Adventure travel is showing a recovery in the APAC region.
The Adventure
Travel Trade Association (ATTA) has announced that the 2024 State of the
Adventure Travel Industry Snapshot is showing strong recovery in the Asia
Pacific (APAC) region following the pandemic.
In 2023, the average number of guests per operator with a
headquartered country in Asia was 2,636, a strong upward trend approaching the
2019 average number of 3,263. Trip fill rates are strong, with APAC’s 2023 62
percent rate nearing the global average of 65 percent.
The composition of guests for Asia-based tour operator
guests has also seen a jump toward FITs, made up of families (increasing to 26
percent from 17 percent in 2022) and couples (33 from 20 percent).
India has emerged as an important adventure
travel source market over the past two years, with 4 percent of responding
tour operators identifying it as a primary source of guests, making it the
fifth largest source market.
No APAC destinations were in the top seven host markets this
year, however, Japan featured in 4th place in 2023’s report. This aligns with
Japan moving up to 4th place in the top 5 global travel markets, with travel
contributing $297 billion to its economy in 2023.
Hottest Trending Destinations
Destinations like primary host markets become popular for various
reasons. North-East Asia climbed from 14th to 4th place,
influenced by the reopening of China in March 2023 and the depreciation of the
Japanese yen vs the US Dollar. South-East Asia moved from 10th to 7th
place.
South Asia and Oceania both decreased in popularity in 2023
as an adventure travel destination possibly due to higher airfares, natural
leveling-off from the post-COVID border reopening surge last year, or a swing
in popular culture and consumer preferences.
Top Trending Activities
Hiking/trekking/walking are consistently top adventure
activity across the globe, and 2024 is no exception. Cultural activities are
also popular in the APAC region, seeing strong growth from 2021. In 2024, it
shares its popularity with other activities like camping and climbing.
Culinary adventures trended downward in the APAC region compared
to worldwide despite gastronomy as a popular reason to visit many APAC
destinations.
“Japan in particular stands out as a destination that has
seen a huge surge in popularity since it fully re-opened in Spring 2023,” noted
ATTA member Matt Blench, Director of EXO Adventure. “Cycling and trekking tours
are by far the two most popular adventure activities and demand is outstripping
supply. Indonesia has exploded back onto the scene, especially as a trekking
and climbing destination combined with camping. We've seen 100 percent growth
in 2024 when compared to 2019."
Sustainability Focus
Tour operators in the APAC region have seen more interest in
sustainability certification than the rest of the world, with 57 percent of
APAC respondents holding or pursuing some kind of certification, compared to 51
percent in other regions.
Future Predictions
“Looking into 2025, I think we can expect to see hiking and
cultural activities stay in the top five most popular adventure activities for
APAC,” said Hannah Pearson, Regional Director APAC at ATTA.
“I also expect to see Oceania trending as a destination once
more, driven by a greater focus on adventure travel in general from the region.
However, it will be interesting to watch if camping and climbing maintain their
popularity, or if they are a flash in the pan for the region, being new
entrants in 2024.”
“We believe that there is so much potential in APAC as both
an adventure travel destination and also source market,” Pearson added. “After
last year’s Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido, we are working closely
with the Japan National Tourism Organization to run our signature AdventureWeek
in Okinawa, as well as with Tourism Fiji to hold AdventureNEXT in Fiji in
November.”
“We’re excited to partner with ITB Asia in October for the
third consecutive year to run an adventure travel-focused session during the
show and bring the community together.”
ATTA will hold an AdventureConnect gathering at ITB Asia on
October 24, 2024, to explore trends within adventure travel, over-tourism and
partnerships to create a more sustainable tourism industry.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
