Adventure Tours: Responsible Tourism in Practice?

Tour operators play a crucial role in thedistribution of tourism products, acting asintermediaries between principals and theconsumers. They provide packages of productsfor tourists. In 2010 14.4 million packageholidays would be purchased.

But recent changes in the market have seen atransformation from the very popular,standardized and rigidly packaged holidays intonew products targeted at niche markets.Adventure tourism is one of these nicheproducts.

Adventure tourism appeals to a wide market,though predominantly to middle-aged groups,and the fastest growing market is the emptynesters’ who have a higher disposable incomeand the time to take part in longer trips.

The inclusion of remote and challengingdestinations on itineraries is one of the majorattractions for tourists who want to see more:these “new tourists” are demanding authenticexperiences and a chance to see “real” country.

This shift from the “old tourist” with fixeditineraries to the “new tourist” in search ofadventure products has enabled niche sectors ofthe tour operation business to grow.

However, adventure tours, given their potentialnegative impacts on both the environment andcommunities. Association of Independent TourOperators introduced a responsible tourismpolicy in 2000 to provide guidelines for itsmembers, while allowing them to implementprocedures in line with their own operations.

In essence these are:

• Protect the environment

• Respect local cultures

• Benefit local communities

• Conserve natural resources

• Minimize pollution

As a result of the increasing advocacy ofresponsible tourism and at the same time thegrowth in demand many of the small-sizedindependent adventure tour operators wereencouraged to engage with the tenets ofresponsible tourism.

Adventure Tourism

The adventure sector is not a new tourismproduct, but stems back to the 1960s “hippytrail” and the creation of companies such asHann Overland and Penn World, who operatedoverland trips from the UK to Kathmandu,Nepal.

The adventure tourism sector in the UKpredominantly comprises companies that aresmall independent businesses, and sole traderswho have turned their passion for thedestinations and adventure into a business.

Product

The product offerings vary according to thespecialist interest of the company. In generalproducts offered within this field involve visits topredominantly cultural and nature-baseddestinations and are likely to incorporatepopular attractions as well as more remotedestinations, for example Morocco staying inMarrakech.

• As responsible tourism aims to utilize the travel amenities created by the host population. Specialist UK adventure tour operators such as Exodus, The Adventure Company and Explore Worldwide identify the use of locally owned accommodation as a key component of their products

Although this can be seen as responsible, it isalso very realistic as destinations that are soremote are unlikely to have international hotelchains. The average length of trip is 15 days andwill vary between long weekends to overlandtrips of several months.

The cost of such tours varies according to thedestination, activities and flights, but they arecertainly not a budget holiday purchase. Thetours include accommodation, transport and atour manager. Most of these tours are small insize, with 16-22 persons being the norm,equipment or transportation availability, forexample, trips on gullets in Turkey are limited bythe boat capacity.

Supply Chain Management

The majority of the goods and services includedin these adventure tours are provided by asupply chain of subcontracted companies.Identifying these third-party suppliers is acritical and needs to be considered carefully.

From the tourists’ perspective, these suppliersare seen as one with the operator. Furthermore,the performance and operational activities ofthese third-party suppliers is the responsibilitythrough the EU Package Travel Directive of 1990.

For small tour operators who offer itinerariesmainly comprising contracted goods andservices, this means that the effectiveimplementation of responsible policies requiresworking closely with the suppliers to improvetheir input and performance in all thecomponents of the holiday.

Tour Leaders

• Tour guides or leaders play a crucial role in adventure tours. They have five roles: leader, educator, public relations representative, host and conduit community visited. But the guides are also promoters of responsible tourism, and motivators and educators for long term behavioral change.

The larger providers of adventure tours use theirweb pages and brochures to identify tourleaders and highlight their personalachievements. These leaders are usually fromthe tourists’ home region, but tour operatorsalso seek locally based staff for their operations.For local leaders with passion and knowledge fortheir job, culture and heritage will enhance thetourists’ experience; this strategy also providesemployment opportunities.

Impact on Vulnerable Destinations

There are many impacts on the social,environmental and economic systems withincommunities. For instance, traditionallivelihoods may be replaced by tourism-basedactivities and farmers may turn into guides orporters.

Income and economic benefits may go toindividual or companies who work with theoperators, but who may not be from the localcommunity. These tours do bring income to thearea and opportunities for employment, andthis may encourage entrepreneurship andfurther inward investment.

