Selling to the US Adventure Travel Market
In 2014 George Washington U and the Adventure Travel Trade Association undertook a study of the US adventure travel market to identify behavioural groups that take take part in adventure travel and activities. As you see from the infographic above, there were three main groups identified: adventure grazers, adventurers and adventure enthusiasts.
The report also breaks out the percentages of each behavioral segment (shown below) and clearly shows that the adventure travel market, across the different segments is large.
Key Findings and How to Use them in Your Marketing
Here are some basic ways to think about the three adventure travelers segments when it comes to cost and motivation:
- Adventure Grazers and Adventurers might be a good target for your short and low-cost domestic offerings.
- Adventure Enthusiasts have the time, the money and the will to explore the world. It does not mean luxury is the answer, but exclusivity and cutting-edge offerings will drive a premium.
- All three personas all want to “accomplish something,” but Enthusiasts are the true early adopters. Identify Enthusiasts in your customer base and target them for new itineraries where you might not have all the kinks worked out.
What else is to be learned? Matching your marketing and your product to the right behavioural target market will yield highest results for your business bottom line. So, for example, if you are selling short, thrilling experiences, like half day rafting or ziplining, your target is not adventure enthusiasts. These travellers are more likely to be very interested in specialized verticals in the adventure travel ecosystem, like altitude climbing, or deep water diving. The report also shows how each group buys and their planning horizon, so for zipline operations looking to connect to adventure grazers, geo-market fairly locally and make sure to have good trip advisor reviews, online booking, and make sure you are mobile friendly.
Would you like some help in planning your marketing and product development? We have access to this full report and others and we can help you map out and execute a great strategy.
Remember the basics though. In this related article and others on this website you will also get information to get you better results.
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All images are from the Adventure Travel Trade Association. To see more info link here.