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2020 Edition of the Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI) Released

Cover Page of the ATDI Report 2020 Edition

Adventure Tourism Development Index Report published in Companion with the GSTC Report

The GSTC is excited to share that this year’s Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI) report was published with the ‘GSTC Global Destination Sustainability Report’ as its companion report. The ATDI is an international ranking that assesses countries according to their adventure travel competitiveness. The ATDI ranks countries with the following 10 categories:

Safe & Welcoming

• Sustainable Development Policy
• Safety & Security
• Natural Resources
• Entrepreneurship
• Adventure Resources
• Cultural Resources
• Humanitarian
• Infrastructure

The 2020 Edition Adventure Travel Development Index Report

The 2020 Edition of the ATDI report was created in a joint initiative from the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies (GWU IITS) and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). The report is geared towards professionals working in tourism development, such as Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), or other public tourist institutions. 

The ATDI Report is a tool for adventure travel destination stakeholders to measure their competitiveness against other destinations. This allows them to identify strengths and weaknesses for the development of a strong adventure travel market. 

Furthermore, it addresses what could help these adventure travel destinations become more competitive in changing times. To explore this further, ATDI chose to partner with GSTC.

Elements of the ‘Global Destination Sustainability Report’

Over the years, the GSTC established international sustainable tourism standards . They also provide accreditation for sustainable tourism programs and companies. The GSTC ‘Global Destination Sustainability Report’ was designed to focus more on the sustainability dimensions of adventure travel destinations. The companion report analyzes 24 destinations that have applied the GSTC Destination Criteria and Standards . 

These geographically diverse destinations vary in their level of tourism development. When used as a companion piece to the ATDI, the GSTC analysis provides additional insights into destination sustainability challenges and opportunities. While the ATDI is focused on country-level insights, the GSTC-D report is local in scope. 

The Top 2020 Countries

The countries that are ranked, are separated into two categories. The two categories are developed and developing countries. This year, Iceland maintains the top position of the world’s most competitive adventure travel destination, in the developed country rankings. Respectively, in the developing country ranking, the Czech Republic is at the top.

Key Findings as a Result of the Reports

Finally, the release of this year’s ATDI Report occurred during the global pandemic of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). This pandemic caused a shutdown of the global tourism industry, and is forecasted to cost the industry 100 million jobs. 

However, ATDI suggests there is still hope for the future of adventure travel. Countries are protecting more of their lands, they’re increasing their mitigation of climate change and supporting more entrepreneurs. 

Additionally, nature-based travel is seen as safer for individuals compared to crowded city destinations. Therefore, ATDI believes adventure travel companies could become even more competitive post COVID-19. 

Benefits of the ATDI and GSTC Report

Finally, both reports hope to provide destination planners and marketers fresh insights on how to manage their destination with a holistic approach. The approach would consist of honoring competitiveness in the marketplace and long-term sustainability. This would allow destinations to thrive not only economically, but socially and environmentally, as well, benefitting all stakeholders. 

The 2020 Edition of the Adventure Tourism Competitiveness Index’ and the companion report ‘GSTC Global Destination Sustainability Report’ are available for free on the ATTA website .

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Factors Affecting the Adventure Tourism Development Index: A Worldwide Analysis

• Conference paper
• First Online: 24 June 2022
• Cite this conference paper

• Gladys Mawarni 6 ,
• Nuno Moutinho   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-8324 6 ,
• Paula Odete Fernandes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8714-4901 7 &
• Alcina Nunes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4056-9747 7  

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 293))

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Adventure tourism is a rising segment of the tourism industry where tourists undertake an activity outside of their comfort zone and where some risk is an essential feature. Some consider it as a broad spectrum of outdoor tourist activities. Therefore, understanding it and how it could be influenced by economic, social, political, health, and natural factors is vital for businesses and local governments. This research identifies and analyses how a set of external factors may affect the index that measures adventure tourism development worldwide—the so-called Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI). The objective is to provide helpful information to stakeholders, particularly the policy-makers, on elements that should be addressed to develop this tourism segment. Considering data for 191 economies over the last decade, an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation has been performed. The results show that adventure tourism is dependent on innovation, and economies with more ability and success in innovation will have a competitive advantage in the industry. Aside from that, a higher health expenditure per capita and cultural diversity influence how appealing a destination are to adventure travelers.

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• Tourism industry

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Acknowledgements

This project is being carried out within the scope of the TURNOUT Project-Development of Outdoor Tourism of Northern Portugal, POCI-01-0145-ERDF-032289, financed by the European Investment Fund Regional Development (ERDF) through the Operational Program of Competitiveness and Innovation (POCI) and the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (OE).

The authors are also grateful to the UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT—Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. “Project Code Reference: UIDB/04752/2020”.

