Mari Hulleberg, Goro T. Urset - 2014 International Adventure

Why do people purchase adventure
tourism products?
A case study of Norwegians travelling abroad
with Hvitserk Expeditions and Adventure
Travels?
Mari Hulleberg, Goro Urset, Stian Stensland, Torvald
Tangeland; Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Adventure Tourism Conference, Sogndal November 24-26 2014
mari.hulleberg@nmbu.no; goro.urset@nmbu.no
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Introduction
•  Tourism sector has grown a lot
•  Increase in demand for guided tours
•  Necessary to know tourists’ purchase motivations
www.nrk.no Nov 12 2014
«Mountaineering is
skyrocketing. Norwegians
seek new challenges in other
countries»
Theory
•  Motivation (e.g. challenge oneself, socialize, learn, get a thrill)
•  “Push factors indicate why one would want to go on a trip,
while pull factors explain the choice of
destination” (Crompton 1979).
Method
•  Hvitserk Expeditions and Adventure Travels
•  Qualitative method
•  Ten interviews with trip participants
Findings/Discussion
•  Main push factors: experiencing adventure; test physical
fitness
Quotes:
“Active vacation was the main goal, and then see the culture and country”.
“To accomplish this trip gives me a positive feeling”
•  Pull factors were the experience of wild nature, feeling safe
and secure, timesaving and new knowledge
•  Quotes:
•  “I wanted a good nature experience, then it was just to pay for it”
•  “I would never travel to Himalaya alone with my backpack and just
walked away”
•  “These organized trips help to reach goals that you otherwise would not
reach”
•  “It is challenging to organize this trip on your own. It is not free, but it
feels a bit free to choose a organized trip. There are a lot of things that
are easier, you do not need to contact local firms and hotels. They have
an agreement with serious firms. They also help you to find the right
flight, and so on”
Compared with other studies
•  Other studies are often related to motivation to seek
specific places or perform specific activities.
•  A need for studies who can find similarities of why people
participate on organized trips, with different activities to
different destinations.
7
Implications for businesses
•  It is important for the guide to have good knowledge
about the nature and the area they travel.
•  This is important to notice when hiring tour guides.
8
Conclusion
•  Planned and organized tours allow longer and more
challenging trips.
•  The tourists are willing to pay for the ultimate experience to
avoid time-consuming planning.
•  The possibility to reach their goal increases by buying such
a product.
Further research
•  Study the importance of the guide
•  Which areas of knowledge the tourists appreciate.
•  Interesting to take a quantitative approach
Thank you for your attention!
•  We want to thank over supervisor Stian Stensland, and
good help from Torvald Tangeland
•  Thanks to all our interviewees!