Idealizing adventure tourism experiences: tourists’ self-assessment and expectations

Abstract

Travelers often idealize and develop individual expectations for their adventure experiences through a romanticized “adventure mythology”. The research has focused primarily on the motivations ( why ); on the feelings of the participants during this type of experience ( what ); and on their satisfaction and future behaviour. Studies on how tourists expect their adventure activities to unfold have not had the same attention, although the Experience Economy emphasizes the importance of minimizing customer sacrifice. This paper intends to provide insights into traveler's expectations regarding adventure tourism experiences. In the Azores, an emergent island adventure destination, 393 questionnaires were gathered, and 26 items regarding these expectations were analyzed using several statistical methods. The results show that there may exist some conflicting issues when tourists idealize their adventure experiences and that tourists' capabilities and reactions may not match their fantasies. Adventure tourists seem closer to the commodified version of adventure than to the concept of “original adventure”. Results indicate that, generally, tourists idealize their experiences based on six basic elements: physical engagement, interaction with nature, immersive fantasy, self-reliance, unpredictability, and preparation. Differences were detected among some specific groups (for instance, among Portuguese and foreign tourists). The findings seem to reveal two opposing self-assessment adventure profiles: “reluctant adventurers” and “eager adventurers”. A hypothetical framework for the spectrum of adventure tourism experiences expectations is proposed. Adventure tourism operators can resort to these findings to elaborate pull strategies based on the adventure mythology, while adjusting their experiences to specific targets.