Nature and Adventure Tourism

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Nature and adventure tourism

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Nature and Adventure Tourism

G.K.M. Fernando

Uwu/ HTE /10/oo11


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Introduction to Nature and Adventure tourism.

Nature and adventure tourism is an increasingly popular form of tourism, in whichtourists seek out wild and scenic areas such as rainforests or mountains for anactive and educational trip. The tourists are usually from the North America,Europe, Australia, New Zealand; their destination is often in the developing world.Nature and adventure tourism has also become popular among people interested inboth environmental conservation and sustainable development. It has been called away to save the rainforest and a "win-win development strategy for undevelopedrural areas."

Define Nature tourismResponsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improvesthe welfare of local people. It is tourism based on the natural attractions of an area.Examples include bird watching, photography, stargazing, camping, hiking, hunting,fishing, and visiting parks. These experiential tourists are interested in a diversity ofnatural and cultural resources. They want what is real, and they want to beimmersed in a rich natural, cultural, or historical experience.

Define adventure tourism

Adventure tourism is an outdoor leisure activity that generally takes place in anunusual, exotic, remote or wilderness setting, sometimes involving some form ofunconventional means of transportation and tending to be associated with low orhigh levels of physical activity.


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Adventure Tourism can be broken down into two parts

1. Soft Adventure A travel experience that goes beyond the typical tourist itinerary

Is rewarding for the spirit and the mind

Is safe and without excessive physical demands

Examples - Camping ,Walking on gradually changing terrain

2. Hard Adventure is a travel experience the has more physical challenge

has a higher element of risk

is rewarding to the spirit

pushes people outside of the comfort zone

Examples -Mountaineering ,White water rafting/kayaking ,Mountain biking

Characteristics of adventure tourism Uncertain outcome Danger and risk Challenge Anticipated rewards Novelty Stimulation and excitement Exploration and discovery Absorption and focus Contrasting emotions


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Comparison of nature tourism and Adventure Tourism

Both nature tourism and adventure Tourism share a high respect for Nature andBiodiversity. They both follow the belief that even global concerns need local solutions.Nature is beautiful and the best way to protect it is to enjoy it by discovering and knowingit. They both include an interpretation and learning effect as an important aspect of thevisit. Both nature tourists and Adventure Tourists pursue "life enhancement" and share acommon desire for authenticity and a complete immersion in the environment. A desire toexperience novelty and uniqueness as part of the travel experience.

Both nature tourism and Adventure Tourism aim to have as little impact as possible on theecosystem and the visited country. They both seek long term and sustainable benefices.Within the context of touristic development, sustainability is then defined as the ability touse present resources without consuming them faster as regeneration makes possible.Their services are delivered primarily to small groups by small-scale businesses requiring

the lowest possible consumption of non-renewable resources.Opposed to the consequences of traditional Mass Tourism, both philosophies arecommitted to conserve the environment as well as local culture, traditions and values. Tooffer work to local people and help to the development of the region.

Relationships Among Tourism Categories

cGreen consulting

Conventional

Tourism

Sustainable

Tourism

Ecotourism

Adventure

Tourism

Nature Tourism Voluntourism


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World situation of nature and adventure tourism industry

Value of the global adventure market is $89 billion. Adventure travelers are specialty travelers and thus spend more than the average

traveler on a trip. They may return to the same countries that they have previously visited on a less

adventurous vacation, but this time tries more adventurous activities (safaris,visiting cultural sites). This market offers tour operators the opportunity to re-position themselves to the market.

The adventure market is sizable, at 26% of the traveling population, the averageadventure traveler age might be closer to 40, and although these people engage inadventure activities, they might not be paying tour operators and guides for theirexperiences, and hence not recognized, or served as an important market segment

by the industry.Source-ADVENTURE TOURISM MARKET REPORTA STUDY BY: The George Washington University

School of Business, The Adventure Travel Trade Association and Xola Consulting


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Latest trends in adventure tourism industry

Volunteer vacations:Volunteerism along with vacation has increased according to thelatest growing trend. There is an increase of 30% in the overall participation than the lastyear. This trend is growing among people under the age of 20 than people with family.

