Categories and types of tourism: adventure, leisure, and agro-tourism

¶ … Tourism

What are the many and varied categories of tourism and travel? What specific advantage does one form of tourism have over another, and what are the most coveted venues for the business traveler, the leisure traveler, or the adventure traveler? These and other issues pertaining to tourism and travel will be reviewed and critiqued in this paper. Tourism is an enormous business, having a major impact on economies worldwide. For example, global tourism is the largest business sector in the world economy; the "Travel & Tourism" (T&T) industry provides over 230 million jobs and over 10% of the gross domestic product globally, according to www.ecotourism.org. Moreover, tourism is a principal export (foreign exchange earner) for 83% of third world countries, and the "leading export" for one third of the poorest countries on the planet (www.ecotourism.org). In addition, for the 40 poorest countries in the world, tourism is "the second most important source of foreign exchange," right after oil production, according to the ecotourism.com information provided.

Adventure Travel

According to About.com adventure travel is getting out there at some distant venue, in the natural world, and being very physically involved while participating in vigorous activities. Adventure travel can be a hike up a 14,000 mountain in Colorado (and backpacking in rather than renting a car) or it can be "floating over Africa in a hot air balloon" (About.com). Basically adventure travel is just what it sounds like, the persons traveling are active and healthy and ready to be adventuresome and engage in some exciting activity.

Karen Berger writes (www.suite101) that there are three categories to adventure travel: soft adventure; medium adventure, and "hard-core" adventure. To engage in a soft adventure tourist trip one only needs to be "reasonably fit" to be able to walk for several hours, Berger explains. And in some soft adventure venues, "even…sedentary folks" may be able to participate. The examples Berger offers include "day-hiking, cycling, or riding horses over moderate terrain."

As to medium adventure travel tours, they may involve camping out, some "strenuous hiking, learning certain skills" and being able to adapt to cold weather or high altitudes, Berger explains. An example would be a rafting trip on a strong river, sea kayaking, and learning some basic skills. As expected, hard-core adventure trips are far more demanding than the first two mentioned in this paper. Berger asserts that a "high level" of fitness is imperative for this kind of tourism, and guides that lead hard-core adventure travelers to the heights of Mr. Everest, for example -- along with equipment and provisions -- can cost up to $60,000. There is also "risk" involved in this kind of adventure travel -- risk of injury and risk that the challenged one accepted may not be achieved.

Agro tourism

Also referred to as "Agri-Tourism" this aspect of the business entails arriving at a venue that is likely to be a working farm, according to the University of Davis (http://sfp.ucdavis.edu). The traveler typically will be lodged in a facility on or near the agricultural activity, and along with harvesting and later eating the produce from the garden (or farm), the tourist might be treated to horseback riding, fishing, wildlife study (bird watching, for example), or even hunting.

UC Davis reports that some Agi-Tourism packages include educational experiences such as cooking classes, cannery tours, along with entertainment (festivals at harvest time, barn dances) and guided tours of rural and agricultural places.

Ecotourism

The site www.ecotourism.org explains that ecotourism is about uniting "conservation, communities, and sustainable travel." What that means is that when individuals partake of ecotourism (travel) they should follow some simple principles: a) minimize your impact; b) create cultural and environmental awareness "and respect"; c) make sure those involved have a "positive experience" (hosts and visitors); d) financial benefits should be based on the conservation concepts, not exploitation in any form; e) local people should be empowered based on the ecotourism activities and impacts; and f) the activity should "raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental and social climate" (www.ecotourism.org).

Some examples of what ecotourism means is a worthy addition to this research. The New York Times features a well-written series of stories on ecotourism destinations, including a trip to the Galapagos (Blake, 2010). In this article the author is being propelled in an inflatable dinghy (with Ernesto, the guide) as she and her companions search for the Floreana mockingbird, a species that "…inspired Darwin's thinking on the origin of species" (Blake, p. 1). Thanks to her guide's bird call, the group did indeed spot a Floreana mockingbird, just one of "…many thrilling encounters on a week of nature scouting" in the Galapagos, which is a chain of 19 islands (of volcanic origin) off the coast of Ecuador about 600 miles, Blake explained.

The most famous visitor to these islands of course was Charles Darwin, who arrived in 1835, but subsequent to that, Blake writes, over the past 20 years, more than 150,000 visitors arrive at the Galapagos for ecotourism adventure. The group that Blake arrived with was ferried to the outer islands in the chain on a 24-cabin catamaran, and among the most interesting sights to see -- for any ecotourism group -- are the giant tortoises.

