Fear and adventure tourism in Brazil

The search for new non-routine emotions and sensations has become a decisive factor in taking part in adventure tourism. As Barros and Dines (2000) have pointed out, Brazil's natural resources are abundant and have been widely used to promote the nation's tourism. Empirical literature describes fear as one of the main emotions in adventure activities, and for this reason a questionnaire was designed to examine the presence of fear before and after three adventure activities (parachuting, white-water rafting, and rock-climbing). This study not only aimed to consolidate fear as a fundamental emotion in performing such activities but also to stimulate interest for further studies in this area. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conceptualizing special interest tourism - frameworks for analysis

To advance understanding of Special Interest Tourism (SIT), this paper will explore the complexities of this phenomenon in the early 21st century. First, a look at what is out there, both from a supply and demand perspective, will serve to paint a broad picture at macro-level. The paper will present a discussion of the SIT phenomenon at the macro-level within a triangular relationship of supply, demand and media. Then, a more specific look at SIT attempts to clarify the ambiguity of the term. Finally, a look at micro-level from the consumer's perspective will introduce the concepts of enduring and situational involvement, and the nature of the product. Proposed frameworks are presented to provide structure and possible directions for future research and as a means of progressing conceptual development. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tourist use of mopeds in Queensland

Tourist use of mopeds in Queensland is encouraged by licensing regulations permitting moped riding for car licence holders, who may lack prior knowledge or experience of moped or motorcycle use. Using official crash and registration data, this research examines moped use by tourists, identified as crash-involved riders holding an interstate or overseas licence. Tourists were more likely to be younger, female, in single vehicle crashes, and deemed at fault than Queensland licence holders. Potential safety issues include poor riding skills, inexperience, inattention and lack of protective clothing. Moped rental companies play an important role in managing client crash and injury risks. These risks could also be reduced through introduction of more stringent licensing requirements, though this may be detrimental to moped rental companies as well as to tourist mobility and enjoyment. The discussion considers the relevance of adventure tourism perspectives and theory to the use of mopeds by tourists.

A segurança nas actividades de ar livre e de aventura

RESUMO: A temática da segurança é uma das preocupações principais da sociedade actual. Dentro deste tema que é estudado nas mais diversas áreas da sociedade, a sua aplicação nas actividades de ar livre e de aventura é uma questão fundamental. As atividades de ar livre e de aventura caracterizam-se por um meio incerto, onde é importante o domínio das técnicas e aplicação das regras de segurança. É certo que cada vez existem mais praticantes das actividades de ar livre e de aventura, o aumento dos praticantes faz-se ao nivel desportivo, recreativo ou de lazer. O turismo de aventura está em crescimento em todo o mundo ocidental, sendo cada vez mais importante estudar o risco e a segurança nestas actividades. Sabemos que um dos locais mais importantes para trabalhar o risco e a segurança é ao nivel da escola, sendo o objectivo deste estudo verificar se a preocupação com a segurança está presente nos programas leccionados. Este estudo procurou identificar vários modelos de gestão de risco e verificar se estes seriam abordados nos três programas. Todas as entidades falam em segurança, diminuição do risco mas é importante clarificar o conceito e estudar se existe uma efectiva preocupação com esta questão. Este estudo procura enquadrar e discutir vários modelos de gestão de risco, verificando se essa existência está presente nos programas de EF, nos do Desporto Escolar e nos da ULHT. ABSTRACT: Security is a major concern of nowadays society. Within this subject that is studied in various areas of society, its applications in outdoor activities and adventure are a key issue. Outdoor activities and adventure are characterized by an uncertain environment, where it is important to master the techniques and application of safety rules. It is true that every day there are more people practicing outdoor activities and adventure, this increase is at the level of sport, recreation or leisure. Adventure tourism is growing throughout the Western world, and as so, it is increasingly important to study the risk and safety in these activities. We know that one of the most important places to study risk and safety is at school level, aiming to verify if security is present in the taught programs. This study sought to identify several models of risk management and verify if these would be addressed in the three programs. António Pedro Raposo Marques Vidal A SEGURANÇA NAS ACTIVIDADES DE AR LIVRE E DE AVENTURA 6 Many entities talk about safety and risk reduction, but it is important to clarify the concept and it is important to study if there is a real concern with this issue. This study seeks to encompass and discuss various models of risk management, ensuring that they are present in the programs of Physical Education in Sports School and the ULHT.

Implicações das competências técnico-organizacionais para a performance competitiva em empresas seguidoras de mercado: evidências do segmento de turismo de aventura no Rio de Janeiro

This work focuses on the implications of technological-organizational competences for improvement of performance indicators. This relationship is examined during 1984 to 2005 in three small companies that operate in Rio de Janeiro within adventure tourism, more specifically, within tandem flights on hang-gliding. Based on a comparative case study grounded in both qualitative and quantitative empirical evidences collected in a detailed field search, this study is supported by an existing metric available in literature and adapted to adventure tourism segment. The metric to measure competences is based on four techno-organizational function: (i) product; (ii) sales & marketing; (iii) infra-structure & operational process; (iv) managing systems. The examination of performance improvement is based on a set of typical indicators used by this segment to evaluate results. This dissertation contributes to deepening the understanding of how techno-organizational competences affect the competitive performance of companies in this sector of adventure tourism.

