Daredevils revel as adventure tourism booms

Adventure tourism is no longer restricted to a handful of daredevils, having grown to a US$89 billion industry in 2009.

Once thought to be a niche playground for the wealthy and the boisterous, the prodigious growth of adventure tourism in 2009 shows its popularity amongst the wider population, Tourism-Review.com reported.

The average age of an adventurous traveller is 36 years and the cost of their holiday ranges from US$450 to US$800 excluding flights and gear, according to a recent study conducted by the Business School at George Washington University.

The researchers interviewed 850 tourists from the Americas and Europe, finding that the countries with the highest numbers of adrenalin-seekers are the US, Argentina, Brazil, the UK, Germany and Spain.

The study highlighted the boom of adventure tourism in the wake of a financial crisis that had left a lot of other tourism industries languishing.

Adventure tourism needn't be the death-defying acts of shark diving or base jumping, the website noted, but also includes the family-friendly activities of hiking, white water rafting, and cycling.

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