Girlfriend getaways: According to a survey conducted by the ATTA, more than 50% ofadventure travelers are women in the age group of 41 and 60. Women in this age are goingmountain climbing, kayaking and surfing.

Family adventure vacations:Some families are opting for more nature based cultural,education and learning excursions rather than going for theme parks and all-inclusiveresorts. These types of excursions help in developing family bonding.

Soft adventure vacations:Many tourists are opting for vacation that centers on a theme,such as a culinary tour in Asia or wine vacation in Israel. Yoga has also been included in the

theme of vacation. Best ofBoth Women's Adventures has yoga on all of its trips and aspecific yoga and surf vacation in Puerto Rico. Many others combine yoga andsnowboarding or yoga and wine tasting.

Expedition cruising: people going for expedition cruises to Antarctica, the alapagos andAlaska. The cruises also provide vacationers details or lectures about the particular place. In

these small cruises, everything that you see around is very important and focused.

Types of nature and adventure tourism

Study tours of flora & fauna

Nature photography

Wild life safaris

Turtle watching

Whale and dolphin watching

Bird watching

Bungee jumping

Ballooning

Mountain biking & cycling

Canoeing

Rock climbing

Fishing

Hiking & trekking

Ice-skating

Motor biking

Paragliding

River rafting

Surfing

Sailing

Yachting

Scuba diving

Snowmobiling

Zip-line

Caving

Off-road activities

Camping


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Nature and adventure tourism in SriLanka

Nature &adventure tourism are rapidly going trends in global tourism and an increasing

number of travelers are seeking out new eco friendly destinations like Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka is a land where tourist can glimpse a wild elephant, gaze at the pristine grace of aleopard, and see a nesting turtle laid its eggs on the beach or dazzling display of peacock.The country is blessed with an abundance of natural diversity despite its small size. Thisastounding diversity is largely due to its dramatically different terrains ranging fromcoastal plains to hill country and lush rainforests to arid dry zones. Large areas rich in floraand fauna are conserved in 13 national parks across the country and over 100 otherprotected areas.Sri Lanka is an ideal place for adventure seekers also. The island country offers excellentadventure activities such as whitewater raftining, rock climbing, camping .surfing, etc..

Nature and adventure places, activities in SriLanka

National Parks

National Park at Yala is the best known national park in Sri Lanka. The Park isknown for its elephants who wander in big and small herds.

Leopard and sloth bear are main attraction in Wilpattu National park. Established in1954.

Gal Oya National Park gives home to about 30 species of animals. About 150 speciesof birds are also found in this park.

Uda Walawe National Park is known for providing home to elephants, variousspecies of deer, monkeys, jackal, water buffalo and wild boar.

Madhu Oya National Park is the home of creatures like Sam bur, Purple Monkey,reptiles and birds. Designated as a National Park in 1988.

Horton Plains National Park is comprised of cloud forests embedded in wetgrasslands.

Bundala National Park offers large variety of aquatic birds feed on the harvest ofnumerous lagoons in the park.

Bird Sanctuaries

Kumana, Wirawila, Bundala and Kalametiya are more known bird sanctuaries in Sri Lanka.Their location on Sri Lanka's extreme south eastern coast and abundance of lagoons andswamps declares that these have become the preferred residence of water birds. You canfind large flocks of both resident and migrant aquatic birds. Two highland sanctuaries areUdawattakele and Peak Wilderness.


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Sinharaja worldheritage forest

Singharaja ForestReserve, most well-known rainforest in Sri Lanka, is a living heritage. Theforest has very rich biodiversity. Most vegetation in this forest is endemic to the country.

