Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Adventure tourism is a fast-growing niche sector within tourism. This study aims to identify the primary motivations and constraints for individuals participating in adventure tourism. Emphasis was put on adventure participants' travel pattern behaviors (local residents/ tourists) and the new factor of COVID-19. Only some studies have examined constraints within adventure tourism, including motivations, travel, and COVID-19. A total of 240 individual's participated in a 10-15-minute survey that focused on 37 motivations and constraints pulled from previous literature. The findings highlighted personal improvement and destination experience as the key motivators to participate in adventure tourism, while traveler anxiety was the key constraint holding participants back. It also gave insight into how adventure tourism continues to be popular despite the pandemic.

Anecdotal information indicates that conflict exists between Adventure Tourism Operators (ATOs) and snowmobilers in the backcountry of British Columbia. Focusing on the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, a survey was conducted among winter ATOs to determine the extent of the conflict, the role of land management policies as well as the proposed Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Management Framework in managing such interactions. Initial conclusions suggest that: 1) conflict does exist; 2) existing structure for managing interactions is inadequate; 3) ATOs consider it the responsibility of the BC Government to manage interactions, and; 4) ATOs have a low level of confidence in the BC Government to effectively manage interactions. This study presents five recommendations for government regulators to consider if or when the ORV Management Framework moves forward.

The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge to a sustainable and resilience-promoting framework for tourism companies to be applied in the post-pandemic era. Through the data collection which included the methods of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and content analysis various findings were found to enhance the framework. It should be noted, however, that the participation was limited to a small number of companies. Despite this limitation, the results of this study suggest that adventure tourism companies could improve their sustainability by including interpretive guiding, eco-friendly infrastructure, and sustainability-promoting activities as central components of their tours to encourage environmentally conscious behavior among customers. Furthermore, adventure tourism companies can move toward sustainability and resilience by considering the needs and conditions of communities and the visiting environment, choosing slower and smaller group transportation, collecting data on consumption and waste, prioritizing employee well-being, and developing skills and financial plans to deal with future challenges. The study's results suggest that adventure tourism companies reverted to their normal operations without making significant adjustments to their business strategies for sustainability, despite the scholars’ vision of a sustainable post-pandemic era, highlighting the existent discrepancy between the theory and practice of sustainable tourism.

Evidence exists to suggest increasing political interest in cycling-related tourism, particularly as a contributor to economic and social development in rural communities. The former Australian Government’s long-term strategy document for tourism, the Tourism White Paper, has also identified cycling-related tourism as a potential contributor to strengthening competitive advantage for Australia with respect to tourism. However, little theory-driven research exists hitherto to guide decision-making regarding prudent provision of infrastructure and services to facilitate the development of cycling-related tourism, while little research exists that aids in our understanding of the travel behaviours and characteristics of bicycle tourists.The present study examined independent bicycle tourists in Australia using a generic model of whole tourism systems as a framework for analysis. The study employed a mixture of quantitative and qualitative techniques to explore the needs, preferences and behaviours of independent bicycle tourists. In addition, several conditions previously identified in applied literature as possible impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia were examined.The results indicated that independent bicycle tourists’ behaviours and thought processes regarding destination selection reflected those put forward in the broader literature addressing special interest tourism, in that the activity to be pursued is more prevalent in driving decision-making than the actual destination(s) to be visited. This was illustrated by the importance attached by the respondents to aspects that directly relate to a destination area’s capacity to support cycling, particularly the presence and quality of cycling infrastructure (specifically roads, paths, trails and signage), endowed resources (appealing natural scenery), supporting industries, and accessibility.Three conditions were confirmed as impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia. These impediments included perceptions of cycling on Australian roads as a dangerous practice; perceptions that infrastructure to support independent bicycle touring in Australia is generally inadequate; and perceived difficulties associated with the carriage of bicycles on air, coach and rail services in Australia. This research also identified several limitations regarding the capacity of Leiper’s model of whole tourism systems to articulate tourist flows associated with independent bicycle tourism. These limitations specifically related to the way the tourist destination regions and transit routes elements are conceptually defined in the generic model. An adapted descriptive, theoretical model of whole tourism systems involving independent bicycle tourism was proposed. The adapted model incorporated a geographic ‘hierarchy of destinations’ sub-system and also acknowledged two distinct forms of transit routes: those traversed between the traveller-generating region and the destination area; and those traversed within the destination area by bicycle.

