of the French Alps. Interview findings provide an insight into package mountaineer tourists. Firstly, mountaineering was an important part of respondents’ lifestyles. Secondly, contrary to previous research on experienced mountaineers, respondents did not consider risk as an important motive and they did not view themselves as risk takers. Thirdly, skills development and experience were key motives encouraging package mountaineering holiday participation. Fourthly, a major concern for respondents was to have a safe mountaineering experience in which the mountaineering organisation and the guide played a key role

Family adventure tourism: Towards hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing

The study's aim is to explore the motives encouraging individual family members to participate in adventure tourism activities while on holiday and the benefits they gain from these experiences, using wellbeing as the conceptual lens. The key contributions are to address the gap in literature on family adventure tourists, and apply the subjective wellbeing (SWB) constructs of hedonic wellbeing (HWB) and eudaimonic wellbeing (EWB) to understand these tourists. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 families, comprising 62 interviewees in total (29 adults and 33 children under 18 years old). Findings reveal that hedonic themes were high positive affect, and alleviating feelings of distress and boredom. Eudaimonic themes were challenge and negative affect, optimal experiences, accomplishment and personal development. Family influenced the SWB motives facilitating adventure participation and the benefits gained by different members. Also, there were HWB and EWB similarities and differences between parents, younger children and older children

Personal emotional journeys associated with adventure activities on personal emotional journeys associated with adventure activities on packaged mountaineering holidays.

This study examines the personal emotional journeys that tourists experience while participating in adventure activities during their packaged mountaineering holidays. It also investigates whether the adventure activities within these holidays provide experiences that they consider to be adventurous. Although an understanding exists about the experiences of recreational adventurers, including mountaineers, there is only a limited awareness of the experiences of tourists who engage in adventure activities as part of packaged mountaineering holidays. Hence, the paper extends understanding of the personal emotional journeys of mountaineers from an adventure recreation to an adventure tourism context. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with tourists during or at the end of their packaged mountaineering holidays. Key findings focus on three interrelated themes. First, respondents perceptions of risk associated with their participation in the packaged adventure activities; second, the contrasting emotions that they encountered; and, third, the "other world" feelings that they experienced