Waterfalls & streamsSeveral hill chains in Sri Lanka are interspersed by waterfalls and streams. Particularlymentionable are at Wetlands, Muthurajawela, Bolgoda Lake,

Windsurfing

May to September is the best period for surfing in Sri Lanka as the winds are strongestduring this period. Arugam bay on the east coast is Sri Lanka's best beach for surfing. Otherbeaches famous for surfing are Hikkaduwa on the southwestern coast and Bentota on thewestern coast. Surfing gears such as surfboards, boogie boards, and wetties can be hired in

the shops beside the beaches.

Diving & Snorkeling

There are several dive sites along Sri Lanka's coastline where one gets an opportunity tosee fantastic marine life such as corals, ship wrecks, myriad tropical fish, coral fish, anglefish and puffer fish. Hikkaduwa and Tangalle on the west coast, Unawatuna on the southcoast and Nilaveli on the east coast are wonderful places for scuba diving and snorkeling.The best time for diving and snorkeling on the west coast is from November to April and onthe east coast is from April to September as the seas are calmest during this period.

Rafting & Canoeing

Sri Lanka has hundreds of rivers and small streams that originate from hills and offerexcellent water sports facilities. Some of the rivers such as Kelani River in Kitulgala,southwest of Kandy, are very popular among tourists for rafting purposes. Popular sites forcanoeing are the Kalu Ganga (BlackRiver) and the Kelani Ganga.

Kite surfing

Pick a beach. Get on your board. Grab your kiteits that simple. With over 1600km ofcoastline around this beautiful island, there are so many places with great wind conditions;ideal for kite surfing. Find the perfect spot on a kite safari rather than waiting around forthe wind to come to you. Negombo, on the west coast, is a great place to do this and isntvery far from the islands capital Colombo. Travel here anytime during the months ofJanuary through to March to experience great conditions. Many of the water sportsproviders in Sri Lanka tend to provide the latest equipment available.


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Camping

Camping is the ideal way to enjoy being close to nature. If your desire is Camping, thenthere is none other country than Sri Lanka for your ultimate choice. You could choose froma wide variety of experiences from nature retreat to wildlife, canoeing to Safari at National

parks, bird watching to Mountain climbing. Listed below are a few ofSri Lankas favoritecamping sites among the tourists.Tree Tops - ButtalaDambana -Veddha Camp - DambanaKalu Ganga - Canoeing Camp - Kalu GangaPolonnaruwa Luxury Camp - PolonnaruwaGal Oya Luxury Safari Camp - Gal Oya National ParkKitulgala Adventure Camp - Kitulgala

Caving

The fascinating activity of Caving is relatively new to Sri Lanka, but with an impressive

range of caves located throughout the country it's an unusual experience not to be missed!

Known to the experts as speleology', caving involves the exploration, surveying, mapping

and photographing of caves situated around Sri Lanka. With some ofSri Lanka's caves

dating back approximately 500 million years, this is an adventure into the prehistoric.

Examples:

Batatotalena Cave- Sudagala, Andirilena Caves-Udagama, Batadombalena Cave- Kuruwita,

Pannila Calcarious Cave-Rakwana, Bogoda Cave-Jangulla, Waulpane Cave- Pallebeda,

Rawana Ella Cave-Ella, Sthripura Cave- Welimada

Mountain biking

Offer world class biking trails covering, mountains, valleys, tropical rain forests, reservoirs,ancient cities, beaches and pristine remote villages. Furthermore this will be learningintervention to a 2500 year culture and an insight to a unique way of life in this land ofdiscoveries.

Adventure Trekking and Hiking

There are many opportunities waiting in Sri Lanka's diverse and luscious hill country. Thebeautiful areas, located in the hill country ofSri Lanka, provides a superb base from whichto try out a wide variety of hiking and trekking tours through jungle, across paddy fieldsand up mountains. The river and numerous waterfalls in Sri Lanka are another keyattraction that allows hikers and trekkers to enjoy a refreshing dip en-route!Examples:

Sinharaja, adams peak, hortan plains, knuckles, belihuloya, bandarawela.