Adventure tourism is a growing market sector worldwide including Australia. A range of research exists that examined participation in adventure tourism activities by consideration of various aspects such as socio-demographics, motivations, activity/setting preferences and involvement in the activity to understand the adventure tourist. While studies have been conducted that included several of these aspects, a holistic investigation of involvement, motivations and setting preferences together has not been conducted previously regarding adventure tourism in Australia in general and SCUBA diving in particular. Furthermore, in Australia, only limited information is available about those who participate in the adventure activity of SCUBA diving. The aim of this research is to investigate differences and similarities of involvement, motivations and setting preferences of SCUBA diving club members in Eastern Australia. In this study 294 SCUBA diving club members in New South Wales and Queensland were surveyed by utilisation of a web-based questionnaire in order to identify their involvement in SCUBA diving, socio-demographic characteristics, participation motives and setting preferences. Descriptive analysis was used to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics of divers, their motivations and setting preferences. Principal component analysis was applied on involvement variables as well as motivations to investigate the underlying constructs. Agglomerative and hierarchical cluster analyses were used to derive clusters of divers that differed in their involvement in SCUBA diving. Exact Pearson chi-square tests were conducted to test whether there were significant differences concerning sociodemographics between clusters. In addition, analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to determine differences and similarities of motivational components and setting preferences between clusters. This study found that SCUBA diving club members are a heterogeneous group regarding their involvement in SCUBA diving. Five clusters of divers emerged that differed in their involvement in SCUBA diving. While differences in socio-demographics across the different involvement clusters were revealed, they proved to be less valuable for interpretation purposes. Regarding divers� setting preferences, similar structures were observed across all clusters regardless of differences in involvement. Motivations showed a complex structure across the clusters in regard to divers� involvement in SCUBA diving. Based on the studies findings, recommendations for future research were suggested. These emphasised the need for a holistic examination of motivations and setting preferences of adventure tourists based on the concept of involvement, which would be important for theory development and segmentation of tourists. The same holistic approach would also be valuable for examining other types of tourists such as events tourists and heritage tourists to better understand tourist behaviour.

Risk is an increasingly important factor of our modern society, but that does not mean that risks have become higher today versus any other epoch of human history. Especially in the developed world, risks have been progressively lowered over time. In opposition to the declining risk in everyday life of our modern society, there seems to be an apparent increasing prevalence of risk-taking in our leisure pursuits. More people are willing to take unenforced risks and the fast growing development of adventure tourism is a good example of this. The main purpose of this thesis is to create an understanding how service providers of dangerous activities manage the balance risk and safety in interaction with their customer. Our research objective is to obtain an understanding of risk management practice in a context with the potential physical risks inherent in adventure tourism. The organizational structure for a service provider in extreme environments can be similar to a temporary organizational structure and can therefore be seen from a project management perspective. This research is conducted through a qualitative case-study, which was carried out in the context of a mountaineering expedition in the attempt to summit Mount Everest. Our empirical data are gathered from a database created by the research project Extreme Environments – Everyday Decisions (Triple ED). This database contains numerous transcribed interviews, tracking records, and field notes that was used in order to interpret and analyze the expedition and encounters happening during the process of this mountaineering expedition. Our empirical findings suggest that management of a balance between risk and safety is highly dependent on honest communication. Educated personnel that have the experience and knowledge necessary to manage an expedition or group in a similar setting are another key feature. Furthermore, managing a balance between physical risk and safety is an on-going process in the context of adventure tourism with a large amount interaction between the service provider’s representatives and their customers. For these reasons, the building of a well-functioning relationship between the incorporated strong stakeholders is of importance when balancing risk and safety in a dangerous activity with inherent risks for physical harm.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there are differences between big cities and small cities in adventure tourism. The cities that are studied are Stockholm and Visby. Methodology: The study is based on a qualitative method. We have done interviews and observation. We also used books and internet when collecting information.         Conclusions: The study has shown that differences exist between large and small cities. People seek out the opposite, whether you're from a big city or small town. Those who traveled to Stockholm made ​​the trip to experience and see the big city. Basis of choice has been the large selection, possibilities, events and various attractions. Respondents who chose to visit Visby made ​​their choice primarily because of the beach and the feeling of being overseas that one feels when one is in Visby. They have turned to calm, to relax and get away from their everyday lives. / Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka huruvida det finns skillnader i hur upplevelseturismen ser ut i stora och små städer. Städerna som vi valt att studera är Stockholm och Visby. Uppsatsen är skriven utifrån en kvalitativ metod. Vi har använt oss av intervjuer och deltagande observationer. Också internet och böcker har varit primära informationskällor. Slutsats: Studien har visat att skillnader finns mellan stora och små städer. Människan söker sig till det motsatta, vare sig man är från en stor stad eller mindre stad. De som reste till Stockholm gjorde resan för att få uppleva och se storstaden. Grund för valet har varit det stora utbudet, möjligheterna, evenemang och olika attraktioner. Respondenterna som valt att besöka Visby gjorde sitt val främst på grund av stranden och utlandsskänslan som man känner när man är på Gotland. De har sökt sig till lugnet, för att få koppla av och komma bort från sin vardag.