Parque Estadual da Pedra da Boca (Araruna/PB): uma avaliação sobre as atividades turísticas e as ações de gestão territorial

The Conservation Units, specially the National and State parks are among the major destinations for adventure tourism and ecotourism, so that the National System of Unit Conservation (Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação) SNUC (Law 9.985/2000) covers the practice of touristic activities, specially the ecotourism in these territorial unities. Despite these are areas for environmental conservation, practice of environmental education, scientific research and contemplation of the nature in its primary or in a similar condition, the practice of touristic activity does not often meet these aims. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the touristic activities and the actions of territorial management in the State Park of Pedra da Boca (PEPB), situated in the city of Araruna/PB. According to the results, the PEPB has in its territorial area a porphyritic granite rock set, whose geological and geomorphologic settings are unique and have scenic value. It is also home of flora and fauna endemic species and representative of the savanna biome. The data and information achieved show that the Park has a remarkable potential for tourism, especially ecotourism, however, there is a need for development of territorial management actions, in order to subsidize the use of spatial tourism site

Parque da Pedreira: complexo turístico

This work came in response to the degradation of the landscape by mining. This is the landscape rehabilitation of a quarry off in the city of Laranjal Paulista, the state of São Paulo, which poses environmental and underutilization problems as the area abandonment of consequences. Based on regional diagnostics, urban and landscape study, the project in question is divided into three main areas: environmental recovery, offering public facilities and leisure proposition to adventure tourism. Thus, the Quarry Park - Tourist Complex is a degraded area rehabilitation project from the expansion of leisure options, sports and culture, lacking in the city and the structuring of adventure sports that already occur in the area by a regional public. Thus, one projetual attempt to become a reference in sustainable development

Illinois weekend adventure guide.

"Compiled by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Bureau of Tourism, based on the materials submitted by Illinois' Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Regional Tourism Development Offices, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Department of Natural Resources."--P. 136.

Australian waterfalls as tourism attractions

For a largely arid country with generally low relief, Australia has a remarkably large number and variety of waterfalls. Found mainly near the coast, close to where most of the population lives and near the major tourist resort areas, these landscape features have long been popular scenic attractions. As sights to see and places to enjoy a variety of recreational activities, waterfalls continue to play an important role in Australia’s tourism, even in seaside resort areas where the main attractions are sunshine, sandy beaches and surf. The aesthetic appeal of waterfalls and their value as recreational resources are recognized by the inclusion of many in national parks. Even here, demands of visitors and pressures from developers raise serious problems. This paper examines the way in which waterfalls have been developed and promoted as tourist attractions, demonstrating their importance to Australian tourism. It considers threats to the sustainable use of waterfall resources posed by power schemes and, particularly, by the tourist industry itself. Queensland’s Gold Coast is selected as a case study, and comparisons are made with other areas in which waterfalls have played important roles as tourist attractions, especially the Yorkshire coast of northeast England. The discussion draws largely on an examination of tourist literature from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, including holiday brochures and guide books, as well as other published sources, together with field observation in various parts of the world

Destination Positioning Slogans - Analysis of Themes used by New Zealand Regional Tourism Organisations

A significant gap in the tourism and travel literature exists in the area of tourism destination branding. Although brands have been used as sources of differentiation in consumer goods markets for over a century, academic research attention towards destination branding has only been reported since the late 1990s. Three important components of the brand construct are brand identity, brand position and brand image. While interest in applications of brand theory to practise in tourism is increasing, there is a paucity of published research in the literature to guide destination marketing organisations (DMOs). In particular there have been few reported analyses of destination brand positioning slogans. The focus of this paper is on destination brand position slogans, which represent the interface between brand identity and brand image. Part of a wider investigation of DMO slogans worldwide, and in keeping with the conference location, the paper focuses on analysis of slogans used by New Zealand RTOs. The slogans are examined in terms of the extent to which they have been limited to ephemeral indifference. In other words, have they stood the test of time and do they effectively differentiate through a meaningful proposition? Analysis of the slogans indicates very few could be characterised as memorably distinctive. This reflects the complexity involved in capturing the essence of a multi-attributed destination in a succinct and focused positioning slogan, in a way that is both meaningful to the target audience and effectively differentiates the destination from competitors offering the same benefits.

Tourism Destination Preferences: A Longitudinal Analysis of Consumer Decision Sets

There have only been a small number of applications of consumer decision set theory to holiday destination choice, and these studies have tended to rely on a single cross sectional snapshot of research participants’ stated preferences. Very little has been reported on the relationship between stated destination preferences and actual travel, or changes in decision set composition over time. The paper presents a rare longitudinal examination of destination decision sets, in the context of short break holidays by car in Queensland, Australia. Two questionnaires were administered, three months apart. The first identified destination preferences while the second examined actual travel and revisited destination preferences. In relation to the conference theme, there was very little change in consumer preferences towards the competitive set of destinations over the three month period. A key implication for the destination of interest, which, in an attempt to change market perceptions, launched a new brand campaign during the period of the project, is that a long term investment in a consistent brand message will be required to change market perceptions. The results go some way to support the proposition that the positioning of a destination into a consumer’s decision set represents a source of competitive advantage.