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White WaterRafting

One can indulge in white water rafting in the boulder Stream Rivers ofSri Lanka. This wayone can see the impressive environment the region offers. You can spend days of action,rafting the white waters. The novice and the experienced both can have their ownadventure. One passes through so many scenic locations.Examples:kithulgala white water rafting

RockClimbing

One can achieve plenty of joy in rock climbing. Working hard to reach the summit themountain and in the process viewing the wonderful scenic beauty is an experience in itself.

The sports demands skills and levels of fitness that few other adventure sports can match.Discover the nature in Sri Lanka while rock climbing.

Paragliding

Paragliding is new sport in Sri Lanka. The game is indulged in for its sheer fun and it beinga safe medium of soaring in the air. One can fly in Sri Lanka throughout the year for thecountry's physical features and climatic conditions are conductive to it.

Ballooning

Hot air balloon is nice place to view the natural beauty ofSri Lanka. Soak in the wonderfulnatural beauty without disturbing it. View ancient lakes, dense forests and massive ruins.See the natural life in different way.

Off the road 4 WD adventures

You can be sure that these off-the-road' adventures are more than just going for a drive'.


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Nature and adventure Development project in SriLanka

Kalpitiya Dutch bay resort development project

Proposed types of tourism for the development zone

Fishing tourism

Deep sea diving

Nature based tourism

Sports &adventure tourism

Kandalama lake resort project

The proposed project is designed to establish and operate nature friendly resort which

comprises the following.

Elephant safari

Boating & fishing

Jungle trekking &bird watching

Travel to kaudulla & wasgamuwa national parks Out door camping

Arugam Bay development projects for surfing and eco safaris.

The BOIhas approved a resort at pasikudah in the eastern province of

batticaloa which is due to open in December 2011 (malu malu resort &spa).

Recreation option includes:

Diving

Wind surfing

Deep sea fishing

Other water sports


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Benefits of nature and adventure tourism

Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.

Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.

Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.

Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.

Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate.

Support international human rights and labor agreements.

Preservation of biodiversity.

Has minimal impact on the environment.

Money from the tourists go back into the conservation of the area.

Limitations

Sometimes it can be damage to the nature. Influence to local life style and culture. Unregulated garbage removal Over gathering of particularly attractive.

Suggestions

Develop and conduct training, research and education programs on nature and adventuretourism.

Established some authorized organizations to confirm tourist safety in adventure activities. Sponsor Sri Lankan youth who are interested in adventure sports and activities Develop infrastructure and superstructure. To future needs. Improve education, recreation and health practices. Need attention of management for improving accomodation, food service, and information

service. As expected by foreigners and locals. Offer special investment incentives to investors who invest in nature and adventure new

project. Build up public and private partnership. Upgrading Trincomalee airport to international level Long run potentials for tourism along the East coast are considerable.


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Conclusion

Nature and adventure tourism is a popular form of tourism; in which tourist seeks to getnew experience.

Nature and adventure tourism is one of the best ways to develop rural areas. Most of the time adventure tourism is the part of the nature tourism. Adventure tourism can be broken in to two parts. (Soft adventure , hard adventure). In adventure tourism tourist can get new experience with danger and risk. There are various types of Nature and adventure tourism.

Study flora & fauna Photography Bird watching Canoeing

Rafting Surfing, etc..

Volunteer vacations, Girlfriend getaways, Family adventure vacations, Soft adventure vacations,

Expedition cruising are latest trends in adventure tourism industry.

Sri Lanka is an ideal place for adventure seekers also. There are lot of places and activities for nature and adventure tourism in Sri Lanka.

National parks Snharaja rain forest Water falls Rafting Diving Camping , etc

Documents

Nature and Adventure Tourism