In the 1980s, concerns were raised about theporters in destinations such as Nepal, Peru andMorocco, who were working with minimalequipment while carrying excessive loads. Thissituation was highlighted in 1990 by TourismConcern and led to the establishment ofguidelines by the International Porter ProtectionGroup. The guidelines call for medical supportfor porters, for fair pay and for a managementplan for illness.

Opportunities for Improvement

Tour operators have a three-pronged role in theimplementation of responsible tourism:• Developing, managing and marketing the

operation responsibly,• Creating a product that has positive economic,

social, cultural and physical impacts for thedestinations,

• Operating responsibly in overseas.The production of this augmented product providesopportunities for product differentiation, qualityand value.

Responsible Planning

Where possible, tour operators need first toensure that when designing a tour, thedestination is able to support the projectedvisitor numbers, and so the sustainability of thedestinations needs to be considered bydetermining first the appropriate number oftourists that is sustainable.

Consideration should be given to the types ofattractions that are included in the tours.Operators should be discouraged from includingactivities that rely on the exploitation of hosts,wildlife and the environment.

Supply Chain Management

Many operators, encourage the introduction ofenvironmental management practices in theirchosen accommodation operations. But in somedestinations there is not the infrastructure toprovide support for the desired practices.Attention is also given to the potential foralternative energy sources, such as the use ofsolar panels, but they are expensive tointroduce.

However some operators have providedfinancial support to enable changes inoperations. In Nepal deforestation has occurredin areas surrounding the local tea houses as aresult of increased demand for fuel for cookingand heating. In response, operators areencouraging tea-house owners to use paraffinstoves and not to provide hot waters showersfor guests.

A major concern for local accommodation andtransport providers is seasonality. Responsibleoperators work with suppliers to try to increasethe length of the season or to design new toursto take advantage of seasonal variations.

Training of Staff and Monitoring

In practice, most adventure operators train theirtour leaders in responsible tourism and practice.The role of the staff is to encourage all parts ofthe supply chain to implement responsibletourism policy and identify operationalimprovements that are specific to eachdestination.

The role of the tour leader is to be responsiblefor the health and safety of the tourists and tominimize these risks.

It is the role of the tour leader to identifypotential risks and the company will then workwith suppliers and tour leaders and developproactive and reactive control measures. Forexample, at Explore Worldwide, throughout tourleader training, tour leaders are regularly testedon their understanding of safety.

Education

One of the key roles of tour leaders is theeducation and advice to passengers about howthey can help minimize their use of resources,for example to encourage passengers to turn offfans, lights and televisions.

Water shortages are often problematic in manydestinations and shortage can lead to adepletion of the water table and causepollution. Guidance therefore needs to beprovided on how to limit water usage.

Responsible Marketing

Brochures, both electronic and paper based, arestill the main information distribution methodfor adventure tour operators. As well as the legalresponsibility to include full informationdistribution method for adventure touroperators. As well as the legal responsibility toinclude full information about theaccommodation, itinerary, booking conditionsand cost.

The images in the brochure provide the basis forthe expectations of tourists, and how theyperceive and, most importantly, how they treattheir hosts. Therefore, they are an influentialfactor in tourist behavior.

Then the images used in adventure tourismbrochures need to demonstrate responsiblebehavior and to resist the temptation to usestereotypical images.

Conclusion

The primary role of tour operators is to sustaintheir businesses in an extremely competitiveenvironment. The adoption of responsiblepractices in adventure tourism is evident fromcompany documentation. In general, theresponsible operations lead to the developmentof good working relations with both suppliersand hosts.

While many potential customers do not askabout responsible tourism practices before theirdeparture, specialist operators have found thattourists are more interested in such practices ontheir return from the holiday.

Tour leaders can encourage responsiblebehavior, especially when one considers that thetourists are on holiday and may not wish to betold what to do.

While companies portray a responsibility for fairpay, contracts with accommodation suppliers,and with transportation and local employees arevery competitive to maintain low operatingcosts.

What is evident from the research andmarketing material is that many adventure touroperators are actively considering the tenets ofresponsible tourism while creating andoperating their portfolios. While this is noguarantee of success, responsible tourismprovides an opportunity for marketingdifferentiation and potentially a win-winsituation for both operators and hosts.