Evidence exists to suggest increasing political interest in cycling-related tourism, particularly as a contributor to economic and social development in rural communities. The former Australian Government’s long-term strategy document for tourism, the Tourism White Paper, has also identified cycling-related tourism as a potential contributor to strengthening competitive advantage for Australia with respect to tourism. However, little theory-driven research exists hitherto to guide decision-making regarding prudent provision of infrastructure and services to facilitate the development of cycling-related tourism, while little research exists that aids in our understanding of the travel behaviours and characteristics of bicycle tourists.The present study examined independent bicycle tourists in Australia using a generic model of whole tourism systems as a framework for analysis. The study employed a mixture of quantitative and qualitative techniques to explore the needs, preferences and behaviours of independent bicycle tourists. In addition, several conditions previously identified in applied literature as possible impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia were examined.The results indicated that independent bicycle tourists’ behaviours and thought processes regarding destination selection reflected those put forward in the broader literature addressing special interest tourism, in that the activity to be pursued is more prevalent in driving decision-making than the actual destination(s) to be visited. This was illustrated by the importance attached by the respondents to aspects that directly relate to a destination area’s capacity to support cycling, particularly the presence and quality of cycling infrastructure (specifically roads, paths, trails and signage), endowed resources (appealing natural scenery), supporting industries, and accessibility.Three conditions were confirmed as impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia. These impediments included perceptions of cycling on Australian roads as a dangerous practice; perceptions that infrastructure to support independent bicycle touring in Australia is generally inadequate; and perceived difficulties associated with the carriage of bicycles on air, coach and rail services in Australia. This research also identified several limitations regarding the capacity of Leiper’s model of whole tourism systems to articulate tourist flows associated with independent bicycle tourism. These limitations specifically related to the way the tourist destination regions and transit routes elements are conceptually defined in the generic model. An adapted descriptive, theoretical model of whole tourism systems involving independent bicycle tourism was proposed. The adapted model incorporated a geographic ‘hierarchy of destinations’ sub-system and also acknowledged two distinct forms of transit routes: those traversed between the traveller-generating region and the destination area; and those traversed within the destination area by bicycle.

Evidence exists to suggest increasing political interest in cycling-related tourism, particularly as a contributor to economic and social development in rural communities. The former Australian Government’s long-term strategy document for tourism, the Tourism White Paper, has also identified cycling-related tourism as a potential contributor to strengthening competitive advantage for Australia with respect to tourism. However, little theory-driven research exists hitherto to guide decision-making regarding prudent provision of infrastructure and services to facilitate the development of cycling-related tourism, while little research exists that aids in our understanding of the travel behaviours and characteristics of bicycle tourists.The present study examined independent bicycle tourists in Australia using a generic model of whole tourism systems as a framework for analysis. The study employed a mixture of quantitative and qualitative techniques to explore the needs, preferences and behaviours of independent bicycle tourists. In addition, several conditions previously identified in applied literature as possible impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia were examined.The results indicated that independent bicycle tourists’ behaviours and thought processes regarding destination selection reflected those put forward in the broader literature addressing special interest tourism, in that the activity to be pursued is more prevalent in driving decision-making than the actual destination(s) to be visited. This was illustrated by the importance attached by the respondents to aspects that directly relate to a destination area’s capacity to support cycling, particularly the presence and quality of cycling infrastructure (specifically roads, paths, trails and signage), endowed resources (appealing natural scenery), supporting industries, and accessibility.Three conditions were confirmed as impediments to the development of independent bicycle tourism in Australia. These impediments included perceptions of cycling on Australian roads as a dangerous practice; perceptions that infrastructure to support independent bicycle touring in Australia is generally inadequate; and perceived difficulties associated with the carriage of bicycles on air, coach and rail services in Australia. This research also identified several limitations regarding the capacity of Leiper’s model of whole tourism systems to articulate tourist flows associated with independent bicycle tourism. These limitations specifically related to the way the tourist destination regions and transit routes elements are conceptually defined in the generic model. An adapted descriptive, theoretical model of whole tourism systems involving independent bicycle tourism was proposed. The adapted model incorporated a geographic ‘hierarchy of destinations’ sub-system and also acknowledged two distinct forms of transit routes: those traversed between the traveller-generating region and the destination area; and those traversed within the destination area by bicycle.