Another popular ecotourism destination is Belize, according to New York Times' writer Stephen Regenold. He describes a canoe trip down the Macal River in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve in Belize. "…Mountains ascend thousands of feet into the tropical air" and more than 500 species of birds live or migrate through Belize, Regenold explains. On one morning's walk with guide Carlos Quiterio Regenold identified "30 species" including the scarlet macaw, "an intelligent bird that mates for life" and has a life expectancy of 75 years. Later that morning they lunched on an open air deck at the Black Rock Lodge and saw several rare species of birds including a "great black hawk" and a "bat falcon" (Regenold, 2009).

Yet another ecotourism destination is found in England's West County, where Britain's well-known TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall hosts organically minded visitors to his restaurant, the River Cottage Canteen (Shukman, 2008). All the food the chef serves is grown on the property he owns. It is along the lines of both ecotourism and agro-tourism, with plenty of hiking trails available as well.

Cultural Tourism

Basically cultural tourism refers to travel by individuals who are particularly interested in not just a country, but in the culture that can be found in a particular nation or territory. Frans Schouten (writing in the book, Cultural Tourism: Global and Local Perspectives) explains that globalization has been a two-way street for cultural tourism. On the positive side, it has opened up a kind of revival of cultural activities and traditions at many destinations. Cultural activities such as local crafts, traditions, music, and dance have enjoyed something of a renaissance, Schouten claims (Schouten, 2007, p. 25), as globalization has made it easier for people to move about on the planet.

The negative side of cultural tourism -- resulting from globalization -- according to Schouten is that there can be an "erosion" of the cultural events and traditions because many people from foreign countries will be watching; there is the possibility that cultural events will be "staged for the tourist gaze" and crafts will be produced "…solely for tourists" (Schouten, p. 25). Hence, cultures could be watered down just to please visitors, and that would not be an authentic cultural experience for visitors or local people.

That having been said, Schouten relates two "misconceptions" about cultural tourism that are worth mentioning in this paper. One, there is a misconception that cultural tourism will bring more money from fewer visitors (presumably because those seeking a cultural experience may be in higher incomes). The truth is, cultural tourists "…probably only have slightly different spending patterns from other tourists," Schouten explains on page 26. Indeed, the ATLAS surveys in 2004 reported that spending by "cultural tourists" averaged just slightly more than 10% above what other leisure travelers spend.

The second misconception is that cultural tourism is the "…fastest growing market in global tourism" -- a statement put out by the World Tourism Organization in 2004 that Schouten challenges. In the first place cultural tourism is difficult to define, and it is not "a single market," Schouten goes on. Secondly there is no way to prove that cultural tourism is growing any faster than global leisure tourism, given the blurring of definitions as to what cultural tourism really is.

Meantime Schouten points out there are five "distinct types of cultural tourists"; those are: a) the "purposeful cultural tourist" (this person specifically chooses a destination to experience the cultural dynamics there); b) the "sightseeing cultural tourist" (this person wants to view cultural highlights and probably take pictures; an example would be a sightseeing tourist in China who just wants to visit the Great Wall); c) the "casual cultural tourist" (this person has a shallow base of experience and isn't too interested in culture but while he or she is in the country where there are interesting cultural events he or she might take a look); d) the "incidental cultural tourist" is one who will be "superficially involved" at best; and e) the "serendipitous cultural tourist" is one that did not seek out cultural involvement but while there "…gets really involved and has a deep experience" (Schouten, 26-27).

Leisure Tourism

This form of tourism is self-explanatory: people travel to other parts of the world strictly to relax, experience many interesting things away from home, and, as some people say, to "recharge their batteries." Leisure tourism can be a travel experience to foreign countries or it can be a flight from Boston to San Diego in the winter -- to get warm and hang out at the beach. Typically a cruise vacation would be considered leisure tourism because cruise ships stop at ports and passengers take in the sights, buy souvenirs and spend money on entertainment, food and drink.

LGBT Tourism (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transvestite)

The book Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing is basically a book for marketers from travel companies. It answers the question, why would travel and leisure companies -- including airline companies, entertainment venues, hotels and foreign countries' travel marketing organizations -- market to gay and lesbian people? The answer is obviously because the LGBT community travels a lot, and play tourist often.

There is a lot of good information within the book, including a survey that 6,721 individuals tapping into their travel habits. The median household income was $79,000 and 71% of respondents had a valid passport while 47% had used that passport during the past year. Gay and lesbian travelers took a median of "five overnight trips in the last 12 months" and 23% of the respondents took "more than five leisure trips" (Guaracino, 2007, p. 36).

