Stepping outside the comfort zone
A THRIVING niche market in
South Africa, adventure tourism
offers something for everyone.
Whether it is a diving experience off
one of South Africa’s magnificent
coastlines, bungee jumping off the
famous Orlando Cooling Towers,
or visiting other countries to seek
something new, travellers are
actively seeking more adventurous
experiences.
Mark Brown, branch manager of
Canopy Tours South Africa, says
people are no longer happy to just
lie on the beach all day. “South
Africans want real experiences
and memories to take home, and
they have become more willing to
step outside their comfort zones
to create these.” He mentions that
social media, which serves as a
way to show people what you have
achieved personally, is another
reason why adventure tourism has
grown in popularity.
Swaziland Tourism account
manager, Chantal Nieuwenhuizen,
agrees that adventure tourism is
certainly on the increase and says
it has become very fashionable,
especially among the 25- to 45-yearolds.
“With the fast-paced lifestyles
we all lead, it is a good balance
to include exercise and fresh air
in your holiday plans, keeping fit
and healthy being a key focus in
the 21st century. We have seen a
rise in popularity of destinations
that have a range of high-adrenalin
activities on offer,” she says.
Adventure tourism in South Africa
is not only popular with leisure
seekers but is also growing in
popularity as an incentive or teambuilding
experience for corporate
clients. However, because the
offerings of adventure tourism
are as diverse as the concept of
adventure itself, it is becoming
increasingly important for agents to
understand who they are selling to
and how to best package adventure.
Travellers don’t need to be fit
There is a myth that active
travel, such as walking, trekking
and cycling holidays, is only for
young and extremely fit people,
says Nathalie Gauthier, World
Expeditions North American
manager. “Sixty-one percent of
World Expeditions’ travellers are
aged 50-plus and moderately fit.
They are people who enjoy the
outdoors and don’t want to just
sit by the sip-and-dip pool when
they are on vacation but rather
discover different cultures, food
and awe-inspiring scenery.” She
adds that active travel holidays
generally comprise small groups
of like-minded people and are also
perfect for socialising.
World Expeditions is represented
by Inspiration Travel and Tours
(ITT) in South Africa, and says
when it comes to trends in the
global industry, adventure tourism
is definitely growing in popularity,
specifically for self-guided
holidays.
“The self-guided formula is
perfect for exploring the hidden
gems of European countries with
well-researched itineraries,” says
Nathalie.
She says World Expeditions’
local employment policy increases
the interactions that travellers
share with host communities
and contributes to long-term
sustainable tourism.
Currently, the top trekking
destination for the adventure
traveller, according to ITT, is Nepal.
“World Expeditions has always
believed that camping is the best
way to explore Nepal because we
know it is the only way to control
our environmental and social
footprint,” says Nathalie.
However, World Expeditions
says it cannot ignore that, while
adventure travellers have an
appetite for remote regions, they
do appreciate comfort by night.
“We decided to respond to this
demand differently, by offering
unique experiences to trekkers,
while reinforcing our environmental
and social commitment with a
series of permanent campsites
in the Everest and Annapurna
regions.”
Top-selling packages
in East Africa
Top-selling packages
in East Africa DESTINATION Africa Tours,
which specialises in
adventure travel in East
Africa, lists the following
as top-selling adventure
packages in the region:
Mountain gorilla/
chimpanzee tracking in
Rwanda or Uganda;
A wildlife safari in Tanzania
or Kenya to see the annual
wildebeest migration;
Hikes that summit Mount
Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru, Mt
Kenya and Mt Rwenzori;
Wildlife safaris in Uganda
and Rwanda.
“Hiking up Kilimanjaro
and tracking the mountain
gorillas are specialised
bucket-list items that
sell themselves without
us having to try and find
adrenalin-junkies,” says
Nikki van Veelen, manager
at Destination Africa Tours.
“Because we customise
most of our adventure travel
packages, we are able to
accommodate individuals
as well as small and large
groups,” says Nikki. She
says Destination Africa
tailor-makes packages to
suit adventure travellers of
specific fitness levels.
Insurance – what agents
need to know
TRAVEL Insurance
Consultants (TIC) sales
and marketing manager,
Simmy Micheli, says a
standard travel insurance
policy excludes cover for
hazardous, competitive or
professional sport and
activities other than what
is provided under sports
extension cover. TIC would
first assess the risk and
issue a sports extension
policy. “The most common
application for this type of
cover is mountain climbing.
“There are certain
activities that are excluded
entirely from coverage,
for example cave diving,
cliff diving, parachuting or
running with bulls. These
terms are clearly defined in
a travel insurance policy, so
agents and travellers should
always check these first,”
says Simmy.
She notes, however, that
cover for leisure skiing and
scuba diving is automatically
provided on all travel
insurance policies.
The scenic route...
AGENTS can sell add-on
packages, such as canopy
tours, to clients who enjoy a
good thrill but also appreciate
natural beauty. Mark Brown
says one of the most authentic
aspects of a canopy tour is
that people are exposed to
natural beauty throughout
the tour. On the Tsitsikamma
Canopy Tour, for example,
travellers stand on a wooden
platform that is wrapped
around the trunk of a 600-yearold
Outeniqua yellowwood tree,
16m above the forest floor,
with the opportunity to spot
young Forest Buzzard chicks
nesting in a nearby tree.
