Relationships that make up the adventure tourism industry
There are a number of different relationships that make up the tourism industry which can include: Tour operators, travel agent, media, etc.
A tourism supply chain is the relationships between travellers, products, activities and materials. without a supply chain, the tourism industry would suffer.
A tour operator is someone that works for a company that comes up with ideas for holidays. They plan every detail down to the itinerary, transport, accommodation, tour guides etc.. and then sell these packages to the consumer or to a travel agent for them to sell on. The tour operators only sell their own creations and not other people's packages. The tour operator takes liability for the holiday with a license or bonding to make sure that the consumer will get the experience planned for them, or get their money back.
A travel agent would offer the consumer lots of different holiday packages that have been created by a tour operator. Travel agents usually only provide holiday packages that will have been put together by lots of different tour operators, to give a variety to the consumer. The travel agents are not responsible or reliable for the holiday and with any problems, as the tour operator covers it (Difference between tour operator and travel agent|AITO blog, 2021).
The difference between going to a tour operator and receiving a holiday package is that you will only have access to the packages they provide, whereas at a travel agents they would provide more of a variety from many different tour operators to give the consumer more of a choice and to help find the best holiday to suit the individuals. A traveller would use a tour operator or a travel agents to provide them with a holiday package, as it can be very time consuming choosing a destination and finding accommodation, especially if you are not used to travelling much. This way you are using experts that have done a lot of research and have a lot of knowledge on holiday destinations and will also take liability if something goes wrong, whereas if you plan it yourself the responsibility is on you (Difference between tour operator and travel agent|AITO blog, 2021).
Social media can be a good way for an adventure tourism company to reach the most people and sell their products. Adventure travellers also read magazines and certain articles in newspapers. It is important for a company to use all aspects of media to reach their target audience. Older travellers might use Facebook, newspapers, magazines etc. Whilst younger travellers might be reached through Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok etc. This means that the company should advertise on the suitable media site that will reach their target audience.
Tour operators and travel agents could help to advertise and sell their holiday packages through media. This will help to reach a lot more customers and make more people aware that these packages can be provided for them. Attracting travellers through media that might have large followings, can also be good for tourism to a certain destination, increasing the money spent on products and the local community (Abelow, 2021).
The adventure tourism supply chain is a lot more complicated than a normal holiday chain. Adventure tourism is more of a niche market, which means that it would usually require more specialists to run the activities and be involved in the industry. A typical holiday would usually only require you to book flights and accommodation and the holidays usually consist of one main price that are sold in large volumes. Adventure tourism requires a lot more within its supply chain, and vary with each destination that you would wish to travel to. An adventure tourist would have to go through tour operators, travel agents, specialist activity hosts, specialist tour guides etc, and might travel to numerous destinations during their trip which makes it a lot more complex than a regular tourist. (Adventure Tourism - Definitions, History, Types, Characteristics & Features, or Importance, 2021).
Types of adventure that make up the tourism industry:
Hard adventure- This type of adventure is very physically demanding and involves a lot of risks usually. It can be challenging and will require skill to complete. This would mean that an experienced adventurer that is likely to be physically fit, would take part in hard adventure activities. Hard adventure activities involve: mountain and rock climbing, caving, trekking, bungee jumping etc. (Kusenko, 2021).
Soft adventure- These types of adventure activities usually are not dangerous and will not require much skill or experience. This means that anyone can take part in soft adventure and is a good way to get into it for the first time. Soft adventure travelling is inspired by stepping out of the comfort zone and experiencing something new. Soft adventure activities include: hiking, cycling, canoeing, fishing, skiing, surfing etc. (Kusenko, 2021).
Non- adventure- A non- adventure holiday is more of a tourist adventure, where the traveller is visiting a place for the sights and the culture. This type of holiday could involve going to a safari, or visiting a glamping site to witness the natural scenery.
There are a variety of types of adventure to appeal to every type of traveller and broaden the market.
A hard adventure traveller likes the thrill of not knowing an outcome to something, they enjoy danger and risk and like to be tested and pushed to their limits. They take part in hard adventure as they know they will get great excitement and feel truly rewarded from taking part. This is different to a soft- adventure traveller as they are more likely to take part for exploration and discovery of a new adventure and experience. This is also different compared to a non- adventure traveller who is likely to take part in adventure tourism and go on holiday to witness something new and experience new scenery rather than take part for the potentially dangerous activities.