The respondents who traveled within the year previous to when the survey was taken spent an average of 29 nights away from home -- averaging six nights per trip, Guaracino writes (p. 36). Respondents spent an average of 15 nights in a hotel during the last year. Ninety-two percent of gays and lesbians bought an airline ticket within the last year. Also gay travel on "straight cruises" represents "big business," according to Guaracino (p. 37). One might assume that gays and lesbians would want to cruise on ships designated as gay and lesbian cruises; it's not true, according to Guaracino.

"Gay and lesbian travelers prefer straight cruise vacations and they cruise more than heterosexuals," Guaracino explains on page 37. Of the 4,500 "qualified responses," sixty-five percent of lesbians and gay men who had taken a cruise vacation in the previous year "had traveled on a mainstream (nongay) cruise," according to Guaracino's data. Some 15% of gay travelers on straight cruises said they had been a member of an "organized gay group" the author continued.

Tom Roth, representing the cruise industry, told Guaracino that "There is a huge sales opportunity for cruise lines and travel agents to sell cabins on straight cruises to gay travelers"; hence, he explained, cruise lines must be proactive to ensure "…that their product is genuinely gay-friendly" (Guaracino, p. 38).

Space Tourism

The Virgin Galactic company is currently developing a tourism first: taking tourists into space aboard a commercial manned space flight system. In October, 2010 pilot Pete Siebold and co-pilot Mike Alsbury piloted the Virgin spaceship from 45,000 feet back down to earth near Mojave, California. The ship had been carried to the 45,000-foot level by a "mothership" (eWeek). The CEO of Virgin Group is Richard Branson, who said, "The sky is no long the limit and we will begin the process of pushing beyond the final frontier of space…over the next year" (eWeek). Future commercial space flights will take off and land from Spaceport America in New Mexico, within a year or so, according to Branson.

Tourism Updates -- Sustainable Tourism

The International Trade Forum (ITF) asserts in an article that due to the present economic recession, it behooves travel destinations to integrate "social and environmental principles in their business models" in order to present sustainability (ITF). It may seem a nearly impossible task for a profitable global business -- "that benefits multiple stakeholders" -- to assist people in Third World countries to preserve their cultural heritage and at the same time lesson human impact on the environment. But tourism, ITF explains, is "already set up to lead the way" in promoting "triple bottom line business principles that have immeasurable positive benefits for the environment" for societies and for cultures within those societies. After all, ITF goes on, travelers today demand lower impacts on the environment and at the same time travelers want more "meaningful interaction" with local people when they travel.

Tourism Updates -- Sri Lanka Loan from the World Bank

Sri Lanka may have a greater appeal to world travelers soon, thanks to a $125.4 million grant from the World Bank for three projects, including tourism, according to Lanka Business Online (LBO). While the tourism component of Sri Lanka's government will only get $18 million of the $125.4 million, the money will help build the tourism sector's "institutional structure to improve efficiency in service delivery" (LBO).

Following the 30-year ethnic war in Sri Lanka, which ended in May 2009, the infrastructure of the country was badly damaged, and hence the money from the World Bank is more desperately needed in that area. But Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and given a few years of peace, tourists no doubt will begin to return.

Tourism Updates -- First New Hotel in Harlem in 40 Years

According to the National Real Estate Investor, Harlem, the predominately African-American community in New York City, will get the first new hotel it's had in 40 years. What this means, beside the economic jolt for Harlem and its workers, is that the tourism business is recovering and the "prognosis" for the hospitality industry "…is brightening" (Murphy, 2010, p. 1). The hotel will be called Aloft, "a stylish limited-service brand" that is owned by the upscale Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Tourism Updates -- Corporate Travel on the Upswing

According to the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) one year after the "Great Recession" ended, travel buyers from corporations are buying tickets at a steady rate again. The NBTA found that "72% of corporate travel managers surveyed" believe the business travel industry is "better today than compared to one year ago." and, the NBTA added, 63% of respondents indicate that corporate travel "will continue to improve over the next 12 months."

Tourism Updates -- OECD

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development claims that tourism may be one of the most "interconnected service sectors in Brazil, India, and Indonesia"; however the growth of tourism in Cambodia, India, Madagascar, South Africa and Mozambique are being "undermined" because of the shortage of infrastructure, transport, electricity, education and water (OECD Observer). And hence, the OECD leadership urges governments in those areas that are not growing to "establish policies that improve the business environment per se" and also address the need to enhance the "vitality, sustainability and competitiveness" of tourism.