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Gladys Mawarni & Nuno Moutinho

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Paula Odete Fernandes & Alcina Nunes

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Mawarni, G., Moutinho, N., Fernandes, P.O., Nunes, A. (2022). Factors Affecting the Adventure Tourism Development Index: A Worldwide Analysis. In: Abreu, A., Liberato, D., Garcia Ojeda, J.C. (eds) Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 293. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1040-1_32

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Description

The GSTC Global Destination Sustainability Report is a companion report to the  2020 Adventure Tourism Development Index  (ATDI), a product of a partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and designed to more deeply explore the sustainability dimension of adventure tourism competitiveness worldwide.

The companion report analyzes 24 destinations that have applied the GSTC Destination Criteria and Indicators. These geographically diverse destinations vary in their level of tourism development. When used as a companion piece to the ATDI, the GSTC analysis provides additional insights into destination sustainability challenges and opportunities.

While the ATDI is focused on country-level competitiveness insights, the GSTC-D report is regional and local in scope. An in-depth side-by-side analysis of the ATDI and the GSTC-D is featured throughout the document.

2021;   GSTC Global Destination Sustainability Report;   BTRP-ID:  39908″

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Shopping cart items, new adventure scorecard reveals global and regional trends: safety indicators for countries around the world remain high.

(Seattle, WA) September 13, 2016 - The 2016 Adventure Tourism Development Index (ATDI) is now available to the industry in time for the 2016 Adventure Travel World Summit in Anchorage, Alaska, September 19-22. The ATDI is an annual ranking from the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA, www.adventuretravel.biz ) and International Institute of Tourism Studies at The George Washington University (GW) that assesses adventure tourism competitiveness of countries around the globe. This year’s ATDI report reveals that worldwide safety indicators remain high despite a tumultuous global environment.

• Government Policy (that supports sustainable development)
• Safety & Security
• Natural Resources
• Cultural Resources
• Adventure Activity Resources
• Entrepreneurship
• Humanitarian
• Tourism Infrastructure

“The safety trend revealed in this year’s report is a bright spot, reinforcing the idea even as we read routinely in the popular press about outbreaks of terrorism, political upheaval, and contagious disease, most countries of the world are still scoring high for safety when it comes to adventure travel,” said Christina Beckmann, the ATTA’s Director of Research. “For travelers feeling apprehensive to take a trip they’ve been dreaming of, this should come as welcome news.”

For the first time the report correlated ATDI scores with traveler visitation. The analysis allowed researchers to speculate that travelers are valuing adventure, nature and cultural resources above other assets when traveling in North America, whereas decisions to travel to Latin America and the Caribbean turn on cultural resources and brand.

The following countries were highest on the list of Cultural Resources in 2015 and 2016: Germany, Italy, Spain, France, China, Monaco, Mexico, United Kingdom, India and Brazil. The Cultural Resources category draws on data from UNESCO World Heritage Center and also looks at the percentage of protected total land.

Each year the ATDI reports on the top ten countries in Developing Nations and Developed Nations:

Top Ten Developing - Czech Republic, Israel, Estonia, Chile, Slovak Rep, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Poland, Korea, Rep., Romania

Top Ten Developed - Iceland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Finland, Austria, Denmark

• East Asia & South Pacific - New Zealand
• Latin America & Caribbean - Chile
• Middle East and North Africa - Israel
• Europe & North America - Iceland

Chile leads among its regional neighbors in part because of its high scores in the Entrepreneurship category. “Chile supports its adventure tourism entrepreneurs through its ongoing commitment to training and mentoring,” said Solange Fuster, Marketing Director for SERNATUR, Chile’s National Tourism Service.  “We promote Chile as a destination that provides unique experiences related to nature and culture. The image and message we deliver includes mainly adventure tourism.”

This is the sixth edition of the the ATDI report. The ATDI scorecard uses data from a wide diversity of sources including GDP, population density statistics, protected areas, the Environmental Performance Index, the World Resources Institute, Foreign and Commonwealth Travel Warnings, in addition to survey data from industry experts.

The new Adventure Tourism Development Index is available for download from the Adventure Travel Trade Association research center . The previous edition of the ATDI report (2015) is also available for free download.

About Adventure Travel Trade Association

Established in 1990, the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) serves over 1,100 members in 90 countries worldwide. Members predominantly include tour operators, tourism boards, specialty agents and accommodations with a vested interest in the sustainable development of adventure tourism. The ATTA delivers solutions and connections that propel members towards their business goals and the industry toward a responsible and profitable future. Through its regional AdventureConnect events and annual Adventure Travel World Summit trade conference, the ATTA excels in professional learning, networking and partnering services. With expertise in research, education, adventure travel industry news and promotion, members of the ATTA receive competitive opportunities that help establish them as leaders in adventure tourism.

About The George Washington University

Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future