Analysis of Adventure Tourism in the 21st Century

The outcome of risk sought is excitement, pleasure, additional insight, and some fear. Adventure tourism revolves around two types; the extreme travel also referred to as the hard tourism and the soft adventure tourism. The tourists themselves independently organize hard tourism. It does seek for the services of tour operators in ensuring safety and risk minimization of the place visited. It includes such activities as mountaineering expeditions (Johnston, 1992), unguided climbs of mountain tops, canoe trips, survival trips to local venues, organized trekking, and hiking. Political instability, the hostility of the local community tourists seek to attend, and dissatisfaction with the area visited (Johnston, 1992) are also risks in adventure tourism. Inadequate studies have been conducted to help in knowing how extreme tourist adventure manages risk.

Tourists are exposed to a variety of risks as revealed above. It is crucial to identify the parties involved, the tour operators, the government or the tourists themselves as to who is responsible for minimizing or eliminating these risks in totality (Ryan, 2010). It is necessary for both parties to have in place the safety measures to ensure maximum benefits and satisfaction from taking part into the adventure, to get value for money and to ensure that the service providers maximize returns from the services they offer to their customers (Williams, & Soutar, 2009). They should avail the proper facilities that assist in risk mitigation. For instance, such as items as protective clothing to reduce injuries should be availed. There should also be first aid equipment, drugs and other materials that would assist in the quick handling of emergencies (Ryan, 2013).

They should also brief the participants on what they need to do to ensure that dangers are minimized, or their severity is kept low in the event they occur. Some people also perceive it that it is the role of the government to ensure risk minimization since it is them that have the responsibility of boosting the status of the economy by improving trade, industrialization, agriculture, the manufacturing sector, among other areas in the economy (Williams, & Soutar, 2009). Despite limited studies on risk management, there are still observable safety measures in place to boost confidence and assurance that their interests are taken care of. Tour guides are trained to acquire skills on how they interact with tourists and how to provide some first aid to the injured adventurers in the event such injuries are witnessed or reported (Ryan, 2013).

These skills acquired by operators are in turn transferred to the tourists themselves when they pay visits and before entering into the actual participation in the exercises that brought them (Miles & Priest, 1990). Protective clothing is availed to them to ensure that risks associated with injuries as a result of being hit are kept at minimal. Participants are also briefed on the dangers if any that are related to activity before actual involvement into it. Uncertainties about a particular place depend on an individual’s perception, experience, knowledge and personality traits. Some people rely on information from their colleagues who had been to that place, read about the situation, or heard about the same place from other people. This kind of information is insufficient in concluding about the pleasures and risks from the area (Cater, 2006).

This kind of information is treated as illusions of delights and dangers as what is enjoyed or disliked by one person may be different from another person. It is acknowledged by the majority that risk plays a significant role in influencing an individual's desire for adventure tourism hence in the absence of threat there is a decrease in the want and satisfaction derived from visiting places (Cater, 2006). He/ she become taken and absorbed into them and forget the real world that he/she was before getting involved in events (Williams, & Soutar, 2009). Events that bring enthusiasm demand goal setting, challenges, the high degree of skills, focus, and total involvement. The activities must be voluntarily participated in, and it is essential that the parties involved feel comfortable with the surrounding place they seek their enjoyment in.

People concerned with the organization of events strive to decrease risks associated with such activities to the lowest level possible to prevent adverse perception and reputation that the organization or the organizers may receive in return for reduced quality services the customers who are the adventure tourists, in this case, may have. They also strive to ensure high quality of their services to reduce costs incurred as a result of low visits which increases the idle time a costly cost generator in organizations delivering poor quality. Many studies on adventure tourism report that tourists will interest in the activities they took part in the place visited will continue to grow which would in turn increase they desire and think about paying a visit to the place ones again.

Many people think that taking part in excises without knowing the risks involved are viewed as carelessness and lack of knowledge on the part of the individual involved in the adventure. People always feel comfortable and enjoy taking part in such exercises considered to be dangerous and threaten their safety despite being perceived as laziness in failing to analyze the unlikelihood that concern the adventure (Williams, & Soutar, 2009). Enjoyment sought is taken to be a top priority in exploring a place or participating in an exercise for those tourists who fail to evaluate risks. Reasons for getting involved in adventure activities revolve around looking for experiences, achievement and increasing a person's insight on a subject, expressing interests on a question, and for educational purposes.