Ethnic minorities are still under-represented in the adventure tourism market just as they are in the tourism markt in general
Psychographic segmentation is very important in adventure tourism as can be seen from chapter 3 where we talked about the motivators and determinants of individual adventure tourists however it has not yet developed greatly in terms of empirical research in the adventure tourism market
There are numerous other ways of segmenting the adventure tourism market including
According to the activity
Whether it is hard and soft adventure
By the level of interest in adventure tourism
Lnto independent travellers and those who take organized packages
Activity
The market can be segmented according to the activity there are two tiers to such segmentation
1 generic types of activity e.g air sports or watersports
2 sub-types of these generic activies such as paragliding microlight flying and so on in relation to air sports
Some of these sub-types of activies are sizeable in their own right-for example it is estimated that there are 6 million scuba divers world-wide and this is forecast 10 million by 2005 however we have to recognize that mahy adventure tourists are interested in more than one activity
Hard or soft adventure
Adventure tourists can be divided into those participating in hard or soft adventure which millington 2001 has defined as follows
Hard adventure travel requires an element of experience in the activity being undertaen and because it encompasses an element of risk
Participants must be physically and mentally fit lt includes an intimate experience with the environment and culture of the destination
Participants should be prepared for all weathe conditions sleeping arrangements and dietary resrictions examples include climbing expeditions arduous treks hang gliding rock climbing white-water kayanking and wilderness survival
Soft adventure requires less physical risk little or no experience and offers more convenience in terms of sleeping arrangements and cuisine many activities are similar to those in the hard adventure offers a wider range of activities and adventure experiences for the traveller
Examples include horseback riding rafting sea kayaking snorkelling bicycle touing camping canoeing cross-country skiing dog sledding surfing walking tours wildife watching and windsurfing
However many tourists will of course take part in both types of activity possibly even during the same vacation
Level of interest
The market can also be segmented into three main segments on the basis of the tourists level of intest in adventure tourism
1 those who only take adventure vacations
2 those who thake adventure vacations as well as other of vacations
3 those who take non-adventure vacations but take part part in adventure activities once or twice during their vacation
There are also of course many people who have adsolutely no desire to take part in adventure travel at all
Independent travellers or thse on organized trips
A division may be made between independent travellers and those who take organized packages however som people may indulge in both horms of trvel at different tims
Furthermore those who take organized packages are not a single homogenous group millington 2001 tepors that for a leading uk specialist tour operator their market consists of three main segments
Older often retired people who finally have the time and money to fulfil