Submitted by (edna.saturno@ufrpe.br) on 2016-06-09T12:45:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Pollyana Pugas Dias.pdf: 1184738 bytes, checksum: 5929b65fcb19952c8fe5a1c0c1ef4e25 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-09T12:45:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pollyana Pugas Dias.pdf: 1184738 bytes, checksum: 5929b65fcb19952c8fe5a1c0c1ef4e25 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The tourism market growth is gaining expressiveness while economic activity, given its ability to generate income and job. In Brazil, after 2003, with the creation of Tourism Ministry, the industry have been gaining space and becoming more diversified, between the different strands observed. Ecotourism as an alternative has a great potential. However, there are still few studies in the literature to study ecotourism from this approach. Thus, the aim of this work was investigate the existing supply segment of ecotourism in the state of Pernambuco, starting with an analysis from the perspective of governance. Therefore, we investigated 18 ecotourist companies in Pernambuco. Primary data was collected through the use of questionnaires, plus a survey of secondary data. Then the data was interpreted from an analytical model based on aspects of governance structures discussed in the theoretical framework of the new institutional economics (NIE). The results revealed the existence of a growing ecotourism market. These companies offer services to 18 destinations in the state, developing activities that integrate the supply of ecotourism activities with adventure tourism. The agents in that market suffer from weaknesses that range from business structuring to the difficulty of these companies fit into the structures of regulation. They still rely on factors stimulating business, from the development actions promoted by government agencies and membership organizations. We concluded that the ecotourism market in the state of Pernambuco is an activity still in development, but it needs the action of targeted funding agencies that assist in greater formalization and professionalization of the sector. / O crescimento do mercado turístico vem ganhando expressividade enquanto atividade econômica, dada sua capacidade de geração de empego e renda. No Brasil, a partir do ano de 2003, com a criação do Ministério do Turismo, o setor vem ganhando espaço e se diversificando e, entre as diversas vertentes observadas, o Ecoturismo figura como uma alternativa de grande potencial. Entretanto, ainda são escassos na literatura trabalhos que estudem o ecoturismo a partir desse enfoque. Dessa forma esse trabalho objetivou investigar a oferta existente do segmento de ecoturismo no estado de Pernambuco, partindo de uma análise sob a ótica da governança. Para tanto foram investigadas 18 empresas do universo ecoturístico de Pernambuco. Os dados primários foram levantados mediante o uso de questionários, além de um levantamento de dados secundários. Em seguida os dados foram interpretados a partir de um modelo analítico baseado nos aspectos de estruturas de governança abordados no referencial teórico da nova economia institucional (NEI). Os resultados revelaram a existência de um mercado ecoturístico crescente. Essas empresas oferecem serviços em 18 destinos no estado, desenvolvendo atividades que integram a oferta de ecoturismo com atividades do turismo de aventura. Os agentes presentes nesse mercado padecem de fragilidades que vão desde a estruturação empresarial até a dificuldade dessas empresas em se adequarem a estruturas de regulação. As mesmas ainda contam com fatores de estímulo ao negócio, provenientes das ações de fomento, promovidas por órgãos públicos e organizações associativas. Concluiu-se que o mercado ecoturístico no estado de Pernambuco é uma atividade ainda em desenvolvimento, mas que necessita da ação direcionada de órgãos de fomento que auxiliem na maior formalização e profissionalização do setor.