Chantal says the Malalotja
Canopy Tour, which is one of
the highest in Africa at 50m
high and 300m long, offers
spectacular scenery and is an
exhilarating experience.
Other experiences unique
to Swaziland include a visit
to the Mantenga Nature
Reserve, white-river rafting
with Swazi Trails, a visit to
the Swazi Candle Factory,
Sunday lunch at Foresters
Arms, hiking, caving and 4x4
trails, a visit to the Mlilwane
Wildlife Sanctuary, a visit to
the Ngwena Glass factory,
taking part in the Shewula
Community Project and viewing
the Nsangwini Rock Art. “We
are readily available to supply
agents with advice and ideas
on how to sell packages to
Swaziland,” says Chantal.
For clients who are
particularly interested in
natural beauty when seeking
an adventure holiday, agents
can recommend destinations
such as Réunion Island,
which offer the best of both
worlds. Réunion is home to 70
outdoor leisure activities for
children and adults, including
4x4 adventures, quad bike
trails, canyoning, rafting,
helicopter rides, scuba and
snorkel dives, golf and much
more. Réunion is also home to
one of the world’s most active
volcanoes – the Piton de la
Fournaise.
Hélène Bezuidenhoudt,
regional manager at Atout
France, says Réunion Island
is a perfect adventure
destination. “It is renowned
for its hiking trails, which cover
more than 900km across a
range of landscapes, including
a steep 3 000m summit,
a volcano, cirque and deep
forests.”
Salazie is the most easily
accessible cirque on Réunion
and at times is also the
greenest, with routes featuring
one of the island’s waterfalls –
Le Voile de la Mariée. Another
favourite among hikers is
the cirque of Cilaos, which
is characterised by more
challenging trails.
For travellers who enjoy even
more of a challenge, Le Grand
Raid endurance race has taken
place on the island for the
past 20 years and is growing
in popularity, with up to 5 000
participants now competing
across different races.
“Cycling has also become
an important part of Réunion’s
adventure offering, with new
cycle tour packages available,”
says Hélène. She says cycling
is a great way to see the
island but is not for the faint
hearted. She recommends
that agents sell cycling trips to
fit travellers, for travel duration
of one to two weeks, as this
will give them enough time to
spend a day or two at each
main point on the island.
Four trends shaping adventure travel
Adventure travel has seen exceptional growth over the
past few years, with travellers wanting to experience a
destination instead of just observing it. TNW’s sister
publication, Tourism Update, spoke to industry leaders
to discover the latest trend.
1.Cutting out the travel agent
One of the trends that
UNWTO has identified in
adventure travel is that
more adventure travellers
are cutting out the tour
operator or travel agent and
booking direct.
John Addison, director
of Wild Frontiers, says he
has seen many people
trying to book direct to
‘save’ money. “We’ve also
rescued many travellers
who have been ripped off
by non-existent firms.”
He says, especially for
adventure travel, it is vital
to book with a reliable,
knowledgeable, experienced
person.
“Of course, adventurers
are always keen to organise
everything on their own,”
says Thierry Pagnot, owner
of Biwakwango. He says
the trick is to offer
something that would
be difficult or near to
impossible for travellers
to organise on their own.
He says it is also about
conveying a message that
a knowledgeable tour guide
will bring the experience,
the adventure, to a totally
different level.
Hendrik Human of Earth
Stompers offers this
advice: “Make sure your
website is there and easy
to find and use but also
make sure you deliver a
great experience and that
you are up there with the
best. There is no place any
more for bad service or bad
products – social is way too strong.
2.Undiscovered
destinations
Michael Edwards, md of
Intrepid Travel, says most
well-travelled customers are
keener than ever to find that
undiscovered new destination
– somewhere their friends
haven’t been yet! “To cater
for that, we have launched
a range of expedition trips
giving travellers the chance to
explore remote and unusual
destinations.”
John has also seen this
trend. He says people want
unique adventures in places
that are hard to reach and
says brag value is a big part
of this. “The guy or girl who
can have a picture of himself
eating a snake in the middle
of the Central African Republic
with a band of pygmies has
actually done something
unique.”
4.Technology – yay and nay
Adventure travel has seen exceptional growth over the
past few years, with travellers wanting to experience a
destination instead of just observing it. TNW’s sister
publication, Tourism Update, spoke to industry leaders
to discover the latest trends.
Despite the fact that
everyone is talking about
silent holidays away from
technology, Jayne Harley,
marketing manager for
Sunway Safaris, says most
clients still want access to
WiFi. “It doesn’t matter how
much you promote freedom
away from your phone,
Facebook or Twitter, clients
want access to WiFi.”
Mark Brown says, on the
one hand there has been
an increase in customised
tours that are well planned
and take people off the
beaten track, away from
the crowds and cellphone
signals. On the other
hand, people increasingly
want to post pictures and
boast about their latest
adventure.
